Reflective Letter
This page is a reflection on all of the work that I have done throughout the semester in my Writing, Research, and Technology class. I will be using blog post's that I have submitted over the course of the semester to show what I have learned and gained from this course in the many aspects of Writing, Reasearch, and Technology.
Writing
Paris to the Moon: Gopnik
Even though I felt Gopnik’s style of writing tended to be a bit confusing throughout his story I was able to really relate too many of his experiences. A main theme he talks about is change, his transition from one life to another. In his case moving his life from the thriving city of New York to its equivalent in Europe Paris. Gopink discusses the many differences he has encountered in France that vary from the ways of America. I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks this past summer traveling all over the country of France, with one of the stops being Paris. While reading the story I was able to relate the descriptions of certain locations and understand the problems he encountered while living in France. I laughed because it made me think of the numerous fights I had with converters while traveling over there. My most memorable one would have to be the first night we arrived in Belgium, France. We were staying in the small family ran hotel in the middle of the beautiful town of Bastogne. We were all exhausted from our day of traveling and were rotating taking turns showering, which in this case the showers were bathtubs with no shower curtains. So I finish up my shower and I plug my converter in and proceed to dry my hair. About 5 minutes into drying my hair I start to smell smoke I turn to where I had my converter plugged in and within second the whole thing blew up! I knocked out all of the lights in the entire hotel. It was mortifying; to say the least I was a lot more careful about finding out the wattage of the converters for the rest of the trip.
Overall, I found this piece insightful and interesting. I enjoyed hearing his comparisons between New York and Paris and being able to relate all of his issues. He allowed for the audience to see his comical but meaningful struggles he had while traveling that in change opened his mind to a new budding way of life. "There are two kinds of travelers. There is the kind who goes to see what there is to see, and the kind who has an image in his head and goes out to accomplish it. The first visitor has an easier time, but I think the second visitor sees more." This quote alludes that a person who is traveling just to take pictures and have a good time will indeed enjoy themselves, but a traveler who sets out to understand and encompass the culture of where they are traveling will gain more then they will ever expect.
Billy the Kid: Ondaatje
Well I have to say this story was different and quite bizarre to be honest. I took it that there were a variety of different narrators throughout the story, which in some aspects got me extremely confused. One thing I really did enjoy though was the usage of metaphors and colors throughout the entire passage. Being a part of the Writing Arts program has really showed me how rich imagery adds so much to a story. It brings the story alive inside of your mind, just by adding words that relate to your sense allows for your readers to feel and see what the author writing. The strong use of colors was really interesting to me; I have never really seen colors used as often as they were in the story. Here is a great example of the great use of descriptive color, “the night, the early morning yellow, the gradual move to dark blue at 11 O clock, the new white 4 O clock sun let in, later the gradual growing dark again” (32).
Dubliners : Joyce
The story Encounter describes the imagination of some young boys who find interests in reading Western Stories involving robbers, Indians, and etc. Letting their dreams and imagination get the best of them the boys skip school and take off on a little adventure in their home of Ireland hoping to find and encounter some western fun along the way. I think Joyce used such contrasting locations within the story in order to show the readers that we always in a sense want the opposite of what we have. Ireland being a land of rolling green hills and properness in contrast the Wild West being dessert and dry where there are no rules. We see in the middle their adventure they come encounter with this odd man, who starts questioning them on some what I found inappropriate topics for their age. He made the boys feel scared and uncomfortable as well. I quite frankly was a little confused about this character, and what his purpose was in the story other than to be a creepy man. Overall I didn’t really enjoy this story that much, but it was an easy read. It just didn’t draw much interest towards me.
Micro Fiction : Stern
Each one of the short stories has drastically different settings. Because of the setting it changes how you look at each situation that is talked about within the stories. By switching the setting of any of these stories would make all aspects of what is taking places within the plot make no sense at all. I chose to write about two of the short stories which I found most interesting and have drastically different settings.
I found all of these stories extremely fun and interesting especially the first one Wrong Channel. The title couldn’t be more appropriate, the miscommunication because of the language barrier makes for comic relief in the short story. Because of the setting of the story taking place in a doctor’s office I found it funny how Mima would think that a doctor would ask if she had a television. I think this shows how different cultures sometimes have a hard time understanding and adjusting to the American way of life. The ending line cracks me up as well as supports what I just metioned,”How many times did I tell you you needed to buy one? Don’t you know, Barbarita? This is America” (31).
Mockingbird, was most definitely my favorite out of the short stories. I am such a sucker for cute love stories and this reminds me of how new love is so forgiving. This story just shows that even a little flaw in a person such as when the man says “I’d rather inherit it” that Rachel brushes what he says under the rug and forget what he said. The setting of Mexico I feel like made for such a more Romantic feel to the end of the story with the description of the mariachi music and mimosa trees
Memory (Gloria Anzaldua Writing Piece)
I decided to go for a refreshing walk down the beach to clear my head of any last minute jitters I may have. I knew he was the right guy, but everyone has the right to be a bit nervous before they say the words “I do”. As my feet dug into the sand I reminisced about my childhood and how I used to force my sister to play wedding dress up and I always had to be the bride and she was the groom. I chucked as the after wash of a wave ran through my toes picturing my sister and I walking down our hallway pretending it was the isle, realizing how much my life has changed. Making my way down the beach many memories ran through my mind, I sat down in the sand and gazed out at the endless ocean. I couldn’t help but recall the feeling of the first time I feel in love. Twelve years I’ve sat on the memory of the perfect love we shared and how I thought it would me him and I walking down the aisle those many years ago. How perfect and carefree our love was with one another and how blind we were to what the world would do to us. I would never regret anything in my life because everything does happen for a reason, but as I sit in the sand I can’t help but wonder what if I hadn’t stayed? What if I went away with him? Would it still be him and I? I’ll never forget how he changed me and it for him I thank for opening my eyes up to the possibilities of love. I get up and dust the sand off my shorts I grin excited to see what this new chapter in life is going to bring me.
