What I have Learned
By: Chad Jardine

In revisiting the things we have studied over the past semester I am amazed at how fast this course has gone by. In all, I feel grateful for having stayed in the class. I have thoroughly enjoyed the company and the content. I am especially amazed at my greater openness on some of my writing—emphasis on “some”. I can honestly see improvements in my writing that will benefit me in the future. I feel I can best answer the questions of journal 16 in a question/answer format.
Q. What do you wish we had spent less time on?
A. One thing that was overstated in this class was Liberal Education. I’m not saying I’m against it. What I’m saying is that I never read anything during the course that gave me a reason to. For once I wish we had read an article that denounced liberal education rather than vise versa.
Q. What do you wish we had spent more time on?
A. I found it very helpful to study the sentence structure out on the board. When we did that it helped me visualize my mistakes. It also helped me create more complex sentences because I was able to see how to punctuate and use grammar.
Q. Do you feel you’ve become a better writer?
A. Looking back on the things I’ve worked on I see steady improvement. I think that I have gotten better at comma usage and sentence structure the most. Another thing that I can now do better is recognize errors in my own papers. That alone has given me an edge in expressing myself clearly.
Q. Has this class helped you other classes?
A. I believe that writing in this class has given me the ability to think more clearly and put those thoughts on paper. Especially good for me has been the fact that I am able to write in a more open manner. However, I don’t feel that my personal gains will contribute much to other classes because a one-sided attitude may be required in classes such as business or politics.
My papers have improved overall. Yet, I still need work. I am very grateful for the opportunity this English class has given me in sharing my thoughts and helping me to do better. To everyone I say goodbye. I really have respected my classmates in the help they have offered in things such as peer-review. My best wishes go out to them and my teacher Mrs. Smith. Both the class and the teacher have proven worth my time and efforts. I feel that I am a changed student because of them. Thank you.

My Inquiry into the Inquiry Method
By: Chad Jardine

It was very interesting a few class times ago when Mrs. Smith decided to demonstrate the inquiry method to our class. That experiment was a learning experience for me, and not in the way you might expect. It taught me how entrenched the classroom structure is. In my observation I noticed that it didn’t matter whether the teacher sat with the class or stood at the front—as is the normal practice. We still looked to the teacher rather than each other. That examination made me seriously scrutinize the validity of the inquiry method.
Can students be expected to change? Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Should we even try? These are the questions and the thought processes that went through my head as I contemplated Mrs. Smith’s trial with the inquiry method of learning. My first assumption is that the traditional teacher at the head of the classroom setting is the most effective. Take, for example, the fact that our 2P.M. class went silent as soon as our teacher “stepped away from the pulpit and joined the pews”. The congregation was speechless for several minutes. It was not until I brought up dialogue with the teacher that the class finally joined in. In other words, we, the students, brought the pulpit back to the teacher. She wanted the congregation to fend for itself and work out its own educational salvation. But under that context…we all went to Hell. Still, the inquiry method has its benefits—perhaps not exemplified with our class—nonetheless, worth pondering.
Consider that students learn in various ways. By allowing the students to ask questions they are changing the way they learn. Some students learn best with visuals, for instance. If a student was to draw a picture to explain what he or she is thinking, and the teacher didn’t understand the picture then that inquiring student is left confused. After all, the teacher is perceived as all-knowing. This is where the inquiry method is handy. If that student was to show that same picture to the class chances are that one of his fellow students would understand him, and thus, would be able to give whatever insight he had to help. Contrasting the singularity of the teacher, the class is a group that possesses varying thoughts. To be short, the more people you have the greater thought that goes into a topic. Rather than have one teacher, that thinks one way, give one explanation, classrooms benefit most when every person is allowed to fully express him or herself outside the umbrella of the instructor’s control.
To be honest, I am not an advocate of either methods of learning. I can’t be. I just don’t know enough. With that being said, I do know that students can succeed in both situations if they try hard enough. Learning is a dual responsibility. Teachers must maintain the proper atmosphere, and students must do what is asked of them. However, students should not expect the teacher to make-up for their lack of preparation and work. If every student went into a course and was committed to succeed, regardless of what the teacher would or would not contribute, then education could still move forward. If students don’t do this, it’s not like the school isn’t willing to fail them. But then again?...

