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Adrian Johnson-Pope
Foundations of College Writing
Dr. Brent House
May 8, 2013
Reflective Essay
Throughout the course of my Foundations of writing class, I have learned a lot about my
writing techniques. These techniques will enhance my writing for the future. I learned how to
build a strong thesis for my papers, develop scenes and most importantly to me paragraph
construction. I came into this foundation of writing class only knowing half of the things I
needed to be set. In other words I was not really ready for what was about to happen as far as
writing papers and how my papers will be judged. I wasn’t used to coming up with the best titles
or coming up with the best thesis. Quite frankly I was still having trouble with my grammar.
Citing in text sources was a handful; my professor would always tell me that I had to provide
more examples or look deeply into the story and analyze what was going on. When I say I
learned a lot, not only did I learn about my writing techniques I learned how to think outside the
box. There is more to this world then what is seen with the naked eye. Sometimes you have to
look over and thinking beyond you can imagine. This is why I can say that I fell deeply in love
with the project we had to do for class throughout the semester. The class had to complete an
ethnography study. An ethnography is a rich account made by an anthropologist of a fieldwork
experience s/he has had. We had to pick a culture of any sort and basically talk about the history,
get involved by taking notes, talking to others and if you could interview some people of that
culture and talk about your experience at the end. I chose the Football culture. My experience
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with culture involved tons of research. I chose this ethnography for two reason I love the sport
football, and secondly because I enjoy all of the excitement that comes with playing the sport.
From my prospective playing football, some athletes often feel like they are leaders. The football
teams have captains that demonstrate leadership on and off of the field. To appeal to my
audience on what it is like in the football culture I provide my readers with specific examples
and details on the football life, such examples from another football players perspective “As the
athletes prepare in the weight room, you notice everyone working together, trying to build off
each other like a family. “Clash” one of the defensive linemen dropped a three hundred fifty
pound weight to the ground. You can see the clear sweat dripping from his dirty blond hair to his
face. I asked how you feel about lifting heavy weights. Without a hesitation “It feels great
ya’know? No pain no gain” (pg 5 ethnography). Furthermore I give background history of
football, such as when it started, first college games, and famous football players that made a
huge impact on the sport of football “Football was born on college campuses in the Northeast in
the 1870’s. Football first started out as the game Rugby which is another style of football.
American football started in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Football reached its second maturity during
the Great War in Europe. Many schools dropped the sport because it was too brutal and vicious.
Schools such as Stanford and other west coast universities dropped football for a “less brutal
rugby version” (Oriard ). Intercollegiate football was played throughout the country, and high
schools everywhere were adopting the collegians game (Oriard). Professional football did not
have any formal organization at that time. College football stars played for money in 1892, they
were known as ringers. By the 1900’s professional teams were being formed in mid-western
towns (pg 3 ethnography). Moreover I interviewed the athletes, and they were giving their input
on the game and how it is like a family. I asked do the other or older more experienced players
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treat you like a little brother since you’re new to the football squad? “Yes sometimes they do
when they don’t want to be cocky and arrogant thinking that they are better than everyone else”.
So how do you feel about that does that bother you? “I don’t let it get to me because to me it’s
sort of like high school when you’re a freshman and new to a football team there are people who
are going to test you, there are going to be times where they talk down to you out of frustration
or anything that they feel emotionally but I know in the end we are all one and we don’t let
anything get the best of us we know where we all stand with on another” (pg 8 ethnography). I
believe I followed the guild lines as to how I will conduct all of my research. I proved that “you
will have a clear understanding as how attitudes, feelings, emotions, come into effect” (pg 3
proposal). Overall I believe I covered all I needed for my ethnography that I said I was going to
cover. As for the Foundations of writing course I feel like I have learned everything that I need
to know to progress and better my writing.
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Emily Hoffman
Dr. House
English 101
22 February 2013
Stereotypes Effect Geeks to Populars
Everyone deals with stereotypes. People can be prejudged because of something like style,
interests, or maybe even the small actions we do not realize we do. Alexandra Robbins portrays how
seven individuals across America deal and react to the stereotypes put upon them and others that are
around them. It shows that as a nation people rely on and use stereotypes to understand/judge
someone they just met or even someone that they have known their whole lives.
Throughout this ethnography there are a couple of characters in the book who are misjudged
because of stereotypes. Stereotypes were put upon these people because of their interests, styles, and
even their actions. People pre-judged them just because of what society and culture told them what
these people would be like. “They said they thought that you’re too sophisticated, intelligent, and
professional to talk to and because of that they thought you hated on them (Robbins, 200).” Joy is
prejudged because of the way she acted. Joy was afraid and uncertain in a new place causing her to try
to fit in, to conform. Because Joy tried to conform, Joy acted differently then she normally would and
was wrongly prejudged. Once these girls who prejudged Joy learned the truth about Joy and how she
really is they liked her. One of the girls even sort of befriended her. “’I felt … diminished. I mean, this is
right after all this exciting college stuff happening, so it just feels like she’s saying, ‘yeah, that’s great, but
what about what other people think about what you look like (Robbins, 221)?’’” Eli’s mother judges Eli
because of the way he looks, in this case because of his hair. This is just one instance in the novel when
Eli’s mother judges Eli and criticizes him. Eli’s mother sees stereotypes when she looks at her son not
Eli. She knows what Eli is into that he likes to study geography and because she thinks of him as a nerd
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she cannot see beyond that to the person. Whitney is another person who has stereotypes used against
them. Because Whitney hangs out with the populars and she acts like them for the most part, she is
judged to be exactly like them, to have conformed. Whitney has conformed a bit, but the Whitney the
reader gets to know from the ethnography novel is not the conformist she appears to be. Whitney
reveals to others that she isn’t like the rest of the populars; that people misjudged her because of her
style and the people she hung out with. Once Whitney started hanging out with others beside the
populars, becoming a floater, she was seen as something besides the stereotypes. Whitney was finally
seen as herself.
Throughout this ethnography novel, not only are the main seven characters misjudged with
stereotypes but they use stereotypes themselves to judge others quickly. Even though some of them
are prejudged because of stereotypes, it does not stop them from doing the same to others. “Already
Joy was ashamed about the assumptions she had made about Mia back when the girls harassed her.
Because of the other Mexicans she had encountered at Citygrove, she had assumed that the Mexican
girls in PE were ignorant (Robbins, 292).” Joy used stereotypes to prejudge one of the same girls whom
she was so upset with for using stereotypes to prejudge her. It seems that the American culture is so
ingrained with stereotypes that even when people recognize someone else using them against them,
they still use them themselves.
There are also those who are not one of the main characters in the ethnography novel that use
stereotypes to judge people. Everyone from student peers to adults has used stereotypes to prejudge
others. “That was all the preps needed to know. They told Whitney that Luke was a loser and a stoner.
Actually Luke had been clean for four years while every one of Whitney’s popular friends smoked pot
(Robbins 53).” Luke who is labeled a punk because of his style is automatically assumed to be using
drugs while it is the ones who judge him who smoke pot. Whitney’s friends prejudged Luke because
they saw the way he dressed and associated him with other people who dress like him, even if they are
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not similar. “The idea that Hispanics could relate only to books related to gang life was both ridiculously
stereotypical and insulting. Because you’re Hispanic, you’re Mexican, Danielle thought. Because you’re
Mexican, you’re in a gang and have a really low IQ and reading level (Robbins 241).” Danielle was
involved in helping pick out the books for the summer reading list. However all her suggestions were
shot down because they believed that her choices were not right for their audience. These people that
Danielle was trying to work with were stereotypically judging the student body as a whole. They also
sectioned off the student body because of again, stereotypes.
Stereotypes are a way for people to judge another person before they really know them. In a
way stereotypes are just another way for the United States to become more efficient. Already the
United States has made almost everything efficient (i.e. number four instead of a hamburger with a
medium fry and medium soda). “’Often, the kids labeled ‘at risk’ are the only ones on adults’ radar,
which isn’t fair; everyone can have terrible things happen in their life, regardless of what kind of person
they are (Robbins, 206).’” Adults want a way to categorize students so they know who to look out for
more. They already do it for teaching strategies so they figure it is an easy way to look out for the
trouble makers too. However this strategy to look out for trouble makers will not work because trouble
makers do not come from one labeled group. It seems that stereotypes are an efficient way for people
to order a standard human. However it creates problems because everyone is an individual and unique;
humans do not come in number fours. Stereotypes are a way for society to categorize other people
even though individuals do not fit into one particular mold even if there are several versions of that
mold.
“Groups are most advantageous when they consist of diverse members, when each person can
act as an individual, bringing something different to the table (Robbins, 395).” If groups work better
when each individual acts as an individual, why do we insist on conforming and shoving everyone into a
box. Stereotypes are just another way to make everyone the same. People are meant to be different
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from others so that we can thrive. Alexandra Robbins portrays how seven individuals across America
deal and react to the stereotypes put upon them and others that are around them. These individuals
were asked to challenge themselves and defy the stereotypes placed upon themselves and others
around them. Maybe they even inspired others to do the same.
I like how you didn’t just focus on one specific character you described and talked about the
others and how they survived with being stereotyped. You made some key points in your essay to that’s
why I asked you do you believe it like when you said “Stereotypes are just another way to make
everyone the same”. So like are you saying if you and I where stereotyped we would be the same? Great
paper I enjoyed reading all of it keep up the good work.
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Nathan Weed
Dr. Brent House
English 101
22 February 2013
What is “Heart” Without “Art”
Alexandra Robbins’ novel The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, was a very strong
representation of how schools and cliques alike can “kill off” the creative side of your being. I
have picked out several of the individuals from this novel as well as myself to shed some light on
this devastating point. The individuals I will talk about are extremely creative and individually
minded, due to not being associated with cliques.
One of the individuals in the text is a loner named Danielle who was treated horribly by
cliques for no apparent reason. “Danielle had joined her own hate club. Her class mates thought
this was hilarious” (4). Danielle sometimes has trouble being herself because of the senseless
harassment of these kids. The cliques in Danielle’s school stifled her as an individual by
constantly putting her down or laughing at her in public. “Danielle watched incredulously as the
librarians added Twilight and another YA book to the list. Danielle didn’t understand why every
summer book had to be ‘targeted to idiots’” (241). Danielle clearly had a literary and creative
taste in books, but the faculty themselves were ignoring her. This shows how many people in
school (even the teachers and librarians) put down her interests and creativity.
Regan is the second example I would like to provide. She is a prime example of how a
very creative individual can be put down by a clique. An elderly man said to Regan “you have a
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lot of intensity… you’re going somewhere” (266). This was said to Regan after a great theatre
performance. The audience was so amazed by this performance so we can see Regan has a
creative and expressive side, but how does the teacher clique in school treat her? “Culture tells
us to be ashamed of who we are naturally, and the group says that we shouldn’t be. So I’m being
persecuted for individuality and liberalism” (267). Regan said this about Crystal’s CD after the
principal said it was “inappropriate”. The CD sent a positive message about creativity, but the
administration did not approve, even though the pictures or art and music in or around school
was more explicit. This is a very nice example of how if a clique doesn’t like you or even just
you’re creativity they get rid of it.
