final paper #3

I have finished my paper. I e-mailed it to the teacher today.

final paper #2

I am almost done my paper. I am working on my 4th page.

final paper

I have been researching and refining my final paper. I have 3 pages done and am working on citing.

11/20 #1

I have all of my research and citations done. I also started the paper, I have one and a half paragraphs done.

11/6 #3

One movie that I know about is The Notebook. The Notebook is a love story so automatically it puts this movie into a movie that it marketed more for girls. It works well with the concepts of girl space because it stereotypes the fact that girls "want a knight in shining armor."
Another movie I know well is 300. This movie targets males because of the war, blood, and fighting. This fits in with the "boy culture" because boys are supposed to like adventure and violence.
Popular culture aimed at children uses a lot of animation and combedy. Things that are fun will attract children.

11/6 #2

"Complete Freedom of Movement": Video Games as Gendered Play Spaces

• This heading introduces the section on the difference between boy and girl toys and video games.

Moving Beyond "Home Base": Why Physical Spaces Matter

• This heading introduces the fact that space is limited to play in terms of outside and the difference between a boy's and girl's bedroom or space in a house.

Putting Boy Culture Back in the Home

• This heading talks about what boy culture was like then and what boy culture is like now. It also talks about the good that video games provide for young boys who lack exploration.

Gendered Games/Gendered Books: Toward a Cultural Geography of Imaginary Spaces

• This heading introduces the stereotype of what boys and girls should be like.

11/6 #1

For this blog I used my second essay on Title IX and women's athletics. I did not use any metacommentary in my introduction paragraph. However, I do think that I help to introduce the paragraph and what was to come in the essay. Throughout my essay I did use some examples of metacommentary. I also believe that my text is the right length, but adding some examples of metacommentary would help to put some extra insight into my paper.

The first example of metacommentarty that I could put into my essay is in place of the second sentence in my essay. I could use the template "Although some readers may object [ ], I would answer that [ ]."

Response to #2 essay

In my second essay I wrote about Title IX and the equality of men and women's sports. I presented many arguments and reactions to them. I believe that I anticipated the objections because I was prepared to give a response that proved some of these arguments wrong. Some of the arguments and answers to them were taken from journal articles that I researched. However, some of the arguments I answered through experience and general knowledge about the topic. I think that I represented them fairly because I went into detail about what was said in the articles. I feel that I answered the objections well, but I should go back and add in some extra information that will further prove the answer. I used some of the chapters templates but now all of them. I think that a naysayer helps strengthen my argument because it helps provide me with more information and more questions or arguments to respond to.

Gladwell Essay

In the section of Gladwell's essay that talks about New York's crime rate there are many different perspectives. Gladwell shows the perspective of three groups of people. They are the police, criminologists, and economists. All three of these perspectives are different but they all give solid reasoning as to why the crime rate may have dropped so suddenly. I think that Gladwell may include the perspective of some of the people that live in the crime infested area. Gladwell's views are clearly distinguishable from the three sources that he used in his essay. Gladwell was very sceptical of the reasons that his three sources used to explain that decrease of the crime rate. It seems that he does not agree with their reasons. He does use clear voice-signaling phrases because he always introduces who is giving the opinion.

Crime Rate in New York

In recent discussions of the crime rate in New York City, a controversial issue has been why the crime rate has decreased. On the one hand, "New York police will tell you that what happened in New York was that the city's policing strategies dramatically improved." On the other hand, criminologists "point to the decline of the crack trade and the aging of the population." Gladwell then argues that there is "a puzzling gap between the scale of the changes in policing and the size of the effect on places like Brownsville and East New York." My own view is that it is a mix of all things combined. The increase in police efforts and the decline of the crack trade both played a major role in the decreasing crime rate in New York areas. Though I concede that the decrease of the crime rate did drop in a very short amount of time, I still maintain that just one thing would not lessen the crime rate, it had to be a combined effort.

Jay Leno Monologue

If ever there was an idea custom-made for a Jay Leno monologue, this was it: Wii Fit. Isn't that absurd that Americans need a video game to tell them to get fit. Whatever happened to going outside and exercising? I happen to sympathize with these exercise novices, though, perhaps because I also enjoy playing video games.

Cultural baggage

The general subject of "Cultural Baggage" is we as human beings do not all have to have a strong ethnic background, and we can believe in what we choose to believe in. I believe the thesis is stated in paragraph nine, "we are the kind of people, I realized- whatever our distant ancestors religions- who do not believe, who do not carry on traditions, who do not do things just because someone has done them before." This thesis comments on the subject by telling the reader that we do not have to follow what people before us have done. I feel the writer's purpose is to inform the reader that it is OK to not have an ethnic or religious identity. The author tries to hold a friendly tone throughout the essay, which is comforting considering the importance of the issue. She tells the story through personal experiences which helps the reader relate to the issue and relate to the author's viewpoint of the issue.

Voting

I agree that voting can help strengthen citizenship to a certain extent. Voting may mean that you educate yourself on the current politics and issues going on in our country. However, it also might mean that you are just voting to vote. Many people who claim themselves to be Republicans or Democrats are not educated when it comes time to vote, but they vote for their part despite the policies they may not know about. If you are truly educated and vote for the candidate that you really support then I believe it does help strengthen your citizenship because you are more involved in society. I realize that some may not agree with the point I have made. By trying to understand this from a different view point, I have realized that voting is a part of being a citizen no matter if you are fully educated in politics or if you just feel the need to vote.

Different Views on School Choices

I believe that parents would argue that no matter which school they decide to send their children to they should all get the same education. They shouldn't have to pay an excessive amount of money just for their children to get a decent education. I also believe that administrators and teachers would argue that there is no difference in education. Whichever school they teach at will be "a great school". They believe that they are giving your children the same education if not better then what they would receive at a different school.

School Choices

One thing that puzzles me about this essay is the fact that the author feels that having the choice to choose where you are educated is almost like discrimination. Although some minorities may not have the funds to attend private or charter schools, there are still ways to be about to attend those schools, such as grants and scholarships. I feel that every student does have the right to an equal education and equal opportunities, but again this their choice. The students and families choose where they will be educated.

A question that I have about this essay is who is to blame for the lack of funds which would help minorities attend schools other than their neighborhood public schools?

A different way to look at this problem is by not concentrating on which schools you are attending, but look at the staff in these schools. Many people say you get a better education at a private or charter school, but if this is true why wouldn't public schools try and hire educators who will be able to provide a better education for their students?