Essay 3.3:Baby Steps to Fire Safety: Teach the Children

I remember learning about fire safety in Mrs. Pratt’s third grade class. My class was taught not to play with fire, the importance of a smoke detector, how to come up with an evacuation plan in case of a home fire, and how to stop drop and roll. Do you remember when you first learned about fire safety? Emergencies and dangerous situations can occur at any given time. In an article from the Journal of Community Psychology, William O. Dwyer says that most of the time the children that die in fires are under the age of five (McConnell 213). I think that teaching fire safety at a young age is very important. If kids are taught how to avoid fires and the process of escaping from a dangerous fire, then more young lives can be saved. I’m glad that I learned about fire safety at an early age, because it became an important piece of my childhood.

I was an eight year old third grader; of course I would be terrified when danger was around me. On the afternoon of June 23, 2000, I didn’t understand how dangerous fire was before that day, but I clearly understood its dangers soon after. That afternoon, my little sister and I decided to take a nap together in my older sister’s queen sized bed, while my grandmother remained upstairs in the kitchen to fix dinner. To us, my older sister’s downstairs bedroom seemed like the safest place to snuggle up during a huge summer thunderstorm. About a good twenty minutes into our naps, we were awakened by what we thought was the noise of the loudest crack in the sky known to man. With a sniff of the smoky air, I realized something was wrong. Then I noticed that before I went to sleep, the house was slightly dark and gloomy since all the lights were out and the clouds heavily covered the sunlight, but now there was a sudden brightness to the house. I realized that the bottom of my house was hit by a powerful rod of lightning and caught on fire; my six year old sister, my grandmother and I needed to leave our home as soon as possible.

The first thing that I could think to do was get up off of the bed. Quickly I got my sister to follow me out of the room. When I held her quivering hand I could tell that my sister also knew that something was wrong and she was frightened as well. When we reached the doorway I could see the bright huge flames flashing in my family den, and burning away many of my family’s possessions. Luckily the fire had not spread past the family den so there was a chance that we were able to go up the stairs to the front door. I could feel the heat of the blaze hit my side as I approached the steps, and I knew that if my clothes caught on fire that we needed to stop drop and roll. I jolted up the steps and pulled my sister along; when we got up the stairs I glanced in the kitchen I saw that my grandmother was still in the kitchen. “Granny, quick get out the house, it’s on fire, it’s on fire,” I yelled up to her direction. “Oh Lord,” she yelled and quickly got up out of the wooden kitchen chair she was sitting in; she headed toward the front door where my sister and I stood. I remembered learning to check doorknobs making sure they were not too hot to handle. When I touched the doorknob, it was slightly warm but not too hot to grip on to. I opened the front door so we could all get out of the house; I looked back to see the progress that the fire might have made and saw that it had already started coming up the stairs. Once we were all safely out of the house we were spotted by our neighbors who had seen the fire coming from our house; they happened to be running to the house to help us out. Thankfully our neighbors already called 911 and the firefighters and ambulance arrived about two minutes after my family and I evacuated. During all the action that was taking place outside, I was taken into my neighbors’ home to call my mother, who was at work the whole time.

Before this incident, my family never sat down at the table and discussed a proper fire escape plan for us to follow if a fire was to happen. There is a clear lack of fire safety and prevention in the home and at the schools. In The New York Amsterdam News article, “Kids at risk with lack of fire safety education”, students proclaim that their schools lack in teaching fire safety (Barsky). The kids in these schools are upset that they truly don’t know how to properly escape a fire; they are aware that their lives can be at risk at anytime. It would be better if fire safety and prevention programs were started in preschools. Evidence found in McConnell, Leeming, and Dwyer’s study titled Evaluation of a “Fire-Safety Training Program for Preschool Children,” provides support that it is beneficial to train preschoolers in fire safety because it prevents injury to the children in the near future (McConnell). Ideas like this need to be implemented so our youth can live long joyful lives. A parent really does not want to receive the news that their child is no longer alive; parents do not want to outlive their children.

In most cases, coming together as a family and preparing for the dangers of a fire can be absolutely beneficial. There are some situations that can cause a child to die in a fire. Donna Miller’s article “7-year-old boy dies in Medina house fire; mom and 4 siblings escape,” from October 26 2009, describes an incident that occurred near Cleveland, Ohio (Miller). The death of the 7-year old boy in the house fire was most likely due to his family not being prepared for this dangerous situation (Miller). “As of 11 a.m., investigators had not found a smoke detector in the rubble,” this family didn’t implicate fire safety in their home (Miller).If a smoke detector was in the house the child could have survived; he would have been awakened from his sleep and have been able to try to escape. Too many children are losing their lives in house fires, they need to be better prepared. I could tell that my sister was scared when my house was on fire but she had no idea what to do to escape the danger on her own.

