Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Texting While Driving

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/02/11/outlawing-text-messaging-while-driving.html

According to this article, up to 16 states are trying to outlaw texting. Only 2 however have actually followed through at the moment. Roughly 20% of all people text while driving, and this number goes up to over 60% when looking at 18-24 year olds only.
Recently 5 girls died after colliding with a tractor trailer truck. They had just graduated high school.

“Mass. Senate votes to ban texting while driving”

The Mass Senate wanted to try and ban texting while driving to stop all the accidents that are caused by the distraction of texting. After years of similar bills the Senate voted for a budget amendment that would ban texting or reading texts while you are driving. They said “A lot of us who opposed this in the past realize that there’s a new generation of drivers who think it’s OK to text while they’re driving,”. Massachusetts is one of the twenty one states thinking about banning texting while driving. I’m thankful this passed so you can’t text while driving because this is was just another major distraction on the road which caused a number of accidents.

Link

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Is Social Networking Bad For Your Children?

The article that I just read was about the “F” word, meaning facebook. Every teenager is asking the question is if they can use facebook! A lot of parents see the views differently. Some think you should allow them to socialize and learn new things online. Others believe you should not, but no one really knows the true answer. Four fathers MC Hammer, Chris Kelley, John Salley, and the articles writer were having a conversation at a “gathering” about using social networks and they all disagreed about how it should be dealt with. My opinion is that teenagers should be able to use social networking if they chose to do so; I say this because my mom let me use Social Networking Sites but she also watched what I was doing online.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Next up for E-Book Readers – Social Networking and Online Sharing - Wired

Everyone is familiar with new technology devices such as iPod Touch, Cell Phones, and Laptops. Everyone is familiar with social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. One new technology that is starting to grow in popularity is E-Book readers like Amazon's "Kindle" or Sony's "Reader". These devices are relatively small, lightweight, and are relatively easy to carry around. One thing that you wouldn't expect from a device that you can buy books from is the power to access social networking sites that people are familiar with. Will the developers say "this power can be used to discuss about books and news", the answer, probably "yes". Will that power be used for social networking just on the basis of book reviews and news, the answer, most likely "no". According to Wired.com and Forrester Research analyst, Sarah Rotman Epps, "Buying and reading books is an inherently social process and the lack of robust sharing capabilities on the (Amazon) Kindle is an obvious weakness that competitors will address,". Knowing this, many companies are currently in development of this type of social networking bridge. In my honest opinion, if you really have to be connected to these sites constantly from cell phone, to computer, and now to Kindle, your perspective on the try functions of devices become shadowed. Plus, the more portable you make the devices that run this type of software, the less options you will have in order to protect yourself online. For example, I cannot block a user on Facebook from my iPhone, but I can on my computer. Obviously, the phone is advanced enough to support the full web site through the internet browser application, but MySpace will always bring me to the mobile version and bug me about their less-protected application. How fun.

[Link]

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Too Much Online Sharing May Haunt You, Study Warns

They call it a digital tattoo; you know when you post something on a social networking site and how everybody can see it? Yea, you're probably wondering what the hell a digital tattoo is. Well, it's when you post something like a personal picture or just personal information and everybody sees it and no matter if you try to delete it or not, it will always be there. That's kind of scary because what happens if you were just playing around with your friends and you didn't realize how personal the picture you posted was until the next day. For example, what happens if you took a picture of your car and it showed the license plate number? You already posted it on MySpace and some creep from Eastbumcrack found it and saved it to his computer and searched it and found you? Even though you deleted it the next day, that guy is still out there with your license plate number and all your information. Kind of scary right? Yea you never realized that a measly little picture could get you tracked but some middle aged creepa. In the article, the security firm revealed that nearly two-thirds of the people that surveyed had uploaded personal pictures, while 79 % had at least part of their address online and nearly half had their cell phone numbers online. One in ten also admitted to have uploaded their bank details somewhere on the Web outside of online shopping sites and one in 20 have uploaded their passport number. But what makes this all worse is that, colleges and jobs now look at your MySpace and Facebook and see what kind of person you really are. So now it really makes you think twice about what you post.


 

Article

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Home Crafts get wired

The article is about a woman, named Alison Lewis, who makes “comfy” technology if I may call it that. She makes pillows that light up when you sit on them, teacup that project movies on an LCD screen, and birds that flap their wings when you walk in the room. I think this is completely amazing, just to take a bunch of small things and make something so different. She doesn’t have a job right now so she hopes to get a job working in technology. If you would like to find out more she has her own blog about all her different technologies. You should go check it out. http://iheartswitch.com/.

