My Final Overall Portfolio

Haley Dodd Dr. Matthew Horton

English 1101 December 2011

English 1101 Final Portfolio Project Title

Table of Contents

Analytical Cover Letter ....................................................................................................................1

Quality Comparison .........................................................................................................................4

Least Successful Article Response ......................................................................................4

Most Successful Article Response .......................................................................................6

“What’s the Difference?” .....................................................................................................8

Revision Samples ...........................................................................................................................10

Least Successful Article Response (with markup) ............................................................10

Least Successful Article Response (final) .........................................................................12

Most Successful Article Response (with markup) .............................................................14

Most Successful Article Response (final) ..........................................................................16

Most Successful Essay (with markup) ...............................................................................18

Most Successful Essay (final) ............................................................................................24

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8 December 2011 Matthew R. Horton, Ph. D. Assistant Professor of English Gainesville State College Oconee Campus 313b Oconee Classroom 1201 Bishop Farms Parkway Watkinsville, GA 30677 Dear Dr. Horton, My name is Haley Dodd and I am a freshman at Gainesville State College. When looking back on past assignments this semester in English 1101, I have seen how much I have improved on my assignments and have become a better writer. I have for you here a sample of some of my successful and least successful work from the semester. At the start of the semester I did not have a full understanding of how to write article responses or article essays. As I did more of article responses and article essays, I was able to construct them. In article responses I had to point out what the author’s opinion and in the article essays I had to give my personal experience. So far this semester I have come a long way and have worked harder to be a better writer and have realized my weaknesses when writing. These weaknesses were with mostly my grammar and sentence structures. I was never informed of the mistakes I made in my writing times before, but I have received more motivation this semester for my future writing. I have created for you a revised final portfolio of my improvements and revisions from my worst article to my best article and the differences between them, and my best article essay. This portfolio will give you a full understanding of how far I have come this semester and the many changes and improvements I have made this semester. These articles and essays are not perfect but I hope they will show you the effort and how hard I am willing to work to do my very best on my work. You have taught me how to become a better writer and have encouraged me to work hard to write better than I ever have before. You have been there when I or any other student has needed your help in writing the materials we had to complete this semester. In my least successful article response, Faustian economics: Hell hath no limits,” I was able to realize the many weaknesses I had when writing a response. I had never written an article response before so therefore it was a challenge for me. When revising, I set my sentence structure to where the reader could have a clear image of the point of view that the author Wendell Berry wants his audience to realize. In this article Berry wants his readers to realize how greedy and wasteful our society is today. When it comes to our needs we tend to worry more about ourselves than the needs of others around us. Other weaknesses that I noticed when revising, was my lack of concentration and the lack of being able to grasp what the author’s point of view was. As I was making corrections I took at the many sentences that did not relate to my opening sentence, as well as sentences that did not point out what exactly the author wanted to say. I also noticed that I did not really quote anything the author actually stated in his article. Therefore I added more of Berry’s words to give readers more of his overall work and point of view. When reading back over the changes I had made to this response I see that it has certainly

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improved but there is still more work to be done. However, I am still learning how to write the perfect article response. In my most successful article response, “How to Turn Democrats into Republicans,” I noticed the many thing I left out when revising, I did not fully explain what the author’s point of view was and I added many new words that would help readers to have a full understanding of what the author’s point of view is. In my first paragraph, there were not as many changes that needed to be done as in the second paragraph. In this first paragraph I quoted words of the author but I did not fully explain what he wanted Americans to realize. Mickey Edwards wants Americans to look more closely to whom we are voting for not which party we like best. We all have that party we want to stick with, Democrat or Republican, but we do not pay attention to who that person is, where they come from, and what they stand for. We just vote for him or her because they are Democrat or Republican. In my second paragraph however, I did explain why the author’s point of view was important and how Americans should take the advice that Edwards is trying to give his readers. When writing this article response however, I was able to grasp the author’s point of view better than I did in my first article response. In my most successful article essay, “The Schools We Need,” Eric Reece has accomplished the point of view that he wants his readers to see. Reece gets his students to tell him of their experienced and their opinion’s while in high school. Therefore, when reading this article, I was motivated to write about my experiences while I was in high school as well. In my essay I described what a good teacher verses a bad teacher is and how these teachers affect the lives of many American students today. In revising my essay I realized that I mentioned many things such as “FFA,” and how it was a club in my high school, but I did not explain what it stood for. I however added that it stood for “Future Farmers of America.” I also reworded my thesis statement because it did not fully explain the topic sentence I chose to focus on in my opening paragraph. This overall essay is not perfect because there are still many corrections that need to be made. The skills that I have learned through out this semester however, show through on this essay. These articles I have revised are not perfect and I know there can be more improvements made to them. When writing article responses I still have weaknesses and I cannot seem to always stay on one topic before going on to another. The overall average on most of my article responses has been seventy present out of a hundred and in my future English 1102 class I will motivate and encourage myself to work harder to focus on what the author’s want their readers to grasp. I did not encourage myself enough to fix this problem. I would simply write article responses and not revise them enough before publishing them. In all honesty, I wanted to complete the assignment and get it over with. When writing my article essays however, I was able to improve my writing skills more effectively with them. I got in the habit of taking out words that did not fully explain what the author not I was taking about. I want to take what skills and habits I made from English 1101 and put them towards my future English 1102 class and other English classes I take. I still have a long way to go to write a perfect essay but my future stands strong. In choosing this portfolio as my final for English 1101, I had a clear understanding what I was required to do for it. This portfolio has given me the chance to realize how far I have come as a writer and the improvements I have made. This portfolio has shown me the weaknesses that I

