Free Writing #2

Constructivist learning theory is a theory that states students learn the best when it an active process of creating meaning from different experiences. Or, trying to do something on their own with the guide of a teacher to help them along. I believe that this is one of the best ways of learning. When students figure things out on their own they tend to remember how to do it better then when they just memorize what a teacher is saying. In addition to figuring things out on a your own, "...a persons prior knowledge may help or hurt the construction of meaning." Where you grow up and when you grow up can help in many ways. Your experiences when you are young stick with you as you grow up. When a life lesson is learned at youth, people will remember it for a long time.

This relates to my episode in Dollhouse because dollhouse virtually erases your prior knowledge and feeds you something else. When given another memory, you lose your memory of your past. All of your past experiences and your cultures are useless. This is just another reason why I think that what dollhouse is doing is wrong.

Work Cited

"Constructivist Learning Theory." NDT Resource Center. 13 Oct. 2009

Free Writing #1

The "blank slate" philosophy is relevant in dollhouse. "Blank slate" means at birth anyone can be anything. What your parents do or what kind of genes you have has nothing to do with what you will be. John Watson was famous for saying, "Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select...regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors." Dollhouse takes peoples memories and makes them what they want them to be.

I believe that this is morally wrong. Everyone should have an equal opportunity to be anything that they want to be. Dollhouse is taking that away from them. They turn them into what they need them to be. Even if the subjects volunteer to be changed it's still wrong.

I think that this is Dr. Jack Kevorkian on a smaller scale. Those people told him to kill them, but it was still very wrong. No matter how bad someone may think they have it, messing with someones mind is not right. In the episode I watched Dollhouse still wasn't very confident in what they were doing. They weren't sure if everything was going to be "okay." I believe if they have the slightest doubt in what they are doing it shouldn't be done.

Works Cited

Powell, Kimberly. "Nature vs Nurture - How Heredity and Environment Shape Who We Are." About Genealogy - Learn How to Research Your Family Tree. 13 Oct. 2009 .

Life in College

I decided to write on all of my new experience's in college. I'll start off with the best part, the parties. Having no curfew and no parents nagging me is defiantly a plus. To counter that, the studying jumped from virtually zero to a couple of hours a night. The content is defiantly more in depth and if you fall behind its your own fault. Also living with a roommate is a change. Even though I have a brother and a sister, I always had my own room. Its a different experience but at the same time a fun one. Another plus is the meal plan. Having 200 swipes is amazing. I can eat almost anything that I want at any time that I want. Meeting new friends and hanging out with different people is a lot of fun too. Getting out of the high school "clicks" and away from your good friends is exciting. I love everything so far and look forward to the next four/five years of my life.

WB Prompt 2

When eating lunch today at market place, I decided that it would be a good place to write about in the prompt. The dinning hall has all kinds of food such as pizza, pasta, wraps, salads, and soups. Looking around I noticed all of the different kinds of people sitting together. I noticed the studiers in one corner, the group of friends grabbing a bite to eat in another, and finally the athletes in talking/meeting everyone.

Not only is this a great place to go to eat but it is also a great place to meet people. There are tons and tons of people there every time I go. Waiting in line for my pizza, I was able to talk to a couple of people. I told them that I was going to write this blog about the atmosphere at Market Place. They told me that they thought it was a hectic mess, and I told them that it beats being in class.

Lastly I realize that maybe I need to do this more in my life. In this fast and ever changing world, taking time to just sit back and observing my surroundings really helps. I feel like I am always trying to hurry up and get things done. As much as some of these blog post are a pain, I thought this one was worth my time.

Brian's second source

My second source is from the same episode from Dollhouse. It is the scene when Caroline's partner Victor has to listen/watch Caroline get "married." Of course she is not actually getting married, only trying to find out information on Martin Clar, the biggest arms dealer on the coast. I thought this scene was important because Victor is attracted to Caroline. He tosses and turns threw out the night and it hurts him. She makes jokes about it and plays it off like its nothing. She tells him it means nothing that she is, "blind when she needs to be blind." This suprises me because when you think of girls and guys when it comes to sex, its usually the girl that gets hurt and the guy that plays it off as nothing. I thought that this scene was also important becuase it shows that Victor is starting to get emotionally attached. It is no longer just about getting information on Clar, it is now personal.

Brian's first source

For my first source I chose the first scene in Dollhouse episode 1 season 2. One of the subjects that is going to get worked on complains about having an "oriental" work on her. She asks if she can have the white male work on her instead. If there is one that that I have learned since coming to Ohio State, its that everyone is equal. The fact that the girl insults the asain doctor is not only disrepectful but also rude. After realising that the male will not be working on her, she trys to complement the doctor with a vulger joke. This not only makes the situation awkward but also shows the subjects insecurity.

Our Mrs. Reynolds/ "But she was naked"

After watching the episode in class today, I thought that the scene where Mrs. Reynolds kissed Mr. Reynolds was very important. When she came onto the ship everyone felt sorry for her and thought that Mr. Reynolds was in the wrong. He wanted to kick her off the ship and forget about her. She cooked him dinner and was basically his slave. I had a feeling that she was on the ship for more then just an accident. I was right. As stated in the article, Mrs. Reynolds used a couple of techniques to seduce Mal. She continuously shows her vulnerability to try to receive sympathy from Mal. When she kissed Mal and tried to take over the ship it was ironic. It was ironic because the woman took advantage of then man, when it is usually the other way around. She went from an innocent lady to a evil woman trying to take over the ship. Luckily one of the girl crew member catches her and stops her. This scene just shows that "Not everything is what it seems to be"