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Reflection
Spring 2021 Final Reflection
Project Description:
In this final assignment, you will write an essay in which you reflect on your learning this semester. The goal of this essay is to demonstrate to me your understanding of the things you learned.
Requirements:
Length: 750-1500 words
Due Date: Friday, May 7th (at 8AM!–do make note of this time!)
Format: single spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman
Assignment Rationale:
Reflective writing assignments such as this one are intended to help you articulate both to yourself and your instructor what you have learned and how you learned it. Research shows that this kind of self-knowledge is helpful in bringing the things you learned in this setting to future writing situations. It also gives you the opportunity to explain things you learned to your instructor that might not necessarily be showing up in your previous assignments.
Suggestions:
Because this assignment is so open-ended, you might struggle with what to write about. That’s OK. Here are some suggestions that you can follow to help you as you brainstorm and write (feel free to do more than what they say, or to them partially, or to make a combination of them, or you can also write something completely different. All is good, so long as your reflection centers around being a student):
Suggestion 1: Learning goals / Artifacts
Go through the course learning goals and write about activities (either major assignments, homework, in-class or online activities) that helped you learn that goal, even if only partially. For each goal that you discuss, be sure to pick a specific example of learning and to explain how the activity that you write about helped you learn that goal. You might think about using the associated outcomes as guidance (for example, if you’re writing about Goal 1, you can use the outcomes listed underneath it to help you think through it).j
Suggestion 2: Looking forward
Revisit what you have learned and worked on throughout this semester (in this course) and make connections to how it may apply to your future school work, profession, personal goals. Consider anything you have learned (from the actual terms we defined in this course, to any work ethic skills you may have picked up) and reflect on how you might use and improve on those things as you move forward. Use specific examples where appropriate. (Remember that vague and abstract sentences/claims make for a weaker paper.)
Suggestion 3: You as a writer
Who are you as a writer now versus when you began the course? How has your writing changed/developed? Use specific examples! What have you learned about writing in this course? What have you learned about revision? Where else can you apply revision? Moving forward, what would you like to improve about your writing? What are your strengths and what do you notice are still areas for improvement? Etc.
Suggestion 4: Living through a pandemic
Reflect on what being a student this year has been like. What have been some of the challenges for you? Have there been any positives? Did these times, for example, help you work more on your self-motivation? What do you wish had been done differently? (Any way I could have made this class smoother?) What has helped you stay afloat? For this prompt, you can write about being a student in general–it doesn’t have to relate to solely this class.
Suggestion 5: Comic (Graphic Memoir)
Minimum of 4 pages. 4 panels minimum per page. Has to relate somehow to being a student. Perhaps what would be easiest for this is to use the prompt for suggestion 4–but this is the visual version of the above. How might you write about your experience as a student during the pandemic? There is no word requirement for this suggestion, but like with P2–if you decide to make a comic, you’ll have to have both a visual and text element. Your comic could be an equal amount of text and visual, or it can be mostly visual with thought bubbles or mostly visual with a brief narrative running through each panel, or, or, or. Can be done digitally if you know how. Or can be done on print paper by hand. (Scan and upload to submit.) First a sketch that your peers can give feedback on. And then the final version for May 7th. // If a comic is what you go with know that I will not be grading based on visual skill. If stick figures are what you can draw, then cool. This however doesn’t mean that you can slack on the visual element! I’d like to see that you put thought and effort into your visuals–like with digital posters, consider why and how you include your visual. Why a close up of a face? Why might you leave a panel mostly blank? Why might another be highly detailed? Why might you heavily shade your visuals? Etc, etc. // I am expanding on this one the most just because I doubt many of you have worked with comics before… and I also don’t know how knowledgeable you all are with graphic novels. Overall, though, I think this could be a fun way to approach the final reflection and hopefully wouldn’t be too tough.
