Are the Millennials really to blame?

 

Our Generation has a reputation from some people of preceding generations as being lazy. Or as Thomas L. Friendman likes to describe us – the Quiet Americans, who quietly pursue our idealism at home and abroad. Throughout Friendman’s article, he argues that our generation is not being proactive to the serious issues that will greatly affect our lives’ as we grow older, and we will be in a huge predicament if we continue to do nothing. However, is our generation really able to make a difference in solving these issues? He goes on to argue if we are politically active in these issues, we are only active online. If we can make a difference, should we use technology to our advantage to help the issues at hand? Or should we make a change face-to-face, as Friendman encourages us to?

In many of these issues that our country is facing, the damage has already been done from preceding generations. Cameron Russell argues that we have already inherited this world on the brink of collapse. In Russell’s article, he argues that global warming, which may be one of our generation’s biggest problems, needs to be assessed very soon or it will be too late. Global warming is an issue for our government today. Older generations have “enjoyed the lowest energy costs in the world and failed to consider the costs of carbon emissions that made risks to the environment and the economy” (Pomeroy, Hanake). These damages that they have caused will most likely not come into effect, or atleast to its extreme, during the current government official’s lifetime. However, the damages will greatly affect us during our lifetime. Do our candidates and government officials sincerely care about an issue if it will not be affecting their lives?

Also, as a result of the older generations, us millenials “are poorer, more indebted, and less employed than generations before” (Pomeroy, Hanake). This is caused from The Great Recession. Older generations decided to make short-term adjustments, which resulted in making bigger issues in the long-run for our generation. Ross Pomeroy and William Hanke argue our current legislators are the most unproductive and are re-elected more often than not. Yet, they bash us for not making a difference. Are the older generations hypocrites by telling us to make a change when they are the ones with the power to do so? How can our generation make the current legislators focus on the issues that will affect us?

Big Words:

  1. Epitomized- condensed, summarized, abridged
  2. Insurmountable- cannot be overcome or passed over
  3. Calamity- a grievous disaster, an event or circumstance causing loss or misery

Friday, 2/12

Happy Friday!

Wrap-up of our working definition of “discourse”

“Rhetoric” and “argumentative writing,” as defined in They Say, I Say

Revision Groups for Essay One:

  1. Hannah Booth, Amanda Gerhart, Katie Schall, Dom Zello
  2. Colin Bracklin, Rodger Gow, Sam Sexton
  3. Corey Davis, Jenn Hoffman, Anthony Shirghio
  4. Colin Deangelo, Ryan Kessler, Hope Vlacich
  5. Sam Dixon, Jack O’Connor, Hanna Wombold
  6. Liz Ertle, Lauren Palermo, Tommy Weber
  7. Rob Eyerman, Nate Reynolds, John Zaino

Groupwork:

Get together with the people who have been assigned to your group, exchange emails, phone numbers, and whatever else you think you will need to contact each other throughout the writing process for Essay One.  Each group, turn in a piece of paper to me with:

  1. Your names
  2. Email addresses
  3. WordPress usernames

Then, take a few minutes to summarize or read aloud your short essays the to people in your group.  Discuss ideas you had in common, and discuss any differences between your ideas.  Compile a list of ten “Purposes of the university” using the ideas you’ve generated. If we have time, write them on the board.  If not, submit your group’s list as a comment on this post and be ready to discuss what you’ve come up with together.

Friday, 2/12

Happy Friday!

Wrap-up of our working definition of “discourse”

“Rhetoric” and “argumentative writing,” as defined in They Say, I Say

Revision Groups for Essay One:

  1. Hannah Booth, Amanda Gerhart, Katie Schall, Jackson Hartwell
  2. Colin Bracklin, Rodger Gow, Sam Sexton, Andrea Pietrabella
  3. Corey Davis, Jenn Hoffman, Anthony Shirghio
  4. Colin Deangelo, Ryan Kessler, Hope Vlacich
  5. Sam Dixon, Jack O’Connor, Hanna Wombold
  6. Liz Ertle, Lauren Palermo, Tommy Weber
  7. Rob Eyerman, Nate Reynolds, John Zaino

Groupwork:

Get together with the people who have been assigned to your group, exchange emails, phone numbers, and whatever else you think you will need to contact each other throughout the writing process for Essay One.  Each group, turn in a piece of paper to me with:

  1. Your names
  2. Email addresses
  3. WordPress usernames

Then, take a few minutes to summarize or read aloud your short essays the to people in your group.  Discuss ideas you had in common, and discuss any differences between your ideas.  Compile a list of ten “Purposes of the university” using the ideas you’ve generated. If we have time, write them on the board.  If not, submit your group’s list as a comment on this post and be ready to discuss what you’ve come up with together.

