Smarthinking.com

I'm sure many of you are aware that HACC has an unlimited amount of resources. One in particular I find extremely helpful and available when I need it is Smarthinking! It is a online tutor available 24 hours 7 days a week for math, science, business, writing and the list goes on. I find it very helpful when completing assignments in English because they help to point me in the right direction. The best part about the website is you can submit your essays to the online writing lab and an "e-structor" will assist you in your mistakes and point out any particular spots that seem unclear. So, if your struggling in anything I definately think you should give this a try!

Just visit, www.smarthinking.com. You must first start by entering the username: haccfall09tutor and the password: hacconline then you just set up your own account. Simple as pie!

The Sieve and the Sand

As I began reading the Sieve and the Sand I became worried that this chapter of the book might not end well. Page 72 reads, “Under the doorsill, a slow, probing sniff, and exhalation of electric steam.” The mechanical hound had discovered their secret.

Continuing through the book I found it interesting how Bradbury used the phrase, “Fill this sieve and you’ll get a dime!” It seems that he feels if you read fast and read it all, maybe some of the knowledge will stick within you. He uses the word “dime” to symbolize the information, ideas or knowledge gained from the books and “sieve” is used to symbolize the mind.

Later, while Guy Montag tries reading over Millie’s laughter he finds that he doesn’t understand what he’s reading. Montag thinks back to a time when he met an old friend named Faber and then goes to visit him in hopes that he is able to teach him the meaning to what he reads. While visiting, Faber shows Montag a small green metal object that reminded him of a seashell radio. Faber and Montag would end up using this for their own good against Captain Beatty.

As the firemen sat playing poker Montag handed his book to Captain Beatty. Guy felt the guilt of his hands. Faber listened in on their conversation and assisted Montag in the conversation. A little later the siren’s had sounded. Beatty was slow to move, he classified it as a “special case” almost as if he was aware of the house they were going to.
When they arrived at the house Beatty was fixated on Guy’s face. Guy was stunned that they had arrived at his front door.

Reading through this chapter of the book really held my attention; I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the beginning of the next chapter. I am wondering if they really will burn Montag’s house or if Beatty is trying to teach him a lesson.

Concrete and Abstract Thinking

In psychology were learning about human development. While the instructor talked about the different stages of Piaget she went over a new stage in the theory that I had became oblivious to while working with preschoolers. The concrete operational stage, deals with six to evelen year olds and explains how they develop the ability to think concrete and abstractly. Concrete terms usually remain the same significance to an adolescent as well as a fully developed adult. For example, puppy, spoon, and chair are all concrete terms. Abstract ideas are fairly common and recognizable. Abstract thinking however, can be difficult because it is hard to understand the terms. Some examples of abstract terms are love, freedom, and success. While talking to a teacher about this topic I was informed of a time when she interacted with a child while they were developing the concept of abstract thinking.
While the story “Caps for sale” was read to a four year old she replied in a serious tone, “I think this is a story about bad monkeys. They stole the hats!” Meredith is beginning to develop the skills to think abstractly. By using a serious tone she is already connecting the idea to her feelings. To continue Meredith’s abstract thinking, the teacher asked her questions about the feelings of the characters in the story.
I ended up doing some extra research on this topic and when I gave a survey to many children at the daycare and asked what they believed the word love and success meant. The six to eight year olds responded by saying, "Love is when Grandpa gives me a chocolate bar." Many also said, "Love is when you like or love someone." When I asked them what success meant to them they also replied, "When I'm really good at art." Clearly they haven't developed the skills to think abstractly. Most children will later develop this skill around age eleven.

F451 Class Discussion

Wow! Today's class discussion taught me so much that had not crossed my mind while reading! Unfortunately, I find myself having a tough time comprehending what I read. This sometimes causes problems when trying to think abstractly or analyze books. Although, I didn't speak during the discussion I found myself amazed by all the things everyone else had seemed to pick up on so well. Looking back at the story, made me realize how futuristic his writing was in different points. Many of my questions about the story were answered although I still question what really happened to Clarisse. The possibilities are endless yet as I began to contemplating them I thought about Mildred and how she explained to Guy that she likes to drive fast when she gets emotional. Is possible that Mildred had been driving too fast and may have hit her, or possibly the thought my classmates had about the mechanical hound or someone who was targeting her specifically? At any rate, I think everyone brought up great points and when I begin the next section of the book I'll make sure I try to clearly analyze everything. Happy reading everyone!