Here is what I am imagining in my head. I wrote this to plan out a flash essay, but this is what your (unedited) pages could look like. There are 5 panels in this example–the middle larger than the rest and the bottom right not contained in a box and that might have a purpose. This sample is not about the pandemic, but if it was I would clean it up (revise the text and decide on what visuals I include and how), but I’d just use stick figures and you all can do that too. // Including this because maybe this can help! Possibly.
The following list can be used as reference to write your reflection essay OR could also be used as a template for your essay (but you don’t have to use the below):
Key terms or concepts: What terms (such as genre, discourse community, literacy, for example) have you learned in this class and what do they mean to you?
Readings: What things have we read that stick out to you? Why do they stick out? What things have you retained from these readings?
In class or online activities: What in-class or online activities have we done in which you think you learned something from?
Writing Process: Describe and/or draw your writing process. What can you say about this? What works and what doesn’t? What technologies do you use and why (also, remember that pen and paper are technologies)?
Major Assignment: Reflect on your major assignments. What did you write about and why? What did you learn from writing it?
Self-Assessment: Assess your work in this class. What have you done well and what can you improve on in the future?
Compare and contrast two novels Middle March and Jane Eyre and terms of realistic narrative style the themes of social class
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Comparing and contrasting two novels (Middle March and Jane Eyre)
Literature is one of the subjects that educate the reader on the culture of the society. The study of classic English literature enhances the knowledge of the culture of the people present during this period. The term realist narrative is used to describe a narrative that writes on real life experiences. This is an ideal aspect in that it enables the reader to relate to the content of the book with ease. Social class and status of women in society are some of the elements of the culture of any community. These two topics are unavoidable due to their significance in the day to day lines of human beings (Roberts, p. 304).
The focus of this paper is to provide an analysis of two literature books that talk about social class and the role of women in society. The books in this case are George Elliot’s, Middlemarch and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. The paper compares and contrasts both books in terms of the realist narrative style. The paper further offers a concluding paragraph summarizing the contents of both novels.
Summary of Middle March
George Eliot’s, Middlemarch is based on the life of Dorothea Brooke. Dorothea is an agreeable young lady who chooses to marry Casaubon due to his extensive education. The novel is set in the Victorian age where class, education and the social elite is a significant part of the culture. The marriage does not turn out the way Dorothea anticipates due to their incompatibility. She becomes a victim of unfortunate circumstances in that she loses her husband at an early stage of their marriage. She is then faced with the dilemma on whether to follow the laws of society or fight for her happiness. She chooses to follow her heart by marring Will Ladislaw who changes the dynamics of her life (Groundwater, p. 352).
The novel is classified under a realist narrative due to its display of real life circumstances. One of the issues that the book raises is the existence of social classes in the society. Middlemarch is set in the Victorian age making it subject to the observation of social status. The community comprises of a hierarchy that is keen on the observation of social protocol. There are several factors that determine the classification of the members of the community. One of the factors in this case is the influence of individuals in society. Most of the laws are made by the religious individuals who are classified as nobility. A majority of the laws control the conduct of the citizens making them accountable to all forms of authority. Failure to abide by these laws makes an individual an outcast in the community. When Dorothea loses her husband, she is expected to act a certain way. Despite the level of grief she is experiencing, she is expected to behave like a lady and be graceful at all times. This places pressure on members of society who are inclined to put the needs of the society above their own needs (Lerer, p. 245).
One of the characters in the novel is that of Fred Vincy. Vincy is born in a privileged household making his life easier than the rest of his counterparts. He does not take advantage of his position in that he shuns the opportunities given to him. He throws away his chance to get a college education due to his rebellion against societal norms. He continues to make a number of mistakes that finally sees his character bankrupt due to accumulated debts. Vincy’s conduct is not acceptable in the community. His actions cost his family in that they lose the respect that society accords them. The lifestyle in Middlemarch is reflective of the Victorian era. High standards are set for the community who are at the mercy of the influential individuals. It is difficult to belong to the lower class due to the few opportunities presented to such people. It is thus not uncommon for the less fortunate to climb up the ladder so as to elevate their status.
