ESSAY QUESTION (copy here):

FIRST DRAFT

IEP 510/520 Core

Prof. Christine Bauer-Ramazani

Date: 12/7/2011

3 Why is change so difficult? Discuss the underlying reasons. Illustrate with examples and expert opinions. Discuss the solutions offered by the author. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your reasons.

IEP 510/520

Namiko Shoji

The article “Set in Our Ways: Why Change Is So Hard”(2011) illustrates the people who hope to change in their life; however, in spite of their struggles, the author of the article claims that the change is difficult. In the article, Paul Costa and Robert McCrane,  personality researchers support the author’s opinion. They give a genetic-basis reason why the change is so hard; the young people, from late teens to early twenties, are possible to change drastically, but after early twenties, the change is arduous. According to the researchers, the young people who are under early twenties have openness to new experience. However, this human trait decreases as they are aging. This is a common tendency no matter how the culture is and most of bio-psychologists are in agreement. 

The article (2011) also discusses the reason why the change cannot be attainable; giving an environmental factor. As people getting older, they have to undertake the responsibilities in their society; getting a family and livelihood. These life tasks require commitment and consistency. According to experts in the article, this pattern of life is common around the world. In the the article, Gerhard Roth, a personality researcher claimed that humans are creatures of habit; in other words, once they have a family and a career in their place, they do not ask for novelty. Because new experience brings insecurity to their stable life, even though, it also brings novelty.

As described above, the changes in life is so difficult. Still people have a dream for changing –cheering up politicians, diet to be slim, or reading self-help books. In the article, Janet Polivy and C. Peter Herman, psychologists called this phenomenon false hope syndrome. The author of the article claims that false hope never brings satisfaction to the people. Then the author emphasizes that people should set more sensible goals, and the most important thing is to embrace the person that they are really are.

I have already spent most of my expected life. Based on my experience, I think two factors “nature and nurture” that resist to change are persuasive as the reasons why we cannot change. Through my life, I realize that the environmental factors –societal expectations, life demands, or life tasks have thwarted my hope to change. However, I am now aware of the importance of being satisfied with me as I am already no matter how the reality of me humble is. Now I am thinking what I should pass down to the next generations –for my children, grandchildren, community, and for the most important home country, Japan. I think my idea –considers the next generations rather than my desire –is one of the phenomena that show the openness to new experience after retirement as the author claimed.

                              Reference 

Skills for Success.(2011). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 

RUBRIC   

Chris's review: 1. All parts of the essay question have been answered.

                     2. You have thesis statement at the begining and it's clear.

                     3. The supporting examples have been mentioned.

                     4. No reference. I can't find it. If you add that, your essay should be more complete. In-text citation is not                                   enough.

                     5. No reference.

                     Total socre: 3.6 

SECOND DRAFT 

FIRST DRAFT

Name:

Course: IEP/510/520 Core

Prof. Christine Bauer-Ramazani

Namiko Shoji

IEP 510/520

11/04/2011   1^st draft

Christine Bauer-Ramazani

         The Enjoyment of Growing Vegetables as a Leisure Activities

Today, we are living with the feeling of vague anxiety for sickness, family, and our environment. The worries bring us stress. However, there is one certain way for relieving stress and improving the quality of life. It is growing vegetables. Unlike other crops like rice or wheat, vegetables are easy to grow in a garden. Growing vegetables should be considered as a leisure activity because it controls stress caused by caring for about our health, family, and our environment.

