Final Blog Posting

I feel that I have mostly improved on my problem with procrastination. Over this semester I have been doing my assignments and papers earlier than the night before, which is a good accomplishment for me. I feel that getting my homework done earlier has helped me to be less stressed out this semester. I still struggle with writing a little bit. I think if I enjoyed writing more, then I would probably be able to put more creativeness into it.I think this class was conducted very well. The professor was well organized, explained all of the assignments thoroughly and helped us whenever needed. I can't think of any changes that should be made to the course.As far as the assignments go, I think they all were pretty well explained. I think that our final paper wasn't exactly as straight forward about what to have in it, but you could figure it out. I think the amount of conferences we had were plenty because they were just a good overview of our paper we had just done and a good reminder of what our current grade was.

Week 14

What is your favorite piece of data and why?

I think my favorite piece of data source was my observations that I made. I feel this way for many reasons. The main reason I liked my observations the best is because they were the most enjoyable data to collect. Through observing my subculture I have been able to interact with my old teammates, coaches, and meet the new teammates as well. Another positive to observing the team was being back home. The observations helped me analyze and organize my paper better too because it was in my words and easy to recall what I had wrote down. All in all, I think actually being at the field site and observing the culture is by far the best way to get information and use it accordingly.

Cut-Ups

If one employee isn't ‘vibing’ well with a customer, another employee will smoothly intervene and take over. These cheerleaders are what kept the crowd going. Every time the sea of red roared, I would ask my dad or mom what had happened. I know she answered all of the questions honestly, and I was not sure that all of the people I interviewed answered truthfully. Anyway, as I sat there in the audience, observing the show the choirs were putting on, I began to see why I was in choir in the first place.

brain storming

3 possible titles:

1. Dancing as an Activity, Passion, and Love
2. The Inside Meaning of 5, 6, 7, 8
3. A Look at High School Dance Teams On and Off the Floor

Main theme titles/sections:

1. Who Am I and Where Do I Fit In
2. Benefits of Joining the Rhythmettes
3. Making Money
4. An In Depth Look At the Season
5. Why Do You Care
6. Are They Actually Slutty
7. Wrapping It All Up

Week 13

I will be telling the story about observing tryouts.

Tryouts for the Rhythmette dance team are held at the end of April sometimes early May. Tryouts are a two day process with many emotions wrapped along in those two days. As I arrived for tryouts the girls participating in this stressful event were on the floor stretching along with the other girls both old members and future hopeful members. Each dancer is given a piece of paper with a number on it which is pinned to their shirt. This number is what the judges use to pick the team members for the next year. The old members also have to re tryout. After the girls were done stretching I noticed some of the looks of their faces as if they wanted to just run and hide and not go through with this experience, possibly because of their nerves, I was not too sure. The first day the girls were drilled with doing kicks, kick lines, turns, both single and double, and at the very end of the day they were taught a short, quick, somewhat easy dance. Many of them seemed to be catching on by the end of that day. The next day they all came back to the cafeteria to finish their second day of tryouts. The day started off with stretching, then jumped straight into the most intense part of the whole process. The girls were split into groups of four and had to perform the dance they had learned in that group in the cafeteria with the music with just their group and no other help at all, while being watched intensely by the judges. After groups were done performing and walking out of the cafeteria with the other girls I saw a mix of emotions. Some girls said they felt like they did their best, others felt as if they were just too nervous to perform at their best. I felt bad for them, because I remember that pressure behind tryouts. After all of the groups are done performing in front of the judges, the judges get together for about 15 to 20 minutes to make their final decision about who will be on the next year's Rhythmette dance team. Once the judges have reached their decision, the girls are handed a letter that is stapled closed with their number on the front of it. They are told this will tell them whether or not they made the team, and they are instructed not to open it until after they have left the building. Many girls simply couldn't wait that long. After they were opening their letters outside of the cafeteria I saw a whole sprawl of different emotions, some were extremely happy and jumping up and down, others were crying, some were okay with the results, and some were very mad. The next day the new team met and congratulated everyone for making the team.

