emhelmer

Chapter 5

“…Research papers need not be tedious exercises in collecting and regurgitating the ideas of others.”  This quote is from chapter 5 of Composing a Civic Life, and it got me kind of excited.  When I heard that I would be doing a research paper in this class, the very first thing I thought was, “boring.”  I imagined myself sitting in the library for hours just doing “busy” work trying to get this paper done.  But this chapter reminded me that I get to pick a topic that I’m actually interested in.  I love having my questions answered!  It made me way more optimistic for the future.

“I propose that the State of North Dakota require schools to teach a foreign language in the primary grades.”  This passage made me smile.  The reason being is that while I was in elementary and middle school, I was taught Spanish.  It was a class that I looked forward to every time we went.  I absolutely loved it.  I remember thinking that one day I was going to travel to Spain!  I agree with this girl and would hate for young ones to miss out on the opportunity that was provided for me.