#collegeclass

I’m concerned at why some of the kids in one of my classes said they weren’t sure if they thought baby elephants are cute.

HOW DO YOU NOT THINK THEY’RE CUTE.

Actually.

How come you don’t know what a baby elephant looks like?

Hello everyone! My name is Andi - I'm a wife and a mother of 2 amazing children. I was born and raised in Germany, but I've been living in the US for almost 5 years now. I'm taking this class to finish up my AA, so this term will be my last one here at FSW, then I'll be transferring to pursue my Bachelor's in Finance. I'm currently a stay at home mom solely focusing on school and raising the tiny humans beings, but prior to this chapter of my life I've worked in the administrative field for the majority of time. As a critical thinker with a creative mind, I'm curious to see what this course has to offer. This is my first time blogging, so I'm also very excited to see this blog grow into something bigger by the end of this term.

This is one of my presentations for my speech college class.

Introduction: I didn’t want to sign up for a public speaking course. If anything, I wanted to avoid speaking in front of a group of people, trying to voice out my opinions and thoughts. I am a private person, and didn’t want to have my privacy taken from me. I dreaded the time I was to come up in front of the class and talk. I didn’t know how I was going to deliver a speech. I was nervous, and sometimes I would blank out, forgetting what I was supposed to say. But, I still had to sign up for this course to complete the requirements of my school curriculum.

Why should we, the students, take public speaking courses? To quote the book, Beebe and Beebe’s Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach , as you study public speaking, you will learn and practice strategies for effective delivery and critical listening. You will discover new applications for skills you may already have, such as focusing and organizing ideas and gathering information from print and electronic sources. In addition to learning and applying these fundamental skills, you will gain long-term advantages related to empowerment and employment.

Today I will talk to you about these two factors, and how they will benefit in future endeavors.

Body: Back in history, where people couldn’t read, speaking in public places was the predominant tool of communication. Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Cicero and Quintilian all played a part of making speech essential to our lives. As time went on, debates, arguments, pleas for freedom were the foremost in our mind, and these opinions and beliefs were expressed through speech.

But really, why do students need to take up a public-speaking course? Empowerment and Employment.

Eventually you will be asked to speak in public at various times in your life: as a student participating in a classroom seminar; as a businessperson convincing your boss to let you undertake a new project; as a concerned citizen addressing the city council’s zoning board. In each of these situations, the ability to speak with competence and confidence will provide empowerment. Empowerment gives you an edge that other, less skilled communicators lack – even those who may have superior ideas, training, or experience. It will position you for greater things. Former presidential speechwriter James Humes, who labels public speaking “the language of leadership,” says, “Every time you have to speak – whether it is in an auditorium, in a company conference room, or even at your own desk – you are auditioning for leadership.”

John H. MacConnel, CEO of Worthington Industries, suggests a second and perhaps even more compelling reason to study public speaking: The skills you develop in this class may someday help you get a job. McConnell notes, “Many students who work summers at our plants, then go back to school in the fall, ask me what courses they should take to be best prepared for business. I always say, “Take all the speech courses and communication courses you can because the world turns on communication.” McConnell’s advice is supported by research as well as personal observation. In a 1999 nationwide survey, prospective employers of college graduates said they seek candidates with “public speaking and presentation ability.” Other surveys of personnel managers, both in the US and internationally, have confirmed that they consider communication skills the top factor in helping graduating college students obtain employment.

This is one of my presentations for my speech college class. Note to Readers: This speech is part real and part fiction. The part of my paternal grandmother passing and how I really miss her is real. Some of the things we did together is fiction. I had to get a grade somehow.

I won’t be able to hear my grandmother laugh. I won’t smell the aroma of the special chili she makes for me every time I visit her. Through the silence, our eyes today are filled with tears.

I think my grandmother would be surprised if she saw so many people gathered here to mourn her. She was, after all, a quiet woman. Though she had been active a lot in church, she was always in the background, just looking in. She liked the idea of being a loner. It wouldn't occur to her that she was so popular, that she will be missed so much. Yet the very fact that so many have gathered to celebrate her life says much more about her, and her kindness, than mere words.

My grandmother, you see, did her good deeds by stealth. She never advertised the fact that she helped so many people in so many different ways. She never talked about her numerous acts of kindness. Yet I believe that almost everyone here today has been at the receiving end of that kindness. She may have loaned you a book that was especially relevant to your life. My grandmother was a great reader and liked to share the treasure she found. She might have said a quiet word of appreciation that meant a lot to you.

