Introduction to Rereading America

Over the past few weeks of class, we have covered the first five chapters of our textbook, written by George Brown Tindell and David Emory Shi called, “America, A Narrative History.” Each chapter told the reader a narration of the history of America, as opposed to an expository version of America’s history. Each chapter had its own main idea over a portion of history, along with many details that cover the importance of the main idea. As a reader, one may obtain a deeper appreciation for the country 's history, prior to entering the class on the first day. The most important aspect of history, besides the battles that are fought, is the different cultures that make up today’s modern America.

College Success: Chapter 1 is a great recourse for every student whether they are experienced or not. Specifically, descriptions about the best possible choices made to get the most out of your experience are plentiful, and self-assessments are included to evaluate a starting point. If one were to follow the step-by-step advice given, such as overcoming obstacles and enriching your learning experience, it would be close to impossible not to have a great experience at college. The author wasn’t afraid to delve deep into the fact that college is difficult and requires a lot of commitment to follow through. The information given is easily suitable for a wide range of students, including anything from discovering resources many colleges offer,

Starting college as a Freshman is exciting; it is also unnerving. The comfort of everything I know is going to disappear and it will be time to grow up and face reality. However, reality isn’t doomed to be negative if I prepare for my future and

College gives students endless opportunities. During this time, students are able to grow and develop academically and individually. It also provides students with

Coming to college as an adult, we have many expectations and preconceptions of what college will or will not be. The expectations we have can influence our college life for the better or the worse. My experience since starting college has been an interesting one. People have misconceptions about college because they do not know what to expect. After doing some research, I have concluded that there are three major factors that are often misunderstood about college life. The first is the financial aspect of college. Second, is the relationship between the professors and students. Third is time management. These three factors play an important role in why people are afraid to go down the path to college.

For first year students coming straight from high school, college life can either be very exciting or overwhelming depending on how well one prepares for it. Some have the notion that college is fun and is all about partying, while some believe that it is an environment in which they can achieve the ultimate freedom thus escape the stringent rules made by their parents at home. Others look forward to experiencing a different learning environment while being exposed to different cultures and sharing different academic knowledge. Successful assimilation into college life is determined by the student’s capability to transform into the new role of a college student. Numerous students face challenges they have never experienced before which can

As an incoming EOF (Educational Opportunity Found) freshmen attending Rutgers University this fall, I had the mindset that if I did well academically, the transition from high school to college would go by smoothly. Unfortunately, college isn 't that simple. The transition to college is much more complex than people perceive it to be, in my case, it’s the most difficult obstacle I’ve ever encountered. Therefore, my aspiration is to conquer this transitional period as quickly and fluently as possible. When I had to changeover from middle school to high school, I was terrified. I didn 't know what awaited me and how much different things were going to be. It turned out high school was exactly the same, with the exception of the grades being ninth through Twelfth. There was nothing to be worried about. On the other hand, that wouldn 't be the case in college.

Rereading America begins by discussing the obstacles that students will face when entering college, and how cultural myths play a significant role in the way we think, and how we react to situations in our environment. In order to be a successful, intellectually-minded college student, one must engage in critical thinking in their academic work. Critical thinking involves the examination or consideration of various perspectives, realizing that what is commonly appeared to be “normal” or “crystal clear” is not from analysis, but rather from the cultural myths unconsciously embedded in our lives. While it can be argued that cultural myths provide social order in society, they also discourage individuals from forming their own beliefs after thinking

Colombo also questions the basis of Critical Thinking “By questioning the myths that dominate our culture, we can begin to resist the limits they impose on our vision” (Colombo, p. 6). Colombo also states “because cultural myths serve such large and varied needs, they’re not always coherent or consistent” (Colombo, p. 6) With the basis of Critical Thinking is the “learning to recognize contradictions lies at the very heart of Critical thinking” (Colombo, p. 6).

The transition from high school to college is a dynamic time in one’s life that parallels the change from childhood to adulthood. Both of these changes are dramatic and, as a result, feelings are difficult to put down into words. A messy combination of emotions fills the heart, surfacing in strange ways. Confident high school seniors go right back to the bottom of the chain when entering college as freshmen. These students start all over, just like entering grade school or high school for the first time. The move up from high school to college signals the switch from dependence to self-sufficiency. From a personal point of view, going through the experience of graduating high school and transferring to a residential college campus at STLCOP, made me realize I was no longer a kid and capable of making my own decisions.

The author was inspired to write this essay because he experienced college the same way all freshmen will experience college. He went through the same exact struggles that they are bound to go through at some point in it, so he was motivated to help them survive school and stick with it no matter how tough it gets. He consistently emphasizes how magnificent the rewards are if one finishes all of college.

From kindergarten to high school, students are told over and over again that attending college should be their main priority. “College is the way to success,” or “College is essential in order to find a job” is what teachers and adults implant into students’ heads. The education system is built around preparing students for college. Higher education over the years however, has been increasing. College Board, an organization that prepares students for college and administers standardized tests, showed in a study that college tuition has been on a rise since 1973.

How prepared do you think you are for college? Well, “Three out of four graduates aren’t fully prepared for college and likely need to take at least one remedial class, according to the latest annual survey from the nonprofit testing organization ACT, which measured half of the nation’s high school seniors in English, math, reading and science proficiency (Steve Metz 1).” Throughout my paper I am going to give you three things that I wish I was better prepared for before entering into college such as Financial Aid, living with a stranger, and how college is a completely different world.

The story that I chose to write about was “One Big Happy Family,” by Anndee Hochman. The story is about a young woman whose family life seemed to be the American dream, for those of us looking in from the outside. Her family owned a house in the city like most of us and a house on the beach. The house on the beach was unique with its architecture anomalies, which made the house more a mix and match of parts than like her normal home in the city. The whole family, including relatives from afar, would gather there during the summer to spend time with each other. When in actuality behind her family’s unity, was a demand for conformity to her family’s way of life and thinking. The author finally realized that in

The first story i am referencing is called Reconstructing America. The story kind of reminds me of how people back then of how they were “getting through life”, as easy as we have it nowadays it’s not really that difficult to them to live like we live now and we live like they would back then to us is almost “mistreating”. We are not certain that we would be able to live well enough to stay on our own like they did back roughly 50 years ago.