Reflection Letter

Hello everyone my name is Christian Davis. This has been my first experience with online education and schooling. Which I have found myself obtaining new problem solving skills as well as increasing my ability to analyze a situation and develop a well rounded conclusion. After I had completed high school I entered the fire service at the age of eighteen. Twenty years later at 38 this whole college experience has been a new and exciting adventure for me. I work as a Battalion Chief of Operations for North County Fire / EMS which is located in North Snohomish County. I have to perform a lot of written corresponds and reports as well as daily emails to the on duty crews. My writing style could have been best described as poor until now. Because of English 101 I have noticed a raise in the bar of quality and content of what I release to the crews and administration.

Returning back to school to complete a degree in the fire service was a very difficult decision for me. However, I had met most of the core classes for the degree but was concerned as English has always been a struggle for me. I have though learned a great deal over the last quarter and find myself reviewing the lessons learned in identity, community, and tradition. These lessons gave me a much deeper understanding of diversity and opened me up to newer ideas and thoughts from so many different aspects. The blogs encouraged me to do so much personal exploring of the subjects such as “What’s In a Fire Fighter’s Wallet?” This really helped me analyze my identity based off of items found in my wallet and how they may be perceived by others.

When I looked into community a whole new world for me was discovered. I had no idea just how many different communities there possible could be and so many unusual ways to discover their existence. I found myself taking a step back and looking outside of the box while analyzing the information that had been provided to me on this subject. In the past I had looked at a community as folks who may live in a small town or a city. I now know that there is so much more to it and what a community can mean. For example I wrote about fire service community in the 2^nd discussion board for the lesson “In my own experience I even see such tribes formed in the fire service. We work 24 hour shifts which works out to 9 to 10 shifts a moth for each assigned crew. There are three assigned crews or shifts per department and they are identified as A-Shift, B-Shift, and C-Shift. Each shift seems to have their own way of performing daily duties, emergency responses, and even customer service levels. Individuals will jockey for position in hopes of being assigned to a particular shift if that does not happen you can see their attitudes turn negative and discouraged on which shift they had been assigned to.” This really showed how I was able to see even the communities within my own work place.

Traditions opened the door for me to take a look back at many things that I have felt where being lost as time went on. I find myself holding onto traditions to ensure that lesson and cultural traditions that we taught to me by my grandmother will be able to live on in future generations. For example, in my blog “ God Jul a Norsk Family Holiday Tradition” I was able to analyze a traditional family holiday and the similarities I saw in many others that I had read. It showed people connecting and the simple yet very meaningful memories that are created with traditions.

When I worked on picking my four pieces to present I found myself in deep reflection. I reflected on the great many things I have learned, the strength I have gained in my papers thanks to the great feedback from my instructors and how to bring someone into your thoughts and readings by building a thesis and applying throughout a paper.

Thank you for the memories, lessons and wonderful thoughts and guidance throughout this quarter. This has truly been and experience and a cultural awareness that I will not soon forget. Best of luck to all of you and bless the 343 firefighter who made the sacrifice so that so many would live!

Intro to Modern Technology has put the Traditional Family Dinner on the Back Burner

I decided to use my essay "Modern Technology has put Family Dinner on the Back Burner.” Throughout this course I have been developing skills on analyzing essays, blogs, postings and other writings. This piece shows the many ways I have developed in analyzing an issue and not just stating a personal opinion. I was able to compare past traditional practices such as a conversation at the meal table with todays electronic distractions and how they have changed the way we view the traditional dinner. "Instead of hearing how dad's day at work was or what was new at school, they seek the latest tweet from Lady Gaga or what Rebecca Black's status on Facebook is.” I was really able to find many different examples and directions on this issue. I explored and found examples in Blogs, Essays, and short readings. I analyzed all the information and developed an argument and thesis. Throughout my research my direction would change on my thesis until I reached what I believed to be a correct conclusion. It was a very exciting process of learning and developing the thesis.

Modern Technology has put the Traditional Family Dinner on the Back Burner

Christian P. Davis

Professors Smith and Wells-Edwards

English 101 OL

May 25, 2011

Modern Technology has put the Traditional Family Dinner on the Back Burner

Past generations remember the evening family dinner when everyone would rush home to make sure they were on time as mom had the table set and a hot meal coming out of the oven.  This was not merely just a time to sit around the table and eat; it was a time for the family to bond through communication.  It is an important tradition that is disappearing for many due to an increase use of electronic devices.

