Wednesday October 3, 2012
Today instead of having class we were supposed to go see Antonio Delgado in Perry Theater. Delgado had a PhD in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He focuses his work on immigrants, mainly Hispanics, in the Chicago area. Chicago has the second largest Mexican population in the U.S. Delgado wants to inform the public, and other Hispanics about the traditions, culture, and struggles that many face. When talking with Martha, I found out that many Hispanics are interested in history, but mainly only the history that relates to their lives or the lives of their relatives; they don't really focus on the history of Hispanics in general. Martha had to go to this because it was so important to her Senior Seminar paper about the churches and immigrants in the Aurora area.
Unfortunately, I had to work from 6:15 until close today, so I was unable to go to the presentation. When doing some research at home about Delgado I found this website that gives some more brief information. Delgado was from Chicago and became interested in learning at a young age when he would always be reading. When doing research of his own he found that several stories and things that he learned growing up were not represented in museums and libraries throughout the city. He felt that his culture was being underrepresented. He set out to not only learn more about his own culture, but to teach others about it and about how multi cultured many cities throughout the U.S. are, especially Chicago. Delgado has lived in several different cities throughout the U.S., but he still says that he loves Chicago the best. This article talks about Delgado and his work in the field. The author, Cara Jepsen, talks about how Delgado makes an interesting point saying that there have been Hispanics in Chicago since the 1920s, but were not a recognized population. Delgado has given several lectures throughout the state of Illinois on Early Mexican Chicago.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Writing History Faithfully
Monday October 1, 2012
Today we talked about when to cite information in a paper. Today's class went along with chapters three and four out of our "Writing History" book. Chapter three was about accurately gathering and citing sources. The text put a great deal of emphasis on making sure to make a clear distinction between your words and ideas and those of someone else. The book says to use an even amount of summarizing and paraphrasing and to use quotes occasionally. While some writers do this, I know that I tend to use quotes and paraphrasing whenever I know that it will make my argument stronger because it is a good piece of evidence/a good source.
We did several exercises in class that helped us to understand how to cite, paraphrase, and quote things. One exercise had us looking at the colonies' problems with the king. This had us looking at old English and we had to figure out what the colonists were trying to say in order to summarize the ideas. Then, things got interesting. The professor gave us a photocopy that came from a book about Lewis and Clark's expedition, but it was written through the eyes of Indians. We read three different paragraphs and we were supposed to paraphrase the content of each paragraph in groups. Once the group agreed on a good sentence or two to paraphrase the entire paragraph, one person went up to the board and wrote out the answers. After all groups had done this we voted on who's we thought did the best job. Everyone did a pretty good job and it was interesting to see that each group used something different; no two paraphrases were the same.
After that exercise, we were given another photocopy about lawn care in Victorian America. Again, we worked in the same groups and were supposed to read five different paragraphs. This time, instead of paraphrasing, we were supposed to summarize the contents of each paragraph. The catch, however, was to turn an entire paragraph of about five to eight sentences into one. I found this quite challenging because there was a lot of good information that I wanted to include, but couldn't. After we made out sentences were put them back up on the board. By this time the class was getting pretty competitive about who had the best sentences. The voting was actually pretty close, I don't remember who won, but everyone had good sentences. Like I said earlier, every group came up with different sentences based on what they found most important in the paragraphs.
These activities tied into the idea of our Senior Seminar papers. Since the paper is quite lengthy, we will need to figure out which information we want to summarize, paraphrase, or quote. Since I will be looking at newspaper articles I think I will be using a bit of all of these. I think I will only use quotes when the information is written in a very organized manner or if it is better than anything that I could come up with to relate the same information.
Today we talked about when to cite information in a paper. Today's class went along with chapters three and four out of our "Writing History" book. Chapter three was about accurately gathering and citing sources. The text put a great deal of emphasis on making sure to make a clear distinction between your words and ideas and those of someone else. The book says to use an even amount of summarizing and paraphrasing and to use quotes occasionally. While some writers do this, I know that I tend to use quotes and paraphrasing whenever I know that it will make my argument stronger because it is a good piece of evidence/a good source.