Snow Day (Personal Writing)
Waking up in the morning after a night of watching the beautiful snow fall out their window Jess and Blake woke up surrounded by a winter wonderland. As they turned on the radio they heard the alert that New Jersey was in a state of emergency. Blake needing to get to work somehow the next day threw on his snow gear and set outside to clear the long driveway of what seemed to be over a million inches of snow. Jess feeling guilty went outside to help her boyfriend shovel out the cars. After hours of clearing their driveway, the old man who lived across the street from them had yet to go outside and start his driveway. Being the good people they were Jess and Blake headed over to help out the old man, by the time they were shoveling the last bit of snow from his driveway the sun was completely down. Each of them could barely feel their arms from how many times they had to life the heavy snow from the ground, and their faces were so read and chapped from being outside for so long. They ventured back to their house where they stripped off the many layers of clothes and tossed them into the washer. Blake went over and started up their fire place, while Jess boiled some water for the hot coco. Smelling the aroma of the delicious hot milk chocolate Black sat in front of the fire anxiously awaiting Jess. They both plopped down feeling the warmth of the fire and hot coco run through their bodies. Jess placed her head on Blake’s lap slowly closing her eyes while she whispered to him, “I cannot wait for summer”. Blake agreeingly chuckled as they both fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Meaning of Writing
Since this class has started, I have been working with different styles of writing that I have not used much throughout my life. Last semester was my first experience with Twitter; it opened my eyes to a different way of writing in such a small amount of space. Because of this constraint it showed me how to focus on key words and main ideas to write, allowing for me to get my ideas across to the audience.
While working on our micro fictions we had to incorporate a tweet from our feed and create a story around the tweet. By using the tweet it allowed for me to create a completely different background story than what my tweet was originally about. With my second micro fiction, I later on turned it into a haiku poem. Since the poem only allows for a few words, I wanted to make sure that the same meaning that was felt throughout my story was still following through in my poem. I tried to use words that really reflected the tone of the story. It was hard trying to find certain words because of the specific format it had to fit, but I think the words I used related very closely to what my micro fiction was about as well.
Making the poem out of a number of our tweets was a really fun and interesting assignment. My feed on my Twitter page was all over the place with not many of the tweets connecting to one another, so it left me a challenge on trying to find a commonality among them. Piecing then together I was able to link them together in a fun and interesting matter
Narrative Inquiry
When reading through both Narrative Inquiry’s many questions, opinions, and thoughts ran through my mind. Clandinin and Connelly’s piece I was able to get more out of and understand easier than Situating Narrative Inquiry by Clandinin alone. This long piece was extremely drawn out for what was talked about. I pulled out some quotes that really stood out to me while reading both of these pieces and explained what I felt they meant.
1. "Telling stories of ourselves in the past leads to the possibility of retellings"
I really loved this quote; I believe they are trying to say that the stories of our lives can live on in the hopes that others will retell the stories to others and so forth. This allows for stories to keep alive for many years and for many people to hear.
2. "The answer to the question, Why narrative? is, Because experience."
This quote basically is saying that without experiences throughout our lives we would have nothing to write about. I know many of my writings are based around events in my life that have made an impact on me and if it weren’t for those experiences I would not know and understand certain things I do today. When writing a narrative it allows for us as the author to let the readers know the lessons, feelings, and events that make up our personal “experiences” so they can understand fully about what took place.
3. “ Narrative inquirers embrace the power of the particular for understanding experience and using findings from research to inform themselves in specific places at specific times”
Narrative inquires allow for us to be able to focus on specific instances that make up our experiences. This is where we are able to narrow down the importance of what bounded certain experiences into our brain and why they stick our as essential to us.
Even though I felt Gopnik’s style of writing tended to be a bit confusing throughout his story I was able to really relate too many of his experiences. A main theme he talks about is change, his transition from one life to another. In his case moving his life from the thriving city of New York to its equivalent in Europe Paris. Gopink discusses the many differences he has encountered in France that vary from the ways of America. I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks this past summer traveling all over the country of France, with one of the stops being Paris. While reading the story I was able to relate the descriptions of certain locations and understand the problems he encountered while living in France. I laughed because it made me think of the numerous fights I had with converters while traveling over there. My most memorable one would have to be the first night we arrived in Belgium, France. We were staying in the small family ran hotel in the middle of the beautiful town of Bastogne. We were all exhausted from our day of traveling and were rotating taking turns showering, which in this case the showers were bathtubs with no shower curtains. So I finish up my shower and I plug my converter in and proceed to dry my hair. About 5 minutes into drying my hair I start to smell smoke I turn to where I had my converter plugged in and within second the whole thing blew up! I knocked out all of the lights in the entire hotel. It was mortifying; to say the least I was a lot more careful about finding out the wattage of the converters for the rest of the trip.
Overall, I found this piece insightful and interesting. I enjoyed hearing his comparisons between New York and Paris and being able to relate all of his issues. He allowed for the audience to see his comical but meaningful struggles he had while traveling that in change opened his mind to a new budding way of life. "There are two kinds of travelers. There is the kind who goes to see what there is to see, and the kind who has an image in his head and goes out to accomplish it. The first visitor has an easier time, but I think the second visitor sees more." This quote alludes that a person who is traveling just to take pictures and have a good time will indeed enjoy themselves, but a traveler who sets out to understand and encompass the culture of where they are traveling will gain more then they will ever expect.
Billy the Kid: Ondaatje
Well I have to say this story was different and quite bizarre to be honest. I took it that there were a variety of different narrators throughout the story, which in some aspects got me extremely confused. One thing I really did enjoy though was the usage of metaphors and colors throughout the entire passage. Being a part of the Writing Arts program has really showed me how rich imagery adds so much to a story. It brings the story alive inside of your mind, just by adding words that relate to your sense allows for your readers to feel and see what the author writing. The strong use of colors was really interesting to me; I have never really seen colors used as often as they were in the story. Here is a great example of the great use of descriptive color, “the night, the early morning yellow, the gradual move to dark blue at 11 O clock, the new white 4 O clock sun let in, later the gradual growing dark again” (32).