One thing she didn't do, though, is sing in public. One of our family traditions was to hold daily evening devotions and we would sing a hymn before we start. That is the only time I ever hear her sing. She never sings anywhere else. She often said that if she was able, she would just sing hymns all day. She found great pleasure in singing hymns to worship God.

She loved children and they loved her. This shy woman had no trouble at all in conversing with a four-year-old. Children, you see, are the best judges of character. They mightn't be able to put names on words like decency and honor but they knew that my grandmother was a good woman.

My grandmother would never be accused of being the entrepreneur of the year. She would not take chances or make quick decisions. My grandmother liked to weigh everything up carefully. Yet when she gave her commitment she did it wholeheartedly. You knew exactly where you stood with my grandmother.

Today many people mourn her. My family will, of course, miss her most of all. We take comfort in the fact that so many others will miss her too for many different reasons. My family knew she was well respected but it is gratifying to see how many others will genuinely miss my grandmother.

I will miss her as a fount of general knowledge. If I ever needed to know anything, there was always a good chance that my grandmother would know the answer. If she didn't she'd make sure she found the answer for you. She was also an avid Scrabble gamer. Whenever I visit her she would make sure that we would play a game of Scrabble at least once. Of course, she always won. She also loved to play Solitaire. She would do so on her spare moments alone. When my siblings and I visit her, we would play either bridge or canasta. I will miss her cooking; her famous chocolate cake, her special chili and her original recipe of meatloaf. I will miss her on walks because my grandmother loved walking and her knowledge of the countryside made such hikes a pleasure. I will miss her most of all as a friend because good friends like my grandmother don't happen often in a lifetime.

This is one of my presentations for my speech college class.

Introduction: Eric Carle, author of the classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar , serves up another recipe for fun in this tale of Jack, who wakes up hungry for an enormous pancake for breakfast. But before he can enjoy his pancake, he must first get flour from the miller, an egg from the black hen, milk from the spotted cow, and butter churned from fresh cream.

Now who doesn’t want to hassle with making pancakes by getting flour, eggs, milk and butter? In this day and age, a lot of people don’t have time, or the effort, to prepare pancakes from scratch.

Today, I’m going to teach you how to make pancakes the easier way, by using instant mix. We will go over the type of instant mix we can to choose, the ingredients, and the procedure. And this all takes less than 5 minutes to do!

Body: The Instant Mix: Hungry Jack Pancake and Waffle Mix

The Ingredients: Milk, Oil and Eggs versus Water – Best Bet: Just add water!

The Procedure: 4-step procedure. The only difference is the Combine step.

This is one of my presentations for my speech college class.

Introduction: Firecrackers! The word alone conjures up rich, visceral images: sudden ear-splitting pop-pop-popping, sparks flashing, acrid smoke drifting, kids running and laughing, hearts wildly beating. Who hasn’t jumped off out of his or her skin when a firecracker has unexpectedly – or sometimes even expectedly – gone off?

This is a quote from the book Firecrackers: The Art and History by Dotz, Mingo and Moyer.

Today I will go over the origin and history of firecrackers and its evolution throughout the centuries.

Body: The first firecrackers were completely organic and probably accidental and this was from bamboo. Most likely, someone tending a fire ran short of fuel and decided to throw a few lengths of green bamboo. The knobby round reeds blackened, smoldered, and hissed, and then did something completely unexpected: they exploded. The result is a sharp reverberating blam!  which, back then, was something alarming that had never been heard before.

Exploding bamboo made the timid cower, babies cry, and animals run away. Someone somewhere along the line must have figured that if it worked with mortals, it may well work to scare away immortals. The ancient Chinese believed in Nian, a particularly nasty evil spirit who liked to eat crops and sometimes people. Sometime long before history records the event, the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, became a ceremonial occasion to throw bamboo into bonfires in order to scare Nian far away, thus ensuring a year of health, peace, prosperity, and happiness. Over the years, the Chinese added the popping of bamboo to other ceremonial occasions: didn’t evil spirits also need to be dispersed for weddings and funerals, for births, and even shop openings?

Experiments began to make a louder sounding firecracker, thus the evolution of firecrackers began. Bamboo was popular for a millennium or two, but was rendered obsolete with the discovery of paper and gunpowder. Chinese, however, still call modern bamboo pao chuk , or “burst bamboo.”

