Blog 15

John Acito

Dr. Chandler

Eng. 3029

4/3/14

Short Analysis Essay

The objective of this assignment was to see not what was said, but how it was said. This study examines the current role of student loan debt and the cultural and societal aspects that affect student decisions. The purpose of this study is to see why it is accepted and socially normal to accrue debt to attain a college degree. This study also addresses pressures and fears of debt in life’s daily decisions.

My participant was a great person to interview for a bunch of different reasons; D is 1 of 4 kids to attend college in her family, she has a reference of an older sister who has gone through the college system, she recently graduated, she recently had to start paying back her loans, still lives at home and is on the cusp of trying to move out into the world on her own. These are all themes that I addressed in the interview and she more than met the needs for the research. The interview was done in her house at the kitchen table a setting that made her feel very comfortable.

When looking strictly at the language and how things were said, it seems like D didn’t want to admit to being stressed out in High School during college application time. When asked about this time she said,

“yea well it was a really high stress time for a lot of people in my grade but my goal was to not be stressed, I kind of, I kind of  wanted to go to a bigger school were as some of my colleagues applied to 4 plus schools or even 8 different schools, um , I decided to apply to just Rutgers and Temple, I didn’t do any extensive research really, I didn’t visit any of the schools.”

In this section her hesitation and lack of conviction didn’t make me believe she was stress free

during this big change in her life. She claims she tried to stay stress free but as soon as she states this she stuttered with “I kind of, I kind of”. This may be her gathering her thoughts for the next statement but there is more evidence that she was indeed stressed out during this time in her life. The main thing that adds to stress and anxiety is being unprepared on a subject. In D’s case they only thing she was certain of was that she wanted to go to a big school. She made the claim, “I didn’t do any extensive research really, I didn’t visit any of the schools” which shows that she may have been stressed out. The fact that she mentions her collegues applying to way more many schools than her may lend the notion that her collegues actions could be making her feel like an outsider for not applying to so many schools. In High School, imitation of your friends and peers is a big social pressure and although D does not come out and say it, the language and tone suggests these societal pressures may have weighed on her.

                Another example of how loan debt affected her choices was when I asked her, “did that fear of loan debt affect your choice of major or what field you went into?” She stutters a tiny bit in the beginning of her response but I think it was her wanting to answer truthfully. You could really tell she was carefully thinking when she gave her answer.

“uh um I a little bit, yes come to think of it. It didn’t affect me going to school but my parents weren’t going to pay for it and they made that pretty clear. I also didn’t get a job to save up, for like at least books or something, but to answer your question,  I always liked the sciences I was originally a bio major,  and I was pre-med cause I wanted to be a physician, so I was like uhh it doesn’t matter how many loans I’m going to take out I will make it back after med school. But that was never realized, but as time went on and I found a field I most liked, I looked into what was going to make the most money with that degree and I went into it with my masters.”

This passage reveals that at D’s core she was very concerned with financial security, her financial

future, and her ability to successfully pay back her loans after college. The fact that she brings up that her parents weren’t going to pay for school and that they made that clear, showed ome bitterness to the lack of help or support in attending college. This is an issue that many kids face in wanting to attend college. Earlier in the transcript she even shows this hopelessness when she says, “it was my only option that if I wanted to go to school.” Many kids feel taking out loans are their only options to attend college and sadly, it is the truth.  

                This excerpt also reveals the looming pressures of paying back student loans. She went into a pre-med program for two reasons, because she liked the sciences, and cause it would make enough money to pay back her loans. Accordingly, when she realized she wasn’t going to continue with her pursue of med school, her decision to change was also rooted in making sure she was financially stable enough after college to pay back her loans. She states,” I found a field I most liked, I looked into what was going to make the most money with that degree and I went into it.” This shows her trying to balance her interests with having enough future stability, a balance that many students struggle to achieve in today’s educational system.