Not only did the firefighters and ambulance come to put out the fire and help anyone that was hurt, but CBS 6 News was also on the scene. The day turned into my first news appearance; I thought this was the coolest thing ever at that moment. I got to be on TV, the mic was turned on I was able to tell Richmond, Virginia my story about how my family and I were able to survive my first dangerous encounter with fire. I feel like I made a lot of viewers that tuned into the 6 o’clock news that day proud. I was a young hero, and my family was safe and secured.

My niece, who just turned seven, actually had the same Mrs. Pratt as her first grade teacher at the same elementary school that I attended. The day that she learned about fire safety she came home very excited. She had received a coloring book with a cute Dalmatian dog in a huge red fire truck on the cover. “Hey look what I can do, Auntie Key,” she yelled and then she started the motion of stopping, dropping, and rolling. I was grateful that she had received that knowledge at her age. “Yeah, that’s how you do it,” I said, and then we were rolling across the floor together until we got hot.

Works Cited

Barksky, Michael and Negron, Elizabeth. “Kids at risk with lack of fire safety education.” The New York Amsterdam News. 26 Mar. 2009: Web

McConnell, Charles F., Leeming, Frank C., Dwyer, William O. “Evaluation of a Fire-Safety Training Program for Preschool Children.” Journal of Community Psychology. Vol. 24 Issue 3 (1996): 213-217. Web

Miller, Donna. “7-year-old boy dies in Medina house fire; mom and 4 siblings escape.” Cleveland.com. 26 Oct. 2009: Web

Class Reflection

When I entered this class earlier this semester I had a love for writing. Now its the end of the semester and I can truly say that I have a passion for writing. In this class I was given the chance to learn and eaxperiment with all the different elements of creative writing. I liked all of the arguments that we had to write, they were so much fun to write. During the course of the semester i developed a new process of writing. First, I make sure that I am going to write about a creative topic that I can relate to and make sure that whatever I am writing about can be backed by research. Now I plot out my main points that I want to address. Before this class I would start off writing without brainstorming, and more than likely in the end I would have to cut out so much uneeded information. I found that having a process is so much easier beacuse I get to address all of my main points easier and at a faster rate since I have it all planned out in the beginning. I also learned how to accept harsh comments from my peers, I also was wanting them to always tell me what they thought was not good. The workshops and conferences that we had in this class were very helpful and a good way for the class to reflect on each others papers. I really enjoyed the idea of keeping a blog as well, it was a really cool way to turn in papers and to save trees. : )

Comment for Breeze Article

I am a JMU student that will more than likely never be caught at a party or consuming alcohol.I was very aware of the "partying" that went on at JMU when I applyed to come here, I just didn't think it would affect me in any way that was serious. I agree that maybe it would be a good idea to have better control of the alcohol consumption here at JMU. We all remember having to take part in and pass Alcohol Edu before we got here, so everyone has the knowledge and capability to be safer drinkers.Lets make better decisions from now on so this won't happen again.

Reflection 3.2

I made a alot of changes in my second draft this time. I switched the order of some of my paragraphs to make it flow a lot better. A better conclusion was added to wrap up my paper, I brought it back around to show the modern teachings of fire safety. I'm not sure if people will think that my conclusion is okay or if it will start another story to them. I do feel that my story is taking up to much space in my paper though and that my argument is still unclear. My goal for my next draft is to add more research and make my argument stronger.

Essay 3.2:Baby Steps to Fire Safety: Teach the Children

I remember learning about fire safety in Mrs. Pratt’s third grade class. My class was taught not to play with fire, the importance of a smoke detector, how to come up with an evacuation plan in case of a home fire and we also practiced how to stop drop and roll. Do you remember when you first learned about fire safety? Emergencies and dangerous situations can occur at any given time. In an article from the Journal of Community Psychology, William O. Dwyer says that “Children under the age of 5 are 2.5 times more likely to die from fire than any other childhood age group.” (McConnell 213). I think that teaching fire safety at a young age is very important. If kids are taught how to avoid fires and the process of escape a dangerous fire, then more young lives can be saved. I’m glad that I learned about fire safety at an early age, because it became an important piece of my childhood.