            One of the biggest intruders into our family sit down dinners is the television. In past generations the television only had four channels and only was only allowed to be turned on a few days a week. The rest of the time structured activities provided the daily routine and kept positive communication within the whole family unit.  Television was only allowed to be turned on occasionally and only in the family room.  Today televisions have been placed in every room of the house and cable has brought in hundreds if not thousands of channels.  Gone are the days of appointed times for television.  This type of "special" occasion was outlined in the essay a Keillor A Wobegon Holiday Dinner on page (114) “The men wedged themselves along a blue sofa and on the floor and watched football on Al's snowy TV set.”  Even when the television was turned on it never took the place of the family meal.  Today a new dinner time tradition has been born, dinners in front of the television. Though families are in the same room during the evening meal, in a sense they're not. They are completely disconnected from one another emotionally are instead living through characters in episodes.

Portable electronic technology has also barged into our once exclusive ritual of dinning.  The basic form of communication has too often been pushed aside in favour of social media that can now be accessed on almost any type of portable device that can receive a Wifi signal.  Instead of hearing how dad’s day was at work or what was new at school, they seek the latest tweet from Lady Gaga or what Rebecca Black’s status is on Facebook. One example of this is written in a blog by Jaquette where she wrote about Facebook, “It is longing to see what everyone on your list is doing for the day”  This type of consistent distraction has already resulted in family members taking their food to eat in different rooms and being entertained by different devices.  It has also allowed parents to bring their work home with them.  This is not saying that they get off early and finish at home either.  Instead putting in a full day at work and then continuing on when they arrive home to their families.  In the past when Dad came home it meant it was time to exchange each other’s day, talk about your favorite sports team or just see what is new.  Now days you will find Dad sitting at the table with his IPAD or PDA working on a high a stressed project or timeline for work not speaking to any of his family.

            The internet also supplies a vast array of distractions from meal time together.  Searching the web or “googling” can occupy many hours of the day as well.  This time thief can spill into dinner time and take away any intention of using that time to converse with loved ones. In the past surfing would mean someone who likes to spend time out in the water in areas such as Hawaii and California.  These days net surfing means someone who likes to spend hours of the day searching the internet for new and exciting things. This can become habit forming for many who prefer to just grab a slice of pizza and a pop and return to their virtual world in search of the next latest and greatest gadget or the next up and coming media star.

            Modern gaming devices have interrupted this slowly fading family bonding time.   Some might argue that video gaming devices help bring families closer together.  Recently Nintendo released the Wii and soon after launched a very extensive media campaign depicting families gathered around the television all having fun.   The gaming impact is described well in Alter Egos: Avatars and Their Creators by Julian Dibble. On page (57) Rebecca Glasure writes, “I have a six year old daughter who's needed more of my attention lately, and because of that I have cut down on my playing hours a lot.” Later on she adds, “I would spend literally all day sitting at my computer. But now my daughter is getting older and I just don't have that luxury anymore.”  This describes a lack of bonding time together how gaming has taken away important interactions and focus of family events such as the evening meal. Instead the focus is made up charters who are out to explore strange and new worlds that are enhanced through games and its user’s imagination.

At stake is not only just the traditional family sit down dinner.  More importantly we are losing valuable time with each other in our families.  Opportunities to spend quality time with within the family circle will become fewer and fewer as the stresses of daily life will continue to increase.  Sadly, this is leading towards family members being lost in a fantasy world and losing all connection with those in their own home.  Instead of looking back remembering all the good times and funny conversations, memories will be filled with nothingness and hours wasted in self serving entertainment and slaving for organizations who will throw you to the curb when your salary no longer is included in the budget.

Work Sited

Latterell, Cathrine G. Remix: Reading and Composing Culture Second Edition Boston: New York Bedford/St. Martin’s 2010. Print.

Dibbell, Julian. “Alter Egos: Avatars and Their Creators.” Latterell 53-59.

Keillor, Garrison. “A Wobegon Holiday Dinner.” Latterell 112-116.

C., Jaquetta. “My On-Line Community”. Web 22 April 2011.