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had at the beginning of the semester and the improvements and skills that I have learned. My overall scores have not improved in some of my work, but as a student that is willing to learn and do my best on these past assignments, I have learned so much in how to become a better writer. I think that the overall grade for this final portfolio should be a “B”. This work is not perfect but it shows you the improvements that I have made over the course of this semester in English 1101 and the improvements and hard work I am willing to make in my future. This work is not perfect and I personally know that they still need improvements; I just have to find out what the rest of my weaknesses as a writer are for future success. Thank you for the time and effort you have put in to look over this final portfolio. It has been a fun and interesting semester. Sincerely,

Haley Dodd

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Least Successful Article Response

Berry, Wendell. "Raustian Economics:Hell Hath No Limits." Harper's Magazine.© The Harper's

Magazine Foundation,May 2008.Web.18 August 2011.

Wendell Berry is trying to tell us that we are greedy and wasteful. We do not have a care

in the world except ourselves and we are too blind to see that. We spend more and more every

day on resources that we want to believe is there when they are really not. He tells us that there

are ways we can fix this we just have to have limits. We live in a nation that is free but when the

word “free” comes into play it is taken too far. We are wasting the world away each and every

day and there is nothing we can do about it because no one can see that. We do not have any

limits to anything says Berry and he calls us “limitless”. We need to set limits on things in our

nation and world or we will cease to exist. “We need to give up the idea that we have a right to

be godlike animals” and we need to start all over again from the beginning and not have to do

things over and over again. Berry says we are like art. It does not need to be done over again

once it is done the first time. Also when it comes to our natural ecosystem, we need to let it alone

and let things mature as they were intended to do and not speed up the process in our foolish man

made ideas. We try to do things the way we want them and don’t really care how it works or how

it affects other people as long as it gets done and they get their money out of it. For example, the

ecological law of return is going to have its way and there is nothing we can do to change that.

Wendell Berry’s point of view is significant and worth thinking about because this could

help our world. We need to have limits to things that we spend money on and the products that

we have and not waste them away whichever way we please. He is pointing out things that we

never really realized and he is trying to help us to see that and get others to see that as well. Also

the fact that there is no sense in wasting something one time when it can be done right the first

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time. He wants us to examine the things that we do wrong and help us to fix the problems before

we have to do it over again. This is basically a problem that we have had for a long time we just

never noticed them because we are too caught up in our everyday lives and we do not care what

others think when we really need to. There are things that we can do to help the hobbits that we

have bestowed upon ourselves and help others figure out the same things. We are too wasteful

and greedy and we need to think of other people and other things instead of worrying about our

wants all of the time. We as Americans want to be wealthy, be better than everyone else and

want more of thing that we cannot have. The question is why do we want these so much and why

do we have to be this way. Well Berry is trying to get us to see why and help us to set limits for

ourselves and not be limitless. It is the way most of us have always been taught and we think that

we need to be this way when we can really survive without some things and go with what we

need.

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Most Successful Article Response

Turning Democrats and Republicans into Americans

Edwards, Mickey. "How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into Americans." The Atlantic

Magazine. The Atlantic Monthly Group, July/August 2011. Web. 7 October 2011

Mickey Edwards tells us that there is a constant fight between Democrats and

Republicans on who is better. Edwards, who is a Republican himself, wants us to realize who we

are voting for and pay more attention to that instead of trying to stick with which party we like

best. He believes that we should choose the politician best suited and qualified for the job.

“…not only for their policies but also for temperaments, knowledge, experience, and values.”

We would have a more functional government system if we would chose qualifications over

which party satisfies our belief. Edwards’s opinion towards this is “it would strengthen

Congress’s ability to discharge its constitutional role.” We are only given a small number of

members to vote for because it is already decided for us so it is best to go with who does the best

job. “State and local governments have abdicated their responsibilities to oversee American’s

election process. Not only have they turned their job over to political parties, but they take

money from taxpayers to pay for these political parties.”