I was an eight year old third grader; of course I would be terrified when danger was around me. On the afternoon of June 23, 2000, If I didn’t understand how dangerous fire was before that day then I clearly understood its dangers soon after. That afternoon, my little sister and I decided to take a nap together in my older sister’s queen sized bed, while my grandmother remained upstairs in the kitchen to fix dinner. To us, my older sister’s downstairs bedroom seemed like the safest place to snuggle up during a huge summer thunderstorm. About a good twenty minutes into our naps we were awaken by what we thought was the noise of the loudest crack in the sky known to man. With a sniff of the smoky air, I realized something was wrong. Then I noticed that before I went to sleep the house was slightly dark and gloomy since all the lights were out and the clouds heavily covered the sunlight, but now there was a sudden brightness to the house. The bottom of my house was hit by a powerful rod of lightning and caught on fire; my six year old sister, my grandmother and I needed to leave our home as soon as possible.

The first thing that I could think to do was get up off of the bed. Quickly I got my sister to follow me out of the room. When I held her quivering hand I could tell that my sister also knew that something was wrong and she was frightened as well. When we reached the door way I could see the bright huge flames flashing in my family den, and burning away many of my family’s possessions. Luckily the fire had not spread past the family den so there was a chance that we were able to go up the stairs to the front door. I could feel the heat of the blaze hit my side as I approached the steps, and I knew that if my clothes caught on fire that we needed to stop drop and roll. I jolted up the steps and pulled my sister along, when we got up the stairs I glanced in the kitchen I saw that my grandmother was still in the kitchen. “Granny quick get out the house, it’s on fire, it’s on fire” I yelled up to her direction. “Oh Lord”, she yelled and quickly got up out of the wooden kitchen chair she was sitting in, she headed toward the front door where my sister and I stood. I remembered learning to check doorknobs making sure there not too hot to handle. When I touched the doorknob, it was slightly warm but not too hot to grip on to. I opened the front door so we could all get out of the house, I looked back to see the progress that the fire might have made and saw that it had already started coming up the stairs. Once we were all safely out of the house we were spotted by our neighbors who had seen the fire coming from our house, they happened to be running to the house to help us out. Thankfully our neighbors already called 911 and the firefighters and ambulance arrived about two minutes after my family and I evacuated. During all the action that was taking place outside, I was taken into my neighbors’ home to call my mother who was at work the whole time.

Before this incident, my family never sat down at the table and discussed a proper fire escape plan for us to follow if a fire was to happen. In most cases coming together as a family and making these plans can be absolutely beneficial. In the New York Times article, Arson Suspected as Girl Dies in Brooklyn Fire, details are given about the death of a 17-year old girl that was unable to escape a fire in her home (Schmidt). A parent really does not want to receive the news that their child is no longer alive, parents do not want to outlive their children.

Not only did the firefighters and ambulance come to put out the fire and help anyone that was hurt, but CBS 6 News was also on the scene. The day turned into my first news appearance, I thought this was the coolest thing ever at that moment. I got to be on TV, the mic was turned on I was able to tell Richmond, Virginia my story about how me and my family were able to survive my first dangerous encounter with fire. I feel like I made a lot of viewers that tuned into the 6 o’clock news that day proud, I was a young hero, and my family was safe and secured.

My niece who just turned seven actually had the same Mrs. Pratt as her first grade teacher at the same elementary school that I attended. The day that she learned about fire safety she came home very excited. She had received a coloring book with a cute Dalmatian dog in a huge red fire truck on the cover. “Hey look what I can do Auntie Key”, she yelled and then she started the motion of stopping, dropping, and rolling. I was grateful that that had received that knowledge at her age. “Yeah that’s how you do it” I said, and then we were rolling across the floor together until we got hot.

Works Cited
McConnell, Charles F., Leeming, Frank C., Dwyer, William O. “Evaluation of a Fire-Safety Training Program for Preschool Children.” Journal of Community Psychology. Vol. 24 Issue 3 (1996): 213-217. Web

Schmidt, Michael S., Zraick, Karen, Lyles, Toby. “Arson Suspected as Girl Dies in a Brooklyn Fire.” New York Times. 29 Dec. 2009: Web

Reflection 3.1

My goal for my first draft was to make sure that I got my whole story down on the paper. I used details in my story to keep my audience's attention and to help them better understand what I went through. I also included a good amount of research in my first draft. The comments from my peers were very helpful to me and I will take everything they said into consideration for my next draft. I was given advice to better organized my essay and to make my agrument clearer. I like the idea that Lauren gave me about rearranging my paragraphs so I can keep my story together. I also plan on going into more detail about my research instead of just simply pluggng it in.

