Expos Argument

Texting. What is the first connection you make when you think about texting? You may think ‘communication,’ or ‘teenagers.’ The first connection I make is how the texting language. It consists of letters being put together without their vowels, and emoticons instead of words to express how they feel. Teenagers are slowly losing grasp of how to explain what they are feeling with words, how to correctly apply grammar in their sentences, and even how to correctly write a sentence. It’s not that texting is wrong, not in the slightest. Teens are able to communicate faster and be in touch with whomever they like. It’s that texting might be hindering a teen’s ability to correctly and confidently apply sentence structure and grammar. While text messaging has enabled teens to communicate quickly, it is harming them academically by making them lazy writers.
    My teacher likes to call this “lazy writing.“ Not in the sense that the student isn’t trying, but in the sense that they sometimes use their texting language in a place where it isn’t accepted. English class. Research papers. At work. All situations that will have you get higher in life; will be hindered by the fact that you misspell many words on paper. Cell phones are continually being used in people’s lives (Jzeal). It is completely immersed in a teens culture, and still becoming rapidly even more popular (McNamara). You may say it’s not that much of a growing problem. It is if you have thirty-six percent of teens texting every day (Lenhart). A tenth-twelfth grade girl even said she puts “in twenty hours per week plus texting” (Lenhart). Fifty percent of High school teens converse daily, and high school is where your academics are most critical (Lenhart). Eighty-five percent of teen daily are using technology, including cell phones, as the main way they communicate then ever before, and some are blind to how it is affecting their academics.
    Many teens, in fact, sixty percent in a study with a hundred teens, do not consider texting as “writing” (Lenhart). The irony is, texting affects writing. Even with teens not considering it to be English class material, they apply it to their English papers and essays. In an survey done by Pew Project, sixty-four percent admit how some texting language integrates itself into their papers (Lenhart). Same survey asked how many times they use improper grammar, and fourty-six percent who “do not communicate daily with friends” said they do. Compare that to the seventy percent who have “daily communication activities” and said they use improper grammar (Lenhart). That shows a direct correlation to how the increase of texting has teens using more improper writing. Thirty eight percent of teens also incorporate “text shortcuts” like LOL, JK, IDK into several of their papers and essays (Lenhart). If that many teens think its okay to add “text shortcuts,” and improper grammar, then it might be unsettling to hear that eighty percent of parents think “there is a greater need to write well today than there was twenty years ago” (Lenhart). If parents think that, then the fact that many teens cannot differentiate real English words, shortened text words, or apply one or the other correctly to their papers, is not good to hear.
    Texting affects how their writing is interpreted, but it also affects a teens sometimes inability to describe imagery and detail. Teens write a lot. Improper writing can be fixed and revised, but when twenty five percent of teens are applying emoticons instead of words, it becomes an even bigger problem (Lenhart). They get comfortable with being able to attach a picture or video to describe a scene, and when they are faced with having to describe it with words, it becomes a struggle (Ferris). Ferris considers texting and online language to be called hypertext, and teens have a hard time taking hypertext out of an English paper. This may seem like a casual deal if teens do not write often, but they do. When asked if teens write outside of school, thirty-one replied yes. Writing for school is something all teens do across the world, and when fifty percent of teens are saying they write every single day for school; hypertext needs to end. The more teens feel hypertext is a casual way to write a paper, the more unsophisticated writing will become.
    Texting is used often, it affects writing, and teens today frequently write for school. Hypertext is unfortunately being used more and more often by teens in their essays and papers. They are having trouble differentiating text language to the English language. If teachers start to correct students of this error earlier, and show more of where grammar is placed, teens in this decade will have more of a chance of achieving better academically. With better academics and their ability to separate text language from English language, they will achieve more in the future of their life, whether it be college or jobs. Teens will be more successful overall in life, and that’s the most we can ask for.


WORKS CITED

Ferris, Sharmila Pixy. "Writing Electronically: The Effects of Computers on Traditional Writing." The Journal of Electronic Publishing. JEP, Aug. 2002. Web. 31 May 2011. .
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Jzeal. "The Effects of Technology on Teens | Teen Hot Topic Essay." Teen Ink | A Teen Literary Magazine and Website. Teen Ink. Web. 23 May 2011. .
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Lenhart, Amanda. "Writing, Technology and Teens." The National Commision on Writing. PIP. Web. 23 May 2011. .
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McNamera, Melissa. "Teens Are Wired ... And, Yes, It's OK - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. CNN, 13 June 2006. Web. 23 May 2011. .

Reflection Post 3 4/5/11

The final for Brit Lit is going to ask this question, so i might as well keep it short.  I am now more curious about the background of books, i know how to put my lesson plan in order, and when choosing a book, really look at what it's about.

