what a great semester

For my last blog, at least until January, I wanted to share my thoughts on this class.

1. Brett is an amazing fun teacher. Its really interesting to talk to her and she gives great tips that really do help with writing. I will never forget the "theme, new theme" idea. Its brilliant.

2. My classmates are awesome too. I had a wonderful group that inspired to take on issues and work through them. They gave great peer reviews and really helped me simply Foucault, if that is even possible. So thank you group. I do hope we continue that e-mail thread.

3. Next, my papers have drastically changed. I feel like I went from a 3rd grade writing style to a college writing style. I understand my strengths and weaknesses. Its kind of cool to find your own "mistakes."

4. I really learned a lot about what rhetoric means and the ways to use it in convincing and persuading. I believe this will help my writing in other classes.

5. By far, this is the best and most likely last English class I will take. Its nice to know that even as a Senior graduating, I still am able to take amazing classes. I am a Senior and I am still learning new ideas.

6. Blogging is not that bad. I found it to add creativity to my life. I am able to write about anything and just ramble on. I found it fun to actually write my thoughts down.

7. Going off of number 6, I love reading other classmate's blog. I like the different approaches and techniques people used. Some people showed pictures while others put up youtube videos. My classmates and I got really creative with most of our blogs.

8. Thanks for all the comments and discusses. I have never really had a class that was so involved and really worked well together. We were able to help each other out without being in the same peer review groups.

9. I don't know about number 9.

10. But number 10, I really enjoyed this class. Although a lot of work, it was fun and I can honestly say that I looked forward to coming every Monday and Wednesday.

Gender roles from pink shoes to throwing like a girl

Andrew did such an amazing job on his presentation in which he discussed gender conditioning. He used satire and he also dressed up as a woman in his film. It was creative and fun. I was paying attention the entire time thinking about everything he said, and agreeing. Great job Andrew.

After the presentation, I was like yeah that is true. Girls are told to act certain ways, to act feminine, wear pink. There is this new commercial about girl running shoes. The commercial shoes a girl wearing PINK shoes and her butt. Never her running in them or sweating. These are shoes for women to wear every day and be fit. It is interesting that they show her body as a sexy object in which she has on tiny underwear and pink shoes.

I was also thinking of the article by Iris Young called "Throwing like a girl." She questions the meaning of the statement. She looks at how girls throw and how boys throw. Through her analysis, she shows how women throw differently and it starts from just a young age. Girls have a close sense of space. We cross our legs, place books close to our body in that we don't use all the space around us. That is one way to explain that when girls throw they don't use their entire body. She also analyzes that women have an inhibited intentionality that we have sometimes feel we cannot do it, a confident issue. Also that women are accompanied by a self objectification. Not only do others objectify women but women do it themselves. In her article, she uses examples to show how women are raised differently and how the body experiences it; where is it orientated in space and how the body moves through space. Social work inscribing gender, socialization and gender differences is her main point.

Overall, its interesting to see that femininity is more than biological but also social. What makes me really a woman isn't just my XX but how I interact with society and my environment.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I work at a preschool in Ann Arbor. It is a lot of fun and hard work. Every week my team and I read books that are based on themes. Last unit was family and this unit is friends. At first we started out with books with more pictures and less words. In Unit 2, the books contain more words than they can sit for. They keep rolling around on the ground or running and even try to turn the page to the last page so the book ends. I don't think the book is boring but just too long.

This reminds of the first book we read to the children. The The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It has a few words on each page with amazing illustrations. The children were into it and so was my team and I.

I think it is interesting that here is a book that I grew up and so are these kids. I remember wanting to read it everyday and had a copy that well used. Its the same with these kids. We keep a copy of it in their classroom and since October when we first brought it, it has been well used.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a good book that appeals to all ages. It has amazing pictures and the words are so similar: orange, strawberry, cake. Plus at the end, he turns into a butterfly, something very beautiful. I love the fact that it is so versatile in all generations.

Physics Exam

I just took a physics exam and of course it was not fun, or at least to me it wasn't. I don't like physics that much nor do I like multiple choice exams. I have this bad habit to look at my answers and to make sure I don't have too many of the same letters in a row. If I have like 3 C's, I have to change at least one of them. I know its bad and that I shouldn't but I still cant help it. I go over my exam at least twice, often changing answers for the worst.

