#7 Homeschool—Nerdy, Normal or Permissive?

My research topic has taken an abrupt about-face. From my first topic about factors contributing to sleep-deprived college students (ha, ha), I switched to the effects of high-adrenaline Hollywood car chases, then homed in on my final topic: homeschool in the media.

I think it's fascinating how various types of media portray homeschoolers. Although I will probably specifically focus my paper on how news articles stereotype homeschoolers, I have found other types of media that do the same thing.

Anybody read the book "Star Girl"? It portrays a homeschooled girl who is entirely abnormal. She dresses in weird clothes, acts strange, and has no social constraints. The book studies her, then releases her to the wild, like an entomologist with an exotic butterfly.

This is not uncommon—media often shows homeschoolers as socially out-of-touch, ungoverned and wild. Then again, it also sometimes throws in the odd story of a homeschooler who aces every test, goes to college early and ends up in medical school at age 14. That's the other end of the spectrum, and although I admit both cases exist, they are not the norm. How often does the news post a story about an average Joe homeschooler who grows up, goes to college, makes friends, and lives a normal life?

I have yet to see one. Hence my paper.

#6 Never Leave Him

A lot of people were upset at President Packer's recent conference talk. But how many of them do you think heard Elder Andersen's talk "Never Leave Him?" In his talk, Elder Andersen uses rhetorical questions, imagery and allusion to create emotional appeal to caution Latter-day Saints against taking offense. He shows that no one is immune from being offended.

In the first paragraph Elder Andersen asks a rhetorical question: “Will ye also go away?” This sets the emotional stage for his talk, causing his listeners to evaluate their own faithfulness and wonder if they would abandon the Lord. At the end of his talk he lets listeners decide the answer, as he answers the question, interestingly enough, with another: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.”

He also uses several awesome pieces of imagery to call on emotions—one of the most striking being: “If we are not watchful, our injured, childlike spirit will retreat back into the cold, dark crust of our former bloated ego, leaving behind the warm, healing light of the Savior.” This brilliant use of words brings personal examples to mind—many Latter-day Saints know someone who has had hurt pride and turned on the Lord like a wounded animal when he could have healed them. It makes me think of how Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings" turned away from the light to hide in a cave, becoming a shadow of what he once was.

Elder Andersen also creates emotional appeal through allusion when he says, “The words of the Apostles from another setting come quietly into our mind: ‘Lord, is it I?’” Most Latter-day Saints know he refers to the Last Supper, when the Lord’s apostles wonder who will betray him. This throwback to history reminds listeners that they, too, are vulnerable, and must school their feelings carefully.

As Elder Andersen appeals to the emotions of Latter-day Saints through his use of self-evaluative questions, imagery and allusion, he encourages them to safeguard against offense, and shows the benefits of remaining faithful to the Lord. If everyone had taken this talk to heart, how many do you think would have been offended at President Packer? Zero, maybe?

#5 Insight Paper—Split Between Topics!

In my search for a research paper topic, I've come up with two! Which would you be more interested in learning about?

1. The effect of mass media (especially Hollywood movies) on traffic violations in the United States. All those car chases must have some effect...

2. The effect of mass media (probably more television) on college students getting enough sleep to meet the hours suggested by medical professionals. I learned the required amount is eight-and-a-half to nine hours of sleep. All students who are getting that much, say 'aye!' -silence-

I think both are fascinating topics! Any takers?

#4 Lady Luck

Luck had a little fun with me a few days ago.

I got off the bus feeling ill. I'd been sick for a week, but what with the rationed sleep hours, irregular meals and stress that come from taking eight classes, I was going from bad to worse. My legs felt like Jell-O, and I wondered if I could make it to class, even though my classroom was in a building not far from the bus stop.

Then I remembered it was a lab day. Oh no! The lab was clear across campus! I stepped into a nearby computer room to check my online schedule. Yep, it was a lab day. Just my luck. I had missed the early bus that morning, instead taking the one that got to campus right before my class. I was going to have to put my best foot forward if I wanted to get to that lab on time. If I had a best foot, anyway.

I stumbled across campus and crawled up seemingly endless flights of stairs. Luck was with me—I was right on time. Just as I triumphantly surmounted the last step and approached the lab, I found I was unexpectedly going against the flow of traffic. All my classmates were leaving the lab and descending the stairs. The foremost informed me that plans had changed, and class was in our normal classroom.

Lucky me. Of course, I couldn't fault the teacher—I had almost forgotten it was a lab day myself. When we arrived at the correct classroom, the teacher commented that we'd all had a little exercise. Very true. It was the same day as my flexibility class, as luck would have it. With all this physical goodness, you'd think I'd be in perfect form. I was for a few days, I guess. Now I'm flat on my back in bed.

Thanks, Lady Luck. At least you picked a weekend.