Driver Texting Now an Issue in the Back Seat

Are you serious? Texting in the backseat is now harmful to the driver? This is ridiculous. These critics say that “electronics not only put lives at risk, but also steal attention from passengers hoping for some quality catch-up time.” In a recent survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, found that 48 percent of people worry about a friend or family member driving unsafely, and 19 percent said the reason of their concern was texting or doing something else behind the wheel. Okay, so obviously we know not to text behind the wheel. Yes people still do, but we all know we are not supposed to. Now, they are finding excuses to eliminate texting everywhere you go! I didn’t start texting till a couple months ago and it has never been such a problem until now. They are trying to make it seem like texting is the worst thing in the world and that it is dangerous to everyone who uses it. OMG! TEXTING IS GOING TO END THE WORLD NOW! Seriously? In the survey a woman, Ms. Macauley, said. To her, talking on the phone or texting while driving, unless it’s an emergency, is “completely gross.” Okay, so texting is not gross. I don’t understand why people make a huge deal about it. Yes I agree with the rule that states that we should not be texting while driving. It’s kind of common sense that you’re supposed to be paying attention to the road and not your phone. Stop trying to bend the rules by saying, “well, I don’t look at my phone when I’m driving. I just text the world without looking.” You need to read the damn message before you reply to it! And the survey said 33% feel pressured to text if someone else in the car is driving. Okay if you feel the sudden urge to text just because other people are doing it you might have an addiction to texting. That’s pretty bad if that applies to you, but whatever. They can make all the laws they want, it doesn’t mean that everyone is going to follow them. We should be able to text anywhere in the car as long as we are not behind the wheel!

Wikipedia-Obama’s Speech

There is a raging debate whether or not people should have the option to edit Wikipedia pages of prominent political figures such as Joe Wilson. Joe Wilson interrupts Obama’s speech with an outburst. Shortly after this happened, someone posted the new information onto Joe Wilson’s Wikipedia page. At first it was going to be classified as vandalism since it was a new or unregistered user but shortly after it was deleted and the page was locked from editing. “Wikipedians” debated over the source and eventually decided that information needed to be included, but the addition of the fact that Joe Wilson did not have all the facts present at the time had to be present on the page. Another thing that was changed was that his actual quote was removed.

Obama’s Speech

Our opinions:

We think that editing should be done on Wikipedia but should be limited from political figures such as Joe Wilson or Barack Obama.
-Savanna Souza & Austin Soares

Tech Ideas from Twitterland

This article was about the common persons ideas for various electronic devices. Some of the ideas were very inventive, such as the phone not ringing during certain hours. Others were foolish, such as an Audio TiVo for the radio channel of mp3 devices. It was interesting to read about people’s ideas, and only time will tell if any of these things will actually be included.

Computerized Medical Records

Technology companies are trying to push people to bring computerized health records into small offices for physician practices. If this ends up going through, it would be very important because it'll be everything more satisfactory, it'll even cut the curbing costs. Three-fourths of the nation's physicians practice medicine with ten or fewer doctors. The first people that will be doing it would be the high investors with all the money and incentives to invest in electronic health records, then comes the small practices. The technology doctors are investing in practice management software. It's used mainly for billing not for electronic health records. More than 120,000 physicians use the practice management software, which was given to them by General Electric but only 35,000 use electronic health records. At Athenahealth, this is for most small practices, 20,000 physicians use its billing software however only 1,100 have also opted for its electronic health records. The plan is have to the payments be reimbursed to the doctors for much of their investment in electronic health records. Dell is actually going to the Houston area to all of the hospitals and doctors office including the small ones. Doctors are seeing it as an organized way to keep up with the patient's medical records, the latest that they have had done, etc. The way they plan up to set up the offices is that the flat-screen PC are to the right of the doctor present and patients sit to the left of it, but the doctors tend to say, "the computer will never get between me and a patient." I think that means that he'll always care for the patient rather than caring just about what the computer's doing, he'll care about their feelings and needs. Another reason why this is a good idea is because if a doctor is on call, a patient calls him with abdominal pain, the doctor can view the patient's medical records and previous history to make an informed diagnosis right then and there. Even when it comes to prescribing medication, he can do that from his home laptop as well. Overall, I think it's a good idea.

