English 02(P) - SUTHERLAND
Semester 02 Composition
Final Assessment
2010.06.07
English class – not only is it an academic class to learn vocabulary, syntax, conventions, and reading comprehension, but in a way, it is a social science class. Unlike español, français, Deutsch, にほんご, or 中文 classes that focus on vocabulary and grammar, English class explores the fundamentals of communication. In this way, an English class functions as a social science by studying the functioning of human society, because without effective communication, the sole function of a society could not form. With that, this class is far more than a list of California State Standards or school SARC reports, but a development of the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of society.
As I mentioned in my first blog post A Statement of Purpose, writing is an invaluable skill – a powerful means of communication. As in any form of communication, writing connects us all as individuals – it helps share and spread ideas. These interactions transmit valuable information from the interpersonal to the international.
The creation of a blog for an English class was a unique perspective for executing assignments. English this year deviated from the normal structure of an English class with its structure (in its entirety). Generally, an average English class is encompassed by three major writing assignments with five outlying essays, all with high weighting in the semester grade. Moreover, literature and novels orbit around these compositions. In contrast, the compositions this year were scheduled weekly – with a major assignment scheduled monthly. The majority of the compositions were ‘freestyle’ in the sense that the subject of each assignment was of one’s preference. With the exception of two novels, the literature could be any genre of choice (provided it passed certain guidelines). Albeit less structured, this style of teaching promoted individual freedom.
Although I may be leading slightly off the trail, this concept of freedom in the class is important. As a student advance in his studies, the professor will not be able to individually assist every student in every situation because of a large body of students. Furthermore, because of the large class population, professors will spend less time grading homework (an Introduction to Chemistry course I completed over the summer 2009 did not event collect homework). Thus in order to succeed, a student needs to be able to motivate his self to excel in his studies and advance to the next level. By introducing this freedom now, students will be able to respect the class as an opportunity to further his knowledge and motivate his self for a successful future.
This is a shift – from seeing the classroom as a room to forcibly learn to a community to advance his self. And it is shift that evolves as the student matures. When he can see how writing a weekly assignment of a topic of his choosing can motivate him to write and communicate, then the true polish of grammar and syntax can be applied.
My writing initially began with simple classification of science and how certain branches of science fit together. The first few posts were simply a test of blogger – understanding its components and acclimating myself to this new system of electronic classroom assignments. At this point, I was interested in medicine and attempted two or three posts. I soon realized that my background was sparse and research to provide accurate information was a time-consuming process.
Then…at the end of October 2009, one idea struck gold – the science of cooking. Who couldn’t love the subject? There are two of my favorite things: food and science. My background in food science was stronger than that of medicine. And in all honesty, food is a subject to which more people can relate. Most (if not all) of my research and inspiration comes from one gentleman: Alton Brown and his Food Network show Good Eats. After I saw my first episode of Good Eats, I was attached to the show. If I could create a cooking show, it would be most modeled after Good Eats and the science Brown uses. All the facts that are in my Salt series of blog posts (I, II, III, IV) were collected from Good Eats Salt episodes (“Eat this Rock”). It is a fascinating world to know the history of food and the science which composes them. How could a simple egg be transformed into your morning breakfast? Or why would dredging a fish in flour help a batter to adhere for deep-frying? It is more than simply applying heat or adding powder.
[C]ooking involves science (albeit not distinctly in many cases). Chemistry, physics, biology, anatomy, botany, ichthyology, ornithology, crystallography (studying crystals, like salts and sugars), and many, many more sciences intermixed to have a foundation for cooking. Transforming raw ingredients to form succulent dishes involved thousands of years of tradition, experimentation, tasting to meld flavors or avoid certain combinations of food. Only until recently (compared to the length of human cooking) have scientists discovered the science behind some of the cooking procedures used in modern culinary compositions.
Then the mautam (and the mautam (II))
After watching Rat Attack, a NOVA (in cooperation with National Geographic) documentary, I thought writing about the subject would be an interesting twist to my blog. To think that every 48 years – nature’s clockwork at its best, over a billion tons of bamboo fruit flowers, matures, and falls on the ground…free for the eating. With a billion pounds of fruit come thousands of rats. These rodents coat the countryside with a swarm that could reach millions.
The bamboo grass purposely pumps out thousands of fruits each cycle to guarantee fulfilling its biological duty to reproduce and give off more plants. It “knows” that with the plentiful tons of fruits, there still won’t be enough rats in the forest to collect them all. But it is not solely the populous fruit bearings that have given the successful forests of bamboo. They have a secret that is hidden below.
In all, this year was successful. I learned more about my writing (conceptually) and started to concentrate on how to polish certain aspects – although it still needs work.
