Some resources for syllabus work.
- Workshop Powerpoint
- The official office of instruction syllabus guidelines (remember to distinguish between required and recommended!).
A few sample syllabi:
08/10/2018
05/27/2017
Hope's Portfolio
Before taking the English 100 with Professor Sullivan I was sitting in the Academic Testing Center at MiraCosta College about to see what English class I needed to take. I was very nervous as I knew my reading, writing, and grammar needed a lot of improvement. After I took the test I was expecting to be told to enter in one of the lower levels of English but to my surprise, I was told that I tested into English 100 which is the highest one can test into. Excited with this news I signed up for my English class wondering what would happen. I can now proudly report that my writing has immensely improved. While I still struggle with grammar, it has been easier to spot my errors. I have been in the process of trying to teach myself how to check grammatical errors and now after this semester, I can spot most of them. I was able to learn new writing styles and have an appreciation for English and literature. One of my favorite methods that Professor Sullivan showed the class was to read backward. Reading backward means to start with the last sentence and read just that, then add on the sentence before it and so on. Doing this breaks up one's brain from the routine of reading the same paper or blog post that one might have been agonizing over. Four blog post that I have been agonizing over are the following below.
A Slave to Work
The movie titled, “The Devil Wears Prada” suggests that we should work at one job to get our dream job faster but is this really for the best? Andy, played by Anne Hathaway, works for Runway a fashion industry which she cares nothing about. Andy starts working for Runway because she knows it will create a name for her to help her get the real job she wants. Her plan was to work for one year at Runway and then apply to her dream job of being a journalist because “after working there for a year you are able to get any job you want”. After she lost her friends she realized that she has become a slave to her job. Andy evaluates if staying at Runway for a year to gain her dream job is worth the cost of losing her friends and boyfriend. She never thought through this work she would compromise who she really was and what she believed in. Quitting her job she searches for a new one and happens to get it by a good word put in by her boss at Runway. She worked for less time than she expected got the job she wanted but almost lost her friends and boyfriend. This movie shows that no matter what our work is or our reason for work, it is not worth losing friends.
The Three Dimensional Life
Martin Luther King Jr. speaks on life, that to have a full life it must be three-dimensional. The three dimensions, which is length, breadth, and height. As a Christian growing up going to church, I feel that my height has always strong as God is the center of my life. All I do is in credit to Him and every breath is His. The Breath that King speaks about is one I am continually working on. Serving others is what I always tried to do and on Monday, May 29th, 2017 I will be leaving to serving the Church on a mission trip to Germany. I am called not to be served but to serve others and I am ecstatic for the opportunity to go on a mission trip to serve. For Christians Jesus is the King and He came to earth to save all people from the fires of hell. During Jesus’ time here on earth, it is recorded that he ate with sinners and he the King washed the disciple's feet which were the lowest task for the servant. In future years to come, I hope I can be humble like Jesus gaining the Breath. The last one, which should have been the first, is length. To follow the first part of the command to love your neighbor as yourself. I have always viewed this as respecting yourself, believing in yourself. If you do not respect yourself it will be hard to respect others and for others to respect you. I feel confident in all three of these areas but balance is needed between these three equally measuring them out. In future years I wish to have a better balance between them.
Almost There
In the song “Almost There”, from Princess and the Frog, Tiana clearly shows that her reason to work was not to share her gift of cooking but to bring people together creating a community. The video shows her creativity as the camera pans past a table full of her cooking. Tiana shares her smile making everyone smile as she passes them. In the video we see her helping the staff, cooks, and serves the guest showing that she is not just a boss but a leader not afraid to do the lower work. Tiana brings happiness and joy to those around her spicing up their day. This song has an upbeat tempo and jazz rhythm that one can tap their feet to. Then towards the end of the song, it slows down some for more of a solemn part of the song then it quickly picks back up to the final few measures with satisfying jazzy conclusion. The contents of this song can easily be seen when one watches the movie. As a little girl, she would cook food for when her dad came home from work. When her dad tasted her good cooking he would invite all the neighbors over “Hey Y'all come on in Tina made some Gumbo”. The neighbors would gather around to eat some of her food and through this, a close community was built. This was Tina’s fondest memory of her family and ever since then, she was always working hard to become a restaurant owner to share her cooking just like her dad showed her when she was younger. Tiana knew that she would have to “work real hard each and every day” to have her restaurant but her passion to create a community was greater than her trials. I agree with her reason to work because she works to bring happiness to others. She doesn't want to see what she can get from the world and the people around her but rather she wants to see what she can give to others. I admire Tina and her dedication to pursue her dream regardless of what others say about her. While this is the typical Disney themed movie to pursue your dream, it demonstrates that wishing on stars is not what will get you to your dream, but rather dedication and perseverance will lead you to your destination.
05/26/2017
Appreciation For Education
Bains perfect world is one where people are experts in one area but have a broad knowledge of all subjects. Bain will never be able to see this happen as it is an unreasonable request. No one can be an expert overnight, it is a process that takes many years and it never stops as everything in life is continually changing. Teachers, for example, have to continually adapt how they teach to accommodate the different ways their students learn. Because each person is unique teachers will constantly have to expand their way of educating the children learning to master meeting each child's needs. For me the perfect school system would be one that valued character above knowledge. The perfect school system would teach General Education in High School instead of college. I would want an education that taught to appreciate all areas of school, history, science, math and philosophy. One does not need to become an expert in one of the areas but have an appreciation for it and the impact it has had on their lives. The high school program would have a class on the past to the future which is durring first semester what the ancient historians and mathemagician were doing and how they did it. Then the second year is on present times from the beginning of america to current events. The third year focuses on the future of the students, the world, and the students effects on the world. The fourth and final year is evaluating the past, present, and future and how it all affects you and how you will use this new knowledge. I do agree with Bain in that we need to have a broad knowledge. Rather than being experts in the different subjects I think we should have an appreciation for the different subjects.
