Blog Party Entry Research and Survey

Rob Simer
Professor Nancy Knowles
English 104 Distance Ed.

Hey Man, Use a Freakin Comma
Reading comprehension through the understanding of punctuation does help in the enjoyment of some reading. The poetic pause of a comma, the finality of the period, the emphasis of the exclamation point, or the conversational direction provided by quote marks is essential to the complete enjoyment of reading. What if you do not understand the value of punctuation? Everything you read would be like reading a technical manual. Reading comprehension may be the reasons millions of Americans do not read.
Inquiry: Does the level of reading comprehension contribute to an individual’s decision to read for pleasure.
Through the use of the internet I accessed many articles on the importance of punctuation with regards to comprehension. There are literally hundreds of sites you can visit where anybody from teachers to businessmen are espousing the importance of reading comprehension for success in today’s modern world. Indeed it is hard to argue with that given the reading comprehension statistics associated with prisons populations. Department of Justice (2009) Statistics on adult reading in general are dismal by any standard and paint a rather bleak picture of our society that may take some people by surprise. Still the inquiry was not answered through the statistics. Here are some reading statistics below. You may draw a conclusion on your own from these statistic with regards to the inquiry, but it is not proof.

“More than 20 percent of adults read at or below a fifth-grade level “.National Institute for Literacy, Fast Facts on Literacy, 2001@ http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp#educationstatistics

“44 million adults in the U.S. can't read well enough to read a simple story to a child”. National Adult Literacy Survey (1992) NCED, U.S. Department of Education @ http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp#educationstatistics

“21 million Americans can't read at all, 45 million are marginally illiterate and one-fifth of high school graduates can't read their diplomas”. Department of Justice, 1993 http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp#educationstatistics
Statistics show the reading comprehension has increased in American Schools
Nations report card @ http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007496
Statistic show that e-book sales have had a steady increase in sales over the last few years
http://www.openebook.org/doc_library/industrystats.htm
Statistics show the overall leisure book sales in America are up.
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2009/09/30/statistics-u-s-book-sales-july-2009/

The last statistics may be interpreted as meaning when the comprehension level raises so do the book sales. Increased book sales may indicate an increased enjoyment of reading among new readers.




The survey conducted fell far short of the intended goal of 40. The participants were asked the following questions:

1. Name?
2. Age?
3. Level of Education?
4. Do you like to read for pleasure?
a. If no, why? And how long since you have read a book?
b. If yes, why? And how long since you have read for pleasure?
5. Do you understand how to use punctuation while reading?
a. What is a comma used for?
b. What is an exclamation point used for?
c. What are quotation marks used for?
6. When you read do you notice the punctuation?
7. Why do you think some people do not like to read?
The results of the survey are as follows in order of participation:
1. Wendy
2. 45
3. 2 year college
4. Yes
a. Escape/Entertainment/yesterday
5. Yes
a. Pause
b. Emphasis on words or emotions
c. To indicate conversation
6. Yes
7. Lazy




1. Bill *#
2. 47
3. 11th grade
4. Yes
a. Fun/ high school
5. Yes
a. No
b. To show excitement
c. No
6. I guess not. No
7. Lazy

1. Peggy
2. 47
3. High school Graduate
4. Yes
a. Fun/yesterday
5. Yes
a. Pause
b. To indicate excitement
c. Conversation
6. no
7. Lazy


1. Scott
2. 56
3. Two year college
4. No
a. Boring/ early 80’s can’t remember
5. Yes
a. Pause or sentence break.
b. Bring emphasis to a word
c. To frame conversation
6. Yes
7. They just don’t like to





1. Troy **
2. 47
3. High School Graduate
4. No
a. Boring/ High school
5. Yes
a. Pause
b. To show excitement
c. I don’t know
6. Yes
7. Because it is boring
l
1. Tim ***
2. 46
3. Two years Trade School
4. Yes
a. Entertainment/today
5. Yes
a. Indicates a pause in the sentence
b. To high light a word or expressions.
c. To indicate spoken words or thought.
6. No
7. They don’t know how to read

1. Trevor ****#
2. 11
3. 5th grade
4. Yes
a. Fun/ during the summer
5. No
a. No
b. No
c. No
6. No
7. Maybe they don’t like to






1. Sandy
2. 61
3. 2 years college
4. Yes
a. To learn/ today
5. Yes
a. Separate a sentence
b. Drama
c. What people say
6. No, not really
7. Because they can’t get past the meaning of the words.

1. Rob
2. 45
3. High School graduate
4. No
a. Reads for a living/Junior High
5. Yes
a. Separate multiple ideas
b. Indicates excitement
c. Word for word comment
6. Yes
7. Need glasses.



