Rough Draft

                This English class has taught me a lot about myself.  I have had to really think about what I want out of my life when I was writing these essays and I think that I do some of my best writing when I have assignments that force me to do that.  The discussions are helpful because the other students in the class really help me understand the reading a little more and it is neat to see the other opinions that everyone has.  I have taken online classes before, but none of them have had this much participation between the students.  I think that I get more interaction with the other students in this class than I do in the classes that I go to school for.  I think it is great that we can all help each other out without even meeting one another. 

The first assignment that we completed in this course was the letter that we wrote to a future American citizen.  I have never actually thought about what being an American meant to me, so this assignment really opened my eyes to all of the freedoms that we have in America.  St. John de Crevecoeur's  Letters from an American Farmer, "What is an American?," helped me have a better understanding of what to write in my letter and it gave me a sense of how someone else views this topic.  You never realize just how good you have it until you hear about someone who wants to become a U.S. citizen and about the process that they have to go through.  You never think about how easy it is to have the freedoms that we have just because we were born here.  This assignment really made me appreciate my life and it allowed me to see the other views of my peers.

The next three assignments that we did were really about connecting with ourselves.  That is really what the Romanticism writing was all about.  Romantic artists are all about remembering good times and feeling happy and overjoyed, I think this is why I enjoyed writing these assignments so much.  Poe, Emerson, and Thoreau’s writing helped me relate to situations in my life.  Even though it was hard for me to understand everything that they wrote about, the passages that I included in my writing were ones that really stuck out to me.  Poe wanted his readers to use their imagination and confront all of the emotions that you have about a particular memory.  Thoreau and Emerson were more focused on the development of the individual self and connecting their emotions through nature. 

I think that the two assignments about social issues have really challenged my writing.  I am not very good at writing about facts or issues; I am more of a free writer where I like to write about life issues or beliefs.  When I had to think of a social problem that is affecting our nation, I had a hard time thinking of one.  To help me out with this problem, I actually typed it into Google and I got the idea to write about the death penalty.  Once I found my topic, the writing became a little easier.  The readings that we had to do for this assignment did not really help me with my topic because it was mostly about slavery and I just could not get it to relate to my topic.  I do think it is good that this assignment challenged me because it made me think about what I was writing and it challenged my thinking on the death penalty.

When we were asked to write a list of virtues that we thought were important, I thought that it would be a fairly easy thing to do.  When I saw the long list of virtues on Wikipedia, I realized that it was going to be hard to pick which ones were truly the most important to me.  After I chose the ten that I felt were most important, I then had to decide which one was the hardest for me to work on which was patience.  This assignment really made me think about how patience is important and that by being thankful for what you have, that can give you more patience.  I like how assignments like this one can challenge what is important to me in my life and it makes me appreciate what I have a lot more by forcing me to write about it.

The assignment about factions was probably one of the most difficult assignments for me.  Madison was against factions and he wanted to find ways to get rid of them and it was my job to find solutions to that problem.  I got a lot out of this assignment because it challenged me and it taught me more about why Madison was so against them.  It was nice to have good feedback from my peers because it showed me that I really tried on this assignment and that my peers could see that.

When we wrote a blog about faith, I felt very connected to what Thomas Paine believed in.  A lot of his beliefs were very similar to mine and I finally felt connected to one of the writers.  This assignment challenged me to become more in touch with my faith and it gave me the opportunity to tell others my beliefs.

Overall, I am really glad that I took this English class.  I am glad that the assignments are challenging me because I have not really had a difficult class at J. Sargeant Reynolds until I began doing the assignments for this course.  I am not saying that the assignments are difficult, I am just saying that there are a lot of things to complete and they are more involved than anything I have done since I began going to college.  I feel like I am actually working hard for my grade instead of just completing a few assignments and tests and walking away with an “A”.  When this course is over, I think I will have learned a lot and I hope to take what I have learned and apply it to my everyday life.  The next time that I read literature, I will have a better appreciation for what the writer is saying and I think I will understand it more than I did when I began this class. 

