Topic: Censorship in High Schools


Purpose: Why should great literature be kept from young adults in need of education? Are high school students ready for the material present in some literature/novels? How do we expect teenagers to grow up if we shelter them from books that speak of the truth in the world?


Audience: H.S Teachers, Students, Authors (famous and inspiring) The audience is passionate about the argument for and against censorship. It has been an ongoing debate for years.


Context: The Controversy- Parents disturbed by material, teachers fight to teach the great words of great authors, School board put in the middle of the fight, Students too sheltered? Fear to sparking conversation amongst young adults.

Purpose Statement:

My purpose for writing this essay is to compare and contrast the different authors of the articles’ opinions on the issues of technology, globalization, and education as that apply to the broader issue of the modern work world.

Design Plan:

Statergies: I will use the strategy of reading through the essays to see what the strongest points were and how I could support them with material from the article.

Media: This essay is being written from the subject material of printed articles and it is a synthesis essay for my College Writing 2 class.

Arrangement: My arrangement will be the standard: Intro, Body, Conclusion set up. For the body paragraphs, my arrangement will consist of me introducing the author, their work, and the quotation/paraphrase. Then I will further develop what the material is saying.

Communication: I will develop the communication through beginning my synthesis statements like, “Both authors believed..”

Testing: I will read my essay aloud to family or friends in order to get their opinions of how the essay flows all together and what thoughts it sparks about the topic of work.

 

Caitlyn Quinlan

Professor Wielgos

College Writing 2

April 13, 2015

Embrace the Change

            Education is one of the longest and most extensive processes that Americans go through. For those who graduate high school and are lucky enough to receive a college education go on to even more schooling. Here is where the questions students have to ask themselves become more difficult. What major should I choose? What job do I want? What am I going to do with my life? These four years are the student’s time to make important life decisions in order to get them where they want to be. But, this is not where the process ends. The articles from the book, “Writing in the Disciplines”, express that with the constant changes taking place in the work world today, everyone must learn to grow with the changes. If they don’t, they will not find a place in the modern day work culture. There are many different aspects of change that the authors of these articles speak about, including, the improvements of technology, the issue of globalization, and our constant need to be educated.

            Technology is an obvious attribute to the change in the world people live and work in. There are constant updates and discoveries in our technological world. As a result, it is extremely important for all people to familiarize themselves with as much knowledge of technological advances as possible. In the article, “I Feel So Damn Lucky!” by Tom Peters, he expresses his encouragement for people to adapt to the developments technology brings about. He claims that people, “need not be a technologist perse, but [people] must embrace technology. ‘Coping’ with it is not enough”. (Peters 162) This quote insists that in order to truly stay ahead of the changing game, everyone has to continue to grow with the transformations, not just accept the change. Richard W. Judy and Carol D’ Amico discuss their opinion of technology and its ever present, but always changing impact of the work world in the article entitled, “Work And Workers in the Twenty-First Century.” They declare that the creation and use of newer products will very possibly form more jobs than the original technology might get rid of. (Judy and D’Amico 165) This leaves the hope that technology will help to not only make jobs, but also increase the number of jobs. The Economist endorses the same belief as Judy and D’Amico in his article, “Into the Unknown.” He believes that since the machines can perform the same task as humans for a cheaper cost, the higher demand for goods and services will spark new businesses run by entrepreneurs who need employees. (The Economist 176) The growth of business will be a huge help in decreasing job insecurities. Technology has come a very long way in the past several decades, and it is improving rapidly in the present day. All of these authors see technology as a growing source that people have to go along with in order to come out on the successful side of things.

            Secondly, the topic of globalization is widely discussed as an issue for Americans in search of good jobs. Judy and D’Amico discuss the subject of globalization in their article, “Work and Workers in the Twenty-First Century.” They find that American workers will, “compete for jobs and wages not just with their counterparts across town or in other parts of the U.S., but also with low-skilled workers around the globe.” (Judy and D’Amico 166) Their view on globalization helps to enforce the fact that change is occurring and Americans have to be more prepared than ever to fight for the jobs they want. Thomas L. Freidman expresses his understandings of this issue in his article, “The Untouchables”. The title explains much of what he believes is necessary for Americans to receive and keep the jobs they desire. He asserts that there are jobs in which people can have some stability or as he puts it, “anchored” into the job. He communicates that, “regardless of [the] worker’s level of sophistication, their wages will be set by the local market forces of supply and demand.” (Friedman 172) To further explain his point, it is possible to find a steady job where your salary relies on the demand of the product or service you work in. Both Judy and D’Amico and Friedman speak of wages and job security. They each believe that in today’s world, jobs are wanted badly by a lot of people. Judy and D’Amico state that competition is in full swing, whereas Friedman holds that there are still jobs out there that will guarantee stability. There is absolute truth to both claims.

            Education is another aspect that is changing in the world today. Thomas L. Friedman believes that students need to, “reorient what they are learning and educators how they are teaching it.” (Friedman 171) This aids to provoke discussion of updating how and what we learn as students. The world is continually changing, so education must change with it for growth to last. Alan S. Blinder also speaks on the topic of education by discussing his belief that student’s imaginations and people skills, such as communication, need to be further developed through their elementary and secondary educations. The world is increasing in, “personally delivered services”. (Blinder 12) Social skill training needs to become even more prevalent in school systems than it already is, to insure well developed people skills in future workers. Both Friedman and Blinder speak of the need for change in the education system in order to better the knowledge and skills of the future generations. This will help them be prepared for the unpredictable work life they have in store.

In conclusion, people need to use their years in college to prepare themselves for a new type of work environment, one where they don’t always know what comes next. One of the only consistent things about the work world and the world in general is that change is happening all the time. Technology is rapidly improving and new discoveries are being made, globalization is a fear consuming American workers, and education is in need of being updated. College is the time for students to discover what their good at, what their passionate about, and what their calling or vocation is. Yet, it is also time for them to learn the necessary skills and lessons essential for them to be a good employee and an excellent addition to the ever-changing work force they will one day join.

Works Cited

Blinder, Alan S. “Will Your Job Be Exported?” Writing in the Disciplines. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Arthur Rosen. Boston, 2011. 8-13. Print.

Economist, The. “Into the Unknown.” Writing in the Disciplines. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Arthur Rosen. Boston, 2011. 175-78. Print.

Friedman, Thomas L. “The Untouchables” Writing in the Disciplines. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Arthur Rosen. Boston, 2011. 169-72. Print.

Judy, Richard W. and Carol D’Amico. “Work and Workers in the Twenty-First Century.” Writing in the Disciplines. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Arthur Rosen. Boston, 2011. 163-68. Print.

Peters, Tom. “I Feel So Damn Lucky!” Writing in the Disciplines. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Arthur Rosen. Boston, 2011. 160-63. Print.

Sennett, Richard. “No Long Term: New Work and the Corrosion of Character.” Writing in the Disciplines. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Arthur Rosen. Boston, 2011. 150-59. Print.

 

Reflection:

I believe that my purpose statement was accomplished in my essay. I also think I did a good job at using the strategies and arrangement I put in my design plan. I think, overall, I did a good job at synthesizing the author’s claims and statements, but there were some that were more difficult to analyze that others.