Blog 8: About the class

I like writing, so English is not something I would have trouble with....what I especially liked was the argument essay where we chose a certain topic to write on.
I like the fact that there is no actual final exam in the class and that there isn't a certain day to meet, because that was the reason I chose an online class- so I can have a flexible schedule.
What I also consider valuable in this class is the fact that you can re-work your essay until the end and then even get a higher grade in the end after you start mastering the writing technique.

Stem cell research

I am researching "stem cell ". I came to his because of some information I receive from my biology class this semester. I don't really know much about this topic but some how it interest me. I really do want to know more about this issue, this is why I am doing it. I did some research on Pro quest and the rest on Google. It says that there are three different types of stem cell research; adult cell, cord cell, and embryonic cells ( which is the most controversial). The artificial that I have so far, highlights the need for stem cell research and gene therapy.

Blog 8

Well since this is my first semester back in a traditional school since 1999 I must say I have been kept very busy. I would have to say that I have spent more time on English than my other 5 classes put together. English has never been a class I enjoy because I am too much of a perfectionist to let the creativity come out. I do believe that during this class I have learned how nice it is to have people edit my papers, they sure need it!

As for an online environment, it's O.K. but I think due to being a "black and white" type of girl, I think a brick and mortar course would have helped me more as I always have a lot of questions and think the face to face on a weekly basis would have eased some of my stress. I will definitely will be holding off on my last semester of English till fall of 2010 to give myself a little writing break!!!

I do not believe there is perfection anywhere in this world (trust me I've tried to obtain it LOL) and this class is no different. I think it is very hard to teach how to write online when you are teaching people like me, who haven't written any kind of paper in 10 years, honestly I would have failed this class if it weren't for the writing center and other people helping me learn the error of my writing.

Wish everyone well in their endeavors!

Blog 7

I chose to write about public health care vs private, I at first had no idea what I was going to write about, I decide to make a list of some topic that interested me and went from there. I though that the health care reform was a topic would be easy to find information on because it is such a big controversy here in America. I have heard a lot about this topic, but always feel like there is more to learn and more information about this topic come out very day. I’m interested in learning more about this subject because this is going to affect everyone that lives in America and it is concern whether this is going to be a good or bad thing for us. With the research I have done I feel like some of the information was misleading because you know that there are going to be problems when this health care reform first takes place and everything is not going to go as planned. I personally just hope that we do not end up like Canada where people have to wait years before they get the health care help they need. Hopefully if this health care plan goes through everything will be great and everyone will benefit from the changes that take place.

The topic for my research project is "What are the most current debates about stem cell research in America?" I decided on this topic because I feel that both sides of the argument are valid and I would like to be more informed on the topic. I am not very informed on the topic at the moment but hope to be by the end of my paper. The research that I have found so far is on the positives of using stem cell research to cure disease. The information that I have found has shown that the use of stem cells for research could allow for a more rapid rate of cure for the problems that some Americans face.

The Federal Reserve

While doing research for the last paper, I came across a bunch of stuff about the Federal Reserve and weather or not it is constitutional. Most people don't think about the currency in their pocket or how it it works. But I have found out that the FED is made up of 12 district banks and all of them are private banks. Our monetary system is not run by the U.S. Government!

Blog 7

Does parents’ divorce harm children more than fighting?

The topic that I chose for my literature review is about “Divorce and Children”. I think it is really hard for kids to deal with divorce and they don’t have any choice. However, regardless of whether parents stay together or split, if there is fighting going on between them all the time, the children will suffer.

It is widely known that divorce is hard on everyone involved, including children of divorcees. However, there is some disagreement on the degree of harm that divorce does to children. There are two opposing views on the effects of divorce on children. The first viewpoint is supported by Judith S. Wallerstein who wrote a book titled "The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A Twenty-Five Year Landmark Study”. In it, she claims divorce is devastating to most children and that the effects are long lasting. According to Wallerstein, children with divorced parents suffer more depression, more substance abuse, lower grades, and are more likely to need psychological help than children from intact families. Countering this opinion is research conducted by E. Mavis Heatherington. In her book, "For Better or Worse: Divorce Reconsidered," She found that most children of divorce do not have significant long-term damage and function well as adults. She does concede that 20-25% of children of divorce do have serious problems, but we tend to focus on this small amount of negativity when we should be focusing on the overwhelming majority of cases that are positive.

While Heatherington argument is very valuable and considerale, on average, however, research indicates that children of divorce (or those who were born into a single-parent family) do much more poorly in many areas such as problems in school, poor health, higher risk of substance abuse, mental illness, criminal behavior and early sexual activity, feeling of loss over one parent's absence due to divorce, risk of being abused by living with a stepparent or unmarried partner, and becoming divorced themselves someday . Overall, I think divorce can harm children more than parents’ unhappy relationship.