                From a small dissection of the language D uses shows her fears, pressures, and stress associated with the college process. These are feelings that most students have to go through and deal with, and unfortunately, her language implies that attending college is a struggle and a battle. For something that is supposed to be helping making kids better off later in life, the pressures are affecting their decision making process and could possibly make them go into fields that make them unhappy in their adult lives.

Blog 12

Un-edited Transcript

John Acito

Me for the record could you please state your name,age,and where you went to college.

D my name is d, I am 25, and I went to Rutgers for undergraduate.

Me what did you go for?

D um I went for a bachelors of science in public health

Me that’s very cool..um so tell me uh a little bit about your upbringing, where did you grow up.

D uh um I grew up in scotch plains fanwood.

Me ok did you go to spfhs?

D yes

Me what year did you  graduate

D 2006

Me do you have any siblingsor are you an only child

D no I am one of 4

Me Are you the oldest or youngest?

D I am the second oldest, I have an older sister and two younger brothers

Me um do you recal any feelings associated with extending your educationafter high school?

D uh well

Me like any pressures or anything to go to college?

D uh I didn’t feel any pressure per say. It wasn’t likei had to go but I wanted to. I feel if I had ssaid I didn’t want to go that there would have been some push back from myparents.

Me so your parents were very stern about you going to college?

D um welli think it waskinda understood…it just seemednatural to go to college and I wanted to go into higher education and it was support, I think if I didn’t want to go and I had some sort of reasonable plan, I think they would have supported that as well.

Me ok um so what went into your decision in choosing a college and was it an exciting time or

D yea well it was a really high stress time for a lot of peoplein my gradebut my goal was to not be stressed, I kind of, I kind of  wanted to go to a bigger school wereas some of my colleagues applied to 4 plus schools or even 8 different schools um I decided to apply to just Rutgers and temple, I didn’t do any extensive research really, I didn’t visit any of the schools

Me well there is nothing wrong with that

D yea my sister went to Rutgers and she um had me visit her a couple of times and I liked it and it was kind of a big school and I thought I could get in, I don’t it was weird looking back that I didn’t do any extensive research on it honestly it was a gmable when inapplied and I got into both. For financial reasons I went to Rutgers

Me  yea I was going to get to a question like that. So what was the priority in choosing a school, was it strictly finiacial, location, or prestige or friends, or the

D it was location and affordability, not to mention Rutgers has a good name associated with it and I wanted to go to a bigger state school no matter what but the driving factor was affordability and location

Me was the loan process ever explained to you like going into college or even in high school prepping for college?

D um no um when it came down to me getting accepted It was understood that I would takeout a loan…

,e who told you about … that you had to take out a loan

D my parents…um I remember my mom was at the computer with me and said hey check these forms out and we applied and I got approved like instantly and I kind of took it from there

Me ok were there any consequences explaind to you like if you were to default on a loan

D no I mean

Me like did it feel like a big decision at the time orany pressure by it

D no no but it was my only option that if I wanted to go to school unless I wanted to go part time even though we didn’t discuss that, um if I wanted to be a full time student I would have to take out a loan and all I was told was that when you come out of college and you pay it atleast pay the minimum

And that was it

Me ok um im just trying to gage how much knowledge you had going into college about your loans and the loan process

D I didn’t know a lot just that I would have to pay it back, I still know nothing about what determinesmy interest rates or who makesthem I had no clue

Me did you see how much it would be

D yes

Me and did that scare you at all?

D uh yea they break it down for you like hey if you take out 5000 at this interest rate you willowe this much when you gradute

Me yea they show you a lower numbers rather than a what a normal 4 year program would be

Medid that fear of loan debt affect your choice of major or what field you went into

D uh um I alittle bit, yes come to think of it.

It didn’t affect me going to school butmy parents weren’t going to pay for it and they made that pretty clear I also didn’t get a job to save up, for like atleast books or something,but to answer your question I always like the sciences I was originally a bio major  and I was pre med cause I wanted to be a physician so I was like uhh it doesn’t matter how many loans Im going to take out I will make it back after med school but that was never realized but as time went on and I found a field I most liked I looked into what was going to make themost money with that degree and I went into it with my masters.