We did several exercises in class that helped us to understand how to cite, paraphrase, and quote things. One exercise had us looking at the colonies' problems with the king. This had us looking at old English and we had to figure out what the colonists were trying to say in order to summarize the ideas. Then, things got interesting. The professor gave us a photocopy that came from a book about Lewis and Clark's expedition, but it was written through the eyes of Indians. We read three different paragraphs and we were supposed to paraphrase the content of each paragraph in groups. Once the group agreed on a good sentence or two to paraphrase the entire paragraph, one person went up to the board and wrote out the answers. After all groups had done this we voted on who's we thought did the best job. Everyone did a pretty good job and it was interesting to see that each group used something different; no two paraphrases were the same.
After that exercise, we were given another photocopy about lawn care in Victorian America. Again, we worked in the same groups and were supposed to read five different paragraphs. This time, instead of paraphrasing, we were supposed to summarize the contents of each paragraph. The catch, however, was to turn an entire paragraph of about five to eight sentences into one. I found this quite challenging because there was a lot of good information that I wanted to include, but couldn't. After we made out sentences were put them back up on the board. By this time the class was getting pretty competitive about who had the best sentences. The voting was actually pretty close, I don't remember who won, but everyone had good sentences. Like I said earlier, every group came up with different sentences based on what they found most important in the paragraphs.
These activities tied into the idea of our Senior Seminar papers. Since the paper is quite lengthy, we will need to figure out which information we want to summarize, paraphrase, or quote. Since I will be looking at newspaper articles I think I will be using a bit of all of these. I think I will only use quotes when the information is written in a very organized manner or if it is better than anything that I could come up with to relate the same information.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Primary Sources
Wednesday September 26, 2012
Today we discussed different types of sources. Apparently there are several different degrees of sources such as intentional and unintentional. An intentional source is something that is created to be used later or to record an event, belief, or opinion. Intentional sources are things such as court cases. An unintentional source is something that was create for personal use and the creator did not think that it would later be used as a source. Unintentional sources can be things like works of art, letters, and diaries. The diary of Anne Frank is one of the most well-known unintentional sources that almost everyone knows about.
We also talked about the difference between external and internal sources and how to evaluate the validity of a primary source. Before deciding to use a source a historian must make sure that they are aware of a few things. The historian must know some basic information about the author such as how long after an event was the source written, the author's point of view, and the candor. A historian must also be aware of the audience that the work is supposed to be aimed at. The intended audience can often explain the use of language. For example, if an author is writing a book for people who have never been taught about the Great Depression the book will be very basic and will go into details explaining the definitions and key players and events. Now, if a book was written on the same topic but was aimed at people who primarily study that time period, the book will go into much more detail and it will not explain key terms or definitions because it is assumed that the audience is already familiar and knowledgeable about the topic.
For today's class we were also supposed to read chapter four of "Doing History." This chapter directly goes along with what we discussed in class, but in more detail. The book explains that it is important to identify an author's purpose for writing, their tone and language, and the significance of what the writing is about. It also talks about evaluating pieces of oral evidence, such as interviews and speeches. The same things should also be considered (purpose, tone, point of view, author's background), but it should also include why the oral source was produced and why/how it has survived the test of time. It also focuses on dissecting parts that people play, such as why a person is interviewing another person. One of the most important things to remember is that you should always try to gain as much information about a source before you use it in your writing because it could actually contradict your argument, or not even be a valid piece of evidence.
Today we discussed different types of sources. Apparently there are several different degrees of sources such as intentional and unintentional. An intentional source is something that is created to be used later or to record an event, belief, or opinion. Intentional sources are things such as court cases. An unintentional source is something that was create for personal use and the creator did not think that it would later be used as a source. Unintentional sources can be things like works of art, letters, and diaries. The diary of Anne Frank is one of the most well-known unintentional sources that almost everyone knows about.
