RJA #15b: Reflection on What You Learned

I learned so much this semester. I've written plenty of papers prior to this class but had no idea about some of these websites that my teacher showed us this semester. I was a big Google person and now I know about plenty of other search engines that are just as good. I also became a lot more familiar with the auraria library website, like the databases and checking out books online. I was not familiar with a blog and never really knew what the purpose of it was. I will definitely continue to use my delicious account it is a great website and is very helpful. I have learned so much more about MLA format which will be good for me in the future because I know I will be writing more papers throughout college. This class has really taught me a lot and I'm glad that I have learned so many new things that I can use in the future.

RJA #15a: Word Cloud

This is my link to my word cloud http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1405875/Home_Schooling_vs._Conventional_Schooling

RJA #14: Annotated Bibliography, Part 2

Oak, Manali . "Why is Education So Important?." Buzzle.com Intelligent Life on the Web N.p., 30 May 2008. Web. 6 Nov. 2009. .

Manali is a software engineer. He spent time in the software industry as a developer, since than he has been writing because that it what he has a passion for. This article gives a clear explanation on what education is and why it is so important. It gives examples of the positive things that can happen with an education and how by having an education it can open many doors to great things in life. Manali discusses that education is important for the economic growth of a nation and people need to have education in order to be successful.

Smith, Michael. "Home-schooling Popularity Grows." Washington Times (2009). LexisNexis. Web. 27 Sept. 2009.

Michael Smith is the president of the Home School Legal Defense Association. Home School Legal Defense Association is an organization which protects the rights of parents who choose home education as their way to satisfy compulsory attendance law in the various states and Canada. Michael discusses how more parents are recognizing the need for more parental involvement. The article discusses how home schooling will continue to grow because it is much easier today than it was five or ten years ago. Michael includes how home schooling parents can shape their education to fit the needs of their child. Every parent wants to see their child succeed and more and more parents are noticing the positives that can come out of home schooling.

"Advantages and Disadvantages of Home Schooling." Teens Health from Nemours N.p., 2009. Web. 7 Oct. 2009. .

Nemours is one of the largest nonprofit organizations which is devoted to children's health. Nemours also supports important clinical research through scientific advances into practical ways to improve health care for children. This articles on this site are all created by physicians, writers, editors from Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media. This article talks about why parents home school their children and how home schooled children can learn just as much at home as they would in regular schooling. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of home schooling. Home schooling may not provide the convenience of school facilities, like the gymnasium or the science lab. Home schooling children can benefit from the one-on-one attention. This article gives both the positives and negatives between the two.

"Education: Types of Schools." Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. Ed. Shirelle Phelps. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 527-531.Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. Auraria Library. 22 Oct. 2009 .

The Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law fills a gap between legal texts that focuses on the theory and history behind the law and guides dealing with the law and the everyday effect on citizens. The encyclopedia includes descriptions of each issues historical background. It also covers important cases and profiles of U.S. laws and regulations. This section of the encyclopedia discusses education, the types of schools. It went into the background of education and talked about public, private, and parochial schools. It also discussed home schooling. All of them having some similarities and differences.

"Public School Advantages." Public School N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. .

The information collected through this website is used to improve systems to help other business partners and clients to help with their own marketing. This article goes into the advantages of public schooling and how public schools are ran by the government which means there is no tuition. Average families usually send their children to pubic schools. Public schools are very common and are found everywhere compared to private schools. So many parents have put their trust into public schools because there are many students who are enrolled in public schools.

"Advantages/Disadvantages of Public Schools." Educational Gateway N.p., 2008. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. .

Educational Gateway is a website resource for parents who want to provide the best education for their children. Educational Gateway provide articles with tips and advice on topics that may be a concern with parents. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of public schools. It discusses how classrooms can be large and there can be less individual attention but at the same time this environment exposes students to different social economic backgrounds. With public schools there are positives but with these positives comes negatives as well.

"The Many Benefits of Home Schooling." Tools for Learning N.p., 2007. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. .

Tools for Learning is a website directed by Richard Keir, PhD. He has worked in clinical psychology and many of his activities involved training and workshops. The Tools for Learning goal is to find and present articles, resources, and programs that will help gather information to become more familiar with certain topics. This articles goes over a few of the benefits of home schooling such as the religious home school curriculum. individualized learning, and the parent child relationship. It discusses how home schooling can benefit both the home schooled child and the children in public school because the number of children who attend public school is lower when more children are home schooled. A teacher can spend more individual attention with more students.