Tweet For Hire

Big business is using growing technologies to their advantage. Recently companies such Coca-Cola and Best Buy have hired staff to basically sit around all hours of the day and talk to people over twitter. They believe this will gain them support and people will view them as a "people oriented" store. Ever since they began doing this they have seen a profit increase across the board. They don't try to push sales on people it is more of a subconscious thing where you will see them as your friend before sales people. It is a smart marketing ploy to trick the minds of certain types of people who are easy to befriend. The companies have now even gone so far as to offer jobs over twitter to people with at least 250 friends. In Coca-Cola's case they hired a person to deal with complaints over twitter. Soon after a complaint was made that a trip that was won was not received and within a day the problem was fixed thanks to the speed of twitter. Some companies also give prizes over twitter but to get them you need to read about the deals that company is having that week or month. So we see that ultimately this is just a quick scheme to get people to be more interested in companies and it seems to be working.

More Free Minutes! :D

    The mobile phone company Sprint is now competing with its rival phone companies and offering its customers more minutes. They now have a plan for $69.99 which gives you unlimited mobile to mobile calling to any network, unlimited text and data, and 450 landline minutes. Or an $89.99 plan that offers the same unlimited things with 900 landline minutes. As mobile companies keep discounting costs for plans Sprint has taken the lead with its new unlimited calling plan.

Web Monitoring

"Software sold under the Sentry and FamilySafe brands can read private chats conducted through Yahoo, MSN, and AOL and other services, and send that data back to the company. The information is then offered to businesses seeking ways to tailor their marketing messages to kids. The data is then offered to businesses seeking ways to tailor their marketing messages to kids. According to the agreement, the software passes along data to "trusted partners.""

So is web monitoring that entirely safe? Do you find people reading your child's private thoughts comforting? Is it safe to have personal information, like what school they go to, who their friends are and what they're doing after school read just to keep your child from looking at what? Why do parents monitor their child's computer? To keep them from looking at what they assume they aren't old enough to see, to keep them barred from what they presume is evil. Why do parents believe monitoring their child's computer will keep them "safe?" They try and keep them out of chat rooms as if to keep them from making the stupid mistake of giving out personal information to a complete stranger when in fact the parents did that themselves already.

When brought up to some of the companies in question stated one competitor, CyberPatrol LLC, said it would never consider such an arrangement. "That's pretty much confidential information," said Barbara Rose, the company's vice president of marketing. "As a parent, I would have a problem with them targeting youngsters."

But others like EchoMetrix said that if parents don't want their child's information sold to businesses then they can well check a box not to, but this option is only available on their website; which most parents aren't even aware of.

And although EchoMetrix is ranked among the top 5 best for parent control, sales figures have never been included. According to EchoMetrix News Corps Fox Broadcasting, DreamWorks, Viacom, and Paramount pictures are all signed on for the leasing of private information; and when these companies were addressed none commented.

So what does that tell you there?

So tell me, is web monitoring safe?


 

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Senior Projects, EASY.

My senior project day was easy. I think that what was stretched out to be a horrifying thing actually was just like all of ours presentations. I just remained calm and just said I know I can do this. Just confidence is the key to success. To any younger classes just do your senior project to get it out of the way so you don't have a giant weight over your shoulder. -Robin LaChance

Senior Project Advice and Thoughts – Sarah Fabianski

Senior projects were definitely worth the stress. After giving my presentation, I felt that all that hard work was worth it. When I sat down and began my presentation, I didn't think was going to do well at all, but once I started and was going through my PowerPoint, I felt a lot more confident and was very happy that I had gone through my slides and planned exactly what I was going to say. I definitely would like to tell any underclassmen that you want to go through your presentation multiple times. I know you're told this all the time, but do it. It helps so much to just read through notes, think about what you want to say, and actually say it. You might think that thinking about it would be enough, but when you get to the presentation and you haven't practiced at all, you might not even be organized. But, like I said, overall, the presentation and senior project as a whole went really well and as long as you practice and don't stress, you'll do great J

D-Traut!