There are many individuals in this world who experience the negative critique of their
creativity, but aren’t mentioned in the text, or at least mentioned very little. Suzanne is an “artsy
indie” and very creative. “When the wardrobe head quit, Suzanne replaced her – at age
eighteen” (109). By Suzanne embracing her creative and artistic side she was able to open up
her world to amazing opportunities. Her unique and different side will probably make most
cliques shun or neglect her, but is that such a bad thing? Being individual is how she got this far
with her art ability in the first place. Being free of a clique means she is free of all the rules or
boundaries that certain clique may adhere to. Being tied down to a label may have hindered her
chances of being good enough to replace the wardrobe head at only eighteen years of age!
Another individual briefly mentioned in the book is Lanely the “creepy girl”. Lanely is
described as “a spirited eccentric who is happy, smart, and comfortable with herself, with no
qualms about daring to be different” (109-110). She is a girl that people might judge just by how
she looks and acts even though she said her “death glare” is just due to being deep in thought.
Teachers love Lanely because of her individuality, something which might be taken away had
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she fit into a clique and allowed it to shape her. Her story is a good example of how adults want
creative individuals that can dare to be different.
Schools aren’t helping this problem. In fact some schools are actually making it worse by
“[eliminating] or drastically [reducing] music, art, and science programs in order to devote more
time to preparation for standardized tests in reading and math” (305). Looking back on high
school and even as far as elementary school it is clear to see the huge influence standardized tests
have on the way the schools teach. Not only does this seem counterproductive but it also takes
away the creativity and imaginations children come to school with. The way schools get rid of
creativity also promotes the cliques themselves getting rid of it because it is no longer
“accepted”.
I have also experienced a loss of my creative side during “education”. The more I learn
the more I have trouble thinking “outside of the box”. Education itself is not to blame fully
however, part of this tragic loss is due to trying to fit into labels and cliques that I don’t belong. I
tried to be an athletic person and gave up virtually everything but working out and eating right. I
let this mentality consume my life and it neglected my creativity and made me very unhappy in
the process. I also tried to fit into the gamer category but again I was giving up on my hobbies
and the activities I enjoyed just to try to belong somewhere. These experiences have let me
firsthand experience the loss of creativity and the urge to fit in, and these are not happy things.
There is much still to be learned about the human experience but one thing is certain.
Never give up on who you are especially if it means giving up on your creativity to conform to
your peers. This novel has illustrated to me just how important you are to yourself, and as soon
as you give that up how hard and unhappy life can become. To the individual art can mean so
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many things, it could mean music or a story, it could be a painting or a passion, but one thing is
certain, your heart pushes you to live, and how can you have heart without art.
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Works Citied
Robbins, Alexandra. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth. New York: Hyperion, 2011. Print.
Overall this was a great essay I enjoyed reading how you analyzed more than one
character. You gave specific facts on many characters throughout the book who were facing the
same problem Furthermore I like how you put your own personal story in there to tie in with the
reading making great connections. “Never give up on which you are especially if it means giving
up on your creativity to conform to your peers”. This was also a great quote that caught my
attention at the end. Great job all around
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Stephen Staats
Dr. House
English 101
February 20 2013
Pressurized
Due to the pressures of high school and his Mother, Blue makes important decisions that
affect his life. Almost every student in high school has pressures that stem from some thing or
another, but how the individual deals with those pressures potentially creates different life
outcomes. In Alexandra Robbins’ The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth, the author studies and
personally follows different high school students that have certain labels and reputations attached
to them. One of the characters is Mark Laurent, nicknamed Blue. Blue is a senior in high school
and has the reputation and label of being a gamer. Blue struggled to find a friend who he felt
comfortable around and as a result he had become an outcast, turning to gaming. Similar to any
high school student, Blue is confronted by events, friends and family, school, and his own self
goals that inflict pressure on him to make important decisions.
Blue had developed Arwing, the high schools first gaming club. He made great efforts to
produce a great LAN party that will be a testament to how fun and successful Arwing is. As a
staff member at the high school heard about this LAN party, believing video games was a bad
influence, went to the principle to stop Blue and his club. The staff member made unjust
accusations calling Blue a “pedophile” and how the club was corrupt. The principal, hearing this,
saw that it was easier to strip Blue away from his position and get rid of the club, rather than
dealing with the staff member. Blue no longer had any responsibility for the club he created and
Arwing was taken over. When Arwing elected officer elections, Blue was out voted only for
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popularity reasons and being fed up with the situation, Blue decided not to be part of the whole
thing. This created conflict between him and his gaming friends, creating a gap between their
friendships and ultimately leaving Blue alone. This event changed Blue’s life. The time Blue
used to contribute to his gaming club is not used to contributing to his school work and his AP
government class.
In AP Gov. Class, students welcomed Blue and invited him to join the Simulated
Congressional Hearings. They started valuing his unique perspectives and used some of his ideas
in their work. One day, not expecting an answer, Blue called out “So who wants to go to the
beach with me”. The response was not what he expected. The other classmates wanted to go with
him and they had a great time hanging out together. Blue helped the team prepare for the SCH
competition and stated “I can’t get enough of it. I feel good about myself when I’m in it, like it
isn’t a waste of time. And people praise me for my work” (262). During the competition, Blue
answered many questions and was the star of the competition. The judges talked to Blue saying,
“Your answers were beyond original and beyond graduate level analysis” (263). His teammates
respected him and were happy he was with him. One teammate told him “Everything you said
was exactly what I felt deep down but was too afraid to say it” (263). Ms. Collins, the teacher,
said she was so proud of Blue. They won the competition all due to Blue. Blue thought to
himself, I’ve finally found something worth working for. I finally have a place to belong (264).
He realized that he gave up winning a Modern Warfare tournament, and his gamer friends but he
found exactly what he wanted by deciding to focus on school, and not gaming.
As Blue realizes that his other classmates have high GPA’s and his GPA is 2.6, he makes
the decision to take school more serious. Blue starts attending class more and paying better
attention in class to get his grades up. Blue wanted to go to Berkely, but after realizing that his
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grades were not good enough to get into Berkely he decides he needs to get his act together soon.
His classmate Jimmy has a 4.0 GPA and wants to get into MIT to work for NASA. Blue starts to
think that “Jimmy is going to live out my dreams”. Blue’s classmates unknowingly add pressure
to Blue, causing him to make decisions to help him get his grades higher. He knows that his
previous focus was on gaming and realizes that gaming will not get him far in life.
At home, Blue had no one to turn to for helpful insight. Blue’s parents are divorced and
he only lives with his Mom. On three different occasions, Blue was about to be put in foster care
because he was left alone at the house when he was a child so much. Blue’s mother refused to
pay for his college tuition even though she was financially able to. She also tells him that she
will force him to go into the military if he doesn’t find a way to get into college. When talking to
his Mom about college, she yells at him saying, “You have to start getting serious about school!
Don’t expect a fucking dime out of me!... you need to consider the military” (50). Although
Blue’s mother pressures him to do better in high school, Blue knows that she has no faith in him.
He states “She doesn’t think I can go to college” (239). The way his mom pressures him affects
him in a negative way and actually makes Blue do less work, just to prove a point. Blue admits
to “not doing my work to be rebellious”. Although Blue’s mother didn’t think he cared about
college, Blue thought about it constantly. He knows he wants to go to college and won’t fit into
the military, so he applies to the community college.
Like many of us, Blue travels the roller-coaster of life, experiencing many ups and
downs. The changes in his life are due to the decisions from the pressures that he encountered.
The pressures of his Mom had a negative effect on him. He decided not to do his school work
and doesn’t gain the needed confidence from her that he can attend college. Even though his
mother doesn’t help him much, he still believes in himself to get into college and decides that’s
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what he wants to do. Blue receives pressure from his classmates when he realizes he needs to get
his GPA higher. He decides to attend class and focus on school. When Arwing was stripped
away from him unjustly, Blue felt pressure that all his efforts were for nothing. He also felt
pressure from his gamer friends that he failed and also the pressure of losing those friends and
being alone. Blue could have easily broken down and had this influence his school and grades,
but he decided to use this disastrous event and devote his energy to his school work and the
SCH.
Good way to start your paper a focus directly on Blue. I like how you made me feel different
emotions in your writing. It’s sad how Blue was stripped away from things like his gaming, and
how his friends treated him in school, with judgments also. This is a good essay only thing I
strongly suggest to you is give slightly a little more detail in describing blue’s experience as a
gamer. As far as how much he really enjoyed gaming and how it basically was his life.
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Works Cited
Robbins, Alexandra. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why
Outsiders Thrive after High School. New York: Hyperion, 2011.
Adrian Johnson-Pope
Prof- House, Brent
16 February 2013
Struggling with adaptability
Spending almost a decade in Ghana located in western Africa, adapting was sort of tough
for an old friend( of mine). His name was Ferguson Amo. We went to the same elementary
school William Levering located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through the two years I have
known Ferguson, adapting to an American school was difficult because he only knew one
language. He could speak a smidgen of English , unlike most of the other students in my class.
His style of clothing was different , for example, students at Levering wore baggy clothes,
watches, different color hats to portray different rappers, and cool sneakers. Ferguson was not
used to that sort of fashion. His style of dress was professional. Suit, ties, and dress shoes where
his attire. Many students criticized him calling him names such as “ugly African”, “weirdo”, or if
they really wanted to hurt his feelings “go back to Africa where you belong”. Ferg had a couple
friends including myself that he could depend on for guidance. We knew he was smart.
Sometimes some of my friends made weird faces at him whenever I went to go talk to him or
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shake his hand to see how school was going for him. My friends and I would make little jokes
about him that he could laugh at but when my friends went overboard I nipped it in the bud.
Teachers found him very gifted because he was spectacular in his academics. My teachers
enrolled him into “MG” short for mentally gifted for students who receive all A’s on their report
card. I could honestly say he adapted pretty well difficult for him. I could honestly say he
adapted pretty well, considering how difficult it was for him
Through Joy in Alexandra Robbins investigation Alex illustrates that adaptation does not
require conforming completely to another culture. Alex gives us a clear understanding on how it
can be difficult to adapt in a new school environment.
