First blog for English 103

Wow! How do I start this? I have never blogged before and this is a first time for me. So here goes! I am a student at Antelope Valley College and taking English 103 this fall. To be more precise I am taking an English course that deals with critical thinking, reading, and writing. I guess I should start with what does critical thinking mean to me?

In my opinion critical thinking means analyzing the information, the argument, or whatever is being said for and against something and then deciding for yourself how you feel about it. Is the information correct? Do you believe it? Were credible sources used? These are common questions that you should be able to answer. I guess that I should say critical thinking is not just accepting everything you hear, see, or read at face value and accepting it to be true. We must be careful and weigh the facts before we make a judgement.

I, myself, have been guilty of being lax and not using my critical thinking skills often enough in my personal life. You know when you have done that when you make a stupid mistake and say to yourself, "Oh my God! What was I thinking?" I assure you that all of us are guilty of it and have done it more times than we care to admit. But for the most part, critical reading, writing, and thinking is a huge part of our life. We practice it all the time without being aware of it. An example would be, when we are involved in a conversation with a peer and decide whether or not we believe what they are saying without even thinking about it. We pick up on body language, gestures, and the tone of ones voice that give us clues and help us decide whether what they are telling us is true or not. I guess we could call it our bull shitting detector.

When reading it can be more difficult or trickier to determine if what we are reading is bull shit or not. There are ways that can help you determine whether what you are reading is bull shit or not. Things like diction, tone, and terms such as "always" or "never" can clue you in. You need to ask yourself questions such as, "Does the writer offer up any evidence to back up his statement?" "What exactly is the writer's motivation?" and "Does the statement or theory sound logical or believable?" Enough said about BS detecting, let us move on to something else.

I am excited and looking forward to participating in my new English class. I love school and look at it as an opportunity to improve upon myself. My children (who are grown and in college), think that I am a nerd because of my love for school and learning, but I do not care because I would rather be considered a smart nerd than an uneducated fool. My only hope that one day my children will come to look upon school in the same way that I do and teach their children the same. Anyway, my hopes in taking this English course is to improve upon my critical thinking skills, and one day earn my degree and become a college English teacher. That's it for now! See you later!