“I am not aware of it. And to me it is one of the most odious things in a girl’s life, that there must always be some supposition of falling in love coming between her and any man who is kind to her… I have no ground for the nonsensical vanity of fancying everybody who comes near me is in love with me.”
As stated earlier, the Victorian age demands an immense amount of responsibility from their citizens. Culture is an essential aspect in the community of Middlemarch. The culture has been past down from generation to generation making it valuable to the community. One of the elements of the culture is the observation of gender roles. The Victorian age is infamous for the division of roles between men and women. One of the themes that the author writes on is the position of women in society. Women in Middlemarch face a number of disadvantages due to the cultural norms that are supposed to follow. One of the disadvantages that women face is their lack of financial security. Most of the financial responsibility is reserved for men who are expected to excel in their studies. Men are thus given most of the opportunities in terms of intellectual knowhow making them more significant in society (Lerer, p. 145).
“She was always trying to be what her husband wished, and never able to repose on his delight in what she was.”
Women on the other hand show their worth through having a successful marriage and family. Women who do not achieve this role are placed in a lower level compared to their counterparts. When Dorothea loses her husband, she loses her dream of beings an exceptional woman. Her new status as a widow makes her vulnerable to all forms of criticisms by the people around her. Women do not have much influence in the community. They are expected to act in the best interest of the men so as to as to maintain the patriarchal norms.
Summary of Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is based on the life of a lady who faces an immense amount of challenges as she during her upbringing. Jane becomes an orphan at an early age placing her under the mercy of her aunty. Her aunty is married to a wealthy diseased husband making her belong to the high society. Jane falls victim to the cruelty of her aunt and cousins who do not show her the lover she so desires. She lives a life of misery in that she does not grow up with the love other children are exposed. She finally gets enough confidence to tell her family how she feels about the way they have treated her. This earns her a place in the red room where her uncle lost his life. She is exposed to routine nightmares due to the reputation of the room. Her aunty decides to send her to boarding school making this one of the pivotal times of her life. She manages to get an education elevates her situation in life. Eyre becomes a governess which earns her a job in one of the wealthy families in the community. During her journey, she meets a number of male figures whose strong perception makes Jane an advocate for women empowerment (Roberts, p. 217).
Society is a significant aspect in the community during this era. People who belong to a lower class are exposed to a number of disadvantages. A look at the life of Jane shows the amount of mistreatment she undergoes due to her status in society. Jane does not come from a wealthy family. Her situation is worsened when she loses her parents at an early age. Her move to her wealthy aunty house does not change the dynamics in that she is still treated differently from the rest of the family. The author showcases the brutality that the less privilege faces under the authority of the high society.
“Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! – I have as much soul as you, – and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you!”
Jane develops a romantic relationship with Mr. Rochester who belongs to the elite class. Jane on the other hand has a simple lifestyle which lives a lot to be desired during this period. She uses this premise as an excuse not to marry Mr. Rochester. This asserts her personality as an independent woman who refuses to abide by rule of the society. The ability to move to another social class is displayed by Miss Ingram social climbing ways. She uses all means to marry a man with a wealthy background so as to elevate her status (Roberts, p. 315).
Jane studies to be a governess to the children of wealthy families in the community. The fact that the society requires a governess to teach young women how to behave shows the high amount of pressure that women are accustomed. Women are required to behave a certain way so as to uphold the societal expectation and norms. Women are taught how to behave in front of members of the surrounding environment. One of the duties of a woman is to be supportive of her family. These places women in a subservient position compared to the men in the community. Eyre opposes this kind of treatment that women are accorded. She breaks all the rules by ensuring that she accomplishes all the things she set herself to do. This makes her earn the respect of the people who had initially mistreated her.
