online classes

This was my first experience with an online class. I was surprised at the amount of interaction there is with other students. I don’t think online learning will ever completely replace classroom learning. I think you must be extremely disciplined to handle online learning. There are too many distractions for most students to stay focused on classes like this. Adults that go back to school can handle this better, I think. This option is great for students that suffer from disabilities who might struggle to get around a big campus. Just as there are students that need the classroom environment, there are also professors that need the structured classroom as well. It would be very difficult for me to survive school if all classes were online.

I think colleges will be forced to offer more and more classes online in order to hold down the costs of operating colleges. The use of computers and the internet hinders communication skills. I can see where students that don’t have great social skills would feel that online is a great option. Classroom settings help students develop these skills and prepare them for their future in the work place. I do not think online classes should be a requirement for all students to participate in. This should remain an individual choice.

Fast food resturants and the government

Should the government be able to regulate what fast food restaurants serve? No, because all fast food restaurants offer a variety of foods, from healthy choices to non healthy choices. Many of the restaurants have a pamphlet or look at their website and see the nutritional values. Subway always advertises that you can lose weight with their healthy choices, such as, whole wheat bread with turkey, cheese, and lettuce. Chik-Fil-A serves chicken and has salads, you can get fried or grilled chicken. The government has too much control over things that effect our personal life, they do not need to be any more in control of it, this would be one more step to becoming a socialist nation. People need to decide for themselves what is good for them you should be able to eat what you want to eat regardless.

Thanksgiving

My family has always celebrated Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. Thanksgiving day has always been known to our family as a day to give thanks to God for all he has blessed us with. It is always a time for the family to get together and converse over a great dinner. It is always held at my house with my mothers side of the family. Typically Thanksgiving night is the first night we turn on our Christmas lights too. That has always been a tradition, for everyone to finish up the decorations after dinner and turn them on. I love Thanksgiving day because everyone in the family will come together to spend time with one another. It is usually the only time we see some of the family members. Thanksgiving day is always a day that we look forward to.

"Community"

My definition of community is a group of people that live, work, and shop in a particular area together. We have many types of communities, we have neighborhood communities where people live together in a subdivision, retirement communities where the area is mostly catered to senior citizens, these are often gated and some have their own shopping centers. There are also work communities where it is mostly made up of business and retail places, these people work closely with one another, and there are cultural communities where people from a similar religion, ethnic backgrounds, or similar interests form together. These communities are bound together by the people who are a part of them, these communities can often overlap and helps them to keep growing.

Code of Honesty

I believe that dishonesty is a huge problem on college campuses. I think a lot of it is that this generation of kids do not really see a problem in it. They have heard all the sayings, "the only person you are cheating is yourself", but they simply do not care. Having honesty codes on college campuses is a great idea, but is it logical, I'm not sure. Many people if they are already dishonest then what is going to keep them from still cheating? They will just sign the code and keep doing what they have been doing. To some people, signing a code of honesty weighs heavy on their conscience and will prevent them from cheating. I do not think having a code of honesty would hurt, it could help, but I do not see it making a huge impact on the problem.

Reality Shows

Biggest Loser and Survivor are two shows that I watch regularly. I think that Biggest Loser is popular because it deals with one of the biggest health issues in the United States, obesity. People tend to watch it because it gives them some hope, and encouragement, to see people work through an issue and have positive results helps the people at home see that it is possible. I watch because I like to see people succeed, and improve their lives. This is a positive show that reaches out to so many people unlike Survivor.

Survivor, I feel is a ridiculous show that only brings out the worst in people. This show is all about competition, deceit, and lies. There is no trust between "teammates" for very long, if any at all. The only driving force behind this show is money, and all money does is bring out greed. Although money is involved in the Biggest Loser, everyone is a winner and they learn to trust and confide in each other to make it through one of the toughest times in their lives.

Pros and Cons of Wind Farms

Wind farms, I think are a very intelligent idea. Although, like most inventions, some people do not approve or like the idea. I think this is a great way to help the Earth. Some of the pros are, if we use more of these for electricity and energy it will help stop all the poluting. It will not cost as much to have electricity becuase all you need is wind, and wind is free. Wind can never run out like oil, and coal. An article I read did say that most of the repairs required for a wind turbine are caused by lightining. I can see where this could occur since these are very large and tall. But, the way I look at it, look how many trees are on this earth are they all struck by lightining? No, so I think this is a chance you have to take. Also, it is not always windy so many people suggest solar panels to help with electricity on non windy days or weeks. The use of wind energy itself would not cost that much money, but solar panels are pricey. A 224 watt panel cost around 1800 dollars. Some homes could use up to 40,000 watts a day. It is necessary to check your past electric bills to decide how much your house uses on average a day. Solar panels also have to be replaced over time, and if repair is needed it can be very expensive. So, yes I believe that wind energy can be very helpful. It could be costly at first getting started due to need for alternate energy sources when there is no wind, but I believe in the long run will save lots of money.


sources:
Perry, Z. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Wind Power." HubPages. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. <http://hubpages.com/hub/advantages-disadvantages-wind>.
Solar Panels. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. .