Fried Green Tomatoes

My boyfriend and I have been dating for a little over a year and a half now. Every Friday night is considered "movie night." Tonight we watched Fried Green Tomatoes and if you haven't seen this movie I would most definitely recommend you to watch it. The movie is a story within a story about an older woman in a retirement home who tells her young life story to a woman named Evelyn who comes to visit her every day. As the elderly woman tells her story throughout the movie the two women become very close friends.

The old woman tells a story of two young girls Ruth and Iggy. When Iggy was younger her brother was very much in love with Ruth. Iggy's brother had died after being struck by a train. He had been trying to fetch Ruth's hat when he got his foot stuck in the railroad track. This was devastating because both Ruth and Iggy watched his death. Iggy later becomes a complete rebel towards her family, and Ruth comes to try and assist Iggy to make better choices. Oddly Iggy and Ruth become best friends and Ruth ends up turning slightly rebellious herself. Ruth later gets married to an abusive husband and when she finds out she’s pregnant runs away with Iggy. Ruth's husband finds out about the child and harasses Ruth until he is later killed. Many thought Iggy was the murderer however, she is not. The judge dismisses the case as an accidental death after finding his truck in the river a few years after his death proved no evidence of a murder. When Ruth's son was about 8 years old she is diagnosed with cancer and passed away. Iggy was devastated by this and claims responsibility for Ruth's son. Later they find out who really killed Ruth's husband. (Which I won't give away!)


While the older woman explains the story the two grow very close. On the day that the Evelyn decides to ask the elderly lady to come and stay with her she walks into the room to find a big surprise. A nurse was taking down all of the elderly woman’s wall decorations. She burst out with tears and feels at a complete loss. Fortunately, one of the nurses came in and brought to Evelyn’s attention that she had not died but the elderly woman’s friend had passed away. I completely broke down at this moment because I was a Certified Nurse’s Assistant at one time. I worked with Rest Haven and I know what it's like for these poor individuals. My heart went out for the elderly lady as the nurse was just ripping her pictures off the wall, photo's being torn in half. No one deserves to be treated like that! First of all, most residents have either been forced to or given up their entire homes and moved into a room half the size of their own bedroom. These people barely get visitors and feel so deprived. They dream of how their life used to be and wish every day that it could be the same. I've had many residents tell me about how they would soon be leaving to go back "home" and promise that they will come back to visit me. Sadly, two of my patients pasted away in the past week which I am very saddened about. I won't give away the end of the movie because throughout the movie you will ask many questions and I don't want them to be answered by me.

Fahrenheit 451 The Hearth and the Salamander

As I began reading Fahrenheit 451 I was almost in a mind of confusion. There was an extensive amount of imagery and I found myself having a hard time grasping all the information at once. While I kept reading, it became much easier to comprehend.

I was fascinated by the futuristic world in which the story is told. I found the robot dog to be fine example describing this futuristic setting. The story is about a man name Montag who is a fireman although, not the type of fireman you are thinking of. They were not used to put out fires but instead they burned books because they were against the law. One of the scenes where the book burning occurs made me feel slightly disturbed. The decision the firemen made to still burn the books in the house, while the elderly woman was still inside, completely shocked me. It made me wonder why these books were against the law, and what made the issue so demanding.
When Montag took one of the books and hid it behind his pillow it gave me an uneasy feeling because he knew the consequences to this action.

One day, Montag began interacting with a girl who had lived across the street. This girl was a curious seventeen year old, name Clarisse. She always asked so many questions and began to make Montag think about things that may have never crossed his mind before. He soon began to realize that the relationship he had with his wife wasn’t much of a relationship at all. Montag’s wife, Mildred also known as “Millie” informs Montag that Clarisse's family moved away after Clarisse had passed away. Mildred claims that she was apparently killed after being hit by a car. Montag fails to believe his wife and is curious to know what really happened.

As I was reading I began to wonder what exactly the book is banned for. Although I know to some the use of God's name in vein can clearly be offensive. I personally can't seem to understand why anyone would want ban this book from being read. I quickly became attached to the book and found myself disappointed when I had to put it down.

Kanye's VMA Rant

I watched in astonishment, when Kanye took the microphone from Taylor Swifts hands during her acceptance speech at the 2009 video music awards. He interrupted Taylor Swift by saying, "I'm sorry, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time." Beyonce looked stunned from the crowd. When Beyonce was later invited up on stage, when she was she invited Taylor Swift to the stage to give her a chance to have her moment. Kayne’s actions brought many people a feeling of disqust. I feel his actions were unacceptable and very distasteful. Unfortunately, Kayne seems to be creating a history of rants made throughout the years relating to award shows. Personally I believe what Kanye did to Taylor was a disgrace to the entire music community. The fact that he got up on stage against Taylor clearly shows how his jealousy shines. I feel that although everyone is entitled to their own opinion, Kanye should have kept his to himself.