Chen, Grace. "Public School vs. Home School." Public School Review N.p., 30 Apr. 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2009. .

Public School Review is a website that provides free, detailed profiles of USA public schools. The site evaluates schools relative to each other. It also evaluates state-wide averages for several things such as student teacher ratio. This article presents a very clear view on both home schooling and public schooling. It talks about the home environment vs. the school environment. Home environment being the more safe and calm place while the school environment is more about the importance of socialization. The article compares home curriculum and school curriculum. This article presents both sides very well leaving it up to the parents to decide what is really best for their child.

Chen, Grace. "Parental Involvement is Key to Students Success." Public School Review N.p., 25 Mar. 2008. Web. 12 Oct. 2009. .

Public School Review evaluated state-wide averages for several things such students teacher ratio. It provides detailed profiles of USA public schools. It can be helpful for families who just moved to an area and want to know the ratings of a particular school. This article goes over how important it is when parents are involved in their children's lives. Research has shown that students achieve more in school when parents are involved in their education. It provides tips that parents can use to become more involved. By staying involved and being apart of their education it provides the parents with the satisfaction of making a difference in their child's education.

"The Pros and Cons of Different Types of Schooling." Extreme Intellect N.p., 2009. Web. 3 Sept. 2009. .

Extreme Intellect is a website for anyone who is interested in IQ intelligence or to increase knowledge for personal reasons or for students. This page gave a list of all the different types of schooling such as home schooling, private schooling, and public schooling and than described the pros and cons of each one. It was a good list to look at and also a good starting point for anyone who was wanting to know the differences and similarities between the three types of schooling.

Selakovich, Daniel. Schooling In America: Social Foundations of Education. New York: Longman Inc., 1984. 144-247. Print.

Daniel Selakovich is a professor of education at Oklahoma State University. He has directed the social foundations program since 1967. His book talks about the importance of socialization. The book talks about how the school has become a major agent of socialization and this environment is what links the child to the society. I also read about a couple of studies, one studied showed that the more time spent with the student the higher his or her achievement was. The book discussed what it takes to make a good quality teacher. The book has a lot of good information with important concepts to understand.

RJA #13b: Annotated Bibliography, Part 1

Smith, Micheal. "Home-Schooling Today: Programs to suit needs of students." Washington Times 2009. LexisNexis. Web. 27 Sept. 2009.
Michael Smith is the president of the Home School Legal Defense Association. Home School Legal Defense Association is an organization which protects the rights of parents who choose home education as their way to satisfy compulsory attendance law in the various states and Canada. Micheal Smith discusses how more and more parents are recognizing the need for more parental involvement with their child's education. This leads to the consideration of homeschooling as an alternative. He discusses the benefits to homeschooling and believes homeschooling is very beneficial for children. The author provides a good article to help parents who are considering homeschooling.

Cox, R. S. (2003, January 17). Home Schooling debate. CQ Researcher, 13, 25-48. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, http://0-library.cqpress.com.skyline.cudenver.edu/cqresearcher/cqresrre2003011700.
Rachel S. Cox is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C. She has written for Historic Preservation magazine and other publications. She graduated from Harvard College in English. In this homeschooling debate the author brings up very good points about both homeschooling and conventional education. Advocates of home school say it is the best way to assure a high quality education while critics argue that removing children from public schools threatens democracy. Critics also believe that it keeps students away from other students and adults from different social economic backgrounds. Rachel discusses this criteria in a very detailed explanation of both sides, depending on one's views will determine which they believe is better.

Hill, Paul T. "Home Schooling And The Future of Public Education." Peabody Journal of Education 75.1/2 (): 20-31. Web. 16 Nov. 2009.
Paul T. Hill is the John and Marguerite Corbally Professor of Public Affairs at the University of Washington-Bothell and director of the Center of Reinventing Public Education. His work focuses on reform of public elementary and secondary education. The article discusses homeschooling and what it looks like for the future of public education. Paul Hill talks about the public school system and how home school parents do not like the system and how certain things are being done. Homeschooling will limit public school enrollment which reduces the amount of money the state provides, this being one example of the harm that is being done to public school education.