Essay 3.1 Baby Steps to Fire Safety: Teach the Children

I was an eight year old third grader; of course I would be terrified when danger was around me. On the afternoon of June 23, 2000, If I didn’t understand how dangerous fire was before that day then I clearly understood its dangers soon after. That afternoon, my little sister and I decided to take a nap together in my older sister’s queen sized bed, while my grandmother remained upstairs in the kitchen to fix dinner. To us, my older sister’s downstairs bedroom seemed like the safest place to snuggle up during a huge summer thunderstorm. About a good twenty minutes into our naps we were awaken by what we thought was the noise of the loudest crack in the sky known to man. With a sniff of the smoky air, I realized something was wrong. Then I noticed that before I went to sleep the house was slightly dark and gloomy since all the lights were out and the clouds heavily covered the sunlight, but now there was a sudden brightness to the house. The bottom of my house was hit by a powerful rod of lightning and caught on fire; my six year old sister, my grandmother and I needed to leave our home as soon as possible.

I learned about fire safety in Mrs. Pratt’s third grade class earlier that year. My class was taught not to play with fire, the importance of a smoke detector, how to come up with an evacuation plan in case of a home fire and we also practiced how to stop drop and roll. I’m glad that I learned about fire safety at an early age, and I think that teaching these things at a young age is very important. In an article from the Journal of Community Psychology, William O. Dwyer says that “Children under the age of 5 are 2.5 times more likely to die from fire than any other childhood age group.” (McConnell 213). If kids are taught how to avoid fires and the process of escape a dangerous fire, then more young lives can be saved.

The first thing that I could think to do was get up off of the bed. Quickly I got my sister to follow me out of the room. Luckily the fire had not spread past the family den so we were able to go up the stairs to the front door. When I got up the stairs and glanced in the kitchen I saw that my grandmother was still in the kitchen. “Granny quick get out the house, it’s on fire, it’s on fire” I yelled up to her direction. “Oh Lord”, she yelled and quickly got up out of the wooden kitchen chair she was sitting in, she headed toward the front door where my sister and I stood. I remembered learning to check doorknobs making sure there not too hot to handle. When I touched the doorknob, it was slightly warm but not too hot to grip on to. I opened the front door so we could all get out of the house, I looked back to see the progress that the fire might have made and saw that it had already started coming up the stairs. Once we were all safely out of the house we were spotted by our neighbors who had seen the fire coming from our house, they happened to be running to the house to help us out. Thankfully our neighbors already called 911 and the firefighters and ambulances arrived about two minutes after my family and I evacuated. During all the action that was taking place outside, I was taken into my neighbors’ home to call my mother who was at work the whole time.

Before this incident, my family never sat down at the table and discussed a proper fire escape plan for us to follow if a fire was to happen. In most cases coming together as a family and making these plans can be absolutely beneficial. In the New York Times article, Arson Suspected as Girl Dies in Brooklyn Fire, details are given about the death of a 17-year old girl that was unable to escape a fire in her home (Schmidt). A parent really does not want to receive the news that their child is no longer alive, parents do not want to outlive their children.

Not only did the firefighters and ambulance come to put out the fire and help anyone that was hurt, but CBS 6 News was also on the scene. The day turned into my first news appearance, I thought this was the coolest thing ever at that moment. I got to be on TV, the mic was turned on I was able to tell Richmond, Virginia my story about how me and my family were able to survive my first dangerous encounter with fire. I feel like I made a lot of viewers that tuned into the 6 o’clock news that day proud, I was a young hero, and my family was safe and secured.


Works Cited
McConnell, Charles F., Leeming, Frank C., Dwyer, William O. “Evaluation of a Fire-Safety Training Program for Preschool Children.” Journal of Community Psychology. Vol. 24 Issue 3 (1996): 213-217. Web

Schmidt, Michael S., Zraick, Karen, Lyles, Toby. “Arson Suspected as Girl Dies in a Brooklyn Fire.” New York Times. 29 Dec. 2009: Web

Reflection 2.3

Writing an argument that adresses both sides in a caring and understanding tone can be a little difficult. I now know that its so much easier to pick a side of an argument and state the facts of your side and trash the other side, but its not always about just making yourself look better than the other side. In writing my final draft of my rogerian argument, I added a lot of background information to give my audience an actual sense of why I actually chose to write this essay. I was able to find good relevant information from scholarly article to include in my argument as well.

Essay 2.3(No to Court TV)

Since I was a little girl in kindergarten, quoting the Pledge of Allegiance has been a daily routine. The last few words of the Pledge of Allegiance, “and justice for all”, portrays a huge goal in the American culture. While we strive to continue to display this goal, we have a current issue of if broadcasting cases in the courtroom on TV is interfering with the justice that our citizens are eligible for. I myself want everyone to get the justice that they deserve. I have always felt that anything that is portrayed to be real life or actuality on TV is very unreal. A court case would be more justified in just the privacy of the courtroom; those that are involved in the trial are the ones that need to understand the information that is being presented in the court. There are a variety of good reasons that support the statement, court cases should not be televised for the public to view.

