The Detrimental Impact of Screens in the Classroom, and how Tutors can be a Tool to Intervene
Writing Fellow Podcast
https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-i3e7z-12b37fc
In this episode, writing fellow Madeline Apgar sits down with the host to discuss the trials and errors of tutoring Research Methods students in the 2025 fall semester. She covers topics of expectations and learned experiences in her time as a writing tutor, and how she may go on to troubleshoot problems with tutoring down the line.
Stay tuned as Madeline continues to take on the role of a peer tutor and implement what she has learned thus far throughout the remainder of the fall semester. It will be interesting to see how thinking critically about her experiences will allow her to apply different methods and engage more students to discover more about the important process of academic writing.
Project 3 Rough Draft
HW #18: Storytelling Brainstorming
In reflection of the past few months here at UNE, there are many sights, sounds, routines and activities that come to mind. For instance, every single morning of the school week, my dormmate Gianna and I (and sometimes my friend Sarah), go to breakfast at 7:20 to get an early start to the day. This is probably one of my favorite routines I have developed since coming to college because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I get to enjoy it with my friends. The sound of our three meal cards all ringing us in for breakfast at the same time every morning will definitely be a memorable one.
I have also developed a routine of going to the campus center gym around four or five every night to get a lift in as well as some cardio. I have used this as an opportunity to get my heart rate up and sweat a little because I always feel better after I do. I have also used this as an opportunity to listen to some of my more upbeat music on my phone that I can’t necessarily listen to while I’m studying.
I have also become very acquainted with the library in its entirety this semester. At the beginning of the semester, my friends and I would all go and do homework on the bottom floor of the library and get snacks at the Windward Cafe. As each of our schedules became more hectic with things like work, clubs or working out, we began to study individually, which led me to discover the top floor of the library. I’ve studied in nearly every little nook of the upstairs library and have found it to be even too quiet up there at times, so I would do my work on the middle floor and occasionally eavesdrop on little conversations going on around me here and there. It was there where I sat to outline, plan out, and write Project 1 for about five hours all together. I’m a slow writer because I like to thoroughly understand what I’m writing about and be as articulate as I can be. This process produced my best work of the semester and the assignment I am most proud of. It was only when I have chosen to ditch the library and go back to my room that I have been the most unproductive and the most likely to let the temporary appeal of procrastination get the best of me. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to figure out what the best study space is for every different day, but it has been working out in my favor so far.
Items and Artifacts for Project 3
Tennis Ball (physical item): This tennis ball would represent a significant part of my college story as the Tennis Club is the only club I have joined and it has had an impact on my social life here at UNE and my continued love for the game of tennis.
Clouds by Luke Faulkner (audio clip): This song has become a big part of my UNE experience because I always start a big study session by listening to it followed by many more classical piano pieces. This one is by far my favorite and it helps me so much to get in the mindset for studying.
Photo of library study room key #6 (photo): For the multiple instances in which I have forced myself to study for six or seven hours straight throughout the semester, I have utilized UNE’s silent study rooms where I would study until the end of the two hours, end then renew the key if I was still in the “study zone” of my focusing. I have found these instances to be the most productive study sessions throughout the semester.
Response to the first homework question for homework #11 (textual example):
“Over the course of the semester so far, I have begun to notice my habits within my mindset, my learning, and my belief in myself. I have discovered areas in which I succumb to the fixed mindset, which is pretty much any situation where an understanding of something does not come relatively easy to me. In statistics, I will occasionally get an answer wrong over and over, and I only reluctantly will attempt to improve whatever strategy I am implementing. In this class, when I am getting writer’s block or can’t think of a certain word, I will often just stop and give up or procrastinate. I have discovered similar patterns across all of my courses, and am working to combat them with an attempt at Bain’s “self-efficacy”. As I made my goal to declare a major, I knew what I had to do was explore and research my major options as well as examine myself to discover a future that would fit me and satisfy me. I have been able to do research due to the requirements of Project 2, but I’ve also been able to discuss the Pre-Law focus with my friend who is a part of it right now. Everytime she has talked about her classes and the content she is learning about, I think to myself “Man, I would love to be in that class”. This fact is what is truly convincing me that Political Science and Law are the route I want to take within the next four years.”
This passage by me is an honest evaluation of the habits and things that I have observed and learned about myself this semester. I will definitely narrow this down to the most important parts, but the passage really encompasses all of the important thoughts and feeling I’ve had about the semester.