Haverluck, Michael F. "Socialization: Homeschooling vs. Schools." CBN News CBN, 2 May 2007. Web. 3 Nov. 2009. .
Michael Haverluck writes for CBN news which is national/international, nonprofit news organization. Michael Haverluck discusses socialization, between homeschooling and conventional schools. Many people believing that homeschooled children do not get any type of socialization. The parents would rather extend their everyday classroom and take them to visit places like museums, city halls, national parks, and colleges where they say real community interaction is made. There are alternatives that are positive for homeschooled students.

RJA #13a: Field Research Report

I work at a school and I do the before and after school program. So I decided for my field research that I would go observe a class for a day so that is what I did. I went and observed a fourth/fifth grade class with a teacher I know who teaches there. I brought a notebook and a pen with me and watched for certain things in the classroom. I looked for the student teacher in interaction along with student to student interaction. I also looked to see if the teacher assigned group activities/work. I also looked to see if the teacher tried to bring all her students together when teaching something or when asking questions. I also looked to see if the more quiet students interacted with the teacher if needed or even his or her peers. These were all important because socialization is key in my paper.

RJA #12b: Presentation Plan

I plan on doing a brief outline on my topic. Not going into complete detail but summarizing the main points of my argument and depending on how many slides this covers I may also talk about the other side of he argument. My topic is homeschooling vs. conventional schooling and which is more beneficial. I am more for public schooling but I am also going to support homeschooling for my specific reasons. So these will be my main points in the paper.

RJA #11c: Thesis Statement Check

I checked two of my classmates thesis statements:
http://missylewis.blogspot.com/ Missy
http://janeparksblizog.blogspot.com/ Jane

RJA #11b: Visual Aids

A list of some visual aids I think I might use for my paper would be a table showing both home schooled students and nonhomeschool students comparing by household characteristics. Such as whether their two parent families, number of children, occupation of parent parent, parents highest education, and the household income.
Another graph I would use is a graph comparing the number of parents who homeschool do it for religious reasons.
A graph showing their race and ethnicity because what I've been reading so far is a majority of homeschooled students are White.
Another table I could use would be to show the difference between homeschooled students and nonhomeschooled students in their development of socialization. It has been said that children who are homeschooled tend to be less social than kids in a school environment. It is important to have good socialization skills when entering the work force.
Another graph or table I can show would be just many homeschooled students are there today compared to say ten or fifteen years ago depending on what I can find.

RJA #10b: Argument

My argument is based the side of public school arguing that public school is better because of the environment, school curriculum, and the social interaction. Social interaction is my key point in this argument arguing that social interaction is important because children should interact with each other in order to build real skills needed in the world. I am still going to mention some of the benefits of homeschooling. There isn't just one right answer to this argument. Of course homeschooling has its benefits one of them being that children should move at their own pace and be able to move on if necessary.

RJA #10a: Thesis Statement

Research Question: Which type of education is more beneficial to your child and his academic development:public school or home school?

Thesis Statement: Homeschooling can definitely be beneficial depending on the child and what type of learner they are but realistically public schools provides more of the critical components a child needs (claim) in order to be successful in society, including; school curriculum, the environment and most importantly social interaction. (reasons)

RJA #9: Evaluation of Sources

I evaluated an periodical and e-mailed it to myself from ebscohost. The article was titled Homeschooling and the Future of Public Education. The author is Hill, Paul. The source is PJE. Peabody Journal of Education; 2000, Vol. 75 Issue 1/2, p20-31, 12p. The keywords are homeschooling public schools and students. These are all words that relate directly to my topic. The summary of this article was also related straight to my topic. The author is a scholarly source. His work is focuses on reform of public education and secondary education. He is part of the Hoover Institution.

There was another periodical titled Homeschooling from ebscohost. The periodical was by McReynolds, Kate. The source is Encounter; Summer2007, Vol. 20 Issue 2 pg.36-41, 6p. The keywords were Homeschooling, public schools, homework, education, and distance education. The author has a Ph.D and is apart of the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education.

