Monday, November 30, 2009

Pony Up!

Some freshmen are having difficulty adjusting to college life. It's hard settling into a new “home”, especially if you're from another state. What I've found eases the transition is loving your college. I think the spirit of SMU is responsible for welcoming the new student body. The student body's spirit is what makes the university shine. Even though I’ve only been here a couple months, I've still noticed a difference in the school spirit this year and how its impacting student’s attitudes. Now that SMU has a winning football team, students are showing up and actually staying for the majority of the game. Basketball season is starting, and I think student’s support and participation at the games will not only help the players, but bring unity between students as well. I’m not just addressing students though, faculty and alumni too. Because school spirit and athletic success are new to SMU, it will be interesting to see what will happen just a couple of years from now.

Please get involved, and help SMU reach its new potential.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Persuasive Essay

I've changed my topic to focus on the decision to home school.

I think home schooling is an interesting topic for a persuasive argument. Education is one of the most important aspects of child development. So, deciding whether or not to home school can be a very controversial subject. I want to persuade parents not to home school their children because of the negative effects in the long run, especially if the only reason is to protect them from the real world. Parents and children who are making this decision will be my intended audience. There are various reasons why parents choose to home school their children, so I plan to touch on several and provide alternative solutions. Home schooling presents issues with social development, controlled interaction with the real world, religion, time and money, and accelerated learning styles. These issues can have tremendous effects on your children. Because I was home schooled until tenth grade, I can provide a realistic point of view for a plausible argument against home schooling.