Virtue Progress

                As you already know, the virtue that I chose to work on was patience.  I think that I have gotten a lot better about being more patient with certain situations.  I definitely have to be more patient now because the end of the semester is getting so close that I can hardly stand it!  To help me do this, I am just making sure that all of my work is completed on time and I am putting a lot of thought into the assignments.  I am trying so hard to make sure that I do not end up with anything less than a B this semester. 

                Yesterday I found out that I have the opportunity to go to Italy next summer.  This is very exciting for me because I have never been outside of the country before.  This trip will test my patience because it is six months away and that is a long time to wait for something this exciting.  I think I will be able to stay patient and wait for the trip to come because I will be working as much as I can to save up as much money as I can for this vacation.  I think that this trip will help me with my patience because it is something that I really want to do and it is worth waiting for.

Learning Reflection for Week Twelve

 A.  I felt most engaged when I was reading chapter one of Paine's The Age of Reason.  I saw that my beliefs were similar to his, and his writing helped me with mine.  He was easy to understand, and that helped.

 

B. I really do not think that I felt distant with this assignment.  I think that because I share the same faith that Paine does, this assignment was not challenging for me.

 

C. It was helpful reading Alex C's blog about faith.  I never take ideas from my other classmates, but sometimes the way that they explain things helps me write what I want to say a little better.

 

D. See above.

 

E. I was not confused by this assignment, nor did my other classmates confuse me.

 

F. When I was reading chapter one of Paine's The Age of Reason; I was surprised at how much I understood and how much I agreed with.  Normally when I am reading something from the author's, I get confused, but this time I did not.       

Comments for Week Eleven Blog Posts

Rachel - I did not see a blog.

Almira - I did not see a blog.

Kim - I did not see a blog.

Alex S. - I did not see a blog.

Alex C. - I agree with you.  Factions are important because they provide different opinions and different groups.  If there is only one group with the same beliefs, then I do not see how it is fair to the other people who disagree with their actions.  Great job!

Erin - It seems like me, you, and Alex C. had a lot of the same ideas!  I think that is great because it is easy for me to relate to your blogs.  You did a good job of describing what you thought Madison meant when he wanted to get rid of factions.  Awesome!

Faith

                Faith is something that has always been present in my life as I was being brought up by my parent’s and family.  Whether it is faith in God, or faith in something that you believe in, they always encouraged that feeling.  I was taken to church every Sunday when I was younger with my mother.  My father believes in God, but he did not always go to church.  If he did, he would go to a different church that works best for him.  As I got older, I started to protest the idea of going to church with my mom because she would always want to go early, and I wanted to stay in bed.  She eventually gave up and did not force me to get up and go to church with her.  I still have not gone back to church, but that does not make me a nonbeliever.  Just because I do not attend church every Sunday to hear the written word, that does not make me a bad person or someone who does not believe.

                I do believe, just like Paine, that there is only one God and that we will have happiness beyond this life.  I do not look down on others who have different beliefs or no beliefs at all.  I am living the life that God would be happy with, and that is a life free of judgment based on other people’s religious beliefs.  I do not think that you have to have this faith in order to sustain from this type of judgment.  Whether you believe in God or not, someone else’s belief has nothing to do with your own, so therefore they should not be judged. 

                For example, I have to observe a class at an elementary school for one of my classes that I am taking at J. Sargeant Reynolds.  In that classroom, there is a child who is a Jehovah’s Witness.  This child looks just like any other child, he just does not have the same beliefs as the other children do based on the way that he was raised.  The other student’s in the classroom do not judge him or exclude him; they treat him like they would any other student in the class.  This is an example that everyone should follow.  If fifth graders can be this mature about accepting another student without making fun of him, then we as adults should do the same.

                It is said that a person should be baptized in order to have an eternal life in Heaven.  I, however, have not been baptized.  Even when I was attending church, my mom did not feel that I was ready to commit my life to Christ.  One day in my future when I do attend church on a regular basis, which I will, I will get baptized.  I do not think that baptism should define your belief in God or whether you go to Heaven.  I know that I am a believer and God knows that I am a believer, so that is all that matters to me.  Everyone sins no matter how strong your faith is in God.  The only thing that is expected of us as believers is to try to do the right thing and live by his word.  This is my profession of belief.   

