The Marvelous Monticello

             Have you ever wondered how your life would be different if you lived on a plantation? Or what it would be like if you were a slave? There is a really informative, yet intriguingly fascinating, website about the famous Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home that includes many biographies and real journal entries about enslaved workers. Whether you are interested in domestic workers, field workers, or skilled trade workers, this site has it all. These biographies are about actual slaves that worked for the real Thomas Jefferson! This awesome site also includes biographies and journal entries of free workmen, the Hemings family, Sally Hemings, and even Thomas Jefferson himself! You will be able to learn about how Monticello operated and all the contributor’s roles in making Monticello Thomas Jefferson’s heaven on earth. This site also includes pictures of the beautiful gardens where some of the slaves worked, and pictures from inside Jefferson’s self-designed home. Check it out now! You won’t regret it!


http://www.monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/people-plantation

Thomas Jefferson

          Thomas Jefferson was a very talented, respectable man. Before attending class today, I knew very little about his interests and accomplishments. When I heard Thomas Jefferson, all I thought of was a former president who helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Now, after learning more about this great man, I know that he was well known for his achievements in politics, architecture, exploration, science and education. Thomas Jefferson strongly believed in religious freedom and the separation of church and state. Jefferson also daily recorded the temperature for multiple years and intensively studied plants from all over the world. He was very fascinated with the world and sought to learn more about it to improve it. One of Jefferson’s biggest accomplishments was founding of the University of Virginia. He strongly believed that everyone should be educated and he initiated the idea of public education. One thing I found uniquely interesting about Jefferson was that he would rather be at his beautiful home, Monticello, than behind a desk in an office somewhere. This appropriately shows his love and passion for the world and family time. There are many, many great things about Thomas Jefferson and he has been a large part of our country’s success.

Communication is Key

Writing is a very important skill and a crucial aspect of communication. Many people in the world believe that they can get by without knowing proper writing techniques because they don’t pertain to their career. However, reading and writing is beneficial where ever we go and with whatever job we decide to pursue.  Without these skills, we would lack the ability to successfully persuade, help, instruct and communicate with people.  Learning to read and write properly will help us to be successful with any job, for the rest of our lives.

Various business professionals today stress the importance of reading and writing in their work force. One, an insurance agent, daily reads insurance policies, construction contracts, and writes emails to her clients. These essential skills help her to review her client’s insurance requirements for jobs they are working on and help her to make sure that her clients have proper coverage in place. Without knowing how to properly read and write, she wouldn’t be able to communicate with her clients which would hurt her in trying to help them. Another professional, a business development manager for sales, is always writing proposals and reading building plans and requirements. For his job, these skills are very important because they help him provide a solution of his customers. When I grow up, I want to be an occupational therapist. Occupational therapists help people who are mentally, physically, emotionally, or developmentally impaired. Reading and writing are crucial in this field of work because occupational therapist need to read about the certain disabilities, write about the progress of their patients, and may even teach someone with impaired vision to read or help someone with a hand injury how to write. To be successful with any job you must know how to correctly write and read. No matter the field of interest, communication is always key.

Burchfield, Lee. Personal interview. 28 Aug. 2011.

Burchfield, Jana. Personal interview. 28 Aug. 2011.

About Occupational Therapy. The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. Web.
             28 Aug. 2011.

Change the Texters, Save the World

Many people in the text messaging world are hurting crucial communication. The abundance of abbreviations, multiple grammar issues, and lack of punctuation make, what should be simple messages, difficult to understand. Some people are starting to abbreviate full sentences thinking it will be quicker, when really the reader has to spend five minutes just to decode the text. Without punctuation, how are we supposed to know the intent of the sender? Are they asking a question or are they making a statement? To prevent these common mishaps, text messagers should only use worldwide abbreviations such as "omg" or "g2g". Senders should also take the time to type on more character to add punctuation to eliminate potential confusion. If texters would follow these simple rules, communication across the nation would be much more effective and the text messaging world would be saved.