English 1B Reader Response #5 “Every Nook and Cranny: The Dangerous Spread of Commercialized Culture” by Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor

In the article “Every Nook and Cranny: The Dangerous Spread of Commercialized Culture,” by Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor, the concern of commercialism, the emphasis on maximizing profits, is expressed. The section I am focusing on is the section on commercialism entering the schools. After reading this article, commercialism in schools solely benefits the companies advertising something.

Most students do not realize that their schools are filled with advertisements from companies that claim to have an educational meaning behind advertising on campus. Ruskin and Schor researched when commercialism entered schools and found that advertising only entered a few decades ago. In 1989, Channel One offered to loan schools TVs if they were allowed to play whatever they wanted during the times the students were watching TV (PCI, 942). Because of the desire to increase, other companies chose to copy Channel One and began advertising on campuses. The invasion of commercialism has hurt students instead of increasing its educational environment. Due to junk foods, like candy and soda, obesity has increased in schools. As an act of preventing this to continue, many states have made the decision to ban candy and soda from schools to promote a healthy environment for students.

Companies this issue brought more issues along with it. Since corporations were in support of the anti-tax movements, they stole funding away from schools. The education in the United States is not as great as it could be. By taxing corporations, there will be more funding for schools and decrease the country’s deficit.

Commercialization has hurt student’s education more than increasing a strong learning environment. Corporations are taking funding that could be used towards improving the country’s education and using it to increase their profits. Allowing commercialization to enter schools and allowing it to stay is a mistake on the school systems fault. Schools are beginning to understand this and are slowly removing advertisements that do not benefit their student’s education.

Reader Responce #4: “Social Connections” by Steven Johnson

Reader Response #4

“Social Connections” by Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson begins with Thomas Friedman’s experience with the disconnection with society due to technology. The idea of the story was to convince the reader that technology is separating people more than bringing them together. Johnson agrees with this argument, but he also disagrees with it. He explains that technology is reducing the amount of social interaction we have with other people, but at the same time it brings us closer to others around the world through chat rooms and forums.

I understand both arguments, but I am going to take the side of Friedman in this case. I can see that there is a greater need for social interaction today. People have distanced themselves so much to the point where having face-to-face interaction is becoming a skill we have to learn. As a Christian, I need to be able to share the gospel with people. This is something I’ve been lacking in and have a difficult time accomplishing because I have become so disconnected with others. Having to talk to people is becoming an art form. Being able to speak to someone with confidence is something many people struggle with.

Speeches and presentations are not like talking to someone face-to-face. In everyday life, no one can prepare a conversation. Many people have a hard time confronting others over small things because they cannot handle the rejection or unexpected, immediate reactions. The internet has made us unable to connect with others. Friedman simply states, “Yes, technology can make the far feel near. But it can also make the near feel very far” (PCI 414). It seems that people have a difficult time trying to have a simple conversation with people they see every week or every day. My roommate, of a year and a half, cannot have a normal conversation about how we are doing. She sends me notes on my desk or writes me an email just to “check on me.” Her disability to ask me a basic question is a factor of her insecurity with talking to people. Many like her spend more time on the Internet than socially interacting with people. There are people who surround themselves with this technology as a substitute for personal interaction with others.

The Internet and much of technology are separating people. People have a difficult time trying to have face-to-face conversations with both strangers and those they are close to. Yes, technology can bring people around the world closer together, but at the same time it distances those who live next door to each other. Technology is creating dividers that can only be torn down through the practice of communicating with words and personal interaction.

English 1B Reader Response #3 “Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids” by Anna Quindlen

Anna Quindlen’s article “Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Kids” references the difficulties of having a low income, being single with raising children. She compares the differences between the difficulties of life for a middle-class family and a low income family. Low income families struggle with living arrangements, rehabilitation from addictions, finding well-paying work, and raising a family.

I was confused by this article because of its lack of organization. The article began as a story of a woman with five children then slowly changed and started to combine with statistics and other information pertaining to low income families. The transition from dialogue to data was abrupt and unexpected. I could not tell whether the story and the data were supposed to be combined together or if Quindlen was attempting to blend one idea in with another. She does this multiple times throughout the article. It seems like she wanted to have a section of story with a follow up paragraph that explains the point she was trying to make through the story. Even though this format is a well thought out idea, her execution of her idea did not turn out as smoothly as she hoped.

In the fourth paragraph, Quindlen begins by talking about the three women in the discussion group then talks about the difficulties of waiting in the Emergency Assistance Unit with your family. The transition between these topics was smooth, but changing the subject from waiting in the Emergency Assistance Unit to what middle-class families are like, paragraphs four to five, was slightly confusing.