Another periodical from ebscohost was titled Why do Parents Homeschool by Green, Christa L.,Hoover-Dempsey, Kathleen V. The source is Education and Urban Society; Feb2007, Vol. 39 Issue 2 pg.264-285, 22p, Four charts. The keywords were homeschooling, education, children, learning, decision making, and Literature. Many of these pertain to my topic. Christa Green received her Master's degree in Developmental Psychology at Vanderbilt University in May, 2005. She double majored in psychology and child studies. Hoover-Dempsey, Kathleen V. seems to be a very scholarly source for my paper. She has a Ph.D from Michigan State University. Her research area focuses on Developmental Psychology and Cognitive Studies. Her current position is Associate Professor of Psychology, Peabody College; Associate Professor of Education.

One of the books is called Fundamentals of Homeschooling(How Family -Based Learning Works). The book is by Ann Lahrson-Fisher. Published by Nettlepatch Press, PO Box 1279-C, Carson, Washington 98610 U.S.A.

Another book is Public Schooling in America: A Reference Handbook. By Richard D. Van Scotter. Published by ABC-CLIO. ABC-CLIO is an award winning publisher of reference books and academic and general interest books. Well known and respected company.

There is a book named Schooling In America by Daniel Selakovich. The book relating to the social foundations of education. The book is published by Longman New York and London. This company is the leading publisher of language programs for middle school students, high school students, and adult learning in English as a second language.

I went onto tools-for-learning.com. The title of the page was The Many Benefits of Homeschooling (http://tools-for-learning.com/homeschooling/benefit_of_home_schooling.html). I went to the bottom of the page and clicked on the About section. The website is made by Richard Keir who has a Ph.D who has spent a lifetime involved with learning and training. For years he has worked in Clinical Psychology. Many of his activities include workshops and trainings.

RJA #8b: Social Media

To find social media I went onto blogcatelog.com and typed homeschooling vs. public schooling it took me to a blog that was related to homeschooling. I actually found a couple blogs from blogcatelog. One was the Pros and Cons of Homeschooling-Is It Worth It. The second one was Facts About Homeschooling. The date of search for these blogs was October 12, 2009. I bookmarked these in my delicious account.
I also went to Keotag and typed in homeschooling AND public schooling and I clicked on a blog that was titled Information on Homeschooling: Is This Best For My Child? Date of search October 12, 2009.

RJA #8a: Websites

I went onto bing( search engine) and typed in benefits AND public schooling and found a website that discussed the Many Benefits of Homeschooling from toolsforlearning.com Date of search: October 11, 2009. I marked this in my delcious account.

I went onto google( search engine) and types public schooling AND advantages and found a page that discussed Advantages/Disadvantages of Public Schools from educational gateway.com. I put this in my delcious account. Date searched: October 11, 2009.

I also found a page titled Public School Advantages from publicschoolsguide.com and I marked it in my delicious account.

I went to info.com which is a meta search engine and I searched homeschooling AND public schooling and found a website called enzinearticles.com. The page I went to is called Homeschooling vs Public Schooling. Date searched: October 11, 2009. I marked this in my delicious account.

I went incywincy.com which is an invisible web search engine and typed+homeschooling +public schooling +advantages. I then clicked on homeschooling and found an article titled Why Homeschool? or Education Doesn't Have to be Boring. The website was LewRockwell.com. Date searched: October 11, 2009.

Internet Research Project

I was assigned OneRiot for my research tool. The link to this search engine is OneRiot.com. This website is a real time search engine which means that this website reflects the links and content that people are looking at, talking about and sharing with their friends right now. OneRiot is used to find the latest news, blogs, and videos that the social web is talking about. The positive side about this search engine is everything is current and up to date of things that are going on which I think is pretty cool. The website also goes by the relevance and popularity of a topic and indexes it into their database. The weaknesses about this website is you can not always find the right kind of research when writing a research paper. When writing a research paper you ned more scholarly information. This kind of information will not be found at OneRiot unless looking for blogs that may or may not be useful. OneRiot uses the blogs and other information through Digg, Twitter, and other social sharing services. OneRiot not only searches the web but also videos. OneRiot does not have an advanced search like other search engines. I did try to type in cats AND dogs as an example and information did come up with both cats and dogs but i also go the words that were seperated.

