Disscussing the Secrets of Straight-A Students Part 2

I think these 11 steps are really good to follow to get Straight A's. But, you must have to make a schedule so I can plan what to do in certain hours while doing college work. If I don't plan to do my work, I will be procrasinating. I'll be watching my favorite television shows, playing video games, relaxing and playing on the computer.

These steps I would follow is to Speak up, Take good notes, Test yourself, Schedule your time, To become a better reader is to read, Study anywhere -- or everywhere, Set priorities, Take good notes, Get organized, Clean up my act, and Do more than you are asked.

I think these steps are really helpful for me. These abilities will work out for me and keep me learning new information following these directions on the list on how to get straight A's. I need to work more harder than before like how the slaves of Ancient Eygpt built one of the 7 wonders of the world called The Great Pyramaid.

The step I didn't follow is to "Study together." I don't have a friend who can study with me when I am done with my classes at MPC. I can only ask questions to my parents and do the work on my own if it is not really riskfully difficult and confusing. I am sure tutors at the English lab can help me out too. I go to the Lindamoodbell program. I really like the program here. The teacher and me study one-by-one with each other; it helps to build my learning, study and communicating skills and intellengence of my brain. At my web design class my eyes get weaker from looking at the screen for too long and makes me want to leave at home to do the rest of web publishing work there. Although I don't have Front Page unavalable at home, I wish I had the program. I can work at home and at school would be more easier and get the web design task done.

Discussing the Secrets of Straight-A Students

James McGuire

March 16, 2003

English 322, Section #567

Discussing the Secrets of Straight-A Students

The 11 steps to, “Secrets of Straight-A Students are:

1. Set priorities. Students brook no intrusions on study time which is business that comes before recreation.

2. Study anywhere -- or everywhere. Students get persuaded by a tutor to use the time to memorize biology terms. An another posted a vocabulary list by the medicine cabinet and learned a new word every day while brushing his teeth. Some worked late at night when the house was quiet, wake up early in the morning, study as soon as they came home from school when the work was fresh in their minds.

3. Get organized. Keep a pencil, paper, pens right where you can put your hands on to it so you don’t waste time looking for them. Use folders to track your assignments and another for papers that are completed and graded. File day’s papers in color-coded folders by subject so, they’ll be available for review at exam time. Students who don’t have a private study area remain organized. Use a backpack or drawer to keep essential supplies together and cuts down on wasting your time searching for them.

4. Learn how to read. Take speed reading classes it will also learn you how to look at the book’s table of contents, graphs and pictures. You can retain a lot more information when you begin to read. “Be an active reader -- one who continually asks questions that lead to a full understanding of the author’s message” - Gordon W. Green, Jr., in his book, “Getting Straight A’s”

5. Schedule your time. When a teacher assigns a long paper, draw up a timetable, dividing the project into small pieces so it isn’t so overwhelming. “It’s like eating a steak, you chew it one bite at a time” - Domenica Roman. Research and Outline a report first, then try to complete the writing in one long push over a weekend. “I like to get it down on paper early, so I have to polish and review”- Melendres. Even the best students procrastinate. But when it happens, they face up to it. It comes down to late nights to homework. “You make sure to hit the deadline if you want straight A‘s.” -Christi Anderson.

6. Take good notes -- and use them. Reading the textbook is important but, the teacher is going to test you on what he or she emphasized. It is what you find in your notes. Top students also take notes while reading the text assignment. Use this homemade system David Cieri has used which he draws a line down the center of a notebook. Then, writes notes from the text on one side and those from the teacher’s lecture on the other. He is able to review both aspects of the assignments at once. Before the bell rings, students want to leave early out of class but, Anderson uses a few minutes to write a two or three sentence summary of the lesson’s principal points, which she scans before the next day’s class.

7. Clean up your act. Neat papers are likely to get higher grades than sloppy ones. The student who turns in a neat paper is already on the way to an A.

8. Speak up. Class participation goes beyond merely asking questions. It is a matter of showing intellectual curiosity. Better grades come from better understanding.

9. Study together. The value of hitting the books together was demonstrated in an experiment at University of California at Berkeley. Uri Treisman, a graduate student there observed a freshman calculus class which Asian-Americans scored higher than other minority students from similar academic backgrounds. These students discussed homework problems together, tried different approaches and explained their solutions to one another. The other students, studied alone, spent most of their time reading and rereading the text, and tried the same approach time after time even if it was unsuccessful. Treisman suggest teaching group-study methods in the course. The groups performed equally well.