Dubliners : Joyce
The story Encounter describes the imagination of some young boys who find interests in reading Western Stories involving robbers, Indians, and etc. Letting their dreams and imagination get the best of them the boys skip school and take off on a little adventure in their home of Ireland hoping to find and encounter some western fun along the way. I think Joyce used such contrasting locations within the story in order to show the readers that we always in a sense want the opposite of what we have. Ireland being a land of rolling green hills and properness in contrast the Wild West being dessert and dry where there are no rules. We see in the middle their adventure they come encounter with this odd man, who starts questioning them on some what I found inappropriate topics for their age. He made the boys feel scared and uncomfortable as well. I quite frankly was a little confused about this character, and what his purpose was in the story other than to be a creepy man. Overall I didn’t really enjoy this story that much, but it was an easy read. It just didn’t draw much interest towards me.
Micro Fiction : Stern
Each one of the short stories has drastically different settings. Because of the setting it changes how you look at each situation that is talked about within the stories. By switching the setting of any of these stories would make all aspects of what is taking places within the plot make no sense at all. I chose to write about two of the short stories which I found most interesting and have drastically different settings.
I found all of these stories extremely fun and interesting especially the first one Wrong Channel. The title couldn’t be more appropriate, the miscommunication because of the language barrier makes for comic relief in the short story. Because of the setting of the story taking place in a doctor’s office I found it funny how Mima would think that a doctor would ask if she had a television. I think this shows how different cultures sometimes have a hard time understanding and adjusting to the American way of life. The ending line cracks me up as well as supports what I just metioned,”How many times did I tell you you needed to buy one? Don’t you know, Barbarita? This is America” (31).
Mockingbird, was most definitely my favorite out of the short stories. I am such a sucker for cute love stories and this reminds me of how new love is so forgiving. This story just shows that even a little flaw in a person such as when the man says “I’d rather inherit it” that Rachel brushes what he says under the rug and forget what he said. The setting of Mexico I feel like made for such a more Romantic feel to the end of the story with the description of the mariachi music and mimosa trees
Memory (Gloria Anzaldua Writing Piece)
I decided to go for a refreshing walk down the beach to clear my head of any last minute jitters I may have. I knew he was the right guy, but everyone has the right to be a bit nervous before they say the words “I do”. As my feet dug into the sand I reminisced about my childhood and how I used to force my sister to play wedding dress up and I always had to be the bride and she was the groom. I chucked as the after wash of a wave ran through my toes picturing my sister and I walking down our hallway pretending it was the isle, realizing how much my life has changed. Making my way down the beach many memories ran through my mind, I sat down in the sand and gazed out at the endless ocean. I couldn’t help but recall the feeling of the first time I feel in love. Twelve years I’ve sat on the memory of the perfect love we shared and how I thought it would me him and I walking down the aisle those many years ago. How perfect and carefree our love was with one another and how blind we were to what the world would do to us. I would never regret anything in my life because everything does happen for a reason, but as I sit in the sand I can’t help but wonder what if I hadn’t stayed? What if I went away with him? Would it still be him and I? I’ll never forget how he changed me and it for him I thank for opening my eyes up to the possibilities of love. I get up and dust the sand off my shorts I grin excited to see what this new chapter in life is going to bring me.
Snow Day (Personal Writing)
Waking up in the morning after a night of watching the beautiful snow fall out their window Jess and Blake woke up surrounded by a winter wonderland. As they turned on the radio they heard the alert that New Jersey was in a state of emergency. Blake needing to get to work somehow the next day threw on his snow gear and set outside to clear the long driveway of what seemed to be over a million inches of snow. Jess feeling guilty went outside to help her boyfriend shovel out the cars. After hours of clearing their driveway, the old man who lived across the street from them had yet to go outside and start his driveway. Being the good people they were Jess and Blake headed over to help out the old man, by the time they were shoveling the last bit of snow from his driveway the sun was completely down. Each of them could barely feel their arms from how many times they had to life the heavy snow from the ground, and their faces were so read and chapped from being outside for so long. They ventured back to their house where they stripped off the many layers of clothes and tossed them into the washer. Blake went over and started up their fire place, while Jess boiled some water for the hot coco. Smelling the aroma of the delicious hot milk chocolate Black sat in front of the fire anxiously awaiting Jess. They both plopped down feeling the warmth of the fire and hot coco run through their bodies. Jess placed her head on Blake’s lap slowly closing her eyes while she whispered to him, “I cannot wait for summer”. Blake agreeingly chuckled as they both fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Meaning of Writing
Since this class has started, I have been working with different styles of writing that I have not used much throughout my life. Last semester was my first experience with Twitter; it opened my eyes to a different way of writing in such a small amount of space. Because of this constraint it showed me how to focus on key words and main ideas to write, allowing for me to get my ideas across to the audience.
While working on our micro fictions we had to incorporate a tweet from our feed and create a story around the tweet. By using the tweet it allowed for me to create a completely different background story than what my tweet was originally about. With my second micro fiction, I later on turned it into a haiku poem. Since the poem only allows for a few words, I wanted to make sure that the same meaning that was felt throughout my story was still following through in my poem. I tried to use words that really reflected the tone of the story. It was hard trying to find certain words because of the specific format it had to fit, but I think the words I used related very closely to what my micro fiction was about as well.
Making the poem out of a number of our tweets was a really fun and interesting assignment. My feed on my Twitter page was all over the place with not many of the tweets connecting to one another, so it left me a challenge on trying to find a commonality among them. Piecing then together I was able to link them together in a fun and interesting matter
Narrative Inquiry
When reading through both Narrative Inquiry’s many questions, opinions, and thoughts ran through my mind. Clandinin and Connelly’s piece I was able to get more out of and understand easier than Situating Narrative Inquiry by Clandinin alone. This long piece was extremely drawn out for what was talked about. I pulled out some quotes that really stood out to me while reading both of these pieces and explained what I felt they meant.