The author’s point of view wants the audience to pay more attention to politics. We are

the ones who decide how our country is run and it is up to us as American citizens to look

closely at whom these politicians are and their beliefs. Their qualifications should be based upon

the values that they have for our country. Most people that we are voting upon are the ones that

satisfy what party we are for. The idea that the author wants us to see is that if we would

challenge others to vote for the politician who is more suitable and qualified for the job and not

try to please the ones who stick with their own party. We are not the only ones to vote for the

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party we believe in, but our elected officials do the same things. Edwards says that “out of fear

that even members of the majority party might vote for them, because they believe either that it

is the right thing to do or that it is what the people they represent prefer. If we as Americans

would vote for the right people to start with, then we would not have these problems not only for

us as voters but also when officials are electing head speakers. Edwards wants us as Americans

to go back to a voting system that has been a part of America for many generations.

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What’s the Difference?

For my first article response I chose “How to turn Democrats into Republicans,” by

Mickey Edwards. In this article he talks about how when Americans are voting for the politicians

who run our country, we go with which party we like best; Democratic or Republican. I received

an eight out of ten on this article response. I was able to grasp what the author wanted his readers

to understand. In my first article response I included quotes that helped to back up the author’s

point of view. He wants his readers to understand that our country I ran by these politicians we

are voting for and it is up to us as citizens of the United States to choose wisely about who we

are voting for. In my second paragraph I stated why the author’s point of view is important. I

included the things Americans can do in helping our country and voting on the right person to

run our country. Edwards, who is a democrat himself, as I have mentioned in this article

response, sees where voters are coming from when choosing to be democrat or republican.

However voters need to look more into the politicians they have to vote for. This article response

is not perfect, but it gives readers an idea of the point of view Edwards it trying to make.

For my least successful article response, I chose “Faustian Economics: Hell Hath no

Limits,” by Wendell Berry. This article talks about how Americans are greedy and wasteful. We

focus more on what our needs are and do not worry about what others need when we really

should. There are recourses that we want and spend money on that are really not there. I received

a six out of ten on this article response. It was the first article response I have ever done and was

not too familiar with how to do one. It was hard for me to concentrate and stay on topic when

writing this article response. I did not quote much of Berry’s work to help support his point of

view. My first paragraph was off topic and had many sentences that did not make any since to

what Berry wanted his readers to see. This article response was a good practice article because it

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was able to help me in choosing other articles to write article responses on. This article however

was my worst article response out of the semester and I have seen some improvements that need

to be made when writing article responses in the future.

When comparing these two article responses, I noticed the many difference between the

two. I did not receive a score above an eight on my responses not did I get a score lower than a

six on them. I lacked the full concentration in my first article response and that clearly shows

through on my other article responses, including my most successful on as you see here in my

portfolio. I did not encourage myself in the way that I should have when writing these article

responses. I would simply complete the assignment and try to finish them without fully revising

them before submitting them. After i received the score for my first article response however,

which was my least successful article response, I did encourage myself to do my best on other

article responses throughout the remainder of the semester. I did not go to receive help from Dr.

Horton on improving my article responses like I should have and the scores that I received show

that I lacked that task. I did however learn from my mistakes and will make sure that I motivate

and encourage myself to ask for more feed back and help when writing article responses in my

future English 1102 course as well as other English courses.

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Least Successful Article Response

What Has Become of Our Sociey

Berry, Wendell. "Raustian Faustian EconomiceEconomics: Hell Hath No Limits." Harper's

Magazine.© The Harper's Magazine Foundation,MayFoundation, May 2008.Web.18

August 2011.

In this article,Wendell Berry is trying to tell us wants us to see that we are greedy and

wasteful Americans in todays society are. We do not have a care in the world except ourselves

and we are too blind to see that. We spend more and more every day on resources that we want

to believe is there when they are really not. Berry tells us that “We seem to have come to a

collective delusion of grandeur, insisting that all of us are “free” to be as conspicuously greedy

and wasteful as the most corrupt of kings and queens.” He tells us that there are ways we can fix

this we just have to have limits. We live in a nation that is free but when the word “free” comes

into play it is taken too far. We are wasting the world away each and every day and there is

nothing we can do about it because no one can see that. We do not have any limits to anything

nor do we make limits for ourselves. says Therefore Berry and he calls us “limitless”. He tells us

that there are ways we can fix this we just have to have limits. We need to set limits on things in

our nation and world or we will cease to exist. “We need to give up the idea that we have a right

to be godlike animals” and we need to start all over again from the beginning and not have to do

things over and over again. Berry says we are like art. It does not need to be done over again

once it is done the first time. Also, when it comes to our natural ecosystem, we need to let it

alone and let things mature as they were intended to do and not speed up the process in our

foolish man made ideas. We try to do things the way we want them and don’t really care how it

works or how it affects others people as long as it gets done and they get their money out of it.

Formatted: Left

Comment [GSC1]: I did not put a title when I posted this article response. The reason that I did was because a title was required when doing an article response and I did not read the instructions carefully the first time.

Comment [GSC2]: I removed the copy right symbol because this symbol was not supposed to be in this.