1. Linn
2. 56
3. GED
4. Yes
a. Uses it to relax in restroom/ last year
5. Yes
a. I don’t know
b. Exclamation
c. I don’t know
6. No
7. They would rather watch TV

1. Steven *****
2. 22
3. 11th grade
4. Yes
a. Fun/1 month
5. Yes
a. Pause
b. Emotion
c. Conversation
6. No
7. Time


1. Doug ******
2. 39
3. Bachelor degree attending graduate school for masters in psychology
4. No
a. Too busy/ two years ago
5. Yes
a. pause, and sentence break
b. emphasis
c. to direct conversation or citation
6. no
7. Time



1. French Canadian Female
2. 58
3. Post Graduate
4. Yes
a. Knowledge/ Today
5. Yes
a. Separate concepts
b. Emotional expression
c. Citation
6. No
7. Time



1. Susan
2. 31
3. Bachelor Degree
4. No
a. No time/ 3 or 4 years
5. Yes
a. Pause
b. Exclaim a word
c. Conversation/Citation
6. No
7. Lazy

1. Peter/ French Canadian *******
2. 61
3. Post
4. Yes
a. Entertainment/today
5. Yes
a. Pause
b. Emphasis
c. Citation, conversation
6. No
7. Lack of time
ASTERIKS
The overall results of the survey showed some interesting results that were marked with an asterisk or a pound sign.
* Bill said he loved to read. Although he had not read a book in over twenty-five years. He said he knew what punctuation was for but could not answer any of the punctuation questions. His answer to question number 7 why he thought people didn’t read he said they were lazy. When he agreed to the interview he said he was not doing anything but watching TV.
**Troy when asked question number 5 became angry answering YES! I know how to read. He got two out of three punctuation questions right indicating he is mostly fluent. His answer to number 4 was expanded on after the conclusion to the survey when Troy volunteered he was not able to focus long enough to enjoy a book. He had not read a book in over twenty-five years.
***Tim had been drinking but agreed to the survey anyway. Tim is a laborer who attended trade school. He was the most eloquent of all those interviewed. He loved to read and tried to read several passages from a book he apparently had close at hand. He was the only male interviewed that liked to read for pleasure who actually reads for pleasure.
**** Trevor is the only child I interviewed. He had a worn copy from a horror series written by R.L.Stein when I interviewed him. I conducted this interview in person.
# Trevor and Bill are the only two people to actually see the survey. Interestingly enough when reading the questions from the survey they both recognized punctuation marks they had gotten wrong on the survey. (Never conduct a reading survey the participants can’t read).
*****Steven was homeless. Notice his answer to question #7 about why he thinks some people do not read for pleasure, Time. I found this curious so I asked. Steven literally spends every waking moment seeking food, clothing and shelter leaving very little time for enjoyment.
******Doug was an educated man who was reasonably well off as was indicated by his clothing. I found it interesting that he gave the same reason as the homeless Steven for not reading more/ time. Surprisingly enough Doug is also to busy pursuing food clothing and shelter just at a higher level than Steven the result is the same; however Steven does occasionally make time for enjoyment reading.
*******Peter and his wife, who refused to give me her name on the grounds of preserving educational integrity, took me almost two hours to survey. They were so passionate that I was embarrassed to realize they knew far more about the subject than I did. Neither one would tell me what they did for a living, again for educational integrity. They also criticized my survey as lacking substance.
It is also important to mention that all the women and girls surveyed read, and were completely literate. Most enjoyed reading and were currently reading books. Many of the men were not so educated.
Trevor and Bill both were embarrassed over their lack of knowledge one reason I decided not to interview anymore children. Troy was incensed and felt as if he were being degraded by the questions. It took many platitudes to calm him down in order to finish the survey.
These phone surveys took much longer than anticipated as many participants even those who did not read were passionate about the subject. I defend my choice of execution on the grounds of honesty on the part of the participants. Putting them on the spot so to speak gave me great insight into reading habits. The articles I read and the statistics I viewed in search of the answer to my inquiry; Does the level of punctuation comprehension contribute to an individual’s decision to read for pleasure? Could only be used to draw a circumstantial conclusion that might say yes. Expert agree there is a problem and have come up with solutions that include the engagement of students and offers creative suggestion to teachers about providing relevant reading material for a student to enjoy. Through this enjoyment the hope is the reader will expand their self esteem driving them to more reading. NCREL (2005) Then there is the issue of complete literacy. In an article titled “The Importance of Automaticity and Fluency For Efficient Reading Comprehension.” Hook & Jones (2002) The authors stress the importance of complete fluency and draw a distinction between knowing how to read and being completely fluent. Many of the educated readers indicated this fluency in their answers to question #6 in that many said they did not notice the punctuation when they read. They automatically understood the implications of the punctuation marks. Wendy went so far as to say she notices when punctuation marks are missing or have been miss-applied as it causes confusing text. The survey indicates reading for pleasure is a very complicated issue. Some who did understand punctuation loved to read, some who were completely literate did not like to read at all. I have no choice but to conclude that punctuation may increase reading enjoyment for some; however enjoyment is not depended on punctuation literacy but on individual taste.