Joy is from Jamaica and is transitioning to a new California school. In the story, Joy is
the new girl. She is a new student at Citygrove high school , a public high school in an urban
valley north of Los Angeles. Joy is not to excited to go to school because she is nervous. It’s her
first day to go to school in America and she is not sure how it will go. “Please let things be
different here, she pleaded silently please let this school be different (Robbins 35). As Joy
explains she seems worried about what this new high school would bring, such as, what
mysteries will unfold here at this school. “She wondered what she would do in this new country,
whether she would make friends, and how long would it take for her to stop missing home”
(Robbins 35). While transitioning to this new school, Joy notices some differences between
Citygrove and her school back home in Jamaica. Such differences like “This school was clean”
(Robbins 35). “There was no trash on the floor, which was carpeted, to her surprise” (Robbins
35). In addition, Joy explains “In Jamaica, students usually remained in one classroom except
for outdoor classes in drama, music, PE, and agricultural science” (Robbins 35)
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Meeting new people at her new school was also hard. She made a new friend Natalie,
who happens to introduce herself and show respect to Joy. Natalie’s friends really don’t
appreciate Joy. When Joy and Natalie had a conversation, Natalie’s friends would give Joy rude
faces. “Hey, Joy. um, tomorrow I’m gonna eat lunch with my friends ok”. (Robbins 71), “she
had seen the looks Natalie’s friends gave her” (Robbins 71). Joy later understands that races in
that school “stuck together” (Robbins 71).
Joy faces her challenges by keeping her composure during school time. Referring back to
page 71 when Natalie’s friends gave her dirty looks Joy kept her composure. Also on page 71
when Natalie tells her she is going to sit with her friends to eat lunch she kept her composure
saying that it was okay. What makes Joy so unique is that she knows what is going on in her
surroundings. She knows how people interact with one another, and how one tends to treat
another person. Joy isn’t trying to conform she wants to “become the person I want to be”
(Robbins 72). Moreover “she didn’t believe in cliques” (Robbins 72) and she didn’t want to be
in one either. She believed that “if you didn’t want to be my friend, I aint gonna cry over you,
doll” (Robbins 72)
Adaptability is very important quality for success. Even though things change left and
right, being able to adapt in your surroundings is important. How you respond to changing events
and manage behaviors. help you thrive in times of transition are important. Similar to Joy’s
situation being the new girl.
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Works Cited
Robbins, Alexandra The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and Why
Outsiders Thrive After High School
Overall, its pretty good with a strong idea. The suggestions I gave were just suggestions. Some
of your sentences and use of words are fine, I just thought there could be a more clear way to say
it that kept the flow going. I’m not exactly sure what your thesis sentence is even though I
understand what your paper is about. The spaces in between your paragraphs should be deleted I
think. I think if you can work on a introduction which states your thesis and main point of the
paper, and then start the personal experience paragraph, it would give the reader a better idea of
what your goal is, rather than a immediate start with the story. But its not a big deal, I’m just
being picky. I think you can add more in your conclusion paragraph, maybe comparing the
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personal story with joy and how that helped them “thrive”. Just some suggestions! It’s a good,
solid essay though.
Adrian Johnson-Pope
Dr. Brent HouseEnglish 101
16 February 2013
Struggling with adaptability
Spending almost a decade in Ghana located in western Africa, adapting was sort of tough
for an old friend. His name was Ferguson Amo. We went to the same elementary school William
Levering located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. Through the two years I have known Ferguson,
adapting to an American school was difficult because he only knew one language. He could
speak a smidgen of English but not like most of the other students in my class. His style of
clothing was different. Students at Levering wore baggy clothes, watches, different color hats to
portray different rappers, and cool sneakers. Ferguson was not used to that sort of fashion. His
style of dress was professional. Suit, ties, and dress shoes where his attire. Many students
criticized him calling him names such as “ugly African”, “weirdo”, or if they really wanted to
hurt his feelings “go back to Africa where you belong”. Ferg had a couple friends including
myself that he could depend on for guidance. We knew he was smart. Sometimes some of my
friends made weird faces at him whenever I went to go talk to him or shake his hand to see how
school was going for him. My friends and I would make little jokes about him that he could
laugh at but when my friends went overboard I nipped it in the bud. Teachers found him very
gifted because he was spectacular in his academics. My teachers enrolled him into “MG” short
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for mentally gifted for students who receive all A’s on their report card. I could honestly say he
adapted pretty well but at the same time it was really difficult for him.
Through Joy, in Alexandra Robbins investigation, Alex illustrates that adaptation does
not require conforming completely to another culture. Alex gives us a clear understanding on
how it can be difficult to adapt in a new school environment.
Joy is from Jamaica and is transitioning to a new California school. In the story Joy is the
new girl. She is a new student at Citygrove high school. This was a public high school in an
urban valley north of Los Angeles. Joy is not too excited to go to school because she is nervous.
It’s her first day to go to school in America and she is not sure how it will go. “Please let things
be different here, she pleaded silently please let this school be different (Robbins 35). As Joy
explains she seems worried about what this new high school would bring; such as what mysteries
will unfold here at this school. “She wondered what she would do in this new country, whether
she would make friends, and how long would it take for her to stop missing home(Robbins 35).”
While transitioning to this new school Joy notices some differences between Citygrove and her
school back home in Jamaica. Such differences like “This school was clean (Robbins 35).”
“There was no trash on the floor, which was carpeted, to her surprise” (Robbins 35). Furthermore
as Joy explains “In Jamaica, students usually remained in one classroom except for outdoor
classes in drama, music, PE, and agricultural science” (Robbins 35)
Meeting new people at her new school was also hard. She made a new friend Natalie,
who happens to greet herself and show respect to Joy. Natalie’s friends really don’t appreciate
Joy. When Joy and Natalie had a conversation, Natalie’s friends would give Joy rude faces.
“Hey, Joy. um, tomorrow I’m gonna eat lunch with my friends ok”. (Robbins 71), “she had seen
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the looks Natalie’s friends gave her” (Robbins 71). Joy later on understands that races in that
school “stuck together” (Robbins 71).
Joy faces challenges with keeping her composure during school time. Referring back to
page 71 when Natalie’s friends gave her dirty looks Joy kept her composure. Also on page 71
when Natalie tells her she is going to sit with her friends to eat lunch she kept her composure
saying that it was ok. What makes Joy so unique is that she knows what is going on in her
surroundings. She knows how people interact with one another, and how one tends to treat
another person. Joy isn’t trying to conform she wants to “become the person I want to be”
(Robbins 72). Moreover “she didn’t believe in cliques” (Robbins 72) and she didn’t want to be
in one either. She believed that “if you didn’t want to be my friend, I aint gonna cry over you,
doll” (Robbins 72)
Adaptability is very important quality for success. Even though things change left and
right being able to adapt in your surroundings is important. How you respond to changing events,
and manage behaviors that help you thrive in times of transition are important. Similar to Joy’s
situation being the new girl.
I really liked how you started off the paper with a personal story! I feel like maybe you
need to do something with the second paragraph. It’s definitely necessary but maybe you could
add more to that paragraph? Im sorry I know that’s not that helpful but I think maybe describing
the similarities between your friend and Joy’s situation might help that paragraph along. I also
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think this might help with the length that your missing. Just a few mechanics with the citations
needs to be fixed throughout your paper, but overall I really liked it and thought it insightful!
Works Cited
Robbins, Alexandra The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory, and
WhyOutsiders Thrive After High School. New York: Hyperion, 2011. Print.
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Derek Fry
Dr. House
Foundations of Writing
8 March 2013
Snowboarding: 365 Days a Year
To be honest, I did not like snowboarding the first time I took a trip to the
mountain. I fell almost every time I tried to stand up on the board, and wanted to quit.
My friend urged me that this was normal, and wiping out and falling flat on your face
was only part of the process. I continued to improve, but only by about the fourth time I
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took a trip to the mountains was I finally able to glide down the hill, and stop when I
needed to. The feeling was amazing. I realized that there was a lot more I needed to
learn before I would ever be able to do any kind of carving or tricks on the board, like so
many amazing athletes can do today. I now not only just love snowboarding, but I have
formed a bond with it feel a certain calm come over me when riding down the mountain.
There was more to snowboarding though, from large to small details which I clearly had
not caught on to. I had no idea about all of the different cliques or riding styles. I knew
about my riding style and about my snowboard only, and I had so much more to learn
about this culture. What made people want to make their life revolve around
snowboarding, knowing all the hard work and pain that would come along with the
lifestyle? The truth that I found is that it is just a wonderful invention. Snowboarding is
not just something for a young teen, an adult, or a professional boarder. It’s a hobby
that someone can enjoy for their entire life, and continue to grow and learn new things.
Needless to say, Snowboarding didn’t form overnight. Snowboarding is a serious
sport, simply because with motivation, you can board any day of the year. It has
become well- established, and has not only taken its grasp on the United States, but
also the entire world. I can only begin to describe the long rigorous path the board has
been through to get to the great piece of artwork it has become. It’s hard to believe that
it all started with a round piece of plywood, and has turned into such a popular
phenomenon. Needless to say, a lot of pain and repeated trials came
along with the beautiful sculpting of the board. Not until 1963 would the
great snowboard really start taking shape when an eighth grade skater
made the, “ski board.” This boy loved to skateboard, and he claimed he
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just wanted to be able to skate all year round. This board in a sense was just a roughly
curved piece of plywood, which in turn would break and many riders would get injured.
Then, along came the “Snurfer.”. This bored had a better form, with more groves to
work with the snow, and a rope at the end to hold on to. Afterwards, the board
continued on with all of the many innovations and corrections. The modern ski design
was combined with that of a surfboard, and this was what stuck. This would be the
design for the snowboard that people would use and critique in their own way. Slopes,
mountains, and boards are still being worked on even today. The length, style, and type
of board are unique to the designer and the rider of the board. Some people want a
board designed to whip down the slopes and be able to do all kinds of tricks, while
others just want to peacefully carve down the hill. Skiers and Snowboarders have a
culture all their own, and there is so much that can be learned. Anyone can snowboard
with practice and hard work while going at their own pace set to their specific abilities.
There’s no better feeling then carving down a great snowy slope on a freshly waxed
snowboard with perfect form, and there isn’t a better winter culture to observe.
Continuing along, a first time snowboarder shouldn’t just pick up any board and
begin to try it out. There are so many different kinds of boards out there; to the point
where a first-timer needs to do their very best to find out what specific board fits their
skillset and desires. I certainly wouldn’t advise a first time
boarder to go out and buy the most expensive trick board,
because as I’ve seen a rider is normally very sore after day one
of snowboarding. The first aspect that needs to be looked at is
the length of the board. I’ve seen riders who used a board to
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large or too small for themselves get extremely frustrated, and even stop snowboarding
altogether. If they just would’ve done a bit of research or asked a few questions they
would’ve found that a correctly sized board may have brought them the success on the
hill that all boarders are searching for. With all that said there is still no specific length of
a board set for a person’s height or weight. Weight really has little to do with what board
is used contrary to what a lot of beginning boarders think. Height is the most important
aspect. I am about 6 feet tall and have a 160 cm board (Shown on right.) Someone who
is 5 feet tall may want a 135 cm board. There are no set values, only estimates on the
length on the board for a specific person, so one person’s opinion on how long a board
should be shouldn’t carry too much value. All this being said about the length of the
board there are other aspects that need to be taken into account. The flexibility of the
board is important for the different results you will get while boarding. For instance, a
soft and flexible board is designed for doing tricks, turning quicker, and stopping
quicker. A stiff board is built for powder based snow, and it makes a boarder much
faster. To sum this up more easily, a stiff board goes faster and is harder to turn
because of the low friction created with the snow. A flexible board creates much more
friction with the snow, thus it’s slower and easier to turn with. To finish up with types of
snowboards there is one more aspect to be taken into account. This aspect is the
sidecut. A sidecut is simply the part of a board cut out from the side, to make the curve
of the board. The larger the radius of a sidecut the more smooth the turns will be, while
a sidecut of a small radius will be able to make quicker and sharper turns. A sidecut is
something that beginner and intermediate boarders won’t worry about too much. Only
once a boarder really starts figuring out what kind of rider they are should they start
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looking into the different sidecuts. If a boarder can find his or her perfect balance of
length, flexibility, and sidecut, then they have done the job right.
