This is Portfolio 3 for EL266. This highlights my work for the last portion of the semester.
These are merely four of the responses that I posted during the last third of the semester. The Wizard of Oz has yet to be discussed in class, but even without comparing it to the movie, there will be a lot to discuss and there are already comments on my post. I struggled with Booker T. Washington and the readings were discussed highly in class. My peers also helped me out by commenting on Washington as well as W.E.B. DuBois. Their comments enabled me to better understand why we had to read that set of essays. Kevin Scott wrote an essay interpreting Tom in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This essay sparked discussion on-line and in class. David Smiths essay also sparked a lot of conversation on my blog. I believe these four entries best exemplify my work for the last portion of the semester. They cover a small portion of the readings required of us, and they also go into depth and created discussion amongst my peers.
Of these four, three were posted in a very timely fashion, giving my classmates ample time to respond to my entry: The Wizard of Oz, Booker T. Washington and David Smiths essay "Huck, Jim, and American Racial Discourse".
Interaction - Here are comments that I left on classmates blogs. These are not all the comments, but those that seemed to contribute to a discussion online or in class.
Jessica on Foster
Meagan on Mallioux and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Jeremy on H.N. Smiths ''Introduction to AHF"
Xenoblogging and Wildcard - I never thought I would post more than what was required of me. For me, blogging is pretty new. While I had a blog way back in middle school, I would say this is a little more complex, especially since people can Google search me and find my blog! This class as matured my writing style even more, as it is very important that I know what I am posting and who can see it. As a future educator, this process has shown me how a blog can work in certain settings, regardless of how hesitant the students are at partaking in this new media. Here are a couple entries that were not required, but that I enjoyed creating.
A trip to Northern New York and Canada









"First, it is the duty of black men to judge the South discriminatingly" (3,22).
"Ever-recurring query of the ages, Is not life more than meat, and the body more than raiment" (6,11).
Alright, so W.E.B.DuBois makes almost no sense to me at all. I found these selections to be extremely hard to understand. So hard in fact, that I really just selected to lines that caught my eye. It was very difficult for me to put myself into the time these were written, making it extremely difficult for me to understand what was really being talked about. I can only hope that while reading others blogs, some light will be shed on what I could, or should, have gotten out of these.
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL266/2009/11/du_bois_the_sou/#comments
"Any one who is willing to work ten hours a day at the brick-yard... in order that he or she may have the privilege of studying academic branches for two hours in the evening, has enough bottom to warrant being further educated" (13,3).
I kind of wish that this still held true today. Look at how many people have to work a full time job or multiple part time jobs to be able to even afford paying loans to go to school. It says something about a persons character if they are willing to work 8-10 hours a day and attend a night class. This is as true now as it was when Washington said it. People in general underestimate the importance of those willing to work. Society has so few jobs yet so many people that don't belong in the job they are at! There are more people willing to work and who enjoy what they do than there are places that will accept them - both in school and the work force. It's extremely frustrating to watch someone skate by while watching another person work their hardest - the latter is the one that has their heart in it. Perhaps we should consider some of what Washington had to say and apply it to the now.
"few things, if any, are capable of making one so blind and narrow as race prejudice" (14,20). I found this passage from the next chapter very realistic. Think about it... I am sure there is at least one culture you think less of. Think about it, African Americans, Asians, a European culture of some sort (Spanish, French, Italian), Latin Americans. Even taking the word "race" out of the quote would still make it true. Let's instead insert "culture."
Washington seemed ahead of his time. Or maybe it's just that things he said still hold so true. It's extremely difficult to move past things that are engrained into our heritage. One cannot help but look down on at least one other. Every race has it, every person has it, and every culture has it. It's realyl kind of sad that human nature pushes us to find something inferior in order to make ourselves feel better.
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL266/2009/11/washington_addr/#comments
Recent Comments
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Jeremy Barrick on Silver Slippers: I tried to go into color analy
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Kayla Lesko on Recess is Important: I think that Foster is a great
Kayla Lesko on Lost: Yeah, I thought Washington's w
Jeremy Barrick on Recess is Important: I to was judgmental when I rea