1. "Telling stories of ourselves in the past leads to the possibility of retellings"
I really loved this quote; I believe they are trying to say that the stories of our lives can live on in the hopes that others will retell the stories to others and so forth. This allows for stories to keep alive for many years and for many people to hear.
2. "The answer to the question, Why narrative? is, Because experience."
This quote basically is saying that without experiences throughout our lives we would have nothing to write about. I know many of my writings are based around events in my life that have made an impact on me and if it weren’t for those experiences I would not know and understand certain things I do today. When writing a narrative it allows for us as the author to let the readers know the lessons, feelings, and events that make up our personal “experiences” so they can understand fully about what took place.
3. “ Narrative inquirers embrace the power of the particular for understanding experience and using findings from research to inform themselves in specific places at specific times”
Narrative inquires allow for us to be able to focus on specific instances that make up our experiences. This is where we are able to narrow down the importance of what bounded certain experiences into our brain and why they stick our as essential to us.
Research
What is Oral History?
"Oral history . . . refers to what the source and the historian do together at the moment of their encounter in the interview." - Alessandro Portelli
Oral history has played a very important role in the translation of important events and specific moments throughout society and life. When we read articles that talk about the past, I find I most relate to and enjoy the piece of writing when it comes from first hand accounts of an individual. When you are construting and interview on a subject, you recieve the real facts and find out what really happened in that percice moment through that individuals eyes. You are able to see, smell, and feel what exactly that individual saw, instead of writing from written accounts of what happened from different documents.
Referring to the quote at the top of the blog, an interview determines how the subject being discussed is going to be viewed by the audience. It is up to the "historian" to pick out questions to ask the "source" to find out the specific details of the event. They must decided what questions and use and not to use because they will ulitmately determine how the subject is going to be read by everyone who reads about it. Interviews are the most personal and I believe accurate way finding out details out about specific events or occurances in our lives or history.
Like it Was
Before reading the chapter "Conducting the Interview" in Like it Was, I never realised how many different aspects went into having an interview with sombody. There are specific things to prepare yourself for before, during, and after the interview that will benifit how your interview turns out in the end. For instance there are specifici types of interviews in which you need to choose specificially who to interview, such as if you wanted to write about a culture that is dieing out, you could conduct a "how to" interview on the specifics of their culture.
Two ways to prepare yourself for an interview is to first have a specific set of questions planned out before the interview begins. This allows for you to have a better understanding of what you are going to ask the person and will give you a general idea about where the interview could head towards in converstation. The next preperation method would be actually reading the questions aloud to a friend or someone who will listen. This allows you to be confident in your interview and shows that you know and understand what you are talking about.
When reading the sections about the different tips you can think about when conducting and interview there were many different points that I thought were very important for a person to take into consideration when interviewing. One fo them being from the section labled "Setting Up". I never thought about this untill reading this article but you need to make sure that while during your interview you are in an area far from distractions. Distractions can take away from the interview causing you to loose valuable information and focus on what is being disucssed. You need to try to find a quite, nice location comfortable for the both of you whThe last section of this chapter is what I found the most interesting, even though it wasn't very long I thought it was a great way to brainstorm questions for an interview. This sections was labled,"Looking at Old Photographs". By looking at old photographs of the event or time in history helps you pose questions about what was going on at that point in time. You can figure things out about the economics, fashion, and setting which can all be turned into types of questions you can ask the person being interviews.
Food Industry Questions
1. Are school lunches healthy for children?
2. Are there certain criteria that cafaterias must meet for school lunches?
3. Where does the food come from for school lunches?
4. Is there anything organic used in the school lunches?
5. What are the health standards of the kitchen in a school cafateria?
6. What has changed about school lunches over the past ten years?
7. Do schools really promote healthy eatting?
8. Why is America one of the most overweight countries?
9. Where is the most healthy country in the world?
10. Are there healthy options offered for children in school?
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution
Before watching the first two episodes of the British Chef Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution I was in the dark about much of what goes on in school cafeterias across America. It was Jamie's goal to get into schools across the US and try to change the food that we are feeding our children. Huntington, West Virginia is the town that he focused on being that it is known to be the unhealthiest town in the entire world. His goal was to show the town healthy options instead of eating processed, broken down food.
Throughout the first two episodes Jamie came encountered with many struggles trying to achieve this goal. He had many people against what he was trying to do and achieve for this town. When he went into the towns elementary school he was baffled by what he saw being served to the children. Everything that was being put out for them was process or had loads of unhealthy preservatives in it. He decided to conduct a test and make a fresh cooked meal from healthy non processed foods and give the children a choice to choose which meal they would like. The turnout was shocking to Jamie, almost every child chose the processed food over the home cooked meal. This disappointment just gave him more incentive to make a change in this school and was determined to get these children to enjoy healthy food.
After watching this just a few episodes it has made me really question what these schools are feeding to our children. Are the people in charge really looking out for our children’s health or are they just looking for cheap options to feed our kids. This has really given me the encouragement to look into this issue that is within schools nation and worldwide. I would highly recommend this short series to anyone who is looking to see what is truly going on behind the closed doors of the cafeterias of our schools in America; your eyes will be opened after only a few short minutes
Duffield's and School Cafeteria Questions
For our oral history and collaborative research projects we decided to do some investigating in Pitman's school cafeterias and the food they are feeding our children. We decided as a group that we are going to go to the local farm Duffield's and interview them on some area's that will help us better understand their methods of production and what part they play in the economy in the area. Alongside of that we are going into the schools to find out if they use the local resources they have available to them and find out if they are giving our children healthy options to eat. As a group we decided that each of us needs to form a few questions that we would want to ask each of these places. Here are a set of five questions for each.