RJA #7c: Field Research Plan

For my field research I have a couple options that I'm thinking about about doing. My first option is to go observe a classroom. I work at a school doing the before and after school daycare, so I would probably just set up a day at that school with one of the teachers. I don't know what grade I would want to sit in on yet. I think anything older than first or second grade would be fine. I would be looking for how the students interact with each other and if there is a lot of group activities and observe that type of setting. I would also look for how much attention is given to the students individually. If I decide to do this as my field research I will probably do it in the next month. My second option is to interview a sociology teacher at Metro. I took an intro to sociology last year and probably could ask that teacher if I could interview her. I would ask her how important is socialism for students. Maybe even talk about the developmental theories like Piaget and Vygotsky theories on the subject matter. Piaget talks about hands on student learning and Vygotsky discusses the zone of proximal development. If I decide to do this I will also do this within the next month.

RJA #7b: Internet Research Tool Test

I went to OneRiot.com and tested out some of my search strings. I typed in benefi* of public schooling and found an article that was titled Homeschooling Takes Your Child Out Of Public School- A Unique Benefit. The website was mediasyndicate.com and I accessed it October 4, 2009.
When I read this it had been read 3253 times. I bookmarked it in my delicious account.
I typed in +home school +public school +advantages as my search string and found a review on public school vs. home school. The review was published on April 30, 2008. I accessed it October 4, 2009. I saved this review in my delicious account.
With the same search string I also found another article similar to the one before. It discussed why parents home school and the advantages and disadvantages of home school. I also put this in my delicious account.
I used +home school +public school and found an article named home schooling vs. public schooling- A Large Decision. I bookmarked this in my delicious account.

RJA #7a: Internet Research Tools

I am a very big google fan and always use this website as my starting point at the beginning of starting to do my research. I like google because I always seem to find what I'm looking for. I'm very familiar with this website. I like how many options there are for google. There isn't really anything that I don't like about this search engine. I also use ask because this website is similar to google and works pretty much the same. I also like wikipedia. I don't actually use what is in the text but when I look at the bottom of the page it gives a list of many references that could be very accountable. I could use these references to lead me to more credible sights. Wikipedia is more of a starting point before I began to write a paper. I don't like this website because other people can actually go in and change the original text which means some of the information is false.

RJA #6c: Protopage

Protopage

RJA #6b: Search Strings

Revised Search Strings:
+home schooling +advantages
+public school +advantages
+home school +disadvantages
+public school +disadvantages
For the most part my search strings look good the way they are on 4b so I didn't change much. I added a few more to this journal.

RJA #6a: Periodical Articles

PERIODICALS:

I went onto Ebsco through the Auraria Campus Library and found an article named Homeschooling.

Title: Homeschooling.
Authors: McReynolds, Kate

Source: Encounter; Summer2007, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p36-41, 6p

Date: September 24, 2009

I sent this to my e-mail.

Through Ebsco I found an article named Why do Parents Homeschool?
Title: Why Do Parents Homeschool?
Authors: Green, Christa L.1Hoover-Dempsey, Kathleen V.1
Source: Education & Urban Society; Feb2007, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p264-285, 22p, 4 charts.
Date: September 24, 2009
I sent to this to my e-mail

I went onto LexisNexis through the Auraria Library
Title: Homeschooling Today: Programs to suit needs of students.
Author: Michael Smith
Section: SUNDAY READ, FAMILY; Pg. 18
Source: Washington Times Sepetember 20, 2009
Date: September 27, 2009
I sent this newspaper article to my e-mail

On Ebsco I found an article that discusses the controversy of homeschooling in the US.
Title: Homeschooling in the United States (cover story)
Author: Cox, Rachel S.
Source: CQ Researcher 1/17/2003, Vol. 13 Issue 2, p27, 9p, 1 chart, 3 graphs, 2 bw
Date published: January 17,2009
Date: September 27, 2009
I sent this article to my e-mail.