As stated earlier, Eyre gets a job as a governess. Women are not expected to work during this period. Most of the careers are created to suit the needs of the men leaving the women to maintain their role of mother and wife. One of the few jobs created for women is that of a governess. This displays the different levels of education that is provided for the different sexes. Women are not expected to uphold challenging careers making their chances of empowerment diminish. The book is reflective of Bronte’s criticism of the Victorian lifestyle and attitude towards women. She thus uses this book to make a statement on her thoughts on the inequalities experienced by women at the mercy of their male counterparts. Unequal marriages are created by unequal social positions. Berthas marriage to a man of higher social standing exposes her to a number of oppressive situations by her husband. This serves as a motivating factor for Jane who achieves her own wealth so as to elevate her status before she marries Mr. Rochester (Francis and Brontë, p. 231).
In conclusion, both books base their themes on the observation of social class and the role of women in society. The authors bring this out through the explanation of the social cultural aspects in the communities. The use of realist narratives is essential in that it exposes the reader to the lifestyle of the people who lived in this era. Both books show a similar characteristic that places them in the same category. Despite this they have several differences that bring out the unique characteristic of the authors work. Both authors educate the reader on the social differences experiences by different people. This showcases the number of changes that society has undergone from the time of the Victorian age to present day.
Works Cited
Groundwater, Anna. The Scottish Middle March, 1573-1625: Power, Kinship, Allegiance. London, England: Royal Historical Society, 2010. Print.
Francis, Pauline, and Charlotte Brontë. Jane Eyre. London: Evans, 2010. Print.
Lerer, Seth. Error and the Academic Self: The Scholarly Imagination, Medieval to Modern. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002. Print.
Roberts, Timothy. Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. St Kilda, Vic: Insight Publications, 2011. Print.
Sleep Deprivation Ethnography
Sleep Deprivation Ethnography
Everything around us, including ourselves, all involve biology in some sort of way. Sleeping is something that every person enjoys and desires because they are resting avoiding stress etc. However, some people struggle to sleep are waking up showing up to school or work so tired because they either stayed up all night or just did not get much sleep. Most of the times other people, including myself, tend to struggle on sleep for the reason being that I am stressed and want to be on top of my school work and everything else that happens in my everyday life. There are different types of sleep deprivations or disorders sleep apnea, which is the difficulty breathing when you’re sleeping, also known as snoring, insomnia, meaning not able to sleep at all, etc., but the most common is insomnia. What I have always wanted to know is how sleep deprivation is connected to biology? Sleep deprivation means an individual who lacks sleep. When a person is restricted to sleeping they discover, weight gain, weight loss, sleepiness, and effectiveness of their self-health. Teenagers and older adults are known to experience is sleep deprivation that causes them to wake up dragging themselves out of bed and go through their day because of the loss of sleep. Adolescents also seem to experience sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation can be experienced by many people for numerous reasons. Nonetheless, sleep deprivation tolerance has a possibility of being genetic. Overall, sleep deprivation can be treated with medications, coping skills, and forming yourself new schedules that can help sleep earlier and have lots of rest.