We also talked about the difference between external and internal sources and how to evaluate the validity of a primary source. Before deciding to use a source a historian must make sure that they are aware of a few things. The historian must know some basic information about the author such as how long after an event was the source written, the author's point of view, and the candor. A historian must also be aware of the audience that the work is supposed to be aimed at. The intended audience can often explain the use of language. For example, if an author is writing a book for people who have never been taught about the Great Depression the book will be very basic and will go into details explaining the definitions and key players and events. Now, if a book was written on the same topic but was aimed at people who primarily study that time period, the book will go into much more detail and it will not explain key terms or definitions because it is assumed that the audience is already familiar and knowledgeable about the topic.
For today's class we were also supposed to read chapter four of "Doing History." This chapter directly goes along with what we discussed in class, but in more detail. The book explains that it is important to identify an author's purpose for writing, their tone and language, and the significance of what the writing is about. It also talks about evaluating pieces of oral evidence, such as interviews and speeches. The same things should also be considered (purpose, tone, point of view, author's background), but it should also include why the oral source was produced and why/how it has survived the test of time. It also focuses on dissecting parts that people play, such as why a person is interviewing another person. One of the most important things to remember is that you should always try to gain as much information about a source before you use it in your writing because it could actually contradict your argument, or not even be a valid piece of evidence.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Secondary Sources
Monday September 24, 2012
Today we were told to bring in a secondary source that relates to our topic. If we did not bring in a source, we would have been forced to sing "Call Me Maybe." Unfortunately, our class is always on top of their game and no one ended up singing. At the beginning of class we started talking about internet sources. Using the internet as a source was a new thing in the lat 1990s. These sources were mostly credible because they were peer reviewed, meaning they went through an extensive routine of being changed, formatted, etc. First, the person must write an article and do their citations. Then the author must send it to a magazine, newspaper, journal, etc. These people would usually give the paper/article to an editor to make sure it is even worth their time messing with. Then from there, the editor would give the article/paper to 2-3 experts in the field that the paper is about. These experts would check the facts, offer further insight, and offer changes. The paper would have to go back to the author for revision, then eventually back to the editor. This whole process can take anywhere from two to four years! Because this process took so long there were not many secondary sources on the internet. However! Back in 2005/2006 a new innovation came to the internet! It is called Youtube.com! Anyone can make videos or powerpoints and post them on the internet! Some things on youtube are quite credible, while others are just a laugh. It seems like youtube has been around forever! Anyway, youtube made it possible for people to imbed clips of film or movies into their online journals and articles. These clips can make a paper much more exciting and give the reader a break.
We also talked about how to figure out if a secondary online source is credible. When one is looking at a website they must keep in mind:
-Author: are they credible? what are their connections to the topic?
-Audience: who is this text written for?
-Publisher: is it a academic or popular press? what other things have they published?
-Historical Argument: what's the main topic/argument that the author is trying to make? (this is usually
found in the preface, introduction, or conclusion, but one should not have to hunt for it!)
-Author's point-of-view: what stance are they taking on the topic? are there any biases? (usually a person
has to read a little bit into the text to get a sense of the point-of-view)
-Author's Sources: it is important to check an author's sources to see where they got their information
from! if the source has several footnotes/end notes and a long bibliography it means that the author
did their research and are well-rounded and informed on the topic)
A person must/should check all of these criteria when deciding to use a secondary source. This check list makes sure that the source is credible and that the author has experience/information about the topic.
We actually did an activity with our "Doing History" book today as well. This activity helped me to figure out if my source was credible and worth using in my paper. These questions asked us to look at our source by asking questions such as:
-What is the author's background?
-Who published the monograph?
-What is the author's point of view?
-What is the historical argument?
-What primary sources are used in the monograph?
...and more questions like that.
My book was called "The Tree Army" and was about the different CCC groups throughout the United States during the Great Depression. It actually had more pictures than it had writing because it was a pictorial. This book seems very credible though because there were not only primary sources in the form of pictures, but there were stories and interviews from people who worked for the CCC. Wednesday we are supposed to bring a primary source to class. I think I will be bringing an article from the Chicago Tribune if I don't find another source from now until then.
