Toulmin Teacher Argument

How can we raise the status of teachers in the United States? In this article Zeke Vanderhoek states that we need to pay them more, give them "autonomy," and "encourage professional growth." I completely agree with his philosophy. We need to raise the quality of teachers in order to raise their status, and if we do these three things for the teachers we could end up with a much better education system. Teachers do not feel like they are important. Sure, they are teaching the young minds of America, but how much of that do they have input on? Teachers do not have the freedom to be able to teach the way they want to. In schools today, teachers are given clear goals, strict curriculum, minimum freedom, and in turn, they are not teaching to the best of their abilities. Most teachers know their students: what they want, what they feel, how they learn. The people picking the curriculum do not know anything about this generation of kids. They should not be the only people that pick the material that kids learn; the teachers should be able to have a say in the matter, too. Vanderhoek also proposed that teachers should "observe and learn from talented peers in other classrooms." At school there are some teachers that are wonderful: they teach the material, they keep the kids interested, they motivate the kids, but there are other teachers that haven't got a clue about how to actually "teach." Those are the teachers that would exceptionally benefit from observing other teachers. By seeing how the good teachers interact with kids, the other teachers would learn what works for kids, what needs to be changed in their lessons, and how to better future lessons. Vanderhoek also stated that teachers should be paid more. In the world that we live in today money is extremely important. More money would make the teachers have more motivation. At school teachers are always complaining about the small amount of money they make, but if this was increased they would have less to complain about. Some may say that if teachers were given more freedom that they would not teach what students need to learn. But if they are still given "clear goals" about what needs to be taught this would not be the case. They would simply have more freedom so that they could choose the way that they teach their given material. This proposal will increase the quality of current teachers. If the quality of current teachers is increased, then the quality of students is increased. If the quality of students is increased, then the quality of future teachers is increased. If the quality of future teachers is increased, then the status of teachers in the United States rises.

"The Great Gatsby" Essay

Fitzgerald's reflective hopelessness expresses that the world, now cluttered and gloomy, has lost its opportunity to get to the promising future. No matter how hard we try, we cannot make the future what we want it to be, we have already passed the best times.

The diction used in the passage shows polar opposites. The new world is "inessential," "dark," "obscure." The old "island" was "flowered," a "green breast" with "enchanted" opportunities. It was full of beautiful nature, hopeful dreams, wonderful possibilities. But in the new world nothing seems possible: everything is very gloomy, brooding, negative. There used to be such a beautiful place, but it is gone now. It has been replaced with the "inessential" things of the new world.

In the last two paragraphs Fitzgerald uses syntax and metaphor to pin down his point: we are trying so hard to get to the future, but we keep getting pushed back. We won't make it. We are "boats against the current;" no matter how hard we try we just keep losing ground. We can't seem to go forward. Right before he uses this metaphor he uses really powerful syntax. Right in the middle of a very positive, powerful, pleasing sentence, he stops. He doesn't even finish his thought. The beginning of the sentence expresses the positive attitude that we have to have to try to make it to the future, but the abrupt stop shows his pessimistic attitude towards the future. The hyphenated stop proves that he thinks we will never make it to a good, happy future; we have already passed the best of times.

We are trying to get the best out of the future, but according to the passage Fitzgerald believes that the best time was the past, and the future is impossible to achieve. He has no hope for us to have a good future, because the past was such a wonderful place. But we continue to try to achieve our dream, even if it is long gone.

Is Property Bad?

I qualify Forster's point of view in My Wood. He states that property "makes [him] feel heavy," and a "restlessness comes over him" when he owns property. He makes it seem like property does that to everyone, no matter what. I agree that property can make people feel "heavy," but I don't necessarily think that it has to have that effect on people. I don't think it is bad to own property if it is not lauded like it is a god. Some people treat their property better than they treat other people; that is not right, but if property is merely property I don't see anything wrong with it.

3rd Nine Weeks Book List

I read 3 books, the equivalent of 6 books.

• Tess of the d'Urbervilles (p. 384...3 books)
• Change of Heart (p. 447...2 books)
• Private (p. 227...1 book)

I really enjoyed Private by Kate Brian. The book is about Reed Brennen, a smart, poor girl that gets the chance of a lifetime: to get away from her mom and go to a prestigious private school. She immediately realizes that she does not belong; she is an outsider. When she discovers the Billings Girls she is enthralled. She desperately wants to be in this clique, but even though they look perfect, they really have dark secrets. I enjoyed this book because it is the typical teenage girl book part of the time, but other times it is a mystery.