Alright let's start off months before the project was even due. I started my project with no direction or a want to do it so I didn't. About one week before we had to present I decided that I really needed to finish this project or I would have just wasted 12 years of my life. Dan Moxley and I cracked down and finished it. I worked on the presentation about 2 hours before mine and ended up getting a 98. My recommendation to you sophomores is start earlier. Unless you are an amazing procrastinator like me and Dan. I also recommend that you practice your presentation multiple times. I think that presenting was nerve racking but nothing you guys can't handle. Good luck your senior year!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Senior Project Blog




My senior project was how to use QuickBooks. I had several up and downs thoughtout this project. I must say the hardest part was never using QuickBooks before and not really having anyone to help me besides the tutorials. Once I got the hang of it and did a few entries it was pretty easy and seemed natural. I did keep running into problems here and there few out the project but somehow I found my way over them and kept going. I must say I got my project done a lot faster than expected and it came out so much better too. I am so happy that it's finally over and I don't have to worry or stress about it anymore and I can just relax now. If I had any advice for future seniors it would be to start it earlier like in October and be organized that way you're not running around and freaking out at last minute, and practice your presentations before its time to actually present it.

Rebecca Durocher

Senior Projects; Linda Sirois

Wow! Where do I start? Senior projects are intense. They are finally over! I had my project all planned out and about a month ago I changed the whole thing! That was pretty tough because I had already had some of the project done. I think the hardest part for the project was the financial plan because it was pretty extensive. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone who is going to do a senior project, it would be not to procrastinate. That is the worst thing about being a senior, we feel like we can slack off because we are seniors. When you start hearing about senior projects, you should start working on it even if it is just a little bit because time flies! If I could take away one thing from doing this project it would be not to stress it so much because whatever you come out with, as long as you try is going to be good. Be confident in your work because if you're not confident then you won't be able to do the presentation.

Senior Presentation Review

    Going into the room with judges and waiting to begin was nerve racking. I pretty much knew what I was going to talk about but I wasn't sure how they would take it since I thought my project could be better like others were. I had my note cards but I barely glanced at them due to nervousness but overall I think I did well I just wish I remembered to shake their hands! I can't believe I forgot to do that, maybe next time then.

    The worst of my presentation I think was me trying to explain what accounting is. I knew what it was I just felt like I didn't explain it well enough or in depth. My best part I think was when I compared Quicken and QuickBooks I feel that how I explained it was good, efficient, and knowledgeable. I enjoyed showing my work to the judges and was proud of what I found. My advice to you sophomores is make sure you take full advantage of the time you are given for senior projects, don't wait until the last minute to do it, and when the day comes…prepare….prepare….and PREPARE! Show those judges what the students in CIT can do! Make us proud! Never let them see you sweat.

Senior Project Experience-Victoria Sousa


Honestly I was very nervous going into my Senior Project Presentation. I wasn't nervous this morning when I got up or even when we went down to the library. The first time I began to get nervous was when my mom got to the school. I was more nervous about presenting this in front of my mom, than I was presenting to the judges. I think this was because I didn't really know the judges (aside from Mrs. Barrar and Mr. Riendeau) and it made it easier to present it to them. I thought the presentation went ok. It definitely didn't go as smoothly. I think (especially at the beginning) my nerves got the best of me. Once I relaxed and stuck to my points it went ok. If I had a do over I would definitely do it differently and would have done a run through in front of the class. I didn't really think about how I was going to explain my website as well as my business plan. I think that is where I struggled in my presentation.

I felt that when it came to answering the judge's questions I was able to answer them confidently and knowledgeably.

I had a really awesome time on this project. I learned a lot (like how to create a business plan) as well as trying something new on a concept I already have experience in (using a web template for my web site instead of creating my site from scratch like I usually do). I'm glad that I chose the topic that I did and could teach others about wheelchair sports as well. Overall, I was very proud of my final product and was relieved when the presentation was over. If I could give advice to underclassmen regarding senior projects it would be to definitely do a run through before the real presentation.

Senior Project Day- Your Best or Your Worst

Walking into the judging room and not knowing where to begin can be nerve-racking. I knew everything I wanted to say when walking into the room but as soon as I opened my mouth I forgot everything that I practiced.

But, as soon as you start, everything gets better. For me to be nervous wasn't even necessary. To tell you the truth my presentation flew by. Knowing everything about my project helped so much, if you make your project less than a week before will defiantly ruin your chances at acing your project. Show them what you did, what you researched, show them an example if you need to. Anything you do can raise your grade and impress the judges even more.

Steven Chapman - Senior Project

I think truthfully it was not as bad as some people had made it out to be. But I am glad that it is done and over with and I don't have to worry about it anymore. The only thing that I would have to say to the underclassmen is to not even sweat it.

It isn't bad and you can mostly make it up while you are presenting it to the judges. And to make sure that you show them some examples of what you made for a product. You should also make sure that you have an idea of what you are talking about before you try to make anything up.