Whenever someone sits in front of a television; man, woman, boy, girl, the young, and the old they are viewing the broadcast mainly for entertainment. It is possible that the entertainment can be interpreted differently, depending on the knowledge of that person. With that thought, I can understand that cameras in the courtrooms can have a positive effect on Americans, but I simply do not agree. An editorial in the March 13, 2010 edition of the New York Times titled “Your Reality TV” states, “Cameras in the court would allow Americans to see for themselves how an extremely powerful part of their government works” (“Your Reality TV” par 3). It’s possible that knowledge can be gained from viewing court cases on TV, but I kind of see it differently.

The publicity placed on a court case seems more like fake politics to me, I would just take it in as pure entertainment. The court case would lack the sense of fairness. Douglas Lee wrote an article that talks about Oklahoma laws and says, “Television coverage, the court said, threatens ‘the atmosphere essential to the preservation of a fair 'public' trial – the most fundamental of all freedoms" (Lee par 2). We are all humans, and when we are put on the spotlight or are in front of a camera we have a tendency to pretend and be deceiving. We automatically set a fake atmosphere because we feel that our image is very important, and we can’t mess it up in front of an audience of people, it’s just our nature. So, I feel that it is not a good idea to televise these cases because I can predict society uproars and chaos due to them.

What will the citizens of other countries think of Americans? Do we have to televise everything? In 1965 the case Estes v. Texas stated that media is allowed in the court room; but items like typewriters, presses, or other tools of transmitting the story are not allowed to be brought in by reporters (“First Amendment Research Information” par 4). I feel that it should be the opposite thing, the media shouldn’t be allowed in the court room. Now that we know what is and isn’t allowed in the court room, I feel that we should know why the media is actually allowed in the court room, and the purpose it serves. I rather get justice in the courts; we don’t need the entertainment factor in this situation. An article in the New York Times states that, “One of the main arguments against cameras in the courtroom is that they would sensationalize trials” (“Cameras in the Courts” par 4) Do we feel it will be necessary to televise court cases so we can keep an eye on our government system?

Shows like Judge Judy, People’s Court and Judge Joe Brown are definite examples that court cases on TV are not taken seriously, and just used for entertainment. Are those cases real or are they staged? These cases seem like a huge ongoing advertisement of reality TV. In an article titled “Please Adjust Your Signal: How Television’s Syndicated Courtrooms Bias Our Juror Citizenry” written by Kimberlianne Podlas in the American Business Law Journal, she states that these court shows have “a negative effect, diminishing respect for the justice system and perverting understanding of the law” (Podlas par 1). If we as a society view these court cases at first, they will set the stage for how we view other, even actual court cases that are televised. Are those cases able to help Americans gain knowledge of their government? In another New York Times article, Judge Kozinski says that allowing cameras in the court rooms is “an ‘experiment’ that is designed to help us find the right balance between the public's right to access to the courts and the parties' right to a fair and dignified proceeding''( Schwartz par 2). So we see that even a judge is a little rocky on the decision of having cameras in a court room.

I’m pretty aware that cameras probably will not be completely banned from all court cases. Even for those people that believe that cameras should be allowed in the court rooms, we can all agree that a limit on the type of court cases televised should be put in place. I think that Christo Lassiter’s scholarly article, “TV or Not TV”, explains the proposed court case limitation the best. The article simply states that cases such as criminal and civil cases should not me taped to be television broadcasted (Lassiter par 5). This limitation came about because of the perhaps involvement of juvenile, disabled and the mentally challenged hearings. There also needs to be no cameras in the courtroom when there is an absence of consent by a participant at trial (Lassiter par 8). The trial would be unfair to those involved if they were not given their right to deny the use of the cameras at their own hearing. An understanding has been reached; it’s acceptable to the parties for and against the issue to put limitations on the televising of court cases.

I can see that televising court cases can be educational for youth, used as examples in history or government classes’ to be a visual aid for students. I myself am a visual learner, and many other students are as well. I find it important to use all the different skills and ways of learning in the classroom. There is a positive side to using televised court cases for educational purposes, it can help in with “providing some degree of legal literacy” (Podlas par 1). It will be okay that the reason for recording important court cases is for proper educational usage. I also feel that if government court cases are televised that the media will go hay wire and blow stories out of proportion. Things will only be based on what is seen in the court room, and not what is heard or said.

