Gender -- Nature or Nurture?

Is it nature or nurture that causes a child to develope socially? This blog has to deal with the short write we did in class on whether it is nature or nurture that made that little girl want to play with dolls and baby the fire truck. No one makes a little girl play with dolls. I understand that she may only play with the toys that are presented to her, and her parents have all the say in what type of toys she gets, but saying that gender roles are the only reason girls play with dolls and boys play with trucks is an extremely close minded statement. A not so long time ago people thought it was weird for a girl to play with mud, worms, and little boys, but now a days it seems to just be kids being kids. I believe that nurture has alot to do with how a kid grows up and how they will act, but to insist that this is the only factor in development is rediculus. Nature has to have something to do with how someone grows up. Not only does it determine a persons height, hair color, and all other physical traits, I dont see why it wouldnt have and effect on a persons personality. If someone is depressed, and it is due to a mental illness, that is due to nature. No one socially distorted that person to make their brain release the chemicals that cause depression. Before i piss too many people off, i will stop with my own close minded opinon just to see what type of hate mail i get after this blog entry.
--Comstock

If You Could Interview Anybody In The World, Who Would It Be?

If I could interview anyone in the world it would have to be Edward Norton. He is such an amazing actor and i'm sure has an interesting web to weave. Just to be able to listen to the experiences he has had and the places he has gotten to see due to his career would be phenomenal. Also to listen to how he prepares for certain roles. Who or what did he observe in order to get into character for American History X. That is such an infomrative film about contemporary society, yet it's hard to believe that anyone can be filled with such hate. He managed to pull it off with flying colors. Another question I would have for him would be who is his favorite actor to work with, or who he considered the most intimidating before he began filming. Finally I would want to ask if he feels that his life is fulfilled? Is this what he planned for himself, what changed? If not, what did he want to do with his life? -Irving

There are a lot of people I would like to interview. Some names that come to mind are Larry David, Hitler, and MLK, but none of them would compare to an interview with Jesus. Jesus is arguably one of the most influential people of all time. I would want to interview him because he a different person than you and me. He was a man without sin and was the son of God. Being a Christian, there are many uncertain facts about God, Heaven, and the Bible. In my interview, I would ask Jesus to clarify his message and to clear up all the controversy over him. An example is the Trinity, which is something that was never really explained in the Bible other than that God exists as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The questions to ask Jesus would be endless. -Kang

Evaluation Vs. Letter Grades

I feel the the grading system for the major papers we are to write is a fair system. The check system however i never really liked because it is not specific enough to tell the writer what he did or did not do correct. I feel that the grading system overall in English is perfect because writing is all about progression and if people are bad writers at the beginning, their english background may not have been as good as others. The system that is in place with the english classes is great i feel and i think other subjects should look towards progression throughout the course because that is what education is all about!-O'Neill

The comments on the paper are very helpful. How else are we going to know what a teacher likes and dislikes in a paper if he or she does not tell us? However, I am still partial to the letter grade. It is a clear cut way to let us know how we do on our work. You can judge your own paper based on the comments received, but how do you really know? A teacher may like the paper the first time around, but may find something different the next time. If there are not standards for grading made, how do us as students know whether the teacher takes off the same points for the same mistake on two different papers? The check system is a mix between the two. We at least know for a fact that we are getting a good grade when we receive a check plus. Also, it is pretty self-explanatory if you get a check or a check minus. You either did an ok job or a crappy one. -- Cunningham

A Comment On Culture

I felt a number of different things come out of the Bordo article. Firstly, I think her views on what "the perfect body" should look like, are very profound. Our society is collapsing because a picture is painted for women that if you aren't 5'9", 125 lbs., you're fat. That's not the way it should be. People are developing eating disorders and anxiety issues trying to fit the mold that's, if anything, completely ridiculous. The same thing for men. I personally think that big, huge muscle men are an absolute turn off, but there are ads and constant commercials about how boys need to be fit and look a certain way so that girls will like them. Eventually, I hope that this mold will break. It's stopping people from being happy because they constantly feel inferior to the "Barbie and Ken" dolls that are walking around us today. It's an epidemic and if it doesn't stop, people are going to keep developing major problems.

-- Sizemore

Are You Getting Your Money's Worth?

I think that there is enough "critical thinking" here at WVU. I personally do not really care about them because I will do the same in each one. They do not make me really think to much, however they can be kind of hard. They also give more homework in those classes, so I do learn more, however you can only have so many of those kind of classes because you might overwhelm yourself with homework and all the other stuff that we have to do. Mara Cranfill

I feel that in high school there were not enough critical thinking components in my classes. It seemed like all you had to do was memorize information long enough to spit it out for a test. I was never given an article to analyze and tell someone what it was about. I found this to be very difficult to do when I first came to college.

In my first semester of college here at WVU I had a Nursing class where I used critical thinking. They would give us a scenario and we would have to analyze it and diagnose the patient. Other than that most of my classes just involved memorization of facts. However, inmy second semester, I feel that I must use critical thinking more in all of my classes.

I believe that you do get more out of a class if you are forced to think critically and analyze material. Because in order to think something through critically you must really know the information. This will force you to study because there is no guessing involved. The critical thinking classes are more difficult because you must pay attention and know what you are doing to do good in the class. I feel that they are very boring to sit through. I think it is because you must pay attention to everything being said and if it is a subject you don't like then you are definitely going to be bored in that class.

-- Katie Fidazzo