Today we were told to bring in a secondary source that relates to our topic. If we did not bring in a source, we would have been forced to sing "Call Me Maybe." Unfortunately, our class is always on top of their game and no one ended up singing. At the beginning of class we started talking about internet sources. Using the internet as a source was a new thing in the lat 1990s. These sources were mostly credible because they were peer reviewed, meaning they went through an extensive routine of being changed, formatted, etc. First, the person must write an article and do their citations. Then the author must send it to a magazine, newspaper, journal, etc. These people would usually give the paper/article to an editor to make sure it is even worth their time messing with. Then from there, the editor would give the article/paper to 2-3 experts in the field that the paper is about. These experts would check the facts, offer further insight, and offer changes. The paper would have to go back to the author for revision, then eventually back to the editor. This whole process can take anywhere from two to four years! Because this process took so long there were not many secondary sources on the internet. However! Back in 2005/2006 a new innovation came to the internet! It is called Youtube.com! Anyone can make videos or powerpoints and post them on the internet! Some things on youtube are quite credible, while others are just a laugh. It seems like youtube has been around forever! Anyway, youtube made it possible for people to imbed clips of film or movies into their online journals and articles. These clips can make a paper much more exciting and give the reader a break.
We also talked about how to figure out if a secondary online source is credible. When one is looking at a website they must keep in mind:
-Author: are they credible? what are their connections to the topic?
-Audience: who is this text written for?
-Publisher: is it a academic or popular press? what other things have they published?
-Historical Argument: what's the main topic/argument that the author is trying to make? (this is usually
found in the preface, introduction, or conclusion, but one should not have to hunt for it!)
-Author's point-of-view: what stance are they taking on the topic? are there any biases? (usually a person
has to read a little bit into the text to get a sense of the point-of-view)
-Author's Sources: it is important to check an author's sources to see where they got their information
from! if the source has several footnotes/end notes and a long bibliography it means that the author
did their research and are well-rounded and informed on the topic)
A person must/should check all of these criteria when deciding to use a secondary source. This check list makes sure that the source is credible and that the author has experience/information about the topic.
We actually did an activity with our "Doing History" book today as well. This activity helped me to figure out if my source was credible and worth using in my paper. These questions asked us to look at our source by asking questions such as:
-What is the author's background?
-Who published the monograph?
-What is the author's point of view?
-What is the historical argument?
-What primary sources are used in the monograph?
...and more questions like that.
My book was called "The Tree Army" and was about the different CCC groups throughout the United States during the Great Depression. It actually had more pictures than it had writing because it was a pictorial. This book seems very credible though because there were not only primary sources in the form of pictures, but there were stories and interviews from people who worked for the CCC. Wednesday we are supposed to bring a primary source to class. I think I will be bringing an article from the Chicago Tribune if I don't find another source from now until then.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Bibliographies Due
Wednesday September 19, 2012
Today our bibliographies were due! I was very nervous because it seemed like everyone else had more sources than I did, then again, I was not able to get into the archives at the Aurora Historical Society or schedule an appointment at the Aurora Library. I most definitely need to find more sources than what I have and really buckle down and get crackin' on this paper. After we handed in our bibliographies we did some exercises to get us thinking. Today we were also supposed to read chapter one of "Writing History." Chapter One was all about starting to write a history paper, the different types of papers, how to search for information, and more. The book makes a good point when it discusses how to develop and explore your interests. I know from experience that I find it much easier to write about something that I find interesting rather than just have a teacher/professor give me a topic to write about. The topics on how to research information was very interesting, but it did not help me very much. My senior seminar paper is too narrow for online databases to be of any real help. I will have to basically completely rely on the historical society, the library, and and other primary sources that I can find, like interviews. I want to see if I can go to a nursing home and find an old person that I can interview about their experience with the Great Depression. I was thinking about it and they wouldn't even necessarily have to be from the Aurora area, just as long as they came from a small town similar to Aurora. This would give me personal first-hand experience. The only problem is that nursing homes now-a-days are very strict, it might be difficult for me to get in to talk to someone I don't know and I can't just call up the place and ask if they have any old people that were born around 1910-1925 (old enough to remember the Great Depression). But still, this is a theory that I will definitely be trying out because I know that once I get into a nursing home I will be sure to be able to find someone to talk with (old people love to tell youngsters about the "good ol' days!).