Comment [GSC3]: This sentence was improved because a reader would not know whether or not this was an article response or not. So I added “In this article” so that readers would be more informed to what they are reading.

Comment [GSC4]: I added things that the author stated in his article because I did not quote much of what the author actually said.

Comment [GSC5]: I moved this sentence because I was talking about one topic and then jumped to another topic and the reader would have been confused. So I fixed the sentence structure so that the reader would understand more of what the author is talking about.

Comment [GSC6]: I took out the word people because the author is talking about Americans as well as other societies and not just people in general. If “people” were to be left in the work then readers would not know what kind of people the author or I was referring to.

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For example, the ecological law of return is going to have its way and there is nothing we can do

to change that.

Wendell Berry’s point of view is significant and worth thinking about because this could

help our world. We need to have limits to things that we spend money on and the products that

we have and not waste them away whichever way we please. He is pointing out things that we

never really realized and he is trying to help us to see that and get others to see that as well. Also

the The fact that there is no sense in wasting something one time when it can be done right the

first time. He wants us to examine the things that we do wrong and help us to fix the problems

before we have to do it over again. This is basically a problem that we have had for a long time

time; we just have never noticed them. because we We are too caught up in our everyday lives

and we do not care what is around us and what others think when we really need to. There are

things that we can do to help the hobbits habits that we have bestowed upon ourselves and we

need to help others figure out the same things. We In today’s society, many are too wasteful and

greedy and we need to think of others people and other things instead of worrying about our

wants all of the time. We as Americans want to be wealthy, be better than everyone else and

want more of things that we cannot have. The question is why do we want these so much and

why do we have to be this way. Well Berry is trying to get us to see why and help us to set limits

for ourselves and not be limitless. It is the way most of us have always been taught and we think

that we need to be this way when we can really survive without some things and go with what

we need.

Comment [GSC7]: I took out also because I am not really stating a new idea in this paragraph. I am just adding more to help back up the author’s point of view.

Comment [GSC8]: I took out basically because this is a problem and there is not really a whole lot of thinking behind this matter.

Comment [GSC9]: I did not have to put we as Americans for the reader to understand why the author’s point of view is important.

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Least Successful Article Response

What Has Become of Our Sociey

Berry, Wendell. "Faustian Economice: Hell Hath No Limits." Harper's Magazine. The Harper's

Magazine Foundation, May 2008.Web.18 August 2011.

In this article, Wendell Berry wants us to see that we are greedy and wasteful Americans

in todays society are. Berry tells us that “We seem to have come to a collective delusion of

grandeur, insisting that all of us are “free” to be as conspicuously greedy and wasteful as the

most corrupt of kings and queens.” . We live in a nation that is free but when the word “free”

comes into play it is taken too far. We are wasting the world away each and every day and there

is nothing we can do about it because no one can see that. We do not have any limits nor do we

make limits for ourselves. Therefore Berry and he calls us “limitless”. He tells us that there are

ways we can fix this we just have to have limits. We need to set limits on things in our nation

and world or we will cease to exist. “We need to give up the idea that we have a right to be

godlike animals” and we need to start all over again from the beginning and not have to do things

over and over again. Berry says we are like art. It does not need to be done over again once it is

done the first time. Also, when it comes to our natural ecosystem, we need to let it alone and let

things mature as they were intended to do and not speed up the process in our foolish man made

ideas. We try to do things the way we want them and don’t really care how it works or how it

affects others as long as it gets done and they get their money out of it. For example, the

ecological law of return is going to have its way and there is nothing we can do to change that.

Wendell Berry’s point of view is significant and worth thinking about because this could

help our world. We need to have limits to things that we spend money on and the products that

we have and not waste them away whichever way we please. He is pointing out things that we

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never really realized and he is trying to help us to see that and get others to see that as well. The

fact that there is no sense in wasting something one time when it can be done right the first time.

He wants us to examine the things that we do wrong and help us to fix the problems before we

have to do it over again. This is a problem that we have had for a long time; we just have never

noticed them. We are too caught up in our everyday lives and we do not care what is around us

and what others think when we really need to. There are things that we can do to help the habits

that we have bestowed upon ourselves and we need to help others figure out the same things. In

today’s society, many are too wasteful and greedy and we need to think of others and other

things instead of worrying about our wants all of the time. Americans want to be wealthy, be

better than everyone else and want more of things we cannot have. The question is why do we

want these so much and why do we have to be this way. Well Berry is trying to get us to see why

and help us to set limits for ourselves and not be limitless. It is the way most of us have always

been taught and we think that we need to be this way when we can really survive without some

things and go with what we need.

