Analytical question: In what ways are rappers and poets similar and different?

1)How similar are their styles of writing?
2)What major differences do the two have?
3) Why are rappers looked at negatively in society?
4) Why are poets looked at as geniuses in society?
5) How lyricly different are some rap songs compared to poems?
6) Which rappers are actually lyricly gifted?
7)Which rappers are not actually lyricly gifted?
8) What forms of poetry are similar to rap music?
9) Is profanity used in poetry?
10) What sets the two styles apart from one another?

Kozol quotes

1)  "It's as if you have been put in a garage where, if they don't have room for something but aren't sure if they should throw it out, they put it there where they don't need to think of it again."

2) "Equality itself—equality alone—is now, it seems, the article of faith to which most of the principals of inner-city public schools subscribe. "

3) "Visitors to schools like these discover quickly the eviscerated meaning of the word, (diverse) which is no longer a proper adjective but a euphemism for a plainer word that has apparently become unspeakable."

Toni Morrison tho

Jacob Gallagher
Prof. Young
Eng 1100
September 25, 2015

Is there a hidden curriculum?

      Jean Anyon did a great job of describing the different educational experiences of the various social classes.  However, I feel that her research is no longer valid. Coming from my experience I have never seen teachers teaching kids differently because of their social class. I feel that the information Anyon researched is no longer valid because people of many different social classes are now being integrated into the same education system. Take this for example, a kid from a poor social class is amazing at a sport and that kid gets recruited to an Executive Elite School. That athlete, who came from a poor background, will now be learning the same way all the rich kids at the school are learning. In today's society this type of situation happens a lot. 

      I also do not believe that Anyon's research is no longer valid because during high school I went to a Middle class public school and a private elite school. At the private elite school the teachers all had different teaching methods, some let the students ask questions and helped every student understand the lesson,  and others just expected us to understand the directions and not ask questions. While in the middle class public school most of the teachers allowed for the students to ask questions but others still didn't. Every teacher has a different style of teaching. I think it depends more on how much the teacher is getting paid. If a teacher is not getting paid well they probably won't teach to the best of their ability. Also it depends on the teachers personality, some teachers just aren't good at teaching. 

So back to if I think teachers treat kids of different social classes differently, I don't think so. At the middle class public school I went to there were kids from many different social classes there. This is because my school had sending districts. We had kids from working class that lived in the city, middle class kids from a nearby town, and rich upperclass kids from rural areas. While in the class room I had kids from all different types of social class backgrounds. How does the teacher know what social classes the students are if were all mixed together? Can you tell what social class these kids from from my school are from? Exactly, you can't.

Every student should be treated and taught the same way. If teachers are truly still treating kids of different social classes different then our education system is corrupt. Social class does not define how smart a student will be. Every student excels at different subjects and has their own learning speed.

Jacob Gallagher
Prof. Young
Engw 1001
9/18/15

Key Quotes

"The Identification of different emphases in classrooms in a sample of contrasting social class contexts implies that further research should be conducted...."

"These differences ma not only contribute to the development in the children in each social class of certain types of economically significant relationships and not others but would thereby help to reproduce this system of relations in society. "

"Scholars in  political economy and the sociology of knowledge have recently argued that public schools in complex industrial societies like our own make available different types of educational experience and curriculum knowledge to students in different social classes. "

Jacob Gallagher

English 1100_3J

September 11, 2015

Opinion: 

 Do Students have the Rights to their own Language?

      Students should defiantly be able to use their own language  in an academic setting. As Anzudula said, language is a part of identity. By writing their own language students are able to express themselves clearly. Not everyone likes to use intellectual word sin their writing, and honestly no many people I know use intellectual words in their everyday conversation. Those big words could make the writer seem fake. Everyone's writing should be different in style because if we all used the same intellectual style it would be pretty boring to read things. Sometimes in an academic setting, it is good for a student to write in an intellectual way. Some people need to understand the rules of writing. So in academic environment, a writer should learn to write clearly but still using their own unique style. There is a certain extent to where a student should not be able to use their own language in an academic setting. A student should not be able to just use a bunch of slang and bad words in their academic writing. Academic writing should show the best version of language that the student knows. By using slang, the writer could make the reader feel like he or she is reading trash. Not everyone appreciates that a person’s identity can be shown through the way they write. Most people like to read writing that shows intellectual words and no slang. I feel that a student should be able to write in any way that he or she feels comfortable. 

How to Tame a Wild Tongue Quotes by Gloria Anzaldua

1) "My tongue keeps pushing out the wads of cotton, pushing back the drills, the long thin needles."

2) "If you want to be American, speak 'American.' If you don't like it, go back to Mexico where you belong."

3)"If a person, Chicana or Latina, has a low estimation of my native tongue, she also has a low estimation of me."