Next, I’ll talk about what is possibly the most exciting part about a snowboarding
trip, the mountain itself. There are a plethora of different ski resorts that range from
beginner mountains to Olympic ski jumps. I have boarded at five different resorts in my
lifetime, and have noticed that there is a very clear order of difficulty that they range
from. While I won’t talk about all five of them, I will share the three resorts that are most
easily categorized. Ski Roundtop was the first place I had ever gone snowboarding. It
was built to suit the underdeveloped talents of the beginning boarder. This resort has a
special small slope where trainers can go down and teach each small step in a time that
suits the new riders. I chose not to do this because I thought boarding would come to be
easy. In my observations I’ve found that I was certainly not the first person who was
overly cocky about my snowboarding talents. Some people just end up very sore from
being too cocky, while others end up with broken bones and end up off of the slopes for
a while. Although Ski Roundtop was built for beginners, it’s certainly possible to injure
yourself at this resort and all others to come if one’s limits aren’t known. The second
resort I will talk about is Blue Mountain. This is a great resort for intermediate riders and
is my personal favorite. This resort has a skate park built for tricks and many slopes the
range for easy to very difficult. Blue Mountain was designed to bring in riders of all
different skill levels, even though a beginner may have a very difficult time on this
mountain. It starts from the top of the mountain, so there is not much time to prepare.
The only thing to do is to strap on to your board and start riding. Riders should be
prepared to turn at ease and also switch direction quickly to watch out for other riders.
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Blue Mountain has many slopes, but is also easy to navigate around so that when riding
with a group it’s much less of a hassle to stick together. A lot of the slopes also connect
together, so that beginners in the group can start on an easy slope while more
experienced riders start on a tougher slope, and all riders will come down at the bottom
together. Blue Mountain is a wonderful resort, and I would recommend it for most riders.
There is one more resort that I will talk about, and that is Hunter Mountain. This
mountain holds the most difficult slopes I have ever boarded on, and I consider myself
as not half bad a rider. It’s a beautiful slope, with amazing jumps and great views. The
slopes are very lengthy with quick turns and narrow pathways. There is a very limited
margin for error, if one would prefer not to end up wiping out and flying into the woods.
That being said I’m not trying to take away from this wonderful resort, only to say that is
a much better mountain for intermediate or more experienced riders. A beginner may
find themselves injured on this mountain.
To continue, I would like to talk a bit about injuries that can occur. It is important
to understand how to stop with ease and also have the ability to turn smoothly to stay
on the right path and not slam into a tree or another rider. I’ve seen this many times,
and when an experienced boarder gets knocked over by a beginner, they are usually
not too quick to accept an apology. Wiping out on the mountain is something that is
unavoidable, and happens to everyone. What can be avoided are dangerous wipeouts,
which may require a medical team to come to the rescue. I’ve seen this too many times,
and it’s obviously not pretty.
Overall I liked reading your ethnography. From the looks of things you seem to
like snowboarding. Are you a good snowboarder yourself? Some things that I would say
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you should work on is adding some quotes and maybe discuss the history of
snowboarding and the actual culture itself. Great Story though it seems like you have a
lot of history yourself on this topic. I would love to read it when you are finished.
Lauren Bond
Artificial Insemination Ethnography
Dr. House
English 101
Artificial Insemination or……
A Brief Overview
“Currently in the U.S., twenty percent of couples are struggling with infertility; 7.4
million women between the ages of fifteen and forty four have used some type infertility
service.” If someone is infertile, it means they are not able to become pregnant naturally after
trying for at least one year. As women and men get older, they are much more likely to become
infertile; “seventy percent of married women over the age of forty are infertile.”
A very common practice that has been used to treat this condition is called Artificial
Insemination. Artificial Insemination is done by using a straw-like syringe called a catheter to
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directly inject sperm into a woman’s uterus. This procedure can result in twins, triplets, or more
depending on the medication used; it is never the goal to produce more than one baby. Artificial
Insemination has been practiced since the 1900’s and has existed as an idea since the 1700’s.
Artificial Insemination, like most things, was first tested on animals and in 1939 successfully
conceived a rabbit. During the mid-1940’s, artificial insemination was tested in Nazi, Germany
on Jews, gypsies, and concentration camp members and workers. Shortly after in 1953, the first
successful procedure was completed on a human. By the time 1987 had come around, artificial
insemination was being practiced in the U.S. on about 172,000 women per year, resulting in
65,000 births.
Throughout this paper I will refer to artificial insemination as AI to make it easier to read.
AI is a very commonly used procedure, with that being said, you must wonder how much it costs
since so many people go through it. For a new patient to some in for a consultation it will cost a
flat rate of two-hundred and twenty dollars. Each part of AI is an additional cost, like blood
work and ultra sounds. Infertility is not always completely covered, usually only bits and pieces
are. AI is a specialty procedure, so it is not mandated to be covered by insurances. If a patient
does not have insurance, an exceptional rate is given to them. One-thousand dollars for one
treatment is offered to patients without insurance. One cycle of AI last one month long- based
off of a woman’s period. Every time a cycle does not work, it is repeated and the patient is
charged again for the next cycle. This procedure can get pretty expensive if the patient must go
through multiple cycles- some women are up to their sixth month of treatment.
Any woman can get AI, but a certain age range is recommended because as you get older
you become more infertile. Women between the ages of twenty and forty are the prime
participants for this treatment. Anyone over the age of forty is not highly recommended to get
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this treatment because as I stated earlier, the older you get the more infertile you become. Most
patients do not want their personal and medical information released to anyone, so the hospital
practices HIPPA laws. HIPPA stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability act; it
is designed to improve the health insurance system. The HIPPA law has many different sections,
the portion I am talking about is Title IV, which explains the rules of protecting patient
information. Healthcare providers, government officials, and all health organizations that use or
store patient health care information are required to follow the HIPPA privacy guidelines. This
law makes patients very comfortable because they know their information will be kept private
and no one will know about their personal business unless they release the information
themselves.
AI is important because without it many women would not be able to have children. I
believe that AI is an acceptable procedure and that anyone who wants AI treatment should be
able to receive it. Money and Insurance is a different story, but morally I believe AI is
completely reasonable and can really change people’s lives. This ethnography is meant to find
out what goes on inside the walls of AI and what the opinions are about it. Is there a stigma that
goes along with it? Do people think this kind of procedure is “morally wrong?” These are the
types of questions I am very anxious in answering. I have interviewed two doctors two patients
and a supervisor to help me dive into the heart of this fascinating process. I have also conducted
a field study at Pennsylvania Hospital Fertility and Gynecology department.
A Closer Look
I decided to do field research first because I wanted to get a look at what goes on in the
fertility department before I was influenced by interview participants. I went to the Pennsylvania
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Hospital and visited the Fertility and Gynecology Department. I went on Wednesday, the middle
of the week so it was a normal flow of patients. When I first walked in at ten A.M., there were
four people sitting outside in the waiting room; there were three women and one man and all
three of the women were reading magazines about women’s health. It was very noisy, not the
patients, but the receptionist’s phone was ringing off the hook and I could hear the faint sound of
other phones ringing in the back filing room. The lab is right near the waiting room as well, so I
could hear the monotonous drone from the blood machine. As patients walked in for their
appointments, they signed in at the front desk. Patients have to let the receptionist, Shan, know
if there were any changes in their address, phone number, or insurance. I got to see one patient
who did not have a referral from her family doctor; she had to call her doctor’s office and ask if
they could do it at that moment by sending an “OK” via computer. She had to wait until the
referral was received in order to be seen.
My first stop was the back filing room where three other receptionists’ desks were
located. Their jobs were to answer phones and take messages for doctors or to answer patient’s
questions themselves. There was not one silent moment in that room, the women were
constantly talking and the phones were persistently ringing. I watched one of the ladies answer a
phone call from a patient who must have called at least three times prior that day, she did not
seem very happy with the patient.
“Ma’am, we will call you when the results come back, it is only ten and we took your
blood yesterday it is not going to be ready yet.”
The receptionist seemed very frustrated because the patient was being impatient, but she
had to keep a cool head because she needs to be nice to the patient at all times. Scheduling
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appointments and making calendars for the doctors are also some of the duties of the
receptionists. There was also a college student in the back making sure all of the charts were
filed correctly in alphabetical order; organization is key when it comes to medical procedures
because you need to be able to recall and find test results and other necessary information in a
timely manner. I actually worked in this job position here last summer and it was very time
consuming because not only do you have to file the charts, but you have to go through a stack of
lab results and put them in the correct chart according to the person they belong to.
I walked past the main doctor’s personal office and I have never seen such a messy
room. There were tons of charts and paper and books scattered all over the entire room. The
shredding bucket was over f lowing with paper and the floor was barely recognizable. The back
room in general was neat, but I couldn’t believe the doctor let her office get this cluttered! I
don’t understand how she could find anything in that room. When charts can’t be found, I hope
people look in her office because there is a pretty good chance those charts could be in there
hidden under the mass amounts of paper everywhere. This is one of the few remaining practices
that do not have electronic medical records, meaning all of the charts are not computerized. The
office is in the process of trying to get all of their old charts scanned onto a computer; this will
definitely help keep the workplace orderly and make finding patient information easier.
The next room I visited was the lab; it was extremely
noisy! I thought I could hear it clearly from the waiting room,
but it was ten times louder inside the actual lab. There were
two centrifuges that were also blaring. Centrifuges are circular
machines with little round slots on the sides that you place a test
Centrifuge Source: Lauren Bond
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tube of blood or semen in to separate blood cells from plasma and sperm from seminal plasmaplasma is just a liquid that floats around with cells. My mom works in the lab and she was
constantly running in and out with different blood and semen samples. She literally did not stop
once to breathe. There were two different log books out and three excel log sheets on the
computer that she was updating about every twenty minutes. Her phone rang about three times
while I was in the lab for an hour and they were calls about when people should drop off their
semen samples. I went back to the lab at the end of the day about fifteen minutes before we left
and she made eight phone calls to patients explaining to them their test results and what they
need to be doing in order to keep up with the AI treatment.
