adaptationKatherineBuchanan

Seeing or hearing examples of what's being taught helps me learn, as well as practicing/ studying the new material. In the classroom, I like when professors give us real life examples that students can relate to, rather then just constantly lecturing. Outside the classroom, I like hanging out with my friends, running, and sleeping. I live down the shore and, I'm currently an undeclared sophomore, but I plan to declare my major to Medical Imaging this fall. This reading was about Mike Moffatt, an adult anthropologist, who wanted to study college life. To do so, he went back to Rutgers College in 1977 to pretend to be an over-aged, out-of-state freshman for the first few days of the fall semester. In his ethnography he describes his dorm room and, his five roommates, who were all eighteen year old males that graduated high school in the suburbs of south Jersey. All his roommates, besides one, had declared majors. Mike believed that all of his roommates trusted him to be a freshman besides John, who was intending on being a cop and had suspicions about Mike. At Mike’s first dorm floor meeting, they did personal introductions and ice breakers in small groups and were introduced to their RA’s. Some rules they had in the dorms were to keep marijuana in their rooms, liquor was okay to have on their floor, boys were to clean up their own messes, and other standard rules. His RA’s gave some academic advice about add-drop period and suggested they study two hours a day. Mike noted in this ethnography that there was suppressed sexuality in the dorms. Also, freshmen stated they had fears of bullying by the upper classmen; from this data Mike concluded that interclass relationships were informal and not yet totally egalitarian. However, Moffatt noted that when students took tests they all felt a bond, under and upperclassmen, together they were “common suffers”. Mike concluded that in some generations later to come, “college life” is a new adolescent culture, orbiting around sexuality, drinking, and entertainment. Mike was confronted by his roommates that he never told them much about himself, this triggered Mike to tell his roommates about his secret. No roommates were offended; instead they thought it was exciting they were part of his studies. They also pulled tricks on Mike to get him back; this started a special bond between him and his roommates. After his study was done, Mike and most of his roommates still kept in touch for years. While reading, I was interested with the connections I could make to my life as a college student. When I was a freshman in the dorms I went through very similar floor meetings and orientations, however; in our generation rules concerning alcohol and marijuana have obviously gotten much stricter due to legal reasons. I could relate to most of his research and, I agree that there is stress in finding your balance in college. Freshmen year I thought that making friends and bonds with people was more important than studying. Now as a sophomore, I’ve found an efficient way to balance “work and play” because I’ve came to realize academics are crucial. I don’t agree with his statement on class bullying. I feel that in my generation of college life there are much more interclass relationships, and less discouragement from upperclassmen. From this reading I gained some motivation from Mike’s quote, “parents made sacrifices to send us to college – we should repay them by working as hard as we can here”. Although parents would do anything for us to succeed and don’t feel anything “owed” from their children; I find a lot of happiness in being the best I can for my parents because they raised me and guided me through life and I want to make them proud.
 * “Coming of Age” (p.1-34) Reading Response 1 **

** “My Freshmen Year” (p.41-66) Reading Response 2 ** This reading focused on the meaning of community in college life. It seems that age, pop culture, recent historical events and getting a college degree holds student together as a “community”. AnyU had all freshmen read the same book and discuss what they read in small seminar groups. The dean had the idea that this would give the freshmen a sense of community right from the start. Like most summer reading assignments, not all students read the book so, the idea was a failure. This may have been because of the strong demand for choice vs. the effort of building a community. Every week in the dorm halls, RA’s post new notices on their bulletin boards for upcoming events. They tried to get students to feel part of a community by taking surveys and setting up various activities based on the data they collected. They attempted to have a movie night, however; only two students attended. Another form of community was analyzed in the reading; fraternities and sororities. A lot of controversy rose from this topic. Most students argued that they didn’t need to pay to make friends, they can make friends on their independently. They also argued there were too many rules and it controlled students’ lives because of the intense schedule. In the dorms, the public lounges weren’t being used as their intended social spaces. Students said they went into the lounges alone to “get away” as a retreat from their usual environments. Even when large screen TV’s were set up there for the Super Bowl, there were only a few students were present. This started showing the individual community life in college. Students have personal networks of friends, which like family relationships, are ego-based. The intimate groups of friends may overlap but their all individual, and no two students have the exact same network. Diversity lacks in college, which may be due to active racism. Most social networks are ethnically alike. This was observed, in the reading, at dining halls. There were big differences in diversity experiences of dominant and non-dominant groups. Especially white (males) lack diversity. It was also noted that minority groups got their food to go, and did not eat in the dining halls. This reading focused on the concepts of typical stages of students’ personal development in college. They saw freshmen as foolish and inexperienced and, sophomores were wild and the troublemakers of the dorms. Juniors were matured past the dorm culture and wanted a more independent adult life. Seniors ultimately had the most mature lifestyle. It was also noted that the older you were, the more sexually active you were as well. Students claimed they developed by formal and informal learning experiences. This was explained by academic and outside of the classroom education. The academic education gave them the credentials they needed for a good career. The outside of the classroom education, “social learning”, influenced their personal development.
 * “Coming of Age” (p.53-58) **

