Essays

Clinton Wells

Professor Dollieslager

English III

26 February 2018

Natural Learning Process

The learning process in human beings is very natural, and we all want to learn from a very young age. Doctor Rita Smilkstein studied the learning process in humans for many years and has found this to be true. The learning process has many stages in which learning occurs. There is plenty of brain activity going on during the learning process. Stress, or the lack of stress, and emotions can also influence the learning process. Learning about these processes and the effects they have on learning is also part of the natural learning process. I feel it is important to know how learning occurs, so it can help you learn.

The Natural Human Learning Process (NHLP) is a process studied by Doctor Rita Smilkstein. Her wondrous studies incorporated tens of thousands of people, cohesively, over several years. The NHLP enumerates in several stages. These stages are motivation, start to practice, advanced practice, skillfulness, refinement, and finally mastery. Motivation drives learning, from a small child learning to walk, to a young adult learning to drive. Once motivated to learn something, practice begins. Practicing driving increases proficiency in that skill. Learning how to get better through practice is the next step in the NHLP. A small child may fall less and gain better balance. Continuing to practice brings advanced practice, and advanced learning. After learning through practice, skillfulness begins to grow. That child that was just walking at first may now begin to run. Becoming adept through skillfulness means making fewer mistakes. Refinement of skills makes for greater accuracy and even fewer mistakes. Finally, mastery is achieved, where that same small child has learned to run, jump and move around without having to think much about it at all. (Smilkstein Chap. 2).

I learned to play video games through these stages. Motivation started me on my path to learn how to play video games. The earlier versions of video games allowed me to begin my practice. Over time, video games became more challenging. This moved me into advanced practice, while video games grew in popularity. Consequently, due to this popularity, multiple consoles and computers were developed by multiple vendors which advanced me into skillfulness. At the onset of the Internet, I could challenge other players all around the world with different tactics from different areas, allowing me to start refinement of these skills. Finally, I could tell when I had moved into mastery with my gameplay when my opponents would leave the game as they were losing.

Dr. Smilkstein also covered how biologists describe learning. Biologists describe learning as “growing dendrites on neurons.” Neurons, also called brain cells, are shaped like trees. Young brain cells, called soma, resemble an acorn or small seed of a tree. This seed is likely to sprout and axon first. The axon has an outer membrane called the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath would be akin to the bark of a tree. Then the growth of dendrites will begin. The dendrites resemble limbs and branches of a tree and are where the neuron receives information, in the form of electrochemical impulses. At the base of the axon, terminal bulbs are formed. These terminal bulbs are the transmitters of the neurons (Smilkstein Chap.3).

As the axon terminal bulbs pass electrochemical messages to the dendrites of other cells, the cells begin to grow. The electrochemical impulses pass through the neuron and out through the axon terminal bulbs, across a gap called the synaptic gap. In this way, information passes from an axon terminal bulb into the dendrite of another cell. The firing of electrochemical impulses is much like the firing of a spark plug. For the firing to happen, the cell needs fuel for conductivity called endorphins. Endorphins are present in the brain when the brain is positively stimulated, like while learning, doing puzzles, or listening to music you enjoy. Stress, on the other hand, causes norepinephrine in the brain.

Norepinephrine can impede the learning process by causing the neurons to misfire or not fire at all. It can also stimulate our fight or flight response, which proves that some stress is good but too much stress is bad. Unlike norepinephrine and stress, when brains are stimulated and releasing hormones known as endorphins, the fuel for synaptic firing, the brain can learn.

In my years in high school, vocational school and Tidewater Community College, I had no problems learning. This is probably because of the lack of stress. Taking classes in science, math, and electronics were very familiar and easy for me to learn. I suspect that the synaptic firing was incredibly high during this time. I am finding that writing a coherent and cohesive paper, in the English language, has caused me stress. Although, I figured out what I wanted to say and how to say it and the stress dissipated; therefore, learning became easier.

Although several items in the Learning Tool Box from JMU are applicable to my writing style, the rules that stand out pertain to writing good sentences. These rules have the acronym CC-CIA. This stands for Construct complete sentences, Construct compound sentences, Construct complex sentences, Include only related ideas, and Agreement of sentence parts. (“CC-CIA”) Also, it seems that at the beginning of this exercise I was having trouble with, what the Study Guides and Strategies, calls the 5-paragraph essay. But, I think I have a better understanding of that now. Oh, how the dendrites grow. (“5 Paragraph Writing”)

Works Cited

Smilkstein, Rita. We're Born to Learn: Using the Brain's Natural Learning Process to Create Today's Curriculum. 1st ed. Thousand Oaks, Cal.: Corwin. 2003.

