Immersion

What I am most excited about during immersion is not sitting in a classroom all day. I am excited to see what it is like to go to a work environment everyday rather then a school and work the hours they work. I am excited for this because as a child still, I like to pretend to act grown up and do grown up things so that i know what it feels like to be independent.Overall, I am very excited for immersion because I do enjoy my internship and am excited to see what I learn through my two weeks of immersion.

My main concern for immersion is that while working on the video that my mentor wants me and my internship partner to work on, I will have technical difficulties editing the footage. I am not that great at making videos and I think it will be a struggle but at the same time a good learning expierence. Other then that I don't really have any concerns.

How Progressive Was the Progressive Era?

The progressive era, in my eyes, could be considered very progressive but at the same time not progressive. Reason being because workers had to suffer and fight very hard for their rights they were still able to obtain some.
Before the Progressive Era occurred working conditions for laborers were very difficult to deal with. Workers worked long hours even during harsh weather conditions, just so that they can earn less then what minimum wage is today. I just finished reading the book The Jungle. The story was about an immigrant family who comes to work in the United States but it speaks of how hard it actually was for the family who represented the lower class trying to survive in a capitalist society.
Although it was just a book it was based on how it was for the working class during the time of the progressive era. In order to recieve more rights many citizens of society had to fight and some even lost their lives.

Outstanding Blogs

An excellent example of economic advice for Obama that can be found on a blog is on Jacob Harris's blog. He has a wide range of different ideas to stimulate the economy rather then just focusing on one idea. He also has evidence for most cases as to why we should go with his plan to prevent past events that have happen such as the plan numbered 2. He has sufficent evidence that regards what has happend in the past and provides a plan to prevent that from happening. Also in his plan numbered 4 he states

"This will help the economy because it will make the workforce and the high ups more educated, which leads to better financial choices and hopefully some good innovation, something we lack and the Japanese exceed at (probably because of saturday school)."

I thought this was good because he says how it will help the economy but at the same time how it could help improve our education levels.
Overall, I really liked Jacob's advice because it gave more then just advice on how to fix our economy. He took into consideration other problems with our society,such as education, global warming and healthcare, and incorporated it into his advice that will fix the economy as well as these issues.

An example I found that has good examples of literary analysis is Nyachare's blog. I like the way she gives examples of literary techniques without giving away too much about the book. She doesn't spoil the ending but she gives how the story is kind of laid out with different literary devices. In her literary analysis of Kite Runner she wrote

"symbolism, antagonists, and repetition that the author, Khaled Hosseini, used literary devices to convey his message of two boys who grew up as the best of friends and through numerous trials later grew apart. "

The quote above was found in her introduction. She then writes more in detail about each literary device used and provides evidence for each. An example would be for symbolism. She wrote

"Symbolism was used in the end of chapter 6 as well as the beginning of chapter 7 when the narrator, Rahim, spoke about the kite. The kite symbolizes what Rahim thinks will get him his dad's affection......"

She did that for each literary technique and she did it in such a way that allows you to understand how it fits into the book and also at the same time what that literary technique is exactly in general.

An example of good historical analysis can be found on Will's blog. I read one of his blog enetries on one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates and it struck me as very well written and very informative. In the entry he wrote

"Lincoln began with a statement clarifying his position on the equality of African Americans, followed by a long-winded accusation of conspiracy, drawing copious amounts of evidence from the speeches of one Senator Trumbull. Douglas then spent the majority of his hour and a half carefully and methodically refuting every scrap of the accusations leveled against him, time he studded with similar stabs at Lincoln's credibility."

I thought this was a good way to start off the blog because he gave an insight as to how the debate went. He then goes more in depth into the speeches and how they were structured. He also gave information on the content of the speeches but didn't talk too much of that which made it good to read because it wasn't long, extensive and boring. I also liked at the end how he connected it to present day elections because it shows that he gave thought into how history can connect to present day.

"The current format assumes the viewer to possess at least a rudimentary knowledge of current affairs, which may not always be the case, but the Q and A style allows a greater coverage of topics,...."

Something else I found that makes for a great blog is pictures or video to go along with the entry. A good example would be Jasmine Bell's blog. She always has interesting or funny pictures that capture you eye and makes you want to see what the blog entry is about.

Charles Darwin Blog

On the day of Charles Darwin's birthday we were assigned to write a blog entry on him. Although it is Charles Darwin's birthday it is also Abraham Lincoln's. When reading an article on Charles Darwin and his birthday I cam across a part that states

"Moreover, while many of his contemporaries approved of slavery, Darwin did not. He came from a family of ardent abolitionists, and he was revolted by what he saw in slave countries:"

That made me think of Lincoln since Lincoln did free the slaves. Although he did sway his viewpoint time to time during his speeches in the end, he did free the slaves. I thought that was very interesting how by reading that I was able to connect Lincoln to Darwin.
My personal opinion on Charles Darwin is that he was a very creative man and his theories have influenced our society very much.

