Spring 2008 English 500 Patterson

Spring 08 English 500
Jared Francis
Blog Topics-Week Three
1. Influence is a powerful thing that can be used both in a negative and positive way. I remember when I was in high school and a group of friends had come together for a social event. I promised them that I would be attending the event. Upon my arrival I could smell a strong aroma coming from inside the home. As I entered the home my friends saw me they quickly ceased from smoking. They knew that I was not a smoker and that I would probably tell them to stop smoking in front of me anyways so because of my stance on smoking my friends respected me. This incident showed me that I had a positive influence in that people would change their behavior because of me.
2. There are different things that can be done to alleviate racial tensions and stereotypes but I will suggest a view. Every nationality should be educated by way of mandatory classes that should be instituted by Board of Educations across the world. People also need to educate themselves and take the time to learn about other cultures. Cultural awareness programs need to be established to educate the minds of individuals and the
3. Society does help to create irresponsible sexuality in its members because if you take a look at society the media paints sexuality as something that is positive. Even T.V. commercials are filled with sexual esensitized. When society sees these things they see them as normal. Many children are having kids out of wedlock and I believe that the media is adding to this epidemic. Once the media is painting a negative picture and it is also seen as normal then sexual irresponsibility becomes esensitized. I believe that if people take action in regards to what the media is portraying then a change can come about.
4. Society should create legal and moral limits for scientific studies because if there are no parameters in place we would give scientist free reign to do just about anything. Just like the whole idea of cloning animals and humans is something that has already taken place and I believe that the government has not relayed to society all the information in regards to what they have actually done. This debate has also gone as far as congress which speaks volume in my eyes. In terms of setting limits on studies there should not be any limits in regards to this topic. Only if the study is within the parameters of science that is not going to be harmful then I would see it as acceptable.
5. When I was in high school there was a point that if you had not been involved in any sexual activities that you were considered a nobody. People would go as far as to say that if you had not done anything then you would be looked upon as a loser. If you look at society today the same thing still lives on but it is now taken to another level. One’s masculinity or femininity should not have to come at the cost of someone having to degrade themselves or lose their sense of dignity just because of having sex.

Spring 08 English 500
Jared Francis
Blog Topics- Week One
Writing is an exercise that everyone has to do throughout their lives. Growing up I always loved writing classes but as I got older my love for writing diminished. Now I write because of the profession that I am in which requires one to write a lot. In the field of social work everything has to be documented which means that you have to write making sure that the fundamentals of writing are being exercised. One of my strengths as a writer is that I am able to place my thoughts on paper easier than I would verbally and maybe that is how most men are. My weakness would probably be the use of the word “there” and “their” and the use of commas.

When it comes to the foundation of writing I think that I have a pretty good understanding.
A word that I consider to be negative is “nigger”. The history of the word "nigger" is often traced to the Latin word niger, meaning black. By the 1800’s the word was now looked upon as a degenerative nickname for African Americans. Then word was corrupted when it made its way to the south. Now in the African American culture you have those individuals who use the word without any regard for what controversy it caused in society’s history. The word is also embraced as something positive with the culture which I cannot understand. If you are not careful you will find yourself caught up in conversation using the word unconsciously. So people need to be aware of the meaning of the word and all that it entails.

My role model is my father. My father has always been someone that I looked up to growing up as a child because he is a man who loves his family and would do anything to protect us from any outside threats. He gave me good manly advice growing up as to how a man ought to be and he also exemplified this. Now, because of his character it has made me who I am today. I consider myself to be a good husband, provider, nurturer, good listener with a humble spirit. Everyone usually grows up having a role model whether it is a negative or positive one but I am glad that I had my father as a role model and I still do to this day.

Something that scares me is driving in wet road conditions especially if it is raining or snowing. The reason I feel this way is because about five years ago I was involved in a bad car accident that left the car completely damaged but I was lucky to escape the accident without any major injuries. It was snowing and I came to a four way intersection and the traffic signals were changing. I proceeded to apply my brakes but the car slide through the intersection because of the wet road conditions and this is how the accident took place. Now whenever I have to travel and I encounter wet road conditions I get nervous and experience flashbacks of the accident.

I am not sure if I understand the question correctly but I will answer it how I think it should be answered. In terms of twisting the truth growing up as child I can remember that there was an incident where my cousin had gone out with some friends I decided not to tell his father were he was going. It came to a point where cousin had lost track of time so my uncle call my house looking for him. He asked me whether or not I heard from my cousin and I told him that he was at my house but he was sleeping. Now in this case I was not telling the truth because my cousin ended up staying at his friends house so I basically lied for him.

