Jessica Steen

August 19, 2015

English 111

Critical Thinking Journal  #1

    “Opposition brings concord out of discord comes the fairest harmony”, is a magnificent quote by the one and only pre-Socratic Greek philosopher; Heraclitus of Ephesus. Heraclitus was born in 500 BCE and was self- taught. His main inspiration was Mother Nature. The meaning of his quote is that there is positives and negatives in life that comes together to create harmony. Since he was self-taught and had nobody to learn from, we can count that as a negative. The positive is that he became well educated on his own, which crated harmony within himself. He was looked up to, and was extremely inspirational to others. An example from my own personal experience would be when somebody wrecked into the front bumper of my car. That was the negative part of the situation. The positive part was that I needed a new bumper anyway. I was lucky that the person did not just hit my car and leave because I would have been in huge trouble. Like Heraclitus’s quote, both the positives and negatives came together to form harmony.

 

                                         Works Cited

"Heraclitus." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 4 Dec 2014. Web. 26 Aug. 2015

 

 

 

Jessica Steen

October 13, 2015

English 111

Critical Thinking Journal #2

        Paulo Coelho has written, “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.” Paulo was born in Brazil on August 24, 1944. (Wikipedia, 2015) He is a famous lyricist and novelist, still to this day. As a teenager, he always wanted to become a writer, but his parents did not want that from him. They wanted him to follow his father’s footsteps and become an engineer. As a punishment, Paulo’s parents put him in a mental institution which he had escaped on a count of three times before he turned the age of twenty. Later after that, he attended law school as his parents wanted him to, and he left his path to writing. About a year later, he quit law school and finally pursued his dreams as a writer and lyricist. (Wikipedia, 2015) His quote applies to him, because he set the example by following his dreams and did not let other people’s opinions affect him in any sort of way. This quote personally applies to the real world on the daily. People will always try to tell others that they cannot do something, or that they are not good enough for things. Their opinion should not make us change our ways, and we should set good examples for others teaching them that everyone has their own life to be lived.

 

                                  Works Cited

"Paulo Coelho." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 Nov 2015. Web. 30 Aug. 2015

                         

 

Jessica Steen

October 13, 2015

English 111

Critical Thinking Journal Entry #3

    “Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it.”- William Penn. William Penn was famous in his time for discovering the Province of Pennsylvania, and also the British North American colony. He was born October 14, 1644 and had passed away on July 30, 1718. (Tolles)  He had influenced the constitution very much so by setting various democratic principles. He had become a Quaker at the age of twenty two, obeying God and practicing his “inner-light.” (Tolles) According to Tolles, Penn was put into jail four times for writing out his beliefs.  William’s quote can relate back these times when he was put into jail for writing about Quaker life. He is referring to Justice as the laws, and how he still had faith for what he believed in, even though he paid the consequences.  An example from my own personal experience is a time when one of my nonreligious friends asked me if I was a Christian. I wasn’t going to lie just to impress him and say that I was not. Instead, I told the truth and said that I was. He could have dropped me as a friend, or judged me, but instead he did not. We all have our own believes, and not everyone will fall into the same exact path. It is up to own selves to stick up for what we believe in, no matter the consequences.

                                   Works Cited

Tolles, Frederick B. "William Penn: English Quaker leader and Colonist." 1 Feb.
     2015. 13 Oct. 2015 <http://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Penn-English-Quaker-leader-and-colonist>.

 

           

 

 

Jessica Steen

October 27, 2015

English 111

Critical Thinking Journal #4

 

            Richard Taylor first went to college to study religion, and was enlisted in the Navy soon after Pearl Harbor. On his free time, he enjoyed reading books on Philosophy. He soon discovered that he was interested in Philosophy, and decided to go to school for it. (Madigan) Taylor wrote, “All men are fatalists as they look back on things." A fatalist means that a person does not take action in a difficult situation. This quote is saying that men do not take action to change the future, they just think of it like the past, and it cannot be changed to them. This applies to his life, because he first went to school to study religion, but he ended up changing his mind to the navy, all the way to philosophy. He always seemed to be reading or learning about Philosophy while he was involved with religion and the Navy. We see in the interview with Taylor and Madigan that Taylor is asked if determinism or fatalism will change his ways of life. He responds saying that people blamed God for the 9/11 attack, but they still prayed harder and went to church afterwards. (Madigan) They were fatalists, because they did nothing to change the future before the 9/11 attack, but then realized that they needed God and started to go to church again. From my own observation, I know of somebody who lived by this quote. They applied for a job, and they were supposed to call the store back about getting a job interview. They ended up being too stubborn and did not ever call them back. They took no action to change their future. They never got the job.

 

                                       Works Cited

Taylor, Richard. Personal Interview. Philosophy Now Journal

 

Jessica Steen

November 13, 2015

English 111

Critical Thinking Journal #5

 

            Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan. At the age of 16, he found the interest of work as a machinist in the city of Detroit. (History)  He then returned to Dearborn three years later to help his family on their farm, but in his spare time operated on steam engines. In 1903, Ford established the Ford Motor Company as well as the first Model T vehicle. (History) Henry Ford once said, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, either way, you’re right." This quote is saying that people’s mindset is what controls them. If someone were to believe in themselves that they could do something, they could do it. If a person has a negative mindset, they will not try to succeed, which makes them fail. This quote applies to Ford in a very powerful way. Henry Ford did not just make the Model T and succeeded on the first try. He learned by trial and error. (History) He believed that he could do it, and sure enough he did. His industry has become worldwide to this day. Not only Ford is used, but other brands as well have chained off from its main source. We use vehicles to get around on the daily. I can think of a time from my own observation when this quote applied to me. I was in a Pharmacy Technician class in the eleventh grade, and I was having a huge test that determined my registration. I told myself that I would pass. I made sure that I would pass by studying every single day. I ended up passing the test. If I did not pass this test I would not be a licensed Pharmacy Technician. I kept a positive mindset that I would perform well and that is what helped me pass.

 

                                       Works Cited

“Henry Ford”. History.com. A+E Networks, 2009. Web. 13 November 2015 < http://www.history.com/topics/henry-ford >

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jessica Steen

August 31, 2015

English 111

Reading Literacy Narrative

 

    As a child, my mom read to me often. At least every day she would read some type of book to me on the couch. I have no children, but I do have a nine year old brother that I read to. In my past reading experiences I tended to skim through reading directions, but whenever it came to books I read word to word. I have never been taught specific reading or text apprehension and comprehension strategies such as SQ4R or others that I know of. My experience as a reader is very educated. I read chapter books as well as magazines. I used to listen to audiobooks in middle school, but I do not now. I do know ways of acquiring audio books. You can buy them on the app store on iPhones. Reading well was extremely important to my success in middle/high school. Without knowing how to read, I would not be educated as I am today. Based on my past experiences, my expectations about the role that reading well will play in my success in college is high. I can read well, and I’m hoping it will stay that way. I have no diagnosed reading difficulties such as dyslexia or text tracking/visual processing difficulties.