Summary for Chapter 1

Writing is a process of figuring out what you think, not an already developed thought.  Writers who are experienced will work on three writing stages: planning, drafting, and revising.  When you are done with those three important stages you may have to go back to all the stages and develop more ideas.
If you are going to write a draft, the best thing to do is to think about your subject while listening to music or driving to work.  While you are coming up with ideas, jot them down.  Also, be thinking about how to catch your audiences attention while doing so.
I am going to start jotting down ideas in sections such as: planning, drafting and revising.  Right now, I am just doing the planning section.  Also, the drafting and revising stages are very important to become a better writer.  I believe this will help me develop better writing strategies which in turn will help my over all writing skills.

Superman and Me

A "smart Indian" is dangerous because they are feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians.  They are expected to be submissive.  Indian children were expected to fail in the non-Indian world.  The children would stay quiet in the class room; with their head down.  The children that failed were ceremonially accepted by other Indians and pitied on by non-Indians.  This really sad because these children were forced to not learn.  If they did, they would be reprimaned for it.  It was not the norm to want to learn to read.  Children want to be accepted by others so they just followed the tradition.
A smart Indian would be considered dangerous to everyone because they would be fighting with classmates on a daily basis and  they would stand up to The non-Indian teachers.  This was not good because they were expected to be stupid and submissive. This was their way of life.  Nobody disobeyed the traditions.  Children are innocent and all they really want is to be excepted by their peers. So, most children didn't challenge that tradition.
The little boy refused to fail.  He was smart.  He was arrogant.  He was lucky.  He read books every minute of everyday where he had free time. He wanted to be smart.  As he says "I am trying to save my life". He is amazing!  This little boy was determined to make something of himself, which he did. He knew that reading is the foundation of all education.  He also grew up to help all other children.  He knows the true meaning of reading is our foundation to our future and  we are all very fortunate to have not grown up on the Indian children reservation.  After reading this, it makes me feel very fortunate for my life:-) 

Rules For Writers chapter 46

The main ideas  I found in this chapter are read actively, jotting down questions and thoughts in the margrins.  Using a pencil instead of a highlighter that way you can underline key points and circle them.  If you need to go back you can go back and erase.  The other main point is after reading, rereading and annotating a text, try and outline it.  Draw a sketch and as you are drawing, pay attention to the texts central idea (thesis) and it's topic sentences.  The thesis is usually in the first or second paragraph.

I am definitely going to try using a pencil instead of a highlighter.  I started trying this while I was reading this chapter.  It actually worked out very well for me.  I was able to erase if needed and circle key points if needed.  I also love the sketching idea because this is the best way for me to learn.  I am a visual learner so sketching works great for me:-)  I started drawing pictures in my book to help me visualize during this chapter.  I really enjoyed this excercise. 

It's funny because I usually don't like writing but I have really been enjoying these excercises.

Freewrite Questions Assignment

A freewrite to me is just a writing that you start jotting down what you are thinking about and not stopping.  You have no rules such as grammar or punctuation or anything for that matter. You just type and don't stop typing.  That is your only requirement.  It's a pretty easy thing to do.
Freewrite is meant to fascilitate stronger skills.  It's a very easy task and I really enjoy it.  If you do it on a regular basis, most of your writing will become much better through rewriting.  The good stuff you write will become better than any other method you use.
I found it very suprising that just writing jibberish really does help your writing skills.  I find it fascinating because I'm not a good writer, but my mind goes very fast so it should really help me get stuff down fast. So, in turn will help my writing skills:-)

Introduction Dialogue

Hi,

My name is Dina Dodd.  I am 40 years old.  I grew up in Novato, California.  I earned my Associates Degree at Heald Business College in 1998.  I have been a stay at home mom of 5 children for the past 10 years and ready to start a new career as an Licensed Vocational Nurse. 
English is very challenging for me.  I am not a good writer and I don't like writing.  I am hoping that as the class progresses, I will become a better writer; enojoying it more.  I am a visual learner, so I draw a lot to help me understand questions or problems.  I like to get assignments done way ahead of time so I don't have to worry about doing them later. 
I am very excited about taking this class because it means I am one step closer to applying into the nursing program.  Also, I hope my like for writing increases as the class progresses.  I have a lot of interaction with kids and not adults, so I may have a lot to say:-)  I am looking forward to working with all of you.

Dina Dodd