Annotated Bibliographies

Hi Everyone!! 

     This week in my English Composition class we focused on finding credible sources that we could use for our essays. I found each class to be extremely helpful. All through high school I would choose sources only because they talked about my topic. I did not really dig into my sources and check their credibility. The classes this week forced me to break apart my source and make sure it was credible. These are five annotated bibliographies on five of my sources I will be using for my third essay in this class. 

Zhao, Emmeline. "Students Still Have Unequal Access To Educational Opportunities." Huff Post Education. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 30 June 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2013. 

This article is a credible source for my research because it’s written by Emmeline Zhao, the Associate Education Editor of the Huffington Post. She has also written for The Wall Street Journal’s Economic’s desk. Emmeline earned a degree in Public Policy Studies and a certificate in Policy Journalism and Media Studies while studying at Duke University. While studying at Duke, she was News Editor for The Duke Chronicle. Two other places she has worked are  FTChinese.com and as a reporter for the Olympic News Service at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The article was published on The Huffington Post website which is an online news tabloid which features many different columnists. This specific article, Students Still Have Unequal Access To Educational Opportunities, was published two years ago (6/30/11). The author’s main goal of this blog post was to inform readers there is unequal distribution of educational resources and opportunities for students in the this country. Some schools do not offer some important classes. Children growing up in high-poverty areas are very unlikely to take advanced programs because they are not as easily accessible. Florida is a great example of state who distributes education fairly and equally. The Huffington Post generally targets any citizen who is interested in being informed about current events in the world. Mostly people who are wanting to be educated about the world visit this site and read blog posts. People who are out of the loop with the education system or are passionate about changing the education system would be interested in reading this specific article. This source is credible because Emmeline incorporate actual facts and statistics into the her article about this current issue. Based on my own opinion I agree with this article. It is important for everyone to read this because this is just one of the many issues in the American education system. The article is extremely informative of the issue of unequal education opportunities. I believe this article is important to include in my essay because it helps me back-up my broader topic. My topic is the issues in the American education system today. This article talks about one of the many problems in our education system. 

Townsend, John Converse. "How Should We Rebuild the U.S. Education System?" Forbes. Forbes.com, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.

This article is a credible source for my research paper because it’s written by John Converse Townsend. He is an editor, blogger, and connector or people all over the world. John is a producer and media mobilizer at Ashoka. His main topic of writing is the latest change dealing with pressing global problems. Another one of his jobs is a consultant to the Population Council which is committed to making the reproductive health and well-being of recent and coming generations better. Lastly, he is an NBA writer for the ESPN TrueHoop Network, which covers the Washington Wizards for Truth About It.net. The article was published on the Forbes website which is an online American business magazine owned by Forbes, Inc. On the website, articles on finance, industry, investing, technology, communications, science, law, and marketing topics are featured. This company can be found in New York City and was founded in 1917 by B. C. Forbes. This specific article, How Should We Rebuild the U.S. Education System, was posted on February 15, 2013. The author’s main goal of this article was to inform readers of some steps we can take to fix the education system in America. John Converse interviewed three people who are working to form a better U.S. education system. Forbes generally targets anyone who is interested in being informed about the current issues in our culture. People who don’t want to watch the news or read the whole newspaper would find this beneficial to read because they are current issues in our culture today. I believe this article is credible, because the three people interviewed have put their hearts into making our education system better. The three people are, Sam Chaltain (previous national director of the Forum for Education and Democracy), Nikhil Goyal (nominated to be the future U.S. Secretary of Education), and Rahila Simzar (specializing in educational policy and social context, with interests in learning, cognition and development.) Based on my own opinion, I agree with this article. Everyone should read this article so we can make the education system better. People would become well informed on the issue of the American education system. My topic is the issues in the U.S. education system and this article covers my topic well.

Gordon, Robert J. "The Great Stagnation of American Education." The New York Times: Opinion Pages. The New York Times Company, 7 Sept. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.

