Final Paper

Stacy Nold

Dr. Sonia Apgar Begert

English 101

6/16/14

Argument paper

 

John Keating said “Seize the day. Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing, turn cold and die” (Dead Poets Society). Seizing the day and learning to ride a horse can be a scary thing to learn, however it is one of the most influential things you can learn. Stepping outside your comfort zone and taking a chance is an important life lesson to learn even if you are scared.  When on is learning to ride a horse, it often changes the person in important ways. Even those lessons learned in a non-traditional settings can teach many people many important life lessons. Some people may be apprehensive to riding horses because they are afraid of being injured and don’t understand the value of it, however learning to ride a horse can help you build confidence, learn perseverance and hard work.

            When people start ridding they fall off and hit the dirt many times, sometimes with the horse landing on top of them or even stepping on them. This is one of the biggest oppositions to someone learning to ride. When learning to ride people learn to always get back on unless you’re physically unable to. Perseverance helps make sure you keep going in life. Learning to ride takes a lot of balance and leg muscles which, at five you don’t always have. Hitting the dirt can be a daily thing, kids learned to tuck and roll quickly. Always getting back on has taught teaches you to never quit. You have to keep going and preserver not matter what. It shows you that even if life knocks you down you get back up and keep going and try again.

Taking care of horses is a lot of hard work. They are unable to care for themselves and rely on you completely. You have to make sure they eat before you do. When taking care of a horse that weighs 1000 pounds you tend to get frustrated at times. Horses can try to knock you over and step on you to get what they want from your hands. Trying to get a horse to cooperate and work with you and not just do what they want to do is hard at times. As Erin Gurwell said in the move Freedom Writers “But to get respect you have to give it”, even though she was talking about her and the students relationship here it applies to animals as well. Horses though have to depend on people for their needs but, will give you respect if you respect them. This teaches you compassion and hard work.

Caring for another living thing is hard back breaking work, however the relationship you build and the love you get in return is irreplaceable. Hard work can allow kids to have something to work for. Learning reward and punishment early is helpful. Horse do understand and appreciated what the people taking care of them are doing. “You can’t make someone want an education” (Margret Campbell) was said in the move Freedom Writers but giving them something to loose and work for helps motivate them.  Young people can benefit from learning to care form something that cannot care for themselves. Working hard and getting no verbal appreciation can be very rewarding. This love and trust is something every person could learn from. This can make you a very caring and understanding person.

            When learning to ride you have to build an unspoken bond with your horse. They have to trust you completely and you have to trust them completely. It takes a lot to build this bond. You spend hours grooming them, feeding them, caring for them when they are hurt. While doing this you are showing the animal that you are the one that makes them feel good. The trust grows from there. It takes years to understand your horse completely. A horse cannot talk to you so you have to learn to communicate with your legs, the reins and verbal commands. This is something that is different for every horse that you ride. You have to adapt your skills to every horse specifically. Everyone is different and respond to different things. Once you learn how to communicate and have a mutual trust between you and the horse there is nothing you cannot accomplish.

 

When kids are young they are impressionable and influenced easily. Kids that choose to ride are making a choice for responsibility. A lot of other kids that do not ride horses do not understand why they would want to be outside working so hard to take care of a “stinky” animal’s as it is put a lot of times. When you give a kid a horse they have a lot to lose by getting in to trouble or having bad grades. By using the ability to ride horses and compete as motivation to stay out of trouble and get good grades, kids will learn to stay out of trouble. While kids with horses are trying to stay out of trouble and keep their grades up others kids were not. They will simply get grounded, then when that was over they would do it again. These kids with horses will choose to stick with their horses and stay away from bad influences. Having something to work for and strive to accomplish motivates kids and adolescence to make better choices.  

            Learning to ride horse has help shape people into positive members of society. Some people are scared to try, afraid to get hurt and don’t understand what you can learn from it, however those people need to try and see the benefits and life lessons that you can take away from this experience. You never truly stop learning to ride. There are always new techniques to learn or skills to perfect. The people you meet along the way are like nothing you have ever experienced. They are some lifelong friends that could never be replace. Ridding has become an outlet for kids. It allows people to think, to bond and to love without fear of judgment or harshness. Once you start you won’t trade a horses for anything. Having horses and learning to ride is one of the most memorable and most influential experiences a person could ever have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. By Tom Schulman. Perf. Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard. Touchstone Pictures, 1989. DVD.

