Grammar Post

I need to learn how to use commas and semicolons better. If I am joining 2 complete sentences, I need a comma and a conjunction. Tom read the novel, but his friend saw the movie. If I use a semicolon, I don't need a conjunction. Tom read the novel; his friend saw the movie. I can change the meaning by adding a semicolon and a coordinating conjunction. Tom read the novel; however, his friend saw the movie. But that is more complicated than it needs to be, so I will probably stick with commas and conjunctions.

Girl

These are things my mother never taught me. Instead I learned that I should find a girl whose mother did teach these things, and that she should be a lady, not intent on becoming a slut. What would the world be like if we all listened to our parents?

Serving in Florida

Like everybody else, I found it easy to relate to Barbara's experience. I have also worked as a server, and I remember how frustrating it was sometimes. Working in a restaurant can be very hectic and stressful, which can bring out the worst in people, both co-workers and customers. But if Barbara had stayed long enough to really become friends with any of her fellow employees, I think she would have been alright with it eventually. When things flow smoothly in a restaurant, it's not a bad way to make money. It sounds to me like the real problem is that she wasn't properly trained. If the countertops are sticky, maybe she could wipe them off. And if she doesn't have time to pee, they are either understaffed, or she needs to learn how to be a server. I understand that she had a tough time for a while, but luckily she gets to leave and go back to her real job, and her real life. The only sympathy I feel is for the people who are actually stuck working there. Well, some of them anyway. If you smoke crack until your teeth fall out, you're probably going to have a hard time finding a good job.

Education

Both John Gatto and Mike Rose's essays on school suggest that our education system is not what it should be. Gatto's argument that the "system" was deliberately designed to mold us into "employees and consumers" is, although somewhat frightening, believable. Since I was in Elementary School, I have always wondered who decides what we are taught in school. Mathematics is Mathematics, the rules are what they are and it is basically straightforward and simple. The same can be said about the English language, more or less. English has rules; things like grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. Social Studies and Geography were interesting subjects to me, because the things I learned are real and evident in my world. But what about History? Who decides what parts of History are taught, and which parts are left out? How come I never learned about the Revolution of the 1960's? Or the Crusades? Or that Stalin killed way more people than Hitler? I was taught that Communism is bad, while a student in USSR or China was told that Capitalism is bad. What or whom is the "filter" that knowledge must go through before it is printed in our textbooks? All that I was taught about war, freedom, politics and religion had an "American" spin attached to it. If the purpose of education is to become informed and knowledgeable, shouldn't we be taught everything? It seems as though much of my childhood was spent learning about a world that does not exist. A fantasy, in which America always fights for the correct side of every war, where "bad" people do bad things and pay consequences, and "good" people earn happiness by working hard and doing what they are told is "right." Now that I am old enough, I suppose, to learn the harsh reality of the world we really live in, where the "American Dream" is a pyramid scheme, and we fight for "freedom" in Iraq, but do nothing about the genocide in Africa, I am forced to wonder, what else are they not teaching me? And who are "they," for that matter? John Taylor Gatto thinks they are an elite group of "caretakers," trying to keep us under control and consuming. While he may or may not be right, I believe our current situation demands that our children be taught the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Grammar Post

I want to understand paragraph structure more. After looking at some different sources, I learned one way to construct a good paragraph is to start with a broad topic sentence. The topic sentence should not contain many details, it is mainly to introduce the subject. Details should follow in the supporting sentences. The concluding sentence should summarize the paragraph, and lead in to the next one. A concluding sentence can be thought of as a topic sentence in reverse.

Michael Moore's "Idiot Nation"

I had mixed feelings after reading Michael Moore's "Idiot Nation." Although I agree with many of his ideas, I fail to see a thesis or a reason for this essay. I agree that our education system is flawed, and that the people whom we have elected to run it don't have a clue as to what needs to be done to fix it. It wasn't difficult for Moore to convince me that Pepsi and Coke should not be funding our schools, or that teachers are not to blame for the "stupidity" of our country. I do not agree, however, with the idea that Americans are stupid because they don't read books, or that running for office with the intention of pissing off the faculty is productive in any way. Had Mr. Moore been a little more informative, or even just less arrogant, his argument would have been far more persuasive and relevant to me. Simply complaining from a distance in this kind of negative, sarcastic tone might seem really edgey and cool for someone who never made it past High School, but it's not going to accomplish anything. But what do I know? I'm just a "stupid American" who couldn't read when I was four, and I have never gotten my Principal fired for fun, even though he was a good neighbor. Maybe I should stop watching TV and go read The Odyssey, in case someone quizzes me about it in 20 years, then I won't be such an idiot.