Me ok um do you think it is fair for schools to charge the same amount  price for different  majors, basically im just building off what you were talking about saying if you had a med school degree the job market is good you can make a lot of money very quickly and pay back those loans fast, but just looking  at a bachelors degree in art or drawing should that be the same priceas in engineering or like accounting likedo you think its fair.

D yes I do I mean as long  I mean across different departments you get different qualities of education but it’s the same if you from an accredited schoolall the departments offer a comparable quality of education, I think the job market has nothing to do in that, I think if I had a bachelors in philosophy I don;’t thik that would keep me fromgetting a job so long as its from a creditided school

Me ok well I wanted to talk to you a little bit about gen eds andwhaqt your stance is. Most schools require students to take approximately 2years of gen eds courses and I just wanted to hear what you thought, like do you think this is just a way to get kids to stay in school longer to get more money or do you think its really thereto benefit the education. Sorry let me refrase, is it better to get awell rounded education or or one that really focuses on what you want to do in your life

D so I think um maybe, uh I don’t know but I think they  do that because coming out of high school kids don’t necessarily know what they want to do even if they did, I think there is some statistic that kids change their minds on their majors x amount of times in their college careers. So its um sometimes maybe its toomany options contribute to the confusion of finding amajor and making kids feel lost and not really knowing what to do ,but I don’t think it’s a scam, I think it’s necessary and valuable.

Me ok well I get what your saying, but what about if an adult wants to  school they have to go through the same deal as kids out of high school have to. And still have to take all those gen eds even though they are more mature and for the most part know exactly what they want to do.

D just because your older than me doesn’t give you uh um I don’t know a get out of free jail card

Me haha

D haha yea I don’t think they should discriminate like if my dad had to go back to school and had to pay less cause hes an adult and more established hed be paying less

Mewell it wouldn’t be paying less he would just be at school for less amount of time which yes I guess is less but im getting at

D yea so paying less

Me yea but what if it were just 2 years for a bachelors instead of 4 years

d well that would be great but you would miss out on classes that are fun like philosophy, or creative writing, or art.

Me that’s a good point gotta support the arts

D amen haha

Me haha

Me ok so moving on um Rutgers um sorry, where there any pressures of your loan burdenthat wereaffecting your school work while attending Rutgers wasthat fear ever driving any of your school work?

D uhhhmm mmm uhmmm yea

Me was it affecting if you

D not exactly but there I wanna say my first year a year and a half there was a class or two I wouldn’t do   so well in and it would affect me like alomstas a personal failure more than anything but then I started to realize that I am paying for this myself and im taking out loans to fail is not a good feeling it seems like wastes of thousands of dollars. So I decided to take on more responsibility and accountability and it was almost like a kick in the butt and I um hey I gotta perform not only because I wantto do better but because its going to cost me money and its just gonnacost me more if I have to takethe class over

Me ok did um are you finished up at school

D yes

Mewhen did you graduate

D just graduated in jan2014

Me wowwell condradulations

D thank you

Me with what degree

D in public health

Me ok what may I ask are your current living situations, if it starts to get to personal just tell me and il ask different questions

D oh no its ok not a problem, uhh I live still live at homewith my folks

Me did you find a job right out of college

D yea I did I just got hired full time with a company and it’s a real job and it’s the start of  my career with benefits anda salary

Me that’s fantastic

D yea  but its scary

Me so how haveyou adjusted to life after school know that you haveto stasrt paying back your loans

D im ok the job I had just prior to this I kind of would have a little to work with.iwas able to pay back my loans at the minimum

Me may I ask how much were you supposed to pay a month for the minimum

D  uhm sooo with my bachelors and my masters degrtee and mind you my parents paid the last semester but I took out more loans for my masters and I did pay some for my masters so combinded my monthly payments are 1100 imk not sure I just started paying them back its just loans with other expenses it gets kind of costly but to answer your question givin now this kind of bump in salary pay

Me makes it more manageable

D yea definitely so I can pay off and even save a little but definitely can’t spend on like anything.