Duffield’s Farm
1. Are any of the vegetables you grow here organic?
2. Is it cheaper or more expensive to grow organic produce?
3. Do you sell to local schools in the area?
4. Would it be beneficial to you to sell to school?
5. Is there a method or reason to the produce you grow at your farm?
Pitman School Cafeteria
1. Do you buy products from local farms?
2. Are there specific calorie measurements the children must have per meal?
3. Does your budget on food affect the way you decide what food to purchase?
4. And if so would you choose the healthier more expensive option or processed
cheaper option?
5. Have there been any recent changes in the past few years in the food that is being
served in the schools?
6. If so what are the changes?
Collaborative Interview Questions
Duffield's Website Review
When entering Duffield's Farm into your search engine on your computure you are confronted with an extremely interactive and informative webpage. Duffield's homepage welcomes you with an array of unique and different options to click on and explore while visiting their site such as lessons, parties, hayrides, maket and many more. Each of these differet tabs offers you a variety of different information all gearing towards whatever fits your needs. They have rich informations concerning the production of their crops and the methods they use to harvest. Another great topic that is discussed on the webpage is about organic grown vegtables, it discusses the chemicals that are used and the different stipulations that require foods to be organic. Lastly but definately not least my favorite affordance about this site is that they offer lesson plans for teachers to use within their classrooms. This is great because they are allowing for teachers to incorperate the learning process of what goes along with growing vegtables and healthier ways of eatting. This is a great site for you to visit if you ever have some free time and are just browsing the web.
Local Matters
As a group we all looked at the website "Local Matters" and checked out the different aspects that go into schools and the local food organizations. Lindsey Finklestein, Tarrah Martinelli, and Nicole Flesch.
After looking at the link "Local Matters," our group doesn't think we could find anything more perfect to parallel with our project. The First Lady of Ohio, Karen Walbillig Kasich has made a $95,000 contribution to the Local Matters organization, which is working to curb childhood obesity. Local Matters has a program called Food Matters, which teaches children, parents, and teachers about nutrition, cooking, and gardening. They go to thirty-five classrooms each week. We think this is incredible. It is one thing to blindly change the lunch programs for children, but after this meal if students simply go back the same habits at home because of a lack of education, the change was not accomplished. Though we still definitely agree with changing the lunch programs, we think this next step is truly what the schools need.
The program is hoping to spread even further soon. They are also focusing on Ohio-Grown foods when discussing healthy options. The program institutes twenty-eight weeks of lessons for the children so they can understand where the food comes from and why it is important to know this. With the additional funds, the program hopes to expand and reach even more children in the schools.
Truth about Food Inc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXmF_erEv1o (video wouldn't work as a youtube attachment)
Summary
In this video, the producer and director of Food Inc. Robert Kenner, and the author of Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan, get together for an interview for CBSNewsOnline. They discuss how "Our food has been fundamentally transformed," (Kenner). The nutritional value of our produce in a supermarket has been diminished due to the goal of making food as cheap and abundant as possible. Pollan discusses the historical aspects of how we have gotten to this point, where it started, and how fast food is driving our nation. Due to this, we have an issue with obesity and malnutrition in our nation. The workers and animals are "brutalized," which in turn is adding additional moral "costs" that we are not aware of (Pollan). Kenner goes on to discuss the hardships he faced trying to get these food organizations on camera. There is a lot of information that the corporations are trying to keep from us. Pollan discusses how we are subsidizing the wrong foods. We are making all of the unhealthy things cheaper rather than the healthy which is affecting our society. To sum things up, they both discuss how we are on the verge of a national movement. Ominvore's Dilemma and Food Inc. are meant to be a jump start to this movement.
Reflection
This video gives a great background to the driving purpose behind both Food Inc. and Omnivore's Dilemma. One of the most controversial points that they raised was how these major corporations are keeping from the public what is going on with our food. It is our right to know that we are not eating real tomatoes, carrots, etc. One of the most alarming facts was that not only do they make genetically modified food now, but they are literally cloning food as well. We have a right to know what we are putting into our bodies. The facts about how unhealthy food is made cheaper than healthy food which is part of the reason people don't buy it, is also alarming. Is this not the total opposite of how it should be? Overall, every point that they made should alarm the people of our nation. Our group clearly is, which is the driving force behind our project.
Childrens Choices
Throughout our research and interviews our group though it would be interesting to see what lunch option they would pick when given a choice. In Bells Elementary School, the students are given a choice of Six different options: Lunch of the Day, Hoagie, Hot dog, Salad, Smuckers PB & J, Cold Platter, or Chicken Patty. Also, they offer Vegetarian options such as: Meatless Chef Salad, Vegan Salad, and Fruit Salad. Our group was very impressed with the variety of choices the children were given. This is such an improvement even from when we were in Elementary School. I (Nicole),am currently observing in Mrs.Barca’s first grade classroom on Tuesdays. I took a tally of what the students got for lunch that day. Twelve students picked the Lunch of the Day which was chicken nugget and french fries. One student picked a hot dog, one student picked cold platter, and five students brought lunch from home.
Also , we paid close attention during snack time to what the students were eating. There were items such as Doritos, fruit roll ups, Fritos, Oreo Cakes, cookies, gummy fruit snacks, and gold fish. A few students did bring healthy snacks such as carrots, apples, raisins, and pretzels. Our group strongly believe that children will eat whatever their parents pack for them. When children are hungry they will eat anything. Parents’ are most responsible for what children eat.
"Oral history . . . refers to what the source and the historian do together at the moment of their encounter in the interview." - Alessandro Portelli
Oral history has played a very important role in the translation of important events and specific moments throughout society and life. When we read articles that talk about the past, I find I most relate to and enjoy the piece of writing when it comes from first hand accounts of an individual. When you are construting and interview on a subject, you recieve the real facts and find out what really happened in that percice moment through that individuals eyes. You are able to see, smell, and feel what exactly that individual saw, instead of writing from written accounts of what happened from different documents.
Referring to the quote at the top of the blog, an interview determines how the subject being discussed is going to be viewed by the audience. It is up to the "historian" to pick out questions to ask the "source" to find out the specific details of the event. They must decided what questions and use and not to use because they will ulitmately determine how the subject is going to be read by everyone who reads about it. Interviews are the most personal and I believe accurate way finding out details out about specific events or occurances in our lives or history.
