Proposal Essay Topic

I have decided to write my proposal essay about the inconvenience of Supplemental Instruction classes at USD. I am unfortunately one of the unlucky students that has to be a full time student and a full time worker and I have classes that have Supplemental Instruction classes that are only available at night. In one of my classes, my professor says that we will pass the test if we come to class, do the work, and go to the SI classes. I find that this is an unfair advantage for the students that don't have to have a full time job to get by. There are only three SI classes a week for this class and I have not been able to attend one due to my need to pay bills. My proposal is that if the professers can't have more than one Supplemental Instructor teaching at varied times throughout the day or if USD can't budjet this in, the SI classes should be video taped and placed on D2L or on some other form of the internet to give students who have to study at random times throughout the day the same advantage as the students who can make all of the SI classes.

This is something that concerns me currently in my life. I am a little concerned that I may not be able to find sources to cite on this but I'm really hoping that this will work because its something that I think would be a great idea to institute at USD.

Stephen Colbert on Migrant Farm Workers

I watched the episode on the Colbert Report where he was talking about migrant farm workers. The episode starts with Colbert talking about how he will be testifying before congress and how Gretchen Carlson with Fox News was so upset about him speaking at congress and "wasting our tax payers dollars". Stephen then went on to make fun of her by saying that yes, she was right because the tax payers would be paying for his water and the electricity powering his microphone for his five minutes of talk time. It was really entertaining because I was thinking the same thing. I thought, "really, she is so concerned about tax payers money?" I thought that part of it was really funny. Also, another reporter was upset because Colbert would be testifying "under oath and in character" when people like Christy Brinkley and Elmo have spoke before congress. I think that some of these journalists will just disagree with anything to get thier faces on tv.

In the next part, Colbert dressed in gardening wear and went on a migrant farm to work and see what these workers have to go through. It was really entertaining because it was funny but it got you to take a look what does actually go on on these farms. Workers are working as fast as possible to fill boxes full of ears of corn and some workers are out in the fields picking beans in the sun. It was funny to see him ask questions about if they get to pick beans in the shade or if the workers get paid by the hour or by the bean. I think he makes this into more of a joke so that more people will pay attention and actually see the really issue behind the humor. It kind of made me think about how these people end up coming into this country legally and illegally just to work in semi-poor conditions for low wages. Colbert asked if he would be qualified for the job and the owner said no. Its interesting because there are probably a lot of American workers who would not be qualified for this job or want to do this job but the for the Mexican immigrants, that is all they have.

Pilots need sleep too

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2010-09-17-editorial17_ST_N.htm 
 I read this article about the amount of sleep pilots were getting due to their long work schedules and commutes to work. There have been crashes due to pilots that were asleep or pilots that were exhausted and people have died because of this. Pilots are currently allowed to work 16 hour shifts and when they do get their required 8 hours of 'sleep' time, this 8 hours includes getting to the hotel, eating, sleeping, and dressing before they are back to work. The Federal Aviation Administration is trying to pass an ordinance that would force pilots to take a minimum of 9 hours of sleep time starting when they get back to thier hotel. They would also only be allowed to work 13 hour shifts and those that worked overnight could be limited to nine hours a shift. They also would force the airlines to keep records of the pilots commuting because those flying hours could count against thier shifts. Pilots and airlines oppose these new proposed regulations and the author of this article believes that if these regulations don't get passed, more lives will be at risk. I agree with the author on this article because there have been several plane crashes and hundreds of deaths due to pilot fatigue. Just because it makes it inconvienient for pilots or it makes scheduling harder for airlines doesn't mean that these people being annoyed is worth sacrificing more passengers. In my opinion, public saftey has to come first because when you are flying on a plane, you are basically intrusting your life in the pilot's hands. I certaintly would not want my pilot falling asleep if I were a passenger on a plane. I think that these new regulations would really help to make sure that the pilots are not overworked or fatigued. I hope that the FAA works with pilots and airlines to make sure that the passengers of these planes are safe and also that it is something that the pilots and airlines can be comfortable with. I think that each side will have to make changes and small sacrifices in order to make a new regulation pass but those sacrifices should be made for the greater good.