Neal Anderson – Senior Project

Wowzah! That was rough. At least it's over now and we don't have to worry about it anymore. I didn't really like my project but I liked the idea. I feel like I wasted too much time in the beginning not working on my project and spent my time doing other non-productive things instead. If I had to give any advice to the juniors who have to do this next year, my advice would be to take advantage of the time that the teachers give you. I wasted a lot of time and I wasn't prepared as well as I could have been. It's more than enough time if you use it wisely.

Senior Project

I thought the senior project was a lot of work at first. I loved my idea thanks to Mrs. Sylvia. All of the work I put into it was worth it. In the end the presentation was a piece of cake. I don't think it could have been any easier. I felt so comfortable around the judges they were easy to talk to and they thought my ideas were great which made me even more confident.

Getting everything together and trying to figure out what I was going to say was the most difficult for me. I didn't know for the life of me what I could possibly say to explain my business. Once I started and got into it was a breeze from there on.


 

--Brittny Tremblay

Senior Project – Tracey Anderson

Presenting my senior project to the judges wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. The project is yours that you created and you should be the one to know everything about what you did on the project. The judges only want to know what you did on the project and grade you on how you present it. It's okay to be nervous about it, but it's no big deal.

Everyone makes a big deal about it and makes it appear worse than it actually is. When you get into the room you expect them to stare at you and make comments on how you could have done better. It's nothing like that. When you walk into the room you should just introduce yourself and present your project to the judges like you would present it to your class. When it's over they ask you a few questions about the project and sometimes where you would see yourself and the project in the future.

My advice to anyone who is presenting their senior project is to not be nervous. If for some reason you do get nervous just admit it to the judges. Everyone gets nervous on their senior project.

Senior Project Blog

If I could recommend anything to the juniors I recommend that you start as soon as possible. In the beginning of junior year you think you have a whole year to do it so you procrastinate. Next thing you know a year has gone by and you haven't even started. I was thinking about what the seniors last year told us. Don't wait until last minute, and they weren't kidding! I would also recommend that you choose a project with a topic that you enjoy doing. A few of my friends chose things just because it was an idea and they had no motivation to work on it. You want to make sure it is something you would like to learn about. The teachers are finally leaving our biggest project of the year to us, use it to your advantage.

I would have to say the best part of senior project is when you look back at what you've done and realize "wow." The best feeling is walking out that room and feeling like you rocked the presentation. All that hard work was worth it in the end.

I would have to say my least most favorite part of senior project was starting it and doing the story board. Once I decided what I wanted to do it was all easy from there. The information I put into the database was tedious and took forever but it was simple.

In conclusion, I think that if I were to do the senior project over again I would pick the same thing. I actually enjoyed learning access. I think the reason I enjoyed it most was because I incorporated shopping into it.

Savannah Tavares

Senior Project Blog

I thought Senior Projects was insane. I was really nervous up until my actual presentation, and then everything was fine. The presentation itself came naturally and it went by so fast. This whole entire project has gone by really fast. I wish I had worked a little bit harder on my actual product. The thing I liked about senior projects is that it was just like a weekly shop project, only stretched out for a whole year. The one thing I didn't like is that we actually had to do it, ahaha. I'm just really glad it's over. If I could give advice to the underclassmen, I'd tell them to NOT procrastinate! The judges can definitely tell who worked hard and who waited... unless of course you're Dave Trauterman. I guess overall, the project wasn't that bad. ~ Paige

Senior Presentations

Thank god it's over! I have to say it came quick though. Overall I enjoyed today. Not going to lie, I was very nervous up until my time to present. On the bright side, it's over and done with! I presented right after lunch today and I wasn't too happy about that though. I'd rather have been one of the first so I could just do it and get it over with but it's alright. Overall I think my presentation went alright. I felt that I could have done way better. Nerves definitely kicked in and held me back from doing my best. I had a great start. I had a great introduction, and made sure to shake all of the judge's hands. Throughout the presentation I got a little nervous and lost my train of thought. I wish I had explained things better and brought up more points. The ending went pretty well though. The judge's and I had a great conversation and related to each other on some things. I also enjoyed the judge's I had; they were all very nice and respectful throughout my presentation. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The best part about today would have to be that we got it done and over with! I'm very glad we did this today!=)

As for the sophomores, the only advice I have for you is do NOT wait until the last minute. You're almost juniors. Get started asap! Time flies by when you're a senior; don't let it catch up to you. Ask for help when needed and most of all pick something you're really interested in and have fun with it! Good luck everyone!

