Sunday, February 22, 2009
Socratic Method
I really like the section about the socratic method. I really liked how it talked about oppostition if you want to see how much someone really has learned or how well their skills are in the debating world you cant just give them something easy. As it is put in this paradigm the best way to evaluate someone's work is to "subject it to the strongest or most extreme opposition." This statement totally speaks to me, if you want to prove something works or make someone be the best they can be, you need to put it in the most extreme conditions to prove its worth. Through playing sports my whole life i have practiced a lot and ya it has not been that much fun. The things we do are completely and utterly hard and not fun at all. However, if you want something to be the best working they need to go through the pain to reach the joy afterwords you cant just simply sit around and hope to become great. Also in proving if something is good you cant just not test it with strong things, i know if i bought a car that is tested to be safe I really would like that car to have been through the most opposition and extreme conditions to ensure that it is the safest and best working there can be. To help prove someone they must be tested no one can really improve themselves if all they have to be is average. There must always be a goal worth working towards. The content with being average is what will destroy a hardworking top country. We all should push ourselves to be the best we can be.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Grammar Post 7
So here is a few rules of how to use a hyphen in the correct places. I know that this may not be the most complex thing of all but as I was looking through all the rules there were a few i never heard of using before so i thought it would be a useful thing to post.
1. Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:
a one-way street, chocolate-covered peanuts, well-known author
However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated:
The peanuts were chocolate covered.The author was well known.
2. Use a hyphen with compound numbers:
forty-six, sixty-three, Our much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old.
3. Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters:
re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job)semi-independent (but semiconscious)shell-like (but childlike)
4. Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters:
ex-husband, self-assured,mid-September, all-inclusive, mayor-elect, anti-American, T-shirt, pre-Civil War, mid-1980s
5. Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables:
pref-er-ence, sell-ing, in-di-vid-u-al-ist
For line breaks, divide already hyphenated words only at the hyphen:
mass-producedself-conscious
For line breaks in words ending in -ing, if a single final consonant in the root word is doubled before the suffix, hyphenate between the consonants; otherwise, hyphenate at the suffix itself:
plan-ning, run-ning, driv-ing, call-ing
1. Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:
a one-way street, chocolate-covered peanuts, well-known author
However, when compound modifiers come after a noun, they are not hyphenated:
The peanuts were chocolate covered.The author was well known.
2. Use a hyphen with compound numbers:
forty-six, sixty-three, Our much-loved teacher was sixty-three years old.
3. Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters:
re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job)semi-independent (but semiconscious)shell-like (but childlike)
4. Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters:
ex-husband, self-assured,mid-September, all-inclusive, mayor-elect, anti-American, T-shirt, pre-Civil War, mid-1980s
5. Use a hyphen to divide words at the end of a line if necessary, and make the break only between syllables:
pref-er-ence, sell-ing, in-di-vid-u-al-ist
For line breaks, divide already hyphenated words only at the hyphen:
mass-producedself-conscious
For line breaks in words ending in -ing, if a single final consonant in the root word is doubled before the suffix, hyphenate between the consonants; otherwise, hyphenate at the suffix itself:
plan-ning, run-ning, driv-ing, call-ing
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Grammar Post
something i think is hard to do and i sometimes struggle with is run on sentences. I usually will either have the wrong punctuation or none when there needs to be so this website seemed to help.
Run-ons, comma splices, and fused sentences are all names given to compound sentences that are not punctuated correctly. The best way to avoid such errors is to punctuate compound sentences correctly by using one or the other of these rules.
1. Join the two independent clauses with one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet), and use a comma before the connecting word.
_________________________, and _________________________.
He enjoys walking through the country, and he often goes backpacking on his vacations.
2. When you do not have a connecting word (or when you use a connecting word other than and, but, for, or nor, so, or yet between the two independent clauses) use a semicolon (;).
__________________________;_____________________________.
He often watched TV when there were only reruns; she preferred to read instead.
or
__________________________; however,____________________.
He often watched TV when there were only reruns; however, she preferred to read instead.
So, run-ons and fused sentences are terms describing two independent clauses which are joined together with no connecting word or punctuation to separate the clauses.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/02/
Run-ons, comma splices, and fused sentences are all names given to compound sentences that are not punctuated correctly. The best way to avoid such errors is to punctuate compound sentences correctly by using one or the other of these rules.
1. Join the two independent clauses with one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet), and use a comma before the connecting word.
_________________________, and _________________________.
He enjoys walking through the country, and he often goes backpacking on his vacations.