When it is time for the patient to be seen, she gets called into the back room. Due to the
privacy of the patients, I was not allowed in the examination rooms during office hours, but I
was allowed in the area where the patients get their blood drawn and typical body screenings
reviewed- weight, height, and blood pressure. I was allowed back in the rooms at the end of the
day when the office was closing, but there wasn’t much to observe besides all of the equipment.
There are five exam rooms and two conference rooms. The exam rooms are used for, well
examining patients. There is an ultrasound machine in four of the
rooms that is used to see muscles, tendons, and many other
internal organs. Its main purpose in a fertility setting is to view a
fetus during early pregnancy and especially to look at a woman’s
uterus and ovaries. The conference rooms had lots of brochures
about STD’s, birth control, sex, and any other pregnancy related
topic you could think of. The furniture consisted of a round table
Ultra Sound Machine Source: Lauren Bond
with four chairs around it. The doctor told me she likes using round tables because they make
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for more comfortable conversations since the topics being discussed are usually very personal
and meaningful.
From my observations, I was able to conclude at least one solid fact; people that work in
the fertility field are very hurried. Not once did I see one of the employees silent or sitting still
for more than a few seconds. Phones were relentlessly ringing, conversations were endless,
fingers did not hesitate when typing, and multi-tasking was not a talent. It really takes a lot of
patience and listening to work at an office like this; these women are very talented at what they
do! They were able to answer questions on the spot, and if they couldn’t, they found a patients
chart within seconds to try and answer a question for them. Did you notice how I said “these
women are very talented?” That is because all of the employees are women! I think having
women employees in the fertility department makes the patients feel more comfortable since
there is a lot of talk about menstrual periods and sex. All of the women are very personable and
are easy to talk to. This is really important when working with such a serious and delicate topic
like infertility. Observing the fertility office life was attention-grabbing. I am really glad my
mom works there and that I have worked there because it gave me a chance to learn a little about
AI and get to see what goes on in an active fertility office setting.
Getting the Job Done
The first interview I conducted was with Julie Bond, my mother. She is a clinical
supervisor at Fertility and Gynecology Associates at Pennsylvania Hospital; she has been there
for almost twenty years. She gave me a little history about how she got into the field of
infertility. She graduated from Villanova University with a master’s degree in biology; she
originally went to school to be a doctor, but changed her mind along the way. Getting into the
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fertility field was a complete accident because she had applied for a blood bank job but somehow
the Andrology Lab got her resume at the University of Penn. She was offered a job to conduct
research about unexplained infertility. This required her to learn all about semen analysis and
sperm freezing. During her time at Penn she met a Fellow who completed his fellowship and
went to work for fertility and gynecology. A fellowship is a program that is required for anyone
who wants to specialize in reproductive endocrinology. After three years of working in research,
she left to go work with him and another doctor at Fertility and Gynecology Associates, where
she currently is today.
Julie has two primary roles, sperm preparation for AI and processing the patient’s blood
samples. In addition to that, she can also draw
blood, preform ultrasounds, give injections, and
teach patients to give their own injections. She
must also relay all of the doctor’s instructions each
day to the patients that were seen. To prepare the
sperm for insemination, she must examine a drop
under a microscope. If the swimming ability and
Semen Analysis Area Source: Lauren Bond
count is healthy, it can be washed. Washing the sperm means separating the sperm cells from
the liquid portion of the specimen. Only the sperm cells mixed with a special medium
compatible with the uterus can be used for AI. The liquid portion of the sperm can cause an
allergic reaction in the uterus, which is why it is taken out. Once the sperm and the medium are
combined, insemination can be done and a pregnancy will be expected. It takes about two weeks
from insemination to tell if someone is pregnant.
The best part of her job is telling someone they are pregnant!
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She says “you have just given someone the news they have been waiting on for what
could have been years.”
Patients who find out they are pregnant, especially if they are in the older range like
thirty-eight, are extremely enthusiastic and delighted to hear the good news. The worst part of
Julie’s job is when she has to tell someone that the insemination did not work. They usually ask
why, but she cannot give an answer because the answer cannot be found. Something that really
bothers Julie is when a patient comes in who has had an abortion(s) preformed before, but now
wants to have a baby.
Julie says “if you’ve had an abortion before and now you can’t get pregnant, that is God’s
way of punishing you. I wish I didn’t have to treat those people, especially since most of them
were in their twenties when they got their abortion.”
I would have to say I completely agree with her statement. I asked Julie how she felt
about women over the age of forty five trying to get pregnant and she responded negatively. She
does not agree with it because you may not be around to see your child completely grow up since
you’re older; you’re most likely to be tired and it would be hard to keep up with a teenager while
you are in your fifties and sixties. She says that time is better spent as a grandparent. She also
brings up the point that once a woman hits the age of thirty five, there is a one in one hundred
chance that the baby will have downs-syndrome.
A Woman in Charge
My next interview was with a medically credible source, Dr.
Leonore Huppert. I conducted this interview over the phone with Dr.
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Huppert because I couldn’t find a time that worked with her schedule over spring break. Dr.
Huppert is a, infertility doctor at Pennsylvania Hospital’s Fertility and Gynecology Department.
A little bit of background on how she got into this field was discussed during my interview. She
went to college and was originally studying endocrinology, specifically medical endocrinology;
endocrinology is the study of hormones. She realized that this job was much too boring for her;
she wanted more hands on work and intense contact with patients. Her medical school advisor
helped her pick a hospital and get an internship; that’s how she ended up at Pennsylvania
Hospital. She decided to stay at this hospital because she loved it so much and has been there for
over thirty years.
Dr. Huppert’s job entails her to see patients and figure out why they are not conceiving.
Based on that reason she needs to come up with a treatment plan to help fix the problem. The
first initial new patient meeting is very important; it can help determine the reason for a woman
being infertile and needing AI. First Dr. Huppert must take a “patient history,” this means
asking questions like age, how long has a couple been trying to get pregnant, what are the
woman’s periods like, what contraceptives the couple has used, how frequent intercourse is,
medical history, and surgical history. The men also need to have a history taken because they
are just important in this process as the women are. Once a history and examination have been
completed, a treatment plan can be put into effect. Sometimes a couple has a “good history,”
which means that the cure for infertility can be easily done. Another way she can determine if
someone needs artificial insemination is if there is an abnormal sperm count, this means there
isn’t enough sperm to impregnate a woman. In the lab, the sperm is concentrated and a
substantial amount is shot up into a woman’s uterus to increase the chances of pregnancy.
Dr. Huppert needs help from all of her employees;
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She spends “every minute interacting with office women.”
She relies on Alketa, Julie, and Maureen to work with patients and the office secretaries
to take care of phone calls.
“Everyone has a job,” she adds, “It’s a team effort.”
The office is small, so everyone needs to be flexible. Each person has one specific job,
but they can all do at least two in case some are missing;
“I couldn’t do what I do without these people.”
Stress is a huge struggle that comes along with this profession. This field requires
absolute perfection, there is no room. Some other things that cause Dr. Huppert lots of stress is
when patients have problems with their treatment and when they don’t shot up for their
appointments. The thing that makes her most stressed out is when her patient’s insurance
companies do not cooperate with her when she tells them the kind of procedures her patient must
undergo.
Her way of coping is to simply “just move on, you can’t let stuff get to you in this
career.”
I specifically asked Dr. Huppert about her relationship with patients and certain kinds of
patients. A very common situation in AI is lesbian couples coming in for treatment. They would
obviously need to use donor sperm because women do not produce sperm. I asked Dr. Huppert
what her view on treating lesbian patients was,
“I am not opposed to treating them, each doctor has a different opinion, but a patient
cannot be denied care.”
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If a doctor does not want to treat a lesbian couple or any other patient for some reason,
then they may say no, but they must refer the patient to another doctor who might do the
treatment.
I also asked Dr. Huppert if she has gotten into any disputes with her patients, “All the
time! They look on the internet and talk to friends and want procedures they can’t have.”
She will not treat a patient if she thinks it’s not right for them. Dr. Huppert does get attached to
certain patients and their cases, it make their results more exciting and joyful or depressing in the
case of negative pregnancy results. If pregnancy is a failure, then it just means a better approach
needs to be taken as long as the patient agrees to it. Dr. Huppert obviously loves when a
treatment has worked; she’s happy she could make a difference in someone’s life.
I asked what the patient’s reactions were to a positive pregnancy and Dr. Huppert said,
“Most are over the moon.”
A Different View
My last interview was with a homosexual patient. I am going to use a pseudonym for this
patient to keep her personal statements private, I will refer to her has Jane. I sent Jane a
questionnaire form that I created and she sent it back completed within a week. Jane is a lesbian
and has a female partner. They want to have a child but need to go through AI in order to have
one because neither of them are males and do not produce sperm. They must use donor sperm to
go through with this procedure. They have actually already had this procedure done once and it
was successful! They are now trying for their second baby. Jane and her partner found out
about AI through another lesbian couple who had gotten it done as well. She did some further
Johnson-Pope43
research online and was referred to Pennsylvania Hospital by her Gynecologist. She wasn’t
nervous at all during this process because her and her partner always knew it was safe;
“We were always excited,” she added. Her emotions through-out the process was “like I
was on a roller coaster- you get excited, then disappointed when it does not work out.”
Their first AI treatment was a success and Jane and her partner were over joyed, but so
far their second treatment has not worked and they are not pregnant yet.
Obviously with being a lesbian there are many different opinions and stigmas that come
along with it. Many people do not understand a homosexual couple’s point of view in life, so it
may add stress to a homosexual’s life. Many people felt as if Jane’s procedure was “unnatural”
and that she and her partner were not meant to have children since there is no man in the
relationship. A big difference in a homosexual couple going through AI is that they need to use
donor sperm. Jane told me that there was a different kind of stigma that came along with using
donor sperm.
“Many people feel it is wrong that a child will not have a ‘father’ or know their donor
(we do not feel this way).”
Despite the stigma, Jane and her partner still went through and are currently going
through AI treatment without any doubts or hesitation; they had no worries about using donor
sperm. I asked Jane what her family had thought about this procedure and she gave me some
interesting answers. Her friends were very excited for her, but her family was a little skeptical at
first. They weren’t skeptical of the whole lesbian aspect, but of the actual procedure. Once Jane
had filled them in on how AI worked and what a great doctor she had, they were excited with
her! Jane’s family was also a bit troubled with the aspect of her using donor sperm. She told me
Johnson-Pope44
that many people in her and her partner’s families were concerned that their child would have
multiple half siblings. Jane and her partner have decided that they do not want to know who
their donor sperm belongs to, but they would like to have access to medical information if it is
ever needed.
I really enjoyed reading the information Jane gave me, I have never been able to really
look at AI from this perspective and it was really interesting. I love the fact that Jane and her
partner take the time to listen to different family and friends opinions, but in the end stick to
what they believe is best and what they want for themselves. They already have one child and
are hoping for a second, I wish them much luck. There are stigmas that come along with being a
homosexual parent, especially with women because they are using donor sperm in order to have
children. I believe Jane and her partner handle these stigmas very well and never let it get out of
control or change their personal views.
