Sunday, October 26, 2008
Class Overview
At first, the only reason I took this class was because I wanted to take photography. Now that I actually see how this class works, I really enjoy it. It may not seem that was because I am never on task, but I really do enjoy this class. This class has most definitely helped my writing in so many ways. I now can be confident in what I'm writing about. The thing which I love the most about this class is that if we have any questions about anything, Mr. Ruggieri is always there with some sort of advice. Either saying to start a new topic because that one is just bad, or giving the encouragement to keep going. I also love the freedom of choices to pick what we want to write about. I like the fact that we get time to do these assignments. I think that the use of the random handouts are a good way to see how other authors write. To be honest, I can't think of anything that could be used less. In the next quarter I hope to keep improving enough to boost my SAT scores even more. I need all the help I can get in that department. But I hope I can take away everything that I can and keep using this class in every which way possible.
Class Progress
So, how’s this class working for you?
Overall, I enjoy coming into first period every morning at approximately 7:15 a.m. The atmosphere is relaxing and the people are not annoying (which is essential for a good class). The assignments are do-able and very well explained.
Do you see improvement?
Well. Considering the fact that my Writing SAT Scores that I just got back last Thursday jumped 130 points, I would say there is a little improvement. but honestly, i do feel more comfortable with writing. In the past, i used to dread even thinking about writing a paper, but now I look at it as a challenge.
Likes and Dislikes?
In a sense, I really like the fact that the class is so relaxed, and I hate to say it, but I think too much time is given for writing. Maybe I just write fast, but I think that we are given at least five days for a paper that could be completed in at least one hour. Given it is good for people to sort their thoughts out and take their time, I personally like to be rushed a little more. Maybe even challenge us to finish sooner? On a better note, I like how some things are taught visually, like out Process Analysis segment.
What do you want to see more of?
Like I said, I would like to be pushed to work a little faster, but in theory I could do this myself.
Less of?
This is a toughie. And to be honest I'm not even sure. I really don't have criticism for anything specific.
What are you hoping to see happen next quarter, in the classroom and in your writing.
I am hoping to become even more comfortable with the idea of writing. I want to learn to look at it as a chance to express my beliefs and individual ideas rather than a burden.
Overall, I enjoy coming into first period every morning at approximately 7:15 a.m. The atmosphere is relaxing and the people are not annoying (which is essential for a good class). The assignments are do-able and very well explained.
Do you see improvement?
Well. Considering the fact that my Writing SAT Scores that I just got back last Thursday jumped 130 points, I would say there is a little improvement. but honestly, i do feel more comfortable with writing. In the past, i used to dread even thinking about writing a paper, but now I look at it as a challenge.
Likes and Dislikes?
In a sense, I really like the fact that the class is so relaxed, and I hate to say it, but I think too much time is given for writing. Maybe I just write fast, but I think that we are given at least five days for a paper that could be completed in at least one hour. Given it is good for people to sort their thoughts out and take their time, I personally like to be rushed a little more. Maybe even challenge us to finish sooner? On a better note, I like how some things are taught visually, like out Process Analysis segment.
What do you want to see more of?
Like I said, I would like to be pushed to work a little faster, but in theory I could do this myself.
Less of?
This is a toughie. And to be honest I'm not even sure. I really don't have criticism for anything specific.
What are you hoping to see happen next quarter, in the classroom and in your writing.
I am hoping to become even more comfortable with the idea of writing. I want to learn to look at it as a chance to express my beliefs and individual ideas rather than a burden.
C0llEg3 wr1t1ng
At first, I only took this class because it would look better on my transcript than a study hall. Now I am very glad my guidance counselor talked me into it. Overall, it is a fun class and one bonus to having it first period is that it is a relaxed atmosphere that allows me to transition from sleeping into the honors and advanced classes which follow all day long. While it is relaxed, it does help with grammar and writing skills which are important especially to get a good score on the SAT. The way we learn things is fun also. One thing I really enjoyed was making the grilled cheese sandwiches to learn that you must be specif in giving directions. I think we should do something food related everyday...but I know this is unrealistic. I do not think there is anything that I would really change about the class. I enjoy responding to the blogs and essays. The essay I am working on now is very hard to write but at the same time it is fun because I have to work through the struggles of a blank mind. I really enjoy the class and cannot think of anything in particular that I would suggest changing for the next quarter.
Why i enjoy college writing
College writing has taught me many things. I was never really a good writer. I took College Writing so that it would help me and I would become a better writer. From this first nine weeks I have learned so much. I can already notice a difference in my writing. Now when I write I look for the small things that mean a lot that usually I just pass up because I don’t think it’s a big deal. There are so many advantages for taking this class. I never really noticed how much it helped until I had to write a paper in my literature class and I proof read it and noticed how many mistakes I had. You notice how much of better writer you become. This next nine weeks I hope to become even a better writer so that I can be more prepared for college. The most important thing I have learned from this class is it is ok to make mistakes and ask questions. You never have to hold back on anything. I was always afraid to ask questions because I didn’t want to look dumb asking a stupid question. Now that I have asked questions and just talked to my teachers everything is just so much easier. Now one of my goals for the next nine weeks is to be able to write a college paper. It doesn’t have to be an A college paper but just knowing that I can do it will help me out so much. Another goal is when I write I paper I would like to go throughout the whole paper without making any mistakes. I know if I can do that anything will be possible for me.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Keep it coming!
In the past four years of high school I have taken many different classes. Although I did well in most of them, I never really felt that I would actually use half of the things in learned in them. College writing has been very different. I have seen improvements in my writing already, and that is motivation for me to continue to better my writing.
My favorite thing about college writing is the fact that we are able to choose our topics freely. Yes we have to stick with the prompt, but we choose what we want. This makes writing more fun, and sometimes even easier because we can write about things that we like, or have experienced. Another thing i like about college writing is the one on one time we get. Since there are only a handful of students in the class, the amount of time we get with Mr. Ruggieri is a lot more than we would in a regular sized class. That has been the biggest step in the improvements in my writing. Dislikes I have about the class are doing the bookwork. This does help with picking out the thesis and making us more critical readers, but it gets boring.
The best thing I have learned that improved my writing is that it is okay to break the rules in the right situations. This really gives the paper character and makes it more fun to read. I am still working on improving the "wow" factor in my writing and that is what I really want to happen in the next quarter. I want to write a paper that is actually a college level paper and interesting. I am confident in my ability and in the teachings I will receive throughout the next quarter, and I know I will be able to write that paper.
My favorite thing about college writing is the fact that we are able to choose our topics freely. Yes we have to stick with the prompt, but we choose what we want. This makes writing more fun, and sometimes even easier because we can write about things that we like, or have experienced. Another thing i like about college writing is the one on one time we get. Since there are only a handful of students in the class, the amount of time we get with Mr. Ruggieri is a lot more than we would in a regular sized class. That has been the biggest step in the improvements in my writing. Dislikes I have about the class are doing the bookwork. This does help with picking out the thesis and making us more critical readers, but it gets boring.
The best thing I have learned that improved my writing is that it is okay to break the rules in the right situations. This really gives the paper character and makes it more fun to read. I am still working on improving the "wow" factor in my writing and that is what I really want to happen in the next quarter. I want to write a paper that is actually a college level paper and interesting. I am confident in my ability and in the teachings I will receive throughout the next quarter, and I know I will be able to write that paper.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Why I Love College Writing
College writing is one of my favorite classes. This is because I get to express my love for writing and write about some things that really interest me. We use a lot of different writing styles and each individual story intrigues a lot of interest to me. I have learned to write in so many different ways that I never thought I possibly could. I had a lot of expectations for this class but it turns out I am really enjoying it. I know now what my weaknesses and strong spots of writing are and how I can incorporate these styles into my future papers. I think my favorite part is writing the stories where I can use a lot of description and focus on something that is really personal. The outcome of my stories really surprise me to the point where I can't believe I even wrote that particular story because it seems so well written. I am not trying to blow my own horn but I deffinately think this class is having a positive effect on my writing and making me a better writer than I was before. I plan to continue to improve and succeed in this course and do whatever I can to better my writing skills.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Balance and Progress
[All quotes in the following writing come from A Community of Writers, by Steven Zemelman and Harvey Daniels, copyright 1988.]