Freedom Writers. By Erin Gurwell. Dir. Richard LaGravenese. Perf. Patrick Dempsey and Hilary Swank. Paramount Pictures, 2007. DVD.

Re submit paper #1

Stacy Nold

Dr. Sonia Apgar Begert

English 101

4/21/14

 

The hardest part of riding is the ground; this is something that I have been told all my life. I found this to be true in my quest to learn to ride. I started ridding at 5 years old. Mostly I just wanted to be around the horses and the people that go with them. However learning to ride and care for horses has been the most important learning experience that I have ever had. Having horses has taught me many life skills I use every day. Having to trust an animal with your life is a difficult thing to do and learn. Ridding horse has kept me on the right path throughout my childhood and teenage years. They have given me a purpose. I will continue to learn from my horses for the rest of my life.

 

I started ridding when I was five years old. I fell off and hit the dirt many times, sometimes with the horse landing on top of me or stepping on me. My dad always told me if it isn't broke, you’re not bleeding badly or dying you dust yourself off and get back on. Learning to ride takes a lot of balance and leg muscles which, at five you don’t always have. Hitting the dirt was usually a daily thing, I learned to tuck and roll quickly. My horse Sar would always stop and look down at me like she was saying “Again! What are you doing do there!” Always getting back on has taught me to never quit. You have to keep going and preserver not matter what. It has showed me that even if life knocks you down you get back up and keep going and try again.

 

Taking care of horses is a lot of hard work. They are unable to care for themselves and rely on you completely. I always had to feed them before I ate. That was the rule in our house. When taking care of a horse that weighs 1000 pounds you tend to get frustrated at times. I had a pony once that knocked me down to get the food I had in my hand. He stepped all over me before my dad rescued me. That pony didn’t last long at our house! Trying to get a horse to cooperate and work with you and not just do what they want to do is hard at times. This taught me compassion and hard work.

Caring for another living thing is hard back breaking work, however the relationship you build and the love you get in return is irreplaceable. My horse now Reba, I swear knows what I am thinking. I can go out to see her and if I am having a bad day she knows. She will come and stand next to me and let my cry on her shoulder never moving until I am ready to let go. This love and trust is something every person could learn from. This has made me a very caring and understanding person; I have taken these skills with me and will continue to in my quest to become a nurse.

 

When learning to ride you have to build an unspoken bond with your horse. They have to trust you completely and you have to trust them completely. It takes a lot to build this bond. You spend hours grooming them, feeding them, caring for them when they are hurt. While doing this you are showing the animal that you are the one that makes them feel good. The trust grows from there. It takes years to understand your horse completely. A horse cannot talk to you so you have to learn to communicate with your legs, the reins and verbal commands. This is something that is different for every horse that you ride. You have to adapt your skills to every horse specifically. Everyone is different and respond to different things. Once you learn how to communicate and have a mutual trust between you and the horse there is nothing you cannot accomplish.

 

Growing up I had friends at school and friends that rode horses. I choose to ride my horse and travel to compete. A lot of my school friends didn’t understand why I wanted to be outside working so hard to take care of a “stinky” animal as they put it. As I grew into my teenage years I had a lot to lose if I got into trouble or didn’t keep my grades up. I would lose being able to ride my horses and compete. If I got in trouble my sisters got to ride my horse and I had to watch them compete, as everyone knows its torture to watch your siblings do something you’re not allowed to do. This was my motivation to stay out of trouble and get good grades. While I was trying to stay out of trouble and keep my grades up my friends were not. They would simply get grounded. Then when that was over they would do it again. I realized that theses “friends” were not the people I needed in my life. I choose to stick with my horses. By the time graduation rolled around I was the only one of my 5 “best friends” throughout school that graduated from high school. I could have chosen a very different path in my life but because of my horses. I think I have done pretty well for myself so far.

 

            Learning to ride horse has shaped me into the person I am today. You never truly stop learning to ride. There are always new techniques to learn or skills to perfect. I know that I will never stop ridding or learning. The people you meet along the way are like nothing you have ever experienced. They are some lifelong friends that I could never replace. Ridding has become my outlet. It allows me to think, to bond and to love without fear of judgment or harshness. I wouldn’t trade my horses for anything. I am thankful that I learned to ride, it shaped me into the person I am today.

