Letter from Birmingham Jail

Letter from Birmingham Jail

The imagery Martin Luther uses in his letter is amazing and really put the racism of the 1950's into great perspective - his perspective. when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six 

year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people. This sentence really got to me. I could feel an emotional punch the the stomach as I imagined myself as a father living in a country where my family and I were treated lower than everybody else. This reading makes me thankful for the sacrifices that people in the African-American Civil Rights Movement went through in order to bring equality to our nation. I'm also thankful I didn't have to live in an era like this and that I was born into a family with equal views on races other than my own.

P: Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter to show us how to protest peacefully. He taught us the four steps of a nonviolent campaign.

T: Thought African Americans were treated poorly and were discriminated against, Martin Luther King Jr. took the nonviolent approach to attempt to reach an agreement to end racism toward African Americans.

I: Even though Martin Luther King Jr. was persistent in his non-violent campaign, there were too few 'white brethren' who supported his cause. Not even the white christian churches would support King's movement.

C: Even if the consequences look bleak, one must stand for laws which are just and stand against those which are unjust. Martin Luther wrote this letter from a prison and suffered all that he had because of what he believed in. 

Cultures of Our Past

This is a very hot-topic in our world today. Piracy is still very popular, especially for music and movies. You can always find articles about piracy and the battle against it. Although it is wrong for people to get something for nothing at the expense of someone else's hard work, companies that produce the material being pirated still make a lot of money. I'm not supporting piracy, I'm just saying it doesn't take much money away from large companies that already make millions upon millions.

P: The purpose of this writing is to show the readers that the need for anti-piracy was just as large of an issue now as it was back in the early 1900's.

T: A new industry of "mechanical music" began to cover the country but composers weren't able to share in the wealth.

I: Sousa showed concern for composers losing money due to the first form of piracy, but expressed even greater concern when this piracy threatened amateur composers. He didn't want upcoming composers to feel threatened by piracy

C: Sousa's extremism in copyright law led him to believe that the media culture, where commercial entities profited from creative works, need to be regulated. He did not, however, believe getting together and singing songs made by other composers needed regulation.

Digital Natives: Myth or Fact?

This author brought up a lot of valid points about digital natives.  Educators also contended that the millennial generation’s engagement with technology tended to be shallow, consisting mostly of quick dips in the digital pool like checking email and Facebook. Selwyn called millennials’ use of technology “passive, solitary, sporadic and unspectacular”
I agree with this statement. When children use the internet, I also feel that they aren't really making a major contribution to society. I won't say the same for myself, but the fact is that not all digital natives use the internet strictly for learning or gathering information. I also feel that the term 'digital native' should be used for one who really knows what they're doing. How to use a computer, how to troubleshoot a device when problems arrive, and knowing what the parts of the computer actually do sounds to me like the description of a digital native.

I myself feel like a digital native. Around the home, I'm usually the one my parents call when there's a problem with something technology related. If there's a problem with the router, I can solve it. I've gained experience with technology through trial and error. My parents were always afraid of messing with something in case it would be irreversible and cause damage to hardware. I shared the same mentality as a child and as I aged, I began to take risks with technology, in the right way, and educate myself.


P: The purpose of this writing is to analyze the article, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” by Mark Prensky. Nathan Bierma shows us the opinions of other writers about Mark Prensky's article.

T: Though Mark Prensky's article opened our eyes to kids these days and their interaction with technology, there seemed to be little research to back up their technology literacy.

I: Are all children of this generation considered 'digital natives?' What does it really mean to be a digital native?

C: A study had shown that after a week of being trained how to use the internet, a digital immigrant's brain activity can match the brain activity of a digital native. People that are new to the digital era can be trained and reach digital fluency.

Out of Your Experience Here

Coming to BYU-Idaho is the biggest decision I've made besides going on my mission. In, "Out of Your Experience Here", President Hinckley gives great advice to students in order to make their education at BYU make a positive, lasting impact   on our lives. The experience President Hinckley shared earlier about the student who was not accepted really put the blessing of attending this institution in perspective. On behalf of those who applied, but were turned away, I will be sure to not let my studies go to waste.