The book talks about using reference material, but I have already looked in a couple just to get an idea of my topic. Reference books are not that helpful for my topic because it is so specific, but some books do a good job giving a brief overview of the before, during, and after situation. I would probably not use a reference book, like a dictionary, because like we talked about in class, it should only be used when trying to define any terms that the reader may not be informed about.
One thing that we did in class today really helped me! Professor Butters had us do some writing exercises that helped us bring our papers into perspective. We were told to write about the main argument of our papers and then to create a basic outline. Ever since I had this awesome English teacher at Waubonsee, I LOVE OUTLINING!!! So I think I have a pretty good outline going, of course, it all depends on what kind of information that I can find. I just have to make sure that I stay focused on the cultural/social aspect of the Great Depression and not go too much into the business/economy part of it. I think I will give a section of my paper to workers programs (CCC & WPA) and federal/state aid. I was also thinking that I can look into the Elk Lodge and the American Legion of Aurora and see when they were established and if they did anything during the Great Depression. I am really REALLY not looking forward to writing my annotated bibliography! But, alas! It must be done! The one thing that made me laugh about this chapter "If you have to abandon your topic, do it early." HA! we are married to our topics and definitely not allowed to change it now! Paper is due in about 80 days, time to get crackin!!!
Today our bibliographies were due! I was very nervous because it seemed like everyone else had more sources than I did, then again, I was not able to get into the archives at the Aurora Historical Society or schedule an appointment at the Aurora Library. I most definitely need to find more sources than what I have and really buckle down and get crackin' on this paper. After we handed in our bibliographies we did some exercises to get us thinking. Today we were also supposed to read chapter one of "Writing History." Chapter One was all about starting to write a history paper, the different types of papers, how to search for information, and more. The book makes a good point when it discusses how to develop and explore your interests. I know from experience that I find it much easier to write about something that I find interesting rather than just have a teacher/professor give me a topic to write about. The topics on how to research information was very interesting, but it did not help me very much. My senior seminar paper is too narrow for online databases to be of any real help. I will have to basically completely rely on the historical society, the library, and and other primary sources that I can find, like interviews. I want to see if I can go to a nursing home and find an old person that I can interview about their experience with the Great Depression. I was thinking about it and they wouldn't even necessarily have to be from the Aurora area, just as long as they came from a small town similar to Aurora. This would give me personal first-hand experience. The only problem is that nursing homes now-a-days are very strict, it might be difficult for me to get in to talk to someone I don't know and I can't just call up the place and ask if they have any old people that were born around 1910-1925 (old enough to remember the Great Depression). But still, this is a theory that I will definitely be trying out because I know that once I get into a nursing home I will be sure to be able to find someone to talk with (old people love to tell youngsters about the "good ol' days!).
The book talks about using reference material, but I have already looked in a couple just to get an idea of my topic. Reference books are not that helpful for my topic because it is so specific, but some books do a good job giving a brief overview of the before, during, and after situation. I would probably not use a reference book, like a dictionary, because like we talked about in class, it should only be used when trying to define any terms that the reader may not be informed about.
One thing that we did in class today really helped me! Professor Butters had us do some writing exercises that helped us bring our papers into perspective. We were told to write about the main argument of our papers and then to create a basic outline. Ever since I had this awesome English teacher at Waubonsee, I LOVE OUTLINING!!! So I think I have a pretty good outline going, of course, it all depends on what kind of information that I can find. I just have to make sure that I stay focused on the cultural/social aspect of the Great Depression and not go too much into the business/economy part of it. I think I will give a section of my paper to workers programs (CCC & WPA) and federal/state aid. I was also thinking that I can look into the Elk Lodge and the American Legion of Aurora and see when they were established and if they did anything during the Great Depression. I am really REALLY not looking forward to writing my annotated bibliography! But, alas! It must be done! The one thing that made me laugh about this chapter "If you have to abandon your topic, do it early." HA! we are married to our topics and definitely not allowed to change it now! Paper is due in about 80 days, time to get crackin!!!