** My Freshmen Year (p.67-89) Reading Response 3 ** In this reading, Nathan interviewed international students. There was a lot of misunderstanding between cultures of international students and American students. Phrases like “see you soon”, sound like an authentic invitation to international students but, it’s just an American way of being friendly. International students feel like meeting and befriending Americans is easy, yet superficial; they find it a challenge to create deep friendships. A Japanese student found this strange because in his culture, making a network of friends is a major purpose of college. A French student also found American friendships superficial because, “In France, when you’re friends with someone, you’re friends for life”. International students felt a sense of individualism and separateness with American students because we spend a lot of time using technology; watching TV, instant messaging, and playing video games. They found their family relationships strange because some students only called home once or twice a week, and some students lived on their own at 18. To a Mexican student family is very important, they call home several times a day and would never move out that early because of financial reasons. A Somalia student noticed that friendship doesn’t involve families. This was strange to him because at home all his friends are very familiar with each other’s families. International students noted that they aren’t used to the freedom, choice, and opinion that they have in American education systems. They can wear whatever they want to class, get up and leave whenever, eat and drink or sleep in class. International students complained about American’s ignorance of the world scene; misinformation and lack of information Americans’ have about other countries and about themselves. They appreciate our education system and our college spirit, however; our patriotism bothers them. They offer advice to us to live elsewhere in hope to accept other cultures and gain a sense of self-awareness. As I was reading, I was unaware and surprised about the misunderstandings that international and American students have. I didn’t know how different friendships could be between two cultures, however; after reading this I think I have a different perspective of things. I had a general understanding of how different cultures are around the world but, this reading brought into more detail how it is really like two different worlds. I do agree with this reading about American’s ignorance of the world scene. I believe that almost all Americans have a strong sense of ethnocentrism. Most people do not get very interested in other countries’ cultures. Since we are a very independent nation, maybe people think we don’t need to know about other countries. Although I don’t know about many other cultures besides my own, I do believe the world would be more peaceful if we were aware of other ways of living besides our own.
 * CLUE housing pictures **

Time Diaries When people walk into the Italian Kitchen, they first get into one of two lines available. The first line, to the left of the register when facing it, is the line for ordering pizza and breadsticks. The other line, on the right of the register, is the line for salads, wraps, and sandwiches. After the order has been taken, students who stay to eat, search for a table or booth to sit at. Students who get their food to-go just wait off to the side of the restaurant. Employees yell out the name of each order as it is ready and students walk back up to the counter to pick up their meal. Meals usually take 10-30 minutes if they need to be prepared by the staff. Students who eat-in stay for about fifteen to forty minutes. After finished eating, people stay to talk with their friends. I think the students’ behavior at the Italian kitchen suggests that students enjoy the food they offer and they enjoy gathering for meals with friends rather than eating alone. Due to the constant, large amount of people at the Italian Kitchen I believe this is a popular dining choice on campus. This exemplifies that social life in college is very important to most students and we utilize all common places possible to socialize with each other.
 * CLUE italian kitchen discription**