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Most Successful Article Response

Turning Democrats and Republicans into Americans

Edwards, Mickey. "How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into into Americans." The Atlantic

Magazine. The Atlantic Monthly Group, July/August 2011. Web. 7 October 2011

Mickey Edwards tells us that there is a constant fight between Democrats and

Republicans on who is better. Edwards, who is a Republican himself, wants us Americans to

realize who we are voting for when electing someone for office. and pay We can do so by paying

more attention to the that person we are voting for, who they are, where they came andfrom, and

what they stand for;, instead of trying to stick with which party we like best. He believes that we

should choose the politician best suited and qualified for the job;. “…not only for their policies

but also for temperaments, knowledge, experience, and values.” We would have a more

functional government system if we would chose qualifications over which party satisfies our

belief. Edwards’s opinion towards this is “it would strengthen Congress’s ability to discharge its

constitutional role.” We are only given a small number of members to vote for because it is

already decided for us so it is best to go with who does the best job. The elected officials that

make these decisions are taking our abilities to vote for ourselves. “State and local governments

have abdicated their responsibilities to oversee American’s election process. Not only have they

turned their job over to political parties, but they take money from taxpayers to pay for these

political parties.”

The author’s point of view wants the audience to pay more attention to politics. We are

the ones who decide how our country is run and it is up to us as American citizens to look

closely at whom these politicians are and their beliefs. Not if they are democratic or republic.

Their qualifications should be based upon the values that they have for our country. Most people

Formatted: Font: Italic

Comment [H1]: I did not Italicize it this citation the first time I published it. It was required in the article response instructions I just forgot to make that correction when I did this assignment.

Comment [H2]: I added Americans to this sentence because it did not tell readers who “us” was referring to.

Comment [H3]: I added these few things in sentence because readers need to understand what exactly they need to focus on when voting for our country’s elected officials.

Comment [H4]: I added this sentence because it shows what the authors point of view about politics is focusing on. Democratic and Republicans

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that we are voting upon are the ones that satisfy what party we are for. The idea that the author

wants us to see is that if we would challenge others to vote for the politician who is more suitable

and qualified for the job and not try to please the ones who stick with their own party. We are not

the only ones to vote for the party we believe in, but our elected officials do the same things.

Edwards says that “out of fear that even members of the majority party might vote for them,

because they believe either that it is the right thing to do or that it is what the people they

represent prefer.” We as Americans have to right to vote for whoever we want to, so I should to

matter what the other person thinks about the vote you just made. The only vote we need to

worry about is the right vote. Whether or not this person is going to beneficial to our country is

the most important thing we need to worry about. If we as Americans would vote for the right

people to start with, then we would not have these problems not only for us as voters but also

when officials are electing head speakers. Edwards wants us as Americans to go back to a voting

system that has been a part of America for many generations.

Comment [H5]: I added this in because it gives the reader more of an understanding of what Americans need to worry about. I did not explain what the author was wanting his readers to understand.

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Most Successful Article Response

Turning Democrats and Republicans into Americans

Edwards, Mickey. "How to Turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans." The Atlantic

Magazine. The Atlantic Monthly Group, July/August 2011. Web. 7 October 2011

Mickey Edwards tells us that there is a constant fight between Democrats and

Republicans on who is better. Edwards, who is a Republican himself, wants us Americans to

realize who we are voting for when electing someone for office. We can do so by paying more

attention to the person we are voting for, who they are, where they came from, and what they

stand for; instead of trying to stick with which party we like best. He believes that we should

choose the politician best suited and qualified for the job; “not only for their policies but also for

temperaments, knowledge, experience, and values.” We would have a more functional

government system if we would chose qualifications over which party satisfies our belief.

Edwards’s opinion towards this is “it would strengthen Congress’s ability to discharge its

constitutional role.” We are only given a small number of members to vote for because it is

already decided for us so it is best to go with who does the best job. The elected officials that

make these decisions are taking our abilities to vote for ourselves. “State and local governments

have abdicated their responsibilities to oversee American’s election process. Not only have they

turned their job over to political parties, but they take money from taxpayers to pay for these

political parties.”

The author’s point of view wants the audience to pay more attention to politics. We are

the ones who decide how our country is run and it is up to us as American citizens to look

closely at whom these politicians are and their beliefs. Not if they are democratic or republic.

Their qualifications should be based upon the values that they have for our country. Most people

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that we are voting upon are the ones that satisfy what party we are for. The idea that the author

wants us to see is that if we would challenge others to vote for the politician who is more suitable

and qualified for the job and not try to please the ones who stick with their own party. We are not

the only ones to vote for the party we believe in, our elected officials do the same things.

Edwards says that “out of fear that even members of the majority party might vote for them,

because they believe either that it is the right thing to do or that it is what the people they

represent prefer.” We as Americans have to right to vote for whoever we want to, so I should to

matter what the other person thinks about the vote you just made. The only vote we need to

worry about is the right vote. Whether or not this person is going to beneficial to our country is

the most important thing we need to worry about. If we as Americans would vote for the right

people to start with, then we would not have these problems not only for us as voters but also

when officials are electing head speakers. Edwards wants us as Americans to go back to a voting

system that has been a part of America for many generations.

