Here is your blog topic for Unit #2. Responses are due by October 14, 2010.Read the short articles related to study skills using the links below. You must respond critically to BOTH articles. Provide a critical review of the articles and your personal opinion. Feel free to use real-life examples or experiences that you can connect to the topics being explored. You may also post any additional information that you have found, explaining why you believe it is important.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E0D81F3BF934A35752C1A96F958260
A note about the second article: Think about how a learning disability, such as Autism or Asperger Syndrome would affect an adult trying to learn in a post-secondary environment.
Asperger Syndrome
ReplyDeleteMy feelings towards this are that of sympathetic but there are many ailments people deal with on a regular basis. A.S. people such as Danny are intellectual but not social. This will remain a problem in his life forever. He will have to adjust in an environment that is suitable for him. Employers will not except erratic behavior just because you have a problem. Part of it is the fact that they come across as normal people because it is a hidden impairment. I think makes it harder to accept. Although when you have someone at your workplace or school that is allergic to peanuts, no one is allowed to bring anything with peanuts in it. Many places today post signs saying you cannot wear any fragrances due someone being allergic. So we as a society due make accommodations for certain people, Maybe Danny needs to find an employer that will accept his condition and respect his intelligence. His other personality traits such as being honest and trustworthy are two very important qualities I’m sure some employer will welcome. So if Danny doesn’t want to make coffee at work it should be ok. If he’s living on his own and he can’t do groceries or by things than his mother should do it for him. I think Danny would be a good employee for anyone. He just needs someone to accept his condition. We accept other peoples conditions why not his.
New York Times
ReplyDeleteBlackboard: Q&A Response
Use it or lose it. I believe this statement is somewhat discouraging as people have to use your brain no matter what every day. I myself have been employed in factory work for 27 years. My brain was an active muscle continuously. You had to pay attention to so many dangerous situations, set up machinery, and operate machinery. We used all kinds of hazardous chemicals that you had to be very aware of and how to use them. Reading was a part of our daily routine. I believe you can learn new things every day. Life is a learning experience. Rats not being taught anything in a cage doesn’t compare to a human being who has to get up every day and deal with life. There is many more sources of gaining intelligence than reading. Even TV can be a learning tool. There are visual learners, auditory learners and kinaesthetic. We all have a different way of absorbing information. Adult learners have the luxury of life experiences but they may have more things on their minds. Student learners have the luxury of going from secondary school to post secondary school immediately. I think intelligence is based on the individual and how far much they want to push themselves. I have a very close friend that is a psychologist and that is just what he told me. We all have the intelligence. You just have to apply it
Blackboard: Q.&A.
ReplyDeleteThe first article attempts to answer whether adults can learn as easily as children. Dr. Gould refers to children's brains as much more plastic, making them form more synaptic connections. The use of the word plastic as an adjective was a poor choice and the example caused confusion instead of clarification. The example with the nerve cells in lab rats felt out of place in an article about humans. The “use it or lose it” theory makes sense but it would have had more impact if described differently. Dr. Lerner states: "Children try to tell you what they think you want to hear instead of what they really think." Thinking back on my own childhood, I have to agree with this statement. However, it is unclear whether this is helpful or detrimental to learning. Dr. Lerner also said that successful adult learners learn for their own pleasure. I disagree with this statement because every adult learner that I know has been forced to pursue a new skilled trade or career due to unemployment or injuries. The end of the article suggests that age doesn’t matter because it’s all about the attitude and willingness to learn. This final statement made all of the preceding examples and arguments seem completely pointless. I personally thought that the article as a whole was unorganized and felt like a waste of time. It would have been more interesting if its concluding argument was its opening argument and it expanded on that idea.
Asperger syndrome: ‘Bosses say I’m not a team player’
ReplyDeleteThe second article does a good job of putting the reader in the shoes of the subject with details about how difficult school and work life is for Danny. The mother’s viewpoint succeeds in creating the feeling of helplessness. She wasn’t given sufficient advice from the psychologist to properly address the problem, only being told that her son was very intelligent but had poor social skills. The examples about making coffee and being too honest give good information on workplace etiquette in general. Danny doesn’t seem to understand these intricacies as was evidenced by his outburst. This informative article portrays the daily struggles of Danny and other people suffering from AS very well. Uninformed readers will gain an accurate insight towards the syndrome and the behaviour associated with it. My opinion of the entire situation may not be popular, but you asked for it so you’re going to get it. Danny should only be allowed to work in an isolated environment with as little direct human contact as possible. Leave him with his math and science books and The Corrs in his own office but keep him away from the general public. If this seems harsh, I had a work colleague who acted in a similar manner. I don’t know if he had Asperger’s, Autism or any other diagnosed illness but his violent outbursts and rude behaviour left me angry and frustrated almost every day. There were many heated arguments between our entire assembly line because of him and it resulted in an unhealthy work environment and loss of productivity. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a heartless bastard and I do sympathize with Danny and other AS sufferers, but this would be the best solution to the problem.
The link to the second article has changed. It can now be found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/men_shealth/3355543/Asperger-syndrome-Bosses-say-Im-not-a-team-player.html
ReplyDeleteRufus
ReplyDeleteAsperger Syndrome
I believe maybe you are being a little harsh. Many people in society today have some kind of impairment such as ADHD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and others. We can’t just push aside people just because they are not perfect. We do not live in a perfect world. I too worked with many people over the years that really upset people or disrupted our production. That is why we have people in positions such as supervisors and upper management to deal with those types of situations. I know it can be frustrating to deal with but that’s just life.