Senior Project

I freaked out completely. I was so nervous I couldn't eat breakfast. While I was on my way to present I felt like screaming. Then I get in there and it was like nothing. You present in shop for four years so you have nothing to worry about. It's the best feeling afterwards because you know that you don't EVER have to do it again.


 

Megan Davenport

Senior Project

The night before my senior project I was very apprehensive and even though I practiced my presentation repetitively I felt unprepared. Not knowing the judges made it a lot easier. My mother on the other hand made me feel more nervous, weirdly enough you would think it would be vice versa where the judges made me more uncomfortable than my mother. I was up all night honestly worrying for absolutely nothing at all. I walked in, set up, got introduced and then reintroduced myself individually to each one of the judges. On my tri-fold board I had my key talking points set out then individually went into more detail. I passed out my brochures, business cards, and menus. Then I showed them my website on the computer and explained to them how I designed it. I also talked about the learning stretch and also how my paper tied into my project. I was originally disappointed about going first, but that was actually an advantage because the judges had no one else to compare it to, and I also didn't have to spend the rest of the day worrying.

I put a lot of time and effort into my project. I actually enjoyed working on my website. I learned a lot about Adobe Photoshop, I experimented with a lot of the tools and learned how to better manipulate pictures. I also used Adobe In design for the first time it was very interesting. It was similar to Microsoft Publisher, but it has more detailed options which made my brochure look a lot better than it could of in Publisher. I am glad that it is over, and I am glad that I got to experience it to I enjoyed presenting and designing my website.

Makayla Soule

Senior Project

The overview of the senior project for me was easy, we knew about it since freshman year even though we we're not given the same amount of time as other classes were. I thought doing a business plan wasn't bad and making business cards and a logo were very easy because knew how to use those programs. It was nerve wracking for me to present a few weeks ago but when I was practicing the night before I realized it was going to be a piece of cake because I was the one who created the company, I knew everything about it. The judges were extremely nice, I did everything I was told to do like shake their hands and smile. If I could give any advice to the underclassmen it would be just get it done and don't wait till the night before to practice it just be ready for it because it will show if you're not.

Senior Projects

Senior projects are finally over! It seems like it'd never get here. It took forever to choose what I wanted to do. Making a magazine definitely took more work than I had thought. From choosing a name to writing the articles, it took months to complete my magazine. The hardest part was printing process. Figuring out the page numbers and everything was difficult but it all came together in the end. There are a few things that I could have done to make my presentation better than it was. Like almost every other senior, I procrastinated until weeks before the project was due and printed my project last minute. If I were to recommend anything to the underclassmen, it would be to not hold your project off until the last minute because the judges will be able to tell. Overall, senior projects were stressful but presentations were not as bad as I thought they were going to be. They're nothing to be nervous about.

  • Chelsea Pontes

Senior Projects Blog Post

I feel like my senior project went pretty well. It definitely wasn't perfect, but hey, everyone gets at least a little bit nervous, right? I liked the business I had come up with, but I hated the Business Plan part –it was soooo hard! I completely froze up when the judges asked me about the financial part. I tried to understand the figures while I was making them, but it just wasn't happening. Now that senior projects are over, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. No more worrying! It's all doneJ Now I can finally sleep at night. As for some advice for the underclassmen- DON'T WAIT TIL ITS TOO LATE! –Breanne Wright

Monday, February 23, 2009

Student Entitlement - Hey! I deserve it!

Interesting Article

I recently read an interesting article from the New York Times (see above link) which talked about college students feeling that they deserve an A for simply showing up and submitting all work. The professor in the article argued that doing the bare minimum will earn a C and only work that goes above and beyond can earn an A or B. He talks about the entitlement that many young people feel they deserve.

I would like you to read the article and then provide thoughtful commentary. Namely:

What were your thoughts? Do you agree with Prof. Grossman or disagree? Can you see this problem from his point of view? What do you think contributes to the sense of "entitlement" in young people? As you think about starting your college careers, is this something you will keep in mind? Near the end of the article, they talk about GPA's and if it's below 3.0, it doesn't look very well for you as you embark on your careers. What are your thoughts with the tie-in to a successful first job and your GPA? Is this something you will take seriously?

Please make sure at least your first name is in your comment. You will be graded for your thoughtful, insighful commentary, spelling and grammar. Hint: Write in Word first, then copy and paste to the comment section. :)