No Robos, Not Ever!

For this activity (which will help prepare you for the synthesis portion of the AP exam), you will evaluate six different sources pertaining to the use of robo-readers. Five of the six sources will be provided to you; the sixth can be accessed through a link below. In a well written blog post, you will take a clear stance on the use of robo-readers in evaluating student writing, synthesizing at least three of the sources into your argument (relying on both paraphrasing and direct quotation of the sources).

I do not agree with this "robo-reader" idea. I think too many students have too many different thoughts, to all be judged by one source, programmed in one particular way.  "Sure an automation can figure out if a student has done a math or science problem by reading symbols and ticking off a checklist (A)". But the language of literature is so unique and personable, how can a machine grade whether or not  you stand correctly? Surely grammar and spellcheck can used to grade the writing, but those options are already available to us students, before we hand in our completed assignments (essays).

Next, I believe that this system is being created because test administrators/ teachers are becoming more and more lazy. If you do not want to do your job, which includes grading a student's work, then maybe a different occupation would be more suitable...? "E-Rater, can grade 16,000 essays in 20 seconds(B)". "Grading essays, as any school teacher can tell you, is among the most time-consuming parts of the job. But is it a task that could be outsourced to a robot (D)?" I think that teachers that assign these essays, or the ones who look over the standardized tests essays, should be paid less if they are using this software. Nobody added in the task of grading papers into the job description of a teacher after they received their degree. It has been a part of their job from the very start. I think this is just adding to the laziness of our society. They say if you don't use it, you lose it...well what happens when we start depending on technology for everything? Will we all be dumb and the computers smarter than us?

Lastly, it seems the flaws involved in this piece out due the reasons to even use this technology. The human mind was developed so that we may critique other's work and benefit or learn from those corrections and our mistakes. This is not even worth grading though if the facts are purely incorrect, "E-Rater doesn't care if you say the War of 1812 started in 1945 (B)."There is no point in even participating in this essay if a student can carelessly make his/or her way through the entire thing. The students would be creating structured filler without making sense of what they really need to talk about. I wouldn't waste the time even setting up this program or paying for it if students can get away with this non-sense. How would this be preparing them for their future?

I clearly am very against the idea of these robots taking over for our teachers, who are suppose to be highly-educated, being able to grade these essays efficiently. I think this system will take away a student's ability to think "outside-of-the-box", create even more indolent adults in our society, and make possible essays, which state incorrect facts, able to obtain a higher score than students who actually provide correct facts. I surely hope none of my future essays are graded with this technology, not because I am a bad write, but because I am skeptic of this technology's abilities.

America's Got Class

When classifying my family into the several social classes, I would consider us in the middle class. We have enough to get by, with a little more to live efficiently and happily. I think in today's day to be in the upper class is almost impossible. According to the article, not many people inherit money anymore, and that makes a big deal on how hard one will have to work to make his/or her way up to success. 

"Today, the country has gone a long way toward an appearance of classlessness." I see this idea displayed each and every day. There are many people who have money, who would rather have generic clothing but take extravagant vacations. When people see them out and about, they are identified as the middle class or sometimes even the working class. Appearance says a lot in today's day. If one does not have a fancy, opulent appearance, there are not many other ways to predict that that person obtains a large sum of money in his/or her life. I believe the classes have blended. The middle class is almost mixed in with the working class, then the upper class is greatly above them, and the lower class is significantly below them. There are huge gaps in society's social classes nowadays. 

"Today, anyone may have a shot at becoming a Unite States Supreme Court justice or a CEO,  and there are more and more self-made billionaires." I see this more and more, because a large amount of people are pursuing what is called the "American Dream,"  starting from the bottom and finishing at the top. I have experienced this even in my own family. Neither of my parents ever had a lot of money, but even without college degrees, their hard work has paid off, and we are more wealthy than we ever thought we would be. I am so proud of them. They have given me everything I need and more, without having to struggle; they are true inspirations to me. People like my parents influence us young people to follow our dreams and to work towards what we want in life, and they show that it can, in fact, happen. 