Blog Topics- Week Two
My view of life when I began college was that I would finish college, attain my degree which would make me successful for the working world. I thought the transition would be a smooth one but in my case it did not work out that way. After graduating from undergrad I started working and it was a good job but it was not in my field of study. I traveled Europe and then settled down with marriage. There were different obstacles that I had to face but all that I experienced since first beginning college has made my life a rounded one in regards to all the experiences. I know now that life is full of surprises and you have to be ready to face them because they will come.

The last time that I had a moral dilemma was about four years ago when I was working for a company and they required me to work one Saturday in a month for the next three months. Now this would go against my religious beliefs. I expressed to them the importance of the religious beliefs and if they would be able to make an exception for me. Now I started to feel as though they would let me go because I plainly stated that I could not do this but they looked the situation and while others came in on Saturday my boss allowed for me to come in on Sunday’s instead.

A regret that I do have is that I was not able to attend my grandfather’s funeral. When I was born my parents were initially living with my grandparents. So there were many times were my grandparents would babysit me. I still remember those memories like it was yesterday. I spent a lot of time with my grandfather especially as he loved sports cars and he would always take me driving in his. Everywhere that my grandfather went I was right behind him so we received the news that he had died I was devastated. I really wanted to attend the funeral because it would have given me closer.

I have not used any defense mechanisms to get through college. I have just been myself like I always have. I see the need for a person to use defense mechanisms. I guess if there is a person out there who has low self-esteem then I can see where they would have to put up defense mechanisms in order for them to come across as strong. People need to look within themselves and see why they have to put up a wall of defense in order for others to not mess with them or take advantage of them in any way.

The following quote: “A man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” This is a quote that I agree with because everything in life is not always laid out for you. Sometimes we have to deal with the unexpected and give ourselves the opportunity to grow through it. Also if everyone where to see where the shore some people would become complacent and not necessarily want to strive because they already have seen what the outcome will be. In a situation like this it can go both ways. This is why everyone needs to be willing to not see the shore but to keep on striving.

Blog Topic-Week Seven
My “kiss of death” experience is a girl that I dated about five years ago. People around me would tell me that this person was not for me and that we not compatible but I did not pay people any attention. I guess I was being niave about the whole situation but I could not see what they were seeing. We dated for a long time and my mother eventually told me that she could see this relationship going down the wrong path. I would find out later on that this was actually this would end up being the worst mistake of my life. The relationship was so serious that we would talk about marriage but eventually we broke up. After we decided to go our separate ways I saw here for what she truly was and to this day I am happy with the decision that was made.

Ones family plays a major role in the shaping of one’s ethical views. I think that the family is where the foundation is set in terms of shaping their children’s outlook on life. I believe that as one begins to grow and mature he/she’s views will be challenged and may even change as a result. Speaking from experience there are ethics that were instilled in me as a child and today I still hold on to the majority of these ethical values. Through my own personal experiences some of my values have changed as a result and at times my parents may disagree with some of them but they are what have made me the man that I am today.

One word that has changed our consciousness about our government has been “war.” The United States has always through the later part of history have been involved in so many different wars’ to the point where in other countries people do not respect Americans because of how they seem to place their guns in places that they need not be. The current situation with the war in Iraq has claimed the lives of so many men and women and the government does not seem to see the need for them to be taken out of Iraq. War does not bring about any change it causes more pain than anything else. I hope that one day the government would realize that these wars are doing more harm than good for the country.

Discipline becomes child abuse when a child constantly experiences verbal, mental and physical abuse. Discipline for me growing up as a child consisted of verbal communication and the use of the belt. In my culture forms of physical discipline has always been the way to discipline a child. My parents would always tell me stories about how their parents would beat them with anything that they could place their hands on. If these same forms of discipline where being exercised today, many parents would be locked up in jail and their children given up for adoption. As long as the disciplining is done in love and not as a continuous method of excessive punishment it would not be characterized as child abuse.

A child who conforms to his or her parents should not emerge from adolescence immature, insecure, and easily manipulated especially if the parents instilled good values and morals in them. Now I can see if parents don’t instill good morals and values in their kids and children then maybe throughout their adolescent years they may become immature because the parents probably have not reared them up as they ought to. All the values that parents should instill in their children should cause them to be confident and mature and this should cause them to be children who are not easily swayed by the company that he/she may keep.