Like it Was
Before reading the chapter "Conducting the Interview" in Like it Was, I never realised how many different aspects went into having an interview with sombody. There are specific things to prepare yourself for before, during, and after the interview that will benifit how your interview turns out in the end. For instance there are specifici types of interviews in which you need to choose specificially who to interview, such as if you wanted to write about a culture that is dieing out, you could conduct a "how to" interview on the specifics of their culture.
Two ways to prepare yourself for an interview is to first have a specific set of questions planned out before the interview begins. This allows for you to have a better understanding of what you are going to ask the person and will give you a general idea about where the interview could head towards in converstation. The next preperation method would be actually reading the questions aloud to a friend or someone who will listen. This allows you to be confident in your interview and shows that you know and understand what you are talking about.
When reading the sections about the different tips you can think about when conducting and interview there were many different points that I thought were very important for a person to take into consideration when interviewing. One fo them being from the section labled "Setting Up". I never thought about this untill reading this article but you need to make sure that while during your interview you are in an area far from distractions. Distractions can take away from the interview causing you to loose valuable information and focus on what is being disucssed. You need to try to find a quite, nice location comfortable for the both of you whThe last section of this chapter is what I found the most interesting, even though it wasn't very long I thought it was a great way to brainstorm questions for an interview. This sections was labled,"Looking at Old Photographs". By looking at old photographs of the event or time in history helps you pose questions about what was going on at that point in time. You can figure things out about the economics, fashion, and setting which can all be turned into types of questions you can ask the person being interviews.
Food Industry Questions
1. Are school lunches healthy for children?
2. Are there certain criteria that cafaterias must meet for school lunches?
3. Where does the food come from for school lunches?
4. Is there anything organic used in the school lunches?
5. What are the health standards of the kitchen in a school cafateria?
6. What has changed about school lunches over the past ten years?
7. Do schools really promote healthy eatting?
8. Why is America one of the most overweight countries?
9. Where is the most healthy country in the world?
10. Are there healthy options offered for children in school?
Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution
Before watching the first two episodes of the British Chef Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution I was in the dark about much of what goes on in school cafeterias across America. It was Jamie's goal to get into schools across the US and try to change the food that we are feeding our children. Huntington, West Virginia is the town that he focused on being that it is known to be the unhealthiest town in the entire world. His goal was to show the town healthy options instead of eating processed, broken down food.
Throughout the first two episodes Jamie came encountered with many struggles trying to achieve this goal. He had many people against what he was trying to do and achieve for this town. When he went into the towns elementary school he was baffled by what he saw being served to the children. Everything that was being put out for them was process or had loads of unhealthy preservatives in it. He decided to conduct a test and make a fresh cooked meal from healthy non processed foods and give the children a choice to choose which meal they would like. The turnout was shocking to Jamie, almost every child chose the processed food over the home cooked meal. This disappointment just gave him more incentive to make a change in this school and was determined to get these children to enjoy healthy food.
After watching this just a few episodes it has made me really question what these schools are feeding to our children. Are the people in charge really looking out for our children’s health or are they just looking for cheap options to feed our kids. This has really given me the encouragement to look into this issue that is within schools nation and worldwide. I would highly recommend this short series to anyone who is looking to see what is truly going on behind the closed doors of the cafeterias of our schools in America; your eyes will be opened after only a few short minutes
Duffield's and School Cafeteria Questions
For our oral history and collaborative research projects we decided to do some investigating in Pitman's school cafeterias and the food they are feeding our children. We decided as a group that we are going to go to the local farm Duffield's and interview them on some area's that will help us better understand their methods of production and what part they play in the economy in the area. Alongside of that we are going into the schools to find out if they use the local resources they have available to them and find out if they are giving our children healthy options to eat. As a group we decided that each of us needs to form a few questions that we would want to ask each of these places. Here are a set of five questions for each.
Duffield’s Farm
1. Are any of the vegetables you grow here organic?
2. Is it cheaper or more expensive to grow organic produce?
3. Do you sell to local schools in the area?
4. Would it be beneficial to you to sell to school?
5. Is there a method or reason to the produce you grow at your farm?
Pitman School Cafeteria
1. Do you buy products from local farms?
2. Are there specific calorie measurements the children must have per meal?
3. Does your budget on food affect the way you decide what food to purchase?
4. And if so would you choose the healthier more expensive option or processed
cheaper option?
5. Have there been any recent changes in the past few years in the food that is being
served in the schools?
6. If so what are the changes?
Collaborative Interview Questions
- Do you buy products from any local farms or produce venders?
- Are there any specific nutrition requirements? For example a set amount of calories or food groups per meal.
- What beverages are provided?
- What changes have you undergone in order to make school lunches healthier for the students?
- Were these changes due to district requirements or National FDA guidelines?
- Is your budget on food affect the products that you buy? If so, would you choose the healthier yet more expensive option, or the processed cheaper option?
- Do you think the lunches could still improve or do you think they are good as of right now? Explain.
- As a parent, are you satisfied with the nutritional value of these lunches? To be more specific, would you feed the same foods to your children at home?
Duffield's Website Review
When entering Duffield's Farm into your search engine on your computure you are confronted with an extremely interactive and informative webpage. Duffield's homepage welcomes you with an array of unique and different options to click on and explore while visiting their site such as lessons, parties, hayrides, maket and many more. Each of these differet tabs offers you a variety of different information all gearing towards whatever fits your needs. They have rich informations concerning the production of their crops and the methods they use to harvest. Another great topic that is discussed on the webpage is about organic grown vegtables, it discusses the chemicals that are used and the different stipulations that require foods to be organic. Lastly but definately not least my favorite affordance about this site is that they offer lesson plans for teachers to use within their classrooms. This is great because they are allowing for teachers to incorperate the learning process of what goes along with growing vegtables and healthier ways of eatting. This is a great site for you to visit if you ever have some free time and are just browsing the web.