"The scramble to scoop up a house in the best school district, channel a child into the right preschool program or land the best medical specialist are all part of a quiet contest amount social groups that the affluent and educated are winning in a rout."  This point is strongly demonstrated in the little Village of McFarland. There are many social classes in McFarland, but most of them all compete for the same success, no matter how hard it is for them. A lot of local parents, in the Madison area close to McFarland, strive to get their children into McFarland's school district, being one of the best around. The parents also are very political when it comes to academics, athletics, and achievements, relating to their child/children. I think McFarland could do without this competition though. Sometimes, or most of the time, it makes or breaks the relationships people hold in this town. I would never let social class get in the way of my friendships. I have many friends who are less wealthy, and even more friends who are a lot more wealthy than I am...that should not change one's ability to build a friendship with another person. 

I think social class says a lot about America, but it has also changed a lot in the past decade or so. The classes have merged, and I agree with the article when it states that it has definitely become harder to move up in the rankings. Hopefully, it is able to return someday to its past ways, rather than making it even more difficult to succeed for future generations, like my own. I know I will have to work hard and will have struggles along the way, but I do not want success to become impossible for myself. 

To Agree or Not to Agree

There are many views in the world, on the government, one's self, a person's role in society, and public institutions. Transcendentalists and anti-transcendentalists are both present in our world, but which one am I? I would say I am a little of both. I think that some of the transcendentalists stand correct, but sometimes they can take it too far as well, so then I lean towards the anti-transcendentalist side.

One of the opponent sides, an anti-transcendentalist, which I agree with, is the idea that materialism can kill happiness. Nathaniel Hawthorne says in The Minister's Black Veil: "...Mr.Hooper smiled to think that only a material emblem [The black veil] had separated him from happiness, though the horrors, which it shadowed forth, must be drawn darkly between the fondest of lovers." Hawthorne is able to show that such a simple piece of fabric can ruin a man's life, having his wife leave, and being left to die alone. But in reality what is a black veil but a black piece of cloth more commonly known to be worn on a female? I think the idea that material items are more important than non-material items is false. The non-material, the love in Mr.Hooper's case, should be present no matter what.

Although, then there is the idea that every human holds back. Ralph Waldo Emerson's idea, who is a transcendentalist. In his piece named Self-Reliance, he quotes, "We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents.," and I agree with this statement. People, especially today, hold back. To be different, to stand out, or to not follow in some one's footsteps is scary. It takes a lot of courage nowadays to step outside of the box rather than before, because so many more people have become incredibly judgemental and cruel towards others. But each of us has a divine idea, and we are individuals that should share our uniqueness with the world. I am one of the few who thinks that to stand out is to be weird and to be weird is to be human.

So far, I have agreed with both sides, which is fine by me. I do not want to consider myself one or the other because I can change my mind a lot. I like to keep variety and open options. My views can change because of many situations, so saying I am or am not a transcendentalist is not a valid belief for me.

Lastly, I agree with the idea that taxes are nonsense, but I do not agree to not pay them. We are all one society. WE chose to live HERE, knowing what would come with our residence. Taxes are for everyone to help out. Do not be selfish and refuse to pay because this one time, just because you did not participate in the event being taxed. Just like Thoreau asks in Civil Disobedience: "Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them all at once?". I say to obey them until there is a better option present. Having self-satisfaction, or standing up for what one believes in, is a good thing, but hurting others, making others pay your taxes while you refuse, is ridiculous. I would never hurt others for my own happiness.

Clearly, these magnificent men  hold many opinions, but which ones should we agree with? There is no answer for that. People will agree and disagree with these opinions forever, because we have our own opinions. Never, will there be a right answer for the many unanswered questions of society, but there can always be suggestions to help create temporary solutions for our problems, in my opinion at least.

Declaration to be me...

