Social Classes

Watched an episode of 30 Days where Morgan and his fiance tried to live on minimum wage for a month which brings up issue of social classes in the United States. It struck a chord with me considering I come from an impoverished family. It brings to light the difficulties of that people struggling to make a living have to deal with. It's hard to put into words what I think of the classes that do exist because I've not lived the life of someone in each different class. I do however despise how easily people are grouped into these classes and the struggle it is for anyone to try and claw their way up the ladder from poor and/or homeless to successful and well off. Depending on where you come from, how you grew up, and several other factors you are grouped with others and are stuck in that position until you make an effort to try and elevate yourself out of it.

Current Education.

 So my views on the current education system are biased to say the least. I have been a victim of the status quo as far back as I can remember. The system today is over a hundred years old and is based on children progressing through "stages" of education. You go to different schools depending on which stage you are in and you are grouped by your age, not abilities. I always felt hindered progressing through school because everyone around me thought on a level much lower than that of my own, or at least it felt that way.

 As students progress through school they are taught a basic curriculum that the leaders of said education system deem appropriate. Early on this is not much of an issue. Every child should learn to read and write in at least their native language, and be able to do simple mathematics. However, as the children reach the next stage of school they are given an arbitrary "freedom" to start looking at which path to a career they want to take. Once they make up their minds, they are sequestered with other children of similar pathways and then they are once again shuffled through in groups. From an early age, students are taught that school is a necessity in order to secure a job in the future and live a normal life. While learning and growing are always something that individuals should strive for not every person who went on to become successful and live a nice life had to go through the rigors of school.

 Once students reach the college level they have been programmed by their school systems to learn a specific way, test a specific way, and think a specific way; at the college level their minds are overwhelmed by the new possibilities. And yet, even in college we are limited. The heads of the education system yet again have laid down guidelines and a structure to the curriculum for every career path you choose, including what most people identify as "general education." This gen ed requirement of every student is often times seen as a way to stifle the individuals learning of their particular major. As with myself, I fail to see the relevance in understanding the deeper meaning behind theater, film, dance, or music as a requirement to being a physicist.

 This calls attention to the idea that maybe the structure upon which we are so familiarized is less of a foundation and more of a interference. Not everyone learns in the same way, and not everyone needs to know the same things to progress in life. We are groomed and tailored to receive a classical education even though the classical area has come and gone. In this modern age we need new ways of thinking. New ways of presenting information, and news ways for students to learn. Education is a right of every human, and learning should be for the sake of learning, not as a means to an end. Knowledge is precious and should be treated as such. 

Second Genre Literacy Project.

http://prezi.com/dyh3sgvev9gn/literacy-autobiography/

Media Influence

For English I have to write an entry about media influence. So here goes.

Ever since the invention of the printing press the media has saw fit to try and influence people through many means. Whether it's trying to convince you of a story, or attempting to sell you a product the media has had it's hand in it for many years. This attempt to influence only grows stronger with each new developing outlet for the media.
Starting with newspapers and fliers public influence was swayed by techniques such as strong words or images and appealing offers or statements. Newspapers were the way to advertise new business and products or inform citizens of the latest news, usually with a bit of bias. Then along came the radio and suddenly people could listen to adds instead of reading. The convenience alone was enough to influence many people when the ads or stories aired. Being able to hear a voice, usually a pleasant one, helps the listener feel connected to the person and as such has a greater chance of influencing people's opinions and decisions.
The next step was what many of us today get our advertising and news from, the television. Revolutionizing media influencing by being able to not only speak to people but show them things moving and existing in the real world. In the United States there are several times when the TV sees a skyrocket in attempts to influence people such as during the super bowl, when many companies pay a lot of money for air time and developing advertisements in the hopes that the millions of people watching might be swayed by it. To this day the TV still has a hold in the area of media influence but it is slowly being dwarfed by the heavy weight contender in modern society, the internet.
The internet serves the media in ways people never dreamed of before. You can know tailor make ads and stories to fit the people who are going to be seeing them; targeting audiences to better increase your chances of influencing someone. And the amount of influence out there is limitless; a plethora of stories, products, and movements exist.
The media has always served as a way to motivate people's opinions and decisions, typically through bias, and to this day continues to do so; showing no signs of slowing down.

Literacy

Literacy is an interesting topic for discussion in almost any setting I believe. The different manifestations of this idea spring up everywhere. You experience it when you talk to your friends, recall the directions to a location, interact at work, and even when you read this blog post. However, talking about literacy can be a hard thing to do. It's sometimes difficult to explain a natural interaction even if we give it a name. I find it extremely difficult to talk about on my own because the intricacies of the subject matter are not among my immediate interests. To me, literacy in its most primitive form is understanding; understanding others and being understood. This idea will be prevalent in my upcoming literacy project most likely. I need to do some more thinking on the matter however as I am at a standstill about the direction I want to continue in. More on that later I suppose.

About me.

A bit of introduction is in order I believe.
My name is Kyle Irvin and I'm currently a student in the study of physics.
Hobbies include music, long drives, video games, reading, and working on my dark matter connectivity theory.
Not a whole lot more to say right out of the gate.
This blog will be under monitor by my English professor as part of my work.

College

First semester of college ended on a high note. Anticipating the next semester because my weekend starts at 4:45 on Wednesday. Curious to see how things go.

Also starting up a D&D game as DM with some friends and 2 chicks, imagine that.

Heading back soon. Keep ya posted.