On Ebsco that discussed the effects of homeschooling on public education in the US.
Title:Home Schooling and the Future of Public Education.
Author: Hill Paul, T.
Source: PJE. Peabody Journal of Education; 2000, Vol. 75 Issue 1/2, p20-31, 12p
Date: September 27, 29

RJA #5c: Search String Check

Search Strings:
Missy
Jane

RJA #5b: Finding Books

Finding books online is always a little harder than just going online to find whatever it is your looking for. I started off by going to the Auraria library website, from there I went to the Skyline Catalog. I searched homeschooling and found two pages of books related to homeschooling. I clicked on a book named Homeschooling in the United States. The book was an electronic resource which made it easier for me, instead of having to request it or go pick it up. The book has some good information and actually isn't a very long book. I bookmarked it my delicious account.
I went to Prospector and searched public schooling and found a book that is available at the Auraria Library. The book is Public Schooling in America: a reference handbook by Van Scooter, Richard D. Call number is LA217.2.V36 1991. I don't have to request it because the book is already at the school library.
I found another book at the Auraria library that I'm going to check out called Schooling in America: scapegoat and salvation. I'm going to look into this book because I'm not entirely sure what this book is all about. The call number is LC45.4 .S27 1983.
Another book that is similar is called Schooling in America Social Foundations of Education. The call number is LC191.4 .S44 1984. Available at the Auraria Library.
I went onto the Prospector and requested a book called Fundamentals of Homeschooling. A book on how family based learning works. A good book for my paper because this will explain the positive side homeschooling.

RJA #5a: Finding Reference Articles

I started off going to the library homepage through Auraria. I went to the Gale Virtual Reference Library and went into education. I found quite a few encyclopedias on education. I started off with Education: Meetings America's Needs? This sections title was Issues in Education. The section dicussed homeschooling and the requirements needed. This is something I haven't looked into as much. It also discusses public schools regarding open enrollment, religion in public schools. I bookemarked all the required information in my delicious account. I searched more and found Education: Types of Schools in the Gale Encycopedia of Everyday Law. This dicussed the many different types of schooling in the United States and I posted this in my delicious account. I went Citizendium and found an article on that had a definition of education and alsoo talked about education levels and systems. Along with distance and pychology education. Contemporay debates in education was also in the article. Posted this website in my deliciuos account.

RJA #4c: Checking Research Questions

Barbara
Missy

RJA# 4b: Writing Search Strings

Search strings and Boolean Operators that I came up with:
+home school +public school
home school AND public school
home school OR public school
homeschooling AND advantages
public school AND advantages
+home school +public school +advantages
benefits AND public school
benefits AND home school
"benefit of public schools"
"benefits of homeschooling"
"homeschooling education"/"public school education"
develop* of homeschooling
benefi* of public school

RJA #4a: Generating Keywords

Research Question: Which type of education is more beneficial to your child and their academic development: public school or home school?

FORMS:
Beneficial: Benefits, Benefit
Development: Develop, Developed, Developing
Home school: Homeschooling, Home schooled

RELATED TERMS/SYNONYMOUS TERMS
List of words for education: teaching, instruction, training, pedagogy.
List of words for beneficial: salutary, good, advantages, valuable, helpful
List of words for academic: scholarly, pedantry, studious, scholastic, pedantic, learned
List of words for development: advance, growth, process, maturate, evolve, acquire

LADDER OF GENERALIZATION:
Education>K-12>Theory and Method>Types>Homeschooling and Public School

RJA #3c: Developing Research Question

1.) Why is homeschooling better than public schools?
Why is public school better than homeschooling?
When a child has a disability is it better for them to be home schooled?
Should stay at home moms consider homeschooling for their child/children?
Who should decide if a child should be home schooled, the parents or the child?
Would a student who was home schooled ever want to switch to a public school and if so why?
Which type of education is more beneficial to your child and his academic development:public school or home school?
Where are the highest percentage rates of students who end up in college home schooled students or students from a public school?
2.) I do want to share more information on my topic. I am evaluating more on the issue because there is two sides to this so I'm comparing and contrasting home school vs. public school. In my paper I will define homeschooling and public schooling, it is very important for my paper.
3.) I am writing to those who are against homeschooling and those who are against public education. I want them to see both sides of the issue. I know that these couple audiences are very serious about this issue. This paper can also have an audience for those who are considering both homeschooling and public schools for their children, this would be something their interested in. My purpose in writing is to inform.
4.) Questions that would not meet the needs of my audience would be "Who should decide if a child should be home schooled, the parents or the child?" My audience would not like this question too much.
5.) The question I chose was, Which type of education is more beneficial to your child and his academic development:public school or home school? I would define the term academic development as the child's level of learning based on his or her age and also on the amount of education the child has.