Works Cited

Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. By Tom Schulman. Perf. Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard. Touchstone Pictures, 1989. DVD.

Freedom Writers. By Erin Gurwell. Dir. Richard LaGravenese. Perf. Patrick Dempsey and Hilary Swank. Paramount Pictures, 2007. DVD.

How Schools Kill Creativity. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken Robinson. TED, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.      

Huston, Cate. "How I Learned to Love Solo Travel." Cate Huston. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2014.

Lorde, Audre. [“School”] Chapter 3 “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name – A Biomythography. Quality Paperback Book Club New York, 1982. Web.  28 May 2014

Romero, Joshua J. "How I Learned to Live Google-free." - IEEE Spectrum. N.p., 6 June 2011. Web. 28 May 2014.

Rose, Mike. “I Just Wanna Be Average.  Lives on the Boundary: A Moving Account of the Struggles and Achievements of America’s Educationally Underprepared.New York: MacMillan, 1989. Web. 24 Dec. 2010

exercsie drafting paper #3

What was the experience you had and why was that at least as important as an "in School" experience?
Learning to ride a horse and growing as a person while doing it. It is just as important as a "in School" learning experience because you learn more about yourself and how to have compassion for something that cannot care for itself.
Who is your audience?
Students
Why should they care about this?
They should care because learning to ride a horse teaches you to have such inner strength and to conquer something you never thought possible.
 What will they, their children, or society in general gain or loose?
Once someone learns to ride a horse they learn compassion and feeling for something that cannot care for itself. that kind of compassion and caring allows people to be much more kind to others, therefore allowing people to be a kinder society.
Reasons they should agree?
Reason #1 Because  Allows you to understand how caring for others is an important quality in life
Reason #2 Because It teaches responsibility
Reason #3 Because it allows you to conquer a fear and something you never thought you could do.
Reasons they might not agree?
Reason #1 No, Because Horses are to dangerous
Reason #2 No, Because Horses are do not show love back or appreciation for what you do for them.
Reason #3 No, Because learning to ride a horse cannot impact your life in a bigger way, its not an important skill
Answers to their possible objections"
Because #1 Horses can be dangerous if you don't learn how to properly treat them and you need someone to teach you.
Because #2 Horse are living creatures and show love to the people that care for them. you are able to love them back
Because #3 Learning to ride is a big accomplishment and a lot goes into it.  it can profoundly change your life.

Details and Eamples

1. When I was five years old and still legally blind, I started school in a sight conservation class in the local public school on 135th street and Lenox Avenue. On the corner was a blue wooden booth where white women gave away free milk to black mothers with children. I used to long for some Hearst Free Milk Fund milk, in one of those cute little bottles with their red and white tops, but my mother never allowed me to have any, because she said it was for charity, which was bad and demeaning, and besides the milk was warm and might make me sick. 

 walking through the store I begged my mom for one of those little candies, wrapped in beautiful paper, My mom said no I could get sick from to much candy.



2. For our mother’s souse*, it didn’t matter what kind of meat was used.  You could have hearts, or beefends, or even chicken backs and gizzards when we were really poor. 

   
It never mattered what kind of fabric was used as long as you looked fabulous. Her clothes were made of cotton, silk and wool.

Compare/Contrast Essay Final

Stacy Nold

5/21/19

Dr. Sonia Begert

Compare/Contrast Essay

 

Teaching is a difficult task, regardless if it is in a class room setting. I admire and respect all teaches however, some are better than others. A lot of different factors make a teacher a good teacher or a bad teacher, all students experience both kinds of teachers throughout their time in school. Two teachers that have shown me both sides of the spectrum are Mr. Triplet and Miss M. Mr. Triplet taught math and was able to make it one of my favorite subjects. Miss. M taught English, she made it hard to want to be there. My English professor was a very smart women however, was not able to teach a class well, I hated going to class. My math professor on the other hand was amazing, I looked forward to going to his class every day. The differences between these two teachers are what make the difference in someone’s educational experience. There are a few similarities between the professors, but their differences in their passion, control of the class and teaching for all levels of knowledge are far more important.  