Has the Question Been Answered?
*****CONCLUSION*****
Johnson-Pope45
Citations:
1. Sage, Bobbie. "HIPAA Law And Regulations." About.com Personal Insurance. About.com,
2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://personalinsure.about.com/od/health/a/aa041806a.htm>.
2. "Infertility." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 18 July 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/fertile.htm>.
3. "Infertility." Infertility. THE FREE DICTIONARY, 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/infertility>.
4. Litherland, Neal. "Who Invented Artificial Insemination for Humans?" EHow. Demand
Media, 27 May 2009. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5052931_invented-artificial-insemination-humans.html>.
5. Fitzpatrick, Diane. "The History of Artificial Insemination." The History of Artificial
Insemination. Life123, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.life123.com/parenting/pregnancy/infertility/the-history-of-human-artificialinsemination.shtml>.
6. Julie Bond- Clinical Supervisor at Pennsylvania Hospital; Fertility and Gynecology Associates
7. Dr. Leanore Huppert, MD- Head doctor at Pennsylvania Hospital; Fertility and Gynecology
Associates
8. Kelly Spiotta- Homosexual patient at Pennsylvania Hospital; Fertility and Gynecology
Associates
Johnson-Pope46
Good paper overall I enjoyed reading this sort of scary kind of when you said someone
literally stopped breathing. What you need to work on basically I just adding some sources and
punctuation basically. Try not to use cliché when you write. Great paper you have over the
amount of pages so that’s good for you, just fix these minor edits and I’m sure you will receive a
good grade. GREAT WORK!!!
Adrian Johnson-Pope
Dr. Brent House
Foundations of Writing
08 March 2013
Johnson-Pope47
Title
Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are
willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you will do.
Love the quote
-Lou Holtz
Hearing the loud crowd and the hype-ness of the football players as they get ready to
battle is exciting. The art of football is quite-frankly unique. It is unique because it is a game
about gaining territory as much as it is about scoring points. American football, known as
football in the United States, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players. Both teams
get ready to give all they have to win it all. In other words they battle to win a championship.
Football is not just a regular sport to play. It takes time, dedication, and positive energy in order
to be successful. It is said that when you(you accidently left the yous) players are on a football
team you they are a part of a big family. Everything you do is done is with the football team.
Family/Team
A family is a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. For
Football it is slightly different. Your parents are the coaches and your brothers are the team.
Everything you do is with the team. When it comes to eating you eat together as a unit
conversing with one another about the upcoming season and how bad you want to win that state
championship. You work out together training hard in the weight room breaking a sweat. You
understand that nothing will get in your way of success. Helping and pushing each other, and
congratulating each other are as a family. Football is more than just a sport that is played with
equipment. The passion and love for the game is what brings you (people) together as one. When
Johnson-Pope48
you put on that helmet and you look at one another before you hit the battle field, the (that)
feeling of not being alone is family. Blood, sweat, and tears that are shared amongst each other is
brotherhood. Knowing that no matter what, when there comes tough times you always have a
shoulder top lean on, that’s family. Football is so much deeper than what is seen on television.
Keep in mind some background knowledge as you visualize the culture of football. (try not to
use the word ‘you’ quite as much in your writing)
History
Football was born on college campuses in the Northeast in the 1870’s. Football
first started out as the game Rugby which is another style of football. American football started
in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Football reached its second maturity during the Great War in Europe.
Many schools dropped the sport because it was too brutal and vicious. Schools such as Stanford
and other west coast universities dropped football for a “less brutal rugby version” (king
football). Intercollegiate football was played throughout the country, and high schools
everywhere were adopting the collegians game (king football).
Professional football did not have any formal organization at that time. College football
stars played for money in 1892, they were known as ringers. By the 1900’s professional teams
were being formed in mid-western towns.
The outbreak of the Great War in Europe interfered with football’s actual development.
Harvard, Yale, and Princeton Universities were known as the “big three”, but these colleges at
the same time suspended their football programs when the United States was at war with Europe.
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, a coach, and sports writer. Walter
Johnson-Pope49
Camp was known as the “Father of American Football”. He helped put together a service
football program that introduced the game of football to thousands of young men athletes.
In 1920, the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations and the
National Football League was established. In 1920 16.8 percent of Americans graduated high
school. Later on as it increase to 50 percent football became a basic part of high school life.
Three years later 91 percent of high schools in one survey had actual football teams (king
football). Furthermore 45 of 48 states interscholastic leagues and athletic associations owned
them.
The National Football League was brought about in the office of an auto agency in
Canton Ohio. The representatives from various Midwestern professional clubs organized
American Professional Football Conference what is known today as AFC. In 1922 The National
Football League was an industrial mill town league, with teams and players that only lasted only
a short period of time.
Lack of interest turned to fascination in the year 1925. Harold Edward “Red Grange’
whose nick name was The Galloping Ghost was a college and professional football player who
played for the University of Illinois and Chicago Bears. Grange drew huge crowds to games.
Fans from all over the country wanted to watch his skill at the halfback position. His signing
helped legitimize the National Football League. The national Football league’s first organized
opposition was the American Football League in 1926 by Harold Edward.
The American Football League lasted two seasons 1936-1937 and 1940-1941. The
American Football Conference which lasted from 1946-1949 had only three teams. The three
teams where the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and the Baltimore Colts. At that time
Johnson-Pope50
the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears were the most popular teams in the country’s largest
cities. When television came about after World War two the game could hold a national
audience. (Excellent job on the research)
Discussion of Spring Workouts
Waking up at 6 am, the sounds of those loud alarms burst through your room. Athletes
from left to right are excited and ready to go. It’s the first day of spring workouts. Everyone is
excited as head coach Danny Hale rally’s up the players to talk about how this season will be
going. Assistant coach Paul Darragh explains how tough this season is going to be and what
teams they are going to be up against that are good. Nothing but silence as everyone’s eyes is are
fixed on the coaches. As Hale grabs the microphone he explains the workout routine “we work in
the weight room Monday through Friday we start small then work our way up”. Hale continues
“we don’t need any showoffs lifting heavy weights and risk injuring them-self. (ask Dr.House
but I think you have to indent when people talk)
As I listened to the speech Coach Hale gave to the team, some way, somehow, I felt
inspired to play. I don’t know what had gotten into me but the way he carried his words and
lifted the team to work hard almost brought tears to my eyes. It was like watching those NFL
players documentary’s on television only without the sad music and highlights.
The daily workout routine
As the athletes prepare in the weight room, you notice everyone working together, trying
to build off each other like a family. “Clash” one of the defensive linemen dropped a three
hundred fifty pound weight to the ground. You can see the clear sweat dripping from his dirty
blond hair to his face.
Johnson-Pope51
I asked, “How you feel about lifting heavy weights?” (start a new paragraph every time
someone talks)
Without a hesitation “It feels great ya’know? No pain, no gain”. I took a second to
actually think about his answer. I thought to myself how it could feel great. I know his arms
where aching. Then I came up with the conclusion, that he is only working this hard so he can
dominate on the field. It was great! I enjoyed watching him. With a smile and a nod from him I
shook his hand and quietly walked off. You have to watch your punctuation)
When you walk around in the locker room watching these massive football players
engage in weight lifting to me it gives you a sense of confidence. It sort of boosts your energy to
change into your gym attire and go lift with them. I think I could have gotten a good work out.
One of my friends told me to come out and work with him on my biceps. I sadly had to turn him
down and tell him that we would have to do it another time. Not unless he would help me write
this fourteen page ethnography. The gym is small actually but the equipment is really nice in
there. Printed in white capital letters on the small twenty five pound dumbbell is Bloomsburg
University with a burgundy and white husky dog on the side. I see that Bloomsburg invest wisely
on their equipment. And they take their equipment really serious. One of the starting running
backs for Bloomsburg University dropped a seventy five pound dumbbell to the ground. It
startled all of the athletes in the gym. Without hesitation coach Darragh yelled “Hey does your
tuition pay for broken equipment” I couldn’t help but to laugh at him but luckily he didn’t see me
because he probably would have been upset with me.
Football practice for the seniors gets really intense. Seniors are competing at their top
level to show National Football League scouts who are watching a piece of their action. Noting
Johnson-Pope52
but hard hitting action, brutal blows delivered upon every single hit. After every collision I
noticed that the athletes would get up and shake hands and smack each other hard on the butt
“wheeww good hit baby let’s do it again” , “you gotta come harder than that, bro, if you want to
show the scouts something come on now”. I found the trash talk pretty amusing actually. After
everything that the seniors did during practice no matter what it was they helped each other and
they built off of the player mistakes. Congratulating each other, helping each other up off the
ground, and even wiping the little turf seeds off of the shoulder pads. It was great. One National
Football League scout came over to talk to a wide receiver. As I tried to come in a bit closer to
sort of listen to what he was saying I heard him say that he liked how well the guys where
working together as a unit and “you guys are like family out there”. I smiled from ear to ear
because I said to myself, “I knew I wasn’t the only one who noticed this”. The wide receiver’s
name was Kyle fisher. He is Caucasian receiver who stands 6 feet tall, who can sprint forty yards
in four point four seconds flat.
I think you did a wonderful job. The research is well done. You clearly did quite a few
observations and it’s captivating to read. I actually really enjoyed reading it. The only thing you
have to work on is punctuation. You missed a few commons and periods. And you should talk to
Dr. House about how to use dialogue. Great job! Keep up the good work!
Adrian Johnson-Pope
Dr. Brent House
Johnson-Pope53
Foundations of Writing
08 March 2013
NEED A TITLE
Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are
willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you will do.
-Lou Holtz
Hearing the loud crowd and the hype-ness of the football players as they get ready to
battle is exciting. The art of football is quite-frankly unique. It is unique because it is a game
about gaining territory as much as it is about scoring points. American football, known as
football in the United States, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players. Both teams
get ready to give all they have to win it all. In other words they battle to win a championship.
Football is not just a regular sport to play. It takes time dedication and positive energy in order to
be successful. It is said that when you players are on a football team you they are a part of a big
family. Everything you do is done is with the football team.
Family/Team
A family is a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. For
Football it is slightly different. Your parents are the coaches and your brothers are the team.
Everything you do is with the team. When it comes to eating you eat together as a unit
conversing with one another about the upcoming season and how bad you want to win that state
championship. You work out together training hard in the weight room breaking a sweat. You
Johnson-Pope54
understand that nothing will get in your way of success. Helping and pushing each other, and
congratulating each other are family. Football is more than just a sport that is played with
equipment. The passion and love for the game is what brings you together as one. When you on
that helmet and you look at one another before you hit the battle field, the feeling of not being
alone is family. Blood sweat and tears that are shared amongst each other is brotherhood.