Zemelman & Daniels present 15 basic requirements for a beneficial, fulfilling course in writing. I think they’re nearly perfect…but 10 through 15 seem self-explanatory to me…so I’ll just go through the first 9, point out how this class compares, and then list the last 6 as an ‘appendix’ of sorts.
1. “Teachers who understand and appreciate the basic linguistic competence that students bring with them to school, and who therefore have positive expectations for students’ achievements in writing” (20).
A definite match. One of the main reasons this class is enjoyable is that Mr. Ruggieri has positive expectations for his students, and is not the ‘defeatist’ type who will deem someone a permanent failure due to some initial mistakes. He starts by gauging each student’s talents and shortcomings (part of our first blog assignment was even to point these out specifically), and then helping to enhance these talents and surmount the limitations. He neither sets the bar so high that students are overwhelmed, nor so low that students are hard-pressed to find opportunities to improve.
2. “Regular and substantial practice at writing” (21).
What with the weekly blogs, the larger, corresponding projects such as the descriptive essay, and practice during class, words like “regular” and “substantial” definitely come to mind when one examines the frequency of writing practice done for this class. The point is to become more familiar with words in general, and with various sentence structures and methods and approaches to writing. Many of this country’s high school students fail to practice writing often enough to ever familiarize themselves with such things. Many writing teachers, in addition, focus too much on the methods themselves and not on the actual act of using those methods. Thankfully, this course provides enough real writing experience, and though I personally would prefer to have more (specifically, more ungraded assignments that would just allow students to test the waters, so to speak, before moving on to more formal essays), it is sufficient.
“According to NAEP, the average high school student in the United States completes a substantial piece of writing (which NAEP defines as one paragraph or more) about once a month. Now, how could anyone build competence at an activity so complex and demanding as writing by practicing only nine or ten times a year? Clearly, one of the main challenges to all teachers is to devote more student time, more learning time, to actually doing writing” (21).
3. “Instruction in the process of writing--learning how to work at a given writing task in appropriate phases, including prewriting, drafting, and revising” (21).
This is clear in the process we go through each time we write one of the larger essays. We are given ample time in class to plan out each essay, create a rough draft, and revise that draft, developing and eventually solidifying it into a satisfactory piece of writing, which should reflect some kind of improvement in whatever specific area, or “given writing task,” we are working on. There is a definitive process here, a step-by-step, double-sided process of comprehension and action. First, we grasp the basic objective (via discussion, notes, reading, or any combination thereof). Second, we practice (with blog assignments and class work). Third, we work on a final, more substantial project, using those sub-processes of planning, drafting, and revising, ultimately polishing off one more major writing skill. And then we move on to the next skill, now with the ability to integrate the previous one smoothly and fluently, so that each successive essay is better and includes more skills than the preceding one, creating a snowball effect of more and more improved and refined writing.
“The fact is that the better activities, we’ve found, tend to be complex, involving a variety of materials and steps. In contrast, the school world is full of textbook writing assignments, story-starters and activity cards that are nothing if not brief: ‘You are a blob of whipped cream! Write about how you feel!’ On a good day, a few kids may do brilliantly with such assignments, just by luck. But for most it’s an unengaged exercise, filling up a page to someone else’s specifications” (33).
This isn’t just a ‘hit-and-run’ approach to writing, wherein students never learn to improve previous work, only to create more of it. The focus is on quality, not quantity.
Placing emphasis on that variety of materials and steps, I would say this class is working very well for me. Even the fact that we are prompted to state whether, and explain how, this class is working for us says something good about the teacher’s willingness to create a complex, process- and improvement-oriented experience for us as student writers.
My only criticism here is that we spend a little too much class time working on the larger essays, when we could move on to new writing skills, or explore new aspects of the same skill. The last two days or so always seem superfluous to me.
4. “The opportunity to write for real, personally significant purposes” (22).
How many of us know how it feels to write an essay, or even a research paper, about something that one doesn’t care about in the slightest? It’s an awful feeling, one of boredom, desiccation, grudging responsibility, and the distinct and almost overbearing desire to spend your time doing something else. It’s especially horrible when you didn’t bring this on yourself, but were forced to write on this particular subject. This feeling is undoubtedly avoidable and unnecessary in this class, however, due to the wide-ranging subject matter for the blog topics (e.g., picking from that random topic generator that blurted out ideas like “top 10 things I fear” and “top 10 things that make me smile” – you can go virtually anywhere with that) and for the more bulky essays (e.g., for the illustration/exemplification essay, we were offered possible topics, but were also given the option to form any other generalization we pleased). What you are writing about applies directly to your life, not just to some dry academic world existing somewhere beyond the dimensions of your personal interests and day-to-day activities.
If this is not writing for real, personally significant purposes, I don’t know what is. And that’s great, because when students (or anyone else, for that matter) learn to associate writing with these types of purposes, writing becomes an engaging, enjoyable, and useful activity rather than something one does only for school or out of obligation.
This brings me to the related subject of task and maintenance activity.
“In the field of group dynamics . . . off-task behavior is called ‘maintenance,’ in the sense of its being socioemotional or interpersonal activity that maintains people’s ability to work together” (52). “Balancing task and maintenance activities supports the teaching of writing” (53).
Speaking of positive associations with writing, this connection between writing and related--but largely “off-task”--activity can be as important as that between writing and its applicability to an individual’s real-life circumstances. It deviates from the ‘traditional’ classroom atmosphere, and therefore reduces any friction that may arise due to students’ expectations of the routine, tedious, and unfulfilling class work that they have done for almost their entire public education careers.
The balance is clear. Obviously, we spend enough time getting real work done, whether that work comes in the form of writing, reading, discussing, note-taking, or what-have-you. However, we all know that all work and no play would make College Writing a dull course, so, fortunately, we also spend some time on “maintenance” activities such as learning how to juggle and sharing methods of making grilled cheese.
5. “Experience in writing for a wide range of audiences, both inside and outside of school” (23).
Another match. It is not only Mr. Ruggieri who reads our work; we also read each other’s work, and post weekly to a blog that is visible to anyone with Internet access. It may give a writer extra motivation to do well, knowing that his work will be exposed to more than one person’s judgment, and more specifically to those of his peers, who are probably at a similar phase of development in writing and will improve alongside him at a similar pace. This is not to suggest that a teacher’s opinion should be dismissed as less important or trustworthy than a peer’s, but it helps to have a broad array of opinions; after all, no one is perfect, and even a seasoned and talented writer will overlook some things. It also helps to have others whom you don’t know, or don’t know very well, read your writing, because then you don’t know what to expect. You post your work with the knowledge that you might get *any* kind of compliment or criticism in return. Now, the writing is more a form of communication than just an assignment for school.
“[A] teacher can find ways to serve as a coach on the sidelines, rather than judge, jury, and executioner” (221).
6. “Rich and continuous reading experience, including both published writing and the work of peers and teachers” (23).
I think we do see enough of our peers’ work. We also see Mr. Ruggieri’s writing occasionally, which, as this book mentions, many other writing teachers hypocritically refuse to do (they demand that their students reveal personal work and opinions to others, yet won’t risk letting the students see their own, perhaps feeling overly vulnerable to others’ criticism).
As for published writing, that is another thing I’d like to see more of in the next quarter. This quarter, there has been a decent, but not really satisfying, amount. Even if we don’t read these things in class or discuss them in depth, it’s interesting to see many different people’s perspectives on, or uses of, whatever quality of writing we’re currently studying…and especially when those perspectives are coming from both literary figures that are already familiar to us and some who aren’t.
7. “Exposure to models of writing in process and writers at work, including both classmates and skilled adult writers” (24).
Students do need to become aware of different methods and models of the actual process of writing, which may be used in developing their own style. I don’t believe there should ever be one set method or model that students must use, though (that stifles creativity and individuality), so I’m glad that’s not the case in this class.