The pleasure of growing crops in the garden is that it enables us to reduce our stress and to stay through working under the sun and harvesting chemical-free vegetables. When gardeners grow non-chemical vegetables, they cultivate the soil in natural processing. It is well known that an earthworm, a long thin worm that lives in the soil, eat dead plants in the soil. Lines-Kelly, R. (2004) explains in his article that “earthworms improves the nutrients in soil by being the most effective and efficient composting method.” To encourage the earthworms, we have to dig deeply. With the help of earthworms, soil would be highly nutritious. In the process of vegetables’ growing, insects swarm around the crop. Then it is the time to spray the vegetables. By mixing of the liquid extracted from the composting using Effective Microorganism (EM) and vinegar, we can produce a home-made repellent. It never harms the plants and keeps the insects off. With the help of earthworms and home-made repellent, we can harvest safe vegetables. Furthermore, working under the sun gives the opportunity of exercising. Even though growing vegetable is easy, it entails menial work such as digging, sowing, and watering. The gardeners have to walk around in the bumpy field; however, it is a comfortable exercising. After the walking, they have to plan for cultivating schedule. It is well known designing something prevents from mental aging. Growing vegetables provides staying healthy and the pleasure of safe harvesting.

The usefulness of growing vegetables in the garden is not only beneficial to our health but also it energizes stress-beaten gardeners. The worries about managing family causes stress. However, growing vegetables provides farming products which enables us saving in family budget. According to the Takii Gardening Mail Order Catalogue (2011), the price of seeds, for example, a cabbage is 4 dollars per bag. Each bag contains about 100 seeds. It is common knowledge among the experts that ordinary gardeners can grow 20 cabbages. At the nearest supermarket, they sell an organic cabbage at 4 dollars. It is a two hundredth. In addition to this, growing vegetables near the house naturally involves gardeners’ children. It is a good chance for them to get close to the soil. For the gardeners it will be a great relief to understand the growth of their children through sharing the menial work. Moreover, after picking up vegetables, gardeners like to exchange them and sharing the knowledge of farming with neighbors. It becomes not only a good motivation to communicate but also strengthens community ties. To know well the neighbors each other make us comfortable. The feeling of satisfaction with the saving money, their children, and the communication would vitalize the gardeners.  

If we cope with the stress caused by personal affairs –our health, family, or neighbors a part still we are obsessed by the idea that we ought to do something good to the environment. The growing vegetables in the garden will provide the gardeners with the chance to lessen environmental burden. Weber & Matthews (2008) explain that “the issue of food miles roughly a measure of how food travels between and the final consumer.”, and it also tell that “it is recent public concern to the environmental impacts.” The garden vegetables are directly carried to the table, the shortest transportation without gasoline. In addition to this, the gardeners can pick up the vegetables as much as they cook. Therefore, they need no preservative or film to keep in the refrigerator, and also they can save the time and car-using for shopping at a grocery store. Furthermore, the remnants of cooking can be used as composting. After getting the source of EM at DIY store, we dust the remnant with EM, and leave it for a week. Then organic fertilizer is well made at quite low cost. In the article of (“What is EM?”, n.d.)., the author explains that “EM considerably improves the quality and fertility of soil as well as the growth and quality of crops.” One more way to contribute to the environment is to use wasted materials. For example, corrugated papers or vinyl sheets are useful for weeding out. They block the sunshine and seldom allowed coming up of the weeds. By doing these two things, we can get not only a small start to protect our environment but also get a great peace in our mind.

As we have seen, growing vegetables as leisure activity should be a panacea to raise our quality of life. It handles our stress derived from cares for health, family, and our environment. It definitely brings us the satisfaction with healthiness, energizing, and contribution to the earth. The slow food movement is spreading all over the world. In some countries, like Italy and Japan, the government supports to qualify gardeners as a master of vegetables. Growing vegetables is old but surely the newest leisure activity.

                        References

Lines-Kelly, R. (2004, August 16). “How earthworms can help your soil”.

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/resources/soils/biology/earthworms

Takii Gardening Mail Order Catalogue (2011). Retrieved from http://shop.takii.co.jp/.

Weber, C. L. & Matthews H. S. (2008). Food-Miles and the relative climate impacts of food choices in the United States. Retrieved from

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es702969f.

(“What is EM “ n.d. ). Retrieved from

www.emsustains.co.uk/what_is_EM.htm.

 Reviewed by Buthaina  
I have reviewed the introduction with the first paragraphes. She needs mention in each sentence why she considered growing vegetables as a leisure activity.