Intro to Does Size Matter

For my second choice I decided to go with the essay "Does Size Matter?" I did decently on this assignment but really felt I could have done better at how I analyzed things and how I developed my conclusion. As you read through this essay you can see how I started it as an opinion paper on heavy set people. An example of this was a the statement, "Assumptions about obese or heavy set people are strong in today's society. Most assume an overweight physical trainer does not know how to do their job.” I was really struggling with how to show the identity issue focusing on heavier set folks and being able to bring the reader into an understanding of a specific identity for them. I could have written more focused such as a weight watcher group or another single focus group or community to help express the identity thesis that I was trying to argue.  I would have liked to have written more and possibly taken this paper in a different direction.

Does Size Matter?

Christian P. Davis

Professors Smith and Wells-Edwards

English 101 OL

10 April, 2011

Does Size Matter?

Our identity is made up of many different elements. When a group of people are asked

what identifies one, many differing opinions emerge. Our initial value in the eyes of

strangers have historically been determined solely on appearance alone. Even though everyone is

responsible for how their own personal identity is defined, a large factor for most is how others

determine value based upon ones physical appearance.

Assumptions about obese or heavy set people are strong in today’s society. Most

assume an overweight physical trainer does not know how to do their job. More often than not

overweight people are automatically grouped into a category of incompetent or lazy persons. As

they are lumped into these categories; they begin to accept being socially isolated and associate

only with others who are in the same category. Some may isolate themselves completely in order

to avoid the social awkwardness all together. This type of submissive behavior is brought out in

the essay “Masks” written by Lucy Grealy. Here she describes eating lunch in her school office:

“I felt safe and secure in that office, but I also felt lonely, and for the first time I definitively

identified the source of my unhappiness as being ugly” (70). She then goes on to describe how

she felt once her mask was off and returned to her normal appearance. “Relieved because I

felt no connection with that kind of happiness. I didn’t deserve it and thus I shouldn’t want it”

(71), this shows how she returned to the acceptance of how others viewed her to be.

As children, some dream of travel and adventure by working as an airline flight attendant.

For many years airlines had very strict regulations on weight not only to secure a job but to

maintain employment as well. Larger people who desired to work for the airlines weren’t

allowed to work as a flight attendants, instead they were likely utilized at the ticket counter or

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baggage areas. This made career advancement more difficult as they continued to have an

identity that is unacceptable and very limiting to their personal and professional development.

Embarrassment, fear of failure and depression are all self limiting factors that can immobilize

oneself from achieving a positive identity and self-worth.

Another way society has shown the identity being shown is the commercialization

and exportation of heavy set ones on such television shows like “The Biggest Loser”. Here

what Americans feel are unacceptable obese individuals are parade around for a 1 hour show and

put through growling courses and exercises while trying to lose weight so that they will be better

excepted by those around them. These show and display the individuals having low self-worth

and unable to care for themselves. In the end many are let go from the show to return to the

world as failures and those who could not better themselves while being broadcasted on national

television. I would have to wonder how it feels to look at a shirt that reads “Loser” as cameras

are rolling? This is just one more challenge individuals face in today’s social environment.

Another challenge these individuals face is being called negative nick names that can

result in increasing the stereo-type that follows people around. Some may include hippo, land

whale, and more drastic styles. This type of name calling behavior is addressed in the essay

“Who You Calling a Bitch” written by Queen Latifah. Here she shares that “nobody has the

right to call me out of my name” (35). This statement can be adapted to many aspects of

identity, one being heavy set people and the names they have allowed themselves to be labeled

with. Overtime these type of labels about overweight people become built into our culture. Do

you see many high end sales department stores such as Nordstrom having heavy set people

working on their floors or in the stores?

A local study showed the average Nordstrom female employee was at least 5’

7”, skinny and primarily younger depending which area they worked in. Some did have tattoos

but usually most were very attractive. The same went for the male employee’s also who were

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usually closer to 5” 11”, well dressed and in very good shape. Some took on the look of Puff

Daddy but none of them were overweight. When a high end store sets this sort of unofficial

standard it tends to isolate individuals from being part of this group. The study went on to note

that heavier set people walking through the store often observed different clothing but most often

never tried it on. It did mention that a lower end store such as JC Penny’s which had a big and

tall section showed a much higher percentage of heavy people using the dressing areas trying on

clothing and making purchases. They were accepted in this environment and even had a special

area to purchase good quality clothing for larger people from a name brand department store.

