Blog Post #5

According to G.R. Elliot, "Humanism is the study and practice of the principle of human happiness uncomplicated by naturistic dogmas on one side and religious dogmas on the other." I find it hard to accept this whole idea of humanism. I remember one of my teachers telling me that she was a humanist and I had no idea what she was talking about. After reading this article I have a bit clearer idea as to what she meant, but the interesting thing is that she was saying it in relation to religion. Therefore, I have always associated the two together. However, I just find it impossible to conceive that a person could strive for happiness there whole life and actually achieve it. No matter what that thought of, "Is there greener grass out there somewhere?" would always be on the person's mind. So they would keep striving for that happiness which leaves the whole search kind of pointless. I also find it hard to see humanism working on society as a whole. We all want different things for our lives and therefore we all see happiness in different ways. In the end most people chose their own happiness over others so if it came down to them being happy or someone else, chances are people choose themselves.

Blog Post #4

I think that rhetoric will affect my future in many ways. It will definitely impact my writing. Understanding logos ethos and pathos will help me to make my personal opinions appeal to others. Toulmin’s theory on claims, data, and warrants will help me to make sure that points are backed up properly. I think that understanding all this will also help me be a better teacher. It will be interesting to see how this will affect high school students in their own composition. I was never taught this in high school and I look forward to passing it on to a younger crowd. I think it will help to explain composition to students better and will get them interested in writing.
Rhetoric will also show up in my simple daily writings such as emails. It is impossible to learn about appealing to people through logos, ethos, and pathos and it not end up in my daily routines. I think I will also analyze things in life differently and perhaps understand more. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I haven’t quite decided yet. I can see rhetoric changing my life quite a bit. I think it will definitely improve my composition which is the most important aspect to me.

Blog Post #3

So far I am really enjoying the class. It has completely altered my views on composition. I better understand rhetoric and its importance to composition. I think that Rhetoric is an important subject for students to learn. If I had been taught this new thought process of rhetoric earlier on in my high school days I think I would have understood my composition courses better. My whole thought process on things is expanded. I now notice minute items and begin to figure out in my head how they are persuasive to me. I then begin to contemplate how they influence me through logos, ethos and pathos. This can be troublesome at times because I end up missing a whole lecture because I am busy contemplating on how the chalk on the chalk board is trying to persuade me. However, it definitely puts into perspective a great way to get my future students introduced to composition. I definitely agree that rhetoric can completely change the composition classroom. For some reason this whole idea of rhetoric gets me excited about composition. Maybe that is because I feel like I understand its importance to humanity better?
I definitely believe that what I have learned in these first few classes should be taught to students early on in their education careers. I think that it will help students, as it has me, get their minds open and be able to express more in their writing. Of course I still have some skepticism because some students might not understand this idea of rhetoric at all and therefore it could completely turn them away from composition and result in horrible grades and writing skills, but I guess that is the same with all new teaching ideas. There is always someone who won’t understand it or who opposes it. However, all in all I think I am getting to understand this whole idea and actually find it interesting.