Anna Quindlen is very knowledgeable on this subject, but, if someone did not read the excerpt on her at the beginning of the article, she does not appear to be very credible. Other than the statistics used Quindlen is not someone I would be comfortable trusting with the information she has given to the reader. The story she tells is helpful in explaining what she wants the reader to understand, but she does not try to build her credibility throughout the article.

Overall this article was not well thought out and is lacking in its organization of arguments. The stories are interesting and engaging, but the fluidity of the article was weak and lacking.

English 1B Reader Response #2 “Grade Inflation: It’s Time to Face the Facts” by Harvey C. Mansfield

In the article “Grade Inflation: It’s Time to Face the Facts,” by Harvey C. Mansfield, Mansfield begins his article with his stance on the issue he is about to argue. He is against grade inflation in schools. He clearly states his detest for the concept and wishes that schools would not give out grades that are higher than the actual grade the student received. The feeling of the article was clear based on the tone he set. Words such as scandal, sick, evil, and dehumanizing are key indicators of his absolute disinterest for grade inflation. His use of words is not as explicit as McLune’s article, “Hip-Hop’s Betrayal of Black Women,” but they tell the reader of his strong opinion.

The evidence for his argument was fairly strait forward and well supported. I agree with most of his supporting evidence. There is no benefit when it comes to grade inflation for the school, faculty, or the students. The school and faculty lower their standards so students can feel better about themselves? Where is the logic in that? The point of schools is to expand the knowledge of students and to challenge them to go beyond their limits.

By lowering standards for students, professors are refusing to put in the effort into teaching. “Thus another evil of grade inflation is the loss of faculty morale that it reveals. It signifies that professors care less about their teaching” (Mansfield 60). If the professors in our class are not going to teach us anything, then who will? Mansfield says that professors are willing to give into grade inflation “because high grades cost professors nothing” (Mansfield 60). It seems possible that some professors are willing to inflate grades as a way to gain popularity among students. If grade inflation is based on popularity and laziness, then students will be less prepared for the future than they should be.

As the world becomes more challenging, students need to be challenged to keep up with the times. The element of competition in a school environment is necessary for the working world. “Grading creates stress. It encourages competition rather than harmony” (Mansfield 60). Working life is a competition. Schools should be focusing on preparation for life outside of school not building students’ self-esteem.

There were parts of this article that bothered me. One of which was his paragraph about the science students. Up until that point, I agreed with everything he said. I understand what he is trying to say, but the way he said it is confusing. Mansfield needs to be clearer about what he is trying to say to the reader. The other part of the article that made me dislike him was towards the end. Mansfield seems to be ranting about his credibility on the subject but at the same time showing how flawed his argument is when it comes to facts and data.

The first third of the article was strong and insightful, but everything fell apart at the end. Even though Mansfield’s conclusion was weak, his insight at the beginning was enough to catch my attention and convince me to agree with him that grade inflation is wrong.

English 1B Reader Response #1: “Aggression: the Impact of Media Violence” by Sissela Bok

In the article “Aggression: the Impact of Media Violence” by Sissela Bok, the issue of whether the media is the cause for the increase in child and adolescent violence today. Bok explains that part of the responsibility belongs to the media, but understand that there are also many other factors that can cause an increase in aggression.

The arguments behind Bok’s mostly bias opinion are strong. She backs her main points with statistics, dates, and credible sources that help her prove her point, but at the same time she allows room for debate. On page 226 in Perspectives on Contemporary Issues, she uses a quote from the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Youth and Violence which shows the reader that she has done her research on the subject and has also found credible sources. The statistics used in this article are over ten years old, but she is still able to prove that suicides, rapes, and homicides have increased dramatically and will continue to increase. Her choice of wording is also specifically chosen to show that her points are still up for debate and that there are other factors that affect the increase in aggression in people.

A few parts of this article that I would have liked to see more of are who her sources are and more of a stance on where her opinion lies. Although Bok does use strong statistics, she does not always list who her sources are. The lack of information on the source leaves the reader questioning how reliable the data and the source are. As well as her sources being unnamed, her stance on the issue is not very clear to the reader. At first, Bok seems to place all the blame on the media. But as the article progresses, her opinion changes to that it’s mostly the media’s fault. By the end of the article, Bok states that there are many factors that play into the increase in aggression and that the media is only one part of a bigger picture. Her lack of a clear stance confuses the reader especially since she starts out with a strong argument and bias towards the issue.