Kelly+Krevey's+Reading+Response

EnReading Responses
September 5, 2011

My Freshman Year (Pages 1-40)

 * I'm not one for reading but I believe this book is interesting and fun to read. In Chapter 1 she mostly talks about how she will go about her research. Before she began her research she came up with a bunch of questions about college students and why they do the things they do. She figured the only way to figure it out is to become one. So she started by sending in her transcripts from high school. She was then accepted as an in coming freshman at "AnyU", the university where she is a professor. She even went as far as putting thought into what to wear the first day but because of her age/the way she looks she was mistaken as a mother a couple times. She decided to attend Welcome Week in order to meet new people and learn the campus (even though she thought she knew it). Welcome Week and Orientation Week is where I got to know most of my friends I now have in college. I got to know them from hall meetings and the different activities they had planned, so I believe she had the right idea. In the book she did say that through all the information thrown at her she was overwhelmed (and she has previously taught there for 14 years!) and I feel most freshmen are. She mentioned that sports helped her gain acceptance into the dorm. I believe it was harder for her to gain acceptance because she looked/was older. Towards the end of Chapter 1 she claims that though she's done research on a medium sized college what she found may not be true for every undergraduate student. She does say almost any college student can agree that many students regularly sleep until noon, but from the five interviews I completed every student was up by nine thirty. So I would have to disagree. Her second chapter is about dorm life. The first thing that struck her was the amount of "stuff" students pile in their dorms. Not going to lie between my room mate and I we had barely enough space to walk when we were settling in. She quickly starts to record EVERYTHING. She takes notes on flyers, bulletin boards, bathrooms, photos, common areas, calendars, RAs and much more! She noticed doors were often decorated with pictures, text, and quotes to express personality and expression. She came to a conclusion that women's doors are mostly decorated with the themes of friends and love while guys are more about violence, politics, cartoons, and humor. As classes started she realized most of the student's life was behind their doors only when she did interviews or collected diaries from students was she able to notice patterns. For the majority she noticed everyone had their own schedules and changed occurred a lot. People tend to drop or pick up classes, change majors, drop a sport or club because they don't have enough time, or even change where they live because they have a variety to choose from. In my personal experience there is just so many options and things you want to try or do but there is never enough time to do it all.**

**On Ethnography (Pages 1-26)**

 * I believe On Ethnography was difficult to read. In the beginning they take terms such as language, grammar, literacy, and define them using words or phrases that I'm not familiar with. I feel that if you are going to define a word for someone you should be able to put it into simple terms everyone can understand. In the reading they determine the different patterns across language and societies and how they are forever changing as an individual grows older. I have to agree with this statement because as you get older you gain more experience, get an identity, and take on different roles. I liked how the book takes culture to another level and how it is more than one associated group. It explains how just because you have the same national boundaries as someone you still will have differences, like where you migrated from or what religious group you belong to. In the text it states that formal education systems looked to reading and writing as key marks of individual power and status. I agree with this statement because any leader we have in this country has to have the skills to write and give a professional speech. This book over all gives insight to why we need to continuously update and expand certain methods.**

September 13, 2011

My Freshman Year (Pages 41-66)

 * I enjoy reading this book. It really makes me think about my freshman year. Chapter 3 talks all about community and how students are more private and would rather do things individually than as a community. It talks about mandatory meetings and how only 7 people show up or even big events like the superbowl, where everyone can come together to enjoy the game and some food but hardly anyone does. They would rather sit in their own rooms with a selected few friends and watch. One thing that really shocked me was the floor lounges acting as an escape. I always thought of them as a good study space. But as I thought about it really the only time I used it to study was when I couldn't concentrate in my room. I feel the urge to sit in the lounge and really ask people why they decided to use the lounge. She talks about dorm life and how you become close with those you life with rather than the friends you meet in class. I believe this is true. All my friends I hung out with freshman year is all the girls I lived within the hall. We did everything together. We had dinner together, watched movies together in our rooms, we went to some events on campus together, we sometimes did homework together, we visited each other's houses, and much more. She then started talking about newest dormitories being built as a suite style because more people favored having their own room and not sharing a communal bathroom. This is my second year living in a dorm but many sophomores they decided to move out. They too favored apartment styled housing. Enjoying the comfort of their own bedroom, a common area, a kitchen and a bathroom who you only have to share with a few other people. In the end of the chapter she went on about diversity. I believe she threw so many statistics out, like "only 4 of 489 white males, fewer than 1 percent, ate with (only) males of different ethnicity, but 31 ate in different or mixed ethnic groups in which women were present." that it became hard to follow them all.**

September 15th 2011

September 19th 2011
 * My Freshman Year (Pages 67-89) **
 * Chapter 4 is about relationships and students of different ethnicities coming to the American University called AnyU. A Majority of the students she talks about feels like the American culture doesn’t make sense. They feel like Americans go to college just for the grade and not to make friends. They also feel as though American’s aren’t as hospitable as their people are. I feel like these students are right. In fact after many of my classes everyone is rushing out! I never really stopped to ask myself, why?!?! To get to another class? To meet up with friends? Do they have plans to go somewhere? In the text it states that having a hobby makes it easier to make friends. This is true. Think of your friends today, the majority of them probably share the same interests. Some international students bring up some good questions about Americans and the way we socialize, act in class, and even about our class content. Some of these questions really made me stop and think, why do we do that? Why are cultures so different in the way we do things? Why does it seem American is so relaxed and open when it comes to education? Why can’t other country’s have the type of freedom or choice as we do? **

= **On Ethnography (Pages 27-47)** =
 * This section is about ethnography and ethnographers. It states that Ethnographers want to know “what is happening here in the field site(s) I have chosen”. As we carry out our Clue projects we act as ethnographers. We take notes on what we observe, take pictures and map out the area, and ask people about their daily schedules. Also the text also mentioned, “Once in the field, the ethnographer keeps this information in mind while observing, listening, and recording” I keep in mind everything we talk about in class and try to do the same (evaluate) why and what people are doing. This also gives me ideas and hints on what to focus on or really think about while I am observing. Another main point in the text talks about going “beyond preconceptions about a particular group or situation”. One must have an open mind and must observe not automatically assume something.**
 * Over all I believe this chapter was easier to read and understand than the first section. It gave me a better understanding of what to do or what questions to ask myself while I collect my data. **

September 24th 2011 = On Ethnography (68-82) =

=

 * This section of Enthnography talks about considerations and questions you must ask yourself when doing research. One thing they mention in the text, a "critical friend", caught my attention. They claimed that enthnographers may as a "critical friend" to comment on their questiosn, validity of the approach, feasibility of actuallity of "finding out" such things. This is something we do in class and on our own. We share different ideas and observations in class to help draw conclusions on our data. (Two minds are better than one!) I was confused in the section labeled Disrupt Dichotomies. Just as mentioned in On Ethnography we also keep our data we collected on our computer/wikis. In addition we often refer back to our data to draw conclusions.**=====
 * Back**