6 Word Memoirs

Own Life - College Is Challenging, As Is Life

Subculture - We Dance Because We Love To

Week 12

My understanding of the word rhetoric is that it is used when talking about language. My definition of rhetoric would be - a way in which someone uses or speaks with language. I am not very familiar with this word though in an actual meaning based way. I think the way we act, speak, and maybe even possibly dress would all be things that constitute rhetoric. The only times I have ever really heard the word rhetoric being used is English classes and possibly even my sociology class once. I am not for sure though. I think in our American society the word rhetoric is probably most commonly used in a business setting by high class or well educated people. I think the word rhetoric is most commonly used in a positive way. I think there might possibly be a rhetoric that goes along with my subculture. If there was one it would probably be the way the team dresses and acts. It could possibly even be the words the team members use. I think I would first learn a better meaning and understanding of the word rhetoric before I would use it in my final project or my mini ethnography. Once I understood the meaning better I might use it to describe my subculture or just for better word usage to represent the subculture well.

Quote about writing...or something

Writing is like getting your teeth pulled, its painful and nobody wants to do it.

Week 11

My writing process hasn't changed too much since week 1. I still plan out my writing before I start a paper. I have learned to use different words and such in my papers though. Also, in this course, the papers we have been writing are totally different from what I'm use to, so that is a change in how I have been writing. I think the assignment that has given me the most trouble was our previous lit review assignment. We went over it a lot in class and how to go about writing it, but when I sat down to start it I was confused about how to actually write it and what needed to be in it. The instructor's website helped me a little bit, because it went further into detail, but the lit review assignment was definitely the hardest yet. Our assignment before this past one, which was the annotated bibliography seemed easy to me. I had never written one of them before, so that whole process was new to me. I found it to be pretty easy though. I thought it was going to be a lot harder. Hmmm...I think the biggest reason to write would be to reflect your feelings and to organize your thoughts. Writing can also let someone show their ideas and creativity. As of right now, writing is not a big role in my life. I am not much of a writer. I just do not enjoy writing at this point in my life. In the future writing may become a small part of my life, but I do not see writing as playing a major role in my life. Writing really has nothing to do with my major but you never know when you will have to write a paper for something that could be career related.

Family Story

In my family we don't necessarily have a story but we do share a laugh together whenever one subject gets brought up. That subject would be my grandma. Over the years she has became the center of attention in our family. She goes to Florida with my grandpa every winter, and when they come back in April every year she always starts to sort of act out. The first thing that starts happening when she arrives back from Florida is she stops taking her medicine, which is bad. Once she hasn't had her medicine for about a month she starts being crazy. She started smoking cigarettes again, she has ran away more than once, she accuses her 70 some year old husband of cheating on her with her twin, and much more! She even joins us in the laughs sometimes about the crazy things she has done. The funniest I think that is most talked about in our family is one of the times that she ran away. She decided that my grandpa was cheating on her with her twin so she took $1,000 out of her bank account, grabbed her car keys and left the house. She even left her cell phone behind. She lives in Monticello, but she ended up in Battle Ground, with her windows down and it was raining into her car. So her leather seats were getting ruined. When the cops found her she was asleep in her car on the side of the road sort of pulled over. She was all wet from the rain and said she didn't know where she was and that was why she pulled over to sleep. After that instance though she began taking her medicine again. At the time it wasn't funny because we were all very worried about her. However afterwards we all laugh about it, and use that story as a reason to why she should always take her medicine.

