Within my COMP 250 course there are four audiences involved in the learning experience.

1. ADMINISTRATION (FLC Admin.)
2. SCHOLARS
3. PROGRAM AREAS (Writing Dept.)
4. PROFESSOR (Dr. Bill Mangrum)

What Do We Value Within Our Learning Experience?  

-ADMINISTRATION:

• Statistics-How many students they can enroll and whether they

  

  pass or fail.

• Money -How much money they can make off a student in the time they are enrolled at school.

Administrations across the country are valuing SCHOLAR’S educations by the numbers. This does not show what each and every scholar takes away from their education. Not every person is the same some scholars value sports some value friends and their job but one thing is for sure a letter grade in canvas should not be everything received from a college education. For example in class Jordan Benton a one time Division 1 athlete shared with the class how when he was an athlete he was steered in the direction of easier classes in order to pass them and boost the athletic departments GPA and graduation rates. What does an athlete learn from this? Very few college athletes these days make it to the professional level of their sport, how will these athletes make it in the world when they are being funneled into standard majors and minimal work and effort classes? In reality their athletic scholarship is worth nothing if they do not learn something in school along the way.

-SCHOLARS:

• School>Grades>Graduation
• Sports>Assignments>Work
• Fun>Friends>Family
• Religion>Trips>Sleep

As scholars we value many different things. When we leave for college we are told to make the most of the four years we get during our undergrad because nothing ill ever compare to being young and in college. So how can the administration only value our learning experiences Quantitatively. Unless they try to factor in some of the outside learning there will always be a conflict between the Students and the Administration.

-PROGRAM AREAS:  

• Engagement in the material
• Make a connection within your own discipline
• Make a claim, defend it with evidence and qualify your claim with a rebuttal

The values of a program area are very specific yet broad at the same time. It is outlined what knowledge needs to be obtained but there are very few guide line of how that should be done. This would align with students very well, however the administration wants everything to be done in a standard procedure type of way this is where the program area struggles because it does not have enough pull to override the administration.

-PROFESSOR:

Each professor is different, this is what makes college so exciting to be at. When each class is different and the professors all teach a different style it can be fun to go to class. However as Bill said in class on Friday around 80% of professors in the US are non tenured contingent professors. This means that these professors have no pull they are restricted by the administration and can be fired at any time. How can a professor satisfy the Administration and the Scholars when each are so far apart in their values?

-SOLUTION:

How as scholars, professors, administration, and departments can we come together and find even ground so that everyone is gaining what is needed to complete their obligations?

For Comp 250 section 4 on Wednesday our professor gave our class the choice of going to see a theatre production of “Dead Man Walking” by Sister Helen Prejean or see Sister Helen speak in the gymnasium. I chose to the the 7pm showing of the theatre production put on by the Fort Lewis Theatre Department. The book is based on a true story about Sister Helen’s actual life experience with DEATH row.

First off I wanted to give a hand to the FLC Theatre Department and everyone who was involved with the production, it was very thoughtfully put together and performed with excellence.

Overview:

• Sister Helen Prejean accepts to help a death row inmate Mathew Ponsulit.
• Ponsulit has been found guilty of Murder and Rape and is facing the death penalty when his accomplice is only facing life.
• Ponsulit blames  everyone but himself for the misfortune and ruin that his life has amounted to. Sister Helen establishes a goal to bring him to realize his wrong doings and accept the blame in order to be able to come to Jesus Christ.

If you would like to learn more here is a link: DEAD MAN

Sister Helen Prejean has dedicated her life to raise awareness about the death penalty and to help young generations mind the severity of what it is no matter what stance is taken. When listening to the characters speak after the performance many said that Prejean had told them she was not trying to mold terrible opinions about the death penalty but she wanted to have her book make kids think about it more and truly make an educated decision for themselves not just ignore the truth.

It was an amazing performance all around but towards the end two things caught my attention 1. there had been two empty chairs the entire time representing the two children that had been murdered and 2. When Matt got up and began to walk to be executed the guard said “Dead Man Walking.” These two occurrences really sealed the performance for me.

WHY IS THIS ART BUNCHED TOGETHER LIKE THIS?

• To gain attention?
• Show unique style of the art?
• Limited space?

These are the reasons that passed through my head as I looked for a quality picture. The artists that are displaying their work are trying to appeal visually and spatially.

Visually-

1. The different colors used to attract attention to different drawings keeping the viewers attention in multiple places.
2. Different designs contrasting each other and giving each viewer a different perspective of what the drawing are and what they represent.

Spatially-

1. The spaces between some pictures lead the viewer in different directions. So the artist shows you what they want you to see.
2. However each section of the art department has its own space. This is the section for drawings of this type, each arrangement of pictures is organized by the artist to draw attention in specific ways.

Online gaming is another outlet to get on the internet for me. I can connect with other people online through video games online through XBOX.

A phone is my main connection to media and the internet. I have an I phone and without it I would not connect with the internet nearly as much as I do today.

Multimodal writing is a term I had never heard before Bill introduced the subject to us in class. Each writer wants to display his or her own writing in a certain way, multimodal writing is how we can do that. I have never even thought about why writers use specific words and details to create images and sounds in my head while I read. It makes sense because each person learns a different way. I cannot imagine reading a book or watching a movie without the vivid pictures being formed in my head due to a daring and abstract word or a conglomerate of sounds building into a powerful seen. Pictures also play a huge part of multimodal projects in society today. Look at instagram and snapchat, these apps portray emotion and stories through pictures. In todays society if your not standing out you will not be seen.

Why do we need a table of contents when nobody ever looks through it? As I read through Writer/Designer’s table of contents I realized why don’t readers use them. this table of contents clearly displayed what the section/chapter/page is trying to convey to the reader. I find myself lost in books not understanding what information I am supposed to be absorbing. This reason alone is why table of contents are written, to display the message trying to be communicated to the reader. The author states the what and whom he is writing to.

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