10. Test yourself. As part of note-taking, Domenica highlights points she thinks may be covered during exams. Later she frames tentative test questions based on those points and gives herself a written examination before test day. “If I can’t answer the question satisfactorily, I go back and review,” she says. Students who make up possible test questions often find many of the same questions on the real exam and thus score higher.

11. Do more than you’re asked. If your math teacher assigns five problems, do ten. Read more than eight pages, do 12. Part of learning is practicing and the more you practice, the more you learn. From infancy, the parents imbued them with a love for learning. They set high standards for their kids and held them to those standards. They encouraged their sons and daughters in their studies but, did not do the work for them. The parents impressed the lessons of responsibility on their kids and the kids done very well on school work.

Multiple Intelligences

James McGuire

April 29, 2003

English 322, Section #567

Multiple Intelligences

My assessment of my 3 top intelligences is Nature was (4.43), Body Movement (4.14), Language (3.86), Spatial (3.71), Logic/Math (3.71), Social (3.29), Musical (3), and Self was (4). I wasn’t surprised but, I thought this was pretty different or awkward. But, it was interesting. It could be accurate, but I would like to take some free time to read the other intelligences. I think this type of view of intelligence is fairer than traditional IQ tests that just measure on different types of intelligences. Nature tells me that I am sensitive to nature and environment. You probably know the names of rocks, flowers, birds, and trees. You love the outdoors. Then it teaches you some ways to use your intelligence in your learning: Working in the garden. Read about plants and/or animals. Study habits of fish or birds. Read nature magazines. Go hiking. Take photographs of what you find on your hike. Write a story describing the photographs. Body Movement: I like to move, dance, wiggle, walk, and swim. You are likely good at sports, and you have good fine motor skills. You may enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together. Incorporating body movement into your learning will help you process and retain information better. Self: I have a very good sense of self. I like to spend time by yourself and think things over. You will often take in information from another person, mull it over by yourself, and come back to that person later to discuss it. I like working on projects on your own. I often prefer to learn by trail and error. Effective techniques to enhance your learning include keeping a journal and giving yourself time to reflect on new ideas and information.

Violent Video Games

James McGuire

English 322, Section #567

April 30, 2003

Violent Video Games

At home I rent violent video games when I was 15 and 16 years old. I would rent Turok a game where you have to shoot Dinosaurs. Doom was pretty in a killing outrage in glorifying pink ugly bloody demons you have to shoot down after blood gore killed on the ground. Today, I like to play Medal of Honor which doesn’t have blood in the game. It is situated on a WW2 battle against Nazi Germans. On Nintendo 64, my favorite game was Goldeneye 007 and Killer Instinct on Super Intendo. This video game reality is like the movie, “The Matrix.” How Artificial Intelligent human robots go into a computer based dream world for your mind where people live everything is unreal. It’s not a reality world it is like a game for your mind. But, Neo has to get out of the fake world to be free to live in the real world. If I had my children allowed to play violent video games, they would have to be older to play them and take the individual responsibilities to know a lesson between violence and non-violence. I think these violent games should be illegal to sell or rent to young kids. They should be controlled into not buying them till you are older and wiser. Because they contribute to violence in society, I see violence around the world that involves around us. I wish there was peace in this world, but what can we do it just never stops. We have these dreams and we want them to become good in way to happen in a real way.

Body Image and Advertising

James McGuire

English 322, Section #567

May 6, 2003

Body Image and Advertising

I think advertising has an impact on how people see themselves physically attractive in advertisers attempting to sell their products. Researchers concerned undue pressure by women and men to focus their appearance.

A survey by Teen People magazine, 27% of girls feels the media pressures them to have a perfect body and a poll in 1996 by international ad agency. Saatchi found ads made women fear being unattractive and old. Advertising media adversely impact women’s body image can lead to unhealthy behavior. Women and girls strive for ultra-thin body idealized by media. Advertising images been recently accused of setting unrealistic ideals for males. Men and boys are beginning to risk their health to be media well-built standard.

An average woman sees 400 to 600 advertisements per day. By the time she is 17 years old, has received over 250,000 commercials through media. Only 9% of commercials have a direct statement about beauty. But, many implicitly emphasize the importance of beauty who target women and girls. A study ofSaturday morning toy commercials found 50% commercials aimed at girls spoke about physical attractiveness’. None of the commercials aimed at boys referred to appearances.

50% of advertisements in teen girl magazines and 56% of television commercials aimed at female viewers used beauty as a product appeal. Constant exposure to female-oriented advertisements influence girls to become self-conscious about their bodies to obsess over their physical appearance as a measure of their worth. As a standard for beauty, the bodies idealized in media are atypical, normal, and healthy women.

