Week 3: Reading Habits

I wanted to have a quick introspective look at my reading habits because time after time, English class after English class, staying consistent with my reading has been the bane of my grades. If you scroll down the page a little, you can read about how much I love math. The feeling of tackling problems one at a time is a comfort I find in it. I find that I try and read the same way. I tend to read large chunks of material all at once. I am a fairly quick reader but I am plagued with a fairly short attention span. Even as I am writing this I have stopped and started again at least 3 times now and I am only one fifth of the way finished. Okay I am not going to lie, I was in the process of writing this blog on a Microsoft Word document so I could be aware of the word count and just as I was about the copy and paste it here, I deleted it. So now I am back again trying to recapture the spirit of the tangent I was typing so furiously about just a few seconds ago. Right, reading habits... I usually find that the best time for me to do this "binge" reading of mine is in the early afternoon. If I try and read too early or too late, then I absorb little to none of the information in the text. The only downside to reading the most efficiently at that time, is that there are usually so many other things I would rather be doing at about 1:00 in the afternoon. Moving right along, I have also found that the best place for me to do my reading is actually in the school library. As long as I can score a seat that is not in a cubicle, the chairs can be quite comfy and perfectly suited for reading. Something tells me that's probably intentional.

Arab Spring

      I suppose I should start by explaining what "Arab Spring" is. I don't know if maybe I am just particularly unaware of world happenings, but I just learned that "Arab Spring" is not a time of year. Arab Spring is a movement working its way across the Arab world. They involve strikes, demonstrations, marches, and rallies, not unlike the type of protests we have seen in Persepolis. The article I read in the New York Times, dealt with the ramifications of Arab Spring on immigrants moving into Arab economic centers like Dubai and Bahrain. The article focused in on an Indian family that had been working out of Dubai since the 1920's. Although the family is originally from India, because they have been working in Dubai for so long, the local government granted them "land grants for schools, a prayer space for their community to assemble and the privilege of owning their own businesses without a mandatory local business partner, otherwise possible only within dedicated economic free zones" (Bharadwaj 2). What this means, is the the local government has granted these immigrants special community privileges based only on goodwill. The Arab Spring movement threatens these business people because if the government goes though large reforms and changes, that will certainly affect the local economy and may leave no room for the immigrant established local businesses.

Back again the night before the next class. I know I need a few more things about myself to hit that 500 word mark. Well I think I want to take a moment to talk about some things I have been learning about myself the past few weeks. I have learned that I have a real passion for helping kids younger than me. I think that's what makes me want to become a high school teacher. I just really like the idea of helping a student understand the most hated of all subjects... math. Something else about me that I find funny is the fact that for all this talk of loving math and wanting to make a career teaching it, when I took Algebra in high school, I flunked it. Like really bad. Like 30% bad. And yet after years of practice and just changing my attitude, I have discovered a knack for it. I think that is another important thing to mention about me. I am an optimist. Even as I am writing this I am not too worried about whether or not I will even be adding this class tomorrow. Somehow I think that things will all work out for the best, especially if you keep a good attitude. You know what they say, "Those who look for the bad in the world will truly find it." And the same is true for the good in the world. Anyways... I think thats about 500 words. Good enough for tomorrow! I am really hoping that I make it in the class. The good thing is if I do, then all my optimism will be rewarded because you all will get to read about how much I believed that I would get in the class. And if I dont get in the class, then no one will read this, and no one will know that I am an optimist to begin with.

I am...

...not in the class yet... but thats okay. My name is Adam Flores, I am 20 years old and this is my third year in college. I am sitting here in the first English 1B class just typing away trying to hit the first 500 words. Allow me to start with just a few details about myself. I am a Christian first and foremost, and I try and live my life like one. I have also been told that I am a nice guy with a good sense of humor. I am aspiring to be a math teacher and that stems from the joy that I find in helping other people understand difficult concepts. My forte is geometry. I am a very hands-on learner and to be honest that is something that I am happy to see in this class. Since my brain is wired for math, writing and reading is where I fall short. What I enjoy about math is the fact that I can solve individual problems one by one. Also, in math, the rules never change. English requires more imagination and fluidity. I think I am going to enjoy the opportunity to practice writing in small "short" 500 word bursts. Especially when I can start writing one minute, save a draft, and come back in a little while and start again.