The Impact of Where You Get Your News

The Tulsa shooting is one event I heard of, and my reaction to it was anger. The fact that an unarmed man was shot – most likely because of some racial prejudice held by the officer – is angering. I will admit that I cannot imagine the kind of pressure police officers face, but investigations should be held in ever situation of a civilian being shot – all biases being put aside. At the very least Ms. Shelby should be losing her job – because of lack of judgment on her part. Her bail ended up being $50,000, and this amount is minimal compared to the bail that would have been given to an African American male.

I heard about the Tulsa shooting originally from family, and then by reading about the event in the Wall Street Journal. I believe that these sources shape my opinion very much. My family and I are always saddened by the news of an unexpected death, especially at the hands of higher authorities. My family has also always had a huge impact on me as a person. I have always enjoyed the Wall Street Journal, but this is because I believe that for the most part they try to present more facts than opinion. While I know that Wall Street Journal does have it’s own agenda, but I believe that the way this news source presents the facts that they have are in a very formal way.

Other news outlets do present things in different ways. For example, Fox News most likely came to the rescue for Ms. Shelby – in a way that is most likely aggressive towards African Americans. MSNBC is probably more aggressive toward the police force. I think that every news source will present their side of the story to push their own agenda. Sometimes true fact can be replaced by the agendas of news sources.

Work Cited:

Mahtani, Shibani. "Tulsa Police Officer Booked, Released in Terence Crutcher Shooting Case." WSJ. Wsj.com, 23 Sept. 2016. Web. 27 Sept. 2016. http://www.wsj.com/articles/tulsa-police-officer-booked-released-in-terence-crutcher-shooting-case-1474633452.

What Does My Music Say About Me?

For this assignment I put my Spotify on shuffle and attempted to make a conclusion, based on the first five songs, on what impression people would have of me. I think it would also be interesting to see what you may think of me without reading the rest of the blog. If you want, you can look up the first five songs and make a comment of your judgments. The songs that made the first five were:

                        When I’m With You – Ben Rector

                        Dirty Water – Lecrae

                        Board of Education – Propaganda 

                        Let it be Jesus – Christy Nockels

                        The Men that Drive Me places – Ben Rector.

The first song on this list is When I’m With You by Ben Rector. This song shows a nostalgic side that I have of my past. I loved high school and this song brings back memories of those years. This song brings up memories of a girlfriend I had in high school and how I got stuck in mud twice while driving her home from two separate dates. This song allows me to look at past mistakes and be able to laugh. While the song does not really have a deep meaning, it does carry personal importance for me.

The second song is Dirty water by Lecrae. This is one of three Christian songs that are on this list, so it should be seen that I am a Christian. Other than that, this song holds more importance than just being Christian. Dirty water has a message of racism amongst the Christian community. My favorite lines that pertain to this being:

“…just dug a well in West Africa

    But how many of my friends is Afri-can, huh?

     No habla español (nope)

     Just show me tu baño

     Ain't tryna get to know you, I'm too busy readin' Daniel (woo!)

       Most segregated time of day is Sunday service (My Lawd)

     Now what you think that say about the God you worship? (ok)”.

I have been on many mission trips in the past and I have seen that people do treat others differently when not on home turf. This song is a reminder that I am to be a representation of Christ with everything that I do no matter where I am.

            The next song is Board of Education by Propaganda, and this song is very important to me because it is the song that influenced my decision in wanting to become a teacher. This song goes over issues in the education system – such as standardized testing. My favorite lines are:

“These lessons have wings, only to get clipped, to fit, into the Low-Res JPEG. you call

"The State Standards." Why do you insist this is still the industrial age?

 My child is not a widget. And a school should not be an assembly line. Making my daughter's

Diploma equivalent to an inspected by 2235 stamp

Dear Bored of Education, so are we”.

I have many frustrations with the modern education system, and I believe these lines express just that.

            Let is be Jesus is the next song and I love this song. It is a constant reminder of who has been there through everything, and that in everything I do I am a representation of what and whom I believe in. The line “For me to live is Christ” is repeated all through out the song, and to me these are very powerful words that are a constant reminder.

            The Men That Drive Me Places by Ben Rector is the next song, and this song is a constant reminder to not ever think too highly of myself. Meaning not to look at others as lower than me, but equals. Basically, to see people as people – not as the life style they live. Ben Rector also seems to also make references to white privilege, and I as a white male need to know that others do not have it as easy.  
           I was excited when I heard these five songs come on, because they really express my religious beliefs and stances on social issues. I think these songs exemplify who I am as a person well. I will also leave the music video of Board of Education for those future teachers.       

Good Writing

Having good writing is more than just having words on a page that are grammatically correct. One can write a grammatically sound paper, and yet have an uninteresting or even unreadable paper. While it is good to have a grammatically sound paper, good writing is purposeful, organized, and creative.