“CCCIA.” JMU Learning Toolbox, James Madison University, coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/studentstart.htm. Accessed 31 January 2018.

“Five Paragraph Writing.” Study Guides and Strategies, http://www.studygs.net/fiveparag.htm. Accessed 27 February 2018.

Clinton Wells

Prof. Dollieslager

Eng. III

March 14^th, 2018

Defining Moments

There are many defining moments in a person’s life. A defining moment may be positive or negative, but it has an impact on a person’s life. This impact can be so strong that it will be remembered for the rest of a person’s life. Langston Hughes writes about a defining moment in his life in an essay titled "Salvation.”

In the essay, Langston Hughes talks about a visit he had, at the age of twelve, to his Aunt’s church. This visit coincided with his aunt’s church having a revival. Langston's aunt explained to him what was going to happen during the revival. This included the saving of the young people in the church. She further explained that Jesus would come into his life and that Langston would see Jesus and feel Jesus inside of himself. On the day of the revival when the young children were sitting on the mourners' bench, the preacher preached a great sermon and entreated some of the young ones to come and be saved. Many of the children ran up to be saved until there were only two left on the bench. These two were Langston and a young rounder's son named Westley. In time, Westley got tired of sitting on the bench as the night grew later and very irreverently told Langston that he was just going to go up and be saved. Now the entire congregation was singing and praying for Langston to be saved. The preacher asked for Langston's name and then directly asked Langston to come up, while his Aunt cried and begged him to go up and be saved. Langston, as a young man of twelve, weighs the pros and cons, and finally he gets up. After he rises, the congregation erupts into a great sea of shouting, and women leaping into the air. Later that night Langston cries uncontrollably in his bed, not because Jesus has come into his life as his Aunt thinks, but because he lied about seeing Jesus and now he no longer believes in Jesus. This was a milestone in Langston's life because it goes against what would be the normal lifestyle of his peers at the time. Langston continues through the rest of his life as a great writer who did not have faith in Jesus (Hughes).

A great defining moment in my life came on May 12th, 2007. On this monumental day, I had the honor and privilege of marrying the love of my life, Charlotte Whitmore who goes by the nickname, Charlie. Charlie and I met several years prior at the age of fourteen when her family moved into my neighborhood. From that day on we hung out nearly every day until we were eighteen. After the age of eighteen, her parents divorced, my father died, and life became more complicated. At twenty-one Charlie married someone else, and so did I. At this point I did not realize how much I loved her.

Fast-forwarding a bit, I realized how much I loved her when I was in my second marriage. After the demise of my second marriage, and the ironic timing of Charlie's marriage ending, Charlie and I were able to communicate more freely and spend more time together. We began to date and introduced our children to each other. At first, they got along wonderfully, but in time began to act more like sisters. One day I asked Charlie’s father to lunch where I asked permission to marry his daughter. He was overwhelmed with joy and gave his blessing, noting how much we respect and love each other. Finally, I asked Charlie to marry me.

She said "Yes"!!!!!!

So, on the date of May 12th, 2007, we were wed. A large group of our family and friends gathered in the clubhouse of a golf course while music pieces by Vivaldi played in the background. Charlie picked out her wedding march music, Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring. One of my father-in-law's military service chaplains oversaw the wedding, while my very soon to be new brother-in-law videotaped it. We had it catered and had a great space for dancing. I believe the first dance was the father-daughter dance, my father-in-law picked "Look to the Rainbow.” At the end of this song, the words are, follow the fellow who follows a dream, and he gave me her hand. It was the happiest day of my life.

After the first dances, we transitioned seamlessly into the reception. I had a little gag where I had distributed keys out to some of the ladies in the room and a friend of mine, our MC, instructed these ladies that I was off the market and the keys had to be returned. Some of these ladies included my friend's extremely pregnant wife and other friends of Charlie's. Next, we entreated our guests to join us on the dance floor with the opener Glen Miller's "In the Mood.” We had an extensive playlist go on while we cut the cake, people ate the great food, and the young children of all the families were armed with disposable cameras to capture the fun. Those kids got great pictures. Finally, Charlie and I took the MC's car and ran off to our hide-a-way where I had champagne, cheese, and strawberries awaiting our arrival.