Monday, September 17, 2012
Library Day!
Monday September 17, 2012
Today was a library day. I finally got some time to work on my paper! I went to the Aurora Historical Society earlier today and I was looking up some information from my paper and I discovered that I am not really interested in the business/economic side of how the Great Depression effected Aurora. Instead, I think I am going to focus on the cultural aspects of the Great Depression, such as music, education, family status, population, suicides/deaths, civilian programs, and programs that the state or federal government started (like the CCC of WPA). I think, for me anyway, that it would be more interesting and that I could look at diaries and newspapers articles to kind of get the "feel" of how the depression personally effected people. Since we had time in class today, I found a nice list of books about Illinois and the Great Depression on the Aurora University Library website, then I went and hunted a lot of them down. I wanted to see if the librarians could hold the books for me so then I don't have to pull the books each time I want to look something up. This brought up an interesting idea/conversation between the librarian and I: Why doesn't the library hold books for students like the do for teachers? (especially those students in senior seminar!?) The librarian told me that she was going to talk to her superior in order to see what they could do for me. I was very relieved that, finally, someone was willing to help me with my paper! The historical society has not been that helpful, or friendly, with me, but I am just going to start going there whenever I know they are open because I really need to put a dent in my paper/research! I know what kinds of sources that I want to use and I have a good list started, but I want to actually start acquiring information this week. I have a meeting with Lizzie tomorrow and I hope that I can get more sources! I just hope that she doesn't tell me to go to the Aurora Library or the historical society because I already know that I need to do that. Our bibliographies are due Wednesday, so I hope I can get more primary sources (I only have about three, but I don't even know if I am going to use them in my paper). I don't know what else we are supposed to blog about for today's class, so I am going to end here....
Today was a library day. I finally got some time to work on my paper! I went to the Aurora Historical Society earlier today and I was looking up some information from my paper and I discovered that I am not really interested in the business/economic side of how the Great Depression effected Aurora. Instead, I think I am going to focus on the cultural aspects of the Great Depression, such as music, education, family status, population, suicides/deaths, civilian programs, and programs that the state or federal government started (like the CCC of WPA). I think, for me anyway, that it would be more interesting and that I could look at diaries and newspapers articles to kind of get the "feel" of how the depression personally effected people. Since we had time in class today, I found a nice list of books about Illinois and the Great Depression on the Aurora University Library website, then I went and hunted a lot of them down. I wanted to see if the librarians could hold the books for me so then I don't have to pull the books each time I want to look something up. This brought up an interesting idea/conversation between the librarian and I: Why doesn't the library hold books for students like the do for teachers? (especially those students in senior seminar!?) The librarian told me that she was going to talk to her superior in order to see what they could do for me. I was very relieved that, finally, someone was willing to help me with my paper! The historical society has not been that helpful, or friendly, with me, but I am just going to start going there whenever I know they are open because I really need to put a dent in my paper/research! I know what kinds of sources that I want to use and I have a good list started, but I want to actually start acquiring information this week. I have a meeting with Lizzie tomorrow and I hope that I can get more sources! I just hope that she doesn't tell me to go to the Aurora Library or the historical society because I already know that I need to do that. Our bibliographies are due Wednesday, so I hope I can get more primary sources (I only have about three, but I don't even know if I am going to use them in my paper). I don't know what else we are supposed to blog about for today's class, so I am going to end here....