SECOND DRAFT

Name:

Course: IEP/510/520 Core

Prof. Christine Bauer-Ramazani

SECOND DRAFT

Name: Namiko Shoji

Course: IEP/510/520 Core

Prof. Christine Bauer-Ramazani

Namiko Shoji

IEP 510/520

10/13/2011 3rd revision

Christine Bauer-Ramazani

         Which should we choose? An urban life or a rural life?

    City people long for a restful life in a rural area, while country people envy city dwellers for the convenient life. According to Smith’s definition (2010), “city” means “urban”: densely populated area, and “country” means “rural”: less populated area. Are the city people really enjoying the advantageous life? Is the pastoral life as peaceful as the city people imagine? Let’s attempt to compare city life and country life in terms of career possibilities, transportation options, and educational opportunities. Is the grass really greener on the other side of the fence?

   First of all, it is very important to compare the job opportunities that provide to each of city dweller and country dweller. Whether they choose to live in a city or to live in a country, they have to obtain their job. Rural areas and urban areas offer different kinds of work to each dweller. The people choosing to live in a rural area can work in areas that require large open spaces, such as animal husbandry and farming. By engaging animal husbandry, they can get milk, meat, and eggs. In their garden, country dwellers can grow vegetables and fruits for their family use. With the products from animals and the garden, they can cut down the family budget. Furthermore, when they work under the blue sky, they never feel stressed. If they need substantial money, they can invite city people to their farm. It is called “agricultural tourism” or “agritourist”. According to New York Times (2007), “Through most agritourists simply spend an afternoon visiting farm stands, picking fruits, or feeding animals”. Through these activities, country dwellers can get some incomes. In fact, New York Times also states that “Agricultural is one alternative for improving the incomes and potential economic viability of small farms and rural communities”. In any case, however, the work that a rural life offers does not seem lucrative. On the other hand, a city life can provide many possibilities to pursue such as the chance to work for well-known companies. The companies employ people at a high salary and confer on the employees a certain status. Moreover, the city people, if they have a good business sense, can start their own businesses. Either working for a big company or starting a business, they seem to be able to make much money. However, to work for making much money gives them much stress.

    After getting a job, while the city dwellers can commute easily to their work place, country people do not. For example, the densely populated area has many kinds of public transportation options, such as buses and subways. A bus usually comes to the bus-stop once ten minutes. In addition to the good public transportation services, city people can travel highways. In contrast, people living in a rural area have limited transportation options; the bus service, or subway service are quite restricted. Rural dwellers have no options but to rely on cars and trucks to avoid isolation.

     Lastly, let’s compare in a city life and a country life in terms of educational opportunities. In the article (“City vs. rural life” 2011) , Herlihy states that “City students may have a wider array of academic offerings in a bigger school. Larger schools can offer subjects such as foreign language instruction, orchestra instruction and art enrichment”. In contrast, Herlihy also claims that having a curriculum enrichment may be harder to come by in a small school in a rural area differing from in a city area. Judging from these facts, it is clear that the city-born children have more advantages than the children in a country have. However, there are some advantages that the children have in a small school can garner more attention from teachers based on their individual weaknesses and strengths, and they can enjoy outdoor activities after school, like fishing, or canoeing which the city-born children envy.

   As we have seen, the city life offers a high level of choice for its dwellers while a rural life does not in terms of career, transportations, and education. Despite of the lack of choice in a rural area some people prefer living in a country. They know a rural life offers the people who prefer a country life something more valuable than money and convenience that a city life provides. If so, they know the grass of the rural area is greener than the grass on the city side of the fence.

References

Herlihy. S. , (2011) . City vs. Rural Life. Retrieved from

 Retrieved from  http:// www.ehow.com.

New York Times. (2007/11/23)

       Retrieved from  http://travel.nytimes.com.

Smith, N. (2010) . A Compare and Contrast Essay: Living in Urban Versus Rural Areas. Retrieved from  http:// www.articlemyriad.com.