2. When you do not have a connecting word (or when you use a connecting word other than and, but, for, or nor, so, or yet between the two independent clauses) use a semicolon (;).
__________________________;_____________________________.
He often watched TV when there were only reruns; she preferred to read instead.
or
__________________________; however,____________________.
He often watched TV when there were only reruns; however, she preferred to read instead.
So, run-ons and fused sentences are terms describing two independent clauses which are joined together with no connecting word or punctuation to separate the clauses.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/02/
Sunday, February 8, 2009
My Great Teacher
When i was in 1st grade i had an amazing teacher. His name was Mr. Paget, he taught me everything i ever needed to know about math and reading and learning, along with values we all should have in our lives. His math methods were so effective on me that i still continue to use them when i am doing math today. He was an all around amazing teacher. He always taught me to believe in myself and never give up. Throughout the years as i have grown up i have always gone to visit him, or to help him teach kids to read, or just to show him what i have been doing in my life he has grown to be more than a teacher but rather a great friend. Forever will i remember the things he taught me which have given me that base of who i am today in the eductational system. I believe that early in our lives is when it can count the most and he gave me an excellent start, so if your out there reading this Mr. Paget thank you.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Grammar Post 5
Sometimes in grammar it can be complicated with all of the different rules. Here is how appositives work. All of my past years in high school i have never really understood this rule until about last year. Here is a list of how they are used and what they are:
An appositive is a noun or pronoun -- often with modifiers -- set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it.
An appositive phrase usually follows the word it explains or identifies, but it may also precede it.
Punctuation of appositives
In some cases, the noun being explained is too general without the appositive; the information is essential to the meaning of the sentence. When this is the case, do not place commas around the appositive; just leave it alone. If the sentence would be clear and complete without the appositive, then commas are necessary; place one before and one after the appositive.
There it is for ya sometimes it can get tricky but by going over these rules its easier to understand and make sentences flow clearer.
An appositive is a noun or pronoun -- often with modifiers -- set beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it.
An appositive phrase usually follows the word it explains or identifies, but it may also precede it.
Punctuation of appositives
In some cases, the noun being explained is too general without the appositive; the information is essential to the meaning of the sentence. When this is the case, do not place commas around the appositive; just leave it alone. If the sentence would be clear and complete without the appositive, then commas are necessary; place one before and one after the appositive.
There it is for ya sometimes it can get tricky but by going over these rules its easier to understand and make sentences flow clearer.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
I Just Want to Be Average
In Rose's essay he speaks on the education system in America and the flaws it has. When I was finished with this essay i couldnt help but feel bad for this poor boy. His whole life he was told he wasnt good enough all because the education system was the one that wasnt good enough. His friend says he just wants to be average. How sad is this that he was placed in a class that had ruined what he thought of himself. It made him feel essentially like he was not good enough. When later on in his life he learns he was in the wrong classes his whole life. Wow what a system that was putting him in the wrong class.
This essay makes me think of a friend I have who signed up for college classes. When they decided they wanted to take math 1010 they were told they werent good enough to take it because their ACT score was not high enough to enroll in that class. However the thing that did not make sense to me was the fact that the year before in high school they took concurrent enrollment and had done just fine in the class it was not a problem, they just dropped out because they needed room for another class. The sad thing was they were just not having a good day during the ACT and got a bad score, not being informed that you needed a certain score on that test to take certain classes, they decided they were done with that test. When college enrollement came they were told they could not take math 1010 even though there grade the year before in the same class was a B before dropping out.
It is sad that one test score can help decide what we are supposedly supposed to do with our lives. One test can tell us all we are. I think this system has many problems and something needs to be done to help fix this. Or are we going to continue making kids feel less than average.
This essay makes me think of a friend I have who signed up for college classes. When they decided they wanted to take math 1010 they were told they werent good enough to take it because their ACT score was not high enough to enroll in that class. However the thing that did not make sense to me was the fact that the year before in high school they took concurrent enrollment and had done just fine in the class it was not a problem, they just dropped out because they needed room for another class. The sad thing was they were just not having a good day during the ACT and got a bad score, not being informed that you needed a certain score on that test to take certain classes, they decided they were done with that test. When college enrollement came they were told they could not take math 1010 even though there grade the year before in the same class was a B before dropping out.
It is sad that one test score can help decide what we are supposedly supposed to do with our lives. One test can tell us all we are. I think this system has many problems and something needs to be done to help fix this. Or are we going to continue making kids feel less than average.
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