A topic that I find interesting and relevant is Human Trafficking in America, specifically in today’s society. Every single day I see warnings on the news and while scrolling through Facebook of the sudden increase in human trafficking. I would like to explore the actual rates in America, and why we are seeing increase in today’s society. What is the cause, and is there a solution? I think my audience would be very general public, however, I am leaning towards focusing on teenaged girls, because of their high risk factor. This is a serious topic that is effecting peoples lives. so I think I will go with an informative/serious essay style of writing. Infographics could be included to show the information in numbers through graphs. I am still trying to figure out all of the details, but I think this topic could be very interesting to look into.
Author: faithmcintosh
Complete Argumentative Essay
System Crashing: An Update in the Classroom Gone Wrong
Above is the link to my argumentative essay. For some reason it would not allow me to copy and paste it onto my blog. I made the link public and viewable for anyone who has the link, so there should be no issues viewing it. If anyone cannot access it, let me know and I’ll try to fix the problem.
Time Management: Will I Ever Learn It?
Since before I ever entered college, the one thing I was always told was the key to success is time management. I will say that I agree with this, however, I have just failed to master the concept. I am a very busy college student. I have a job that is demanding, I take 17.5 credit hours, i’m in a sorority, I am currently searching for another on campus organization to join (sorority requirement), and I am very involved with my family. Most of the time I feel completely overwhelmed when I glance at my agenda. I truly do not know how I manage t do everything that is put onto my plate, however I am learning to go week by week, day by day, and do what I can.
My main personal issue is my very poor time management skills. I know that I have an assignment due by midnight, yet I will pick up a shift at work that last until 10:00pm. In my mind the assignment will only take about 45 minutes, however that 45 minutes quickly turns into 2 hours, leaving my overwhelmed and crunched for time. With everything I try to balance I know I have to have some sort of give and take system. When I have assignments due, I must work less hours, or skip a sorority event. Currently, I feel as if I am stuck in the middle of a constant give or take battle. My class work always comes first to me, and I manage keep high grades and good attendance. The slack however, usually falls on my family time. I feel responsible to take every work shift, because if I don’t, who will? I made a commitment to my sorority, and I want to activity participate in our events. So, I have been seeing my family time slip away. My entire family gathers to my grandparents house and has a weekly Sunday Dinner together. This is my favorite day of the week, and I love that time together. However, it’s been a month since I have been to Sunday Dinner. My Sunday’s have been spent filling other obligations, while all I really want to be doing is sitting in my Grandmother kitchen telling her about my week. I understand that time management is one of my weaknesses, so I am set on improving that.
This semester I have decided to keep a very detailed agenda. I live and die by this agenda. It plans out my life week by week, and keeps me on track for everything. It has helped me a lot so far. Last semester I spent several nights a week staying up until 3:00 am trying to complete assignment. This semester I’ve only had a few of those occurrences. I have also brought it to my bosses attention that I have missed Sunday Dinner at my Grandparents every Sunday for a month, and I will need that to change. I am always willing to be flexible at work, and cover shifts when they need me, which just so happens to be every single Sunday here recently. I’ve made it clear that I will continue to be flexible, but I have other co-workers who are capable of working a Sunday or two, so I can have some time with my family. So, I am working on small changes to improve my hectic schedule, and terrible time management and I will continue to improve myself as much as possible.
Argumentative Essay Topic…
Hello,
Since we are approaching the deadline for our argument essay soon, I felt as if I needed to start brainstorming ideas. I am going to use this open blog post to share and record my thought on a topic I believe I may want to write about. The topic that I am considering is technology in the classroom and whether or not it’s pros out way it’s cons. I remember the days when we were lucky if we had one desktop computer in the classroom. Today, each students has their own Chromebook to use at school. I understand how important technology can be in providing accommodations and I do think it is beneficial to students. However, when I walk into a class room and see all thirty students with their headphones in and their eyes glued to the computer screen for an entire class period I get concerned. The sense of classroom community and collaboration feels lost when these students do all of their work online. My brother is in the sixth grade and he does his entire math class on a laptop. The course is designed online for every sixth grade math student in his school. This program is designed for student paced learning, however my brother does not enjoy sitting in front of the computer for the entire class period. He tells me how he misses doing work with his classmates and listening and interacting with the teacher during lessons. His class even goes as far as having to email the teacher when they have a question or need help. I understand that once in college, this is how many classes work, but for a sixth grader to strictly learn math from behind a computer screen I feel is excessive. For my essay I want to look into some other opinions and find research about technology and it’s impact on students. I am not 100% set on this topic, but I do think it can be a great topic for an argument.