My Review of Peer Review
By: Chad Jardine
As I have taken this English class I have been impressed with my growth in things such as sentence structure and grammar use. However, I have mixed feelings when it comes to peer review. Yet, I also cannot forget how much my writing has improved from reviewing on a one-on-one basis with Cody Wells. Put together I believe that the most effect review is that which comes from the teacher.
I would be lying if I said my writing hasn’t improved, but I would be lying if I said that was directly from peer review. To be truthful I believe the only peer that I can put my confidence in is Cody because I work with him in several other classes and feel he offers a fresh look into my writing. Consider this simile: peer review is like having one dumb person give his paper to other dumb people to have it critiqued. My point is, student reviews of other students do not seem to be effective because no one can fix the problems of another that he or she suffers from himself.
There is one exception. Cody Wells is the only successful peer that I have found to evaluate my papers. He and I can see mistakes in each other’s work because we spend so much time working together on other writing assignments that both of us can better notice mistakes. To compliment this bonus, I have found that Mrs. Smith has given pointers that have given me the awareness I needed to change my problems. That would make sense since she is the only “smart” person in the room. I just can’t see the logic in having someone review my journal that is struggling with the same, if not more, troubles. And that logic goes for my review of other students.
Peer review doesn’t make sense to me on the grand scale. For my personal situation only Cody and I can understand what the other is trying to say. Also, the teacher can give me pointers because she has experience and is a better writer than any of my fellow classmates. Remember, though, all is not negative. I am seeing improvement and hope my skills in writing will continue to grow. Even though I may disagree with peer review, I can still find room for advancement using it.

Important!
FYI Mrs. Smith. I will be out of town until saturday morning. You can expect my blog after I get back on Saturday. (We don't have internet down there.) Sorry I didn't get it done earlier, but you can still read it if you want to. Thanks, Chad.

Research Update
By: Chad Jardine

To be honest, I have not done much research beyond Paper 4’s requirements. However, I have been deeply thinking about what the future will bring concerning a draft. These thoughts first came about when I heard on a news network that Iran was found to have enriched Uranium and Plutonium. Those materials—used to make a nuclear bomb—were found after United Nations weapon inspectors came across them. Up to that point Iran had claimed its nuclear ambitions were peaceful, but the world now knows better. With that fact in mind, and the United States commitment to stop nuclear proliferation among terrorist nations, it seems a draft might be in order if military action is the only remaining choice to resolve the matter.
As many might know, I have been talking to military recruiters with the intent to join. My choice is not merely based on educational benefits. Call me ideological, but I want to join to protect the nation. It would seem disappointing if I was to look back on my life and not have served in the military. Fortunate, for the U.S., my joining will help in a very small way to alleviate the recruitment shortage. It was on that premise that I wrote Paper 4. With limited volunteers and growing threats to national security, a draft seems rational.
My friend Cody and I were at the gym today. It was at this gym that Cody and I started thinking about the likelihood of us being conscripted to serve. It seems that very much could be risked on our part in the future if that is the outcome. War is tough, and I think everyone should be prepared—especially the men—to have life tough if war comes.
I hope that a draft is not needed to solve the challenges ahead. Yet, I also hope we will have the resolve to win and fight to the end if that is our only choice. But, to be honest with myself, the country hasn’t done that with the War on Terror up to this point. I am concerned that anymore war will not turn out as we would hope unless we are willing to make the outcome favorable.

GET TO CLASS!!!
By: Chad Jardine

I have chosen to write on the subject of school attendance. My question is: how can students turn down their opportunity to learn when they have already paid for their semester hours? This question came to me when I realized how small our English class had gotten during the last week. I think there were, at best, seven or eight people on average during the course of the week. I cannot understand why people are so foolish and rude.
When a student misses every once in a while for a legitimate reason I am understanding of their situation. But I have no pity for those who miss solely because they are bored with the course or don’t feel they can become the thinker Mrs. Smith’s curriculum requires. It is their lack of effort to perform even the most simple of a student’s duties that leads many to end up in a career they would not have otherwise chosen. Those unfavorable future circumstances make those former students incorrectly feel they’ve been cheated out of the “American Dream” because real life happened, and life doesn’t dish out evenly to those who enter into it with a sense of entitlement.
I overheard a conversation between two people today just outside of my biology class and near a computer room. One of them was a white male. The other was a Hispanic-American woman. The two were talking about movies which led them to discuss grades among minorities. The woman—a minority herself—explained to the man how she told her kids never to complain about not getting good grades because they were a minority. She argued it was not acceptable for her children to complain when they had the opportunity to receive minority scholarships. My point for bringing this conversation up is to demonstrate how those who feel they deserve everything for nothing just won’t fly. Fortunately, the children of that mother are in good hands, and will succeed if they follow through with her advice.
Good education begins with the basics. If we want to succeed academically and financially we have to do those things which will best guarantee our future prospects. Just plug the simple numbers (at least those who didn’t skip math class) and you will see how dumb it is to fail a college course when tuition has already been paid. Duh!!! A member of my business team that has not shown up in our class (which starts at ten o’clock A.M.) for weeks, and he is not only suffering but is dragging my group down to some extent with him. All he has to do is come to our meeting and do the assignments delegated to him. I think students are hoodwinkers when such a simple task is passed by for seemingly no reason.
For those who don’t come to class I have no sympathy for your stupidity. It is also rude to do such on account that our teacher spent a lot of time to prepare to teach you. However, I am preaching to the wrong congregation. Those who need to change are probably not going to be reading this journal entry. My sympathies go to our teacher and to those few dedicated students who want to learn. To be truthful I am not perfect. Nonetheless, I appreciate the opportunity to improve, and if you are one who needs improvement in attendance my first suggestion is to get to class. I promise things will be better in the long run.