Jacob Gallagher
Engw 1100 3J
Prof. Young

Identity

      Identity can be defined many ways including origin, ethnicity, culture, gender and many more. To me, my identity means a lot. It means a lot to me because I am unique and I know that there is no one else in the world who has the same exact identity as me. My identity comes from my family and without them I don't know where I would be today. My family have helped me develop my identity into who I am today. My identity also helps others understand who I am and where I come from.
      Identity is also special to me because, no matter how much the world tries to change you, deep down you will always know your true identity. "My tongue keeps pushing out the wads of cotton, pushing back the drills, the long thin needles"(Anzaldua 256). In this quote, Anzaldua is saying that no matter how hard the American culture tries to change her, she will always know her true identity in her heart, that she is a Chicano Mexican.  Identity is a gift that is given to everyone but everyone's is different.  Discovering other people's true identities is an amazing thing. Since everyone is different in their own ways, we get to learn about other cultures and backgrounds just by meeting new people. It is crazy to realize that every person has a different way of saying words and expressing their thoughts. Identity is an amazing thing that helps us understand the perspectives of others.
      So with all of this being said, how could identity not be meaningful in a person's life. Identity brings the world together be helping people of different origins, cultures, and ethnicities understand each other. Identity is a gift that we as individuals all possess. It is whether or not we are willing to accept others that we will truly understand the meaning of identity.

Jacob Gallagher
English 1100
8/26/15
Prof. Young

How to Tame a Wild Tongue Answers

1) In the opening scene, the dentist keeps trying to push her tongue back and she keeps resisting and trying to get out all of the things he put inside her mouth. This relates to the rest of the story because it represents society trying to tame her tongue and filling it with things to oppress her, and she's trying to fight back.

2) Anzaldua's use of Spanish does make sense. Her purpose was to help the reader understand some words of the culture and to let the reader know what it feels like to not be apart of the mainstream culture. 

3)  I do not understand?
4) Speaking and writing in Academic English was developed so that people would be able to clearly express their thoughts so thatchers would be able to understand each other. I do not believe academic English is necessary because most people don't write or speak in proper English in todays world. People are becoming more used to understanding sang English than academic English.
5) The types of English identities I know of include: British, Scottish, Irish, Australian, and American. I only use American English.
6) I do not use a secret language with my friends.
7) When I speak formal English to my parents and professors. To my friends I speak improper English. This is because when I am speaking to someone who is older than me I try to be as respectful as possible but when I am with my friends, the slang talk kinda just comes out and they don't mind because we all talk that way.
8) "I am my language", means that the way I talk can help identify me. By hearing the way I pronounce words and how proper I am can help people understand where I'm from and what type of dialect I am used to hearing.
9) In the introduction, Anzaldua's tongue will not let the dentist put white cotton balls in her mouth. This connects to the conclusion because she is saying that her heritage is her identity and that it will not be written over by the white customs. The white cotton balls represent the white customs and Anzaldua is represented as her tongue, fighting back the white culture and remaining a Chicano Mexican.
10) Yes, the language you speak can be part of your identity. It helps people identify where from the world you are from just by hearing your voice.
11) Identity is very important to me. It is how humans learn to understand one another and I believe that is a very important thing in life. Anzaldua believe it is important to have an identity, it is shown through her using her own language in the passage and her struggle to keep her tongue still when the doctor tries to put the cotton balls in her mouth.

Works Cited

Anzaldua, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue" Teaching Developmental Writing Ed. Susan Naomi Bernstein. Fourth ed. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2013. 245-255. Print.

Jacob Gallagher
English 1100
8/26/15
Prof. Young

Getting to Know Me

      My name is Jacob Gallagher. I am from Newton, New Jersey. I attended two different high schools; Pope John High School and Newton High School. During my high school years I played soccer and I ran track. I have played soccer since I was six years old and always enjoyed it. Track is another story, I started running my freshman year because my dad really wanted me to. It was a great decision to join the team because I learned that I was pretty good at the sport. I was the fastest freshman on the team in the 100m. Track was a great experience for me because I learned a lot about myself and met a lot of great people through it. I trained a lot for this sport and my senior year I broke the school record in the 4X100m with my team. It felt great to know that I earned a spot on my school's record board. During my junior year is when I moved to Newton High School, and also when I gained my nickname. At Newton I was known as Jake G. I got this nickname because there were two Jakes on the track team so they called the other kid just Jake and I was forever known as Jake G. 

       During high school I had a pretty good writing experience. Freshman year I learned all about the five paragraph structure. My sophomore year I earned a creative writing award at an academic banquet. That was the year that I learned that I really enjoyed writing. When I write I usually just let the words come to me and flow out onto the paper. I don't really like having to follow an outline, I feel my best ideas come when I just let my brain drift. As a writer I would rate myself a B. 

      My favorite music to listen to is rap music. I feel like these artists don't get enough credit for what they write. Most rappers are very good writers and most people don't notice that. My favorite artist is Hopsin. He spits knowledge and his songs really get you thinking. I check my social media everyday. I mostly use my instagram, Facebook is kinda dying out and I don't like twitter too much. 

      Other than playing sports, my hobbies include film. Ever since my mom put a camera in my hand i've always been trying to make movies. That is why it is my major in college, film really interests me and I hope to hit it  big one day. This semester I am hoping to further my writing skills because writing is also another hobby of mine.