Local Matters
As a group we all looked at the website "Local Matters" and checked out the different aspects that go into schools and the local food organizations. Lindsey Finklestein, Tarrah Martinelli, and Nicole Flesch.
After looking at the link "Local Matters," our group doesn't think we could find anything more perfect to parallel with our project. The First Lady of Ohio, Karen Walbillig Kasich has made a $95,000 contribution to the Local Matters organization, which is working to curb childhood obesity. Local Matters has a program called Food Matters, which teaches children, parents, and teachers about nutrition, cooking, and gardening. They go to thirty-five classrooms each week. We think this is incredible. It is one thing to blindly change the lunch programs for children, but after this meal if students simply go back the same habits at home because of a lack of education, the change was not accomplished. Though we still definitely agree with changing the lunch programs, we think this next step is truly what the schools need.
The program is hoping to spread even further soon. They are also focusing on Ohio-Grown foods when discussing healthy options. The program institutes twenty-eight weeks of lessons for the children so they can understand where the food comes from and why it is important to know this. With the additional funds, the program hopes to expand and reach even more children in the schools.
Truth about Food Inc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXmF_erEv1o (video wouldn't work as a youtube attachment)
Summary
In this video, the producer and director of Food Inc. Robert Kenner, and the author of Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan, get together for an interview for CBSNewsOnline. They discuss how "Our food has been fundamentally transformed," (Kenner). The nutritional value of our produce in a supermarket has been diminished due to the goal of making food as cheap and abundant as possible. Pollan discusses the historical aspects of how we have gotten to this point, where it started, and how fast food is driving our nation. Due to this, we have an issue with obesity and malnutrition in our nation. The workers and animals are "brutalized," which in turn is adding additional moral "costs" that we are not aware of (Pollan). Kenner goes on to discuss the hardships he faced trying to get these food organizations on camera. There is a lot of information that the corporations are trying to keep from us. Pollan discusses how we are subsidizing the wrong foods. We are making all of the unhealthy things cheaper rather than the healthy which is affecting our society. To sum things up, they both discuss how we are on the verge of a national movement. Ominvore's Dilemma and Food Inc. are meant to be a jump start to this movement.
Reflection
This video gives a great background to the driving purpose behind both Food Inc. and Omnivore's Dilemma. One of the most controversial points that they raised was how these major corporations are keeping from the public what is going on with our food. It is our right to know that we are not eating real tomatoes, carrots, etc. One of the most alarming facts was that not only do they make genetically modified food now, but they are literally cloning food as well. We have a right to know what we are putting into our bodies. The facts about how unhealthy food is made cheaper than healthy food which is part of the reason people don't buy it, is also alarming. Is this not the total opposite of how it should be? Overall, every point that they made should alarm the people of our nation. Our group clearly is, which is the driving force behind our project.
Childrens Choices
Throughout our research and interviews our group though it would be interesting to see what lunch option they would pick when given a choice. In Bells Elementary School, the students are given a choice of Six different options: Lunch of the Day, Hoagie, Hot dog, Salad, Smuckers PB & J, Cold Platter, or Chicken Patty. Also, they offer Vegetarian options such as: Meatless Chef Salad, Vegan Salad, and Fruit Salad. Our group was very impressed with the variety of choices the children were given. This is such an improvement even from when we were in Elementary School. I (Nicole),am currently observing in Mrs.Barca’s first grade classroom on Tuesdays. I took a tally of what the students got for lunch that day. Twelve students picked the Lunch of the Day which was chicken nugget and french fries. One student picked a hot dog, one student picked cold platter, and five students brought lunch from home.
Also , we paid close attention during snack time to what the students were eating. There were items such as Doritos, fruit roll ups, Fritos, Oreo Cakes, cookies, gummy fruit snacks, and gold fish. A few students did bring healthy snacks such as carrots, apples, raisins, and pretzels. Our group strongly believe that children will eat whatever their parents pack for them. When children are hungry they will eat anything. Parents’ are most responsible for what children eat.
Technology
Haiku : Remembered Love
Toes dig in the sand
A memory of a love
Replaced for good
Tweet Poem : Daydream
I’m having a no good very bad day.
This weather is dreadful, it’s pouring rain
The cafeteria’s salad gave me stomach pains.
I just need a cocktail, my girlfriends, and a plane to get away.
Maybe venture to Paris and lounge beside the Seine River,
Eat some lunch and listen to the tunes of Arcade Fire,
Find a French man to make my overseas lover,
While indulging in the cities countless desires.
Oh dreaming of the smells of New York streets in the winter time,
Makes me want to leave this place today and go a far.
Take a mini vacation and stop at the 5th and Market Street Bar.
Just disappearing from life into this carefree daydream is so sublime.
Tweets Used in Poem
1. Im having a no good very bad day ! #twitterive #wrt1
2. This weather is just disgusting i'm ready for summer #Twitterive #Wrt1
3. Never eat the salad from Rowans downstair salad bar ! #twitterive #wrt1
4. sushi,cocktails & girlfriends whats better
5. I'd much rather be sitting on the Seine River in Paris eatting lunch with friends like I was 4 months ago,than reading for school
6. @arcadefire is blasting through my car speakers, while on the way to some food shopping #twitterive
7. there needs to be more guys on campus that look like @jamesfranco #twitterive
8. i wish i could live in the city all year long :( #tfwf10
9. the smell of nyc strees this time of year is so @amazing!
10. mini vacay with the girls to nyc for a few days #muchneeded
Twitterive Questions
1. Who are the characters in your story? Chris Baillie, Emily Penn, Holly Ernst, Me
2. What connection do you feel to your place? It is a place that has changed over the past months and has played a huge part in my life.
3. When does the story take place? Present thoughts / Past Memories
4. Where does the story take place? In my mind
5. Why does the story take place? This story takes place becuase these thoughts and memories have been consuming my mind for the past few months. My friendship with Chris was something that I cherished and felt like expressing my emotions and memories of the events that have taken place.