Good writing is purposeful, meaning that one through good writing will be able to bring across what they want the reader to obtain. This could be the argument in a research paper or the ability to bring out the hopeless romantic in a person, the way Nicholas Sparks does for many. Writing without a purpose is not only boring, but has no benefit for the reader. A purposeful work will enlighten readers to an argument or idea; this enlightenment being the reason we write.

While purpose is very important to good writing, the purpose of the argument must be displayed in an organized way. A poetry teacher once told me that good writing is sexy. S.E.X.Y is an acronym for sentence structure that means: state your purpose, explain your purpose, give an example, and give your analysis. While some were quick to point out that example did not start with an “x,” I was amazed. This simple acronym helped me organize my thoughts, and organization is essential for good writing. Without organized writing, the reader will not be able to clearly see the intended purpose of the work, which disrupts the core argument that the writer is attempting to make. Once the writer disrupts this core argument, one can say that he or she no longer has a paper with credibility.  

One should desire to be organized, but nobody wants to come off as computerized. Creativity is essential to writing, because how can one distinctive without it? The ability to make an idea one’s own is how I would define creativity in writing. How can one state an idea, which has probably been brought up before, in a new and innovative way? This is the question that one has to wrestle with when trying to make a work creative. It should be clear that creativity is not being able to string a line of big words together, but more like the ability to string a line of words in a way that people have not seen before.

Literacy

A person who has college level literacy will have the ability to read, write, or listen at a higher level. This allows the person to create his or her own meaning out of literary works, creatively and effectively. A person who is able to be creatively literate is able to do this without overusing outside crutches, meaning the person can construct creative conclusions through observations and critical thinking. An effective literate person is able to create a conclusion that he or she can then make an argument for. As Carver says in On Writing, “For the details to be concrete and convey meaning, the language must be accurate and precisely given” (pg. 848). Meaning, a person should be able to give an organized and non-distracting argument. A person can be creative, but without the ability to be effective, the skill is diminished, and vise versa. Being able to read, write, or listen creatively and effectively should be abilities held by someone who is considered literate at the college level. By showing what a person of college level literacy should be able to demonstrate, a higher standard for the general definition of literacy is made.

            A general definition given to literacy is a person’s ability to read. While Susan Reynolds, in What You Read Matters More Than You Think, shows us that reading is an effective tool in improving or testing one's literacy; it is not what literacy is solely. Literacy is one's ability to decipher or create meaning through reading, writing, or listening. This is a definition that shows that many people can read, but do they retain what they read? Do they read anything worth retaining? As Reynolds states in the same article, “These types of light reading lack a genuine voice, a viewpoint, or the sort of analyses that might stimulate thought. It’s light and breezy reading that you can skim through and will likely forget within minutes” (Para. 3). In this instance the writer is talking about “light reading,” and demonstrates that just because the person is reading does not mean it will in anyway affect the reader for any long-term period (Para. 3). With this, it is seen that what is being read will have a direct effect on how that person writes, another important aspect of literacy.

            Writing literacy has to do with the writer’s ability to create meaning in his or her own way. Meaning, that as a literate writer, one should be able to creatively express their original thoughts. Carver, in On Writing, calls this a writer’s “signature” (pg. 845). This “signature” is what will distinguish one writer from all others, and make them worth reading. If all writers had the same style, reading would be tiresome and repetitive. One’s “signature” is an important part of their writing, and is able to effectively demonstrate one's literary abilities. Literacy in writing is very important, but one can also prove their literacy through other everyday skills.

            With the ever-growing popularity of audiobooks and podcasts, it would be wrong to leave out how one can be literate in listening. Many who do not read at the level that is expected of them have found other ways to prove their literacy. At the collegiate level and higher, many are switching to audio books, because as auditory learners, it is important to use their strengths. The definition that has been made for literacy, for purposes of this writing, is the ability to decipher or create meaning, effectively and creatively. A person, who is able to use auditory learning to decipher meaning creatively and effectively, should not be put into a disadvantage because of the way they learn.

            My strengths as a literary writer include the ability to make an effective and organized argument. As a writer, I have a very particular way of writing, in order to effectively draw my readers into my argument. One of my weaknesses would be how hard it is for me to deviate from my personalized writing style. I have trouble being able to surprise readers because of my predictability.

Work Cited:

Commentary. "What You Read Matters More than You Might Think." Quartz. N.p., 30 June 2016. Web. 06 Sept. 2016. http://qz.com/714987/what-you-read-matters-more-than-you-might-think/

Carver, Raymond. "Writing." SpringerReference (n.d.): n. pag. Web. http://www.faculty.english.ttu.edu/rickly/3360/On-Writing.pdf