Deliah's Escape

I speak for myself but I’m sure most people will agree that snakes just aren’t pleasant reptiles to be in contact with. Therefore, I am definitely opposed to having one as a pet. As I was looking through the news on AOL I came upon an article about a 16 year old, 18 foot long, 400-pound python named Deliah, that was seized from a Florida home. Apparently the python had escaped the owner after being removed from its unsuitable chain-link cage shortly after eating seven rabbits for breakfast. It sends chills down my spine just viewing photos of reptiles and to imagine how anyone could have a pet python that large seems wild. I believe that everyone who is granted with an opportunity to own a python or any type of reptile should have a restricted limit of size. If it would exceed the limit, they could still own it but they should be required to keep in a confined place suitable for the animals needs.

A day of rememberence

We shall never forget,

We shall keep this day,

We shall keep the events and the tears

In our minds, our memory
and our hearts and take
them with us as we carry on.

As we commemorate the eighth anniversary of September 11 we remember those who lost their lives in this tragic event. Eight years ago, on an ordinary Tuesday morning, nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the deadliest attack on American soil in our history. I can remember back to when I was in 5th grade. Our teacher suddenly stopped class and turned on the television as we watched the news broadcast about this shocking moment. We soon learned that this was a planned hijacking, and I remember hearing President George Bush declaring war upon Al-Qaeda and the United States of America. It’s been about five years since we have been at war with the Middle East. As my heart goes out to each and every family across America dealing with the loss of a family member, I pray for the families who are currently watching their loved ones head off to war. This subject hits close to home for me because my cousin recently graduated from West Point Military Academy and could almost immediately be deployed. I never imagined that within my family I would ever encounter this feeling. I respect each and every soldier fighting for this country because without them, life would not be worth living.

Writing from the darkness

While reading through the passage I became very sympathetic to the authors emotions. I enjoyed reading the passage because she clearly explained in vivid detail her experiences with writing. It was captivating to see this passage through the author’s eyes. I feel that the author explained her feelings better than I believe I could ever express mine in my own writing.

As her grandfather once said, “There is light in darkness, you just have to find it.” I feel that she personally found writing was the light to her darkness. It was merely her way out instead of choosing death. I think everyone has their own way of dealing with tough times. I was never into writing or reading as a teenager because I just never understood its importance. My outlet was twirling and dancing. I found peace within it. I could be having an awful day and therefore I would just go outside and twirl away all my anger and frustrations. Just like writing poetry was the author's way to release and move beyond the pain she felt. Unlike the author, I never went through any comparable pain however, in a similar way we were able to find the light within ourselves.

Teacher is accused of selling grades for cash

A 35 year old social studies teacher has been charged with accepting cash from students looking to improve their grades. She collected more than $1,400 from the high school students throughout the past school year. The students claimed that the teacher told students she would give them extra credit and that the money would be used for chariety. But they said she kept the money for herself. She was charged with 3rd degree theft by deception. Monday she was released on her own recognizance. She is no longer employed with the district.

As an education major I find this article to be completely repulsive. This "teacher" clearly has no compassion for the discipline that students need. First of all, I feel that students who don't put forth the effort shouldn't be given a chance to earn extra credit. The fact that she offered it for money is absolutely distasteful. I highly doubt any student who was doing well in the class would ever fork over money for "extra credit", at least I wouldn't!

"What Should Colleges Teach?" Stanley Fish

In response to Stanley Fish’s “What should colleges teach?” I found myself to be in agreement with him. I feel that everyone should be exposed to correct writing, because that’s the way most people learn. For example, I will use my own experience. When I was younger I always struggled with writing and reading. I wasn’t very motivated to crack open a book in my spare time or journal because reading and writing just weren’t my strong points. As I grew older I found myself in classes with papers to write and I had not idea how to even start. This lack of motivation was quite a challenge for me throughout junior and senior high school.

I almost have to place the blame on the teachers. Throughout my school years the teachers had seemed to baby the students far too much. They basically told us what to write and made the corrections on our papers before it was time to hand them in for a grade. It nearly seems as if they didn’t want us to feel overwhelmed. Instead of helping us learn to develop correct writing skills, they were hurting our futures by doing the work for us. Thankfully, I have had a few people in my life who really pushed me to do my very best when writing and I find it easier now than ever to gather my idea’s together and put them out on paper.