DNA Tells Students They Aren't Who They Thought

Please respond to each of the following questions in separate posts of 4-6 sentences each. Then respond to two of your peers' comments, for a total of five comments overall.

It’s clear that a good many of you have varying ideas about race, its importance and relevance in your lives, and how we should proceed from results of a DNA test. Some of you thought that no matter this sort of test’s results, people decidedly should not change who they are, because DNA is only genetic material and does not dictate who we truly are.

Others believed that this test’s results should change who you are insofar as sensitizing people to what it might be like to be from another race, if only from a genetic perspective. Still others believed that the test was either a waste of time, or was a good way to generate discussions in college about race.

I'd like you to consider the following:

1. Why must people think in terms of all or none?  In other words—and thinking outside the box—could it be possible that genetic ancestry is just one piece of the puzzle that makes you, "You?" 
2. Might there be other pieces to this puzzle? What might these be?
3. What do you think it means when Ms. Best says, "Maybe we haven't progressed as much as we thought we had." Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
   

NY Times Article: DNA Tells Students They Aren't Who They Thought

Putting Your Best Cyberface Forward

In our last class, we discussed ways people intentionally or unintentionally craft online personalities to communicate a specific message about themselves. I'd like you to start thinking about these issues in general, both online and in the "real world," since we take in information about one another constantly, no matter how the information is conveyed to us.

Please respond to all three questions and then to two of your peers' responses. As always, keep your language and ideas academic in nature! Each student should have a total of five responses by the end of our lab period.

• How important is a first impression? 
  
• How much can you really tell about a person based on first impressions? Is it accurate?
  
• Is it legitimate to use your first impression to make decisions about a person without knowing him/her?
  

NY Times Article: Putting Your Best Cyberface Forward

Directions: Read This First!

Directions:

So here is how this will work: I will get the online discussion started by positing a consideration, offering an opinion, or posing a set of questions based on an article.

Each of you will not only respond to me first, but to at least three students after your first comment. We'll keep the language professional and academic, as is the case for your homework and in-class assignments. As for a minimum response, let's begin with an "oversized" paragraph of 5-7 sentences per response per individual.



Remember to:

• Proofread your work before you hit that "Publish" button.
  
• Create at least 4 comments (each between 5-7 sentences)—1 to me and 3 to your peers.
  
• Keep the language professional, academic, and on-point.
  
• Sign your full name at the bottom of each response you make.
  
• Comment within the appropriate post.
  

Reminders:

• Do not use IM language (e.g., ";-)," "u r kewl," "lol," "brb," etc.)--this is a college-level discussion, not a private conversation.
  
• Do not use slang--again, this is a college environment where people use professional and academic langauge.
  
• Do not state an opinion without stating why you think/feel the way you do.
  
• Do not re-phrase someone's comment or just agree with him in order to have something to say--"Think before you type" means exactly that.
  

This is what a typical student comment should look like:

Response to Alba: So in other words you're saying that people who are not beautiful have no opportunity in life to succeed because of the way we judge them. I think that is wrong. Children are very sensitive and they can sense when adults make fun of them or treat them differently because of their look. Those children are the same people, that when the grow up, they also become ungly from inside, as a result of the way they were treated when they were child. That is still one of the biggest taboo that we have, judge someone for their look, before we even give them a chance to talk.-- Yuleina Mac Donald

Lastly, the ideas presented in your responses should be your own, or you should be adding something new to the discussion. Hopefully, this weblog will grow as your skills grow and this will also serve to put a new spin on an old "tried and true" method of collegiate discussion.

Participation on this blog counts as an assignment. Inappropriate, rude, or offensive language is unacceptable and will be removed from our blog. Three such offenses during the semester will result in questionable comments being submitted on paper to me, a NC for each offense, and could also result in failure for the course.

Comments that do not meet the minimum requirements will be deleted.