February 19 2014, 8:25 PM
Halfway Home
I like the article; I thought it was very interesting to
read. In the beginning Tate speaks about growing up and the struggles his
family had to face because they weren't very wealthy. His parents sold the
house and moved into a trailer and headed west while he was in college. Then
for graduate school Tate ended up at the university where his father cleaned
sorority houses. Through all these years you see Tate's attitude change about
"where he comes from." It also says that he lent his father money so
he could by his mother a coat; I thought that was a beautiful thing. However,
when Tate becomes ashamed of where he comes from he sees his life falling
downhill from there.
From reading Tate's experiences about his students he seemed
like a hater to me. When he spoke about how he couldn't really relate to his
undergraduate students like he could his graduate students it made me feel
sorry for him. Everybody is not able to go to Paris, or to not have to work
while in college because they can afford to do what they want, it doesn't make
it right to judge them for it. Also in the beginning of the reading Tate says
how he only gave 2 A's in a class of 179. I don't really understand what type
of teaching he was doing but it wasn't very effective. The reading also states
that he turned to drugs. I feel that this is when he really started going down
the wrong path. It was crazy to hear that he was still teaching while he had
this problem going on. I think that he should have talked to a therapist or
something so it wouldn't affect other people but most importantly his students.
It seemed to me that Tate just wanted to teach to say he was
more successful than the people he grew up around. I don't really believe that
Tate liked teaching at first, it was just an emotional cover up that he used to
mask his true feelings towards his parents and where he came from. I feel that
there are ways to be successful in this world but you don't have to be ashamed
of where you came from. Instead I feel that Tate should have embraced his short
comings in the past and instead of being so hard on his family, he could have
helped them.
I don't believe that I've had any teachers like Tate. Yes, I
have had some pretty hard teachers in the past but I don't think it was like
Tate. However, I do believe that there are teachers out there like Tate, who
probably really don't like teaching or their students. In my opinion these
people should not be teaching because the negative vibes they give off on the
students and turn them off from learning and academics for a long time. To me,
I feel that a teacher is supposed to help you and watch you progress by
positive reinforcement. Furthermore, in the end of the reading Tate talks about
his Negotiating Differences class and how on the first day he had an off the
wall syllabus. However his main goal was to get the students working together
and draw up a new syllabus that everyone would agree on so they could negotiate
it with Tate. I think that was a cool way on the first day of class to get the
students interested in the class, Negotiating Differences, and interacting with
their fellow classmates.
Explanation:
This "essay" is considered my favorite because I enjoyed reading Tate's personal experiences. I felt that he had been through a lot with his family background and accepting where he comes from. I also thought it was very interesting how he let his personal emotions effect his teaching and views of his students. In the end I learned a lot from Tate, surprisingly. I felt that Tate was trying to fill a void that was missing in his life. He also looks down on his hometown and family. I came to the conclusion that Tate was holding on to so much anger from the past that he didn't know how to face his present situations. Even though Tate still had issues that needed to be sorted out in the end, he does finally comes in contact with what was causing his troubles and realizes that he cannot prejudge his students by what they have.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Fear Essay: Greatest Fear
“Good Job Alesia, we’re so proud of you!” These are the
words that I long to hear from the people who matter the most. I always want to
be the one who achieves and reaches my goal. The sweet sight of approval from
my parents is all I long for. To make them happy is all I dream for. Don’t get
me wrong I still live my life and make my own decisions however I do try to
live properly and in a respectable way that they taught me. The words keep
replaying in my head. “Good Job, Good Job.” But what does that even mean? Well
I’ll never know because good may not always be good enough. My biggest fear is
failure. I’m sure no one wants to fail, but what is it that consumes us about
this strong F word?
During my earlier years of schooling I wasn’t a big fan of
doing work and getting good grades. However, once I buckled down and applied
myself I actually enjoyed learning and being a star student. The wonderful
feeling of mastering a concept took over me. I loved the feeling of knowing
something and being able to spread it to my peers. This feeling took over me
like virus. All the energy I put into my schooling was glorified times ten. By
middle school I was on honor rolls, getting special privileges and was a part
of many achievement clubs. I loved the feeling of being rewarded for all my
hard work. And once again I would hear, “Good Job Alesia, Good Job.!”
There was still something at the pit of my stomach,
something that still wasn’t sitting right with me. It was the foolish F word
that sat in the back of my mind rocking back in forth, back and forth. And now
that I’m in college I face the same problem. My parents still call me every now
and then and say, “Good Job, Good Job.” Being the first child from my family to
be successful in college so far, and actually have a positive experience. This
just adds on to the pressure even more and how much I don’t want to fail. The
funny part about all of this is that I’m doing fine and actually succeeding, so
why do I still fill that I’m not doing enough? Am I afraid of my own success?
With that being said I liked this quote from Marianne Williamson’s poem Our
Greatest Fear.
“Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It
is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.”
Explanation:
The fear essay can be considered my favorite essay because I really enjoyed expressing my feelings about the topic. I'm happy that we had this assignment because it was a chance for me to vent about all the things that I was worried about. Plus, after I wrote the essay I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and that I had defeated a heavy burden. It takes a strong person to admit what they are fearful of and it takes an even bigger person to tell others about it. I loved this class so much because I wasn't afraid to express myself and I didn't worry about being wrong because my classmates thought the same way. In the end, the fear essay was also a chance to build connections and get close with other people in my class.