"He practiced a kind of ideal, dream-like science. He examined the minutiae of nature — shells of barnacles, pistils of flowers — but worked on grand themes. He corresponded with lofty men of learning, but also with farmers and pigeon breeders."

I think the responsibility we have as to understanding sciences is to be opening to all scientific possibilities. There are many reasons why things are the way they are and I think that in order to understand them you have to be open minded and hear all cases.
I think science should play into our everyday lives everyday. Reason being is because science is all around us and it makes up everything in this world. Also, by creatively thinking and using science it may answer questions we have in our everday life such as "why is the sky blue?"
I think science should influence our decision everyday by us using our logical thinking.

Honors Blog
The Jungle

The Jungle is a book by Upton Sinclair which tells a story about immigrants from Lithuania trying to survive in a capitalist society. Throughout the book many literary techniques are used to make the reader feel an emotion to make the book all the more powerful. Since there are so many I decided to focus on three literary devices that stood out to me that made the book all the more better. The author uses character, conflict, and foreshadowing to develop the theme that a capitalist society is an extremely difficult place to live in if you are part of the lower class. The first theme I found to be very important is character. Without characters in the story there would be no plot and no storyline, it is the characters where the story is based upon. Another aspect important to character is the characteristics of the character. When conflict arises it is important to know how the character's personality is in the first place so you can predict how the character will react to the conflict. An important character I found was Jurgis Rudkus. His personality in the beginning of the book is seen to an optimistic person who lives to make his family happy. In the end of chapter one it tells of how Jurgis is willing to work harder for more money rather then seeing his wife go to work. The exact text states:

"'No! No! I dare not! It will ruin us!' But he answers her again: 'Leave it to me; leave it to me. I will earn more money-I will work harder.'"

With his optimism and his drive to make his family happy Jurgis runs into conflicts throughout the book which changes his characteristics. When Jurgis runs into the conflict of spraining his ankle and not being able to go to work or get help you can see how his characteristic turns from happy and optimistic to more bitter and angry. In chapter twelve it states

"till Jurgis flew into a passion of nervous rage and swore like a madman, declaring that he would kill him if he did not stop."

Character and characteristics are important in a story but what makes the book interesting is conflict in the book. In "The Jungle" there is many conflicts much due with working conditions. An example would be with Ona. In chapter ten Ona has a baby and only a week after having him she already has to return back to work due to living conditions. Because of this Ona suffered.

"And so Ona went back to Brown's and saved her place and a week's wages; and so she gave herself some one of the thousand ailments that women group under the tiltes of "womb-trouble", and was never again a well person as long as she lived."

This also caused conflict for Ona because once this happend she satrted taking different medications. Foreshadowing is a important literary device used in the book. Events in the beginning of the book turn sour later on as you continue to read the story which makes the reader feel an emotion of remorse for the family struggling to live. One event that is foreshadowing that stood out to me was when the family buys a house but later finds that it may have been a bad move. In chapter six it states

"Cheap as the houses were, they were sold with the idea that the people who bought them would not be able to pay for them. When they failed-if it were only by a single month- they would lose the house and all that they had paid on it and then the company would sell it over again."

Later on in the book this event foreshadows and shows the effect of the living conditions that change within the family members. It states chapter fourteen

"They had played the game and lost. Six years more of toil they had to face before the could expect the least respite, the cessations of the payments upon the house; and how cruelly certain it was that they could never stand six years of such a life they were living!"

The foreshadowing event makes the family so that they have to keep working so that they can pay the rent. If they miss rent they would be evicted causing them not to be homeless.
I feel that Upton Sinclair did a great job using literary techniques to establish a theme. Not only was it used to establish a theme but it was also used to provoke feeling. When reading The Jungle you can't help but feel sorry for the family trying to survive in a capitalist society. I highly recommend this book because I feel it provides an example of how it used to be in earlier US history.

Economy Advice

The economy as of right now is not in a good state of being. If I were to have a meeting with president Obama in the Oval Office I would spend my time addressing the issue on how if we focus on a greener environment it could improve the overall economy in the US. I would talk about how if we worked toward getting rid of global warming it may help not only the environment but the lives of the US citizens. In an article I found it states

"in the next 12 years, the state's investment in fighting global warming and improving energy efficiency will create as many as 403,000 jobs and increase household incomes by $48 billion."

While doing research I found that as the oil runs out the cost of the little amount there is increases and we spend money on that rather then if we look into using untapped resources such as wind energy, solar energy etc. it could not only improve the environment but also create more jobs for people. This is important because once people have jobs they will get money and be able to spend it on other things which will in turn help to stimulate the economy.
I started reading a book titled "The Green Collar Economy" by Van Jones. It talks about how trying to improve our current environment status could also improve the economy. In the first chapter if the book it states

"There is a wiser and more civilized alternative. Rather then continuing to base our economy on a finite supply of dead things, we can base it on sources that are practically infinite and eternal: the sun, the moon, and the Earth's inner fire."

