"I Have a Dream"

Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech “I Have a Dream” is a speech we all can never forget. Even though maybe we weren’t even born when this occurred, this speech has still put an impact on us. When he gave this speech this was a time when blacks and whites were not equal. He was willing to step up there and fight for what he believed in. He talked about how we should all be equal and blacks should be set free. Our country represents freedom; at this time it was really only the whites that were truly experiencing what it meant to be free. This was a time when blacks had to sit in the back of the bus and whites sat in the front. There was a strong racial tension and it took a lot of courage for him to go up there and use words that had meaning to what he was saying. The way he spoke made his speech so much powerful. You could tell by the way he was speaking that there was a meaning behind it. He gave the speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, which I think it was a good place because it’s in Washington representing the president to make a change. His speech was such a great example that even my communication referenced him in my class. My teacher told us look at the energy and emotion he has. If he had been motionless, the speech probably wouldn’t have been as affective.

This speech was trying to persuade people that we are all equal and we should all be treated as equal. This speech did later on make this happen, but it wasn’t for a while till things started actually turning around. Probably back then, the white people were stubborn and weren’t going to change their minds for anything. So his speech probably wasn’t affective towards that audience. He did give the African Americans the strength and courage they needed to keep pushing onward. You could tell by the audience applause that they were all for him and they all wanted to be free. At this point they didn’t really care what it took in order to be set free so they started to be a little rebellious. His speech did have an impact on them and it had an impact on me. Even though I wasn’t born when this occurred I could still feel the emotion from his speech. I never thought that we shouldn’t be equal, but if I did his speech would have definitely persuaded me. His language and the confidence in his voice showed you that he was confident. He wanted for him and his people to have freedom in the United States. I respect him for all his hard work and determination for what he did. He was willing to risk all he had, which he did, in order to have this country equal freedom and rights. I don’t have to worry about racial tension in restaurants or anywhere else, which is a great feeling.

Living Being Illiterate

      

Illiteracy, meaning that you cannot read or write. Imagine yourself being a single parent and you do not know how to read or write. How would you be able to function as a parent without having these two main functions? How would you be able to take care of your child without being able to read or write? In the future, will the child follow in your footsteps? A lot of people over think literacy. Some people probably don’t even know what it means to be illiterate. These people have to overcome so much and we probably don’t even know who these people are. Someone might be able to graduate college with having this problem, but it is a difficult task to over come.


Imagine being a single parent and raising a young child with this disability. They won’t be able to read books to understand what to expect from a young child. The Parent magazines will be useless to them because they don’t know how to read. How is a parent supposed to raise a child properly without having extra knowledge to lean on? I am not saying they can’t be a good parent, but they have to over come so many more obstacles. They might have to go to a parenting class and listen to an instructor very closely. They can’t write anything down, so what they hear is all they will get. When they are teaching their child, how are they supposed to teach them to read and write if they can’t even do it themselves? Does the child simply not catch on and they follow their parent’s footsteps? Once again there are still ways for the child to be successful in school, but it could be a little more costly. The parent may have to hire a tutor to teach their child and help with their homework. There are plenty of ways for the parent to be a successful parent, but it may be a little more difficult compared to some people who have these skills already.


Now, imagine being a college student, like us right now. You wouldn’t be able to read my blog right now or even write your own. These students wouldn’t be able to read their textbook or even write their own homework. These students have to go the extra mile and have someone read their textbook to them and have someone write their homework while they tell them what to say. We like to complain and dread doing our homework and reading the book imagine how frustrated they must feel that they can’t even read it. We should be thankful that we have the ability to read and write and take advantage of these abilities. So when we hear time to read, don’t dread it and feel thankful and excited to use our abilities.

People don’t take illiteracy so seriously, like it’s not a big issue. It is a difficult thing to over come, but it is possible with hard work and time. These people have learned to function without being able to read or write, who knows maybe your classmate has this disability and we don’t even know it. When you hear that someone can’t read or write don’t always assume they are stupid, you never know they might be the next Bill Gates.

Critical Thinking

My personal meaning of critical thinking is a deeper thought of thinking. So instead of just spending no time on thinking, you look deeply into what your thoughts are. You look into the meaning of what you are trying to understand. You simply don't just accept the information you want a more detailed answer.When I'm reading something, I sometimes think deeper into what they are saying, it can actually cause me to read longer or slower. I read sentences over and over until I feel like I have a full understanding of what they are trying to say. Sometimes I can't even figure out what the point of the sentence was, but when you look deeper into it you realize there is a meaning.

When it comes to personal habits I would say I use critical thinking a lot when it comes to a conversation. I pretty much have the conversation planned out. I already have answers ready for what questions they ask. If I think a conversation will turn bad I prepare myself for a good response or I simply avoid that conversation. When I play softball I think critical, each and every play I think about what I have to do if the ball was hit to me. If I'm batting I think okay outside pitch I do this and inside I do this. In politics, I don't use it only because I'm not strong in politics and don't really care about what he or she said. I don't like to dig deeper in what the politicians are telling me I simply just accept the information. When the media comes into play I try to understand of what they are trying to say. In some cases there is a hidden message of what they are trying to get us to believe. My educational work there is also critical thinking involved because I always want to make sure I complete my work to the fullest and I don't try to take short cuts, I find these get you no where. I had to use critical thinking skills when it came to my communication class. I had to well prepare my speech based on the audience relevance. If your speech wasn't relevant to the class, the class most likely didn't care and your speech wasn't successful. I had to make sure my speech wouldn't offend anybody because you never know if someone's values will be put down. On a professional level I wouldn't really know only because I haven't had a job before but I would imagine you would always have to think about your actions before you act, so that does require critical thinking.

By the end of this course I hope to be able to analysis writing a little better and make me a better reader. I sometimes become confused when reading something. So I hope to be able to understand things easier and overall just understand people and why they are the way they are. I hope to be able to take these skills from this course into the work field. When it comes to job applications and interviews I will be well prepared and be able to take on the difficult tasks that might come my way.