Seeing writers at work? It would be interesting to see the actual process, what goes through an experienced writer’s mind *while* he or she is writing… I’m not as much interested in watching classmates at work (no offense intended toward anyone), but I’d love to know what, say, Ayn Rand was thinking while she wrote The Fountainhead, or what went through Emerson’s head whilst he created Nature. In the end, though, it doesn’t disappoint me that we don’t see much of this in class, because it’s an unrealistic wish. We obviously can’t see those past writers’ thoughts, because we can’t raise the dead. :-) And it might be difficult to convince a modern-day writer to visit Plum High for a day and give us a tour into his/her writing process. In addition, it might be too time-consuming, considering that the most valuable lessons to be learned in writing are often complex and take quite a lot of time to explain…more than a 41-minute class period, anyway.
8. “Collaborative activities that provide ideas for writing and guidance in revising drafts in progress” (24).
We get plenty of guidance in the process of revision. It might help to do more ‘brainstorming’ types of activities, but in the end, what we already do is good enough, and it has to do with this next rule . . .
9. “One-to-one writing conferences with the teacher” (25).
This is useful due simply to the fact that, although teachers can provide all the general information you need for your next writing project, they can’t provide individualized assistance, suggestions that help *you* directly, unless they get a chance to look over your specific piece of writing and discuss with you how you could improve it. Mr. Ruggieri not only provides this, but also, as implied above, helps us formulate topics and ideas for what we are actually going to write about, based on our personal interests, writing habits, etc. (although sometimes, of course, this isn’t even necessary. But it can be useful).
I haven’t noticed any major improvements in my writing, but this class has definitely helped me with some of the minor issues, and set me on the right track for future improvements. For example, I now practice descriptive writing more often in my free time, whereas it wouldn’t even have occurred to me before that it would be good for me to practice this. It even affects my conversations; I am often searching for more precise ways of showing (with words) what happened when I relate an experience, and for more specific and meaningful words to convey my thoughts and emotions.
What I hope to see more of next quarter is more of the same. A few things seem lacking to me, but, in general, it’s a great class, and definitely my favorite this year…and ever.
* * * * * * * * * * *
10. “Inquiry-oriented classroom activities that involve students with rich sets of data and social interaction, and that focus on specific modes or elements of writing” (25).
11. “Increased use of sentence-combining exercises, which replaces instruction in grammatical terminology” (26).
12. “Mechanics of writing taught in the context of students’ own compositions, rather than in separate exercises and drills” (27).
13. “Moderate marking of the surface structure errors in student papers, focusing on sets or patterns of related errors” (28).
14. “Flexible and cumulative evaluation of writing that stresses revision. The teacher’s written comments include a mixture of praise and criticism, with praise predominating” (28).
15. “Writing as a tool of learning in all subjects across the curriculum” (29).
Zemelman & Daniels present 15 basic requirements for a beneficial, fulfilling course in writing. I think they’re nearly perfect…but 10 through 15 seem self-explanatory to me…so I’ll just go through the first 9, point out how this class compares, and then list the last 6 as an ‘appendix’ of sorts.
1. “Teachers who understand and appreciate the basic linguistic competence that students bring with them to school, and who therefore have positive expectations for students’ achievements in writing” (20).
A definite match. One of the main reasons this class is enjoyable is that Mr. Ruggieri has positive expectations for his students, and is not the ‘defeatist’ type who will deem someone a permanent failure due to some initial mistakes. He starts by gauging each student’s talents and shortcomings (part of our first blog assignment was even to point these out specifically), and then helping to enhance these talents and surmount the limitations. He neither sets the bar so high that students are overwhelmed, nor so low that students are hard-pressed to find opportunities to improve.
2. “Regular and substantial practice at writing” (21).
What with the weekly blogs, the larger, corresponding projects such as the descriptive essay, and practice during class, words like “regular” and “substantial” definitely come to mind when one examines the frequency of writing practice done for this class. The point is to become more familiar with words in general, and with various sentence structures and methods and approaches to writing. Many of this country’s high school students fail to practice writing often enough to ever familiarize themselves with such things. Many writing teachers, in addition, focus too much on the methods themselves and not on the actual act of using those methods. Thankfully, this course provides enough real writing experience, and though I personally would prefer to have more (specifically, more ungraded assignments that would just allow students to test the waters, so to speak, before moving on to more formal essays), it is sufficient.
“According to NAEP, the average high school student in the United States completes a substantial piece of writing (which NAEP defines as one paragraph or more) about once a month. Now, how could anyone build competence at an activity so complex and demanding as writing by practicing only nine or ten times a year? Clearly, one of the main challenges to all teachers is to devote more student time, more learning time, to actually doing writing” (21).
3. “Instruction in the process of writing--learning how to work at a given writing task in appropriate phases, including prewriting, drafting, and revising” (21).
This is clear in the process we go through each time we write one of the larger essays. We are given ample time in class to plan out each essay, create a rough draft, and revise that draft, developing and eventually solidifying it into a satisfactory piece of writing, which should reflect some kind of improvement in whatever specific area, or “given writing task,” we are working on. There is a definitive process here, a step-by-step, double-sided process of comprehension and action. First, we grasp the basic objective (via discussion, notes, reading, or any combination thereof). Second, we practice (with blog assignments and class work). Third, we work on a final, more substantial project, using those sub-processes of planning, drafting, and revising, ultimately polishing off one more major writing skill. And then we move on to the next skill, now with the ability to integrate the previous one smoothly and fluently, so that each successive essay is better and includes more skills than the preceding one, creating a snowball effect of more and more improved and refined writing.
“The fact is that the better activities, we’ve found, tend to be complex, involving a variety of materials and steps. In contrast, the school world is full of textbook writing assignments, story-starters and activity cards that are nothing if not brief: ‘You are a blob of whipped cream! Write about how you feel!’ On a good day, a few kids may do brilliantly with such assignments, just by luck. But for most it’s an unengaged exercise, filling up a page to someone else’s specifications” (33).
This isn’t just a ‘hit-and-run’ approach to writing, wherein students never learn to improve previous work, only to create more of it. The focus is on quality, not quantity.
Placing emphasis on that variety of materials and steps, I would say this class is working very well for me. Even the fact that we are prompted to state whether, and explain how, this class is working for us says something good about the teacher’s willingness to create a complex, process- and improvement-oriented experience for us as student writers.
My only criticism here is that we spend a little too much class time working on the larger essays, when we could move on to new writing skills, or explore new aspects of the same skill. The last two days or so always seem superfluous to me.
4. “The opportunity to write for real, personally significant purposes” (22).
How many of us know how it feels to write an essay, or even a research paper, about something that one doesn’t care about in the slightest? It’s an awful feeling, one of boredom, desiccation, grudging responsibility, and the distinct and almost overbearing desire to spend your time doing something else. It’s especially horrible when you didn’t bring this on yourself, but were forced to write on this particular subject. This feeling is undoubtedly avoidable and unnecessary in this class, however, due to the wide-ranging subject matter for the blog topics (e.g., picking from that random topic generator that blurted out ideas like “top 10 things I fear” and “top 10 things that make me smile” – you can go virtually anywhere with that) and for the more bulky essays (e.g., for the illustration/exemplification essay, we were offered possible topics, but were also given the option to form any other generalization we pleased). What you are writing about applies directly to your life, not just to some dry academic world existing somewhere beyond the dimensions of your personal interests and day-to-day activities.
If this is not writing for real, personally significant purposes, I don’t know what is. And that’s great, because when students (or anyone else, for that matter) learn to associate writing with these types of purposes, writing becomes an engaging, enjoyable, and useful activity rather than something one does only for school or out of obligation.
This brings me to the related subject of task and maintenance activity.
“In the field of group dynamics . . . off-task behavior is called ‘maintenance,’ in the sense of its being socioemotional or interpersonal activity that maintains people’s ability to work together” (52). “Balancing task and maintenance activities supports the teaching of writing” (53).