Thanks for reading,
Faith McIntosh
Thoughts and Ideas after reading “Writing Like a Good Girl”
Hello,
First, I’d like to say wow, because that was my initial reaction after reading “Writing Like a Good Girl.” Sometimes, a feeling or experience is hard to explain or to put into words, and while reading this article it was like seeing those feeling i’ve felt before written out beautifully. I have lived my entire life in “The South”, which I love and am thankful for, however, southerns have a tendency to believe girls should learn to act and speak like a lady. The way the author described her experience in the grocery store with the older woman criticizing the young girl for writing things that she deemed unladylike was extremely realistic to the reality of myself and many of the girls I went to school with. We have been taught from childhood that we need to be more ladylike, or when we speak out of term we are not acting like a lady. Its a huge stigma that eventually leads to young women losing their voices. This article brought up so many good points and truly made me reflect on my past, and how I want to change that for my future students. I want everyone in my classroom to be respectful and considerate, however, everyone will be entitled to an opinion. I want them to be able to express that opinion and passionately be able to defend their reasoning.
When searching for mentor text when it comes to argumentative writing I came across a website that I believe could be very helpful to me in the future (booksourcebanter). This website has books for primary grades, so the K-3 grade levels. The books mentor how kids present their arguments for many different topics. You can use this site to find a book that matches the type of topics your students will argue, and have them read it to get an example of what they will need to do. I am happy to have came across this website, because I definitely see myself coming back to it in the future!
Thank you,
Faith McIntosh
My Writing Experience
Hello,
I’ve went back and forth over what I wanted to blog about for the open blog post prompt. After receiving an assignment in my ELE 302 course that required me to write an autobiography over my literacy past I made a decision. I want to share with you all some of my opinions, experiences, and complaints that I have about writing. First, I will say that I have never really enjoyed writing and exploring my thoughts on paper. As a child, I would try to start a dairy, and I would write one or two entries, and never return to it again. With that being said, I have always loved the actual motion of writing. I prefer to write things down, rather than typing. For example, I like to hand write my class notes and I keep a very detailed handwritten agenda. During my K-12 years my go to distraction was practicing my cursive skills. So, I enjoy handwriting, just not actually having to free write or write over a topic. My indecisiveness makes writing a long and frustrating process for me. I can never make up my mind when it comes to sentence structure or topics. One way that I have made this problem easier on myself is to create a organizer before I began writing. I can use this prewriting time to work through all of the decisions I may face beforehand. I can recall my senior year of high school having to write a ten page paper. To this day, I believe it is still one of the worst assignments i’ve had to do. I did not get to choose the topic, so I was already uninterested, and the process made me extremely overwhelmed and frustrated. One of my main goals as a teacher is to not force students to do major assignments or papers over something they have no interest in. I want them to be able to enjoy the writing process and to express their creativity through writing. I understand how miserable it can be to have to spend weeks writing a paper that you have zero interest in, so hopefully I can take my experiences and provide better ones for my future students.
Faith McIntosh
Blogs I Enjoy
Hello,
Iv’e noticed how blogging has gotten really popular over the last few years. With the growth in social media use and the trend of sharing our lives over the internet I have came across many blogs. Most of the blogs I have viewed are personal blogs about fashion preferences and travel journeys. I actually really enjoy one personal blog in particular. The owner is a former University of Kentucky Cheerleader and she shares her views on fashion and travel at oliviarink.com. I love how simple and elegant her approach to blogging is. It’s very easy to read and light hearted. I think Olivia’s blog is similar to the type of blog I want to create.
Another blog I enjoy is https://ohthatfilmblog.com/ which is a movie review blog. The owner is a self proclaimed cinema addict, and I relate to that because I also love going to the theaters and catching the newest films. She gives her personal opinions and recalls her feeling and emotions she experienced while watching the films. Her reviews are honest and true to herself, and she provides readers with the good and the bad of each film. I love the style of writing the blog owner uses, and how she effortlessly provides both facts and opinions to create a honest review.
About Me
Hello!
My name is Faith McIntosh and I am a junior at Eastern Kentucky University. I decided to attend EKU because I am from Richmond and wanted to stay close to home. I am an elementary education major and I am in 300 level clinical, so I am getting close to becoming a teacher! I enjoy traveling and experiencing new things. Before I graduate I would really love to study abroad and spend a few weeks in another country! One thing that is making me nervous about this course is that I am very indecisive and when it comes to deciding on a topic to write about I am scared I will become a little overwhelmed. I think I want to have this blog be a good resource for information on writing in the elementary classroom, and how important writing is to educational development. When I become a teacher I would enjoy teaching writing and creating prompts my students would actually enjoy writing about! I hope to get to know you all better throughout the semester!
Best Wishes,
Faith McIntosh
Faith McIntosh 