Today’s fashion models weigh 23% less than an average female. Women between ages 18-34 has a 7% chance being slim as a catwalk model. 1% chance being thin as a supermodel.

I’ve seen some Hollywood Stars on television who have some problems with eating and these women become anorexic. They try to solve their problems by eating more or going to a psychologist and a hypnotist. I hear from television commercials about exercise machines and medicine/drugs to help people who are skinny and those who are obese. I’ve seen those hiking bars that can help you loose weight. Also, many people do Weight Watchers. Doing drugs for an example: smoking cigarettes and tobacco cigars can be addictive and people wouldn’t live a long happy life. But, I don’t think it causes people from their weight, although it could affect in an assuming part of the human body.

In today’s society to have an “ideal” boy or appearance isn’t important. People’s perspective and their personalities are all different. They can choose whether to be fat, skinny, muscular-shaped, slim body. Are bodies affect with illnesses and diseases that scientists are trying to find a cure for them. Only God knows. The trend in advertising should change by using health products. Not to use drugs. So, people’s bodies can be regular fit sized. The Barbie dollstoys is a great idea but they take it too far to be way more for boys to be like the Incredible Hulk to take steroids. Even women wants to have a nice butt and bigger breasts so they have them implanted or take a drug. Even the caffeine we drink; eat assuming it can have an affect on are diet and people acting hyper over sugar and these addictions.

TV News and the Culture of Violence

James McGuire

English 322, Section#567

May 7, 2003

TV News and the Culture of Violence

The aftermath of Columbine High School tragedy in Littleton, Colorado, a national debate developed in, American Culture about violence. Parenting and school security is not helping to these victims of teenagers. Who have access of guns, and police find evidence ofDNA fingerprints from, holding the trigger. Innocent citizens of our nation see killing innocent school students is, sickness of murder and violence. It’s concluded in violence, film, video games, television, internet, and music. 75% Americans who watch TV News, are into to a catastrophe of, death and blood. These plagiarized television news has generated copycat crimes, mass murdering, terrorism, kidnapping, molesting, affairs, hijackings, workplace violence, product tampering using dangerous experiments to explode, hate and love crimes and killing yourself. Viewing violent video teaches, violent conflict which, encourages aggressive behavior, and makes a depressing emotion to victims.

I have watch TV News programs such as: BBC, Fox Worldly News channel, KION on CBS, NBC and CNN. Also intelligent people on television go on debate, or arguments about these violence’s. Yes I have notice what has been going in much of the number of programs related to violence. I think the violent content of news programs is affecting people by making them understand the violence’s makes them worried, terror sadness, depression, they stay in their houses for protection and have fear. Others who view the violent content of news programs are having a crime and killing addiction. The violence makes a pressure. I suggest to have protection not to enter into crime events but, these news programs gives you information, about what is happening with are world today, from are newscasters, and the people, who produce the television news.

School Sport Culture

James McGuire

English 322, Section#567

May 7, 2003

School Sport Culture

I feel about the points the author makes about school sports culture, leads to violence. Becomes, a tournament against each other, who millions of people, who watch athletes get knocked out. In different regions of the world, people play sports differently than America because, Americans rather watch baseball, American football, and basketball. It is hard for athletes to be an outsider around thousand and millions of fans watching them makes them become embarrassed from people on the stands calling them bad names. Even violence occurs when sport fans hate teams and the players who are not so well doing worse they are playing but they are doing the best as they can to be good. Many other people feel jealous about the coaches or, judges to the athlete to be accuse of cheating.

About the status athletes achieve in schools can be a hero for a day. Young people get attention and get to be popular from witnesses from towns in England and around the world. A legislation called Title IX, passed in 1972, girls are equal spending support in sports and their parents respect to pay the game to watch and cheer for their daughter. Girls’ soccer is bigger than boys’ version. In fact, the women’s team won the last World Cup.

I think it leads to bullying or mistreatment of those who aren’t involved in sports. There are school shooting stories of bullying innocent non-athletic people calling people nerds, dweebs, how they are ridicule and being taunted restricting school “jocks”. A frustrated schoolboy shot two students in Santee, CA because, of bullying. Many other people take sports too seriously and may hurt anyone in P.E. class or, one can be killed, and end up in jail.

My personal experience I’ve had related to this topic, were some bullies who picked on me during P.E. and in Middle School and High School. But, I am glad it is over because, I am tired of being bullied from punks. I wish life was more easy without this.