Speaking of positive associations with writing, this connection between writing and related--but largely “off-task”--activity can be as important as that between writing and its applicability to an individual’s real-life circumstances. It deviates from the ‘traditional’ classroom atmosphere, and therefore reduces any friction that may arise due to students’ expectations of the routine, tedious, and unfulfilling class work that they have done for almost their entire public education careers.
The balance is clear. Obviously, we spend enough time getting real work done, whether that work comes in the form of writing, reading, discussing, note-taking, or what-have-you. However, we all know that all work and no play would make College Writing a dull course, so, fortunately, we also spend some time on “maintenance” activities such as learning how to juggle and sharing methods of making grilled cheese.
5. “Experience in writing for a wide range of audiences, both inside and outside of school” (23).
Another match. It is not only Mr. Ruggieri who reads our work; we also read each other’s work, and post weekly to a blog that is visible to anyone with Internet access. It may give a writer extra motivation to do well, knowing that his work will be exposed to more than one person’s judgment, and more specifically to those of his peers, who are probably at a similar phase of development in writing and will improve alongside him at a similar pace. This is not to suggest that a teacher’s opinion should be dismissed as less important or trustworthy than a peer’s, but it helps to have a broad array of opinions; after all, no one is perfect, and even a seasoned and talented writer will overlook some things. It also helps to have others whom you don’t know, or don’t know very well, read your writing, because then you don’t know what to expect. You post your work with the knowledge that you might get *any* kind of compliment or criticism in return. Now, the writing is more a form of communication than just an assignment for school.
“[A] teacher can find ways to serve as a coach on the sidelines, rather than judge, jury, and executioner” (221).
6. “Rich and continuous reading experience, including both published writing and the work of peers and teachers” (23).
I think we do see enough of our peers’ work. We also see Mr. Ruggieri’s writing occasionally, which, as this book mentions, many other writing teachers hypocritically refuse to do (they demand that their students reveal personal work and opinions to others, yet won’t risk letting the students see their own, perhaps feeling overly vulnerable to others’ criticism).
As for published writing, that is another thing I’d like to see more of in the next quarter. This quarter, there has been a decent, but not really satisfying, amount. Even if we don’t read these things in class or discuss them in depth, it’s interesting to see many different people’s perspectives on, or uses of, whatever quality of writing we’re currently studying…and especially when those perspectives are coming from both literary figures that are already familiar to us and some who aren’t.
7. “Exposure to models of writing in process and writers at work, including both classmates and skilled adult writers” (24).
Students do need to become aware of different methods and models of the actual process of writing, which may be used in developing their own style. I don’t believe there should ever be one set method or model that students must use, though (that stifles creativity and individuality), so I’m glad that’s not the case in this class.
Seeing writers at work? It would be interesting to see the actual process, what goes through an experienced writer’s mind *while* he or she is writing… I’m not as much interested in watching classmates at work (no offense intended toward anyone), but I’d love to know what, say, Ayn Rand was thinking while she wrote The Fountainhead, or what went through Emerson’s head whilst he created Nature. In the end, though, it doesn’t disappoint me that we don’t see much of this in class, because it’s an unrealistic wish. We obviously can’t see those past writers’ thoughts, because we can’t raise the dead. :-) And it might be difficult to convince a modern-day writer to visit Plum High for a day and give us a tour into his/her writing process. In addition, it might be too time-consuming, considering that the most valuable lessons to be learned in writing are often complex and take quite a lot of time to explain…more than a 41-minute class period, anyway.
8. “Collaborative activities that provide ideas for writing and guidance in revising drafts in progress” (24).
We get plenty of guidance in the process of revision. It might help to do more ‘brainstorming’ types of activities, but in the end, what we already do is good enough, and it has to do with this next rule . . .
9. “One-to-one writing conferences with the teacher” (25).
This is useful due simply to the fact that, although teachers can provide all the general information you need for your next writing project, they can’t provide individualized assistance, suggestions that help *you* directly, unless they get a chance to look over your specific piece of writing and discuss with you how you could improve it. Mr. Ruggieri not only provides this, but also, as implied above, helps us formulate topics and ideas for what we are actually going to write about, based on our personal interests, writing habits, etc. (although sometimes, of course, this isn’t even necessary. But it can be useful).
I haven’t noticed any major improvements in my writing, but this class has definitely helped me with some of the minor issues, and set me on the right track for future improvements. For example, I now practice descriptive writing more often in my free time, whereas it wouldn’t even have occurred to me before that it would be good for me to practice this. It even affects my conversations; I am often searching for more precise ways of showing (with words) what happened when I relate an experience, and for more specific and meaningful words to convey my thoughts and emotions.
What I hope to see more of next quarter is more of the same. A few things seem lacking to me, but, in general, it’s a great class, and definitely my favorite this year…and ever.
* * * * * * * * * * *
10. “Inquiry-oriented classroom activities that involve students with rich sets of data and social interaction, and that focus on specific modes or elements of writing” (25).
11. “Increased use of sentence-combining exercises, which replaces instruction in grammatical terminology” (26).
12. “Mechanics of writing taught in the context of students’ own compositions, rather than in separate exercises and drills” (27).
13. “Moderate marking of the surface structure errors in student papers, focusing on sets or patterns of related errors” (28).
14. “Flexible and cumulative evaluation of writing that stresses revision. The teacher’s written comments include a mixture of praise and criticism, with praise predominating” (28).
15. “Writing as a tool of learning in all subjects across the curriculum” (29).
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Why I Enjoy College Writing
College Writing was the class I was most excited to take because of my love to write. I had very high expectations for the class, and my expectations were highly exceeded. I have been made so much more aware of well written stories; catchy introduction, dialogue, and a great ending. When I read now, I look for these things which I would not have done previous to taking this class. Something I really enjoy about the class is the different papers we write. They all seem to have very different styles, and it forces us writers to get out of our comfort zone and write about things we would never write about. I also really enjoy doing the blogs simply because it is interesting and I enjoy reading how my classmates are doing. I also think the class is very well taught, and I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I do if the teacher wasn't good. Because writing is so important to get into college, I would encourage and reccommend this class to any and every college bound student. Also, I really like the way things are headed and hope for more new writing challenges in the next quarter.
College Writing: Improving and Perfecting Writing Skills
At first signing up for college writing did not exactly seem like the most exciting and interesting class to take. Although I knew it was a good choice for me to take in order to better my writing skills. Through the several weeks I have taken this class I have discovered that not only was it an excellent choice to take this class but it is extremely helpful and can still be fun as well.
The techniques and lesson plans used to teach this class are very unique but necessary. I would imagine it is hard to teach a college writing class to juniors and seniors first thing in the morning but it has worked out fairly well. The class has brought a new look upon writing which has helped me out a lot. I'm extremely glad I took this class because I am already getting a lot out of it. From the essays and blogs at the beginning of the year I have already seen great improvement in my technique and skills. However I understand that there is still a long way for me to go, but this class has definitely put me on the right track.
I like the whole idea of free writing and allowing us to take our ideas on certain topics and expressing them through our writing. Not only will it in the end improve our skills but it allows us to express how we truly feel about some topics. I also like the way new ideas are brought to the class such as our, "how to make grill cheese," day to introduce us into the next topic we are going to be going into.
For the next quarter of college writing I hope to improve my writing even more than I already have because I feel that it will help me in the long run and is very useful not only in college but still while I am in high school.
The techniques and lesson plans used to teach this class are very unique but necessary. I would imagine it is hard to teach a college writing class to juniors and seniors first thing in the morning but it has worked out fairly well. The class has brought a new look upon writing which has helped me out a lot. I'm extremely glad I took this class because I am already getting a lot out of it. From the essays and blogs at the beginning of the year I have already seen great improvement in my technique and skills. However I understand that there is still a long way for me to go, but this class has definitely put me on the right track.
I like the whole idea of free writing and allowing us to take our ideas on certain topics and expressing them through our writing. Not only will it in the end improve our skills but it allows us to express how we truly feel about some topics. I also like the way new ideas are brought to the class such as our, "how to make grill cheese," day to introduce us into the next topic we are going to be going into.
