Blog #8

The main aspects that I consistently struggle with throughout my papers is my use of transitions, or lack of. When I write my papers, I find the connection in my head, but when I transfer it to my paper it doesn't work as well as it does in my head. I also tend to struggle with sandwiching my quotes with a lead into the quote and then something said about the quote afterwards. I tend to just leave my quotes hanging a bit. So, I need to pay closer attention to my transitions and make sure I'm really connecting my current point to the next point without it being too obvious. I also need to maybe choose my quotes more carefully, and choose quotes that I can sandwich and not left hanging in my writing without explanation.

Blog #6

My first source is The Relationship between Depression and College Academic Performance by Virginia M DeRoma; John B. Leach; J Patrick Leverett
This article is informative about studies that have been done to find associations between students with symptoms of depression and their academic performance. And as what would be expected, students who had more severe symptoms of depression had worse academic performance compared to students with minimal or no symptoms of depression. The study results suggest that screening measures should be taken in order to counter the symptoms of depression on students academic performance.
I find this article to be very helpful towards me because my paper topic is the impact Depression has on college students, and obviously being students, academics will be a key part of that topic. I was expecting an association with more severe symptoms of depression and worse academic performance, but that is why i still need to do research to see if i can find any studies that counter these results.
My next source is Sleep Patterns and Symptoms of Depression in College Students by Peggy R Brooks, Alicia A Girgenti and Maura J Mills.
This article is informative about studies that have been done to find a possible association between sleep patterns and depression in college students. This study results in individuals who have experienced periods of depression found that their sleeping patterns were off in that they had trouble falling and staying asleep. The study discovers specific symptoms of depression related to sleep disturbances.
This article will be helpful to me in trying to prevent Depression in college students, and one way to do that is to look at students' sleeping patterns. I would not have originally made a connection between sleep and depression symptoms in college students.

Blog #5

One idea I would like to explore, it's still very broad, but how psychological disorders affect your average college student on a daily basis, as well as academically. A lot of attention is given to students with ADHD and other learning disabilities similar to that, but there's little awareness for students who may be suffering from depression, eating disorders, anxiety etc. Depression is more common than most people realize, and the people that do suffer from depression may not even realize how much it effects their daily lives.
I think Depression in college students who be a really interesting topic if I could find enough information and statistics for it. If i'm not able to find statistics for grades, hopefully i will be able to find statistics involving depression's effect on students social interaction with other students, or hopefully both!

Blog #4

Newman believes in "expanding the mind" and to taking what is learned in school and being able to apply it in the real world. He believes that students should really work to absorb all the information that is given to them, instead of cramming it all in at once, just to get an A on a test, then forget it all the next day. This strongly relates to Colbys argument about fully developing well rounded students through education. Colby believes it's better to be more well rounded as an individual in society than to only be educated in one field, thus being able to contribute more. For example, Colby would argue that it's very important for citizens to fully understand the election process and the candidates in order to cast their vote. Newman would side with this argument because it means fully understanding the political process and "expansion of the mind." Newman and Freeland however, disagree and various points in that Freeland believes that the only reason individuals seek a post secondary education is in order to get the highest paying job, and don't need to learn about things outside their field or that don't contribute to their degree because they would be simply useless, and not be helpful to their income.

Response to Bryn's Summary

Bryn's summary of "Leisure College, USA: The Decline in Student Study Time" By Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks was thorough and complete. Bryn discussed the different studies that Babcock and Marks reviewed, which was critical to the entire article. Bryn included two quotes, both used properly and worked well with the information she provided.

Although I forgot to include my response to the article, Bryn’s response is very similar to mine in that Babcock and Marks neglect the advance of technology and all the distractions included, such as texting, Facebook, instant messaging and surfing the web.

In Leisure College, USA: The Decline in Student Study Time

In Leisure College, USA: The Decline in Student Study Time, Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks explore the reasons as to why the amount of time college students study per week has decreased from 24 hours per week in 1961 to 14 hours in 2003. They explore various possibilities and review studies throughout the article, in hopes to pin point a reason as to why college students' study hours have decreased so significantly. Babcock and Marks explore the relationship between study habits and aspects of students' lives outside of school. They explore whether or not students are working for pay, how many hours a week they work if they are working, the level of education their father achieved and whether or not they are male or female. In addition to exploring those relationships, Babcock and Marks also continue to explore the standards of colleges to evaluate if there may be an existing relationship between lowered college standards and students study habits. “If standards have fallen at colleges, and if the explanation for this change is that colleges are catering to the leisure preferences of their students, this raises the question of why students would demand more leisure and fewer study hours in the first place. After all, time investment in college is supposed to benefit the students themselves.” In conclusion to their study, they find that colleges standards are falling short when it comes to academic time investment, and that is the reason for such a drastic decrease of student’s study habits. 

Discourse V: Knowledge its own end

Discourse V: Knowledge its Own End

In Discourse V: Knowledge its Own End, John Henry Newman details the greatness and opportunity a University education has to offer. “It is a great point then to enlarge the range of studies which a University professes, even for the sake of the students; and, though they cannot pursue every subject which is open to them, they will be the gainers by living among those and under those who represent the whole circle.”  Newman is basically saying that although it is unfortunate that students cannot dabble in every subject available to them, being absorbed in a learning environment is beneficial to the student and their own success. “An assemblage of learned men, zealous for their own sciences, and rivals of each other, are brought, by familiar intercourse and for the sake of intellectual peace, to adjust together the claims and relations of their respective subjects of investigation.  They learn to respect, to consult, and to aid each other.  Thus is created a pure and clear atmosphere of thought, which the student also breathes, though in his own case he only pursues a few sciences out of the multitude.” Being a part of such environment benefits a person, even after leaving the university, a person leaves the University with feeling of  “freedom, equitableness, calmness, moderation, and wisdom.” which are invaluable tools and characteristics that will benefit an individual throughout their life, both personally, and professionally. Newman argues, as in the title, that knowledge is its own end. It is this way because a student’s education is what they choose the make of it, and to choose a University education means to choose a higher education that will present student with knowledge in multiple subjects to make them a well-rounded individual.