Older Generations vs. Millennials: Can ‘having your head in the clouds’ be the future?

Discussion Questions:

  1. Thomas Friedman referred to our generation as being very impressive but says that we need to, “get organized in a way that will force politicians to pay attention” (Friedman). Cameron Russell then counters this argument by saying that our generation is in fact getting organized, however this organization is just taking place on the internet. He also says that there is a, “deafening roar in cyberspace” and that saying our generation is “too quiet” and “too online is the opinion of someone who doesn’t understand what it means to be online” (Russell). Both writers have valid points but cannot reach an agreement on the issue. Is there a way to combine both of the writers ideas to create a solution superior to just getting organized in person or just getting organized online? if so, how? and how do you think the authors would respond to this solution?
  2. In Pomeroy and Handke’s article, our generation has been described as, “a lazy cohort of entitled and narcissistic brats” (Pomeroy/Handke). With this description in mind, also note that our generation is poorer, more indebted and less employed than the generations preceding us. If this is really the case, then how did out generation get such a bad reputation? Do you think this is deserved? Why or why not?
  3. Do you think that in today’s world, Friedman’s idea of our generation, “speaking truth to power, face to face, in big numbers, on campuses or the Washington Mall” (Friedman), will solve the problem? Or is it unrealistic to think this problem can be solved without the use of technology?
  4. The last line of Friedman’s article reads, “That is what real activism looks like. There is no substitute.” (Friedman). By that he is referring to the James Meredith statue at the University of Mississippi. Do you agree with his thought that actions, similar to the ones taken by James Meredith, are the only kinds of action that promote activism? Or, is there other ways?
  5. Do you think its fair for older generations to hold us accountable for cleaning up the mess they left over decades, especially when they are seemingly expecting us to do it so quickly?
  6. If the economy has been being, more or less, crippled by our parent’s and grandparent’s generations and even generations before that, then is it even realistic to think our generation can fix it in our lifetime alone? About how long do you think it will take?

BIG WORDS:

  • Gluttonous-Excessively greedy or insatiable
  • Stymied-To impede, obstruct, frustrate, thwart (a person, an activity, or a project).
  • Accrued-Accumulated or increased by growth; (esp. of interest, leave) built up over time.
  • Eschew-To avoid, shun.

Wednesday, 2/10

Fastwrite:

Take about ten minutes to write a comment on this post or turn in a piece of paper to me that details:

  1. What should you expect from me and from this course?
  2. What do you expect from me and from this course?
  3. How can I assist in meeting your expectations, i.e. what can I do to make this course meaningful, valuable, and helpful to you in your college career?

 

Housekeeping:

Groups for Discussions Questions

Using WordPress

Searching and Defining terms using the Oxford English Dictionary through library databases

 

Discussion:

What is discourse?

What is argumentative writing?

Monday, 2/8 (First day of class)

 

Good afternoon and Welcome!

Interview the person next to you. Ask:

  1. His/her name?
  2. Where is he/she from?
  3. Year in college?
  4. Major?
  5. Any interests, hobbies, etc.?
  6. Did he/she take any vacations over the break?  If so, where?

Introduction to the Syllabus/Course Site

Short Essay Assignment — Due Friday in class

Please write one to two pages on what you think the purpose of the university is or should be.  What should our university do for us?  What should we expect from it?  In turn, what should our university expect from us?  What do you value about the university and its environment?

To-do for Wednesday:

  1. Accept the invitation to become an author on this WordPress account, create an account and a “gravitar.”
  2. Read the Preface and Introduction to They Say, I Say.