But what I find interesting, after taking the exam is how the answers are written. Usually there are two answers are common, one that is definitely right and the other is definitely not, but it is the one that gets chosen by many students. Its interesting how phyiscs teachers can weed out students who really know the information well and get the right answer to those who are almost there but not quite. It separates the people who understand and can apply it to almost any situation than those who plug and chug.

I just I guess don't understand physics, even though it sort of applies to everything. There is this concept of relativity and its crazy. "Moving clocks are slower." That means that if I was in a rocket for a year and my friend was on earth for a year, when I came back to earth, I would be younger than my friend; no matter that we are born at the same exact millisecond. At least from my understanding of relativity, I think this is right.

I know that I am that person who plugs and chugs. My scores sometimes tell me that I am sometimes not, depends if its a good day or not, :). Who knows, maybe when I get this exam back, I could have done great and understood all the concepts. But then again, maybe not. Its just interesting to see how much you really know and what still confuses you in the subject at hand.

Classes winter 2010

This will be my last semester at UofM and of course I want to make it the best one. I already have my 120 credits and only need one class to graduate. However, I am not complaining but I need classes to fill up my free time. I am trying to think of fun, decent amount of work type of classes that I can take.

So far, I have been told to take a dance class, which I am. I have always wanted to take a dance class so why not now. Also, I am going to learn how to swim. My friend in the kines school and told me they have beginners swim for people who don't know how to.

I need 12 credits but I really want to maximize the amount of classes I can take with what I am spending to go here. I might take a viral video class, its a mini course. At the end of the semester I get to make a youtube video; that's the final assignment. There is also this pills and pharmacy class that sounds interesting. But its hard to fit in everything and take classes that are worth taking.

My last semester, and I have to say this may be the hardest in picking out classes. My goal is to have a fulfilling last semester. I am looking into RC, religion, and psychology classes to broaden my horizon of subjects. I usually take science or anthropology classes and I just want to see whats out there. However, finding the right class to take that sounds interesting and can accommodate a little senioritis is hard.

morality

So I am going to write my updated outline. I am hoping that people will leave me comments in order to see if I am making my point across or to provide some insight into how i can make it better. Lately, I have been having trouble expressing what I want to say. I think if I have people outside of my group look at it, then maybe it will help me.

Persuade: Values are merely created by power. we should stand up these moral judgments and not conform. Don't categorize people in social boxes of normal and abnormal.

Part one:
-Panopticon: someone is judging and watching, we start to judge and watch ourselves. always a higher poor and institution judging what is normal behavior and deviant behavior. Norms are based on not only statistical stats but on moral judgments.
-normal and abnormal
- look at person's health. for example, statistical stats are blood pressure, iron levels. moral judgments Can be how one's appearance is.
- moral judgments can be dirtiness, smelly, obesity, missing teeth, yellow teeth. moral judgments facilitate in creating an "other"

Part 2: welfare

"others" - second class citizen, they can have their houses searched and things can be taken way. cannot afford to go to the doctors, no control of body, marked bodies in the way they dress and look.

punishment- children though of as stupid by teachers since they don't go to the board and participate. they kids are afraid they will get teased about the Way they look.

Part 3: teeth

particular about our teeth- need to be white, have white fillings.
some smile showing their teeth, some don't
clip about teeth
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I want to persuade people to leave the class and think about things. I am looking for examples.
Example given by Brett: don't look above or at with disgust toward a homeless person, look him straight in the eye.

Example:?????????????????????
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One of the reasons I want to do something like this, is that we are all essentially the same people. Why do we try to create "others?" Why is it that we separate people into categories, what is the need for it?

SNUGGIE

So I am not sure how to incorporate this into anything but i just wanted to let people know that I just got a snuggie. Not a normal snuggie but a Michigan snuggie. I am so excited. It is blue and maize with football helmets and basketballs. Also, its made of fleece, so its soft and warm.

I remember, last year, when I a commercial for the snuggie. I thought it was lame and weird. I made fun of it and critized the people who would think of getting one. But when I saw a Michigan snuggie, it was different. It has M's all over and is just better. I really don't know to explain how much better this Michigan snuggie is (and yes I am wearing it right now), compared to the original snuggie. I think it just means a lot more because it this one is not a plain blue snuggie. It has my school, my football team on it. GO BLUE. That's what I think of when I look at it. When I wear it to the game this Saturday, I wont be embarrassed, I am going to be proud wearing the Michigan snuggie.

When I went downstairs to show people, many were like I want one too. Although they may have previously made fun of it, ones with the Michigan logo are different. Its way cool. :)