My Proposal for my Literacy Narrative

I have decided to write my Literacy Narrative about my parent's divorce and how that has affected me and shaped me as a person today. I came to this decision because thier divorce happened when I was only six years old and it started a chain of movement and change in my life. It also shaped how I view my relationships with not only boyfriends but with my family and friends as well. Thier divorce was a nasty one and I believe I have a perspective on this that not a lot of people may have. I also have views about how I want my future to be, based on what I have been through in the past. I believe this will be a good topic to write about as it was probably the most influental event thus far in my life.

Topic for my Literacy Narrative

I've been trying to come up with a good idea to write my paper about. I have been trying to think of things that I am literate in. It seemed like a lot of people in class had good ideas to start with. Some were good at sports, some knowledgable about hunting, some about writing itself. I on the other hand, couldn't really think of anything that stands out to me as something I am exceptionally literate in. I have always been the kind of person that was a good kid, did well in school, hung out with my friends and family and just pretty normal all around person. My family moved around a ton when I was younger and a lot of my childhood memories just consist of that. Constant change. Even after I graduated high school in 2003 I did a lot of changing. I moved out of the house, I had jobs that I loved but became bored at and so I changed them again. I finally decided to go to college with the intention of changing my life and finding what I am truely literate in and finding something to be successful at in my life. So when trying to come up with a topic for my paper, I decided that I think I will go with the actual meaning of a literacy narrative; how my reading and writing experiences have shaped me into the person I am today. Now, I have never really considered myself to be a great writer and I'm not really sure that I could write about how writing has shaped me into the person I am today but I could write about reading. For as long as I can remember I have always loved to read. My mom used to call me her "little bookworm". I have always been into horror, sci fi, mysteries, law, and crime books and this is something I believe has helped shaped my interests. Even though these books have always been fiction, I think it might have helped define how I think and  has actually lead me to my decision to go into Criminal Justice. I have a lot of brainstorming to do and I hope that this idea will actually pan out to a 1000 word essay but I think I am at a good starting point.

What defines me?

At this point in my life, I would say that I am partially defined. The things that define me are my relationships. My family, my friends, and my boyfriend are the most important aspects of my life. They have all individually shaped me into the kind of person that I am today.

My family consists of my Mom, Stepdad, and two sisters. My Mom has been the rock in our family. She had to be a single mom for most of our lives growing up and she always worked hard to instill good morals and values into her children. Growing up, I always watched how hard she worked and even though I didn't understand it much then, I now know that I wouldn't be the type of person I am today if it wasn't for her. I learned many lessons from her but the most important that helped define me today would probably be that its always best to treat people the way you want to be treated and that family is always first. Those are pretty simple lessons to live by but they have helped me feel like a good person with good morals and also have helped me build strong bonds with my family members even as we have all become adults.

My friends and boyfriend are also a huge part in what defines me. My friends are what I refer to as my 'friend family'. They consist of a small group of people that I would do anything for. They have each in their own way helped to mold me into who I am today. They have brought out the positive things in me and my life and added laughter and joy and fun to it. My boyfriend is also equally amazing as he has really helped me to see sides of myself that I didn't know were there. He has helped push me to become all that I can be and all that I want to be. I've never had anyone in my life who really helped my open my eyes to who I really am like my friends and boyfriend have.

The parts of me that remain undefined are what I want for my future. Eventually I see myself with a family of my own and I believe that having that will define me on a whole new level that I can't even imagine right now. I see myself graduating from college and hopefully going to law school and becoming a successful lawyer. I don't even know what type of lawyer I will choose to be at this point and I believe that the choice I make in that will help define me in new ways. I'm not sure that I will ever be able to give a concrete answer on what 'defines me' but I think that I like it better that way. I like being a little undefined.