Passive vs. Active

Reading through my classmates' blog posts about where they get their news was both reassuring and worrisome for me. It makes me feel better about myself to know that I'm not the only one who could improve her knowledge of current events, but also slightly worried that the general concensus is more or less the mindset of: "I'm busy. If something is important, I'll hear about it eventually." Don't get me wrong, mine would probably be the first name on the list of such thinkers, but I wish that it weren't, and as I noticed, many of my classmates wish the same thing. So why do we still carry this mentality? Why don't we do something to change it? I don't have an answer, but I think it's due in part to the fact that our culture, particularly Internet access within our culture, allows it, or at least makes it easy, to think this way. We have so much access to information that it can be difficult to filter through news and separate the important from the trivial, especially when society seems to value the more trivial end of the spectrum. But, what's interesting, is that this mentality is valid. The news will eventually find us. This is almost inevitable as every corner of the earth is filled with something to look at or to learn about or to listen to. Billboards, posters, televisions, radios, passerbys, friends, family, magazine covers, newspapers, and the internet are just a few of the constant sources of background noise (or news) that we get each day. So, while partaking in a more passive style of news-gathering may not be the most responsible or commendable method, it does seem to be the most logical. And how can anyone argue against logic? Hmmm . . . this seems like a bit of a catch 22 . . .

I think it'd be interesting to learn where and how people like Sullivan, Hedges, and Carr get their news and what they think about the passive/active approaches to new-gathering. I'm almost certain Hedges would condemn our generation (myself included) for being lazy and uninformed citizens. Sullivan would probably argue for the beautiful ambiguity that stems from our freedom to search the world (re: the web) and learn about what interests us as it is happening. Carr then, - always the level-head in this trio - would most likely express sentiments similar to my classmates' and mine. That is, he'd argue the idea of convenience, but long for news that is either decisively satisfying or else underwelming, just so he'd have a clear take on the issues.

Where Do I Get My News?

"I get the news I need from the weather report."
Sorry, that Simon & Garfunkel reference was just too perfect to pass up.

In all seriousness though, the weather really is a big part of my daily news intake. I wake up every morning, tune to the “local on the 8’s” weather update, and plan my day accordingly. How else am I supposed to know whether to wear a parka or a raincoat, to go for a run in the morning or wait until the afternoon, or to pack an umbrella or sunglasses for later? I know what you’re thinking, but no, stepping outside is not an option. For one thing, I’m too sleepy to move that much in the morning, and for another, stepping outside in the morning says nothing about what the weather will be like later in the day. Especially when you live in Louisville.

As for other news - like current local, national, and global events – I get the bulk of my information from the Courier Journal, which I read (or, more accurately, skim) every morning. My strategy is to read the front page of each section (usually skipping the Sports section) and then, if any articles particularly spark my interest, find and read the entire article. This seems to work fairly well for me; although I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to look more in depth at a wider range of articles. I also use my parents as a source of news. They are always aware of what’s going on in the world, so if I have questions about anything, I ask them and usually get the answers I’m looking for. Every now and then I’ll watch one of the local news channels, but that rarely happens.

(By the way, if anyone's interested in hearing the full Simon & Garfunkel song I mentioned, here it is. It's one of my favorites.)

Continued Revising

Hello again. Here is my paper. I keep editing this link rather than making new blog posts.
Hopefully you're still reading it...

I'm still open to comments/corrections/suggestions if anyone has any.

Just Something to Look at...

My Sociology teacher showed us this video (or as much as she could before her computer froze, at least) today in class. I thought some of you might find it interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g

Essay Rough Draft

This is the first draft of my extended essay.

Any comments or corrections you have would be greatly appreciated! And feel free to make them directly on the document (Just make them noticeable, please.)

The areas I'd like specific help with are the conclusion (It's awful and corny. You'll see.), citation (right now I only have each author's name in the text. Should I also include the name of the article or piece of writing I'm referring to?), and most importantly, the overall feel/message of the paper. I'm concerned that I haven't actually said anything...

Thanks for your help!

I found this article through the JSTOR database on UofL's website. After skimming it, it seems to have some good points about how partaking in electronic discussions can help improve critical thinking skills. It points out that an electronic discussion incorporates practice of both traditional writing and in-class discussion. So students actually seem to be getting the best of both worlds.
I hope it may be helpful to someone.

technology can help critical thinking

There It Was.

Well, that wasn't so bad after all. After about a half of a semester, thirteen classes, and nine blog posts, I'm finally comfortable with this whole blogging thing. It really was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be; it's actually been kind of fun. I feel like I've come to develop a stronger and more to-the-point voice through blog writing that I haven't been able to achieve before, at least not when it comes to school assignments. I'm not even that worried about the formal essay we have to write because I feel like all of these posts have served as the warm-up for that one essay. I guess what I mean, more simply, is that I feel well-practiced in writing. And I also feel less intimidated by it. Lately, the process of writing doesn't seem to be as heavy or pressing as it used to be. Sure, I still pause between sentences to contemplate what I want to say, but I've found that writing, through a blog particularly, has helped me sort through my ideas as I write them. It truly is a form of "writing out loud." (I'm almost positive I got that quote right.)

To reflect on the class and assignments as a whole, I'd say I've been pleasantly surprised with everything we've been reading, writing, and discussing. Because of the articles we read by Sullivan, Carr, Hedges, and Thompson, I feel, in a way, like I'm one step ahead of my peers when it comes to the Internet. It's hard to explain, but before I had never really considered all that the Internet does for us. I mean, immediately it provides us with whatever news, entertainment, and/or information we could ever want, but it also has more long-term, and often hidden, effects. It changes the way we think, read, write, and interact with one another, which I had never slowed down enough to realize before. I guess I'm just excited to have this new outlook. And, even more, to feel like I've got a pretty good grasp of it.