Question: What if anything can be done to increase the enjoyment of reading for those who may have difficulty with literacy?


Statistical References
Literacy, Fast Facts on Literacy. (2001) Retrieved 11/10/2009,
http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp#educationstatistics

Adult Literacy Survey (1992) NCED, U.S. Department of Education Retrieved 11/10/2009,
http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp#educationstatistics.
Department of Justice, (1993) Retrieved 11/10/2009,
http://www.readfaster.com/education_stats.asp#educationstatistics.

Nations report card (2009) Retrieved 11/ 11/ 2009,
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007496.
Open Book. Org (2009) Retrieved 11/11/2009,
http://www.openebook.org/doc_library/industrystats.htm
Resource Shelf (2009). Retrieved 11/12/2009,
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2009/09/30/statistics-u-%20%20%20%20%20%20s-book-sales-july-2009/


References
NCREL Quick Key 10 action Guide (2005). Implementing the No Child Left Behind Act: Using Student
Engagement to Improve Adolescent Behavior. Learning Point Associates Retrieved 11/16/2009
http://www.ncrel.org/litweb/adolescent/qkey10/qkey10.pdf.
Hook, Pamela E., & Sandra D. Jones, (2002) The Importance of Automaticity and Fluency For Efficient
Reading Comprehension. Reprinted with permission from the International Dyslexia Association
quarterly newsletter, Perspectives, Winter, 2002, vol. 28, no. 1, pages 9-14. IDA website:
http://www.interdys.org/. Retrieved 11/1/2009
http://www.blogger.com/%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20http:/www.resourceroom.net/readspell/2002_automaticity.asp

Freestyle entry 22. Old Dog New Tricks or She Had Betty Davis Eyes.

Puppies should come with warning lables. "Warning this puppy may destructive" Had this been applied to the purchasing ticket i may have reconsidered. I also think that if we could somehow package the puppy dog look that pardons them from most crimes that would get an older banished from the house, we could secure riches for ourselves beyond imagining. You could rob a bank and be forgiven on the spot if you could mimic that look. "Oh here is a bag of money you little scamp, now go on and don't make a nusiance of yourself" is what I imagine the response would be. Having a puppy is just as hard on my old dog as it has been on me. when i lock myself in the bathroom for a few hours, the pupy tires of hostige negotiations and turns her attention to the poor old dog. Do not worry I pay him well for his sacrifice with a secret treat each night before bed. Somtimes this is not enough. Potty trainiing the puppy has been a challenge. esentiall they are babies with no diaper and no apperciation for location when they relieve themselves. My shoe, or the bed are good examples of this lack of spacial concern. the old dog looks at us with accusatory eyes at our reactions to household defication, but she has puppy dog eyes. the old dog however has tricks of his own. yesterday i returned for the university only and quickly took the dogs for a walk. the weather had been bad so ileft them in the house. Upon entering i right away smalled something, well not quite right. knowing the dogs had been in the house all day, and that my wife with her radar nose would quickly conclude i had not put the dogs in the kennel (Puppy dog eyes) She herself would quickly locate the offending pile all the while accusing me of olifactory dicrimination. "How could you not small this" is a question often heard at my house. Anyway I began to look and everywhere I went the smell was so bad that I started to imagine the puppy had done her businees in many locations but no matter how hard I looked the offending pile could not be found. The iminant arrival of my wife spurred me to look in places the puppy does not normally frequent like under the bed. Throughout this search my irritation at the puppy grew steadily until I was at the point of anger. My old dog who is a faithful companion takes his job serious in that he follows me everywhere. Looking under the bed proved fruitless and yet the smell was just as bad there as everywhere else. My old dog faithful companion that he is allowed me to use him as a prop to get up off the floor. When I removed my hand from his back it was covered in a brown slimy substance that smelled suspiciosly like the puppy poo I had been searching for. "OH GOD, what the hell is that?" was this an accident or and old dog with new tricks? I report you decide. The puppy had done her business outside, eveidently the old dog knew this.