Reflection 2 For Unit Plan 3 4/4/11

We are in the last week of British Lit, and it's coming close to saying what I've learned overall about British Literature, but not yet. First, the fact that UK spells words like favourite, colours, and anything that has "or" sound in it, is spelled with a u. It continues to fascinate me as to why and when UK and America decided to split up spelling and use it in their own way.

Reflection Post #1 3/31/11

In British Lit, as we make our way into the third unit, I am learning and applying my interest in learning more about the book then just reading it. Now I am dying for more information about the author, what prompted them to write the book, how did they set up the characters? It's interesting to see how British Authors differ from American authors in their humor, the way things are said, and how things are portrayed. I hope we have a group discussion soon on which ways British authors are different from American authors, and how situations going on in each country influence a story.

First Entry for Before I Die 3/24/11

The book opens you up right into the story, but you are still wondering while you're reading it what Tess's real opinion and why she allows herself to act the way she does at times. She wants to live before she dies, and you won't know the full list she wants to complete until the end of her story. The younger brother cal must be going through a whirlwind of emotions just seeing his sister diminish and change before his eyes. Even though Tess's friend doesn't change how she acts around Tess once she learned of her cancer, I don't agree with the way she forces everything on Tess. I wonder if she is going to turn out to be a real treasure, or will Tess lose her as a friend?

Reflection For Unit Plan 2 3/18/11

So far in British Lit, through blogging and Diigo, I have taken a great interest in looking up the history behind books, and what prompted the writer to choose the plot and premise for the book. With poems, I am learning how to analyze more, and discover the deeper, more understandable meaning behind the words. It's really interesting to see how many different time periods their were, but I'm wondering exactly what, makes them so different from each other? What promoted the end of one period to the start of another? Yes, since I have the questions, I'm going to have to find the answer somewhere...

Second Entry for Our Mutual Friend 3/10/11

I am reaching the chapters in Our Mutual Friend where he is connecting some of the characters with different plots, and at the same time, introducing new characters with different issues. It is hard to keep track of every new character and why they are introduced, but when I look back on what I read after reading further, you can see where certain families first associated with each other and why.

He starts the story setting up the relationship between a man named Gaffer Hexam and Riderhood, and how they used to be partners, but once Riderhood stole from a person, Gaffer wanted nothing to do with him. While this was happening, the scene outlay was describing a person at the bottom of Gaffer's boat, so I don't know what to think about who did what with Harmon.

 Dickens has introduced a rich family, the Veneering's who are the new rich people in the town, and they invite people they don't know over for dinner, and the conversations consist of a story that Lady Tippens only heard gossip on, and Mortimer takes it upon himself to correct her. The story was about a man who left his son a girl to marry, for she was in the will. While finishing the story, Mortimer gets a letter that says the man who the story was about, had drowned not too long ago.This is when Gaffer's son gets involved with Mortimer, because the son was the one who had delivered the news. The son lied about what his father's first name was,  and said it was Jesse instead of Gaffer, and I can't figure out why he would say that.

Then Dickens portrays the poor family, and the troubles they are having. Gaffer's daughter thinks he needs her, and Miss Potterson is trying to convince Lizzie (the daughter) otherwise. Miss Potterson suspects both Gaffer and Riderhood had something to do with Harmon's death, so she kicks both of them out of her bar. I'm slowly figuring out the plots for each character and who's involved in what situation. And of course, how all this conjoins with Edmund's story.

First Entry for Our Mutual Friend 3/8/11

I just started reading the first couple chapters of the book, 'Our Mutual Friend.' It is taking a lot longer for me to read because Dickens introduces an entire world of vocabulary I've never heard of, so I am looking up what the words mean as I go along in reading the book. Right now I can tell Dickens is setting up the characters, and showing what having money can do with friendships.  So far there have been two different stories with two completely different people. I think Dickens is going to show with completely different stories, how money can effect everything about a person's lifestyle, and how other people might act around them. The terminology is very different in Dickens book, but reading the rest of the sentence gives me a clue of what he means.

First Unit Outlook

I definitely did not achieve all my standards, I managed to complete everything that was required, but I was still attempting to figure out how to do everything at once while I was reading. Blogging what we were reading and our general thoughts was so helpful in the term that it was simple to figure out, and you didn't need to upload anything. Diigo was alright, kind of pointless. I learned about the time period of what medieval times was like, and the social status for some people. I also learned to be more responsible and how to step up and do my work. In class I managed my time well, but outside of class I need to apply myself more. I'm gonna make sure I complete the Unit Plan earlier while reading, and contribute more to my blog posts. I definitely overall learned how to apply writing, and expressing my thoughts more clearly with words when analyzing what I'm reading and learning.