Connections Table
Project 2 Major Exploration
Connections Table
FYS 110-C (Fall 2020)
Prof. Frank
| Topics/ Questions | Boyer (Approaches to interpreting/evaluating a major) | Scheuer/Ungar (Connections to Liberal Learning) | ___ENGLISH_______ Major Req.s |
| Career/Technical Training v. Liberal Learning | -“Students overwhelmingly have come to view general education as an irritating interruption– an annoying detour on their way to their degree. They all too often do not see how such requirements will help them get a job or live a life” (Boyer 217).-”About half the faculty said that undergraduate education in America would be improved if there were less emphasis on specialized training and more on liberal education” (Boyer 221). | -”A liberal education is not about developing professional or entrepreneurial skills, although it may well promote them. Nor is it for everyone; we need pilots, farmers, and hairdressers as well as managers, artists, doctors, and engineers. But we all need to be well-informed, critical citizens. And the liberal arts prepares students for citizenship in all three senses – civic, economic and cultural” (Scheuer 4). | -“The political science major emphasizes the development of skills in effective writing and speaking, as well as creative problem solving”. -“Our small classes and abundant individual attention from faculty give students ample opportunity to hone those skills”.-“The study of law involves many aspects of social life and integrates many fields of study. Judges and lawyers are expected to handle different litigations, ranging from social to medical, environmental and other applications. Thus, law schools encourage students to have diverse undergraduate majors”. |
| History/Tradition | -”the crisis of our time relates not to technical competence, but to a loss of social and historical perspective, to the disastrous divorce of competence from conscience” (224) | -“One of the traditional civic dimension, which embraces a range of activities such as voting and jury service, advocacy, volunteering, dialogue and information sharing, and other forms of participation in the public sphere” (Scheuer 4). | Learning outcomes: -“Have mastered essential facts relevant and necessary to the study of global political life. This involves a working knowledge of the key actors, structures, institutions and historical dynamics that constitute the contemporary political order. It also includes a broad familiarity with the historical roots of that order”.-”Have an informed sense of the historical dimension of the various political issues, developments, trends, theories and forms of inquiry relevant to the students’ interests”. |
| Social/Economic Implications | -“Students, in their search for a secure future, have read the signals all too literally, and the liberal arts have taken a back seat to the more practical, career-related training” “‘Employers recently have begun looking harder for liberal arts people” (Boyer 219).-”In response to marketplace demands, many institutions are offering narrow technical training and providing credentialing for occupations, devoid of rich intellectual content” (Boyer 223). | -”there is much concern about whether America is keeping up with CHina and other rising economies in the STEM disciplines” (Ungar 4)“Being a productive member of a community: doing something useful for oneself and for others, whether in a factory, farm, home, office, garage, or boardroom. It’s also about being a critical consumer and seeing the connections between political and economic spheres” (Scheuer 4). | Learning Outcomes: -”Be able to conduct sound and rigorous social inquiry using a variety of methodologies and techniques”.-”Be able to compete successfully for placement in graduate programs or employment relevant to the field of study”. |
| Ethical/Moral Issues | -”Specialists must make judgments that are not only technically correct but also include ethical and social considerations. And the values professionals bring to their work are every bit as crucial as the particularities of the work itself” (225) | -”The overall goal is to foster vibrant and prosperous communities marked by fairness, inclusion, and (where critical thinking comes in) intellectual rigor” (Scheuer 4). | “Have an enlightened understanding of the multicultural nature of global (but especially American) political life.” |
Policing in America
On Monday, November 8th at six in the evening, my roommate Thia and I made the long walk to the Alfond Forum to attend President Herbert’s forum, a debate on “Policing in America”. As the room was brightly lit and there was a highly professional vibe to the room, I chose to not snap a picture of the event.
The debate was moderated by on of UNE’s own professors from the Morocco campus. The debate centered on the topic of policing in America and it was argued by Neil Gross, defending the position that police reform is the best course of action for solving the issues involved in policing in America, and by Brendan McQuade, who argued the position in favor of abolition of the police. Gross and McQuade were both provided the opportunity to offer a five-minute opening statement about their position and some of the facts that support it. Both Gross and McQuade went long on their opening statement and I noticed the tension grow in the room whenever the moderates face indicated that they did. This set the debate up to be uncomfortable, which was fitting for the topic. Neil and Brendan responded to questions in a way that addressed and conveyed their information to the audience. The moderator offered questions referencing books and pieces that Neil and Brenden have written on the subject and anytime the conversation shied away from the focus on policing in America, Neil let us know. After almost an hour of debate, the moderator opened up the conversation to the audience members for questions for Neil and Brenden. Due to their lengthy responses, only five or six questions were able to be answers by the end of the debate. Concluding with the response to a question from President Herbert himself, Thia and I were free to head back, and as we did, discuss the controversial viewpoints we had just listened to.
I personally found myself agreeing with Neil from the opening statements. While Neil tended to be more combative with both Brenden and the moderator throughout the debate, I respected how knowledgeable, prepared and present he was in the discussion. Brenden conducted himself in a way to be unprofessional and simply not respectable, as he seemingly refused to look at his opponent and held an uncaring disposition. I agreed with Neil’s position that police reform is doable and something we can put our hope in because of instances across the country were new strategies have worked. Brenden, in favor of police abolition, didn’t offer much of an alternative besides the repetitive statement “we need to create new systems”. One thing that Brenden suggested that I really disagree with is his position that “we need to at least get the police out of schools”. As a student who has attended a high school with students who have given multiple bomb threats, multiple school shooting threats as well as a known sex offender walking around our school, I personally felt a lot of comfort in knowing there was one police officer always present and ready to deal with any potential threats or issues that arise.