Blog 21 scene Response "Othello" 1981

I chose the 1989 scene from "Othello" Shakespeare (1604) Act III Scene III. The lighting used in this scene adds to the trechery of Lago. The director used a bright light that mimics purity of heart that adds to the feigned loyalty of Lago. We as participants know the evil that plagues the intentions of Lago and the pure white lighting adds to the contrast of Lagos black hearted intentions. As the scene progresses the lighting stays the same for a visual confirmation of the emotion Lago tries to display for Othello, but the director also uses a blurring of Lagos image as he starts to spin his deceitful webs to ensnare Othello into the moraass of jealous thought. then to remind the audaince of Lagos treachery the director call for a close up of Othello and Lago reminding us of the intimacy othello feels for Lago all the while we the audiance realizing the black heated intentions of Lago. This only adds to the animosity we feel against Lago, and helps in building our support for Othello in what believe will happen as a result of this intimate betrayal.

Blog 20 Quote Response "Othello" Act 5: Scene 2

Othello: "Soft you; a word or two before you go. No more of that. I pray you, in your letters, when you shall, these unlucky deeds you relate, speak of me as I am; nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice. Then must you speak of one who loved not unwisely, but tooo well; of one not easily jelous but of being wrought, perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand like the base Indian, threw a pearl away richer than all his tribe; one of whosesubdued eyes albeit unused to the melting wood, drop tears as fast as the arabian trees, their medicinable gum. Set you down this; and say besides that in the Aleppo once, where a malignant and a turbaned Turk beat a Venition and tranduced state, I took by th' throat the cicumsised dog and smote him thus." Shakespeare (16o4) "Othello" Act V Scene II.
In this scene Shakespeare provides poetic justice to Lago who had thought his plot to insnare Othello would be completed by the ignorance of all. In this the moral of the play may be interperted as careful what you wish for. Lago got what he wanted in the end, but he got a lot more than he counted on. This monologue in the movie "O" captured brilliantly the frustration experianced by those who have been betrayed by those they trust. That Shakespeare allowed for justice in the end plays well for all who read this and can identify with the emotions of betrayal. The whole play is written in a stlye that allows for the emotonal engament of the reader to the character of Othello by outlining Lagos chracter at the begining of the play. We as readers know he is a scurvey dog, but we keep reading to see the level he will sink to before he gets his. Shakespeare reels the reader in and does not disaapoint in the end.

"O" Scene Response

The scene is early in the film when Hugo is first talking to Roger about his hatred for Oden. In Shakespeare's "Othello" the antiquated language may interfere in emotional interpertation of the scene for many modern readers. I like the visual portrayl of frustration in Hugo and felt the actor did a wonderful job of tranforming that frustation into the words of hate. The actor keeping his sweaty face against the wall as he begins to whisper his hatred, and the choice of dim lighting to further hidehis features helped to build to the dark emotional release, and set the tone for the story. I look at this first scene almost as a naration for the whole movie. The very next scene is Roger and Hugo sitting and casually talking about Hugo's plan. The tone is reset by changing the lighting on this scene as if to say the story will now begin. In the closing scenes the director once again used shading to hide the features of Hugo as he is driven away in the police car. The narritive at the end of this scene frames the entire plot. What Hugo says at the begining is not much different than what he has to say at the end.

Free Style Childhood Memories

I saw it on TV. Many many times this was the last thing some of my friends heard as disater desended upon them. My friend Ron was practically an expert on debuncking TV myth by the time he got out of the hospital and graduated high school. For me TV was the great repository of factual theory, not to be confused with fact, a fact I came to grips with shortly after my forty- fourth birhtday. Any way as i said my friend ron was practically an expert, being an expert would not allow frequent visits to the emergency room. Had Ron been an expert he would have know that pouring gasoline on his bicycle tires and lighting them on fire was cool as i had indicated it would be, but might actually cause painful third degree burns to certain ares of the extreme upper inner thigh region. In my defense third degree burn were not shown on TV. a curious feature of Rons neighborhood up until he moved away from home and this town was that his house was not included in the city limits. You could look on a map of LaGrande and see this block in the middle of town that was not included in the city limits. We interperted this to mean we could shoot guns right out the window of his bedroom. His father Herb relieved us of that notion whith the forst sound of gunfire errupted from Rons window the day we graduated from hunter safety. "Jesus !^$&($% Christ what the *%^& do think you rotten little sons of (&*&%^% are doing you scared the living @%$$ out of me fire guns in the house like that give me those." With that he took away two of our three guns. I was devestated, but my memory served up a rememdy right away. "Say you know your dad didn't say we couldn't shoot guns. he was mostly pissed because they were so loud" Ron turned with that look i loved so much in a friend, anticipation of a brilliant idea, some called it a dumb stare, but i knew what it was eager anticipation. "What if we had a silencer" I said. "Yah? where we gonna get a silencer?"Ron asked. "I know how to make one" I explained that if we took his pillow and wrapped it tightly around the muzzle of the gun it would act a a silencer." He was hoooked, "Thats a great idea!" was all he said as he grabbed his pillow off the bed. we wrapped the pillow tightly around the muzzle eased it out the window and BOOM!. I had never heard anything so loud in my life all i could think was there must of been trouble on the sound stage of Bonaza that week because what i saw on TV didn't sound anything like that. through the smoke and feathers i made my way quickly to an exit. the last thing i heard as I left by the second story window was Ron screaming in pain "HE SAW IT ON TV.......ON TV DAD!" As a fourty four year old man it is good to sit back and chuckle about the stupid thing you have done because you saw it on TV.