Knowing that no matter what, when there comes tough times you always have a shoulder top
lean on that’s family. Football is so much deeper than what is seen on television. Keep in mind
some background knowledge as you visualize the culture of football.
History
Football was born on college campuses in the Northeast in the 1870’s. Football
first started out as the game Rugby which is another style of football. American football started
in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Football reached its second maturity during the Great War in Europe.
Many schools dropped the sport because it was too brutal and vicious. Schools such as Stanford
and other west coast universities dropped football for a “less brutal rugby version” (king
football). Intercollegiate football was played throughout the country, and high schools
everywhere were adopting the collegians game (king football).
Professional football did not have any formal organization at that time. College football
stars played for money in 1892, they were known as ringers. By the 1900’s professional teams
were being formed in mid-western towns.
The outbreak of the Great War in Europe interfered with footballs actual development.
Harvard, Yale, and Princeton Universities were known as the “big three”, but these colleges at
the same time suspended their football programs when the United States was at war with Europe.
Johnson-Pope55
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, a coach, and sports writer. Walter
Camp was known as the “Father of American Football”. He helped put together a service
football program that introduced the game of football to thousands of young men athletes.
In 1920, the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations and the
National Football League was established. In 1920 16.8 percent of Americans graduated high
school. Later on as it increase to 50 percent football became a basic part of high school life.
Three years later 91 percent of high schools in one survey had actual football teams (king
football). Furthermore 45 of 48 states interscholastic leagues and athletic associations owned
them.
The National Football League was brought about in the office of an auto agency in
Canton Ohio. The representatives from various Midwestern professional clubs organized
American Professional Football Conference what is known today as AFC. In 1922 The National
Football League was an industrial mill town league, with teams and players that only lasted only
a short period of time.
Lack of interest turned to fascination in the year 1925. Harold Edward “Red Grange’
whose nick name was The Galloping Ghost was a college and professional football player who
played for the University of Illinois and Chicago Bears. Grange drew huge crowds to games.
Fans from all over the country wanted to watch his skill at the halfback position. His signing
helped legitimize the National Football League. The national Football league’s first organized
opposition was the American Football League in 1926 by Harold Edward.
The American Football League lasted two seasons 1936-1937 and 1940-1941. The
American Football Conference which lasted from 1946-1949 had only three teams. The three
Johnson-Pope56
teams where the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and the Baltimore Colts. At that time
the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears were the most popular teams in the country’s largest
cities. When television came about after World War two the game could hold a national
audience.
Discussion of Spring Workouts
Waking up at 6 am, the sounds of those loud alarms burst through your room. Athletes
from left to right are excited and ready to go. It’s the first day of spring workouts. Everyone is
excited as head coach Danny Hale rally’s up the players to talk about how this season will be
going. Assistant coach Paul Darragh explains how tough this season is going to be and what
teams they are going to be up against that are good. Nothing but silence as everyone’s eyes is
fixed on the coaches. As Hale grabs the microphone he explains the workout routine “we work in
the weight room Monday through Friday we start small then work our way up”. Hale continues
“we don’t need any showoffs lifting heavy weights and risk injuring them-self.
As I listened to the speech Coach Hale gave to the team some way somehow I felt
inspired to play. I don’t what had gotten into me but the way he carried his words and lifted the
team to work hard almost brought tears to my eyes. It was like watching those NFL players
documentary’s on television only without the sad music and highlights.
The daily workout routine
As the athletes prepare in the weight room, you notice everyone working together, trying
to build of each other like a family. “Clash” one of the defensive linemen dropped a three
hundred fifty pound weight to the ground. You can see the clear sweat dripping from his dirty
blond hair to his face. I asked how you feel about lifting heavy weights. Without a hesitation “It
Johnson-Pope57
feels great ya’know no pain no gain”. I took a second to actually think about his answer. I
thought to myself how it could feel great I know his arms where aching. Then I came up with the
conclusion that he is only working this hard so he can dominate on the field. It was great I
enjoyed watching him. With a smile and a nod from him I shook his hand and quietly walked off.
When you walk around in the locker room watching these massive football players
engage in weight lifting to me it gives you a sense of confidence. It sort of boosts your energy to
change into your gym attire and go lift with them. I think I could have gotten a good work out.
One of my friends told me to come out and work with him on my biceps. I sadly had to turn him
down and tell him that we would have to do it another time. Not unless he would help me write
this fourteen page ethnography. The gym is small actually but the equipment is really nice in
there. Printed in white capital letters on the small twenty five pound dumbbell is Bloomsburg
University with a burgundy and white husky dog on the side. I see that Bloomsburg invest wisely
on their equipment. And they take their equipment really serious. One of the starting running
backs for Bloomsburg University dropped a seventy five pound dumbbell to the ground. It
startled all of the athletes in the gym. Without hesitation coach Darragh yelled “Hey does your
tuition pay for broken equipment” I couldn’t help but to laugh at him but luckily he didn’t see me
because he probably would have been upset with me.
Football practice for the seniors gets really intense. Seniors are competing at their top
level to show National Football League scouts who are watching a piece of their action. Noting
but hard hitting action, brutal blows delivered upon every single hit. After every collision I
noticed that the athletes would get up and shake hands and smack each other hard on the butt
“wheeww good hit baby let’s do it again” , “you gotta come harder than that bro if you want to
show the scouts something come on now”. I found the trash talk pretty amusing actually. After
Johnson-Pope58
everything that the seniors did during practice no matter what it was they helped each other and
they built off of the player mistakes. Congratulating each other, helping each other up off the
ground, and even wiping the little turf seeds off of the shoulder pads it was great. One National
football league scout came over to talk to a wide receiver. As I tried to come in a bit closer to
sort of listen to what he was saying I heard him say that he like how well the guys where
working together as a unit and you guys are like family out there. I smiled from ear to ear
because I said to myself I knew I wasn’t the only one who noticed this. The wide receiver name
was Kyle fisher. He is Caucasian receiver who stands 6 feet tall, who can sprint forty yards in
four point four seconds flat.
Awesome paper you really seem to be into your topic. The way you used your words to
give the reader a feel for how the atmosphere was is also great. Still need some more pages but I
don’t see that being a problem with how interested you seem to be in football. It’s a great culture
and I’m a huge NFL fan myself. Go Eagles baby! The only things I saw were a few grammatical
errors but it certainly is nothing that can’t be fixed. I highlighted most of the errors but don’t
count entirely on me, because I’m sure I missed a few. It’s great that you had some friends on the
team who could really show you what the culture was all about. I’m sure you learned so much
from this experience. Great job overall and I hope to read your final copy!
Adrian Johnson-Pope
Dr. Brent House
Johnson-Pope59
Foundations of Writing
08 March 2013
Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are
willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you will do.
-Lou Holtz
Hearing the loud crowd and the hype-ness of the football players as they get ready to
battle is exciting. The art of football is quite-frankly unique. It is unique because it is a game
about gaining territory as much as it is about scoring points. American football, known as
football in the United States, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players. Both teams
get ready to give all they have to win it all. In other words they battle to win a championship.
Football is not just a regular sport to play. It takes time dedication and positive energy in order to
be successful. It is said that when you players are on a football team you they are a part of a big
family. Everything you do is done is with the football team.
Family/Team
A family is a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. For
Football it is slightly different. Your parents are the coaches and your brothers are the team.
Everything you do is with the team. When it comes to eating you eat together as a unit
conversing with one another about the upcoming season and how bad you want to win that state
championship. You work out together training hard in the weight room breaking a sweat. You
Johnson-Pope60
understand that nothing will get in your way of success. Helping and pushing each other, and
congratulating each other are family. Football is more than just a sport that is played with
equipment. The passion and love for the game is what brings you together as one. When you on
that helmet and you look at one another before you hit the battle field, the feeling of not being
alone is family. Blood sweat and tears that are shared amongst each other is brotherhood.
Knowing that no matter what, when there comes tough times you always have a shoulder top
lean on that’s family. Football is so much deeper than what is seen on television. Keep in mind
some background knowledge as you visualize the culture of football.
History
Football was born on college campuses in the Northeast in the 1870’s. Football
first started out as the game Rugby which is another style of football. American football started
in the 1880’s and 1890’s. Football reached its second maturity during the Great War in Europe.
Many schools dropped the sport because it was too brutal and vicious. Schools such as Stanford
and other west coast universities dropped football for a “less brutal rugby version” (king
football). Intercollegiate football was played throughout the country, and high schools
everywhere were adopting the collegians game (king football).
Professional football did not have any formal organization at that time. College football
stars played for money in 1892, they were known as ringers. By the 1900’s professional teams
were being formed in mid-western towns.
The outbreak of the Great War in Europe interfered with footballs actual development.
Harvard, Yale, and Princeton Universities were known as the “big three”, but these colleges at
the same time suspended their football programs when the United States was at war with Europe.
Johnson-Pope61
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, a coach, and sports writer. Walter
Camp was known as the “Father of American Football”. He helped put together a service
football program that introduced the game of football to thousands of young men athletes.
In 1920, the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations and the
National Football League was established. In 1920 16.8 percent of Americans graduated high
school. Later on as it increase to 50 percent football became a basic part of high school life.
Three years later 91 percent of high schools in one survey had actual football teams (king
football). Furthermore 45 of 48 states interscholastic leagues and athletic associations owned
them.
The National Football League was brought about in the office of an auto agency in
Canton Ohio. The representatives from various Midwestern professional clubs organized
American Professional Football Conference what is known today as AFC. In 1922 The National
Football League was an industrial mill town league, with teams and players that only lasted only
a short period of time.
Lack of interest turned to fascination in the year 1925. Harold Edward “Red Grange’
whose nick name was The Galloping Ghost was a college and professional football player who
played for the University of Illinois and Chicago Bears. Grange drew huge crowds to games.
Fans from all over the country wanted to watch his skill at the halfback position. His signing
helped legitimize the National Football League. The national Football league’s first organized
opposition was the American Football League in 1926 by Harold Edward.
The American Football League lasted two seasons 1936-1937 and 1940-1941. The
American Football Conference which lasted from 1946-1949 had only three teams. The three
Johnson-Pope62
teams where the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and the Baltimore Colts. At that time
the New York Giants and the Chicago Bears were the most popular teams in the country’s largest
cities. When television came about after World War two the game could hold a national
audience.
Discussion of Spring Workouts
Waking up at 6 am, the sounds of those loud alarms burst through your room. Athletes
from left to right are excited and ready to go. It’s the first day of spring workouts. Everyone is
excited as head coach Danny Hale rally’s up the players to talk about how this season will be
going. Assistant coach Paul Darragh explains how tough this season is going to be and what
teams they are going to be up against that are good. Nothing but silence as everyone’s eyes is
fixed on the coaches. As Hale grabs the microphone he explains the workout routine “we work in
the weight room Monday through Friday we start small then work our way up”. Hale continues
“we don’t need any showoffs lifting heavy weights and risk injuring them-self.