Me your definitely one of the lucky ones cause you know there a lot of kids out there who can’t find a job out of collegeand have to come up with that loan money one way or another but that’s really good

D thank your I know I am very thankful and greatful for how lucky I have been

Me so do you think your loans and paying back your loans have affected your ability to move out of the house?

D yes I think so

Me is it that you can’t do it or your scared that once your out you might struggle with the transition and new expenses.

D uhm yes I don’t wantto struggle, ive gotten into arguments with my sister about this cause shes older and just got married and bout a house and has some debt but just a fraction of what I had. Cause our parents paid for her schooling but she puts a lot of pressur eon me to move out it seems like she kind of judges mehehehaha

Me well do you think that’s a sibling pressure or a societal pressure to uh

D uhm I think it’s a societal thing, but also my sister is just how she is,shes always, she stressfull to talk to. If society, well, I care what my sister says more so than society but a lot of my peers have tried to move out.i personally have a good relationship with my parents and they aren’t kicking me out haha

Me that’s always good

D I would like to just stay at home for a year or 2 and just pay down this debt as much as I can were I can actually manage rent and other expenses

Me so what does it mean to be a student these days. Do you think that’s the social norm right now to take out lots of loans, go to college, graduate,move back home and pay off the loans? Is that the norm?

D I think a lot of people do that and try to struggle getting a job or find one and its short lived and have to move back in but I think a lot of kids today fall into that cycle.

Me do you know a lot of people that have gone or are going through this cycle? Or still living at home after collegeto save money and pay back olaons?

D yes and yes, I know plenty of people

Me ok uhm has loan debt affected your future aspirations of future normal life patterns likegetting married, buying a house, or having kids? I know it’s a rewally big question that thinks really far down the line but…

D yea uhm mmmm

Me like are those things getting pushed back is what I am getting at

D uhmyea but its not soley because of me so my partner, we have to be kind of in the sameboat, caus ei cant have a baby or a house by myselfso it really is dependant on that other person,so yes, I think if we are aligned and willing to moveon and feasibly  attain those things I don’t see thembeing pushed back that much. I mean it very well could happen but im staying positive

Me have loans givin you..uh have you ever had second thoughts about taking out so many loans to pay for your education?

D well

Me like and regrets or things you would have done differently?

D well I commuted my last two years of undergrade I lived on campus my first two and costs were obviously highe, like a lot higher I think it was worthy that I lived on campus

Me like it was a good social experience?

D yea I met a lot of great people uhm and its ironic I kind of don’t keep in touch with them anymore but I think I learn a bit about myself in terms of how I handle living with and dealing with other people uhm, when you livewith them its different than when you just see them at school

Me yea

D so uhm you know at least my first year I think it was worth it, but my second year I lived with some girls not in the dorms and I think that was interesting I mean I think it was a great experience and a great time and I don’t take that back but from a financial perspective if I could have comuted all 4 years I would have cause I think id be, I don’t know its kind of like apples and oranges to me I wouldn’t trade one thing for the other but I probably would have been more finaiacially stable if I haven’t stayed on campus for two years obviously I want to be in a more better finaicial situation but im over it.

Me ok well thank you for your honesty and your participation I think that’s all I have you were a fantastic interview and want to thank you again

D it was fun thank you too

Blog 8

Statement of purpose (what you hope to show/discover)

Detailed statement of your research question

List of the information you need to gather

A preliminary list of sources

Plan for gathering your information that includes:

·         who/what you will be studying (for example:. students in a College Composition class, how they think about the comments teachers write on their papers)

·         where you will collect your information (for example:. in interviews at Kean University)

·         how many subjects you will study (for example:. 3)

what methods you will use to conduct your study (for example:. interviews, textual analysis, discourse analysis)

Statement of purpose
This study will examine the social acceptance of student loan debt in the U.S.

