Reflection

        On page 637 of our text book, the "comic" really caught my attention. I feel like it is very controversial because of the way this is set up. I thought this was an interesting way to describe many situations.
        The first square of the comic strip is about being Pro-Choice. It says, "If you're Pro-choice you're a BABY KILLER! Arrest somebody!" I think that is very WRONG! I'm going to put myself out there and tell the world that I am pro-choice. This comic is controversial because not every religious person is Pro-Life. I am a very religious person and I am confident in my religion. I am living proof that you can go to church and still be pro-choice.
       The second square is also controversial because it says something about how all Gays and Lesbians are unnatural abominations and that we should stop them from getting married. My best friend is gay and he has been in a relationship with his boyfriend for about a year. I am definitely an advocate for GBLTQ marriage. My best friend should have just as much right to marry the person he loves as straight people do. 
      I also have many friends who are atheist, and the comic in the third square says that they are agents of SATAN. I find this extremely pathetic. It also says that God should be in school and courts. After all, we are a " Christian Nation". I had to laugh at that one because my friends who are atheist don't look down upon me because I am christian. They just don't believe the same things I do. I also think that there is enough God in schools because they do say the pledge of allegiance with God in the line, One nation, Under God... My point exactly.
      I think that people should let people believe what they want and feel the way they want to, even if they don't feel the same way I feel. I want to know how you feel about the picture on page 637. I am still very perplexed about this comic/image. 

Being Observant

       I have really appreciated the works we have read in The Granite Pail, by Lorine Nedecker. The poem that I have grown close to is possibly Watching Dancers on Skates. 

Ten thousand women

and I         

            the only one 

                                          in boots

Life's dance:               

they meet

                           he holds her leg

                                          up

      I feel like I could be that other person in the poem. In my opinion, the poem is about this awkward girl who just wants to fit in. I have often been "that girl". I have been the one who wasn't as good as the others. I wasn't as pretty as all of the rest. I feel like I can compare my life to this poem in many ways. 
     I have always been the girl on the side lines. I have always been more of an observer. When people do things, I tend to watch. I like noticing all of the intricate movements of the people or whatever they are doing. Sometimes I journal about all of the things that are going on around me. One of my recent journal entries are about how the leaves are changing and the weather is changing. I noticed how the animals have all gone away. and the leaves were fleeing from their home, the tree. 
      I have always been an observer as you could tell. 
      I really like her poetry. She is a very interesting poet. I have heard nothing but complaining from almost everyone in the class, but I really like it. She is honestly a genius. She has inspired me to start writing more original poetry. 

Gender Roles and Rape

         As I was thinking about what I should write my blog post about I remembered back to Jamaica Kincaid's Girl. I remembered how overly dramatic this article was about what girls were supposed to do. I also remember and reflected on how her life and society was in the Caribbean. She lived in the society that the men did everything. Women were pretty much made to have children and hope to God that the children were male. Women in her society were taken advantage of. They were placed in the home for cooking, cleaning and pleasing their men, not only sexually but overall as well. 
      Women were placed into the hands of men for countless generations. Thinking back in time, women were the care takers. They looked after the children, prepared meals for the family and made sure everything was running smoothly. This frustrates me today, because in our society, it is socially acceptable to be a single parent. My mother was a single parent to me from the ages 2-7. She left my dad leaving my dad a single parent too. We had my visits with my father every weekend, Friday to Sunday night. This article made me think and reflect about what my life would be like if my parents would have stayed together. I thought about how my dad would have taught me how to ride a bike and maybe my mom would have taught me how to braid. I think I would have ended up much more of a girly girl than I am today. 
       In today's society people are taken advantage of way too much. According to nmcasp.org 36% of all people will be raped by the age of 21, While about 41% of people will be sexually assaulted my the age 21. This is next statistic is very horrifying because most of the students at SLC are in fact female. Savp.vassar.edu took a survey of everyone on campus and 1 in every 6 females were victims of some type of sexual assault in the preceding semester. This is even scarier. 42% of the women that were surveyed admitted to having sex with the offender. 
       I feel like I could go on for hours and hours about this topic, but I should probably stop before I get ahead of myself. I am very headstrong about my views on this topic. I am definitely a feminist. I will admit, I stand up for everyone, but females especially. I really appreciate debating. So comment something that may make me re-think what I said or make me challenge my views. Thanks!
~ Dawn

Public or Private.

         While I was reading Gattos essay, Against School, I came across a very interesting question. "What exactly is the purpose of our public schools?" I honestly had to stop and think about that question. I can say that I stopped reading at that point for the night. I decided that I needed to figure out what exactly is the purpose of public schools. In my opinion the purpose of public schools is not to teach but to brainwash you. Since I've been going to a public school since 3rd grade, I noticed that its a lot different than a private school.  In a public environment there are a lot more students to every teacher. My classes at my other school were about 9 students to every teacher. I had 17-21 students to a teacher at the public school level. Yes, public schooling is a lot more affordable than private school who charges about 250-500 per semester while public is about 50 per year. I feel that in a private school setting, everyone is treated fairly equally because they all enforce a dress code or uniform. In many public schools there is a dress code but not a uniform. Seeing that public schools do not have uniforms, the rate of bullying is triple the amount of bullying in a public school versus a private school. In a private school setting, the teachers are more "in tune" to what their specific student needs to be successful because of the small class sizes. In a public school setting, the teachers are told how to teach their class. It does not matter to the public school system if the student cannot learn that way. They force the student to suffer. I feel like private schooling is a better choice, but it is unfortunate that it is so costly. If you can afford it, send your children to private schools, where they will be treated like an individual not a number.
~ Dawn

Blogging.

         Blogging is fairly new to me. I've always been a writer. I write about everything. I write about how I'm feeling, or just random topics in my journal. I guess that this blog will be kind of a "no-brainier" to me because instead of me writing everything out, I'm just typing it all. So, I'm Dawn and this is my blog for my composition class. We are required to blog about or assignments so if you're into that sort of thing feel free to follow this blog as I'm venturing into the crazy world of Comp-Land. 
       I attend Silver Lake College in Manitowoc Wisconsin and am planning on majoring in Vocal Performance and Special Education with an emphasis in Autism Studies. I plan on minoring in English as well. This is strictly going to be about school. If you would like, you can follow my private blog, dawnjenaywelling.blogspot.com if you are interested to know my day to day life. 
Thanks!
Peace and all that Jazz!
Dawn