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Haley Dodd

English 1101

Professor Horton

26 October 2011

“What Schools Should Be”

In the article “The Schools We Need,” Erik Reece tells us that, “students described days

of endless worksheets, lifeless lectures, and an impenetrable fog of boredom.” Reece wants us to

see what he does in his Freshman Composition class. He asks his students to write about the

assignments they did in high school. What they liked and disliked about school and their

assignments. He keeps his students interested in what he teaches and also analyzes the issues in

American high schools by doing this. Reece tells us that students say that schools in America are

dull and many students do not really learn as much as they should. Reasons that could possibly

cause this is that students feel that they do not seem to fit in, they are not curious about what

goes on it the world today and they are too worried about their cell phones and other devices.

When some instructors get in the classroom they easily lose the respect of students by

approaching them in the wrong way. What teachers need to do is catch student’s attention by

getting students to like the class, showing the passion that they have for the subject that they

teach. If an instructor does not have passion for their subject they should not be teaching it.

When going to high school, it is very important to have a teacher to help motivate and

encourage students each step of the way. Students have to deal with the some teacher teachers

that is are in a bad mood every day and acts like they loath their job. I had this type of teacher

more than once,. and having a teacher like this makes students not like them and it gives others a

bad taste in their mouths when they come to tht teacher’s class every day Then, on the other

Comment [GSC1]: I rewarded this sentence because this needed to be some teacher instead of the teacher. This essay is talking about all teachers in general and it tells us the difference between good teachers and bad teachers. 

Dodd 19  

19  

hand, there is the teacher that students adore and look forward to going to that class each day. In

high school, I personally had such a teacher., I would go to school sick just so that i would not

miss his class. teacher that I would go to school sick just so that I did not miss his class. The

work was not always easy and not always hard, but just to wonder what he had in store for us the

next day was worth getting out of bed in the mornings to see what he had in store for his sudents.

Seeing the passion he had for his job was worth having the classes he taught. From the first day

of class until the last day of the semester, I could not wait to get to his class. He kept our interest

by telling us past stories of class triumphs and disasters. A high school teacher that loves his or

her career and is passionate about his or her subject is what motivates students. I was motivated

by my high school agriculture teacher Mr. Wheatley. He is very passionate about teaching and

there was never a day that I ever heard him complained about his job. He told his students at the

beginning of every semester that he originally wanted to be a professional welder, but he chose

to be an agriculture teacher and advisor because then he could do more than just weld.

Mr. Wheatley helped to protect his students by teaching them safety in the shop class

which helped to teach students to be safe at home. He teaches students the basic skills that can be

helpful to them in future work places and at home. Not only did he teach students how to wire a

light and light switch and how to build foot stools and shelves, but he also taught us leadership.

As I entered high school, I never thought that I could stand in front of hundreds of people and

speak. Thanks to the guidance of my agriculture teacher I was able to do just that. In my

freshman year he encouraged me to participate in the Prepared Public Speaking Career

Development Event. I had to write a speech and memorize it and then give this speech in

competition. This was not easy for me but I did it with only about three weeks to do so. Then as

Comment [GSC2]: I changed this sentence because some readers might have been confused on what this sentence was reefing to. It could have meant that he would go to school sick or I would go to school sick. I was talking about myself going to school sick.  

Comment [H3]: I added this sentence because this would show readers why he wanted to be an agriculture teacher and why he cares about his choice of career.  

Dodd 20  

20  

a senior I was elected FFA President. I could have never predicted being a leader in my school

much less the president of the largest club in my high school.

During my four years in high school, I looked forward to going to school every day. I did

not mind the long hours I stayed after school for career development events, or just to practice

for an upcoming contest. Mr. Wheatley taught me to enjoy agriculture. His teaching kept me

motivated to do my best in everything that I did and everything that I do today. I kept my grades

up so that I could go on trips with FFA which stands for Future Farmers of America, which is the

club that he was in charge of. To this day I still have the same attitude about my school work as I

did then. If I am doing badly in a class, I try my very best to pull my grade up to where it needs

to be to satisfy me. He would ask me almost every day how I was doing in each of my other

classes. If I had projects due in another classes that I needed to work on, he would let me work

on them in his class. I also met other students in his classes that I got to know and made many

memories in his classroom. We all have had that special teacher that at some point in our lives

have inspired us to do our best no matter what we do. They motivate in such a way that changes

us forever.

The skills that Mr. Wheatley taught me along with other students that can be used at

home or in the workplace are very useful today. He is a teacher that would say, “You treat me

with respect and I will treat you with respect.” He taught me along with other students that to

gain respect one had to give respect. This will help me in everything that I do; from respecting

my professors in college to respecting my supervisor(s) in the workplace. He also taught me to

be passionate and love the job that I do. One will only do their best if they give it all that they

have. Yes, I did see some students make him mad and it was funny and scary at the same time

mostly because he explained what to do and what not to do at the beginning of class almost every

Comment [H4]: I added what FFA stands for because there are many who do not know what FFA is. This will help them have a better view of what I am referring to instead of just a club. It is always helpful to put words with letters like FFA. 