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Bibliographies
Wednesday September 12, 2012
Today was a pretty easy-going class. We discussed how to do our bibliographies. For this paper we will be putting secondary sources first in alphabetical order, then primary sources. I think this will not only make it easier on the reader, but it will also make it easier on me while I write my paper and refer back to my notes. After talking about our senior seminar paper, we discussed our reading for the day, pages 3-63ish in "What Should I Do With My Life?" At first I thought this book was pretty uninteresting, it was just a bunch of people who were unsatisfied with their life, so they set out to change it for the better. To be honest, I don't really see how this book fits into our class. If I end up not liking my job I will change it to something that I do like, I am always prepared and I shall always have a back up plan! Then we were given the assignment to write one solid page about what our dream job entails, I wrote about working as a high school history teacher. In this job I can plan things out how I want them, educate kids, and show them that learning and history are fun. After writing this, we were told again to write another page about what our second dream job would be. On this page I wrote how I would like to work for something like the History Channel where I could conduct research on certain events, places, or people and then host an episode of the show. Not only could I choose the topics that are of interest to me, I would be able to travel, meet awesome people, and teach people about what I know. I still think if neither of these two options work out, I think I would either go back to school to study literature, or I would try to get a job at an aquarium. I really think marine biology is awesome, but I am horrible in science.
After talking about our dream jobs, the class walked to the library. We were told to go to some website that asks us questions and then based on our answers, it was going to tell us what kind of job would be right for us. Well, sad to say, the website didn't work as it was supposed to because after we were done answering the questions, the website wanted us to fill in our personal information in order to get our test results (a typical research-wanting website). So that activity was kind of a bust! With that activity not working, we were released early because the teacher had some meeting to attend. We were told to meet back in the library on Monday and bring ALL of our senior seminar paper stuff with us because we would be having a library day! I definitely need this time because I have been having a very difficult time finding information for my paper. The Aurora Historical Society will not answer my calls and then when I did get to talk to someone, she was very rude and said no one could help me. Great.....like 97% of my paper will be coming from there and no one is willing to help me! This paper just got a lot more frustrating and hard. So tomorrow I am just going to show up at the Historical Society! I know from a secret source that people will be there at 9:00 am ;) (hopefully I will be able to get some work done!)
Today was a pretty easy-going class. We discussed how to do our bibliographies. For this paper we will be putting secondary sources first in alphabetical order, then primary sources. I think this will not only make it easier on the reader, but it will also make it easier on me while I write my paper and refer back to my notes. After talking about our senior seminar paper, we discussed our reading for the day, pages 3-63ish in "What Should I Do With My Life?" At first I thought this book was pretty uninteresting, it was just a bunch of people who were unsatisfied with their life, so they set out to change it for the better. To be honest, I don't really see how this book fits into our class. If I end up not liking my job I will change it to something that I do like, I am always prepared and I shall always have a back up plan! Then we were given the assignment to write one solid page about what our dream job entails, I wrote about working as a high school history teacher. In this job I can plan things out how I want them, educate kids, and show them that learning and history are fun. After writing this, we were told again to write another page about what our second dream job would be. On this page I wrote how I would like to work for something like the History Channel where I could conduct research on certain events, places, or people and then host an episode of the show. Not only could I choose the topics that are of interest to me, I would be able to travel, meet awesome people, and teach people about what I know. I still think if neither of these two options work out, I think I would either go back to school to study literature, or I would try to get a job at an aquarium. I really think marine biology is awesome, but I am horrible in science.
After talking about our dream jobs, the class walked to the library. We were told to go to some website that asks us questions and then based on our answers, it was going to tell us what kind of job would be right for us. Well, sad to say, the website didn't work as it was supposed to because after we were done answering the questions, the website wanted us to fill in our personal information in order to get our test results (a typical research-wanting website). So that activity was kind of a bust! With that activity not working, we were released early because the teacher had some meeting to attend. We were told to meet back in the library on Monday and bring ALL of our senior seminar paper stuff with us because we would be having a library day! I definitely need this time because I have been having a very difficult time finding information for my paper. The Aurora Historical Society will not answer my calls and then when I did get to talk to someone, she was very rude and said no one could help me. Great.....like 97% of my paper will be coming from there and no one is willing to help me! This paper just got a lot more frustrating and hard. So tomorrow I am just going to show up at the Historical Society! I know from a secret source that people will be there at 9:00 am ;) (hopefully I will be able to get some work done!)
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