Expectations and Response to SAW chpt. 4

I expect chapter 4 to cover argument synthesis. I expect it to give many examples and stratagies for how to write an arguement synthesis. I learned what a synthesis was in chapter three so I expect this to get further into depth what an argument synthesis is. I learned that you should have your claim, support and assumptions in your synthesis. I was shown different examples of how to suppport your claim with assumptions and facts. I also learned that you should organize your examples and evidence in order of anticipated impact on the reader, from least to greatest

Essay #2, Rough Draft

Is it right for one student to be accepted to a college because their parents are alumni of that school and not just on their credentials? Or if their parents have donated large amounts of money? Or further more if a student who has better grades and credentials does not get in to the same school because they did not have a parent who in an alumni or have donated money. George Leef, George W. Bush, and Peter Schmidt feel that Legacy Admissions is unfair.

Schmidt looks at a study done by researchers at Princeton University and it looks at statistics of legacy students. He says how colleges that are more selective in admissions and are most committed to admitting the children of alumni have the highest dropout rates among students. He pointed out that besides legacy admitted students at these colleges, other students that received special consideration on their applications are athletes and minorities. Statistically he showed that legacies actually were on top by rank in the grade point category with an average GPA of 3.26 compared with 3.12 for athletes and 3.05 for minorities. He closed by saying that he does not feel that legacy students should be given the same special consideration as athletes or minorities.

Back in 2004 President George W. Bush talked about legacy admissions. This marked the first time that legacy admissions had been discussed in the White House. Bush came out and said that he feels the reason a student should be admitted to a college should be based on merit. Bush, followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by attending Yale University. He did not have the best grades in college, (C average). At a commencement speech at Yale in 2001, Bush told the C students that they to could one day become the President of the United States. Bush Acknowledged his ties to Yale and that he was probably under review for admission as a legacy.

In a video interview, George Leef gave his opinion on legacy admissions. He does not agree with legacy admissions. He feels that they give an unfair advantage to students over ones who may have better grades or maybe have worked harder. He says how legacy defenders argue that there is nothing wrong with keeping a family line at a University, especially since added revenue makes it possible for schools to give more financial aid to students from poorer families. But how true is that? He brought up an interesting statistic in that three elite schools that are big on legacy preferences – Harvard, Princeton, and Yale – rank near the bottom when it comes to the percentage of students from poorer families.

It is clear that all three of these sources do not agree with legacy admissions. They feel it is definetly unfair to students who may not be admitted over a legacy. Even though there are alot of people who disagree with legacy admissions, nothing is being done about it. But is there anything that can be done?

Video for Legacy Admissions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=actn2KyD4E0

Annotated Bibliography- Legacy Admissions

In Peter Schmidt's article, "Children Of Alumni Are Uniquely Harmed By Admissions Preferences, Study Finds", published in The chronicle of higher education, Schmidt argues that students who are admitted to cherished schools due to legacies and have lower grades than a normal student at that school, have done worse in school than a normal student. He backs this up with the fact that schools that are the most committed to acepting children of alumni have the highest dropout rates. The studies showed that even students who had extra consideration in admissions because they were an athlete or a minority still did not have the academic trouble that legacy students had. Barmak Nassirian, and Executive director of the American Association Of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers was quoted saying "just pile on more evidence that institutions ought to take a careful look at what they are doing on legacies."

http://chronicle.com/cgi-bin/printable.cgi?article=http://chronicle.com/weekly

Expectations and Response th SAW, Chpt. 3

I expect chapter three to cover and explain what explanatory synthesis is. I have never heard of explanatory synthesis so I am curious as to what the chapter might cover. I learned what a synthesis is, and more importantly what an explanatory synthesis is. I learned that it is a type of writing. Like an arumentative paper. I also learned that in a explanatory synthesis that you need to keep your opinion out of the paper. This is tough but it is your job to just present the information and only the authors opinions. You are to be subjective in your writing. I feel this will help me from now on in school when I am to write about only information.

Rough Draft

What is the best setting for high school students to learn in, one where it is only single sex, or co-ed? There has been some controversy as to whether segregating students by gender produces a better learning environment than co-education. One opinion on this topic comes from Ellen Goodman, who is a Pulitzer prize winning columnist, author, and speaker. Also authors Robert P Parker, Bobby H Hoffman, and Barbara A Badgett show a different perspective.
In "Same-Sex classes Are a Step Back", Goodman claims that single sex education is not a good alternative to the regular co-ed public schools. She claims that how we live today in a society where gender equality is very normal and that should not change at the public school level. She states that young people need to get used to functioning in a co-ed world.
In "The Effect of Single-Sex Instruction in a Large, Urban, At-Risk High School", the other three author’s article, they conducted a two year study comparing a Single Sex Instruction (SSI) and a coeducation (CE). They claim that teachers felt that the SSI environment was more conducive for learning. They also found that SSI, compared to CE, is beneficial to students with short-, and long-term academic achievement.
These differing points of view on Single-Sex education do have some in common. The three authors reported evidence that there were no measurable differences in performance between SSI and CE, which would agree with Ellen Goodman’s point of view. Even though teachers felt that SSI created a better learning environment, students disagreed, which concurs with Goodman’s idea of living in a co-ed world.
Obviously the authors come to different conclusions, with Goodman feeling that bringing kids up in a co-ed environment will help them for the real world. Whereas the Parker, Hoffman, and Badgett, conclude that SSI is, at least statistically, a better format for education.
The bottom line of all this is that there will always be two sides of the fence on any topic, but SSI will always be the minority because public schools will never conform to the point where they make such dramatic changes.

Expectations and Response to SAW, Chapter 2

I expect to learn various ways to read critically and the right things to look for while I read and maybe things I should not look forso I do not focus on topics in the reading that may not be as important. I think I will gather tools to help me read more intently. I expect to learn about the correct way to critique what I read.
I actually learned a lot from the reading about how to read critically. I learned the steps you should take to be successful. You should determine how accurate the information is by checking with government publications and how significant the reading is. I learned how to write critiques. The five steps to organize a critique are, the introduction, summary, assessment of the presentation, your response and your conclusion. This reading will come in handy in the future.