Fourth Entry for the Canterbury Tales 2/27/11

The book was alright overall, some of the stories definitely had their funny, quirky moments. Unfortunately, after your halfway through the book, you get tired of reading tales about how the woman and husbands are cheating on each other, and how most women are very deceiving. It wasn't an torturous book to get through, the reading was interesting, just the fact that it was basically the same story plot throughout the entire book. I would recommend it to a person who wants an entertaining read with laughs, and enjoys learning new English words, and how certain things can be phrased to make an entire sentence completely different. Onto the next book!

Thoughts on English Classes in General

Why is it that we are required to adhere to reading certain "classics" in English literature? Why are we not able to pick what we would enjoy reading, rather then prolong the dreading feeling of having to get through yet another complicated book? We are required to analyze what certain exquisite sayings and words mean that were applied in books hundreds of years ago. Some classic's are easy to appreciate, but most of them are not because the idea's and plots are stretched and difficult to relate with the situations we are faced with today. We are more apt to relate to the morals and lessons when we are older, so why are we reading them now? I think one of the main reason's teachers stick with classics is because of the reason that it's hard to find books parents all agree with, but there are a lot of quality books then people conceive to be out there, we just need to look for them. If teachers picked a more recent classic, or any book that they thought had a good moral or lesson to it, then students, though not all, might appreciate it. With a more situational story, students might be willing to be more involved in discussions with the class, because then they might understand the language with a better concept then with old English. Old Classic's are more appreciated during Junior and Senior years, where students have a choice whether they want to learn about old English, then be required to read at a younger age and expect comprehension. Teachers would have more success picking books that a larger percentage of students in the required English classes would comprehend and wouldn't mind getting through.

Third Entry of the Canterbury Tales 2/23/11

More than halfway through the book, some stories you can clearly see the moral of it, whether good or bad, and others I'm still trying to decipher what the moral actually was. The Cleric had a painful storyline of how a man tested his wife horribly to see if she was true to him. A lot of the tales contradict each other, with some saying how to marry a woman is the greatest thing you can do as a man, and others are saying it's the worst experience being tethered by their wives. It's a lot like life today, where some marriages the husband and wife are extremely dedicated, and all others have known are broken marriages. It's all about perception. I'm hoping for the next couple of tales to be about more than people cheating on marriages, and maybe friendship and whatever other substance tales can be about.

Second Entry of The Canterbury Tales 2/18/11

About halfway through the book and the story's and tales are very interesting to read, although some descriptions carry on a bit too long. As I continue reading, I am discovering who was in what social status and what the general people thought about certain professions. Chaucer is doing a good job of displaying the entire story so you can follow how the traveling is sufficing. Hopefully the rest of the tales keep the comedy and entertainment while reading continues.

Overall View of Britsh Lit so Far

It's actually going pretty good, once we get past the first book I know everything will be much less confusing what we are supposed to do. I like how we have a lot of free time to read, discuss the book, and can relax and have time to get our work done. The disadvantage is a lot of things are still confusing as to the fact that we have to keep up with 5 different accounts, but I'm slowly getting there.

First Entry for Canterbury Tales 2/13/11

I have just finished reading the first two  chapters of THE KNIGHTS TALE and so far the story has started off with a very interesting plot, with two cousins going after the same girl in different situations. Theseus finds them fighting, stops them, and Palamon tells him who Arcite and Palamon are. Theseus only takes pity on them when the woman start weeping when he says they should be put to death. Instead, he gives them 50 weeks to find an army of 100 and fight for emily.

Introduction Blog

HEY! I'm Drea, and you will be reading my blogs if you find them interesting. I have an accent over the 'e' in my name, but i never figured out how to do it on the computer, therefore, we are left with 'Drea.' I'm a Junior.

I'm taking British Literature, and I'm taking it because I am a huge fan of Harry Potter, and wanted to find out how Jk. Rowlings writes the way she writes (besides being a genius). Also a lot of great masterpieces came from British Literature, so why not take a class that reads them? I have a lot of questions about the meanings in Shakespeare, and where authors got the basis of their stories from.

The time periods we are learning about are Medieval, Renaissance,  Neoclassical (<- going to find out that is... )Romanticism, and Modern Age. I know Medieval involved swords and grotesque war weapons.Renaissance, Neoclassical, Romanticism, and Modern Age I have yet to find out what makes them different from each other.

I chose to read Canterbury Tales because a couple teachers who's judgment I so far trust, suggested it. I hope to learn more about how Medieval Periods were, and what the people were like back then. My questions involve what the people all believed in (witchcraft, omens, bad luck etc.)

Have fun discovering everything you've always wondered about in British Literature.