In the United States, about 50 to 70 million people are diagnosed with a sleep disorder. There are 48% of the people make reports that are snoring. Also, it is known for people to be sleeping during the day, “37.9% reported unintentionally falling asleep at least once in the preceding month” (ASA). The part that people should try avoiding is falling asleep while driving, 4.7 percent of the people are reported for dozing off when driving. “Drowsy driving is responsible for 1,500 fatalities and 40,000 nonfatal injuries annually in the United States” (ASA).” Of course, the most common sleep disorder is insomnia, it is reported that approximately 30% are diagnosed with a disorder and 10 percent have chronic insomnia. It is recorded that 25 million people in the United States have obstructive sleep the percent in women ranges from 9 percent to 21 percent and for men it is about 31 percent. According to the Sleep-Deprivation Statistics, 37 percent of people from ages 20 to 39 years old are reported to have short sleep duration while people aged 40 to 60 year old is recorded to 40 percent. Adults get less than 7 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours are experienced by 35 percent of people. There are records of people from different races and ethnicities who get less than 7 hours of sleep. It holds that there is 34.4 percent of whites that get less than 7 hours of sleep. Hispanics show that 34.5 percent also get less than 7 hours of sleep. African Americans take 45.8 percent and Natives have 40 percent to 47 percent that receive a short amount of sleep. In addition, close to 46 percent get less sleep come from people with other ethnicities and multiracials. Other multiracial Babies, children, teenagers, and adults are supposed to be sleeping a certain amount of hours to wake up fully rested and not groggy or lazy. Babies and infants are supposed to sleep close to 16 hours which includes naps. Moreover, as they get older they tend to start waking up earlier but still maintaining a full night’s rest. Children should be sleeping about 14 hours including their naps. Teenagers get about 10 hours of sleep and adults get 7 to 10 hours of sleep.
There are many causes of encountering sleep deprivation. For example, people stay up because they choose to stay up. However, some people do not realize that your body needs to rest.“Children and young adults are most vulnerable to the negative effects of sleep deprivation” (Davis). The people choose to stay up because they are either on the phone, reading an interesting book, and most likely binge-watching a Tv show. They also choose to stay up because they are probably taking care of a sick loved one or they themselves might be sick that causes a lack of sleep. It is common that part of society lacks sleep because they are doing work for their jobs or even for school. Drinking caffeine comes into effect when people decide to stay up late when it comes to working. College students, in particular, stay up late doing papers, studying for exams, and doing homework. I am a college student and I do experience sleep deprivation and so do many more students; I go to the library sometimes and see students there late at night as well. College students lack sleep for the reason that they are stressed, working to get on the Dean’s List, or the professors warn their students on the difficulty of their assignments to start reviewing. Medications that are prescribed by doctors can cause insomnia. “Some drugs used to treat disorders such as epilepsy or attention deficit disorder (ADHD) can cause insomnia” (Better Health). Depending on where people sleep is another cause of sleep deprivation; because of their temperature set in their room, uncomfortable bed, loud neighbors, and your partner snoring. Poor sleep hygiene can lack a person’s sleep because they have stuff on their mind that stresses or worries them. One of the biggest things that bring adults to sleep deprivation is being parents; having babies and toddlers that frequently cry all night can bring parents to lose sleep.
Lacking sleep can affect people’s moods, overall performance and especially their health. Losing sleep can bring irritability, lack of motivation, anxiety, and symptoms of depression. It can bring down their performance by lacking concentration, energy, attention deficits, and forgetfulness that brings an increase in poor decisions. People everywhere can experience these poor performances in school, college and even in adult life workings, bringing down their overall GPA or loss of their jobs etc. Which will bring on their symptoms of depression along with many other things as their lack of sleep worsens? “A sleep-deprived person is likely to fall asleep when forced to sit still in… a meeting or class” (Assm Fact Sheets). People around the world that are lacking sleep can cause poor driving bringing in car accidents as well as causing injuries to themselves or others in their workplace. As for their health, lacking sleep can cause weight gain leading to obesity or the person can lose weight. According to Kathleen Davis’s article on Medical News Today, “Two hormones in the body, leptin, and ghrelin, control feelings of hunger and satiety, or fullness. The levels of these hormones are affected by sleep. Sleep deprivation also causes the release of insulin, which leads to increased fat storage and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.” It can affect vital signs which involve, blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate and breathing rate that bring on heart attacks. Sleep deprivation affects the brain as well. There was a study about monitoring the brains of sleep-deprived people as they performed basic learning tasks while using the functional magnetic fMRI. The results that the sleep-deprived brains found a lot of activity in parts of the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the part of the brain that supports cognitive behavior, expression, and decision making. “The average non-sleep-deprived subject’s brain needed to exert a lot more effort than the brain of an average non-sleep deprived person… the brains of sleep-deprived people were trying to compensate for the adverse effects created by sleep deprivation”(ASA). Nonetheless, people can die due to sleep deprivation. “100,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. Hospitals due to medical errors and sleep deprivation have been shown to make significant contribution” (ASA).
