#student response

The legal age of adulthood in the U.S. is eighteen-- except for children that are intertwined with crime, who suddenly find themselves elevated to adult status for the privilege of capital punishment. But the majority of eighteen-year-old “adults” are still seniors in high school, still -teen categorized and therefore, still cocooned in naivety;  post-secondary plans come with far too much freedom at once to be anything but reckless with it. So how do we cross the bridge from sweet, innocent childhood to depressingly alone and jarringly aware adulthood?

Rite of Passage, as cliche as it sounds, is paramount to maturity. It is not the act of growing up, but the act of choosing to begin the descent into adulthood. There are multiple stages of becoming an adult, it isn’t some magic, dragon slaying fairy tale where you complete the quest and poof! You are an adult now. It’s not always a universal choice--- or even a conscious one. Sometimes, uncontrollable circumstances violently tear people from the womb of childhood all too fast. Sometimes, despite having every resource afforded, a person never grows up. Sometimes, the world is fair enough to allow a person the chance to grow up comfortably, but that is a rare case of fortune.

And how do you know what and when your rite of passage is? It isn’t something you mark in big, bold red marker on your calendar. It can’t be valued either; rite of passage is one of those profound hindsights you can’t see until it’s behind you. As enigmatic storyteller Bill Harris has put it in “The Fight,”: “They are only cruel punishment. And they just may be too much.” Harris uses these words to describe an unforgiving beat down he helplessly witnessed between two friends in his high school years. Harris’ friend decided that a fight was what made him a “man” or not. Not the outcome of the fight, but the fight itself. Harris didn’t know he’d still be thinking about it now, in 2017. And he wasn’t the one fighting. In fact, Harris encouraged his friend to back down. But rite of passage isn’t about the actual event, whatever it may be. Yes, driving and going to prom can be considered rites of passage, although not the kind that stimulates and enables personal growth. Classify them as cultural milestones, like southern debutantes waiting to be announced into the right societal circles before being considered “grown up.” That doesn’t help you decide who you are. That just decides how old you are. True rite of passage is a challenge, whether internal or external, that invokes contemplation, risk and giving up your inner childhood sanctum.

Rite of passage is the deciding force in transitioning into adulthood, and is specifically unique per person, like a soul or personality. Everyone loses something in the shift, be it fame or blood shed. You cannot cling to the past and be expect to be accepted into the future. Premature dreams absolutely must burn, morals shift uncomfortably, and lies be brought to justice. Rite of passage is what teaches people that the world is far too enormous to be aware of everyone living in it as an individual, that inexplicable evil exists, and that sometimes trying your best just won’t fix anything. The beauty of it is that rite of passage is neither chaotic nor good, it is a neutral force posed to us. The actual learning of universal truths and growth is done by us, once we choose how to react to the situation. The right to adulthood is an equal opportunity, but the choice to accept passage is yours.  There is no ultrasound advanced enough yet to tell a person what type of future they are having. The only way to really know if your grown up is to just go ahead and do it long enough to notice. When your time comes, will you graciously take the offer? Or has it already passed you?

A good point the article "Emerging Personal Media Genres" had was about how the different genres help communicate among all types of discourse communities. Now of course the way it's being transmitted matters not only because there is many ways to do it, but because it has an impact in society. And with the fast growth in technology all these genres will only keep on growing.

Now keeping my major in mind, it definitely ties in because in Marketing you're always trying to find a way to convince society to buy a certain product or service. So in one way or another these genres are something to keep in mind because we're always communicating with society. Specially in this business world where all aspects of communication are used. That's why I picked the following GIF because in the world of business and it's about convincing you to buy something because in the long run its your money what we want. That's why you often hear "nice making business with you".

 Some people are like soda cups at fast food restaurants, some people are like rubber bands, and some people are like summer rains when it comes to active stress. Active stress being a a new issue that occurs in present time.

Imagine you are filling a soda cup at your favorite fast food joint. Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, wherever. You get distracted waiting for the server to call your order, and the cup overflows, spilling in a fantastic Niagara Falls down the side of the cup, the front of the machine, and to the floor. It happens too fast and you are so shocked and embarrassed that you don’t know what to do. You start freaking out, yelling and moving before the soda soaks your shoes. Here, the cup is your capacity to internalize any stress that enters your life; the soda, of course, is the stress. The distraction equals that necessary ability to separate work from personal life, which is detrimental for dealing with your stress. You can’t quit your job, but you also need time to process and rationalize with your issues. Being a soda cup means you take on more than you can handle,and maybe even fully aware of it. You think you can sort everything out just right, and that cup won’t spill. But trust me, that is too idealistic. 