Detailed statement of your research question
Why has taken out loans to pay for education become a social norm in society?
Why is it socially acceptable to accrue immense debt to attain a degree?

List of information you need to gather
Look into;
Power structures
Student identities, what it currently means to be a student
Effects of loans on;
Picking school, picking major
How debt delays normal life processes like getting married, having kids, buying a house.

List of sources

Plan for gathering information
Interview 3-5 students on their current knowledge of their loans
-who told you to take out a loan
-how was it said, addressed
Survey students on how debt affects their lives

Blog # 6

Blog 6:  In class we talked about the differences among a topic, a focus, and the particular research quesstions you might ask as you conduct your research.  Each of you are in a different place in terms of developing your project - but where every you are - write into your material as far as you can go in terms of your topic, the specific focus you want to take to that topic, and (if possible) what in particular you want to find out within that focus = what you want to do in your study (your research questions = what you will ask about your data).  The more you write - the more we have to work with.


These are the topics I have so far...


1. Should people on Welfare be drug tested?
Points to be made..
-It is unfair to the children who are supported by welfare.(increase in foster care which taxpayers have to pay for)(seems counter-productive)
-It is an invasion of privacy.
-It doesn't fix the problem of poverty which is the real issue behind welfare.
- Is it another form of control?
-Is it a racially charged issue?


2.Should Churches pay taxes and what would this do to the economy?


3.Should courses on managing student loan debt be taught in High School?
-Student loan debt for most people is the first debt we have to deal with in our adult lives so it is the duty of education to prepare us for what is to come.
-How this delays normal life patterns(having kids, buying a house, etc.)

Blog #5

First 

Talked about 2-3 minutes

Brenda and David

Brenda is a bilingual major

Talked a lot kind of fast I think she was nervous rightfully so because this assignment was awkward.

I tried not to start the conversations but then silence tightened the interaction up.

Things I remembered later = David actually took command of the conversation by pointing out how awkward the assignment was.

Second

About 2 -3minutes into activity

Adrian is also and English major on the writing track who is a junior so he knows the deal with kean more experience

I tried not to start the conversations but then silence tightened the interaction up.

We talked about issues with credits at Kean which seemed to annoy him 

He was confident while speaking

Field notes

-after being forced to talked to random classmates, eventually students migrated back to people they were comfortable with.

-the assignment was uncomfortable at some points

-body language was hard to judge since everyone was recording what was being said (not natural)

-Looking back I should have not said a word and focused primarily on interactions around me

-The situation made me a little uncomfortable and distracted me from collecting accurate data

Blog #4

Our class may not be a discourse community simply because as a teacher you have to much command and power over the group. Discourse communities are filled with strong minded people who like to help guide conversations but it is a not a job that you get paid to do. As a teacher who gets paid I think it violates whether or not we can be viewed as a true discourse community.

This is not to say that we do not share a lot of similarities with discourse communities. We have genres of communication like blogs, emails, group work, and basic speech in class. These mechanisms aid us in getting feedback and correct information about topics. We also maintain a certain classroom etiquette when addressing the teacher and class mates, Our class also relies on correct terminology to validate our knowledge on a subject(lexis). Lastly, we have an expert that can give us the correct answers in the teacher who acts as a mediator of discussion. However, the role of the teacher in the class is such a powerful governing body that it may be too big an influence for me to label our class discourse community.

Blog # 3

Blog 3:  Identify and define (in your own words)  any the terms we have been developing for use in   language analysis.  The point here is not necessarily to be correct (this is not a test), rather it is to give me a chance to see what you are thinking/learning and supply language/direction if you want/need it.

Even after reading Swales's convoluted excerpt, I still feel I have a firm grasp on the language we have used in class. Although the word "discourse" can be a very confusing term, to me it it means a platform for communicating and debating topics of interest in efforts to further knowledge about the genre or topic. The only problem I have is in differentiating between discourse communities and speech communities. They seem to be very closely related, and to pose a difference between the two seems like splitting hairs.