The invention of gunpowder was likely an accident. Here’s what historians surmise happened: A Chinese alchemist – or, some think, a cook – living a thousand years ago started mixing up sulfurous mixtures, stirring unbearably pungent compounds over a fire. As one dried into a fine black powder, something unexpected happened. With a sputtering hiss and roar, the entire mixture went up in a white-hot flame. Chinese Taoist alchemists eventually begun experimenting with the first crude gunpowder, perhaps as early as the 7th century C.E.

Firecrackers took their next evolutionary step. Instead of using bamboo, firecracker makers tried filling strong, stiff tubes of paper with gunpowder and adding a fuse. This was the beginning of the firecrackers as we know them, and this basic firecracker would remain essentially unchanged for many centuries.

Later on, the Chinese military modified the firecracker by adding fins for guidance, creating the first rocket in the form of self-propelling arrows. In the middle of the 13th century, word of this new war material started leaking into Europe by way of Dominican and Franciscan friars who had been traveling east to the Mongol court at Karakoram.

Italy first saw firecrackers in 1292 when world-traveler Marco Polo sent a large stash of them home. In Germany, another monk named Berthold Schwarz, also did experiments with gunpowder and – in Germany, anyway – he is credited with inventing the first gun and cannon. Pretty soon, firecrackers have been known all over the world.

This was for my Journal class in college.

September 1997

Time sure does fly fast. Well, just yesterday it was August. With so many activities that happened last week, I’m not surprised. Anyway, I promised Iris I would write today, so here I am. I’m so happy that I finally straightened out my room after all the ruckus that occurred. I just need to get my records organized and I’m all set. But I don’t want to do that now, I feel so dead already. Besides, my wrist hurts. I guess it’s from all those lifting that I did. Oh well. Right now, I’m pissed off at Ric cuz I know he’s going to wake me up early in the morning just to get him in the office. Hey, I don’t want to wake up for anybody, unless it’s really necessary. I don’t want to be forced. It’ll make the rest of my day gloomy, and I don’t like that. Oh, why does he have to be so bossy and nosy? I wish he would stop.

Met a guy online yesterday. He’s too young for me, but he asked me on a date. I don’t even know him! The things guys do to get gals on their bed. He’s not that young, but still, I consider him as too young for me. Besides, I have a boyfriend already, so why do I waste my time on this guy? It’s not worth it.

This was for my Journal class in college.

August 1997

4:03 AM. I can’t believe I’m sleepy yet I feel awake. I guess there was just too much going on today. And I didn't really do that much! I really didn't feel like doing that editing deal, but I knew I had to. Of course, I wanted to get it done and over with. It wasn't so hard, anyway. Just added some graphics, cut a shot from there, and voila! It’s done. But my mom didn't really have to schedule a shoot right after I was done with editing! Man, she really wants to do everything at the same time. Look where it’s got to us. Late for work, and the patient was waiting for her. And whatever was she saying? Get some hot packs, she said, and then she’d mean the infrared! I know she’s busy for a lot of things, but she really needs to think of what she’s saying. Or else I’m the one to get blamed for it! Me, me, me. Oh no, I forgot to tell the other people that there’s practice tomorrow. I really need to stop being the gopher all the time. I always do the hard work! Maybe my sister was right. I think I need to get myself an apartment. That way, I could become responsible for myself and I don’t have to depend on other people. Oh well. I have to get another stable job with good income and maybe that’ll help me. And when will that happen? I dunno. For now, I just have to be content on what I have.

Ach, I smell like a cigar butt! Well, I smell of cigarette smoke, not that I really smoked. The Speeds place really reeks a lot of it. I know I shouldn't have come because of my colds, but then I was having such a good time! Cheryl was acting weird again. I guess she had a lot on her mind. Hmm, she’s thinking of getting back with Joe, huh? I guess it’s for the best cuz she needs a man! He, he, he. Which reminds me of Dennis. Gosh, he’s leaving us! I've only met him through the Internet, yet he’s been a pretty nice guy. I could even say my best buddy in the International Superhighway! I will miss him. I just hope he still keeps in touch with Cheryl and me. That was sweet of him to send that first IM we had. I can’t believe he saved it in a file, though. I thought I was bad in printing some of our discussions, but he really saved them in a disk! Well, what can I do? He’s sweet, though.

I hear my sister and brother-in-law just coming back in. They took their time coming back. It’s scary going to the office in the middle of the night like this. 4:20 AM. Oh no, I have to get up early to get my eyes checked. Gotta go sleep.