Saypharath, Isaac Ingram ENGL 1001-003 17/7/13 The question from my blog that I chose to answer for Midterm

Question 1, would be "How is "risk-taking" implemented in this course?" Risk taking is implemented into this course by experimenting with the different types of writing outside of formal research papers that I am used to doing. These are the types of papers that I have never written before and am therefore not used to writing. With each new assignment that I am given, I am able to partake in a new experience that will hopefully expand my mind as well as my writing skill. This course has also exposed me to genres of writing. An example of this would be the Narrative Genre. One the second day of class, I was first exposed to this by way of assignment. When I first received my assignment (which was to write a narrative of my most biggest experience with literacy), I was confused on the directives given to me. This was because it was a broad subject, and also supposed to be written in a way that I had never written before. However, through the struggle of writing on an unfamiliar subject, I had completed my assignment by the time it was due, and also with satisfactory results, given that it was my first time having to write a narrative. The risk taking comes from having to write on subjects and in such ways that you will not be familiar with. And with each paper you turn in, it depends slightly on luck on what type of grade you'll get. There are many differences between high school and college. They are: initiative, responsibility, and balance. I believe that these are the differences because in high school, you

are able to go about your school life without worrying about studying nor having to put in much work in order to receiving a good grade. You could party hard the night before a test, and still attain a relatively good grade. However, in college, you must take initiative in making sure that your grade is above average. There won't be a teacher behind you to make sure that you're doing your work. If you have a question, you are to seek out the professor, because the professor won't help you unless you tell him/her that you need help. The student must also be responsible to keep up with his/her work load and make sure that they aren't overwhelmed. In high school responsibility involves procrastinating procrastination. This means that they should do their work first before their social life should come in to interfere with their mindset. They must also be responsible to realize why they are at university in the first place, to learn and acquire a degree, not to have fun nor waste their parents money on anything that isn't education related. The last difference between high school and college, is balance. In high school the student need not have worried about having to balance social needs, educational needs, as well as the need for sleep due to the fact that most work given during high school was simply busy work. In college, you need to choose two of three (social, educational, sleep). If a student attempted to balance all three, they would become over stressed, and fail all three. The main reason I think that separates high school and civilian university, is that students are offered more freedom than ever before. Here there is not really a sense of authority to watch the students. They can literally do whatever they wanted, provided they are not apprehended. I use the term "civilian university" because there exists a small number of schools who operate under military like protocols and regulations (a system that I would prefer all schools use). Students, when given this freedom, use it in a variety of ways. They suddenly have the freedom to study, freedom to make friends, the freedom to make god marks. However, they can also use

this freedom in bad ways, such as the freedom to drink, use illicit substances, as well as fail out of college, wasting the money of their parents and whatever scholarships/grants they receive. The most important thing about the freedom that students receive in university, is that they decide how best to utilize it. Their mindset about university is the big factor that determines if they receive a degree, or if they fail out. If I were told to revise the High School versus University List, I would have to keep the list the same, except for a couple exclusions regarding dress code and the fact that high school is more lecture based than in university. The reason I would take out the mention of "no dress code in university," is that while students have more freedom to dress how they would like, students should ALWAYS dress appropriately for the occasion and for the environment (in this case, the day time in a LEARNING INSTITUTION). Students must be dressed conservatively as to not distract each other in the learning environment that is university. This is why I advocate uniforms. When you take away the individuality of the person, they are more likely to conform to standards (within reasonable bounds). Therefore, more attention would be given to the lesson, less distractions would be created, thus creative a near pristine area for learning. Another item I would like to change on the list states that "high school classes are more lecture based than university classes." I think that this statement is half true. This is because while there is more discussion in university classes, there will also be classes that are extremely lecture based (namely classes consisting of more than fifty people). A lecture is suitable for large numbers of students while a discussion, if utilized in a classroom with a large population, would only create chaos, disorganization, and ultimately no productivity.

One of the key concepts listed in the syllabus that I am engaging with really well would be "responsibility for one's own learning." This is because in university, there is no one to tell me what to do, or when I should do it. I feel like this is more effective in helping me learn than having someone behind my back checking to make sure I do my work. I am able to work at my own pace, rather than to someone else's pace. Therefore, I have to depend on myself to get the work done, rather than someone else. A key concept that I am struggling with is risk taking. Yes, while I like putting my life at risk, putting my grades at risk are a completely different subject, and quite frankly, one I would not like to disturb. Growing up, as well as experiencing JROTC, I was taught to use methods that have been proven and have not failed through repeated use. As the saying goes, "If it's not broke, why fix it?" I believe that for maximum productivity, and efficiency, methods that have constantly proven themselves, should be used throughout life. Risks are a stretch from proven methods, and may very well end badly for the risk taker. If a risk is taken with an especially volatile and ever changing subject (such as grades), and the risk taker fails, then the consequences will be dire. However, if the risk taker succeeds, he or she must keep repeating said risk until it becomes a method that has proven itself time and time again to be useful to general society. All of the answers that I have given relate to each other in that I seek a stable, proven path towards success. I believe that freedom should be limited to students so that they don't forget why they are at a university. They are there to learn, network so that they can utilize their connections in the future, and hopefully gain some real world work experiance through part time employment as well as internships. The more that they goof off and not take their education seriously, the more of a chance they have of failing. Students should also be responsible to take

care of their own work, keep up with due dates, as well as making sure they are studying to stay ahead of the rest of the student population. They need to make sure that they stand out from the general population so that it will be easier for them to get a job. The reason that I am doing well with being responsible for my own learning, is that I know why I am here. It's not to make friends, nor overly socialize. I am here to do a job, which is to get my degree and secure a place in my career field. If I can keep this mindset throughout my years in university, then I will succeed and graduate earlier than the rest of the student population. I see life as a metaphorical ladder, with the top of the ladder leading to success. Other people are trying to climb the ladder, to get to the successful life style you want before you do. Therefore, you have to make them fall off the ladder, until you have a clear path to the top. I am struggling with risk taking because I don't see it as a careful and proven path to success in university. There are many other proven methods that are safe, rather than going off and creating an unnecessary path that may fail later on.