Since that day, Charlie has taught me confidence, pride, and how to be a good father. She has shown me love, as I have never known it. I look back at all the times we have had together, from age fourteen, and it fills me with great joy. I also look forward to all the times we will have in the future. We pay attention to people around us and wish that everyone could know love like this. We motivate each other, stand behind one another, and build up one another, all the way up to me writing this paper for a class I am enrolled in because Charlie sees more in me than even I could.

Work Cited

Hughes, Langston. “Salvation.” The Center for Fiction, N.D., http://www.centerforfiction.org/quotsalvationquot-by-langston-hughes , Accessed 14^th March, 2018.

Clinton Wells

April 7, 2018

English III

Orwell’s Defining Moment

Orwell’s Defining Moment

“I was very glad the coolie had been killed.” I pulled this sentence from George Orwell's essay “Shooting an Elephant.” The shooting of the elephant was a defining moment in Orwell's life. I believe it impacts most of his future work and it shapes part of his political and worldview about oppressive governments, and their power over all its subjects.

“Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell describes a time in his life when he was an officer for the British empire in Burma. He describes how the Burmese people treat the English civilians in Burma and how the British empire entreats the Burmese people. Throughout the essay, George repeats how much he hates the British Empire’s treatment of the people of Burma and how he is also disgusted with the people of Burma for not standing up for themselves. He talks about how the Burmese people will attack each other to show obedience to the British Empire. He goes on to talk about how he thought the British Empire would go on forever with an unyielding power over its territories. The body of the essay tells a story about an elephant in “must” running rampant through the streets and while running wild, kills a man. This is the coolie mentioned in the opening paragraph. Upon seeing the murdered coolie, George sent for an elephant gun, knowing the elephant must be put down, but when finally faced with the beast, he is unsure. George must weigh the pros and cons of shooting the elephant. This elephant has been trained and belongs to a company. That makes it a very important tool. The person the elephant killed is just a coolie and is the lowest caste of humans in Burma but is still a human. To add to his quandary, George also has all the local Burmese people standing around him and expecting him to kill the elephant. In the end, George shoots the elephant multiple times with negligible effect and it takes a long time for the elephant to die. This weighs very heavily on George Orwell’s conscience, but in the end, he feels he is justified in shooting the elephant.

In this essay “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell describes how working for an oppressive empire as the sub-divisional police officer is most unpleasant. Orwell sees firsthand what happens to the oppressed people, and how little the oppressors care about them. How even the life of an animal can be more important than a human life. Orwell also describes how much he dislikes being around and working with the oppressed people of Burma. He explains how he does things that go against his beliefs to please his employer and continue the oppression of the Burmese people. The explanation becomes clearer with the phrases, “I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces” and “He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it.” Even though Orwell did not want to shoot the elephant, he feels he must to save face with the Burmese people. Also, by shooting the elephant, he keeps the people in line for his employer. The slow, agonizing death of the elephant made the deed feel even more torturous. In 1927, Orwell resigned his post as the sub-divisional police officer in Moulmein.

His works after his return to England talk about other happenings in Burma and make a correlation to how the British government not only oppresses the Burmese people but also the working-class people of England. He refers to this in some of his works as he builds up a reputation as a writer. His struggles along the way, he writes about in his books like “Down and Out in London and Paris.” In the essay “Why I Write” Orwell begins to talk more about his “hatred of authority” and how he writes because a government is oppressing people with “some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention.”