Week 10

The structure I am planning to use for my mini ethnography I have not quite decided yet. I think I will be looking at some of the online examples of the mini ethnographies and probably do a structure similar to those. I plan on beginning my mini ethnography by telling my readers what my subculture is that I have been observing. I will then begin my mini ethnography in a chronological order of events that take place over a course of almost a year of being on the dance team and the rituals involved in that year. I think I will save my informants until the topic on which they gave the most information about comes up. I will eventually be talking about my interest in the subculture and my place in it when I talk more about my position and past within the subculture. I will be proceeding through the paper as a type of story in order of events. Yes I will be going chronologically through my paper, not based on my research in which I found my information, however through events and the order that they happen. Some of the areas in my paper will have themes, but they most likely won't be linked to the other themes in a big way. I haven't yet really thought much about the conclusion to my paper. I probably will try to wrap up the season of the dance team in the end of my paper. I might even try to mention all of the highlighted points I wrote about and join them together in some sort of way. I think the chronological structure I have chosen will work very well with my piece because I can go through each ritual throughout the whole season and that will thoroughly show my readers a type of insider prospective to being on the dance team.

Brief Glossary

1. eight count - a section of the dance
2. flat back - a position to describe how the coach wants their backs during a certain part of the routine
3. double turn - two full spins in a circle
4. spotting - while spinning, looking at one certain spot and keeping focus on that so as not to lose your balance
5. facials - something the coach often yells while they are performing to remind the girls to smile and give the audience good facial expressions and attitude
6. body suit - a black tight fitting piece of clothing that goes underneath their regular dance uniform for a performance so no skin is visible in the midriff area

American Tongues

Question 1:
I think as a researcher today I would possibly ask a few different types of questions and maybe go to some more states other than the major ones. What I would do the same would be interviewing all of the different types of people talking on their own means and not just answering specific questions.

Question 2:
Some of the flaws in the study are maybe that they don't portray every state. The study also shows some ugly sides of people when they talk about stereotypes of accents. I think the north and the west coast was under represented and the south was maybe a little over represented. If I were going to make the study more appealing to the audience I would probably but some different types of music playing in the background along with the different areas of the country.

Question 3:
I think language can have a certain part in how we perceive others. For instance the normal thought of someone with a southern Kentucky area accent would be that they are a hillbilly or something, however that is not true for everyone in that state, so possibly people should just remember that when judging other people's accents. Others think that by our language and words we use it can reveal our level of intelligence and our class.

In class writing (3 questions)

The instance I am recalling is one of the performances I went and observed.

1. In this scene I was in the bleachers in front of the dance team while they were on the floor performing their routine. I was not necessarily interviewing anybody during this time, but merely watching all of their hard work in action and seeing how everything they told me about went into play. The relationship between me and the dance team at that moment was one of proud. I felt very proud of them while they were dancing.

2. There weren't any recorded words specifically that I can recall from that instance, however the song that they were performing to would be something to recall. I think what influences my informants' and my fixed positions would be our background. We all at one time went to the same high school and were all on the same dance team. The subjective positions would be influenced by where we are in life now. I am now an outsider, as they are still attending that high school and on that dance team. There is a deffinant power relationship between me and the team. The relationship is one of bond and trust. We all were very close last year, and that still plays over when I go to the field site and observe them.

3. They were not talking during this instance. However after their performance I congratulated them and they were very thankful to hear that they did well. After there performance I could only talk to them for a short minute, because they were all tired and hungry so they went to get food at the concession stand and to cool off from the routine.

Week 9

So far the hardest thing with my research has been finding time to get home on the days the dance team has performances. The season for them just ended a few weeks ago, so I will not be able to observe any more performances, but they are still active, and tryouts are coming up soon. Another hard thing has been trying to find books about dance teams. I have decided though to just look for books on general information like dance in general. The easiest thing so far during my research process has been getting information from the actual members of the team. They are very willing to talk to me about their subculture. I can talk to them in person when I am home, over the phone, and even the Internet for some of them. It has been very convenient. If I could start over again, I would probably pick a subculture that is a little more close to me so I could visit the site more. Or I would pick a different subculture that I am totally unfamiliar with to learn about a whole new subculture. So far keeping this blog has helped me in my research process by helping me keep my thoughts organized and focused on the upcoming assignments. It has helped keep me on track at working towards the end of the project. I also can look back at my blog if I have forgotten something that I wanted to input into my mini ethnography if needed. I think my blog will help me prepare my mini ethnography by organizing my thoughts and ideas into sections that are related some of the blog postings. The blog help me recall ideas that I want to use in my blog also.