Comment [GSC5]: I added this to the sentence because my high school agriculture teacher taught all of his students about respect and not just me. So this was beneficial to not just me but other students as well. 

Dodd 21  

21  

day. He also told his students that if they had any questions to ask him before they worked on a

project to make sure they used the correct materials. These students however, did not earn as

much respect as others because of their foolishness. There are students such as myself that still

go back and visit from time to time just to talk to him. He had six different classes a day and he

still remembers all of his students, even students he had five or more years ago. A teacher like

this is what other teachers should look up to and try to be like.

Other teachers in high school did not motivate me as much as my agriculture teacher did.

We as students are supposed to be prepared for college and the other things we face in life after

high school. This is the only teacher that really prepared me for life after high school. I did have

for the most part “good” teachers. I also had some very bad teachers. Math for instance, is my

worst subject. As a freshman I had a teacher that I could not understand. He would stand up,

write on the board about five minutes, and then say “this is your homework.” Needless to say,

my grade in that class was not very good but I was able to pass. As a sophomore, I had a good

teacher for geometry for the first semester. Then for the second semester that all changed when I

as well as other students least expected it to. During the middle of the semester my original

teacher took a job with NASA. So a new teacher was hired to finish out the remainder of the

semester. The teacher that was hired could not speak English. Why would the administration of

my school hire a teacher that could not speak English to teach math, especially high school

geometry? I passed this class thanks to a friend that was in the class with me and helped me to

somewhat understand what she was saying.

The overall point that I am trying to make is important because having a teacher or

teachers in high school to encourage, motivate, and prepare students for college. If all teachers

would encourage students, I think that students would have a more positive outlook on life. I had

Comment [H6]: This is so that readers can see that I did pass this math class although it was very difficult to.  

Dodd 22  

22  

teachers that would make a student hate coming to class just because the teacher was always in a

bad mood. Just imagine what schools would be like if all teachers were like my agriculture

teacher, or just imagine what schools would be like with all teachers that loathed their jobs. We

are told of what we will see in college or real life but there are many materials that I have never

seen even though I have not been in college very long. A teacher that is harsh to students and one

can tell that they do not like their jobs make me wonder why they even chose teaching as a

career. These teachers also make students not like school and this is a problem America is facing.

Reece says that politicians in Washington have spent decades arguing that American public

schools are too far gone to bother rescuing. Obviously Washington is content with not instilling a

love for education in them. Schools are not too far from rescuing and we need to encourage

teachers to love their career if they chose to teach students.

Comment [H7]: It is important for readers to picture both points of view of having good teachers and having bad teachers.  

Comment [GSC8]: I added this sentence to help the readers understand what my opinion is about this statement that the author added in his work. 

Dodd 23  

23  

Works Cited

Reece, Erik. “The Schools We Need.” Orion Magazine. Orion, September/October 2011. Web.

26 October 2011.

Dodd 24  

24  

Haley Dodd

English 1101

Professor Horton

26 October 2011

“What Schools Should Be”

In the article “The Schools We Need,” Erik Reece tells us that, “students described days

of endless worksheets, lifeless lectures, and an impenetrable fog of boredom.” Reece wants us to

see what he does in his Freshman Composition class. He asks his students to write about the

assignments they did in high school. What they liked and disliked about school and their

assignments. He keeps his students interested in what he teaches and also analyzes the issues in

American high schools by doing this. Reece tells us that students say that schools in America are

dull and many students do not really learn as much as they should. Reasons that could possibly

cause this is that students feel that they do not seem to fit in, they are not curious about what

goes on it the world today and they are too worried about their cell phones and other devices.

When some instructors get in the classroom they easily lose the respect of students by

approaching them in the wrong way. What teachers need to do is catch student’s attention by

getting students to like the class, showing the passion that they have for the subject that they

teach. If an instructor does not have passion for their subject they should not be teaching it.

When going to high school, it is very important to have a teacher to help motivate and

encourage students each step of the way. Students have to deal with some teachers that are in a

bad mood every day and act like they loath their job. I had this type of teacher more than once,

and having a teacher like this makes students not like them and it gives others a bad taste in their

mouths when they come to tht teacher’s class every day Then, on the other hand, there is the

Dodd 25  

25  

teacher that students adore and look forward to going to that class each day. In high school, I

personally had such a teacher. I would go to school sick just so that i would not miss his class.

The work was not always easy and not always hard, but just to wonder what he had in store for

us the next day was worth getting out of bed in the mornings to see what he had in store for his

sudents. Seeing the passion he had for his job was worth having the classes he taught. From the

first day of class until the last day of the semester, I could not wait to get to his class. He kept

our interest by telling us past stories of class triumphs and disasters. A high school teacher that

loves his or her career and is passionate about his or her subject is what motivates students. I was

motivated by my high school agriculture teacher Mr. Wheatley. He is very passionate about

teaching and there was never a day that I ever heard him complained about his job. He told his

students at the beginning of every semester that he originally wanted to be a professional welder,

but he chose to be an agriculture teacher and advisor because then he could do more than just

weld.