Learning Reflection for Week Eleven

A. When I was reading The Federalist No. 10 on Wikipedia is when I felt most engaged.  I was reading the arguments that Madison had about factions and it gave me a better understanding of the meaning of factions and why he wanted to get rid of them.

B. I always feel distant from the class whenever we have an assignment about things in history.  I have never been able to understand history that well and it is hard for me to write about it because I cannot personally relate to it.  I hope that I am not the only one who struggles with this, but when I read my classmate's blogs, I feel like I might not grasp the meaning of the assignment as well.

C.  The one thing that helped me get through this assignment was the link that the professor provided for the Wikipedia document.  Without this link, I do not think I would have been able to complete this assignment.

D.  I was only confused when I was trying to understand what I was supposed to be writing.  I overcame this confusion when I went to the Wikipedia document for guidance.

E.  I think that the discussion for this week was interesting.  It was not surprising, but I enjoy reading what everyone would change about the Constitution.

 

Comments on Virtues

Alex C. - I thought you had a good list of virtues.  Selflessness is probably something that everyone struggles with at some point.  I think that we can all try to do what you are suggesting and try to put others before ourselves.  In the end we all feel better and it will help our well-being.  Good job.

Rachel - You have a very strong list of virtues as well.  It sounds like you have a very busy life!  I can see how it would be hard for you to establish order into your busy schedule, but I struggle with that as well.  Good luck on keeping organized :)

Almira - Great list.  Keeping schedules can be very difficult, but they are helpful.  Not only are you taking things in moderation, but you are also staying organized which is important when you have a busy schedule like you do.

Erin - You have a great list of virtues.  I agree with working on being more humble.  I think that I can be judgmental at times as well and I hate that about myself.  Do not feel bad, we all do it and it takes strength, I think, to not judge someone right away.

Kim - Wow you have a lot of virtues, great!  I think it is a good thing that you do not trust others right away.  That is something that I struggle with, I trust too easily.  It is important though to let others in and trust them when they have gained that trust.  Good job.

Alex S. - Welcome to our committee!  You really gave a lot of detail with your virtues and I like that.  Reverence is something that I think a lot of believers need to bring into their lives.  That was a very good choice of virtue.

Factions

Madison has two ways in which he wants to limit factions and that is to control or remove the effects of factions.  He believes that the main problem is coming from majority factions.  If these factions can persuade the minorities, then they will be able to get through to the democratic government with no difficulty.  Madison says that in a pure democracy, people simply vote for the laws that they would like to see passed, but in a republic, people vote for particular representatives and then those representatives vote for the laws.  He favors the larger republic over the smaller republic because he feels that the larger republic has more influence and the chance of a competent representative being chosen is greater.  He does make a comment about how in a larger republic it would be harder to fool the voters, so in this case the candidates would have to make sure that the voters really believed in what they were saying in order for the right representative to be chosen. 

What I understood from all of this is that Madison wants to get rid of the small parties and have a big majority party.  He wants to have a large republic, but the writers of the Papers wanted the republic to be diverse enough that it will prevent factions, but with enough similarities that it will maintain unity among the states.  I think that Madison’s arguments have held throughout this era because it is hard for anyone, let alone a faction, to get through to the government and try to influence them.  I think that Madison wants this large republic because he wants people to be more independent.  If you are in a smaller republic, then it is easy to listen to others and not listen to your own self-interest.  By creating a larger republic, this is Madison’s way of getting rid of the factions.  I do think that it is inevitable to get rid of all of the factions, but if he can get enough people to move to a larger republic, then the factions will lessen.     

There really is no way to get rid of factions.  If you think about it, this country is divided up into special interest groups and political parties that are never going to go away.  Without these factions, the voting process would not make much sense to me.  If we did not have Democratic, Republican, or Independent parties, then what would be the point in having citizens vote?  If we cannot belong to a group where there are people who share the same interests as we do, then why even bother letting us vote?  I know that this is not why Madison wants to get rid of factions, but it is something that I thought about when reading his take on this matter.  I do not hear much about groups trying to influence the government these days, so it seems to me like Madison’s arguments have had an influence on the way things are today.