RJA #3b: Narrowing Research Topic

At the beginning when I first chose my topic I was planning on researching the percentage rates of students who ended up in college after graduation. I was going to look into the different environments of schooling such as homeschooling, public and private schools and even charter schools. I thought I was just going to focus on the different types of schooling and the percentage of these students who when to college. After I actually started looking more into the topic I found a lot of information on public school vs. homeschooling. The topic seems a little narrow and straight to the point. I may have to add more into the paper. Maybe bring the percentage of how many students go off to college from public schools and how many go to college who are home schooled. By doing more research I will be able to determine whether or not this topic needs elaboration.

RJA #3a: Exploring Research Topic

I actually came to find out that there is definitely plenty of information on my topic. I googled different types of schooling. I went into the google blog and found some information on how to compare home school vs. public school. It is people arguing which type of schooling is better and their reasons why they believe that. Some of these other websites I went to that my teacher showed us didn't have as much information on my topic. I went on to IceRocket and found a good blog. The blog talked about the different benefits of both public schools and homeschooling. It also talked about the cost of spending between both. Even though wikipedia is not a good source for my paper it is a good starting point because the references at the bottom of the page are accountable. I found a big article on education in the United States and it talked about many areas like children with disabilities, cost, public, private, and charter schools. It also talked about the grading scale and standarized testing. I went to Debatepedia and found a debate on homeschooling; related to whether or not parents could provide a quality education for their children.

RJA #2c: Delicious Account

To go to Delicious Account. This is where I can access my research websites and get to Elizabeth Clark's 1020 class schedule and posted journal information.

RJA #2b: Research Topic

I chose to do my topic on the different types of schooling being taught in the United States. There are many types of schooling. There are public, charter, and private schools. There are also children who get home schooled. Out of these different types of schooling, I want to base my research off of the percentage of them who ended up going to college after they graduate. I'm also going to talk about ACT scores as a whole with each individual category such as public, private, charter etc. 

What I already know about my topic is that in my words getting home schooled is actually a good way of getting taught the curriculum because there is more one on one time and the student gets a lot of attention compared to being in a class of twenty students or more. I know that private schools make time each day to teach religion. Students have to wear uniform most of the time and are more restricted than in a public school, if this has any impact on how student develop and progress. 

There are definitely many things I don't know about this topic. That is why I chose it and want to learn more about. I want to know if by getting home schooled it reduces a child's social skills and in the long run not doing so well in college if they decide to go. Being home schooled is such a different atmosphere compared to an actual school setting with others students and teachers. I want to know the definition of what a charter school is and what the difference between a charter school and a public or a private school is. I also want to know if one type is better than the other. For example is a private school better than a public school. Do more students from private school end up going to college than students from a public school? These are all questions that interest me and that I want to learn more about. 

RJA #2a: Possible Topics

Some topics I am interested in are:

• Social Work
• Teaching
• Criminal Justice
• Law
• Pyschology
• Sociology

All these topics are very broad. I love children and have fun working with them. I'm thinking about doing my research on the different types of schooling and the percentage of the graduates who end up going to college including a combination of ACT scores as well.  Schooling such as homeschooling, private, charter and public schooling. 

I'm also thinking about doing my paper on prisons and how much of our US tax dollars goes into the prison facilities. This is also very interesting because there are many different views on this subject. Many people believe that there is too much money that goes into these facilities and much of this money could go toward education spending. On the other side people believe that the money is definitely needed for high security purposes to keep everyone else safe. I' know that the money is used for many other important things. I would want to find more information on this subject.

Dominique's RJA #1 Areas of Interests

As of right now I'm in my second year of college and haven't declared a major. I've always had a passion for children. I work with children now as my part time job. It is definitely a job that I never get bored with. Every day is a new day never knowing what's going to happen. They make work fun and exciting. I took a psychology class and found that to be very interesting. There are so many areas that involve psychology when working with children. 

I have always been into law as well. It's been something that has always intrigued me. I have thought about working with juveniles when I get out of school. Maybe being some type of probation officer or working in a rehab center. I've always had a interest in this type of work. I'm taking an intro to criminal justice class and it is already very interesting to me. I hopefully can pick a research topic, related to these topics that is going to keep me interested throughout the semester. I want to research a topic that really grabs my attention and something that I want to learn more about.