Mr. Wheatley helped to protect his students by teaching them safety in the shop class

which helped to teach students to be safe at home. He teaches students the basic skills that can be

helpful to them in future work places and at home. Not only did he teach students how to wire a

light and light switch and how to build foot stools and shelves, but he also taught us leadership.

As I entered high school, I never thought that I could stand in front of hundreds of people and

speak. Thanks to the guidance of my agriculture teacher I was able to do just that. In my

freshman year he encouraged me to participate in the Prepared Public Speaking Career

Development Event. I had to write a speech and memorize it and then give this speech in

competition. This was not easy for me but I did it with only about three weeks to do so. Then as

Dodd 26  

26  

a senior I was elected FFA President. I could have never predicted being a leader in my school

much less the president of the largest club in my high school.

During my four years in high school, I looked forward to going to school every day. I did

not mind the long hours I stayed after school for career development events, or just to practice

for an upcoming contest. Mr. Wheatley taught me to enjoy agriculture. His teaching kept me

motivated to do my best in everything that I did and everything that I do today. I kept my grades

up so that I could go on trips with FFA which stands for Future Farmers of America, which is the

club that he was in charge of. To this day I still have the same attitude about my school work as I

did then. If I am doing badly in a class, I try my very best to pull my grade up to where it needs

to be to satisfy me. He would ask me almost every day how I was doing in each of my other

classes. If I had projects due in another classes that I needed to work on, he would let me work

on them in his class. I also met other students in his classes that I got to know and made many

memories in his classroom. We all have had that special teacher that at some point in our lives

have inspired us to do our best no matter what we do. They motivate in such a way that changes

us forever.

The skills that Mr. Wheatley taught me along with other students that can be used at

home or in the workplace are very useful today. He is a teacher that would say, “You treat me

with respect and I will treat you with respect.” He taught me along with other students that to

gain respect one had to give respect. This will help me in everything that I do; from respecting

my professors in college to respecting my supervisor(s) in the workplace. He also taught me to

be passionate and love the job that I do. One will only do their best if they give it all that they

have. Yes, I did see some students make him mad and it was funny and scary at the same time

mostly because he explained what to do and what not to do at the beginning of class almost every

Dodd 27  

27  

day. He also told his students that if they had any questions to ask him before they worked on a

project to make sure they used the correct materials. These students however, did not earn as

much respect as others because of their foolishness. There are students such as myself that still

go back and visit from time to time just to talk to him. He had six different classes a day and he

still remembers all of his students, even students he had five or more years ago. A teacher like

this is what other teachers should look up to and try to be like.

Other teachers in high school did not motivate me as much as my agriculture teacher did.

We as students are supposed to be prepared for college and the other things we face in life after

high school. This is the only teacher that really prepared me for life after high school. I did have

for the most part “good” teachers. I also had some very bad teachers. Math for instance, is my

worst subject. As a freshman I had a teacher that I could not understand. He would stand up,

write on the board about five minutes, and then say “this is your homework.” Needless to say,

my grade in that class was not very good but I was able to pass. As a sophomore, I had a good

teacher for geometry for the first semester. Then for the second semester that all changed when I

as well as other students least expected it to. During the middle of the semester my original

teacher took a job with NASA. So a new teacher was hired to finish out the remainder of the

semester. The teacher that was hired could not speak English. Why would the administration of

my school hire a teacher that could not speak English to teach math, especially high school

geometry? I passed this class thanks to a friend that was in the class with me and helped me to

somewhat understand what she was saying.

The overall point that I am trying to make is important because having a teacher or

teachers in high school to encourage, motivate, and prepare students for college. If all teachers

would encourage students, I think that students would have a more positive outlook on life. I had

Dodd 28  

28  

teachers that would make a student hate coming to class just because the teacher was always in a

bad mood. Just imagine what schools would be like if all teachers were like my agriculture

teacher, or just imagine what schools would be like with all teachers that loathed their jobs. We

are told of what we will see in college or real life but there are many materials that I have never

seen even though I have not been in college very long. A teacher that is harsh to students and one

can tell that they do not like their jobs make me wonder why they even chose teaching as a

career. These teachers also make students not like school and this is a problem America is facing.

Reece says that politicians in Washington have spent decades arguing that American public

schools are too far gone to bother rescuing. Obviously Washington is content with not instilling a

love for education in them. Schools are not too far from rescuing and we need to encourage

teachers to love their career if they chose to teach students.

Dodd 29  

29  

Works Cited

Reece, Erik. “The Schools We Need.” Orion Magazine. Orion, September/October 2011. Web.

26 October 2011.