For the next quarter of college writing I hope to improve my writing even more than I already have because I feel that it will help me in the long run and is very useful not only in college but still while I am in high school.
College Writing: Better than a shrink
A couple of months ago, I didn't like the thought of having to write a one hundred word paragraph for any class. I wasn't the worst writer in the history of man-kind, but I wouldn't of called me a great writer either. This class has definitely helped. At the beginning, I had no idea of what was in store for me when seeing my grade on the fall diagnostic essay. I knew that I had to learn for college. My writing has definitely improved in my opinion because I feel that I have a better understanding of writing descriptively, as well as showing and not just telling what is going on. This new knowledge helped my narrative essay. It was also helpful that our class had an illustration/persuasive essay because it is a similar type of writing to the fall diagnostic essay. My favorite parts of class are some of the cool essays that Mr. Ruggieri gives us. My favorite is the cliche paper. I never knew that too many cliches in a paper could make it sound stupid or unprofessional. The Rick Riley essays are very entertaining because I am a big sports fan, and I always see him on T.V. shows like Sportscenter and Pardon the Interruption. I do not really care for the essays in the writing book very much, and I wouldn't mind seeing less of of those. I do enjoy hands on activities like juggling and making grilled cheese sandwiches, and these activities give me a better understanding of what it takes to write a how to-paper for someone who doesn't know how to do something. I hope to see similar class activities in the next quarter, and I hope that the improvement of my writing will become evident.
College Writing: Thumbs Up
So far I am really enjoying the course of college writing. I like to write very much but, there is a lot about writing that I need to improve on and learn about. I have been learning about many different aspects of writing that I feel are making me a better writer and more informed. Showing rather than telling is one of the biggest things. I've realized how easy it is to just write and write by telling and not really describing well enough to get a clear and accurate point across. Different articles in class that we read also were a good way to illustrate this skill and it helped me to understand how to do it better. I really like how we are free to write with our own personal style on the essays to express ourselves. Different tips and techniques we have learned in class have aiding in my writing also. I feel I can do better and better on the assignments. I am not such a huge fan of some of the book assignments we did, they were more on the boring side in my opinion. I actually enjoy coming to this class more so than many of my other classes. I am hoping that what we continue to do in class will help to improve me even more for when I write in other classes and really in college. I hope to see more of the same types of activities and assignments in the next nine weeks and also some different and interesting new ones. So far, college writing gets a thumbs up from me.
College writing: Improving the overall quality of my life by 2 to 3%
I am enjoying college writing so quality far. At first I thought I would hate it because writing is my least favorite think to do...plus I failed the first 2 or 3 essays. But the class isn't so bad now. I like how we are pretty free in what we get to write about, and not stuck to one topic like in other classes. If I had to pick one thing I didn't like about the class it would probably be just how hard the essays are graded. I would say I have improved a lot however. I don't know if it is evident in my writing that I'm improving, but I feel like I have a better understanding of what good writing is. For example, how good writing usually shows the readers instead of telling them, and also uses good examples. I expect more of what we have already been doing in the second quarter, and I hope to keep improving my writing more and more as the class goes on.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Blog 6 Archive: How Stuff Works
One of the great skills for collegiate writing is summarizing--taking something long /complex and shortening/simplifying it. To tie this skill in with the new unit, you will be summarizing a process. Go to howstuffworks.com, a site designed to explain the process of virtually anything, and select a process to summarize. Choose anything--an amplifier, an airbag, the stock market. Read about it, and in your own words, summarize the process so we can all learn about it too.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Smart Spoon
How can your spoon taste your food for you?
To do this, you need an intelligent spoon. This handy gadget, developed by two MIT students in 2005, uses its sensors to measure the different qualities in your food as it in the cooking process. Using its aluminum, gold, and zinc sensors, which you can see through its clear exterior, the spoon measures the foods' temperature, viscosity, salinity, and acidity. You can then hook it up to your computer and your intelligent spoon can then tell you exactly what you need to add to your concoction. One of the purposes for this crazy invention could be to help clumsy or new cooks learn in the kitchen and start to feel comfortable cooking without their spoon. Although it might be awhile before this spoon ends up in stores, you could always settle for a microwave sensor smart spoon, that changes color when the food is hot enough.
Monday, October 13, 2008
How Luge Works
Luge is a fascinating sport. It is one of the biggest rushes of adrenalin one can ever get. The sport of luge is a very dangerous sport. In my opinion I think you have to be crazy to participate in luge. It takes lots of different things to make luge possible. Equipment, training, the track, the actual race and the physics all play a key roll in luge. Without any of these things luge would not exist.
In luge you need to have the sled. The sled consists of a pod, handle, bow, runner, and a bridge. These parts make up the whole sled. Also needed is the tack. There are two different types of tracks in luge. Natural-track and artificial-track luge. Natural-track luge has hardly any slope on the track. Artificial-track luge has a much greater slope and higher-banked walls. In a luge race, there are Men's singles, women's singles and gender-neutral doubles. At the top of the track there are handles that you swing back and forth on to send your self down the hill. Sound fun right? Once approaching the first hill, you have to lay down and stay flat to gain speed.
Physics has a lot to do with luge. Force and inertia, gravity, friction, aerodynamic drag, and g-force play a critical part on luge. If one of these is off by anything, something can go seriously wrong. To be physically ready to be a luger, is tremendously strong in the upper body. Luger's have to swim, weight train, and preform calisthenics in the off season to build their upper body. Luger's are some of the most physically fit athletes out there. So who wants to be a luger?
In luge you need to have the sled. The sled consists of a pod, handle, bow, runner, and a bridge. These parts make up the whole sled. Also needed is the tack. There are two different types of tracks in luge. Natural-track and artificial-track luge. Natural-track luge has hardly any slope on the track. Artificial-track luge has a much greater slope and higher-banked walls. In a luge race, there are Men's singles, women's singles and gender-neutral doubles. At the top of the track there are handles that you swing back and forth on to send your self down the hill. Sound fun right? Once approaching the first hill, you have to lay down and stay flat to gain speed.
Physics has a lot to do with luge. Force and inertia, gravity, friction, aerodynamic drag, and g-force play a critical part on luge. If one of these is off by anything, something can go seriously wrong. To be physically ready to be a luger, is tremendously strong in the upper body. Luger's have to swim, weight train, and preform calisthenics in the off season to build their upper body. Luger's are some of the most physically fit athletes out there. So who wants to be a luger?
How Cell Phones Work
Cell phones are currently used all over the United States by millions of different people. They are such an amazing device that not only can you talk to just about anyone but you are provided several great and useful functions such as email by the touch of a button, a handy calculator, etc. But have you ever wondered how a cell phone actually works? Although cell phones may appear simple and easy to use to many, they are much more complex than they look.
One thing I bet you did not know was a cell phone is actually a radio, of course more it is quite more stylish but it is still a radio. Fascinating isn't it? One way to understand the impediment of the cell phone is to compare it to a walkie-talkie.
The operation of a cell phone works within the phone attracting such things called cells. Cells switch as they move around, making them work in several different locations. Those cells are what make cell phones hold a conversation driving hundreds of miles in different directions. Each of these cells also has a base station which consists of a tower and a small building containing the equipment for the cells to operate. A single one of these cells in an analog cell-phone uses one-seventh of the available duplex voice channel. That is so it has a unique set of frequencies and there are no conflicts within phone conversations.
Cell phones also vary in cost for the amount you use them and sometimes who you are talking to. The cell phone towers by where you live differ in how many there are by how big your city/state is. However even though you may live in a big city it does not mean your phone will be any different than someone living in a smaller city because of the number of towers. It only means that there are more towers because there are more people living there and using their cell phones more.
Cell phones are a simple yet complex addition to this society today. They can difficult when understanding how they work but easy when using them. They are extremely significant and helpful in the society we have today.