I’m Confused and Frustrated!
By: Chad Jardine

In class today (11-3-06) I was frustrated over the writing we are trying to master. With several essays behind me I can’t say that I am any closer to becoming a better writer. As far as I can tell my problems stem from 1) a lack of coherent understanding of where my writing is going and 2) a drastically different perspective on grades. These concerns are arguably “growing pains” as I transition from high school to college. Yet, these worries prompt me to question whether or not I am progressing in this English class.
I am going to be frank—with the exception of Mr. Moizer’s twelfth-grade class, I have never enjoyed any previous English course I have taken. Up until this week I was beginning to think I would break the anti-English cycle. But then Wednesday happened (11-1-06). It was then that I realized the underlying contrasts between me and what I perceived as the way class was heading were ever diverging. Take grades for example.
When Mrs. Smith says something to the effect of “grades don’t matter” I cannot fathom that standpoint. I have been taught that grades DO matter whether that reinforcement comes from my Dad, Mom, or even grandparents. When they ask how college is going a reply like “I’m learning a lot” will only hold them over for a few seconds or maybe a minute. After that they almost always ask how my grades are looking. That’s it. That’s the way my relatives know whether I am doing well. If I were to show my parents a report card with a 60%, for instance, they wouldn’t accept “well…I learned something”. To them grades are the indication of education, and I happen to agree.
Now it may seem from the above that I am advocating against Mrs. Smith’s teaching methods. I assure you I AM NOT! However, I am lost, so to speak, on where I am going. Take this example: I was writing last week’s blog when I suddenly stopped and wondered, “How am I supposed to write this?” That is by far my biggest concern. When I first started our current English class I seriously thought that every essay taught us one method of writing for a particular circumstance. In other words, one essay would be written in a questioning manner when you came across a problem you had no opinion on. Another essay—say one about a problem you had a strong view on—would be written so that you could persuade others to agree with you (which is my favorite form of writing by the way). Unfortunately, I do not know what my final writing style should look like. It seems to me that meshing all of the writing techniques we’ve studied together would yield a hybrid so hideous that it would make the contents of my shorts look good after I found out each individual essay was to be built upon the next. I guess I’ll just have to keep cleaning up the mess—of my thinking that is.
My conclusion is not grim and gloomy. I will try my best, and hopefully I will not only get good grades but will learn something too. I am very thankful for the opportunity to learn, and hope the remaining weeks of English 1010 with Mrs. Smith (who I would recommend as a good teacher of the challenging English language) will be clarifying and helpful in making myself and everyone else—if they work to achieve it—glad they took something from the class and that they were truly changed by it.

"I Want You!"

By: Chad Jardine

Every time I turn on the television I am bombarded with images or shows on the topic of Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. To me they are not separate wars with separate justifications. To me they are part of one conflict only separated by different battle fronts. One subtopic that has been brought up over the past few years is the draft. That topic is what I am researching. I begin by simply asking, “Should the United States Reinstate the draft?”
A Draft was issued in the Civil, First and Second, Korean, and Vietnam Wars among others. Only after the conclusion of the latter did this country forget that practice. Ronald Reagan came into office in 1981 to a military that was fading in its dominance. Fortunately vast military rearmament during the proceeding 1980’s helped ensure that the draft remain a thing of the past when the first Gulf War broke out. Then the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 leaving America as the sole superpower. Form then on military spending was cut, the armed forces lost a third of its active duty soldiers, and thus at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks was only 60% of its size during the Persian Gulf War. With that important background being said, you can probably imagine why talks of drafting soldiers to fill the ranks are currently going on.
I heard some time ago that the army was not meeting its volunteer recruitment goals. It is at this point that my emotions usually get the best of me, but let it suffice to say that I find that detail to be…ridiculous. One argument for the draft is that such shortages would immediately be alleviated. However, is a draft an infringement of one’s right to choose his or her life? Some believe it’s not, but there are those who feel so. In my opinion it’s not fair to sit back and enjoy the rewards of freedom and never take up the responsibility to defend it for yourself and others. There is no such thing as reward without responsibility!
Mark Edmundson’s comments in his essay partly blamed the current generation’s troubles with liberal education on the generation of the Sixties. While my research has nothing to do with education, it does delve into the influence predecessors have on their children. My parents were not Vietnam protesters thankfully. Unfortunately, their peers, to a large extent throughout the country, were. Those people set a precedent for anarchy and the present population follows suit. It’s because of that unwillingness of the people to fight on their own merits that the draft seems to be the only solution.
The draft would affect everyone in America. Either you would be drafted, know someone that was, or you would be related to one. I don’t want to sound like a hypocrite either. I must state that I do not expect others to do what I would not. In fact I have spoken to military recruiters and have an appointment with one on Monday October 30. It is my intention to become a soldier soon after serving an LDS mission. It may even be possible (if the recruiters have explained correctly) to join the armed forces before leaving by taking an extended leave for 26 months. Let me conclude by saying it’s regrettable that we need a draft. If we truly wanted to exercise our freedom for good we would join voluntarily, and God bless those who already have!