Now, the rubber band type is polar opposite of this. Rubber bands cannot handle the tension of being pulled to far. They snap and then go shooting off into the distance somewhere and the tension is lost, leaving the rubber band stretchy and unable to be utilized again. People that fall in this category can’t handle bad news well, and unlike a soda cup, cannot internalize stress. Small things freak them out. When that happens, rubber band types shut down. They quit whatever activity is freaking them out, but not with out inflicting small damage to the people around them. They may snap or sass or even pull the silent treatment, but they generally don’t mean it. It was just a small outburst, which leads into the next category: summer rains.

Summer rains build up and fizzle out quickly, but leave lasting and irreparable damage. Floods, wash outs, even fatalities sometimes. But the water is needed. This type collects their stress and carries it with them everywhere, and it is highly noticeable. They do their best to carry on being productive, but sooner rather than later, they will break down. They are the type that needs support; some kind of shoulder or reassurance to relax them. Once the episode is over, they prefer to resort to nonchalance and continue whatever they were doing. 

I am too young to know who I am, and far too preoccupied to begin such an extravagant search. I haven’t learned to see past myself yet. I don’t have a firm grasp on any universal truths. Compared to others, I have life too easy. But I’m not here to juxtapose my life with anyone. I can’t, because fortunately, I am the only Nessa this world will ever have. Maybe I’m being over dramatic. I’m an eighteen year old kid with a free education. Maybe I’m a side effect of my community. Everyone leaves, and I am stuck here, alone. Forgotten. Maybe this is me and I haven’t realized it yet.

How hard is it to make friends? Not “Hi!” in the hallway friends, not “Hey do you have the homework LOL,” friends. Real, true friends. The kind who accept your idiosyncrasies and grow with you. The kind that aren’t scared to call you on your BS. Not that hard, you say? Boy, let me tell you something. When most people begin searching for themselves, I was unconsciously divergent and began searching for my people. I looked in grungy teenage angst. I looked in brash “I get all my clothes from Justice at the mall,” prep. I looked in movie theatres. I looked in political activism. I looked in cliquey tribes. I looked and I looked and I looked. I left no stone unturned. It became a war against myself, because I haven’t fit perfectly in any place I’ve been. Should I settle and accept that things just aren’t so cogent or should I press on? Are my people really out there?

The more I searched, the more lost I became. I let go of the little bits of magic star dust that came together and made me Nessa. I’d meet someone, and I’d package up my self confidence, my likes and dislikes, my thoughts, and even my dreams in a dull, plain cardboard box. After a few weeks of talking to the new friend, I’d take that box and drop it off at goodwill. I wouldn’t remember what I put in there, and it didn’t matter. My friend would tell me what to think and how to feel. What to wear. What to like. What to complain about and with what frequency. I was a dog on a short leash subconsciously begging to be let out, however when anyone tried to unchain me, I barked and howled with a ferocity fit to star in a Stephen King novel. I wasn’t ready to be  aware of my toxic behavior. You can’t help someone who doesn’t think they need help. 

  My mother and I attempt to keep a flower garden in the spring. As much as I wish i could tell you it’s the envy of every neighbor on the block, it’s not.We get too busy to water the plants, or it’s just too humid to weed the beds. So, in the beginning of every spring, the yard is a Gatsby party: too good to be true. And as time labors on, as spring loses her novelty and grows into womanhood, the garden spirals out of grace and becomes some half baked attempt at a cover of Southern Living or Better Homes. But here’s the thing-- the plants, while growing rampant and in severe disarray, are still growing. They don’t need my mother or I, because they are self reliant. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote an essay all about this, “Self-Reliance,” and while people will never be as transcendental as flowers, there are some truths to it.

  Self reliance is a learned skill starting out from childhood, hidden in the shape of the R word. Responsibility. Eventually your mom stopped making you those dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, right? You become autonomous, but not perfect. It’s just like when I forget to water those plants in my garden. The plants never needed me to water them. They would of been fine on their own, but my watering them was beneficial for a while, helped make them stronger. Supporting them, if you will. Emerson is so amped up on not caring what other people and retreating into yourself for solace that he forgets the beauty of a sociality. “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against...its members,” (para. 3), and while you certainly could argue this, I think Emerson is a bit too radical. Emerson portrays society the same way 1940s America viewed the Soviet Union: as an enemy to be feared and fought. Maybe he spent a little too much time with Thoreau or maybe he had an awful circle of friends, but  that’s not necessarily true.

 Think of all the times we’ve come together. Recently, we’ve helped communities across the southern coast rebuild and repair from the calamitous hurricane season. Support is an important factor of humanity-- nobody wants to feel alone. But if you can handle being alone, you can handle being apart of a group. In many ways, self reliance is the freedom we blindly crave, the freedom we are willing to trample the earth we are planted into and abandon our own watering source for a taste of. We are like the plants I try to care for, even though I don’t always water them, they continue to grow out of the confines of their designated places, just like how you continue to grow outside of yourself.  Self reliance is a learned skill, like cooking or gardening. We are always learning about it, learning from our mistakes or from others.