I would bring this to president Obama's attention. I would ask him to consider looking into these sources so that it can create jobs for others. I would also bring to his attention how that already it has been proven by past related events that by trying to improve the environment actually would improve the economy. The evidence is this

"The energy efficiency efforts of California began in the 1970s and have already shown a green economy is a good economy. By adopting new building codes and appliance standards, Californians saved $56 billion between 1972 and 2006 and saw 1.5 million related jobs created."

I would then begin to brainstorm ideas on new energy sources we could look into and talk about how we should begin putting those plans into action immediately. Following that should be a green environment and a more stable economy!
Green Economy
The Green Collar Economy

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I plan on holding my interview with my mentor Tuesday the 10th and will use my phone to record the interview.

Design Principles

My writing partner Wyatt and I came up with some design principles that we thought would make for a good interview. We thought some good interviews to follow were the interviews done by Mike Wallace because they followed our design principles.

"The Conversation Principle"

One of them would be a "non script sounding" conversation. When watching good examples of interviews we noticed that the interview didn't sound like just a question and answer session. The interviewee gave fairly long in depth answer and provided substantial evidence for their answer. Also, what made the interview sound "non script like" was how the interviewer would ask clarifying questions, if necessary, based off the answer the interviewee gave.

"WALLACE: Dali, first of all let me ask you this, you're a remarkable painter and you've dedicated your life to art, in view of this, why do you behave the way that you do? For instance, you have been known to drive in a car filled to the roof with cauliflowers. You lectured, as I mentioned, once with your head enclosed in a diving helmet and you almost suffocated. You issue bizarre statements about your love for rhinoceros horns and so on. You're a dedicated artist, why do you or why must you do these things?

DALI: Because for this kind of eccentricities correspond with more important and the more tragical part of my life.

WALLACE: The more important and the more tragical part. I don't understand.

DALI: The more philosophical.

WALLACE: Well, what is philosophical about driving in a car full of cauliflowers or lecturing inside a diving helmet?

DALI: Because discover and make one tremendous speech, a most scientific in the Sorbonne in Paris... of what my discovering of the logarithmic curve of cauliflower.

WALLACE: The what?

DALI: logarithmic curve of cauliflower.

WALLACE : Oh yes, the "logarithmic curve"... yes...

DALI: And if in time the logarithmic curve in the horns of rhinoceros -- in this time discover, this is a symbol of chastity, one of the most powerful symbols of modern times."

This is part of an interview Mike Wallace had with Salvador Dali. He asked why it was that he did such strange things and when he didn't understand he asked clarifying questions. This made it sound more like a conversation more then an interview which we thought was an aspect that made the interview good.

"The Prior Knowledge Principle" Another design principle we though makes for a good interview is that the interviewer has prior knowledge of the interviewee. In an interview we watched conducted by Mike Wallace he asked his interviewee Aldous Huxley about a previous essay he wrote. We liked the fact that he had a quote pulled out of that book and used it as evidence to ask a question. We thought it made the interview more professional because Mike came across as very prepared for the interview.

"WALLACE: You write in Enemies of Freedom, you write specifically about the United States. You say this, writing about American political campaigns you say, "All that is needed is money and a candidate who can be coached to look sincere; political principles and plans for specific action have come to lose most of their importance. The personality of the candidate, the way he is projected by the advertising experts, are the things that really matter."

HUXLEY: Well, this is the... during the last campaign, there was a great deal of this kind of statement by the advertising managers of the campaign parties. This idea that the candidates had to be merchandised as though they were so-called two-faced and that you had to depend entirely on the personality.

I mean, personality is important, but there are certainly people with an extremely amiable personality, particularly on TV, who might not necessarily be very good in political... positions of political trust."

"The Connection Principle" We noticed in the Mike Wallace interviews we watched that the interviewer and the interviewee have some sort of connection. It seems that they have spoken before or were not complete strangers. We feel, from experience, there is a much different vibe you get when you do or see an interview that is between two people who have just met for the first time, a more awkward feeling. In the interview we watched with Margret Sanger it states in the beginning that the interview was in no way rehearsed but we felt that while watching the interview it was very smooth and more like a conversation which made it pleasurable to watch and easy to stay focused while watching.

"WALLACE: Do you feel that Birth Control is essential to keep millions of people across the world from starving?

SANGER: Well, I think that Birth Control--if you keep the population more or less static until you pick up your resources, certainly you'll-- keep--prevent their starving.

WALLACE: Well, what's more important -- Birth Control or picking up the resources?

SANGER: Well, picking up the resources there's just a limit to that too. There's just so much -- take Japan -- and she cannot feed they've had the best experts come there when MacArthur was there and the best experts would say that they have twenty million more people than they can feed; she's got to be fed outside in some -- in some way. She's got to have that kind of help if she's going to keep from fighting."

Watch the Interview with Aldous Huxley
Read the Transcript of the Interview

Watch the Interview with Salvador Dali
Read the Transcript of the Interview

Watch the Interview with Margret Sanger
Read the Transcript of the Interview

Example of a Good Interview