Blog #10: House Mouse

For the last blog, I'm running into some issues, so I decided to give you folks a longer story about relationships. This one appeared in Psychology Today, of all magazines. This is probably the first time I resorted to a shrink's mag to come up with a blog.

More and more people are moving in with someone before marriage. It's happening in your generation, and it happens in mine (I've done it twice, myself).

Read all 4 pages of this article, and respond. You can find the article HERE.

Does living with someone before marriage necessarily cause problems? Do you think the writer, Nancy Wartik, is correct? Does this change your mind about living with someone prior to marriage, or are you thinking you won't even bother with marriage in the first place?

300-400 words, please, for your final blog.

-- MP

Blog #9: When Boys Get Toenails Painted

There's two interesting points you can talk about on this one.

First, watch the video HERE. It runs a few minutes.

So, a mom -- who happens to be the #2 person at J.Crew -- is coloring her boys toenails pink. Is this right, or wrong, in your opinion?

The video, around the 1:23 mark, mentions a counter response blog from Dr. David Ablow, a sometime contributor to Fox News. It's linked to in the story, but you can read it HERE.

Two things struck me about this article. One was the story itself. Is this pushing the edge of gender identity too far? Do you think we should leave things well enough alone, or have we not gone far enough? Does this even matter at all, or is this a tempest-in-a-teacup (much ado about nothing)?

The second thing that hit me was the angle of reporting itself. Did The Lookout even bother to take an even view of the situation, or did they completely cherry pick their interviews (and resultant points of view) in this article? And something else of note: at the end of the interview, Robin Roberts actually makes a comment stating that she knows the J.Crew executive featured in the ad, and vouches for her. Is this something a journalist should do (despite the fluff-show format, Roberts has won awards for her journalism and is considered a quality reporter)? Which leads me to the second point: should we accept journalistic bias in the reporting we consume? Regardless of point of view, does this "positioning" of the story hurt or harm the discussion of the points?

Discuss either point at the usual length -- 300-500 words.

Blog #8: Twixters

I ran across this story while doing research for my other class' final essay. It's by Lev Grossman, and it was featured in TIME back in 2005.

Meet "Twixters". Read the article HERE.

I think this is a very interesting article, because it deals with what all of you are going to be going through in a few years. In particular, I'd like your opinions about this phenomenon of Twixters because this article is 6 years old. In the post-Depression American economy, is this even viable now? Are we able to afford not growing up anymore? And what's to become of us as a culture if this IS correct, and Twixters rise to prominence? If everyone's a child...who's going to be the adult?

300-500 words, please, of your best thoughts. It's an interesting topic, and it has nothing to do with politics, and everything to do with you.

-- MP

Blog #7 - Boom!

So, after the issues currently going on in Japan, I ask you: what's wrong with nuclear power?

Found a couple articles here for nuclear energy, and a few articles against. Should we engage in the pursuit of nuclear energy, even knowing that sometimes, natural disasters can cause merry hob with our power plants?

How much more dangerous is nuclear energy compared to coal? If we're going to have an energy source that pollutes, which one do you want? Is there another answer, or is there truly no way to come up with "clean" energy?



Here are the articles:

1. Bernard Cohen's Minimum Opus in defense of nuclear energy: Find it HERE.

2. An interesting article, also by Cohen, about the "radiation phobia". Read it HERE.

3. This article argues that BP's spill last year is actually an argument AGAINST nuclear power. Interesting. Read it HERE.

4. This article, on BBC.com, is the most recent report on Japan's crisis. Read it HERE.

5. This is the article that got me thinking about it -- from the NYT. Read it HERE.

Read and respond to the articles. If you have any further questions about nuclear energy, look them up. Otherwise, it's 300-500 words, as usual.

MP

Blog Post #6 - No More Teachers, No More Books

So I finally found an interesting article that didn't have to do with Libya, politics, or what's going on with Charlie Sheen.

The article is from the Akron Beacon Journal's Eric Gorski, and it concerns, well...you.

Read it HERE.

What does this mean? Are you actually getting something out of your college education? Or is this merely a trampoline for you to bounce on for four (or five or six) years until you're ready to feed yourselves?

You know what I want...300-400 words, on this topic. Be thoughtful about your experiences. I want to know if this guy is right, and if so, why.

-- MP

Blog Post #5 - This One's For the Ladies

All right, girls, here's one for you. It's about, well, the guys. (Photo from the movie Old School starring Will Farrell.)

This article comes from the Wall Street Journal. Read the article at the link HERE.

What I'd like to know is this:

How accurate is this article? Do you think it applies to you, since most of you are not over the age of 21? Is this what you're going to find when you reach the age of 25?

Girls, let us know if this is what you find out there in the real world.

Guys, let us know if you think this is discriminatory, berating, incendiary...or even justified.

Let's try 300 or so words on this topic. If you dispute this, give reasons for doing so.

Remember, at this stage of the game, your arguments should be more advanced. Remember the tenets of Critical Analysis, and how to develop an effective and logical argument. If you agree, state why. If you disagree, state why. Find a source or two and provide the proof to your stance.