P: Gordon B. Hinckley's purpose in his devotional is to show us what a great opportunity and privilege it is to attend here at an LDS college.

T: Some students are unable to attend LDS colleges because of their grades not meeting requirements or because of the sheer amount of applicants. President Hinckley urges current students to give it their all in order to grow at BYU.

I: There are some students that need to take their studies more seriously. Tithing funds are being used to subsidize tuition costs. Students need to remember this as they study at BYU.

C: What we put into our studying here at BYU is what we will take out. This is the greatest opportunity of our educational career as students.

The Chase

The author did an excellent job of portraying an event from her childhood. I didn't want to stop reading once the driver of the black Buick got out of his car and began chasing the kids. It's amazing the amount of detail Annie Dillard put into the chase scene of the essay. She really made it sound like they ran across the entire town.

There are a few questions I would have like to have answered in the reading. Who was the child that hit the Buick on the windshield with the snowball? What did the man say to the children when he caught up to them? Why had the man exerted himself so much in order to have a word with children who were throwing snowballs? How on Earth did he find his way back to his car?

Aside from the questions, this was a great essay which portrayed the emotions of a child running from danger, which in this case was an angered driver of a black Buick.

P: The purpose of the author's writing is to illustrate a life experience from the view of a child, or more specifically, an event from the author's childhood.

T: The topic of the essay is about a girl at the age of seven who hung out with boys older than her. They did things that boys would typically do: play football, baseball, and throw snowballs.

I: They had been hitting the windshields of cars with snowballs until they hit the windshield of a black Buick. The driver had enough time on his hands to get out of his car and begin pursuing the children. No matter where Annie ran, the driver was close behind.

C: The daring escape the author made from this driver was the hardest thing she had ever done. She was exasperated from all the running she had done and feared the worst from the angry driver. To her surprise, all the driver wanted was to have a few words with her.

Understanding Our Digital Kids

As a 'digital kid' myself, I am very thankful for the internet. Although I don't remember receiving much counsel on how to use the internet, I do remember the warnings from my parents about the evils of pornography. Even with the use of an internet filter, there are some sites that are able to slip through and expose a child to something vile.

I do agree with the author on the subject of cyber bullying. It is ridiculous how much bullying there is forums, online games, and chat rooms. Parents need to make sure their children go to appropriate websites and keep their personal information safe.

P: The purpose of the author's writing is to give parents and teachers instructions on how to monitor children who use the internet.

T: The author states that the internet can be a scary place for those who do not know how to navigate it. The internet can be a good or a bad thing based on how it is used.

I: The author states that there must be the correct levels of encouragement and caution to children who use the internet. Parents must protect their children as well as give them enough room to figure things out on their own.

C: The impact the internet is having on 'digital kids' is good and bad. While copyright laws are being broken, children are also learning how to gather information effectively based on web searches.

Can you hear me now?

I have experienced the same feeling the author described; the situation of two friends talking and one receiving a phone call. I always think my friend believes the text message he just received on his phone is more deserving of his attention than I am. It often gets to the point of me getting frustrated because I have to repeat what I'm saying after he finishes responding to a text.

I am guilty myself of checking my emails during classes and letting my technology get the best of me. Technology today is amazing, but sometimes it's hard to remember that face-to-face communication is still the best form of networking.


P: The purpose of the author's writing is to show us how technology can be a blessing  and a curse. We are becoming more connected and more alienated at the same time.

T: Smart phones, laptops, tablets, etc. have become an integrated part of our daily lives. No matter where we go, we always have to be 'connected.'

I: The author states that we have become so obsessed with our machines, that we sometimes pay little attention to the people around us.

C: What kind of people will we become in the near future as we develop intimate relationships with our machines?