Final Question

Well folks, this is it. The final blog entry.
Most of you have done a great job of responding to our weekly questions, and I've really enjoyed reading your responses.

For our final entry, I'd like you to discuss the class. More specifically, what do you think you can take away from our 15 or so weeks together? You might discuss something that has to with writing, or you could maybe talk about something having to do grammar. Maybe you feel that you are taking away something completely unrelated to both writing and grammar. If you don't think you can take away anything from the class, what do you wish you could have improved?

As a follow-up question, what do you wish we could have covered in this class that we didn't do?

Please be honest, as this is simply a truthful reflection on our time together during the 2010 fall semester.

Thanks for writing!

Josh

Week 11 Question

Hi folks!

I hope you enjoyed the Halloween weekend. I hope you equally enjoy your day off tomorrow.

Next week we will take a short field trip to a local high school. During this visit, you will have the opportunity to meet and talk to American high school students. We will also use this visit as a way to generate ideas for our third essay, which will be a cause-effect essay about some issue related to American high school students.

As a prelude to this trip, I'd like for you to discuss your impressions of American high school students. More specifically, I'd like you to explain what stereotypes you have about high school students in the U.S. (your assumptions about what you think American high school students are like). These stereotypes can be based on movies, TV shows, pop music, hearsay (what you've heard other people say), or personal experience.

Please respond to this question by no later than Sunday, Nov. 7th.

As always, thank you for your responses.

Week 9 Question

I've just finished re-reading the blog posts you've written so far. Reading your responses is not only fun and intersting but also insightful--I've learned a lot by reading what you wrote! I really appreciate the time you take to think about each week's question and the quality of your responses. Again, the blog is a class forum for ideas; students often have different ideas, but each idea is welcome and encouraged.

Next week we are going to start discussing the basics of writing a research paper. Your topic will have to do with some aspect of Montana culture, ecology (the environment, animals, etc.), education, history, and so on.

For this week's blog, I'd like you to start thinking about Montana in general. While this week's question isn't necessarily directly related to the topic that you will research, it will get our minds headed in towards the sign that reads "Montana," if you know what I mean.

This week, I'd like you give your opinion on what you think makes Montana unique compared to other places in the world. You can talk about Montana in general, or you can discuss only Missoula. It's up to you.

Good luck!

Week 8 Question

Hi!

For those of you who have responded to last week's blog, thanks for your thoughtful remarks. I think that knowing a variety of studying strategies can be a great advantage during "heavy" study weeks like the mid-term and finals week.

This time around, I'd like you to look ahead to a moment you are all surely waiting for--the time when your mid-terms are finished. What I'd like you to think and write about is what you will do in order to relax and take it easy once all the stress from mid-term studying/test-taking has passed.

For example, when I was a student, the second I stepped out of my final mid-term/final test, I headed straight for the river. I bet you can all guess what happened next: that's right, I would go fishing! For me, there was nothing more soothing to my stressed-out spirit than the sounds of the river passing by. The moment a fish was on the end of my line, all thoughts of studying, mid-terms, grades, and so on would vanish.

What about you? What can you tell us about how you relax after such a stressful week?

I look forward to reading your posts.

Josh

Week 7 Question

I've enjoyed reading your entries for week 5. Some of your responses were quite surprising (in a good way). This would be one of the reasons why I like to do this blog: it's fun to learn new things about students one would never learn in class.

On to this week's question......The fact that you've got mid-terms next week is something I'm sure you're all aware of. Good luck to all of you.

This week's question pertains to what you do when you've got a stressful week of studying ahead (like mid-terms). To be exact, what specific studying strategies do you employ when you have a big test or even multiple tests coming up? What do you do to stay focused, motivated, and consistently engaged in your studies?

Week 5 Question

Hi!
To those of you who answered last week's questions: thanks! I really enjoyed reading about the cultural issues you deal with on a daily basis here in the U.S. At the same time, having lived in Ecuador and S. Korea, I can relate to some of the various cultural challenges that you have encountered (and may continue to encounter) during your stay in the U.S. If you have any questions about these issues that you'd like to ask me, please feel free to do so. At that, I'll leave you with a quote that Madoka said (and that I think works pretty well wherever you are in the world): "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

For this week's question, we're going to go to the opposite side of the cultural challenges spectrum:

You are all living and studying here in the U.S. Therefore, you are all (to some extent) forced to eat American food, listen to American music, interact with Americans, watch American TV shows/movies, etc. I'm sure a few of you may very well enjoy eating American food and listening to American music on a regular basis, but it is probably also true that a number of you miss your home country's food, music, social interactions, and so on.

Which part of American culture do you enjoy/appreciate the most? Why?

I look forward to reading your responses!

Josh