One thing I bet you did not know was a cell phone is actually a radio, of course more it is quite more stylish but it is still a radio. Fascinating isn't it? One way to understand the impediment of the cell phone is to compare it to a walkie-talkie.
The operation of a cell phone works within the phone attracting such things called cells. Cells switch as they move around, making them work in several different locations. Those cells are what make cell phones hold a conversation driving hundreds of miles in different directions. Each of these cells also has a base station which consists of a tower and a small building containing the equipment for the cells to operate. A single one of these cells in an analog cell-phone uses one-seventh of the available duplex voice channel. That is so it has a unique set of frequencies and there are no conflicts within phone conversations.
Cell phones also vary in cost for the amount you use them and sometimes who you are talking to. The cell phone towers by where you live differ in how many there are by how big your city/state is. However even though you may live in a big city it does not mean your phone will be any different than someone living in a smaller city because of the number of towers. It only means that there are more towers because there are more people living there and using their cell phones more.
Cell phones are a simple yet complex addition to this society today. They can difficult when understanding how they work but easy when using them. They are extremely significant and helpful in the society we have today.
How A First Down Works
Football is a major pastime in the United States. It goes from Pop Warner football for little kids to playing High School Football. Then if you’re lucky you move on to play in college. For those with extreme talent will be able to play in the NFL.
One of the main goals in football for the two teams is to receive a first down. The offense must gain 10 yards within a series of four plays. It is not always easy to get the first down. If you do not get the first down you have to give the ball up to the other team. Now not only is not easy for the players to get the first down it is also very hard at times for the referee to measure whether or not the ball crossed the line. In America today we have a lot of technology to help out with the problem but it is still hard at times. It is very hard for the viewers who are watching it on television because they cannot see whether the ball is before the line, on the line, or past the line.
You also have people working the sticks on the sideline to also give better views on the first down. If the refs don’t have a good view or they aren’t sure what to call they call for the sticks. That will tell you almost every time whether the team receives a first down or not. First downs determine how the game goes. Normally whoever has the more first downs has a better chance of winning the game!
One of the main goals in football for the two teams is to receive a first down. The offense must gain 10 yards within a series of four plays. It is not always easy to get the first down. If you do not get the first down you have to give the ball up to the other team. Now not only is not easy for the players to get the first down it is also very hard at times for the referee to measure whether or not the ball crossed the line. In America today we have a lot of technology to help out with the problem but it is still hard at times. It is very hard for the viewers who are watching it on television because they cannot see whether the ball is before the line, on the line, or past the line.
You also have people working the sticks on the sideline to also give better views on the first down. If the refs don’t have a good view or they aren’t sure what to call they call for the sticks. That will tell you almost every time whether the team receives a first down or not. First downs determine how the game goes. Normally whoever has the more first downs has a better chance of winning the game!
How Heart Attacks Work
From inside the body, a heart attack is more predictable than one might think. Coronary Artery Disease is the most popular cause and it occurs when the arteries get clogged with a fatty substance that builds up in the walls. It builds up when there is too much fat and cholesterol in a person's diet. When that much of the stuff forms as the blood moves through, a blood clot can form. During a heart attack the heart muscle becomes damaged when the supply of oxygen gets cut off. If there is no blood pumping to the heart, it stops beating and therefore causes a heart attack.
Heart Attacks often be explained by medical pasts such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, or by a family history of heart disease. But they also be explained by external circumstances like weather or the time of day are some occasions that pose greater risk for people with heart disease. At certain times of the year, heart-attack rates increase, and the initial reason in that trend is hard to avoid.
Roughly 1.1 million people suffer heart attacks every year and just about half of those heart attacks result in death.
Heart Attacks often be explained by medical pasts such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, or by a family history of heart disease. But they also be explained by external circumstances like weather or the time of day are some occasions that pose greater risk for people with heart disease. At certain times of the year, heart-attack rates increase, and the initial reason in that trend is hard to avoid.
Roughly 1.1 million people suffer heart attacks every year and just about half of those heart attacks result in death.
How Marriage Works
Most if not all people at one point in their lives will either attend a wedding, be in a wedding party, or have a wedding of their own. But how many that attend a wedding actually know what goes into the legal process of getting married?
Laws that go into getting married are different in every state, something that is common however is that it can get very complicated. For example, many states require marriage licenses, and beyond that many couples decide to sign prenuptial agreements, also known as pre-nups. These pre-nups are agreements signed by the engaged couple. Because divorce is so common, pre-nups are very common because they are a written agreement as to who gets what if the marriage were to fail. Next, in some states not everyone is eligible for a marriage license, but it is required to get married. In order to get a marriage license, an application is to be filled out by the engaged couple. Many do not know there is a fee that comes along with the application.
Something that may be surprising are the amount of benefits that can come with getting married in the eyes of the law; insurance, visitation rights, social security, and medicare. Also, it has been studied that married couples are less likely to be in poverty. Who knew?
So next time you hear someone is engaged to be married, think of the legal requirements that are going to have to take place, and also the legal benefits that come from the marriage.
Laws that go into getting married are different in every state, something that is common however is that it can get very complicated. For example, many states require marriage licenses, and beyond that many couples decide to sign prenuptial agreements, also known as pre-nups. These pre-nups are agreements signed by the engaged couple. Because divorce is so common, pre-nups are very common because they are a written agreement as to who gets what if the marriage were to fail. Next, in some states not everyone is eligible for a marriage license, but it is required to get married. In order to get a marriage license, an application is to be filled out by the engaged couple. Many do not know there is a fee that comes along with the application.
Something that may be surprising are the amount of benefits that can come with getting married in the eyes of the law; insurance, visitation rights, social security, and medicare. Also, it has been studied that married couples are less likely to be in poverty. Who knew?
So next time you hear someone is engaged to be married, think of the legal requirements that are going to have to take place, and also the legal benefits that come from the marriage.
Inner Workings of a Riot
A riot is like a fire. It requires fuel (the anger or fear, usually over a prolonged period of time, of a large group of people) and a spark (generally one obvious and unforgivable act of injustice). With these two requirements fulfilled, an explosion of raging heat consumes the group and the mob mentality is born.
What is mob mentality exactly, and how does it work? Usually, people in a riot act on situational or circumstantial stimuli, not on their deepest and longest-held moral values. So, the mob mentality is a temporary attitude that people adopt due to unwarranted excitement or desperation. The chaotic nature of a full-scale riot makes it easy to fall right into step with everyone around you, because you become anonymous; you are just one small component of a large, seemingly unstoppable movement, and your actions seem just as meaningless, just as senselessly violent, as others’.
The cause of the extreme anger or fear can be any kind of widespread problem that, for too long, has gone unsolved or even ignored. Racial discrimination and economic conflict are two of the more common sources of the kind of frustration that can serve as fuel for a riot. The trigger, or “spark,” of the riot itself is the action that increases the tension to an unbearable degree. It is the last straw, so to speak. The injustice (or seeming injustice) could be tolerated before, with its milder intensity, but now it has become totally unacceptable.
Riots can also be sparked by sudden or temporary, rather than prolonged, frustration that opposes a group of people’s strongest values or way of thinking. For example, in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the group of people waiting for their ration of the anesthetizing drug known as soma start a riot when John, a nonconformist and would-be revolutionary, throws the soma out the window, meanwhile shouting about their need for freedom from mindless loyalty to social stability. (The whole situation is kind of ironic, if you think about it.)
If riots are to be avoided, people must take the time to compromise and solve the problems at hand, so that this deep-seated rage and fear is not built up to begin with. These “fires,” after all, can spread, and one minor event can trigger a long chain reaction of pointless violence.
What is mob mentality exactly, and how does it work? Usually, people in a riot act on situational or circumstantial stimuli, not on their deepest and longest-held moral values. So, the mob mentality is a temporary attitude that people adopt due to unwarranted excitement or desperation. The chaotic nature of a full-scale riot makes it easy to fall right into step with everyone around you, because you become anonymous; you are just one small component of a large, seemingly unstoppable movement, and your actions seem just as meaningless, just as senselessly violent, as others’.
