Week 5: February 8 and February 10

Before class we read and annotated another two passages in the Longman Reader talking about torture which had to do with the lesson on ethics and morality. We also watched a video on how to create WOW conclusions. I like that SBS shared all of these techniques with us because they really are extremely valuable to my writing. In class we did a journal entry about torture and what is ethical when it comes to ways of getting people to give confessions. I really love how SBS seems to theme her different lessons, it always makes it interesting and she gets her points accross and lessons presented clearly. Before class we also submitted our final drafts of our papers. SBS's inputs and help in editing caused me to like the class even more than I did already. I've had a lot of good english teachers but the thought and effort SBS puts into her course and her student relationships, exceed any teacher's efforts I've had. Our work outside of the classroom consisted of a discussion forum based on nature and science. We read two passages in the Longman Reader about what us as Americans seem to be doing to our environment. We then watched a video in Air pollution and reflected by answering questions in the Discussion forum:

1. Joni Mitchell refers to “paradise”, this could be the beginning of the town Carson describes. Joni Mitchell then goes on to say how they “paved paradise and put up a parking lot” which is similar to Carson’s “blight” or “evil spell” which is cast over the town. Joni Mitchell’s statement “don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got ‘til it's gone” can be almost directly synonymous to the points Carson is trying to make in her essay. Carson is trying to tell people that if they don’t do something, they’re not going to have anything left. Which will in turn cause the people (us) that “don’t know what they’ve got” to realize what exactly they had once “it’s gone” (the world ending or our towns becoming like the one Carson describes).
3. I think the photo definitely adds to the description. Although Helvarg’s description is vivid, the photo obviously brings it to life.

(Markowitz)
Surrounded by scattered pieces of broken red brick, garbage bags, crumpled up tarp, brown water, wood scraps, and various other trash; an elderly lady digs through the rubble of her once standing home trying to refuge any last item she can find that wasn’t shatters, destroyed, or stolen by hurricane Katrina.

Works Cited
Markowitz, Steve. " Army Corps of Engineers: More Government Ineptness." Photo. Enduringsense.com 19 Nov. 2009. 9 Feb. 2005
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4. After briefly researching how individuals can keep the air clean, I came across a few different ways which seemed to stand out the most. These stood out because I would never think the simplest inspection or change could have such an impact on our environment. For instance “some products that you use at your home or office are made with smog-forming chemicals that can evaporate into the air when you use them. Follow manufacturers' recommendations for use and properly seal cleaners, paints, and other chemicals to prevent evaporation into the air.” (WATE.com) I would have never guessed that just closing a cleaner properly could help the environment. Another simple thing we can do is making sure our “tires are properly inflated” (WATE.com). I also found that the time of day can also have an effect for instance it can help keep the air clean if we “refuel our cars and trucks after dusk”. (What Can You Do to Help Make the Air Cleaner?) If we just slightly adjust certain aspects in our lives we could definitely do things to help save our planet’s air.
Works Cited
WATE.com. 2000-2010. 9 February 2010 .
"What Can You Do to Help Make the Air Cleaner?" Environmental Protection Agency. 9 February 2010 .

By reflecting on the various aspects this weeks lessons were about such as ethics and nature, SBS causes us to ponder various issues going on throughout the world while teaching us how to be well-rounded writers.