Attention Students

Thank you for the 2 comments I have received for the first blog assignment, however, I need students to form their own blog and respond to my question on their own blog page.
I will be sure to respond Nour and Vivian once a few other students have posted their comments.

First Blog Prompt for EOF Reading class

Hello Class:
Here is your first blog prompt. Please remember to write at least one paragraph using respectful language. Don't worry so much about grammar; instead, simply share your thoughts. Thanks, and happy blogging!

From page 5 in "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin:

"In a part of the world where Americans are, at best, misunderstood, and more often feared and loathed, this soft spoken, six-foot-four former mountaineer from Montana has put together a string of improbable successes."

What do you think about this statement? Are Americans truly "misunderstood" and "loathed"? Why or why not? How do you think people from what we call "Third World" countires, view the United States?

Reading once, reading twice....

One of the things my professors told me during undergrad was to always re-read, to go back to texts and to really let material digest.
In my head I was thinking,
"Re-read? I barely had time to finish this 400 page book! I still have three or four other classes to read for...man."
But they were all right. And most of the times, I went back and re-read. Each time I employed that strategy it helped me. Sometimes a text is so dense or so rich with new vocabulary that it's really nice to go back, to see if the conclusions or thoughts that I had made were accurate. Ultimately after the second read through I wanted to ask myself these questions:
#1--Were my original thoughts on track? Can I use the text to prove my argument or opinions?
#2--What did I miss? What were some points, themes, or threads that I had missed the first time?
#3--Am I still a little confused with the material? If so, see a Professor...
#4--How can I take this new information along with the old, and incorporate it into what I already know?

So while reading a text the second time around is time consuming, remember that it's time well-spent. The second time around is when you will probably see the lightbulb go off in your brain, and that's certainly not wasted time...

Holy Mackarel! Navigating the Big Words of College Texts

So when I started college I thought I had a good vocabulary. And I did, but apparently not good enough!
It seems intimdating at first--I know I listened to all the other students in class, speaking like mini-baby geniuses right out of some designer kid factory, and I started to doubt myself.
Maybe I wasn't smart enough to do this?
Nonsense!
Do you remember the first time you heard these words ( WARNING:I'm older, so maybe I'm dating myself here).
"Metrosexual?"
"Fresh"
"Dope"
(In my mind I'm hearing Special Ed, Public Enemy and Old School Tribe called Quest)
"Muffintop"
You see what I mean...even slang has origins, and when we first hear a silly slang phrase, we don't know what it means unless we ask, right?
Well that's the take-home message folks. Ask. When you don't know a word, ask.
Who cares if the guy next to you thinks you're an idiot for asking! He's not giving you your grade, he's not the one who has to do your work.
Be outspoken when you don't understand something.
This is your education, how you want it.
I also highly recommend using a dictionary when you are reading a text...I still do it! I tutor the SAT's and sometimes I don't know the word so guess what? I get out the good old dictionary, or I go to:
the Oxford-English Dictionary or Freedictionary.com

--Laura

PS-- If you have any questions at any point time, don't be afraid to email me at lauracolumbia09@gmail.com

Hot time Summer in Montclair: Why I'm here

So it's hot and nasty out in New Jersey, and all of us are inside this classroom, reading some book we may or may have never heard of. Why?

I can't answer why you might be here, but I can tell you why I'm here.

Starting college the world seems open wide, cracked open like an oyster shell, ready to taste the adult world.

However, college brings demands and responsibilities that can be overwhelming for many students, especially during the first year.

Why am I here?

What do the professors expect of me?

What do the words discourse, framework,  and all these other fancy, schmancy academic words mean? Does everyone speak this way?

What am I going to major in? 

Then there's the feeling that everyone else around you must know everything, must be little academic geniuses. Well the fact is, most students all feel the same way! 

Me? I love college, love reading, and love writing. (Can't you tell from this little spiel?)

So what better class to teach than a class that introduces incoming freshmen to thinking about reading, and reading in general?

I know it's disgustingly humid and you'd rather be hanging out at the beach or logging onto Facebook, but to me, this class is about opening your minds to what reading can be for you, especially as a college student.

Hang in there, ask questions, don't be afraid to ask dumb questions because there's no such thing as a dumb question (if there is such a thing, I've already asked them all), and enjoy the ride! College is a great experience.