Those who have trouble sleeping can seek assistance at a sleep disorder clinic or go to a doctor for treatments of sleep deprivation. The treatment skills for sleep deprivation do not fully fix your sleep troubles, however, they can help you improve your sleeping. For example, sleeping aids, a few of them affect areas in the brain that controls alertness while others treat other sleeping disorders besides insomnia that causes drowsiness. Also, they even sell sleeping aids over the counter. A few of the counter sleeping aids are some that are used to treat allergy symptoms the medicine beings side effects such as drowsiness, nausea, dry mouth and constipation. Although people can buy sleeping aids over the counter, it is optional that you can visit a doctor and receive a prescription from a doctor. Prescription of sleep meds involves different kinds, such as, benzodiazepines, which is a sleeping pill that targets types of receptors in the brain that promote sleep. However, benzodiazepines can be addictive so people have to take these as a caution but have a possibility of a few harsh side effects, like dizziness, muscle weakness, and nausea. CPAP Machines and CPAP Masks also assist on helping people with sleep apnea sleep better and not have themselves or also if they have a partner have full rest. These masks and machines use the room’s air to keep the airway open during sleeping hours. The machine blows air through a hose that is attached to a mask that goes on the face by velcro straps and can be adjusted to different air pressures. There are different designs is the machine that performs the same effect to the person going to sleep. CPAP machines and masks are the most effective treatments for sleep apnea. Similarly, BiPAP machines perform the same as CPAP machines that help sleep apnea, and patients who have pulmonary issues too except it is more improved as well as being expensive. People who snore used mouthpieces or mouth guards that stop the snoring.
The biological factor that is included in sleep deprivation is that a genetic differentiation can make a few people possibly suffer some of the effects of sleep deprivation. In fact, research was conducted and discovered that people with a specific gene would experience sleepiness and other side effects that are also experienced in people who are sleep deprived. “This gene may be a biomarker for predicting how people will respond to sleep deprivation, which has significant health consequences and affects millions of people around the world” (Warner). The specific gene is somewhat related to narcolepsy. “Narcolepsy is a neurological sleeping disorder which controls the effects of sleep and wakefulness” (WebMD). People that have the gene run from to 62 percent to 88 percent in which they all end up diagnosed with a sleeping disorder. Furthermore, melatonin is produced as a small structure in a part of the brain which triggers a person’s sleepiness. “Research shows that in teens, the production of melatonin doesn’t usually begin until one or two hours later than it does for younger or older people”(HighSchool). In a teenager’s brain, it does take a while for melatonin to process which causes them to lose out on sleep as well as those who fight the sleep which causes them difficulty to wake up early or on time.
In conclusion, biology surrounds everything even when it comes to falling asleep or not. Losing on sleep causes many effects to the human body physically and mentally. There are many reasons that people choose not to fall asleep. It is very important that people should catch up on their sleep or improve their sleeping schedules. There are treatments that can help an individual be fully rested. Sleep deprivation can be prevented once individuals start a sleeping schedule to avoid these effects that can harm their health and performance.
Bibliography
https://aasm.org/college-students-getting-enough-sleep-is-vital-to-academic-success/
https://www.oxfordlearning.com/how-biology-is-responsible-for-the-ways-teens-slee/
https://www.sleepassociation.org/sleep-disorders/sleep-deprivation/
https://aasm.org/resources/factsheets/sleepdeprivation.pdf
https://www.sleepassociation.org/about-sleep/sleep-statistics/
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/sleep-deprivation?viewAsPdf=true
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/307334.php
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20101025/sleep-deprivation-tolerance-may-be-genetic
https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data_statistics.html
https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/narcolepsy#1