Sunday, May 20, 2012

Reading-25-reflection


   Fifth teen weeks I ago started a reading 25 at South-West College my initial thoughts where that I was a good reader because I comprehend most of what I read. I will read something every day via it be on the internet, newspaper or from a magazine. Now that is near the end of semester I get chance to look back over this course an analyze how reading is different for me then it was at the beginning of the class I have learned important key factors in reading that are essential for one too become a great reader. I have learned a method called talk to text which has help me not only for understanding the reading material  with confidence and I defiantly a can see improvement in my other classes. The class has been a enjoyable for myself learning main idea, supporting details, implied main ideas, inferences, purpose and tone ,argument, and critical reading.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

My Argument

     I believe that youth football programs are cheating kids in the way they organize their weight class. The reason that I feel this way is due to how they group kids into weight classes and not  into age groups. So if a kid is five or ten pounds over-weight they are being punished by not being allow to play with their own age group. They have to play with the older children because of their weight. By me having children that play this sport, my son has never had a chance to play with his own age group because of his weight.  This is where I feel the unfairness comes in to play because due to the fact they allow the child to gain one pound per week, and by the end of the season the child has gained ten to twelve ponds anyway. In addition, when these kids get to high school there is no weight class so what is the difference between one year in the eighth grade and one year in the ninth grade.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Bystander Effect


 While I was reading the passage of the bystander effect I ask myself what I would have done if I ever were placed in a similar situation as these bystanders. After reading this article I will really try to give a person a more of a helping hand instead of over looking the situation and saying it does not have anything to do with me. I believe that society must rethink its attitude about not wanting to be known as the noisy neighbor especially when children and the elderly are involved.
     What I am about to share with you is a true story of an incident that happen to my mother one day. My mother had bought a house in another neighborhood after her divorce. She had been living there about ten years before the incident at Nix Check cashing. This particular day at the check cashing store my mother’s purse was snatched by some crack heads that lived in the neighborhood. There were people that seen the incident and made a phone call to have her purse returned to her. The crack head brought the purse back and the gang member from the neighborhood beat the man up for stealing her purse in the first place.

Monday, March 12, 2012

NASA specialist axed over intelligent design


     Opening arguments started in Los Angeles,California in the case of David Coppedege vs. NASA-JPL. Mr.Coppedege a computer specialist for NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory believes he was wrongly terminated do to his belief in intelligent design. Copedege handed out DVD’s out at work supporting his ideas while at work. David lost his lead position in 2009 and was fired last year after serving fifth-teen years on the Cassini mission exploring Saturn’s many moons. Intelligent design is the belief that a higher power had to have had a hand in the creation of the world. California Institute of Technology lawyers claims that Coppedege received written warnings because his co-workers complained of harassment in addition they say he lost his team leader position due to on going conflicts with others. This case has generated support from the intelligent design community from groups such as the Discovery Institute. The National Center of Science Education group is also watching this case closely which rejects intelligent design theory. David Copedege attorney William Becker claims his client was singled out by his bosses because of his beliefs to be religious in nature. Coppedege had a reputation around JPL as an evangelical Christian.

Intelligent
Harassment
Discovery

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Self-Regulated Learning


To seek or not to seek help in math this is a turmoil that has trouble me ever since elementary school. Coming from the private schools system and into the public school system as I entered the third grade was a total culture shock for me. And this is where my math anxiety started and would continue to plague me through junior high school at least that is what it was called back then and eventually this followed me to high school. When I was in high school there was a test named the proficient test that enabled you to exit high school it would be similar to the exit exam of today. There were three parts of this test reading, writing and mathematics I passed the reading and the writing but I failed the math part I had missed it by there points and this meant that I would not be graduating from high school  and this was devastating. But with the word quit not being in my D.N.A make up. And additional motivation coming from a man named Commodore Reid director of maintenance for Lynwood Unified School District, being friends with his two sons had said to me over that summer go back to school Curtis, pass that test and I will give you a job as a substitute custodian and from there you can work your way up. That September I went back to school on the five year plan as we called it after having been there the four previous years and I passed that test! And I received my diploma that following February I took it to Mr. Reid and he indeed kept his word and hired me. Over a twenty year span going from a substitute custodian to warehouse supervisor for Lynwood U.S.D I have learned seek help when help is needed and do not dare wait.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

My Reading History

    My reading history started for me about the age of three years old. It was after the shooting death of my father Curtis Sr. that I first remember my mother Patricia reading to me daily. And just like most kids I had my favorite bed time story I do not recall what the title of the book was being that it has been some forty plus years later. But I vividly remember the story it was about two brothers one older and one several years younger then the older brother  who played football. And just like younger siblings wanting to follow in his older brother foot-steps he had wanted to play football also. The younger brother went to his mother the,brother and coach and ask if he could join the team and they all told him that he was to little to play and to try next year .Being upset the boy did decide to wait for the next season when the next fall came around his mother, brother and  the coach told the little boy the same thing they had told him the year before he was to little. The boy  very upset and crying but mid-way through the season the teams kicker got hurt. The football coach went looking for the little boy to tell him that he could in fact join the team replacing the hurt kicker the young boy was very excited about being on the same team as his older brother but no one ever excepted him to play in game. The teams new kicker when out and practice  kicking field goals all day long. And with only one game left and it was the championship with the game on the line in the fourth quarter the coach had no choice but to put the smallest player on the field in the game and he indeed kick the game wining field goal. It was one day when my aunties and uncles were over our house and I begin to recite from this book  and my aunt Pee-Wee started running around the saying Curtis Jr. is reading! Curtis Jr is reading! it was not until my uncle Frank came into the den while watching me " READ"  said that boy is not reading he has not turned one page of that book but he has memorized the whole book the house broke out in a long laughter, are they laughing at me? knowing now that they were laughing at themselves. It was not until I meet Mrs. Anderson at Carver elementary school that I learned to read  thank you Mrs. Anderson. I never liked reading out loud when ever a teacher would call on me read it would make me so nervous  the palms of hands sweat so bad I would rub my hands on my pants they would have wet stains from the moisture from my hands. It was not until I got to high school before I got comfortable reading out loud.