What has currently benefited you more: the academic education or the social/personal experiences you’ve gained at Bloomsburg? Why and how? // “So far, my social experiences have benefited me more because I haven’t been able to apply what I’ve learned academically outside of the classroom yet. My personal experiences have definitely influenced me a lot since I’ve been here. I’m more responsible then I was before I got to college, I live on my own and make my own decisions now. I set priorities and manage my time pretty good; I get to class, get good grades, do my laundry, clean, eat, work out, and still have time to go out and have fun with my friends a couple nights a week." // // “Personal experiences have benefited me more. Since I have yet to graduate the academic education hasn’t really benefited me yet but it will in the future. Social experiences have allowed me to make a lot of friends, hopefully in the future I can meet more people that share the same major so we can all study together and help each other out.” // Do you have a sense of family here at Bloomsburg? // “Definitely. I live with my three closest friends who I met when I was a summer freshman. We do everything together.” // // “Yes, all my roommates are like my sisters. My guy friends here look after me like my brother would. I love my bloom family.” // Besides going to class, what places on campus do you take most advantage of? // “I honestly don’t really stay on campus when I don’t have to be; I leave and walk back to my apartment as soon as I’m done class.” // // “The gym, I teach an aerobics class two days a week there. But, besides that I go five days a week cause I love staying fit. “ // What made you decide you wanted to go to college? // “I obviously want to be successful and, without graduating college there aren’t many promising careers out there. I guess I also it was time for me to grow up, like move out and live on my own, experience life independently and learn from my mistakes, make new friends that weren’t just from my tight circle from high school. Just the experience of college is something I think everybody grows from.” // // “I want to be a teacher, and in order to do that I have to get the necessary credentials. But since I’ve been here I think I’ve really ‘found myself’. I’ve noticed things about myself I never really realized, I have my priorities set, the friends I made here are people I know will be around for life, I’ve realized what’s important. I guess Bloomsburg is bigger than just academics for me, its paving the way for me. “ // CLUE final draft EAR genre for upcoming freshmen EAR genre for faculty In the first article, “The Job Market: Is a College Degree worth Less”, //TIME magazine// discusses the problems with over supply of college graduates. Students graduate that lack some skills needed for jobs; this may be due to weaker students going to college when another option may have suited them better. Work experience helps graduate students stand out more; people who can do jobs that can’t be outsourced are needed. I agree with this article because I think getting a college education depends on how students spend their time while enrolled. I would consider a person who just sits through classes and does only what’s required for them to pass is less educated then a student who joins academic clubs, studies regularly, and seeks an internship. The extra effort college students contribute to their educations will give them the edge above a student who just did what’s average. The next article by //The Atlantic//, “Should More People Skip College?” argues that a college degree isn’t always necessary anymore; it is just preferred by some employers. Of the top 30 growing careers, only seven require a bachelor’s degree, and of the top ten only two need it. Student loans are also adding to our country’s debt. I found this article discouraging. I think that student’s have the right to go to college if that’s what they want to do, they shouldn’t be told that they shouldn’t go if it’s not required. College is more than just being qualified for a job it’s a life changing experience that matures people and helps them form opinions and ethics on life. The last article, “Plan B: Skip College”, from the //NY Times//, talks about how high school teachers can’t pressure their students away from college. College graduates make more money than those who didn’t go to college, and they face lower unemployment rates. I agree with this statement that high school teachers shouldn’t pressure their students to avoid college. However, I think that high school students should spend more time on helping students decide what type of job they want in the future because this may help them find out what type of further education they want to get.
 * CLUE surveys**
 * Reading Response What a College Degree Means to Employers 10/27 **

he Animal School: A Fable This short story was symbolic to a college education. It showed us in a simple and humorous way how general a college education is. Some students may accelerate in specific subjects and may suffer in others. Grading systems do not necessarily rank students correctly in terms of intelligence. Students may get really good grades in some courses as other course grades are low and may lower students’ cumulative GPA. This satire was an easy depiction of this problem that universities face today. College Education and Technology This satire piece used a story set in the future. Students talked about the Museum of College Education and how strange past college systems used to be. This piece depicts the idea that online education may replace traditional college educations. The software and strategies introduced in the reading used by future online students was hard for me to believe will ever happen, however; the students in the reading felt the same way in terms of believing students used to learn in a classroom as we do now. This reading used a futuristic satire forcing us to think about the possible changes college educations may encounter.
 * Reading response (satires) 11/1**