Hearing such vastly different viewpoints from Neil and Brenden, as well as all the viewpoints in between from the questions in the audience, I was able to develop a better understanding of the issue and educate myself on multiple perspectives and better develop my own perspective. This debate was intellectually challenging as well as fascinating, and is definitely an event I would attend again.
Bake Wars
On Wednesday, November 3rd at four in the afternoon, my roommate Thia and I attended the “Bake Wars” Arts & Humanities Event, not knowing what to expect.
When we arrived, there were many faculty and only a few students, which gave me a nice opportunity to discuss the Latin American History class I will be taking next semester with one the history professors here at UNE. She talked about how beneficial learning history can be for one’s overall learning experience and how it can really ground your learning.
One of my favorite parts of the event was the pianist and guitarist creating a nice ambience for the event with pieces like “The Girl from Ipanema” and “Linus and Lucy”. I was nice to see and hear live music after being away from my piano for so long and it created a nice artistic background for the arts and humanities event.
Once more students arrived, we were all able to go around the room and state our name and major, or in my case lack of major, and were instructed to try on of every baked good provided and vote for the one we liked the best. Once the “bake wars” was instructed to commence, Thia and I went and filled the tiny little plates with as many cookies, brownies, cupcakes that we could fit and tried them. I don’t remember exactly what number the cookie I voted for was represented by, but I remember it being a particularly flavorful chocolate chip cookie with sweet and salty essences as well as the presence of butter in the recipe and use of brown sugar was made clear in the golden brown color of the soft cookie. Definitely the best of three different chocolate chip cookies I tried within the contest.
After voting, Thia and I said goodbyes and headed to dinner to eat healthier food to balance out the sweets we had just stuffed ourselves with. This event was simple and fun, I would go again.
HW #16: Response to Coates Conclusion, pp. 132-152
- Consider why Coates took the title for his book. How does the poem influence/alter/ clarify your understanding of Coates’s project?
Richard Wright’s poem “Between the World and Me” describes black narrator stumbling across the scene of a gruesome tar-and-feathering act in the woods and goes on to find the narrator in the same situation. As the narrator is describing this racist act, he describes it as the “thing” (line 2), and later claims that the details of this scene are “thrusting themselves between the world and me…” (lines 5 & 6). Therefore, he is suggesting that racism is the thing standing between him and the world, him and freedom, him and inner peace. It’s not something that he just goes on living his life and ignores because of how much it affects him. When the narrator was describing himself standing before the scene of the murder and observing how it had happened and comes to the realization that a life had been extinguished, he states that “the ground gripped my feet and my heart was circled by icy walls of fear” (lines 24 & 25). This raises the idea that when a person of color is made a victim of a racist act, the fear within the hearts and minds of other black people that the same thing could happen to them, holds them in place and stands between the world and them. This fear debilitates them from being able to move on in the world and feel equal and free. Racism stands between people of color and the world that is out there waiting for them.
Ta-Nehisi Coates named his book Between the World and Me after this harrowing poem by Richard Wright. In his book, Coates discusses racism as a way to explain the truths and his opinions behind it to his son. Coates shares personal experiences of racism and stories of how it has had a deep effect on many individual people of color as well as entire communities and even the nation as a whole. The enemy that perpetuates racism is named “the Dreamer” in his book. “The Dreamers” mostly consist of anyone who is white in America and simply anyone who seeks to use the privileges of their race to get ahead and be superior in some sense. As a result of the reading of the poem “Between the World and Me”, I am under the impression that Coates named his book this way in an attempt to tie in his concepts of “the Dreamers” and “believing you are white” because his believes that in “being white” one doesn’t need fear racist acts or acts that will keep them from the world and as a black man his fear of racism as well as racism itself stands between him and the World, or him and the “Dream”. By naming his book Between the World and Me Coates is able to emphasize to his son just how much racism affects his life because he is black, as well as how much it affects the lives of anyone who is black.
- Connect Coates’s references to Wright and to James Baldwin (e.g., in the epigraph to Part III) to “the gift of study” (115) and/or his book’s overall emphasis on reading and writing.
Oxford English Dictionary defines oblivion as “the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening”. This suggests that in the Baldwin quote “and have brought humanity to the edge of oblivion; because they think they are white” (Coates 133) is trying to convey that people who “think they are white”, and therefore create a divide between themselves and the other “races” that they see, are creating a world in which in the racism had been implemented into social systems and daily life and won’t recognize these injustices as racism or wrong-doings.
Coates writes about the significance of the human race among all things in the universe and emphasizes this by focusing on the “gift of study” which is a sole quality of humans. The way I see this connecting to Wright and Baldwin is that the “gift of study” can also mean the gift of acquiring knowledge, the gift of awareness. Humans can combat the “oblivion” that Baldwin feels is inevitable by educating themselves and living in the pursuit of truth. Wright’s poem was a raw and honest depiction of the racism that stands between the world and Coates in its worst and far most gruesome form. Reading this truth is eye opening and allows for the reader to become fully aware of the fear some people feel as a result of this in-between. Knowledge is power and ignorance is harmful.
