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.

About Paper (Mar. 3)

Yesterday I tried to think about how I was going to incorporate two spirited people into my paper. I wrote my paper more on identity and sexuality. I have still not decided how I am going to do it, but I am sure I will figure it out. I explained to my partner yesterday what I wanted to put in there and what I needed to work on. I still need to go back and site everything. I found the workshop most useful because helped me think about different topic ideas and how my partner made her ideas connect throughout her paper. The only think I would improve about the workshop is more feedback that will help me. I feel like I got a lot of feedback that was nice, but was not something that I was like oh yeah I will go do that. Other then that I find the workshops useful and I am glad we do them.

Blog (Feb. 24)

After chapter 6 of the conquest I thought about writing about sexual violence. I thought I would research different problems created when this serious of a crime isn't punished greatly. I also thought I could write about how books and movies portray Americans. I feel as if sometimes Americans are seen as such bad people and it make me sad, but then I realize we did these things I don't blame people for thinking of us as monsters. I probably would too. The curious researcher is coming along nicely. I am working hard to get the different lessons things done throughout the book. I will make sure I get them all done. Hopefully it will help me to be a better researcher. I liked the annotated bibliography because it helped me organize my ideas about what I would take from the article. It also helped me remember what I thought stuck out at first. It helped me get a start on my paper and I think I will do this for future research papers I have. I am glad I tried it even though I didn't want to do it at first.

My Choice Blog (Feb. 23)

My group and I just finished our project. We did our project over chapter one. We put questions on ten different cards and answers on the others. On Wednesday in class we are going to give each person a card and have them find the person that has the part that goes with their card. We chose to do this because it was something different the jeopardy. I hope the class enjoys it. On the back of the cards is our groups artwork. It is fantastic I might add. It is going to be weird to be back in class on Monday because it seems like it has been forever. It was nice having sometime off to sleep in. This winter weather makes me feel like I don't want to get up out of bed. I can't wait tell spring comes so I don't have to wear my big coat to class. I can't believe spring break is already here next week. This semester is going by so fast. I am not going anywhere besides home. It will be nice to be home so I can sleep in my own bed and to not be woken up by a roommate throughout the night. It will also be nice to see old friends again. I can't wait for next week!

Feelings about the quote (Feb 15)

The readings were very hard for me to read. Some things that have occurred in the readings were not even long ago. I think that is what makes it harder to read about. No one should have to go through what children or adults in those readings have went through. The quote "rape is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in the a state of fear" was a quote I read over and over again before reading on into the reading. The quote to me means rape is when a man takes control over a woman because he scares her so much to the point where she does not know what to think. The conscious process of imitation to me means what pain he has been inflicted with or what he is feeling is brought out in the same way. It is a cycle of violence that keeps on going unless the cycle is broken.

Final Paper

Finishing up my paper was a lot easier then writing it for the first time. I hope I changed what you wanted me to change. I added a little more detail here and there. I also fixed the space between the paragraph that was there. I hope my paper goes well, but I guess if it doesn't it is always good that I can fix what I messed up on. I plan on fixing my paper until I get a 4. I hope I don't have to do it too many times. I thought on Sunday we had to have it in before class so I was worried when I could not find the drop box so I uploaded to draft 2 just to be on the safe side. I will upload it to the right spot when I am done with my classes today.

Final Paper

Comments Back From Draft 2 (Feb. 03)

Writing draft number two was hard because you have to organize your thoughts and think about how you're going to say certain things. On my paper I didn't have very much feedback. I hope that means my paper is okay because the girl next to me has feedback all over her page. I just feel a little nervous now. I like the way you're giving feedback on my paper. It lets me know exactly where the problems is and what I need to fix. I thought you would comment on how I worded different sentences or how I needed to be more clear. I did not get very many comments on sentence structure, but I got some on spacing between paragraphs, to erase me name on the top of the paper, and a couple grammar mistakes. I am just going to keep looking over my paper and hopefully it is what you want.

Blog on Feb. 1

Draft two is coming along nicely. The hardest part about my draft was organizing it and putting down what I wanted to say. Once I got started and thought of events that impacted my identity it was easy to do. I thought the writing workshop helped me get started in the right direction. At first I had no idea what to write about. Once I had read others I then was able to put my paper together. At first I thought we had to write about literacy, but then I found out the paper did not have to do anything with it. There are not any questions that I need answered. I think my paper needs different wording in spots, but overall everything is fine.

How The First Draft Went

Draft one was okay. I did not get 3-4 pages done. I only finished 2 so far. It is just hard for me to find another thing that goes with my paper. In my paper I talk about how literacy has helped me deal with problems I may face. It's just hard to find enough things to talk about. In writing groups I would like to see if anyone has any ideas about what extra to put into my paper or any ideas how to organize it better. The start of it is going well so far, but there is a lot more that needs to be done. Even though the paper is not long at all it is hard to find enough stuff that goes together.

Analyzing Death Mummur By: Jeanette Armstrong

1. Q) Who is speaking?
A) A Native American Man.
2. Q) Who is he speaking to?
A) He is not speaking to anyone you just hear his pain and anger he's feeling.
3. Q) What's his tone?
A) His tone is sad and angry.
4. Q) Why does she use this voice?
A) I think that he uses this voice to express the loss of loved ones and the sad things he saw.
5. Q) Does she use concrete abstract or both?
A) Both
6. Q) What does her way of wording do for the reader?
A) IT makes you see a sad place and feel some of the pain the man is feeling.
7. Q) What is the overall theme and why?
A) I think the overall theme is a man that has experienced a lot of loss and pain that doesn't go away. He carries the pain around with him.
8. Q) What does it have to do with identity and autobiography?
A) This is the man in the poems autobiography because it talks about his life. His identity came from the things he went through. That is why his "mask" which is really just his face is made from his dead tribe and loved ones.

How Analyzing The Poetry Went

1. Analyzing the poetry went well. I don't know if I was right about what the poem meant, but I did my best.
2. I chose to read Death Mummur. It was the most clear and I thought I had a better idea about what it was about then the other one.
3. I enjoyed looking at the poetry. It was nice to think deeper into the meaning of the poem. Like the mask he said he wore represented the death of his loved ones.
4. The thing I didn't like was that the poem seemed sad. I felt bad for the man for his pain that he had went through. After going through things in his life it didn't seem like he wanted to be happy anymore.
5. I learned that you must read poems over and over again to better understand them.
6. Draft #1 is going okay. It is hard for me to organize everything so it flows the way I want it to. I have a few ideas, but I have to ask you if it's what you're looking for. I think overall it should turn out nice. I really like that you let us write our papers as many times as we want.

About Monday

I am happy to be in this WRA class. I like that it focus on the rights of people. Today people still judge others by their race. I think if more people are aware of what others went through or took their feelings into consideration you would not see this problem today. Just like anything, things take time. I couldn't believe how that young Native American girl was treated in "Gee, You Don't Seem Like An Indian From the Reservation."I understand there is still people that treat Native Americans poorly, but I feel that it's not as bad as it use to be. The more knowledge people are given I believe the less likely they are to judge others. I am excited to learn more about others in this class.