An Early Argument

In highschool, when students are assigned a book to read in class, the popular thing to do is just rent the movie and chuck the book. While watching the film provides most of the plot and story of the original book that can get you through a test, you are ultimately denying yourself access to characteristics of reading that could help you in other areas. Reading provides more beneficial skills to students than viewing film or TV.
Reading is better than watching the movie or TV show, because reading helps develop vocabulary skills while movies and TV do not. In the NEA's report "To Read or Not to Read," it is said that "each type of reading material contains a far greater average number of rare words than TV shows" (68). A student could learn more words from a single book than multiple TV shows. The words learned in books are helpful when writing essays for English or articles for the school newspaper. English teachers don't normally reward the use of simple words in assignments. These learned vocabulary skills from reading also help with other school subjects like history and science (Wise 370). Watching film versions deprive students of higher vocabulary, and in a world where grades are the most important, students might find themselves doing poorly in their other courses.

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After reading Mark Bauerlein's view on the decline of reading in our generation, I commented on cec's post Is Bibliophobia a social disease?

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I just commented Kee's blog post No More Paper Routes. It is an interesting post about the decline of paper newspapers being distributed.

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I just commented on Bon Qui Qui's post, Missing Item: Paper Towels. I think it is a great and relevant argument for the necessity of paper towels in hall bathrooms.

Combat the School Blues

Standing outside of class every day, I hold the same conversation with many different class mates. It almost always goes the same way:

“I don’t want to be here.”

“Me neither. Did you do the homework?”

“Ya, it took forever! I want this week to be over.”

“I want this year to be over.”

Then we slump into our desks for class.

Only five weeks left of school. That’s all anyone can see, really. Five weeks until freedom and happiness. No one cares about school anymore. Every day is a struggle to get out of bed and make an effort towards a good grade. Every class is sitting and watching the clock tick down to class dismissal. Every minute is a little harder to concentrate on the lecture, and each passing moment more tortuous than the last. Everyone is in a downward funk, and it needs to end. People should be jumping for joy and excitement that there’s only five weeks left of school. Students should be energized and pumped for the last leg of the semester. We’re on the final sprint to the finish line. It’s not the time to “crap out” and lose all of your momentum. There are plenty of things to do around campus to keep your spirits up.

- Exercising is an obvious choice to get your blood pumping and give you an energy boost.

- Participating in some of the activities the clubs are providing gives you something to look forward to later in the day.

- Spending a little time off campus at the mall or the movies can provide a short break from your every day routine.

There is so much more you can do. Students need to stop moping around campus and going to class with such a sad attitude. It’s ok to be counting down, it should just be a happier countdown.

Driving and Cell Phones

One of my friends, Laura, did most of the driving this spring break, and every time we hit the road, I said a little prayer. Laura is one of those people who can’t seem to detach her phone from her hand. She’s either talking or texting constantly throughout the day, so driving with her is sort of a gamble. We were driving down the freeway while she was texting, and we started veering into the other lane where another car was driving next to us. I yelled, she swerved into the shoulder, and we stopped on the side of the road to switch seats. Sometimes I think that she would stop using her phone while she drove if she got pulled over or ticketed because of it. I think there should be stricter laws concerning the use of cell phones in automobiles, because there is such a strong association between cell phone usage and accidents.

A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), reported that 25% of all traffic accidents are a result of distracted drivers. I think it is common sense to place using a cell phone in the distraction category, yet people still use them. People knowingly risk the safety of themselves and others when they mess with their cell phones in the driver’s seat. Another study by the NHTSA states that a driver using their cell phone is four times more likely to get into a crash serious enough to cause injury. I think the police needs to start pulling people over and issuing tickets to anyone who is seen driving with their phone in use. The tickets and fines would make drivers think twice before making that phone call in the driver’s seat again. The laws of the road are meant to keep drivers safe, and I think stricter cell phone usage laws are important to that cause. The roads are dangerous enough without the added distractions, so we need to enforce the discontinued use of those distractions.

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I just commented on Thyrston's blog post, Aim for the Stars about choosing your major. I think this is very relavent and informative to every first-year student here.

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I just commented on Bon Qui Qui's blog post, Life in the Fast Lane. It is a very informative post about speeding that I think everyone should read before driving home for Spring Break.

Summer Possibilities

The summer holds many possibilities when it comes to things to do. You can stay home and be bored out of your mind, or you could go on one or multiple vacations to anywhere you please. You could stay home and get a summer job to make some extra spending cash, or you could go to summer school to make some extra credit hours. Or you could combine a vacation and summer school in a study abroad program. With all these possibilities, it feels impossible to choose. It might seem strange that I’m talking about what to do over the summer when it’s only the end of February, but the deadline for study abroad applications is just around the corner. It’s difficult to confirm all your summer plans so early in the semester with so little time to think it all through.

My current conundrum is whether I work and do some summer school or study abroad in Moscow, Russia. Like most of you other college students, I am dirt poor and in desperate need of money, so a summer job, however un-enticing that may sound, seems like a very logical option to spend my summer. Of course, a job doesn’t have to be all day every day, so I could take a summer school course to get a little farther ahead in credits. It sounds like the perfect plan; only, there’s another plan on the table. As you probably know, some of our professors can be very convincing, and my Russian professor convinced me to look into Moscow over the summer to enhance my speaking abilities. It might be possible to work for the first half of the summer, and then jet off to the other side of the world to study Russian. It would be much more exciting than option number one, but it may not be equally rewarding. With option number one, I would be making money. With option number two, I’m just spending it. Which do you think is the better option? What are your summer options?

Comment on Meghan's Blog

I just commented on Meghan's Blog post criticizing the movie He's Just Not That Into You.