As you read, watch multimedia presentations, and participate in class discussion, make note of intriguing quotations and ideas. Select one to which you want to respond; using the following format, write for twelve to fifteen minutes. Your response should be 200-300 words. Proofread for typographical errors, but don’t do any major editing. [Write the entry at the top of your "Blog Reflection Username" GDoc; copy and paste the text to your blog.]
Journal Entry Title: In the “title” box of the Post form, type QR # __; create a two-part title but post it as the first line in the body window.
Prompt Context: Incorporate the quotation as the first paragraph with context – two or three sentences only. Use MLA citation format if your prompt comes from a text or film. Use (Class Discussion) when appropriate. Refer to peers by username: first name last initial.
Response: Free-write your reaction to the prompt; capture your thoughts as they occur. Start a new paragraph whenever your ideas take a decided turn, but don’t focus on structure or coherence. Time yourself – write for at least twelve minutes and no more than fifteen.
Proposition: Based on the progression of thought in the reflection, write a concluding sentence that synthesizes a specific insight into the human condition or human nature.
Sample Quick Response
[Title] Felines’ Tragic Flaw: When Curiosity Turns Dangerous (QR#1)
[Prompt Context] Melba, a young black girl in Little Rock, Arkansas, expresses a desire to see what is inside the white’s-only Central High School. Her grandmother India, worried about the racial tension at the time, replies, “‘Don’t you dare say that, girl; curiosity gets a body in a whole lot of trouble. Be patient’” (Beals 21).
[Response] When Melba’s curiosity leads her to sign up to be among the first to attend the newly integrated school system, she suffers physical pain, indignity, and fear because many of the whites in Arkansas do not want the social order to change. Similarly, the early seventeenth century Church in Italy did not tolerate Galileo’s curiosity and put him under house arrest until his death. Galileo’s curiosity threatened only ideas. The curiosity of other scientists has threatened life such as the creation of nuclear weapons.
When people say “Curiosity killed the cat,” they are attempting to prevent others from challenging their authority or upsetting the status quo. People fear change and would rather endure the known that take physical, emotional, or intellectual risks. Sometimes the outcomes are horrendous, intentionally or unintentionally, it is true. However, without curiosity, the human race would still be hoarding fire from lightning strikes, and most of our important discoveries in science, medicine, and technology would never have existed. While I have always valued curiosity, I had not thought about the negative impact it can have, so I have modified my perspective a bit.
[Proposition] Proposition: Although it may lead to trouble and suffering initially, curiosity is necessary for the survival and advancement of the human race.