The latter is well shown in one of his better-selling books “Animal Farm.” In the book, Orwell makes a great parody of a controlling government and a duped populace, with all the animals on a farm. This helps explain more about the distrust of government and the double talk that the government uses to control its people. There are famous quotes from this novel that even people that haven’t read “Animal Farm” would know. One of the more famous quotes is “All animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Finally, just before his death, Orwell writes an almost prophetic novel titled “1984”. This novel depicts a totalitarian state that utilizes double-talk or “News Speak” to completely oppress the populace down to a person’s thoughts, dehumanizing people completely. There are many quotes from this book I feel everyone must have heard at some time in their life, quotes like, “Big Brother” or the fuller “Big Brother is watching.” Another quote is, “who controls the past controls the future.” This quote speaks to the method of governmental oppression utilized by changing the facts of the past to steer a populace in the direction the government wants. Keeping the attention of the people going in one direction for as long as it is beneficial. Many depictions in “1984” have come to pass or were just usurped at a final hour and others have been completely surpassed. Now it could be argued Americans as a populace pay money to have multiple objects in our homes and our pockets to watch and listen to our every word, membership cards that track our every purchase, and cameras that cover every inch of large cities. The homeowner would say it is for security. Consumerists would say that these items are to help people get what they desire. Almost all these items are connected to wireless systems and the data are broadcast across the internet for anyone to hack. I believe we are in a post-Orwellian time, or a time just slightly askew from the world depicted in “1984”. I wonder what George Orwell would think.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. 1984. Ebooks@Adelaide, eBooks@Adelaide, 22^nd February 2016, https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/o79n/. Accessed 7^th April 2018.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Ebooks@Adelaide, eBooks@Adelaide, 17^th December 2014, https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/o79a/. Accessed 7^th April 2018.

Orwell, George. “Down and Out in Paris and London.” Ebooks@Adelaide, eBooks@Adelaide, 9^th June 2016, https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/o79d/. Accessed 7^th April 2018.

Orwell, George. “Shooting an Elephant.” George Orwell 1903-1950, K-1 Internet Publishing, http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/elephant.html. Accessed 7^th April 2018.

Orwell, George. “Why I Write.” George Orwell 1903-1950, K-1 Internet Publishing, http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/write.html . Accessed 7^th April 2018.

Clinton Wells

April 13, 2018

English III

Prof. Dollieslager

This I Believe

I believe in the power of a positive attitude and believing in one’s self. My wife and I started talking about this project to brainstorm what it is that I truly believe in enough to be the topic of this essay. We both agree that I believe in myself and I believe together my wife and I can do anything, but also at the core of both of these beliefs is the power of a positive attitude. Now, I asked my wife once I decided to write this, “Don’t you think this sounds a little conceited?” To wit, she answered, “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.”

I have never been formally trained how to be a handyman or a businessman, but for five years in southeastern Virginia, I ran a very successful home improvement business. Furthermore, I have never taken any classes in real estate, but I have outshopped veterans of the real estate industry and made great purchases and sales in areas that were described as impossible. I have never been trained in how to do vehicle repair, but I had a friend give me a set of mechanics tools and from that moment forward I have done all my own repairs. These repairs include changing a head gasket on a Dodge pickup, changing a fuel pump in a Chevy pickup (while it was full of gas), replacing the belts, boots, and tie rod ends on two different Nissans, replacing three radiators, and replacing the clutch in a Ford Ranger. Finally, I learned how to repair HVAC systems with great ease. I feel I could only do these things because I believed in myself and attacked each repair with a positive attitude.

Of course, I did not attack and achieve these things all on my own. With an unclouded vision and a positive attitude, I would seek out the information that I needed and take it in with clarity. Utilizing the Internet, public libraries, and experts in each field I was able to accomplish each of these tasks.

As of last year, I took on the task of self-improvement for the better of myself and my life with my wife. It started simply enough with going to the dentist to fix my teeth. They were not in the greatest of conditions. Then, going to the doctor on a regular basis and with my physician’s help, I was able to correct my blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight. The next step was something that seems an insurmountable task, but I wrestled with it until the solution became clear. I stopped smoking. I also taught my wife how to stop. I simply told myself that I didn’t smoke. No matter how I felt, no matter how antsy I became, smoking would not help, because I don’t smoke. The urges left as fast as they arrived. Finally, I realized no one would take me seriously until I had a degree in something, but what field would I want to devote the rest of my life to? I decided to become a paralegal. Research and discovery are the most exciting aspects of life for me, and I get to do them throughout my education and on into my career.

In closing, I would like to teach the world a few things. First, attack all things with a positive mental attitude and believe in yourself. Second, failures will happen; learn from them. Finally, do not rest once the goal is achieved. I have been known to say, “We were so caught up in what we have done, we forgot to see what we could do.” Mirabilis es, deinceps semper!!!!