Televising these court cases is pretty understandable, but there is no necessity in the situation. I have not found a legit reason to televise any court cases. The only thing I can find is the excuse that it is part of our freedom of speech. We can watch actual reality TV to get our entertainment.

Works Citied
“ Cameras in the Courts.” New York Times. 15 May 2007. Web. 14 March 2010.

First Amendment Research Information. Illinois First Amendment Center, 2010. Web. 14 March 2010.

Lassiter, Christo. “TV or Not TV-Statutory Appendix.” Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. Vol. 86 Issue 3 (1996): 1005-1013.Web

Lee, Douglas. Oklahoma Court Makes Dubious Assumptions about Cameras in Court. Freedom Forum, 29 June 2000. Web. 14 March 2010.

Podlas, Kimberlianne. “Please Adjust Your Signal: How Television’s Syndicated Courtrooms Bias Our Juror Citizenry.” American Business Law Journal. Vol. 39 (2001): 1. Web

Schwartz, John. “Ninth Circuit to Test Use of Cameras in Civil Cases.” New York Times. 19 December 2009. Web. 14 March 2010.

“Your Reality TV.” New York Times. 13 March 2010. Web. 14 March 2010.

Setting exercise

A window that never held the sunlight back, you could see the flying particles illuminated by the sun's rays shining in. The sun room in my home was always the best place for me to think about all the things on my mind. I could always smell the sweet smell of hot bread baking in the oven for mommy and me. The sounds of nature filled the room all the time, and the feel of the smooth pinewood table on my face would always give me peace.

News Narrative

If you don't have a church or a place of worship that you go to every sunday, are you a bad person? Our own president, President Obama, and his family have not decided what church they will like to affiliate with. America is a country that has a variety of religions that practiced everyday, Christianity is one of the biggest religions practiced in America as well. President Obama was once a member of the muslim religion, but now he has expressed to the public that he is a Christian. I myself am part of the Christianity religion practice. One of the main aspects of the Christian religion is to take Sunday off and faithfully attend your church's service. Obama is a leader of our, he claims to practice Christianity but doesn't have a church home. Is there something wrong with this picture.

Narrative Prewriting

I'm not sure what story I want to tell in this next argument. I may consider some of the questions that the class was asked, to spark some ideas, to create a topic for my argument. I think i'm going to try to take this argument to give my own story as the central story, but I may also include stories from the people I know to create support for my story as well. I think at the moment i'm leaning toward asnswering the question "When have you been treated unfairly?" as a good topic to start off with.

Voice Activity 2: Lack of Emotion

Dear Professor,
This is in reference to the grade I got on the last exam. I wanted to know if it was possible for you to reconsider some of the questions that you asked or give the class a curve. The class as a whole did have a low average, according to what you said in class on Wednesday. I think that I deserve a better grade on the exam because I did the best that I could do. I always work hard in your class as well. Thank you so much for taking the time out to ponder on this situation.

Sincerely,
Tekeya McDonald

Voice Activity 1: Full Emotion

Dear Professor,
When I received a C- on the last exam we had in class I became a little confused and very disappointed in myself. I do believe in the saying that refers to grades, “You get the grade you earned”, but this is a case where I feel I earned a better grade. I feel like the way that you worded the questions that you were asking were quite hard to decode, I came up to you quite a few times to get you to explain what the question was asking. I really tried my hardest and gave the best answer for every question. I studied for the exam two weeks in advance and I always pay attention to your lectures. I am one of the few students in your section 9 lecture that has a perfect attendance record for the class. When you gave back the exam grades, you yourself said that the scores were pretty low. So I’m not trying to just benefit myself with this letter but the class as a whole, maybe you can consider giving the class a curve on that exam. Thank you so much for taking the time out to ponder on this situation.

Sincerely,
Tekeya McDonald

Reflection 2.2

For my second draft I’m aware that I didn’t make a whole lot of changes. I realized in my first draft that though I thought I had included research from scholarly journals, I did not. My main goal for my second draft was correctly formatting my paper. The confusion that I received from my classmates encouraged me to clear up my papers format so it would be easier to identify where a paragraph starts and where it finishes. I also went ahead and added my works citied section to my essay this go round. I attempted to find scholarly journals that are relevant to my topic, but I haven’t had much luck. I noticed that maybe I have careful research broader ideas that revolve around my topic and not just my topic alone. I can search journals that encompass the ideas of things like freedom of the press, just freedom in general, the justice system, and also find out what type of court cases are not allowed to be televised for the viewing of the public. Once I find two scholarly journals to include into my essay I will cite those in my works cited section as well. I also want to work more on the language of my essay to make sure it gives of a rogerian attitude. I feel like I can organize my paper a little better as well to give it a smoother flow for my audience to read, so I will work on make sure that I address certain ideas continuously throughout the essay.

