Stroke...

Richard Wright's mother having a stroke seemed to do nothing more then send him into his shell. Wrights initial reaction was fear, not understanding or comprehending the disease that has overtaken his mother. Immediately after the fear subsides, Wright reacts, trying to work and get the money needed to help save his mother. The lack of affection that seems apparent when the reader notices Wright simply being blasé about the tragedy, seeing as Wright has faced so many tragedies before. Wright's lack of emotion toward his mothers disease shows how a hard life has effected him emotionally.

Jews.

Wrights view on the Jewish shopkeeper seems to be nothing more then him taking out whatever angst and frustration on the shopkeeper as was taken out on him. Wright seems to search for differences in others to pick apart, seeing as that is what others have done to him. Wright seems to notice the shopkeeper being far more wealthy then the people he is used to being around, to Wright, this gives him the perfect reason to torment and taugnt the owner. The fact that Wright has gone through this kind of torment his entire life is almost a forshadow that he is going to take it out in some way, somewhere, and this just seems to be the start of it.

Hunger

Quite literally Richard Wright is hungry simply because well, there is nothing to eat. Searching deeper into the text however, Wright seems hungry for something more. Hungry for a better life, hungry for opportunity, hungry for learning and knowledge. Wright shows his desire for knowledge early on in the story.
One of the first incidents Wright shares with the reader is his fascination with fire, and his extreme curiosity to see what new things would look like when burned. The simple fascination with fire shows very quickly how much Wright has the desire for new information that he has to take upon himself to discover.
Wright later shows again his desire to learn when he ventures into a saloon and learns to count to 100 whilst learning new swear words and getting drinks as a reward. Although Wrights methods of learning may be a little out of the ordinary, it still shows a desire to learn.

How can you have any pudding

Gatto shows his stance on school very clearly, it's all wrong, the system is wrong, the methods are wrong, we should abolish it. I take a more mild view on the subject, not an extreme one way or another.
To me, the gaping hole in Gatto's theory is that he claims the 6 class a day for 5 days a week for 9 months a year for 12 years is an awful way to go about schooling, however he fails to give an alternative as to how education SHOULD be managed. The closest he comes is in the last sentence with "Let them manage themselves", and while that may provide some idea as to what Gatto wants, I think there is at least some required structure.
I think what really needs to be done is simply less forced and regurgitated information, and more information that seems a privilege to be learning, and facilitated discussions as opposed to studying names of characters and matching them on a quiz.

Reading (w)Riting (a)Rthmetic

In a word, yes. The 'non-academic' education University has to offer to me thus far has made me feel like I understand how the world works better, and how to get along in it. However, I wouldn't call our education completely 'non-academic', because there is such a large academic aspect to it. The real difference is the way other forms and styles of learning are brought in, especially when it comes to un-conventional subjects, such as glass blowing, golf, or Mother Theresa. It would be difficult to find these things taught in most schools, but for many students, the unconventional subjects are the most interesting to get into, and possibly take later in life for actual use.

The school does have flaws, and although I am incredibly thankful to be at the school, all to often there seems to be hypocrisy. We are encouraged to sign up for AP classes, which provide, as explained, an hour of homework a night, but at the same time we are almost guilt tripped into going to the basketball games, or to sign up for this club or that group, which in and of itself is work, time, and effort.

I have a love-hate relationship with University, more love then hate, but none the less it can be a bittersweet feeling walking through the rhetorically designed doors every day.

Presentations

The presentations today were really interesting to me, a few that particularly caught my eye were Katie Griffins', Kwames', and Alyxs'. The picture Katie showed of the gardening store that cleverly used a sign shaped as a shovel was not only something I hadn't seen before, but also something that would have drawn my eye as well when I was younger. The fact that Katie admittedly said she was drawn into the store based on the creativeness of the sign made it more relatable, as well as more credible. Kwames' presentation about the box of Wheaties also interested me, I had never noticed how dramatic they seem to make a box of cereal, or why for that matter. Alyxs' presentation of the Holister models was something that I had semi-thought about, but never in depth. I would always notice the signs and roll my eyes at the blatant sexuality (and obnoxious aroma) of the store. But why they were using that concept to sell their product hadn't crossed my mind.

the happiest place on earth?

The point that Gitlin is trying to make seems to me that we mask America, and for a while we did it very well. Earlier in Americas history, we were seen as this super power nation, that could do, make, or solve anything. We showed people an 'American Dream' as well as amazing products, only able to be made by these mythical American workers. Although Gitlin's artical confused me a bit, from what I took of it he claimed all of this came to betray us. People realized that we were not in fact this invincible nation. So when the mask we wore fell off, people came to see America in a much much darker light.

Jordan McKinney Living.

While Martha Stewart and Julia Child alike may have been influential in their time, it's difficult to find an equal comparison. Sticking with the idea of the quaint cooking show host, Rachel Ray, the cute, young, bubbly host who has followed in the footsteps of Martha Stewart, with not only a show but a slot on the Today show and quite a few books, comes to mind. However, when it comes to more general life improvement, like how Martha Stewart rose to the top, more well known names come to mind, such as Oprah. Oprah has influenced people across America for as long as I can remember. I've heard Oprah described as 'the best friend, who is also a therapist, who loves to give you presents.' All of which are very accurate. Oprah is not only relatable to viewers, but she also offers minor consoling and is quick to adorn the audience with new cars. Much like Martha Stewart, Oprah has her own show, as well as O Magazine.
Oprah and Martha Stewart may be vastly different breeds of influential, but there is no denying the power they hold over so many in America.