Enjoy...MP

Blog Post #4 - Tiger Moms: Right or Wrong?

No, I'm not talking about cougars...not that kind of mom.

This is the "Tiger Mom" - Amy Chua, a Yale University law professor who wrote a book called The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, which calls into question American parenting practices when it comes to raising successful children.

This TIME MAGAZINE article brought the phenomenon to my attention.

Sounds interesting? Maybe.

Here's one counter to the discussion: From Slate.com, it asks if the "Tiger Mom" approach hurts the American economic model. The link is HERE.

Another counter is from a Chinese educator who takes issue with some of Chua's methods. Read that HERE. From the Orange County Register, via MSNBC.com.

Do you think Chua is off her rocker? Or does she have a point?

Lastly, this article, found on Yahoo! via the Brighton Pittsford Post.com site, talks about a Philadelphia area teacher who is suspended for calling out her students on a blog. At issue: You guessed it, their laziness. The link is HERE.

Your responses? Who's right and who is wrong? I want you to synthesize these sources into one coherent response, and do it between 300-500 words. In other words, one paragraph isn't going to cut it.

Let's give this one TWO WEEKS, until March 4 or so before I start considering this blog past due.

This one's the most in-depth yet, and you should start driving your discussions in this forum, not me.

Enjoy...

MP

Blog Post #3 - Umberto Huh?

I promised you an Eco. So here he is.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Umberto Eco. Eco. (Sort of sounds like the second baseman for the Padres or something.)

I can assure you, he's not. He's a pretty smart guy - author, commentator, scholar, and probably whips up really good pancakes or chicken cordon bleu when he's just thinking about stuff.

ANYway, Eco wrote an article I happen to enjoy. I enjoy it because it should take all of your critical analysis skills to the limit.

Difficult? Yes. Challenging? Yes. Welcome to college. It took me four weeks, but it's time you get challenged by what you read.

I'll give you some background which may be crucial. This essay was written just after September 11, and it exemplifies academic writing. I want you to find one or two items you agree or disagree with.

Keep in mind the following: What is Eco's purpose of this essay? What is his position? Is he able to follow through on his purpose? These questions should be able to lead you to comment on this essay, as I believe there are many threads in this essay we could discuss. 300-500 words of deep thought, please.

Read the article here.

P.S. - Since my name is now synonymous with "Late Blog Posting", I'll give you five days to get this done. Consider it due on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2011.

Enjoy...

MP

Blog Post #2 - California, Here We Go

I'll give you a softball again.

Meet the most $&^%@# up state in the union, California..

This is a set of three - yes, you have to read three! - articles on the woes and troubles of the state to the left of us (if we're facing north).

'm going to post a few articles about the problems CA has, and ask you to comment on these three short pieces.

The first - from the New York Times - can be found here.

The second - from Business Insider.com - has an interesting plan. Find it here.

The third - from UK website The Guardian - is the longest. It can be found here.

Three interesting opinions. Even though they are dated (Arnold isn't governor anymore), there are still questions worth asking. And the problems have only gotten worse.

So, what say you? Should we get used to the idea of not having 50 stars on our flag anymore? Which, if any, of these ideas would you support? Or are we simply overreacting to an immediate, short term problem? Put forth your opinions and ideas in 300 words or so. This is also due MONDAY, JANUARY 24. That will put us back on track for the blogs.

Next week, the blogs get nastier. Think "Eco."

-- MP

Blog #1: Another-CSI-Theme-Song-Type of Blog

This one should be a no-brainer...

Who are you...Who? Who?
I really want to know...
-- The Who


For the first assignment on this blog, I'm giving you a softball. Write about what you know best...yourself.

Answer the basics. Who are you? Your name, your major (if you have one), the things that make you tick. Fill up about 300 words (the equivalent of a typed, double-spaced page with one inch margins) and perhaps give us a factoid or two that we couldn't guess from looking at you.

Be as personal as you choose to be, and no more. I'm not asking for deep, dark secrets, but I do want to get to know all of you more. Post your response as a comment to this blog. Later on, we'll all be authoring our own posts, but for now, a response is fine. If you can't click on "Submit", break your answer up into two parts. But 300 words or so can fit in one comment.

One more thing -- choose your theme song. Tell us what song you listen to that really is YOU. Put that in your response.

Welcome to the Class Blog!

Don't you just hate it when people use exclamation points to show enthusiasm?

Me too!!!!

Welcome to the Spring 2011 semester of College Writing I. I'm your professor, Michael Parsons, and I'll be posting topics here on a regular basis. You'll have about 12 of these to work on throughout the semester.

This is a class forum. I will start the topics, but by no means do I expect my starting points to be the end of discussion. This blog is designed for you to weigh in on topics we touch on in class -- or ones we don't.

Basic rules: 1) No flaming. 2) Be respectful of other people. You may not agree with their points, but that should not extend into any personal comments. 3) Keep it honest. Other than that, you're fine.

First assignment up soon.

-- Mr. P.