6. How are you delivering/presenting the story? Narratives, Poems, Pictures, Music
After our converstations with the group about our story I realized I needed to change the way I was going about my writings. Instead of having memories, I can write about feelings and emotions about how I feel about my place. It was helpful hearing the imput of others becuase I was getting kind of lost with how to go about construsting and putting together the pieces I was writing.
Twitterive Improvement Questions
1. Was it easy to read and understand?
2. Should I add more geners?
3. Did it flow from one piece to the next?
4. Should I add or take anything away?
5. What things should I consider revising?
6. Any open suggestions?
Frustrations with our Project
This is a collaborative blog done by: Tarrah Martinelli, Nicole Flesch, Chelsea Ernst, and Lindsay Finkelstein
Throughout this process, we have experienced a lot of difficulty going about our research the way we had planned. Our original goals were to interview people who directly effect the food that students are served for school lunches. Since we had direct contacts with personell in those positions, we thought we were set. We quickly realized that the nutritional values of school lunches is an extremely touchy subject. Many of our contacts would not even respond to our emails or phone calls. These were people that we talk to frequently, but apparently wanted no part in our research. One example was when Tarrah contacted the directer of food services from the school district that she not only attended but also worked for. She grew up playing softball with the woman's daughter, and frequently sees her and has to contact her for her job. After two emails and a phone call about the research, Tarrah had to once again email her about snacks for her after-school program. The snacks arrived two days later, without any email response. Nicole had a similar experience. She went to the high school that she attended and explained to the secretaries what our research was, and left a note for the principal. Surprise, surprise, they never contacted her.
Once we finally landed our interviews, we had difficulty being able to actually video the interviewee's and give their information. Two of them specifically chose to be left completely anonymous (Chelsea and Tarrah's interviews). They still answered all of our questions which we were grateful for, but it once again showed how unwilling people are to discuss this matter. Now we can understand a little bit why Jamie Oliver is experiencing so much resistance. The question that this raises for us is, why are people so hesitant to talk about it? What are they afraid of?
Toes dig in the sand
A memory of a love
Replaced for good
Tweet Poem : Daydream
I’m having a no good very bad day.
This weather is dreadful, it’s pouring rain
The cafeteria’s salad gave me stomach pains.
I just need a cocktail, my girlfriends, and a plane to get away.
Maybe venture to Paris and lounge beside the Seine River,
Eat some lunch and listen to the tunes of Arcade Fire,
Find a French man to make my overseas lover,
While indulging in the cities countless desires.
Oh dreaming of the smells of New York streets in the winter time,
Makes me want to leave this place today and go a far.
Take a mini vacation and stop at the 5th and Market Street Bar.
Just disappearing from life into this carefree daydream is so sublime.
Tweets Used in Poem
1. Im having a no good very bad day ! #twitterive #wrt1
2. This weather is just disgusting i'm ready for summer #Twitterive #Wrt1
3. Never eat the salad from Rowans downstair salad bar ! #twitterive #wrt1
4. sushi,cocktails & girlfriends whats better
5. I'd much rather be sitting on the Seine River in Paris eatting lunch with friends like I was 4 months ago,than reading for school
6. @arcadefire is blasting through my car speakers, while on the way to some food shopping #twitterive
7. there needs to be more guys on campus that look like @jamesfranco #twitterive
8. i wish i could live in the city all year long :( #tfwf10
9. the smell of nyc strees this time of year is so @amazing!
10. mini vacay with the girls to nyc for a few days #muchneeded
Twitterive Questions
1. Who are the characters in your story? Chris Baillie, Emily Penn, Holly Ernst, Me
2. What connection do you feel to your place? It is a place that has changed over the past months and has played a huge part in my life.
3. When does the story take place? Present thoughts / Past Memories
4. Where does the story take place? In my mind
5. Why does the story take place? This story takes place becuase these thoughts and memories have been consuming my mind for the past few months. My friendship with Chris was something that I cherished and felt like expressing my emotions and memories of the events that have taken place.
6. How are you delivering/presenting the story? Narratives, Poems, Pictures, Music
After our converstations with the group about our story I realized I needed to change the way I was going about my writings. Instead of having memories, I can write about feelings and emotions about how I feel about my place. It was helpful hearing the imput of others becuase I was getting kind of lost with how to go about construsting and putting together the pieces I was writing.
Twitterive Improvement Questions
1. Was it easy to read and understand?
2. Should I add more geners?
3. Did it flow from one piece to the next?
4. Should I add or take anything away?
5. What things should I consider revising?
6. Any open suggestions?
Frustrations with our Project
This is a collaborative blog done by: Tarrah Martinelli, Nicole Flesch, Chelsea Ernst, and Lindsay Finkelstein
Throughout this process, we have experienced a lot of difficulty going about our research the way we had planned. Our original goals were to interview people who directly effect the food that students are served for school lunches. Since we had direct contacts with personell in those positions, we thought we were set. We quickly realized that the nutritional values of school lunches is an extremely touchy subject. Many of our contacts would not even respond to our emails or phone calls. These were people that we talk to frequently, but apparently wanted no part in our research. One example was when Tarrah contacted the directer of food services from the school district that she not only attended but also worked for. She grew up playing softball with the woman's daughter, and frequently sees her and has to contact her for her job. After two emails and a phone call about the research, Tarrah had to once again email her about snacks for her after-school program. The snacks arrived two days later, without any email response. Nicole had a similar experience. She went to the high school that she attended and explained to the secretaries what our research was, and left a note for the principal. Surprise, surprise, they never contacted her.
Once we finally landed our interviews, we had difficulty being able to actually video the interviewee's and give their information. Two of them specifically chose to be left completely anonymous (Chelsea and Tarrah's interviews). They still answered all of our questions which we were grateful for, but it once again showed how unwilling people are to discuss this matter. Now we can understand a little bit why Jamie Oliver is experiencing so much resistance. The question that this raises for us is, why are people so hesitant to talk about it? What are they afraid of?