Othello Quote Response 18

Lago: "Oh sir content you." "I follow him to serve my term upon him."(Shakespeer 940)

Lago sounds like a scurvey dog. I have worked with and around people like this. They have no honor and really do not view their actions as anything wrong. In reading on this was found to be true in the Lago helped to identify Othello as absconding with Brabantio's daughter. this kind of double dealing crap would write out well today from a corporate perspective on interoffice politics. Maybe that is part of the genious of Shakespeare in writing something several hundred years ago as profoundly relevent as Othello could be today. To give credit to LaGrande High School I did see Othello performed by Shakespearean actors from Ashland Oregon in the early eighties, a tradition the school continues today.
I wonder what impact Lago will have in the story?

Quote Resonce 17 Trifles

"Come in." I wasn't sure I'm not sure yet, but i opened the door-this door [indicating the door by which the two women were still standing] and there in that rocker [pointing to it] sat Mrs. Write. [they all looked at the rocker]
(Glasspell, 838)

Watching this play. I would be aware that first they were all gathered around the chair as if to include it in the group. This would be finalized with all of the characters looking at it. for me this would help to put the person of Mrs. White in the chair, even though she is not. through out the play everytime Mrs. white would be referanced the chair would your focus. the lonly chair nest to the fire prctically draws sympathy from the auduance even and maybe because it is empty.

Freestyle 15

The graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was a great experiance for me. I read a lot of history and i enjoy it very much. I have read many historical novels and also enjoy those. The other fiction books I read have authors that are able to capture the spirit of childhood in thier writing though I know they are not children. To be able to write the history of the iranian republican revolution from the persepctive of a child may not have been easy but because of the nature of the events Satrapi experianced first hand her child like interpertation could be taken as almost perfect. Sure there may be a little chronilogical perspective written into the book, but the events were so profound and yet so prevasive that that were bound to make a lasting imprint on her life and this lends credibility to the child like perspective of the book. I have no doubt that Satrapi could have any of the political or religious ideas she expressed in Persepolis as I remember having similar thoughts at her age. I am also sure that with a time for reflection I could capture the essence of the childhood moment on paper. I discoverd that it took me longer to read the graphic novel than it would written in the traditional style. Perhaps it was the time spent interperting the words and pictures together but i found the whole experiance very entertaining as well as educational. I can not wait to get to the book store now.

Quote Responce #14.

I could not put the book down. Ater reading just a few pages I was convinced that all history should be written from the eyes of a child.
Quote: At the top of the page reads "That was my last meeting with my beloved Anoosh." Below this a newspaper shows the picture of Anoosh with the headline reading "Russian Spy Executed". The second frame has yound Marjane lying on her bed with tears saying "Everything Will be Alright......" The third frame has God entering the picture asking "Marji What Seems to be the Problem?" This frame also shows Marji lying on her bed still crying this time with an angry expression on her face. The fourth frame has Marji standing on her bed shouting at God "Shut up, you! get outof my life!!! I Never want to see you again!" the fifith and final frame is a full face shot of Marji still on her bed shouting at God in a final gesture to "get out!" (Satrapi, 70)
This act of severing her long loving relationship to God was the begining of the end of childhood Satrapi. The dissallusionment of losing her beloved Anoosh needed to be explained and the explanation she had was that God let him die. This is a natural reaction to tragedy that many people suffer. I remember when my mother passed. I was reasonably young and my faith in God was severly shaken. The importance of this is that from that moment on was unable to look at the world with the kind of wide eyed inthusiasm that children posess.
I look forward to reading the rest of the book to see if my theory pans out that Satrapi may have lost or at least started the process of losing that child like perspective of the world.