(Essay 2.2) Court TV

Whenever someone sits in front of a television; man, woman, boy, girl, the young, the old they are viewing the broadcast mainly for entertainment. It is possible that the entertainment can be interpreted differently, depending on the knowledge of that person. With that thought, I can understand that cameras in the courtrooms can have a positive effect on Americans, but I simply do not agree. An editorial in the March 13, 2010 edition of the New York Times titled “Your Reality TV” states, “Cameras in the court would allow Americans to see for themselves how an extremely powerful part of their government works” (“Your Reality TV” par 3). It’s possible that knowledge can be gained from viewing court cases on TV, but I kind of see it differently.


The publicity placed on a court case seems more like fake politics to me, I would just take it in as pure entertainment. The court case would lack the sense of fairness. An article that talks about Oklahoma laws says, “Television coverage, the court said, threatens ‘the atmosphere essential to the preservation of a fair 'public' trial – the most fundamental of all freedoms" (Lee par 2). We are all humans, and when we are put on the spotlight or are in front of a camera we have a tendency to pretend and be deceiving. We automatically set a fake atmosphere because we feel that our image is very important, and we can’t mess it up in front of an audience of people, it’s just our nature. So, I feel that is not a good idea to televise these cases because I can predict society uproars and chaos due to them.


What will the citizens of other countries think of Americans? Do we have to televise everything? In 1965 the case Estes v. Texas stated that media is allowed in the court room; but items like typewriters, presses, or other tools of transmitting the story are not allowed to be brought in by reporters. I feel that it should be the opposite thing, the media shouldn’t be allowed in the court room. Now that we know what is and isn’t allowed in the court room, I feel that we should know why the media is actually allowed in the court room, what purpose does it serve. I rather get justice in the courts; we don’t need the entertainment factor in this situation. A scholarly article states that, “One of the main arguments against cameras in the courtroom is that they would sensationalize trials” (“Cameras in the Courts” par 4) Do we feel it will be necessary to televise court cases so we can keep an eye on our government system?


Shows like Judge Judy, People’s Court and Judge Joe Brown are definite examples that court cases on TV are not taken seriously, and just used for entertainment. Are those cases real or are they staged? These cases seem like a huge ongoing advertisement of reality TV. If we as a society view these court cases at first, they will set the stage for how we view other, even actual court cases that are televised. Are those cases able to help Americans gain knowledge of their government? In a New York Times article, Judge Kozinski says that allowing cameras in the court rooms is “an ‘experiment’ that is designed to help us find the right balance between the public's right to access to the courts and the parties' right to a fair and dignified proceeding''( Schwartz par 2). So we see that even a judge is a little rocky on the decision of having cameras in a court room.


I can see that televising court cases can be educational for youth, used as examples in history or government classes’ to be a visual aid for students. I myself am a visual learner, and many other students are as well. I find it important to use all the different skills and ways of learning in the classroom. It will be okay that the reason for recording important court cases is for proper educational usage. I also feel that if government court cases are televised that the media will go hay wire and blow stories out of proportion. Things will only be based on what is seen in the court room, and not what heard or said.


Televising these court cases is pretty understandable, but there is no necessity in the situation. I have not found a legit reason to televise any court cases. The only thing I can find is the excuse that it is part of our freedom of speech. We can watch actual reality TV to get our entertainment.

Works Citied

“ Cameras in the Courts.” New York Times. 15 May 2007. Web. 14 March 2010.
First Amendment Research Information. Illinois First Amendment Center, 2010. Web. 14 March 2010.

Lee, Douglas. Oklahoma Court Makes Dubious Assumptions about Cameras in Court. Freedom Forum, 29 June 2000. Web. 14 March 2010.

Schwartz, John. “Ninth Circuit to Test Use of Cameras in Civil Cases.” New York Times. 19 December 2009. Web. 14 March 2010.

“Your Reality TV.” New York Times. 13 March 2010. Web. 14 March 2010.