In all Teenager’s Minds, February 7^th, 2013

The UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF A TEENAGER’S IMAGE IN MCFARLAND, WISCONSIN

When in the course of growing up, it becomes necessary for one to mature and to dissolve the irresponsible ways which have become consistent throughout the years of adolescence, and to recognize, among the Powers of the Elders in one’s life, the separate and equal rules to which the Laws of Society and Nature of one’s instinct entitle them a decent respect to the opinions of a teenager, which requires that they all should declare the causes which impel them to this separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all teenagers develop into their own person, that they are overwhelmed by their Elders with certain excessive expectations, and that among these are free will, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech. That, to secure these rights, Elders are instituted among teenagers, to provide an example, eliminating their just images from the consent of the matured. That, whenever any Form of Opinion becomes irrational of these ends, it is the Right of the Teenagers to alter or to abolish it, and to replace new it with a new, bettered Opinion, focusing its foundation on such Principles and reinforcing the values of being an Individual, which most likely effect their developing personality through their transition from adolescence to adulthood. The history of judgmental elders has repeatedly provided teenagers with scars, mentally and physically, all having to do directly because of these Elders. To prove these teenagers cannot develop fully into their own person, let Facts be submitted to a stereotypical world.

They are too careful, even from day one.

They refuse to trust teenagers.

They forbid teenagers to stay out late due to their lack of trust.

They believe all teenagers have a bad side.

They suppose all teenagers will rebel.

They have called together other groups of Elders to form large groups that “watch” over us teenagers.

They provide absurd rules ( i.e. No yelling when you are mad).

They do not consider the age of 18 to be an adult.

They have banned junk food.

They have judged based on the former misbehaved teenagers.

They have falsely accused many teenagers just because of their age.

They have affected creating individuality because of the strict opinions they obtain.

They have prevented relationships thinking we all will end up with children at this age.

They have unacknowledged teenage successes, thinking it will lead to a mistake.

They along with many other Elders, in all areas of the United States, not just Wisconsin, have combined to subject us to a unequal chance of developing individually to our own person, and have pretended not to do wrong or offend us, while doing so.

For taking away our Nintendo when we said one, tiny curse word.

 

For scolding us when we do not eat all of our green beans.

 

For forcing us to study at all hours of the night, and only accepting a B average or higher.

For signing us up for ridiculous amounts of extracurricular activities without our consent.

For enabling us to the use of brain-washing social medias, like cellphones, twitter, and Facebook.

For isolating our lives from reality.

For abolishing our childhood too quickly, hiding Barbie’s, coloring books, Elmo…etc.

For withholding the fun in our lives, and declaring that too much can ruin our lives.

We, therefore, the teenagers of the United States of America, in GENERAL TEENAGER’S MINDS came together, appealing to the rude opinions of the Elders of the World for the rectitude of our intentions, DO, in the Name, and by the Authority of the well-behaved teenagers of the United States, solemnly PUBLISH and DECLARE, That these teenagers, and of Right, ought to be free from these Opinions and able to develop into his or her own person; that they are excused from all Critiques of the American Elders, and that all of these pre-existing opinions are destroyed; and that, as FREE AND INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE they have full power to express themselves. AND for the support of this Declaration, we mutually pledge to each other to stand up for what is right, for our creativity, our individuality, and our freedom.

Eva Radomski, President

A World of Maps

After reading Valerie Babb's "Crafting Whiteness" chapter, I was able to learn how our white identity was truly created. It did not just form by itself there were many contributing factors to help construct where we are today. One of the most resourceful tools in our history were maps. Cartographers made these works of art to tell stories. It provided directional guidance for our people, being reading a written language wasn't heard of back then. These pictures created stories and sent crucial messages to people in different geographic areas as they accumulated important information about our world.

While researching on the Internet for unique maps, I found one that bewildered my mind...the amount of detail, color, and perfection was completely baffling. The craziest part was there was no key, like we have on our maps today.

http://www.loc.gov/resource/g3201pm.gct00065/#seq-5

Above is the link leading to my selected map. This map is the Portolan atlas of the Mediterranean Sea, western Europe, and the northwest coast of Africa.