This article is a credible source for my research because it is written by Robert J. Gordon, a professor of the social sciences at Northwestern University, is at work on a book about the American standard of living since the Civil War. The article was published on the New York Times: Opinion Pages website. On this website, viewers are able to see articles from the printed paper, along with blogs, and videos. Their website is updated constantly throughout the day with events. This article was written on September 7, 2013. The author’s main goal of this blog post was to make known to viewers the un-improvement in our education system. He talks about many of the main reasons the education system is stuck. I find this source to be extremely credible, because the author made sure to incorporate statistics like percents, years, and important names. This makes a huge difference, because then readers can trust the article since these are facts not just opinions. New York Times reaches out to anyone who is interested in being informed about the current events going on around us. I found this article to be extremely helpful and informative. Since this article was very factual and the author was confident in the topic he wrote about I was able to believe everything mentioned in the article. I believe this article is important to include in my essay because it talks about the issue of not fixing the problem in the U.S. education system and our need to make it better. 

Williams, Rachel. "What's Wrong with Education? Teachers Reveal All: As the Teaching Union Conference Season Gets under Way, We Ask What the Everyday Worries Are in Schools Today." Theguardian. Guardian News and Media Limited or Its Affiliated Companies, 2 Apr. 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.

This article is a credible source for my research paper because it is written by Rachel Williams. She is a writer who focuses on topics like social affairs, education, and for the Guardian and other websites. The Guardian is the website where her article is from that I am using for one of my sources in my paper. Her article is covering the issue with our education system. Within the writing she inserted various teachers opinions on why the schools are how they are today. Some of the reasons mentioned were: efficiency cuts, increased class sizes, changes to course and exams, low morale, bad teachers,  These are just some of the huge issues causing the problem in our education system. I enjoyed reading this article, because it was interesting to get a teacher’s perspective on their opinion on the american education system. The author’s main goal of this article was to inform readers what is causing these issues in the education system. I enjoyed the fact that she did not only use her opinion but teachers personal experiences. This article’s intended audience is anyone interested in getting others opinions on the main issue with the american education system. I believe this article is credible, because even though this article consists of opinions, they come from personal experiences. I am glad I read this article, since I am now more informed with visible issues in schools. This with be a good source for paper, because my topic is the issue in the U.S. education system. 

Lloyd, Jennifer R. "Elementary Class Sizes May Grow." MySA. Hearst Newspapers, LLC, 24 Apr. 2011. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.

This article is a credible source for my research paper because it is written by Jennifer R. Lloyd. She is an author who covers problems in higher education and takes part in the San Antonio Express News by researching science. Jennifer has been a part of the Express News since 2008, but has only been a part of the education team since 2009. At first, she covered K-12 education, especially the school districts. She attended the University of Washington in Seattle to receive her bachelor’s degree in communication. Along with that she received her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas. Lastly, she has previously taught journalism classes at universities. The article was published on mySA, the San Antonio Home Page on April 25, 2011. The author’s main goal of writing this was to inform the public of the growing class size issue. This can be a good thing but on the other hand there are some negative factors to bigger class sizes. They can be good, because this will help the students form more friendships. A problem that can result from larger class sizes is a student feeling lost. Teachers, with up to 24 student in their class, easily struggle with making each child feel loved and important. As a result of large class sizes, students tend to feel lost and unforgotten in the sea of children. The author’s intended audience in this article is anyone interested in learning about an issue in schools today. I believe this article to be credible, because the author is extremely educated in this topic. Readers can see this by the way she present the topic. Within the article are example of current class sizes in schools and statistics of how much money is being saved through making class larger instead of smaller. I agree with this article, that growing class sizes is an issue needing to be dealt with. It was great how Jennifer included the pros and cons. I enjoyed the way she didn’t make her opinion stand out. She gave examples from both supporting and opposing perspectives. Overall, this topic will be extremely useful for my essay.