Argument

"The inventor of the system deserves to be ranked among the best contributors to learning and science, if not the greatest benefactors of mankind" (Bumstead). The irony of this quote absolutely shocks me. In 1841, it seemed that "the system", meaning computers and technology, would do great good in learning, but today, according to the video, it seems quite the opposite. And I could not agree more with the video. Students are paying ridiculous prices for laptops that are suppose to assist in school work but are using them for other things. This seems to be the school's fault because they are not challenging students enough, almost like they don't care. Most of the things they learn are not relevant to the things they'll need in life. Somewhere deep inside it bugged me that I paid these unbelievable prices for books and, honestly, most of my teachers don't care whether or not I have it with me, and the fact that people are out there, aware and making others aware of this, gave me a sense of comfort. This video is my favorite of all the ones I have seen in COM 101 this year.

Binta and the Great Idea

I found the movie's end a bit of a surprise. The way Souleyman was talking about the tubab, I was sure he had Binta's father convinced that the Western ways of living are great ones, and that he might want to embrace them. Instead, his great idea was to adopt a tubab child so that it may grow up in their society. Binta's father feels that the Western technological and military advances are not all that advantageous but quite the opposite. They ruin people because they have weapons that could destroy each other, etc. In Binta's society people look past the fact they are poor and learn to work together, to respect each other, and I could not agree more. Soda's situation is a great example. As a girl growing up in Binta's society, she wants, no, she desires to go to school, but her father won't allow her because he thinks it is her duty to stay and take care of the house because one day she will marry and become a mother. In the Western society, kids are forced to go to school. They throw away the opportunity to be so much more. I believe it is more rewarding to learn that wealth is not everything than to live in constant competition and become greedy and selfish. The reward, of course, is happiness.

"Who Am I"

Who am I? I have already tried, and I can not seem to have an answer to that question. Maybe this class was a bad idea. It is only the first day and already I can not answer my instructor’s questions! Ok, fine! I will try again. Here it goes. I am a daughter, a sister, and a student. I am a freak when it comes to being organized. I am crabby without coffee in the morning. Mmm, coffee…Oh, no no no! This is not the answer to the question. I described what I am like, not who I am! Ok, I give up. So anyway, I am here to learn how to write. Actually, I can already do that so I guess I am here to perfect my writing skills the best I can. I have trouble with structure and word choice when it comes to essays. I took an AP English class in high school, and, at first, I felt overwhelmed with writing. Another words, I could not stand it! As time went by, though, I actually felt like I was getting better and better. Now, I feel confident with writing, and I believe that this class can take me even further (or is it farther??) because it specifically focuses on writing only. I have even considered magazine journalism in the past but realized how great the competition is. So I started wondering how maybe I am not good enough, etc. But I am here and ready to see what I am capable of (or not) and if maybe journalism, indeed, is for me. If not, then there is always music, but music is a difficult career especially music performance. The economy is not all that great for musicians now, and the only other music field is teaching it, and I sure do not want to do that. Hmm, I wonder if the answer to the “who am I” question even exists.