Reflection 2.1

In writing my rogerian argument, I had to use different techniques than in my rebuttal argument. I drastically changed my vocabulary. I wanted to sound more like I had a gentle understanding attitude towards the author’s argument. In my rebuttal argument I was able to argue my point without showing the author sympathy. Well it’s a little more challenging writing the rogerian argument because I have to think about where the author is coming from, find common ground, and make some compromises. I think I took on a pretty good point of view for this argument.
For this process I researched past court cases that were televised and the reactions that people shared about televised court cases. I found great articles through the library website and other historical cases. I would like to add some pathos to my argument, so I plan on maybe adding some personal stories from people that actually experienced having the court case televised if possible. I will also look for other types of evidence such as statistical and personal attributions to include in my next draft. I might also try to change up the format and structure of my paper in my second draft. My goals for my next draft included working on my works cited section, and adding more points to my argument. I want my audience to say that my argument is clear and it provides a lot of reasons. When I receive comments on my argument I will deeply take them into consideration, because I’m sure there are some other changes that I can make.

Essay 2.1(Court TV)

Whenever someone sits in front of a television; man, woman, boy, girl, the young, the old they are viewing the broadcast mainly for entertainment. It is possible that the entertainment can be interpreted differently, depending on the knowledge of that person. With that thought, I can understand that cameras in the courtrooms can have a positive effect on Americans. An editorial in the March 13, 2010 edition of the New York Times titled “Your Reality TV” states, “Cameras in the court would allow Americans to see for themselves how an extremely powerful part of their government works” (“Your Reality TV” par 3). It’s possible that knowledge can be gained from viewing court cases on TV, but I kind of see it differently.
The publicity placed on a court case seems more like fake politics to me, I would just take it in as pure entertainment. The court case would lack the sense of fairness. An article that talks about Oklahoma laws says, “Television coverage, the court said, threatens ‘the atmosphere essential to the preservation of a fair 'public' trial – the most fundamental of all freedoms" (… par 2). We are all humans, and when we are put on the spotlight or are in front of a camera we have a tendency to pretend and be deceiving. We automatically set a fake atmosphere because we feel that our image is very important, and we can’t mess it up in front of an audience of people, it’s just our nature. So, I feel that is not a good idea to televise these cases because I can predict society uproars and chaos due to them.
What will the citizens of other countries think of Americans? Do we have to televise everything? In 1965 the case Estes v. Texas stated that media is allowed in the court room; but items like typewriters, presses, or other tools of transmitting the story are not allowed to be brought in by reporters. I feel that it should be the opposite thing, the media shouldn’t be allowed in the court room. Now that we know what is and isn’t allowed in the court room, I feel that we should know why the media is actually allowed in the court room. I rather get justice in the courts; we don’t need the entertainment factor in this situation. A scholarly article states that, “One of the main arguments against cameras in the courtroom is that they would sensationalize trials” (“Cameras in the Courts” par 4) Do we feel it will be necessary to televise court cases so we can keep an eye on our government system?
Shows like Judge Judy, People’s Court and Judge Joe Brown are definite examples that court cases on TV are not taken seriously, and just used for entertainment. Are those cases real or are they staged? These cases seem like a huge ongoing advertisement of reality TV. If we as a society view these court cases at first, they will set the stage for how we view other, even actual court cases that are televised. Are those cases able to help Americans gain knowledge of their government? In a scholarly article, Judge Kozinski says that allowing cameras in the court rooms is “an ‘experiment’ that is designed to help us find the right balance between the public's right to access to the courts and the parties' right to a fair and dignified proceeding''( Schwartz par 2). So we see that even a judge is a little rocky on the decision of having cameras in a court room.
I can see that televising court cases can be educational for youth, used as examples in history or government classes’ to be a visual aid for students. I myself am a visual learner, and many other students are as well. I find it important to use all the different skills and ways of learning in the classroom. It will be okay that the reason for recording important court cases is for proper educational usage. I also feel that if government court cases are televised that the media will go hay wire and blow stories out of proportion. Things will only be based on what is seen in the court room, and not what heard or said.
Televising these court cases is pretty understandable, but there is no necessity in the situation. I have not found a legit reason to televise any court cases. The only thing I can find is the excuse that it is part of our freedom of speech. We can watch actual reality TV to get our entertainment.

Prewriting Essay 2

Topics that involve entertainment and lesiure time are great topics for a rogerian argument. Its easier to find common ground in less controversial. I want to find a topic with these aspects so that I make sure that I'm able to have understanding towards the other side of the argument. I have to try to be prepared to switch gears from the last argument.

Reflection 1.3

I did a lot of editing for my final argument paper. Not only did I include my works cited section for my paper, but I cut out a couple of paragraphs so have space for necessary information. The information that I added was important because I made more references to the movie itself, this created a stronger connection for my audience. I feel very comfortable with the way my final paper turned out. Now that the rebuttal section of the class is over we are moving on to the rogerian section. This is a transition from a distinct argumentive tone to a gentle understanding tone of an argument.