 * FINAL EAR ASSIGNMENTS**



What do you believe is the purpose of a college education? What does it mean to be educated? What experiences have you had with education that led you to this belief?
 * TELL - Step 1**
 * College education, in my opinion, helps individuals develop opinions and strong morals. It helps us become more well-rounded, open-minded young, mature adults. Another purpose of college, is obviously to get a degree needed for the career they hope to have one day in the future. College seperates average students from motivated students, average students may not suceed in college. Those who put in the most effort and apply themselves most while at college, will be the students who earn the career and job they want.
 * I think someone who is well educated must be motivated. Motivated students claim their education, whereas average students just do what they need to do to pass their classes. Students who are motivated to learn, in return, will be more educated than the average student who I just described. Although average students are still educated, I believe that students who want to learn and truely apply themselves will ultimately be more educated.
 * I have experiences all the time that lead me to my beliefs on education. One example is demonstrated during exams. On previous occasions I have procrastinated studying for exams. I used to start studying for exams the day before, usually ending with pulling all nighters to cram in all the information I needed to know for the test. *The true example and realization about my poor studying habits happened when I recieved a D- in Intro to Microbiology, a class that is required for one of my emphasis courses for my future major. At the time, I was unsure about my major and did not take this class very seriously. Now, with my pending application to get into the medical imaging major, I'm facing the consequence from my own mistakes as I'm re-taking the class I previously did poor in. Since learning from my mistakes, I know study for my classes everynight.* I dont' have to stay up all night cramming and I know and understand the material. I do very well on my exams now and I retain what I study. This example has led me to believe that more motivated students will ultimately be more educated then the student who just goes through the motions to pass their classes. *Unfortunetly for me, I learned this the hard way, however; I'm making the best from what I've learned from my mistakes as I'll enter my major this semester with a 3.2 gpa.* As the readings say, students must claim their educations, and I totally agree with that.


 * - Writings within were added in class to the "seeds" in my response



// A necklace for my past // In February of my freshmen year in high school, I got a phone call to my classroom about getting an early dismissal. My mom was waiting for me out front of my school. My mom never called used me out of school, so I quickly assumed something bad happened. I ran to the car, and when I got inside I asked her what was wrong. “Everything’s fine, but Dad had a heart attack this morning and he’s at the hospital.” The world stopped after hearing those words. How could this happen to him? How could this happen to me, and my mom? How is “everything fine”? I’ve never heard of many people who survived heart attacks, so at the time, I thought that the worst was still to come. Unable to talk, or breathe, my mom and I cried the whole way to the hospital. My dad’s brother and father died from heart attacks, but I never thought my dad would have one too. When we got into the waiting room the doctor came out to talk to us. He told us that my dad had almost 80% blockage in one of his arteries, and he had a second heart attack on the way to the hospital. He was going in for an emergency surgery where doctors would perform an angioplasty and insert stents into the area of the artery that had the blockage. I felt like I was in a nightmare. Knowing my dad had to get emergency heart surgery made everything worse. It had me thinking things weren’t going to be okay, and if he had to get surgery there must be a serious problem. All my mom and I could do was sit in the waiting room together and pray the procedure would be successful. After the surgery was done my mom and I were able to go see my dad. Seeing my dad in a hospital bed wasn’t an unusual thing for me. My dad was healthy, but he’s had about thirteen surgeries due to the beating he went through when he played football at Boston College, but he was in great shape despite all of that. However, none of his three hip replacements, hernia surgeries, rotator cuff or knee surgeries made me this scared. When I saw his in the hospital this time, I couldn’t even speak. I felt so happy that he was still alive but at the same time I was devastated by what happened to him. When my dad came home from the hospital a few days later he gave me a necklace. It was a small silver heart with a diamond in the center. He told me he wanted me to have it because when he was having his heart attacks, he thought of me to keep him fighting. This was a powerful moment for me. Seeing my dad suffer and struggle taught me to never give up and stop fighting. If he could survive this, I can get through anything too. This was a traumatic, life-changing experience for me and I’m proud of my dad and thankful for him every day. // A necklace for the current // During the summer going into my freshmen year at Bloomsburg, my pap-pap lost his fight against ALS. Diagnosed four years before this, we never imagined him to live as long as he did. ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. When the motor neurons die, the brain can no longer send signals to the rest of the body. The progression of the disease goes from loss of voluntary and involuntary control, to paralysis, to death. It leaves its victims ultimately trapped inside their own bodies. ALS patients don’t lose their abilities to think or feel emotion; but to move and speak. We visited my pap-pap all the time, just for him to see us and to tell him stories and talk. Although he could never respond to us, or even smile, we knew he could hear us, and see us, and that that made him happy. It was depressing to see him suffering as he did because he was one of the greatest men I’ve ever know, he never deserved to be a victim of that terrible disease. Before he was totally unable to speak, he told my mom that he wanted me to have a necklace that he had given to her around the time he was originally diagnosed. It was a silver cross with a diamond in the center. He wanted me to have something I could have with me all the time that would remind me to never stop fighting. It serves its purpose. I put this cross onto the necklace my dad gave me. The two charms next to each other that I wear around my neck are constant reminders to me to never give up. I’m inspired by him, and my dad, every time I feel like I can’t handle college, or any other challenge I face. They’re both my inspirations and motivators.
 * TELL- Step 2**

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 * Rough draft of TELL**