To Blog or Not to Blog...

To blog or not to blog; this is the question that has been brought about in the first quarter of US history honors; rhetorically speaking that is. The system of blogging rather than writing assignments via pen and paper is a major innovation that has been made in the education system. To me this is an obvious and needed innovation. We are in the 21st century, so why not take full advantage of the technological advances that have been made. If we sit around writing all our work with a quill, what good does that do us. We will always have to use paper and ink, however we need to become accustom to using the mediums of expression that are available to us in the new age of technology.

I fully agree with the blogging assessment used in this class for that reason. Not only are we being taught about history and independently learning and writing about the information needed in the class. But we are also learning how to use a new medium of expression that is a blog. Being able to understand what a blog is, and how it works will help us later in life. No matter what the job we have, it will be vital that we understand fully how to use the technology that is presented to us. That is what the US history class is doing for us.

Without the blogging system in this class, i feel that our teacher would be doing a injustice to us. By not teaching us, and allowing us to express ourselves via the mediums that are available to us in this the 21st century, teachers are forcing us to remain in the past. We have to be ready for the future. The blogging system is preparing us for the future that lies ahead of us.

Without blogging, not only would the students in this class be worse off for the future, but in all honesty, i believe that less work would get done. Students are more apt to do there work when it is different and interesting. The blogging system offers students a new and interesting way to express themselves. Students are presented with a whole new medium to do so.

All in all i agree with the blogging system used in this class. I believe that it offers students a new and exciting way to go about their work. At the same time i believe that it is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom. The blogging system should stay.

Tech Savy or Ink happy?

We are living in the 21st century. A time when the pen and paper are becoming obsolete, and computers, Ipads, and many other forms of technology are taking over. Due to this i feel that it is important for us as students to take advantage and use these new technologies. Blogging has taught me a lot that i would have not learned otherwise. Through blogging i have learned a sense of independence and also began to take pride in my work. It is a whole new world of learning when the things we write are being put onto the internet for all to read. Blogging has transformed my writing from a mere assingment which i do for school, and into something that i enjoy doing, and something that i take pride in. I am very glad that this is the form of writing done in class. Aside from all the history i have learned through blogging, i have also learned a lot about blogging itself. All this information will be incredibly useful to me later in life. Blogging has provide a whole new medium of expression for me; no longer are my words being transfered from me to the teacher. Now the words i write, ang the thoughts that i expressar are being transfered from me, to whomever cares to read.

If i had to choose just one...

After a long 9 weeks, it is hard to look back and to choose just one blog topic and say it was my favorite. Looking back, there were so many blog topics that i enjoyed writing about. Whether it was the process of looking into the question deeper, and finding out more about it; or the actual process of writing the blog, most all the topics were enjoyable for me to write about. However, if i had to go back and choose just one as my favorite, it would be the very first blog topic. The question was ""History is the lie commonly agreed upon." What did Voltaire mean by this quote?" This topic really hit home with me when i wrote about it. It is so interesting to look back and to really try and understand what people throughout history have felt about how history itself is recorded. People such as Voltaire and Napoleon Bonaparte have been quoted saying how history is all a lie, and that people in the future may never truly know what happened in the past. This is so wrong, and so fundamental to the study of history. This is why that was my favorite blog topic so far.

The Immigrant Experience

The immigrants coming into the United States at the turn of the century must have had a lot of expectations. Coming from a place were they were being abused, and could not live a safe and fair life, they came into the United States in search of freedoms, and in search of opportunities. When they got off the ships that brought them here i would imagine that they were very relieved that they had arrived in such a place, and also very happy and thankful to be here. Going into Elis Island, the immigrants must have been totally in shock. The richness and beauty of Elis Island would be unlike what they had ever seen before. The immigrants would have been thrilled, and thankful for the opportunities they would have; however they did not know what they had in store. Once the immigrants arrived in NYC for there "new lives" they would have had a whole now world in store to them. A world of filth, and crime. Opportunities or not, the immigrants had a very tough life in the United States, for a very long time.

The Woes of Factory Workers.

The lives of factory workers were unlike the experiences of people today. In today's world, there are laws and regulations regarding the treatment of workers, and the conditions of work places; in the 1800s there was not. In "The Song of the Shirt" we can see perfectly what the lives of these man and woman working in factories was like. The people working in these factories, making clothes and other goods, were the poorest of poor. These people were immigrants, who could not get jobs anywhere else. Due to this, the factory managers were able to take advantage of there workers. They would work long days; and when i say long, i do not mean working a 8 hour day in a air conditioned office like many people in today's world, i mean 14 hour days. These long days were spent without air conditioning, or without ventilation of any kind. These people were worked without much food or water, until they were mere zombies of there work. The song states that there minds began "to swim." This is a perfect example of how awful the factories were. These people worked there bones dry, for little pay, and no benefits whatsoever. Was this the better opportunities they came here for?