How other people view identities is never in the hands of those being viewed, especially

when a person’s weight is the driving factor. To succeed and overcome this obstacle overweight

individuals need to recognize opportunities for growth and advancement. Size does not limit

and prevent a successful career or a meaningful family life. Actions will always speak louder

than words. Speculations based on appearance are only just the misperceptions of others. Size is

only inhibiting the ones that allow it to effect their true identity and self-worth. So, does size

matter? To put it ever so simply: Absolutely not! Those who are strong enough to maintain their

own integrity and courage will find in their heart that size does not matter.

Work Sited

Latterell, Catherine G. Remix: Reading and Composing Culture Second Edition Boston *

New York Bedford/St. Martin’s 2010. Print.

Grealy, Luck. “Masks” Latterell pages 70-71

Latifah, Queen “Who You Calling A Bitch?” Laterell page 35

Television Show “The Biggest Loser” NBC Studios Inc.

Intro to How did we manage to survive high school in the late 80's and early 90's?

For my third piece I chose a discussion board entry that I had wrote entitled “How did we manage to survive high school in the late 80's and early 90's.” I decided to go with this writing due to receiving several high marks and comments from classmates. "When I attended school we had our tribes, folks like to dress like Tom Cruz from Top Gun, preps, rockers, smokers, skaters, etc.. We had folks that played sports, band, or like to host the party.  Clothing was important for deciding just which group you belonged to folks would make fun of you if you had last years style and then you were an outcast from the group.  When I attended school I did play sports, dress nice, and could be a clown at times.” This really helped establish tribes and groups during the years for many who attended school.

I know that a discussion board is not as well written as an essay. However, I really enjoyed writing this piece and felt connections with others after it was posted. It was a great start to a great class and gave me much needed confidence I needed.

How did we manage to survive high school in the late 80's and early 90's?

When you read the essays Masks and High School's Secret Life you will discover common themes such as Whites comparison of student groupings being "Tribes" as well as Grealy comparing them as "Cliques".  Both writers show how these groups utilize the school's cafeteria as a proving ground and a local communication network.  While in this environment White is able to express observation of loneliness by certain "Tribes". Grealy gives us a more personal view and experience that she herself had endured.  Finally, White expresses how a few of the outcast tribe members feel when they are approached by one of the natural helpers and even though they were there asking for something. It showed just how the small amount of group interaction had a positive effect on the outcast member even if just for a short moment.  Grealy describes her positive group interactions taking place on Halloween once, as an Eskimo when she was younger and then more recent in her adolescence while wearing a mask. She showed how the interaction with others made her feel so good inside.
 The school lunch room did reminder me of the past and just how somethings do not always change with time. When I attended school we had our tribes, folks like to dress like Tom Cruz from Top Gun, preps, rockers, smokers, skaters, etc..  We had folks that played sports, band, or like to host the party.  Clothing was important for deciding just which group you belonged to folks would make fun of you if you had last years style and then you were an outcast from the group.  When I attended school I did play sports, dress nice, and could be a clown at times. I was also kind of shy around girls so I did not interact a lot with the groups of gals.  I had two close friends that I had grown up with since the 2nd grade. One was what you would have called a nerd he had a 4.0 and played the violin and is now an MD.  The other was not motivated in school work and just liked to have a lot of fun and now travels for an IT company. Outside of school you never would have guessed them not to have been popular but in school no one ever noticed them in the hallways.
I enjoyed talking to many of the groups throughout my school and getting to know and understand different folks. I transferred my last two years to another high school which allowed me to observe different folks and how the interactions differ from School District to School District they are not all the same.   One thing I have always experienced even to today is some loneliness from groups due to my battle with my weight.  I am not the biggest guy but I have always struggled with my weight and how I look.  In school it made me feel awkward during dances and other functions that folks would be looking at me or judging my appearance or what I was eating.  This has stuck with me for the past 20 years and is something that I always try to make sure is not past onto others as everyone is different and has special attributes that they bring to a group no matter how they look or what they wear.
Christian Davis