 Don’t let Emerson con you into believing you won’t ever need help, that the world is out to get you. Because you will need help, and like the millions of times before, you will ask for help. If help does not come to you, you will be self reliant. If it does, you will be grateful.

Signing off,

As Americans, we love our ability to protest; we are decidedly dedicated to using our voices, whether we are heard or not. I recently read Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, triumphant “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” which led me to the conclusion that activism, whether I’d like to admit it or not, is a large part of my young life,because “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (para. 4). Is this boom in activism a bad thing? Not necessarily, and here’s why: everyone has opinions, and public activism in 2017 has become a sort of peer news, like grapevine chatter.

Change only occurs when it’s forced, just as Dr. King says in his letter “...freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor.” (para. 11). Good activism will bring up a controversial topic- say, Betsy Devos and Title IX- and facilitate a healthy discussion with facts and honesty. Talking creates awareness, and in turn, knowledge. Think about the Marriage Rights Act of 2015, and how this fantastic progressiveness didn’t happen overnight. It took decades for people to be able to see that love is love. Groups like Black Lives Matter or the Pro Choice Movement have been able to reach a wide variety of people with their message- and whether the audience agrees with their message or not doesn’t matter. People are willing to inject their own opinions to any topic, with or without understanding it.

In this day and age, with the omnipotence of the internet, choosing not to understand is unforgivable. There is an ocean between misunderstanding and ignorance. Ignorance is a choice, but misunderstanding is an attempt. Ignorance harbors hate and will never solve anything. Think about popular television news channels, like “FOX News”or “CNN.” Both channels are the same when you factor out their perspectives. They talk about the same cycle of topics throughout the day with different talk show hosts and opinion polls, their guests can only speculate on topics, and the amount of pandering going on is exponential to the amount of truth being said. None of this solves anything, nor does it impart any real intellect. These channels have the tendency to be ignorant, and spread ignorance. Which is why activism has become so integrated to our daily lives. Think about it this way: I can’t talk about going to college. It’s because I have no experience with actually going to college. I have filled out applications, I have friends who are in college, but I myself have not been. It’s like ethos. When it comes to activism, understanding is ethos. Catch me in the fall of 2018 and maybe I’ll have some college ethos. Activism is firsthand, so-and-so from twitter is really in Saint Louis, experiencing the rioting in Delmar Loop.

In the end, activism is a major part in our lives now. In this day and age, we’re all activists. Choosing to ignore what’s going in the world is impossible, so you might as well join the discussion. Just make sure you have a strong grasp on what you’re talking about, or you could end up part of the problem and not the solution.

Signing off,

Classroom respect systems or Student response systems are significantly used to make the classroom more grateful since students. This system has been successfully implemented in multitudinous American and European schools. With the help of this system, teachers could pose their questions through a software package installed on a personal multiplier, whether desktop or a laptop. Students then respond to the questions by using a remote control hardware electronic fuel gauge called the clicker. Basically, the questions and the answers usually follows a prevalent curio type graph. In any event, the students is needful for choose from highest among the three respecting four answer options given from that certain question. Students use the appropriate remote control keypad to provide the adjust to answer. Significantly, the speech john hancock, which is the student figure software will sub rosa the answers provided via the students in the classroom and ethical self resolution wherefrom beam the turn out in a corpus of chart or a graph.. <\p>

Benefits relating to using Student responsiveness system <\p>

Many University research groups already conducted studies regarding of the student response calculation, and my humble self shows that there are several advantages in using the system. In fact, some of the best benefits include: <\p>

1. Tremendous improvement in the application level respecting the student <\p>

Many students are now using their remote wireless keypad so present answers to all the questions posed by the teachers due for the implementation of this response system. Actually, the remote keypad had doubtlessly helped develop the attention level of students and many students are currently responding to the questions.<\p>

2. improved message retention levels <\p>

Since the attention levels of the students are now improved, students are now well-qualified to retain the press association they assimilate. Plus, students will be there able in consideration of parley together with themselves straddleback why alterum choose that certain strap by the efficiency as for remote keypad. With this, students will have a benign town meeting with regards to the possible choice they choose. And this leads in consideration of a renewed understanding of the unquestioned subject which will visibly result for a schoolboy to have enhanced knowledge retention levels. <\p>

3. Ability to dangle individual responses <\p>

Because almost the students are the nonce participating in answering to the questions posed by into the the same difference time utilizing the key pad, however, the responses molded are being recorded in the schoolgirl response system database. Every student is given a student code and the answers will come recorded against the code. This giant of learning response data resolution be incorporated in transit to the learning executive committee line of action as a result it provides a totalitarian opportunity for a undenied school so as to firmly monitor the performance in regard to its students.. <\p>

4. Capability to generate reports <\p>