The cause of the extreme anger or fear can be any kind of widespread problem that, for too long, has gone unsolved or even ignored. Racial discrimination and economic conflict are two of the more common sources of the kind of frustration that can serve as fuel for a riot. The trigger, or “spark,” of the riot itself is the action that increases the tension to an unbearable degree. It is the last straw, so to speak. The injustice (or seeming injustice) could be tolerated before, with its milder intensity, but now it has become totally unacceptable.
Riots can also be sparked by sudden or temporary, rather than prolonged, frustration that opposes a group of people’s strongest values or way of thinking. For example, in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, the group of people waiting for their ration of the anesthetizing drug known as soma start a riot when John, a nonconformist and would-be revolutionary, throws the soma out the window, meanwhile shouting about their need for freedom from mindless loyalty to social stability. (The whole situation is kind of ironic, if you think about it.)
If riots are to be avoided, people must take the time to compromise and solve the problems at hand, so that this deep-seated rage and fear is not built up to begin with. These “fires,” after all, can spread, and one minor event can trigger a long chain reaction of pointless violence.
HOW A CLUTCH WORKS
If you have never driven a manual car before, you may not even know what a clutch is. But, if you do drive a stick, you may have forgotten you even have one, because it becomes second nature. While many know how to drive a stick shift, few actually know what happens when the clutch pedal is engaged and disengaged. So lets take a look at what actually happens when you shift gears.
Friction is the main idea behind the whole process. In the clutch, there is a flywheel with teeth on it that connects to the engine and a clutch plate that connects to the transmission. Now after driving along your RPM's (Revolutions Per Minute) reach about 3,000 and it's time to shift. As of now with your foot off the clutch pedal, the pressure plate pushes the clutch plate against the the flywheel by springs. The clutch plate and flywheel are now spinning at the same speed and transmitting force to the wheels. When you push in the clutch pedal to shift gears, the springs pull back the pressure plate and the clutch plate, leaving the flywheel spinning at the same speed and the clutch plate slowing. Now you must move to a higher gear if accelerating or a lower gear if decelerating. Once in the correct gear, quickly press the accelerator slightly and let the clutch pedal out at the same time. If you matched the RPM's correctly, it should make for a smooth shift with little wear on the clutch plate.
It can be hard to learn to drive a stick, but if you know what is actually going on when you push and let off of the clutch it may just make it easier.
Friction is the main idea behind the whole process. In the clutch, there is a flywheel with teeth on it that connects to the engine and a clutch plate that connects to the transmission. Now after driving along your RPM's (Revolutions Per Minute) reach about 3,000 and it's time to shift. As of now with your foot off the clutch pedal, the pressure plate pushes the clutch plate against the the flywheel by springs. The clutch plate and flywheel are now spinning at the same speed and transmitting force to the wheels. When you push in the clutch pedal to shift gears, the springs pull back the pressure plate and the clutch plate, leaving the flywheel spinning at the same speed and the clutch plate slowing. Now you must move to a higher gear if accelerating or a lower gear if decelerating. Once in the correct gear, quickly press the accelerator slightly and let the clutch pedal out at the same time. If you matched the RPM's correctly, it should make for a smooth shift with little wear on the clutch plate.
It can be hard to learn to drive a stick, but if you know what is actually going on when you push and let off of the clutch it may just make it easier.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
How Seat Belts Work
Most people take seat belts as an option, but little do they know, seat belts save over thousands of lives each year. Over 7,000 fatal deaths could have been prevented if those victims were wearing a seat belt. They reduce the risk of death for passengers by 50 percent. It is by law that each passenger should wear a seat belt when they have entered a car. Each time you wear a seat belt, you are reducing the risk of serious injury to yourself.
Seat belts are designed to keep you from flying through the windshield of even flying towards the dashboard. When the car is brought to a sudden stop, the inertia, the tendency to fly forward, triggers the belt to lock so the passenger won't fly off of their seat. Even though the belt is just a piece of material strapped across your body, it's intentions of saving your life are drastic and should be taken into much consideration when one steps into a vehicle. The typical seat belt consists of a lap belt, resting over the pelvis, and a shoulder belt across your chest. Both parts are designed to hold the passenger in place during their ride. This is one of the more complex types of belts worn in a moving vehicle. Most belts seen on roller coasters are just lap belt. When in this case, they do prevent most movement for the degree of the car. When there is a belt present in a vehicle, it should be the first you put on prior to moving.
As a passenger's initial speed increases, it takes a greater force to bring the passenger to a stop. The faster you go, the more serious damage your likely to receive in the presence of an accident. Load limiters are used to release a little more belt webbing when great force is applied. This helps to not completely jerk the passenger forward from their initial seat. Load limiters rely on a torsion bar which will twist when force is applied and will lock the belt to keep the passenger in place. In less severe accidents, the torsion bar will hold its shape. But when too much force is applied, the torsion bar will twist slightly. The mechanism used to lock the belt is the pretensioner. The pretensioner pulls in on the belt to keep you in place. The pretensioner is wired to activate the air bag in serious crashes. Each piece of the seat belt is important to saving your life.
Over the years, seat belts have proven to be the far most important safety device in cars and trucks. Technology is working to improve the ways of the seat belt and make it more complex for riders. Each time one enters a car, the first thing they should do is put on their seat belt. This is to ensure that any accident will be less fatal because of the safety the seat belt brings.
Seat belts are designed to keep you from flying through the windshield of even flying towards the dashboard. When the car is brought to a sudden stop, the inertia, the tendency to fly forward, triggers the belt to lock so the passenger won't fly off of their seat. Even though the belt is just a piece of material strapped across your body, it's intentions of saving your life are drastic and should be taken into much consideration when one steps into a vehicle. The typical seat belt consists of a lap belt, resting over the pelvis, and a shoulder belt across your chest. Both parts are designed to hold the passenger in place during their ride. This is one of the more complex types of belts worn in a moving vehicle. Most belts seen on roller coasters are just lap belt. When in this case, they do prevent most movement for the degree of the car. When there is a belt present in a vehicle, it should be the first you put on prior to moving.
As a passenger's initial speed increases, it takes a greater force to bring the passenger to a stop. The faster you go, the more serious damage your likely to receive in the presence of an accident. Load limiters are used to release a little more belt webbing when great force is applied. This helps to not completely jerk the passenger forward from their initial seat. Load limiters rely on a torsion bar which will twist when force is applied and will lock the belt to keep the passenger in place. In less severe accidents, the torsion bar will hold its shape. But when too much force is applied, the torsion bar will twist slightly. The mechanism used to lock the belt is the pretensioner. The pretensioner pulls in on the belt to keep you in place. The pretensioner is wired to activate the air bag in serious crashes. Each piece of the seat belt is important to saving your life.
Over the years, seat belts have proven to be the far most important safety device in cars and trucks. Technology is working to improve the ways of the seat belt and make it more complex for riders. Each time one enters a car, the first thing they should do is put on their seat belt. This is to ensure that any accident will be less fatal because of the safety the seat belt brings.
How Silly String Works
There are very few people who are not familiar with Silly String. Although most people have used this sticky spray, many do not know about its other use, besides just being something you spray on your sleeping friends at a slumber party.
Silly String has been used by American and British troops in Iraq as a technique for finding hidden traps. Invisible wires can be found by spraying Silly String down halls or through doors. Silly String is light enough to land on these invisible wires without breaking them, which may set off explosives, and let soldiers know where these traps may lie.
Researchers knew nothing about Silly String, except for who introduced it, Julius Samann, in 1969. In 1972 the United States Patent disagreed with researchers and described Silly String as an aerosol liquid that becomes a slightly tacky spring when sprayed. The Patent said that the inventors of Silly String are Robert P. Cox and Leonard A. Fish from Wham-O Manufacturing Company, which also made the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee.