1) Some essentially remarkable details in this map are the drawings of the ships. These ships were drawn with such perfection that they make the map really "pop". Then, there are little dots surrounding the countries, almost like an outline. Another one of the most outstanding parts is the use of the compass. The grid lines go all over this map, and are traced in the colors red and black. There are compass looking figures present but nothing defines north, south, east or west, which would have me lost. There are many amazing details on this map, and I could go on forever; however, the last micro-level detail I found interesting was that there was English words present and smaller words in a language which I could not decipher, but after reading a bit about its bibliographical information I found out that some of it is Italian and some of it is Latin.


2) I think this map tells a story of traveling. Clearly these cartographers are interested in ships sailing and in what direction. Although, they have their own way of telling this story. They do not provide an obvious key in this map of what they are trying to share. This map is almost secret because if some random person were to pick it up, it would almost be impossible to learn anything from it. They obtain their own symbols, own meaning for colors, and own language, that only them, back then, would be able to figure out. This map follows the path of some of the other narratives we have learned about; they were meant for their people and their people only. Maps really are like secret treasure maps, but the treasure does not necessarily have to be gold; it could be a very promising area of fertile land to these people, which they want to keep secret, so others cannot find it.

3) These maps did define whose land was whose. It was a way of claiming, and I believe this land says something about that. There are areas shaded, colored, and numbered differently, which could display ownership. Like Valerie Babb says in Crafting Whiteness in Early America, "Maps foreshadowed visually the ways in which English narrative prose would claim land through words and as such are a fitting prelude to an analysis of accounts of exploration and their relationship to constructions of whiteness." Pretty much she sums it up. She makes it clear that maps started the process of claiming whose land is whose. Claiming land through words started because of these maps and their markings.

The Word Government

As I viewed the several world clouds include on the website with all of the inaugural addresses, it came upon me that from our very first president, until our most recent inaugural address, with Barack Obama, the word government is becoming less of a necessity in the inaugural address speeches or rather in our vocabulary at all.

Although, the word was present the most in the 1800s. This word also flourished in many of the President’s speeches who were re-elected for a second term. For example, when we first gained independence and were putting together such a great nation, George Washington, was able to mention government a solid nine times in his inaugural speech, and he was elected for a second term.

Although, while the government continued to develop, the word slowly began to disappear. The first president to really bring it back into play was James Knox Polk, in 1845, using the word government an entire 50 times. Following him, Garfield was able to incorporate it 24 times, Cleveland used it 17 times, and Hoover had an outstanding number, in 1929, of 31 times. After Hoover it dwindled down to 4 or 5 times, and sometimes it did not appear at all. 

Ironically, the ones who did use the word more frequently than the others were re-elected. Some examples are: Washington, Monroe, Jackson, Cleveland, McKinley, and Roosevelt. In the 1800s industrialization was beginning to take flight, and the people were starting to become happier with their lives. They were becoming one with the government, not trying to fight against it, like most people are trying to do today. The government was seen as a greater, more helpful source back then.  The word government let “We the people” know who is truly boss.

It seems when there is a strong government, or when that word is flourishing more in our vocabulary, our country becomes more successful. Some of our most exemplary presidents pushed the word government. However, the less known, or less liked presidents did not stress the word at all.

So what does this word really mean? I do not want to get into my side of the political spectrum; however, I do believe that these more outstanding presidents, the re-elected ones, held a characteristic the other presidents did not have. These men had integrity. They had control of what needed to be done in the United States. Nobody was able to push them around or change their minds, because the only decision that needed to be made was the decision that was best for our country. They did not see their presidency as a publicity game or a way to fame; they were true Americans, doing anything they could for their country, creating a strong government to organize it by.

Whether or not the word government actually means something, I believe it does. This unusual pattern does not happen for just any reason. I believe that maybe if we focus on this word more, our government will begin to flourish again. It will create more control into the right direction for our beloved country, and we will get rid of the mess that we have created today.