As I listened to the speech Coach Hale gave to the team some way somehow I felt
inspired to play. I don’t what had gotten into me but the way he carried his words and lifted the
team to work hard almost brought tears to my eyes. It was like watching those NFL players
documentary’s on television only without the sad music and highlights.
The daily workout routine
As the athletes prepare in the weight room, you notice everyone working together, trying
to build of each other like a family. “Clash” one of the defensive linemen dropped a three
hundred fifty pound weight to the ground. You can see the clear sweat dripping from his dirty
blond hair to his face. I asked how you feel about lifting heavy weights. Without a hesitation “It
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feels great ya’know no pain no gain”. I took a second to actually think about his answer. I
thought to myself how it could feel great I know his arms where aching. Then I came up with the
conclusion that he is only working this hard so he can dominate on the field. It was great I
enjoyed watching him. With a smile and a nod from him I shook his hand and quietly walked off.
When you walk around in the locker room watching these massive football players
engage in weight lifting to me it gives you a sense of confidence. It sort of boosts your energy to
change into your gym attire and go lift with them. I think I could have gotten a good work out.
One of my friends told me to come out and work with him on my biceps. I sadly had to turn him
down and tell him that we would have to do it another time. Not unless he would help me write
this fourteen page ethnography. The gym is small actually but the equipment is really nice in
there. Printed in white capital letters on the small twenty five pound dumbbell is Bloomsburg
University with a burgundy and white husky dog on the side. I see that Bloomsburg invest wisely
on their equipment. And they take their equipment really serious. One of the starting running
backs for Bloomsburg University dropped a seventy five pound dumbbell to the ground. It
startled all of the athletes in the gym. Without hesitation coach Darragh yelled “Hey does your
tuition pay for broken equipment” I couldn’t help but to laugh at him but luckily he didn’t see me
because he probably would have been upset with me.
Football practice for the seniors gets really intense. Seniors are competing at their top
level to show National Football League scouts who are watching a piece of their action. Noting
but hard hitting action, brutal blows delivered upon every single hit. After every collision I
noticed that the athletes would get up and shake hands and smack each other hard on the butt
“wheeww good hit baby let’s do it again” , “you gotta come harder than that bro if you want to
show the scouts something come on now”. I found the trash talk pretty amusing actually. After
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everything that the seniors did during practice no matter what it was they helped each other and
they built off of the player mistakes. Congratulating each other, helping each other up off the
ground, and even wiping the little turf seeds off of the shoulder pads it was great. One National
football league scout came over to talk to a wide receiver. As I tried to come in a bit closer to
sort of listen to what he was saying I heard him say that he like how well the guys where
working together as a unit and you guys are like family out there. I smiled from ear to ear
because I said to myself I knew I wasn’t the only one who noticed this. The wide receiver name
was Kyle fisher. He is Caucasian receiver who stands 6 feet tall, who can sprint forty yards in
four point four seconds flat.
So far I think your ethnography was a good read. It captured the mood of not only a
football player but the team as a whole from an individual standpoint. It displayed good detail
and information. As you started describing the coaches I was curious to which team they
coached, but as I read on I assumed they were the head coaches of the Bloomsburg University
football team. Try to work on transition sentences but other than that the ethnography is being
established well. Looking forward to seeing it finished.
AUSTEN
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Bronies Ethnography Proposal
By: Cassandra McMillen
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Introduction:
Have you ever been browsing around the internet and come across the word ‘brony’;
perhaps you heard it in conversation, perhaps you never heard of it until now. I happened to be
introduced to bronies though two of my brothers. Both of which happen to be bronies,
themselves. A brony is a male, typically between the ages of 13 and 35, who watches the show
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. This is the fourth generation of My Little Pony and is
aimed toward the audience of young girls. The name brony comes from a portmanteau of "bro"
and "pony". I am very curious as to why bronies enjoy and watch My Little Pony. It matters to
me because it’s something my family is part of and because it’s all over the world. Bronies are
found in many different nations. It is a global phenomenon.
Plan:
The first thing I’m going to do is observe a few bronies, namely my brothers Chris and
Justin, watching My Little Pony. I’m going to see how they interact with each other while
watching the show. I’m also going to take note of the parts they seem to enjoy the most. During
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this time I’ll describe the theme of the show, mention the main characters and explain the
episodes we watch.
The next thing I will do is interview Chris and Justin together about the show. We will
have a group discussion about favorite parts of the show and favorite characters. We will discuss
whether the show is better when watched with friends or by themselves. I will also inquire about
the new developments with the show.
Then I plan on taking pictures of all the things around that involve the show. A few
examples are the miniature pony figures, t-shirts, artwork, the fan-made game they have, and
whatever other little things I find or am shown. Chris is an artist so he has a lot of paintings of
the characters from the show.
The next thing I will do is individual interviews. I will ask general questions to both of
them about ‘how you were introduced to the show’. ‘What do they think of the Brony fan base?’
‘Do you know anything about what Hasbro thinks of the Brony population?’ I will also ask
specific questions like ‘Justin, does being a Brony have an effect on your high school life?’
‘Chris, why do you paint ponies, and do you have any themes that go along with this artwork?’ I
will allow open answers and if they say something that intrigues me I will ask more questions
about it.
Next I will watch the show again with them and engage in more conversation. I will learn
more about the show and ask more questions. I will also invite someone who is not a brony to
watch the show and see what they think of it. After my non-brony friend has watched the show I
will interview them and see ‘would they continue to watch the show, why or why not?’. Then
ask what he thinks of the brony population.
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After all this is down I will go online to the forums and news websites. I will browse and
write down whatever seems relevant and I will research a little on the creators of my little pony. I
will try to contact someone involved with the creating on the show and see what they think of the
bronies.
Then I will watch the documentary created about bronies. Hopefully I will absorb all its
information and compare their research to mine and use some of their information in my
ethnography. It was created for film festivals so I have to purchase it online but it is a worthy
buy.
After all this is done I am going to sit down with my research and get everything
organized. If I have any new or unanswered questions I will try to dig deeper into it through the
internet or my informants. Then hopefully I will have all the information I need to write a 16
page paper.
The reason I chose to do an ethnography on bronies is because one, it’s something my
family is a part of, and two, it’s strange. It’s not every day you hear about adult males liking little
girl shows and it’s not pedophilic. It is interesting to wonder why they watch the show My Little
Pony: Friendship is Magic. Perhaps it is a way to bond with others. Maybe it really is all about
how friendship is magic. Bronies are all around the world and chances are you will meet or seen
one. You might even be one; you just haven’t taken the time to see the show yet.
Overall I enjoyed your proposal. I got my attention as soon as I read the first sentence.
From the looks of things it sounds like you have a well-developed plan on how you do your
research. To me it seems pretty interesting quite frankly. How you will gather your research
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sounds like it’s going to be a lot of work, but I believe you can do it. When did the bronies first
come about?
Gertrude Kibagendi
Dr. House
English 101
6 March 2013
Kenyan Culture
Kenyan culture is an African culture like no other. There are many interesting things that
happen in this culture that one would like to discover as well as learn more about. This culture is
definitely a culture that one should look into.
I would first talk about the history of Kenya. I’ll go into heavy into detail about how the
country got its independence as well as talk about how the country is as a whole. After talking
about the history of Kenya, I will then talk about its location. This includes talking about the
different climate change in certain areas of the country and why Kenya is the way it is because of
its location. Once I talk about the location of the country, I will talk about the population of the
country and the ethnic make-up of the country. One would be very surprised as to how many
different ethnic groups are in the Kenyan culture. From there I will start talking about the many
different languages the country contains. Most will be surprised that Kenya has a total of 62
languages in it even though the official languages of the country are Swahili and English. After
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talking about the language, I will go heavy into detail about the people of this culture. This
includes talking about their family values, religious beliefs and just their way of living. In
addition to this, I will also talk about how heavily the Kenyan people are involved with politics
in this country. This includes talking about how certain involvements with politics in this country
turn out very dangerous and deadly. With all this background information on Kenya, I hope to
accomplish one simple goal; to get a better understanding of the Kenyan culture and spread more
information to others who are interested about learning more about the country as well.
Research on Kenyan culture is very important to me for many reasons. The main
reason as to why it is so important to me is because I am of Kenyan decent. I love my culture
dearly but I hate the stereotypes that most create just because it is an African culture. I want to
shine a light on the many successful things that happen in Kenya and show others that not every
African is infested with AIDS and not everyone is beyond poor. It is also important to me
because I simply want to learn more about my country. I was not born there but my parents were.
I think it’s very special that my brother and I are first generation Kenyans in my family that were
born in the United States. I want to learn more so I can pass down many stories and legacies
down the road and hopefully they get shared from generation to generation.
I have framed certain questions of inquiry for my research by simply asking myself what
more would I like to know about my country. I also asked myself what more would I like others
to know about my country so that they can have a better understanding as well. I will start the
research as soon as possible and I will research on the internet as well as talk to my family more
about our culture. I already know a fair amount about this culture since I am of Kenyan decent
but I know there are still things that I don’t nor do not understand about this culture that I want to
understand.
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I will collect my data in many ways about the Kenyan culture. First and foremost, I will
talk about what I already know. I will go heavy into detail about my visit to Kenya and how my
parents instilled many Kenyan beliefs and way of living in me. I will also talk about why
Kenyans believe in certain things that they do because of their religion. I will then collect more
information from my grandmothers. My grandmothers are the head of my huge family and they
are the backbones as well. They have been through so much since both of my grandfathers
passed away so I know that their stories will help this paper simply because they have been
around longer than most and I can get honest facts as well as opinions from them. After talking
to my grandmothers, I will then collect more information from my parents. They were actually
born in Kenya and they have so many stories as well as knowledge that I know will help me with
this research paper. Their words of wisdom will definitely impact the style of my research paper
heavily simply because they are my parents and I know they will be honest about how they
handled the transition of being in Kenya then coming to the United States to start a new life for
their future family.
After getting information from my parents, I will then talk to my uncles, aunts, cousins
and family friends. They will also have many different stories for me as well as how easy or hard
it was to leave Kenya and start brand new in the United States. Once I gather my information
from my family, I will go to library and gather even more information from books and possibly
newspaper articles. I will also look for more information online and compare and contrast what
the internet says to what my family members say. My research connects to the wider community
and what others have written and said about it in many ways. This culture has become well
known because our president is half Kenyan so most want to know more about it.
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As you can see, Kenyan culture is an African culture like no other. There are many thing
that people assume about this culture simply because they do not know anything about it, With
plenty of research and dedication, most will know more about this culture than they could ever
imagine
After reading your proposal I liked it overall. It sounds like you are very excited about
your culture and you want to look deeper into it. I believe that with the information that you say
you are going to gather will show that this culture is what you say “Kenyan culture is an African
culture like no other”. Overall I am impressed with this proposal. Only minor little advice I
would give you is to try to grab your reader attention make your reader want get excited like you
are about your culture.