What I've learned....

What have I learned in this class that will help me in the future?  Well in the near future it will help me in my class next semester. I’ve learned how to become a better writer and I have realized that you can’t just throw words down a piece of paper and turn it in.  You have to research, organize your thoughts, write, and rewrite. Although I feel like I have struggled all semester through this class, I do feel a sense of accomplishment. Thanks to all of you for the kind words and for building my self-confidence in this class.  Good luck everyone!

Agree to Disagree

The naysayers (parents and coaches) will make their argument by saying that there are health and psychological benefits to children playing sports. Health benefits that they would mention are that physical activity promotes healthy bones, healthy heart and can help prevent chronic illnesses and cancer.  My response would be that I agree however if practiced too hard and/or too long can also result in overuse injuries. They also will argue that physical activity promotes higher self-esteem and those children are less likely to be depressed.  My response to that is once again I agree but if the children are forced to play a sport that they don’t enjoy this will only result in lower self-esteem. Because if they don’t enjoy the sport then they are less likely to excel and low self-esteem results in depression.  I am on the fence with this topic because the benefits of sports are wonderful as long as are not overdone.

 

 

Works Cited

 

"The Health Benefits of Sport and Physical Activity." : International Platform on Sport and Development. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.

 

Mueller, McKayla. "Sports Should Be Fun, Not Forced." Cranford Chronicle -. Nj.com, 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.

 

 

Naysayer

Naysayer….this is new to me, so naturally I had a hard time brainstorming this for my topic.  My topic is over parents forcing children to participate in sports so my naysayers will be parents, coaches, and could possibly be the community. When brainstorming this topic most of the website posts are about parents forcing their children.  I think that the coaches and communities can highly influence children by pushing them to over work their bodies in practice and games.  Communities can influence sports by being really involved in certain sports with high expectations of athletes.

 I tend to agree with both side of this topic.  I love sports but I would not force my child to play a sport; now I will recommend them to play but if they truly do not want to play that is their choice. By forcing someone to do something you will never get the outcome that you would like. In my opinion if you go in half-hearted you will only get half-hearted results.

Rogerian Argument

Our next assignment is a Rogerian Argument.  In this essay we have to take our informative essay that we recently finished and turn it into a discussion where you argue your side and convince your audience to side with you.  Within this essay we are required to use logos, pathos, and ethos to support your evidence.  We also have to include “naysayers” and agree to disagree with their point of views. This paper needs to be at least 2000 words this time instead of the usual 1500, which is something I will probably struggle with but I’m optimistic.

Informative Research Paper Self Review

The topic that I’ve decided to research and write about is “The Effects of Forcing Sports on Children”. With this topic being a very debatable topic, it is important to inform people of the effects. Also being from a small town where youth and adult sports is important, this topic sort of hits home so I hard time not expressing my opinion. My paper still needs some work for sure but I feel like I’ve made some progress from my last paper. I noticed that I do need to follow the self-review questions a little closer and try not to wonder off topic but I’m confident I will it will be fine.

Unnecessary Pressure

The topic that I chose to write about is the effects of forcing children to play sports.  During my research I’ve discovered some of the top reasons why children quit playing sports and it has a lot to do with parents.  Everyone knows someone that is reliving their school ball days or just living through their child’s sports. This may sound funny to some but it’s a real problem and is causing children to quit sports due to the pressure of their parents and coaches.  This sort of pressure can be the result of players not performing on the level that is expected, parents and coaches getting too worked up about situations, and/or players not getting enough playing time. (Lancaster) It’s one thing to encourage your child to play and have fun but it’s another to yell and get upset and make yourself look like a fool.  I can relate to the intensity of playing a sport and being a spectator because I can get pretty caught up in the game but what needs to be recognized is the fact that we are there for the children, to encourage them to give it their all, and  feed them positive criticism. We need to use the old saying of “practice what you preach” because you wouldn’t want you child to act out because a play was called incorrectly, right?

 

Works Cited

 

Lancaster, Scott. "Why Kids Quit Sports & 7 Things to Do When Your Child Wants to Quit." Why Kids Quit Sports & 7 Things to Do When Your Child Wants to Quit. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.

Appearance is Everything

Normally appearance isn’t everything but when it comes to the look of a document or web site it is.  Mike Rundle said it well when he the principals are nothing but C.R.A.P.  He explained that in order to have a great looking site you have to have Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. To have contrast you need to have your features be dramatically different, you don’t want the reader to confuse what is related and what is not.  Use Repetition; be consistent with your styles, you don’t it to look chaotic.  It’s always good to have a good Alignment; all elements need to be aligned and have a nice flow for the reader’s eye. Finally use Proximity; group your features together just like you would group apples with apples and oranges with oranges.  Don’t mix apples and oranges together.   The bottom line is if anything is attractive then it will get a second glance no matter what.  It’s good to be your own critic on this; ask yourself if you would want to stop and read this or move on to something bigger and better. Just face it if you would spend the time to build a good flowing site then no one will want to check it out.