Further Research
Ancient Roman Aqueducts. An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. Roman Aqueducts assisted us to modern engineering, any system of pipes, ditches, canals, and tunnels.
Around 240 B.C. Eratosthenes discovered the circumference of the earth using two stick and his brains. He knew the earth was round along with Aristotle and Plato.
Using geometry the Greeks created a masterpiece Mosaic. The mosaic is all circles and relates to the geometry book Euclid Elements this affects the patterns we now have on quilts, blankets, clothes, and laptop screens and covers.
Disneyland Tour Guide
Many years ago I set a goal for myself, which is to every day make someone else laugh or at least smile. Kindness is contagious and if I am able to make someone smile then I can end my day with a smile because I helped make someone else's day a little bit brighter. My dream job is to be a Tour Guide for Disneyland! This job would be wonderful because I would be getting paid to take a group of people around the Disney Park informing them about the park which is what I currently do when I visit Disneyland with my friends. My friends call me their tour guide because I always tell them facts about the rides and the history of Disneyland. I have started to write in my notebook all that I know about Disneyland, creating my own guide book. Disneyland tour guides take a group of people around the park to different special location and they can get on rides faster. When you are not giving tours you are at the City Hall or at one of the Information Booths answering any questions about wait times, parade times, and giving buttons. Disneyland has several different tours but one of the most popular tours is, “Walking in Walt’s Footsteps”. This tour takes you around the park to the Disneyland historical landmarks and to Walt Disney’s bench where he used to sit while watching the guest enjoy this creation he made.When I was younger, my favorite thing to do at Disneyland was to search for the Hidden Mickey’s. A Hidden Mickey is a representation of Mickey Mouse which has been subtly put on rides throughout the park and in Disney movies. I would always point out the hidden Mickeys, making sure everyone who was with me saw where it was. This was the spark which started the flame for my passion for becoming a tour guide for the Walt Disney company. I started to discover Disneyland's history and Walt's journey to becoming famous. From then on I have become more enthusiastic about Disneyland, seeking to learn about the Happiest Place on Earth. The main reason why working as a Tour Guide is still my dream job is because of a goal I set for myself in life that if I could be the part of the reason someone smiled or laughed then no matter what happens the rest of that day, it was still a good day.
Introduction To Hospitality
If one is interested in the hospitality industry hospitality industry the book “Introduction to Hospitality” gives an inciteful overview to all the different areas of hospitality and the history of hotels, motels, the impact of cars and planes on traveling, and how to run the best event. It has how the different fields started and grew how the businesses are run. If one wanted to go into Hotel management this book has what the job generally entails, giving a knowledge that others who are not in the management industry would know. At the end of each chapter, there is a case study which gives you the opportunity to apply what you have learned and solve the issue at hand. I am considering going into Hospitality, which is why I am reading through this book (also it is required for my hospitality class), and the information is endless. It is filled with so much information and gives me more of a scene as to what hospitality is all about.
A Practically Perfect Place to Study
In the book, What the Best College Students do by Ken Bain, one would expect it to be full of study tips, and in chapter eight the readers hit the gold mine as Bain gives practical study tips and advice. This post zooms in on one study tip in particular, which is to study in different places to help enhance your learning. It has been said, that if you try to study in the same spot where you eat, your brain recognizes that spot as a place of eating and not studying, therefore distracting yourself from your studies as brains send signals of hunger to your body. I know this fact to be true, as I did not take heed to this warning, but rather I study in the same spot which I eat and this would explain my all the sudden desire for food whenever I try to study. If eating and studying in the same place has an effect, I was curious as to what the effect of having different study spots would be so I decided to experiment with this study tip. Bain says that when studying you should not have just one study spot but rather you should have two. He mentions an experiment between two groups of kids who were trying to memorize words. Group A, studied in one spot and group B, switched between two different study spots. At the end of the experiment group B, who had more than one study spot, ended up being able to memorize the most words. “If you study in different places, that helps create variety, and that rich experience can reinforce what you are learning” (pg 247). For my experiment, I picked two study spots, the table in the kitchen (which I could also stand at to do school) and the floor in the living room. Throughout the week I switched study spots whenever I was feeling tired or if I started to feel uncomfortable in that position. After the week was done I noticed that through switching study spaces, I was able to pay more attention and keep awake, which in turn helps me study and recall information. In the future, I will keep changing between two different study spaces but I may change the floor location to something less numbing for the legs.
Further research on how to get the most out of studying.
Psychological and Biological Factors Influencing Your Study Results http://www.distancelearningportal.com/articles/262/psychological-and-biological-factors-influencing-your-study-results.html
Rapunzel’s Study Tips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15RLoRiIOz8
Walt Disney World Ambient Study Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNt1vKWOzIk&list=PLT1ZM6DqrUH0wBn56SyQhpIWKF1AC1TbA
Dress For Success
https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/12/03/do-your-outfits-affect-your-grades/
Jim Sullivan
Teacher / Learner
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