Why Can’t College Planning Be Easy?

College can be a very frightening topic to think about, but Mary Beth Schweigert, author of the news article, “What to Know, Do When Visiting Colleges,” explains how to narrow down your college choices from four different viewpoints. The first person interviewed was a counselor from Ephrata High School, Steve Habowski. Habowski recommended students start visiting colleges during your junior year, because once college starts, most students engulf themselves in extracurriculars and homework. He points out that you should visit the college while school is in session, so you can really get a feel for what the classes are like. It’s important to create personalized tours in order for you, the student, to get to know the school and students who attend it – attempt to schedule a meeting with professors or students in your desired major. The next viewpoint we see is from a current high school student, Lindamarie Olsen. She states that you need to narrow down your list using many details: small or large school? What area do you want to be in – city or suburban? Students also have to think about how far away they want to be from home. Are they okay with only coming home on holidays? Or do you want to be home every weekend? All these questions should be considered when narrowing down your college choices. Olsen says it’s important to sit down and make a pros and cons list, think about every single aspect that has to do with each school. The final two people interviewed is a parent, Cynthia Kensinger, and college student, Sarah Kensinger. Of course, the parent talks about the topic through a financial view-point. She says to get in a good financial state early on. It will relive some stress when we go to pay the bills. Also, she explains how it is important to let your child, dream, but also be realistic and logical. It’s healthy for a kid to have a “dream school” on their list, but also include some safety schools (schools you are pretty positive you will get accepted into). It is very important to keep on your child about applications, she says. Her daughter, Sarah, explains how important it is to keep an open mind; don’t think about it too much at first, visit all types of schools: large, small, public, private or located in the country or city. Also, if you are really interested in the school, make a second visit. College can be scary to ponder about, but can be broken down into many steps, making it much easier to narrow your choices.

Changing the subject here, it is very important when reading an article, such as this one, for the audience to analyze and think about what the text is about. First, think about who the speaker is. In this case, the speaker is the author, Mary Beth Schweigert. Now, you may think there are multiple speakers, such as the four people being interviewed.  Schweigert is interviewing them on their thoughts about college planning, but she is the one telling the story. You also have to think about where was the text taking place and who the audience is of the text. Most likely, the people were either interviewed on the telephone, by a mailed survey, or in person, either at their home or in  Schweigert’s office. You have to think about where would an interview normally take place? It is important to keep the occasion as professional as possible in order to keep your credibility good. The audience to this text is not just any reader who happened to come across this article; it is students and parents who are concerned about all the details pertaining to college. When reading the article, they will get different viewpoints on the subject, helping them face the challenge of education past high school. The next step is to consider the purpose of the article. Did she write it for fun and games? Or did she write the article in order to inform her audience that there is a way to narrow down your college choices?  Schweigert does not really give a purpose of her writing, which brings down her credibility. We do not know if she is a concerned parent, or if she is writing this text just because it is a common topic among high school students. The last step when analyzing a text is to think about the subject. Many pieces of writing can stray from their original idea.  Schweigert does a very good job of focussing on her subject: college planning. The author presents the subject by interviewing different types of people: a counselor, high school student, parent, and college student. When reading or listening to some type of text, the audience should be thinking about the five analyzing strategies: speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, and subject (SOAPS).

J-Bon

A Nighttime Review

by Elie Wiesel

A Nighttime Review

The book, Night, written by Elie Wiesel, tells the story about a boy’s experience during the holocaust. The author portrays his own feelings and experiences through the young child’s, Eliezer, eyes. Eliezer was only 12 years old when he and his family were taken to a concentration camp. Throughout the story, the boy faces many hardships, including making a choice between his father’s survival and his own. In the beginning, a man named Moshe was taken to a camp, but escaped soon after. Moshe returned to his hometown to tell everyone about the horrible event that was about to happen to all of them.  No one believed the man…until it was too late. Eliezer and his father stayed together throughout most of the story, but separated from his mother and sister when they arrived at the camp. His father was to be put to death multiple times because he was unable to work, but each time Eliezer saved him. Not only did the boy face many challenges with the people around him, but he had to face the ones within him as well.
Because I enjoy non fiction rather than fiction, I was not sure where to start looking. I ended up searching online for “popular non fiction books.” I scrolled through selections, not interested in any of them. Eventually, after looking through multiple books, I just picked one. It happened to be Nights. I read a short summary of it online, and it seemed pretty interesting. I drove out to a bookstore a couple of days later and purchased it. I am very glad I chose this one, because it turned out to be a very passionate and intriguing story. I really enjoyed how the author used his personal experience and shared it with everyone who took the time to read his book.
Some books have title that may not relate to the overall plot, but “Night” fits the story to a tee. The author portrays his personal experience during the holocaust through a 12-year-old boy named Eliezer. An example would be his many days spent at the camps. Eliezer’s father was put in the group labeled “unfit to work” multiple times. His father was constantly getting sick and beaten for his food and water. Every night Eliezer went to bed wondering if his father will be alive the next day. Also, the train rides to and from the camps reflect the title’s meaning. Many people were moved from one camp to another. One night, there were 100 prisoners on a train, including Eliezer and his father. Each night a woman would scream out in terror and would not stop until the guards had beaten her so badly she couldn’t move. It was so dark in the compartments, that it seemed like nighttime all the time. They never knew if they would survive the ride or when it would stop. When the ride was over, only 12 out of the 100 people survived, Eliezer and his father being two of them. The title fits the story well, and I would not change it.
Many character are seen throughout the book, but the character that changes the most throughout the story is Eliezer. As Eliezer experiences the tragedies of the concentration camps, he starts to lose faith in his God. The first occurrence of his doubt arises when he enters the camp for the first time and sees a pile of babies being burned. Eliezer could not understand what kind of god would allow such cruelty to be done. As the story goes on, Eliezer fears he will lose his emotion to care for others, as in turn on his father. He is worried that he will stop caring for his father’s survival and only be concerned with his own. Eliezer witnesses other boys abandoned their loved ones, which triggered these feelings. Eliezer’s judgement, faith, and sincerity constantly change throughout the book.
The author did not just write a story about some boy, he wrote it about himself. One word that accurately describes the author is, simply, brave. Elie Wiesel went through so much at such a young age. Although he doubted himself a lot, Eliezer always cared for his father’s well being. He would sneak his dad out of the groups condemned for death. Also, it is very difficult for someone to re-live such a horrible event, let alone share it with the world. The author had the same experiences the main character, Eliezer, had. Brave does not justify a man who not only survived the holocaust, but had the strength to tell others his personal feelings. When they first arrived at the camp, Eliezer and his father were separated from his mother and sister. They were never seen again. Brave is just one word that describes the author.

J-Bon