                Having passion for the job you are doing is a very important part of any job. A teacher needs to show up every day and have a deep passion for what they are doing. Mr. Triplet would come in every day excited to teach and full of excitement. He would take the time to engage every student one by one. He would ask questions to each student not just one person, if you didn’t know he would walk you through it.  You could tell that he wanted to be there teaching us every day and not leave anyone behind. Students could tell that teaching is what he wanted to do with his life. On the other hand Miss. M. would come in and give handout’s out and go to her desk. She would answer emails, paying no attention to the class -- often the whole classroom period. She would often want to talk about her day not about English or the papers we were writing at the time. Instead of engaging the entire class she would have discussions with a handful of students, usually the ones that were being loud and off topic.  As a teacher you have to want to be in class, that’s why teachers have to be passionate. Being passionate about what you do makes the students want to be there and learning from you.  There is no doubt that being a teacher is one of the most difficult professions but done by someone who really wants to teach, it can be a wonderful thing.

                Being up in front of a class is a nerve racking experience, that’s a teachers spot though and it automatically gives them a certain amount of respect. Losing that respect can happen quickly. While up there or just around in the class room, the teacher must be able to control the class. Mr. Triplet would control the class with a combination of humor and embarrassment. He would call people out if they were texting so everyone in the class would stop and look at them. After having that happen to you a few times you stop doing it and pay attention, this is how Mr. Triplet controlled his class. He did not allow the loudest students to take away from everyone else’s learning experience, He made sure that it was understood that that was unacceptable.  Miss M. would have discussions in class but there was never any structure in them. She would allow the students to split of into side talks and then give up on the discussion all together. She would allow the loudest students to direct the discussion of topic on to whatever they wanted to talk about and not about English, This makes it hard to follow anything or learn. Students that did not understand or struggled with English often fell behind and did not know where to go for help. With no direction in the class it very difficult to learn anything, especially if you were not a strong student. Having control of the class room is very important but can be hard to do. Teachers must figure out how to control the class in order to have a successful class and engage a full classroom with a variety of students.  

                Teachers end up with a whole variety of students in their classroom. It is very important that teachers teach to all levels of students so that they can understand the material being presented to them. Mr. Triplet would explain math problems multiple ways so everyone would be able to understand it. He would take the time to make sure everyone was getting it and keeping up, this is very helpful. He also would use group exercise and competitions to see who would finish first, this motivated students understand the problems so they could work faster. He also made himself available to help all the time. No students felt like they were being left behind. Miss. M. would come in to class, assign a writing assignment and that was it. Students just had to use to rubric to figure it out and go from there. This caused many students to not understand and struggle in the class. Even when questions were asked the topic got changed so quickly and the question was brushed over. Being able to engage students at levels of knowledge is another one of the most important skills a teacher could possess.

            Though Mr. Triplet and Miss. M have many differences in terms of passion, control of the class and teaching every level of students both are similar in that they both would help after class, use online aides to assist in class and that they both were on time every day. Using online supplemental aides along with class room curriculum is extremely helpful for students to reinforce lessons from the classroom.  Being on time and staying after to help allows students to seek help if they need it. Teachers are the reasons why class can be good and bad. Math is one of my worst subjects because of dyslexia and my professor was able to engage me and teach how I understood. Mr. Triplet was able to make it where I looked forward to going to class every day. English is easier to me however, my professor made me not want to be there. The class room was always chaotic and disorganized.  It’s all in the difference in who is teaching not so much what they are teaching. You’re learning experience will be an unforgettable one, weather it is good or bad depends on the teacher. A good teacher can make any subject your favorite subject.

Main point turned 3rd person

The main point of my narrative that I just wrote was sharing how I learned to ride a horse, how it
changed me and shaped me into who I am today. I want it to show that ridding, even though it hasn't been a traditional setting of learning it has taught me many life lessons.,

The main point of the narrative that was just written was sharing how they learned to ride a horse,
how it changed her and shaped her into who she is today. She want it to show that even though it hasn't been a traditional setting of learning it has taught her many life lessons.

Grand Scheme of Things:

When on is learning to ride a horse, it often changes the person in important ways. Even those lessons learned in a non-traditional settings can teach many people many important life lessons.