Looking Back (4/21)

I think I began this class with a pretty open mind, but before the class when I read the syllabus I was nervous about the class. For some reason it was intimidating to me. I was nervous about the grading scale. Then when I went to class the first day you explained it and you made the classroom seem open and I liked that. I like that you have a sense of humor where you don't necessarily try to be funny, but you are. Sometimes I felt like I was the only one laughing which was a bit embarrassing at times. I think your openness to our beliefs made this an enjoyable class. I am so glad that I took this class to learn more about Native Americans. It has opened my eyes to more things then I probably think. The readings were tough to read at times, but by reading them has made me understand what they went through. There goes to show you that you should not jump to conclusions about someone because you never know what they went through unless you take the time to figure it out. It makes me so mad when people say such ignorant comments about peoples race, but I know I should not get upset because they don't know better and that could have been me if I didn't have people along the way to open my eyes to show me how ignorant I was being. Anyone can be a feminist. A feminist stands for having equal right for both men and women. They stands for having equal rights for both men and women because we are equal and we both deserve the same rights. A person should be judged on their character not what gender or race they are. I am a feminist and I think that everyone should be. Those who are not I don't believe have been taught how important it is and what women have went through. Well this is my very last blog and I am glad that this class opened my eyes to new things. I wonder if I would of had the same experience in a different WRA class. I feel that a lot of other teachers are more rigid and have a right or wrong way that you can do things. I think that letting us be whoever in the end helped my anyway better my outlook on things.

Blog (4/19)

The different projects we have done have made me focus on different audiences. For example my story book I focused on more of the younger audiences so I tried to make things kid friendly. The different writing styles have made me look at different writings I have done from perspectives of all ages. I really like how in every writing we do we can express ourselves in some way. There is not a right or wrong way. I think by doing it this way it has made me find what I think is important about what I am writing about. I think it has helped me in my other classes because I now put meaning into those papers we have to do in those classes as well.

Map Activity (Mar. 31)

The map activity helped me think about the exciting events in my story and to make sure I give the listener a picture in their mind when I am telling it. I need to tell in my college story about where my roommate is from so they understand why she didn't know the word for tank top. I also thought now I will ask her what the word she said was so it seems like they are actually in the story with me when I am telling it. The map activity helped me organize my events so it flows nicely when I tell the story. Looking at this I will then type the main events and what goes between each event so it flows nicely. Then I will be prepared to record it so it is organized. If I don't type it my thought tend to go from one thing to the next without order and organization. So hopefully this map activity in the end helped me organize my story better so I will be able to tell it with more emotion. I want the listener of my story to feel apart of it and to want to know more as it is happening. That is my goal.

Chapter 3 and 4 (Mar. 29)

When it comes to oral how you look is important. People want to feel like they can relate to you, but when he did his speech people judged him. Native Americans called him apple because they said he is red on the outside, but white on the inside. Where he thought that when he dressed like a Native American he was their entertainment. I thought it was crazy how white people would examine Native Americans to see what they were like when they first saw them. They looked at them as if they were wild animals when the only thing different about their appearance was their skin color. I just don't understand how so many people could judge them in such a negative way. I liked this statement in the book about white people will so quickly pass on Christianity and those practices, but will keep little of that themselves. I agree with that comment. Sometimes people are so eager to preach to others and judge them that they forget to take a look at themselves. Christianity should be about being kind to others and accepting them, but all the whites were doing is hurting them and trying to change who they were. In the book it talks about horrible things people have done to others make and excuse for it. The whites hurting Native Americans, Germans and the Jews there is always a way that people justify the cruel things they do to others. A man named cooper says how God makes all of us, but each skin color has different gifts. Whites he thinks have gifts of reason and Native Americans have instinct. I just can't believe people actually think that two different skin colors make you like two separate creatures.

The Truth About Stories (Mar. 24)

I think Tom King told the same story in each chapter to maybe have people understand different ways of thinking about how the world was made. I like how in the first chapter he talks about how there doesn't have to be good and bad like there is in the bible. Also he says why didn't God just say to Adam and Eve I love you, but I am not happy with your behavior. I like how he thinks about the other story and if God would of did different things how different the story may have been and what it would have affected. I like the turtle story better about how the world was created because it does not make anyone bad, but it shows everyone working together to create a nice place to live.

I think the truth about stories means stories can be interpreted however you want because they will be changed with each person that tells them. These stories may or may not be true, but they all have meaning behind them. Each situation has a story behind them it is just what we want to believe. Each person perspective is different about a story, but each perspective may have truth behind them. I don't know if this is exactly what the title means, but this is how I interpret it.

Over Reading (Mar. 22)

I thought that the story gave me a good idea about what my story should be like. It helped me get an idea of what kind of dialogue I could use in my paper. Everything I read I see that land is very important to Native American people. The writer used story telling to pass on stories that people should remember. It helps us remember history because it is important so it should be remembered. There were many different stories all in one reading. Overall the story was interesting.

New Unit (Mar. 15)

Stories are a narrative event, can teach lessons, can be written or passed down orally. I think oral rhetorical practices is oral tradition and oral history combined as one. Oral tradition are messages that are passed from generation to generation. Oral history is taking information from someone else to learn about their opinion about their history either through song or speech. We use this to learn more about someone history and to learn how someone felt about what they were going through. Academic discourse is language use in schools. It is used by professors, students, etc. Shared beliefs about values and techniques in the academic community. We use it when talking to professors or students. Academic discourse should be changed in writing so it can be related to everyone and it is more real.