Silly String is made up of several different chemicals. It starts out in the can as a liquid and becomes a never ending string when it is sprayed. This string is light and somewhat adhesive and cohesive. It sticks to walls and clothing, and it stays together in one long piece. However, it is more cohesive and it takes more fore to pull it apart than to pull if off of a wall. The foam and the skin of Silly String is made of three main ingredients, resin, a surfactant, and a propellant. The resin forms the structure of the strand, and keeps the strands from falling apart. The surfactant helps the resin turn in to a foam and expand. The propellant forces ingredients out of the aerosol can, without this there would not be any foam. The high pressure is needed in the can to keep the Silly String a liquid in the can, because with normal air pressure the propellant would make it a gas.
It is interesting to know how Silly String works because it is such a well known and highly used product. Also, knowing that such a simple toy can be used to save the lives of our soldiers.
Silly String has been used by American and British troops in Iraq as a technique for finding hidden traps. Invisible wires can be found by spraying Silly String down halls or through doors. Silly String is light enough to land on these invisible wires without breaking them, which may set off explosives, and let soldiers know where these traps may lie.
Researchers knew nothing about Silly String, except for who introduced it, Julius Samann, in 1969. In 1972 the United States Patent disagreed with researchers and described Silly String as an aerosol liquid that becomes a slightly tacky spring when sprayed. The Patent said that the inventors of Silly String are Robert P. Cox and Leonard A. Fish from Wham-O Manufacturing Company, which also made the Hula Hoop and the Frisbee.
Silly String is made up of several different chemicals. It starts out in the can as a liquid and becomes a never ending string when it is sprayed. This string is light and somewhat adhesive and cohesive. It sticks to walls and clothing, and it stays together in one long piece. However, it is more cohesive and it takes more fore to pull it apart than to pull if off of a wall. The foam and the skin of Silly String is made of three main ingredients, resin, a surfactant, and a propellant. The resin forms the structure of the strand, and keeps the strands from falling apart. The surfactant helps the resin turn in to a foam and expand. The propellant forces ingredients out of the aerosol can, without this there would not be any foam. The high pressure is needed in the can to keep the Silly String a liquid in the can, because with normal air pressure the propellant would make it a gas.
It is interesting to know how Silly String works because it is such a well known and highly used product. Also, knowing that such a simple toy can be used to save the lives of our soldiers.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
How Golf Clubs Work
Tiger Woods has won fourteen majors in his professional golfing career, and he will probably take a few more major championship trophies home with him in the future. It is amazing how he only takes 65 to 70 strokes on an average round of golf. People wounder how a couple of skinny clubs can help cause a little ball to go straight and far. It is an amazing science that many people don't know about.
To understand how clubs work, a person needs to know the types of golf clubs there are. An average golfer usually carries a driver and woods. These clubs have large heads that can send the ball far, and these clubs are the longest in the bag. There are also long irons. These clubs are numbered with smaller numbers, and they are designed to send a golf ball a medium distance with a higher trajectory than woods. Short irons and wedges are the smallest clubs in the golf bag. These clubs go a short distance with a higher arch than other clubs. The last club, which is the putter, might be the most important. Putters are flat clubs that are designed to be balanced in a person's hand, while that person tries to roll the ball in the hole. Putters are so important, because they help a person put up scores for holes.
There are many parts to a golf club. Grips have a large importance, because a player needs to feel comfortable when swinging a club. Golf grips are usually rubber or leather, and there are many different brands with groves and holes on them. A shaft of a golf club is very important because it extends from the club head to the grip, and a shaft helps the club swing back and forth steadily with torque on impact. Shafts are made differently depending on preference. Shafts are carbon-fiber or steel, and but carbon-fiber is usually more expensive. Shafts also come in stiff, regular, or firm flexibility, depending on how a person swings. Shafts can help prevent a hook or slice. Club heads are important because they make impact with the ball. Drivers have bigger club heads than irons and wedges so that they have a bigger sweet spot. Irons have heads designed for a high trajectory to land golf balls on the green. Iron heads are also able to dig into the ground during impact. All three parts of a golf club need to be compatible with a person's swing so they can hit the sweet spot every time. The club head also has its own individual parts. It contains a hosel, which connects the club head and the shaft of the golf club. The club head also has a face with groves, a sole, which is the bottom, and the back. Clubs have different degrees of loft, and those are determined by the face's slope from vertical when the club is straight. Putters have no slope and are completely vertical. After the putter, the number of degrees that a club has increases when the size of the club decreases. For example, a five iron has a greater degree of loft than a 6 iron.
Golf clubs are designed to help a player improve their game. Manufacturers and designers have been working hard to make more forgiving clubs with different weights to help different types of golfers. It is still amazing how these simple clubs do so much, but it will still be up to golfers to play well.
To understand how clubs work, a person needs to know the types of golf clubs there are. An average golfer usually carries a driver and woods. These clubs have large heads that can send the ball far, and these clubs are the longest in the bag. There are also long irons. These clubs are numbered with smaller numbers, and they are designed to send a golf ball a medium distance with a higher trajectory than woods. Short irons and wedges are the smallest clubs in the golf bag. These clubs go a short distance with a higher arch than other clubs. The last club, which is the putter, might be the most important. Putters are flat clubs that are designed to be balanced in a person's hand, while that person tries to roll the ball in the hole. Putters are so important, because they help a person put up scores for holes.
There are many parts to a golf club. Grips have a large importance, because a player needs to feel comfortable when swinging a club. Golf grips are usually rubber or leather, and there are many different brands with groves and holes on them. A shaft of a golf club is very important because it extends from the club head to the grip, and a shaft helps the club swing back and forth steadily with torque on impact. Shafts are made differently depending on preference. Shafts are carbon-fiber or steel, and but carbon-fiber is usually more expensive. Shafts also come in stiff, regular, or firm flexibility, depending on how a person swings. Shafts can help prevent a hook or slice. Club heads are important because they make impact with the ball. Drivers have bigger club heads than irons and wedges so that they have a bigger sweet spot. Irons have heads designed for a high trajectory to land golf balls on the green. Iron heads are also able to dig into the ground during impact. All three parts of a golf club need to be compatible with a person's swing so they can hit the sweet spot every time. The club head also has its own individual parts. It contains a hosel, which connects the club head and the shaft of the golf club. The club head also has a face with groves, a sole, which is the bottom, and the back. Clubs have different degrees of loft, and those are determined by the face's slope from vertical when the club is straight. Putters have no slope and are completely vertical. After the putter, the number of degrees that a club has increases when the size of the club decreases. For example, a five iron has a greater degree of loft than a 6 iron.
Golf clubs are designed to help a player improve their game. Manufacturers and designers have been working hard to make more forgiving clubs with different weights to help different types of golfers. It is still amazing how these simple clubs do so much, but it will still be up to golfers to play well.
Blog 5 Archive--"Picture Perfect"
This week's blog focuses on word power and word play. Creative word choice is a simple, yet very efective way to make ordinary writing extraordinary. All you have to do is find FIVE photos and write creative titles for them. See my post for links to examples and photo sites.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Blog 5
Morning walk on the moon
Nothing but the need for speed
Are you up for the challenge?
Who’s up for a campout?
Vacation gone wrong
Nothing but the need for speed
Are you up for the challenge?
Who’s up for a campout?
Vacation gone wrong
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Politics, Floods, and Homicidal Maniacs
Too Much Time On Their Hands
Thought Police
(Allusion to George Orwell's 1984)
Supreme Irony
If Life Gives You Lemons...
Blind Leading the Blind
photo titles
A Million Wonders, One Dream
Never Give up on The Little Guys
Remember those who fought for our lives
Standing Tall in the Spot Lights
Take my Life but Free my Country
Pictures Worth One Thousand Words
Defying Gravity
Close But No Cigar
Talk about Septerating Church and State
Gettin' Down and Dirty
Love-Stoned?
(love as in the score in tennis .. get it?)
Photo Titles
Changing the World one Speech at a Time
Livin' the Dream
You Can't Judge a Book by its Cover
The City Life
The Little Blue House
Picture Titles
Looking Beyond the Normal
Fight Cancer not Iraq
Not Just a Dog but a Best Friend
Forgotten Respect
Boys will be Boys
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