In class writing (audience)

1. My readers will care about this issue mainly if they are involved in dancing or a dance team. I am sure they will find it interesting and informing. They might even learn something they didn't know before if they are new to their dance team. 2. Technically my readers won't really need to know anything before hand about this issue. They could learn all of the basics from my mini ethnography, because I am going to be providing all of that information in it. 3. My readers probably already know what dance teams do, and somewhat how they work. However, they probably only know the general information about them. 4. I want my readers to learn more about dancing and high school dance teams. I want them to be able to respect dancers and what they do, and not place stereotypes on them. 5. If I am trying to persuade my readers of anything on this issue it would be not to place stereotypes among all dancers. If I was trying to persuade them, it could be a difficult objective since some dance teams have become more provocative in their performances lately. 6. My readers could use my writing for general information about high school dance teams. My readers could also use it to learn something new about dance as an art. They might even be able to use it as some backup information if they are arguing a topic about dance teams.

Week 8

So far I see my main theme as high school dance teams. Through this theme I am looking at specifically aiming towards the rituals throughout the year, starting with tryouts and ending with senior routine. I am planning on going into detail about the whole experience of the subculture based on a year's range of events. Through the field site of course it is the same theme, since my subculture is specifically a high school dance team. I am trying to stick within the high school range, however some parts of my mini ethnography will dip a little into college level and even career level dancing. As of today, my place in the subculture is still technically an outsider, but I feel like an insider still. Overall I guess in a way my position has changed a little, because 8 weeks ago I was not going to their dances as much or visiting the team. Now that I am doing this mini ethnography I have been spending more time at the field site and working with the team more hands on. The only major changes between now and 8 weeks ago would be that I have a better understanding of the changes that have occurred since last year on the team. Also I have had the privilege to go "behind the scenes" of the dance team as far as the coaches standing. I have been able to talk more with them and listen to their reasoning on why they do certain types of dances for basketball vs football season, and where they get their dances moves and ideas from.

Week 7

There are many benefits to fieldwork. First off by doing fieldwork you are emerging yourself into the actual subculture and learning more about the subculture faster and first hand. Fieldwork can provide a researcher with a lot of very useful information. I can give back to my subculture by representing them well in my mini ethnography. By portraying the dance team well in my paper, that will be giving them a positive label. Also I will be providing them with respect from our home community. The biggest thing I think my subculture needs right now is confidence. When I am at the field site, I watch them dance and perform, and I give them feedback about how well they are doing their routines. That in my eyes, is giving them confidence and helping their subculture become more together. My contribution to our class is showing up at every single class that we have. I also complete all of the homework assignments. This is a contribution because it helps the class flow more smoothly with the attendance percentages and so forth. My contribution to my education is that I put effort into all of my classes. I do not miss classes. I complete all of my homework in my classes, and study for my exams. I really want to accomplish my dreams of being successful, and in order to do that I realize that I have to contribute to my education before I can benefit from it in the long run.

Survey for Dance Team

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=a5xep12u7c0qiof550028

In class writing (groundwork)

My first impressions of my field site were that it was big. However after being there for a longer period of time I came to realize just how small it was. Since I have been away from it for a while though, and when I go back, I don't think about the size at first. My first impression is more along the lines of how comfortable I feel there and familiar it still is. I will be asking why does the team practice in the commons though, when there is the whole school, plus two gyms. The landscape could best be described quite easily, its a building. Its not only a building, but a high school, so you can imagine how it looks. There are brick walls, windows, square designed carpet, and rooms everywhere.
When I go to the new space I feel very comfortable and welcome. Since I was once a member the space is kind of like a second home, so when I visit the field site it is like I am going home. I always feel very welcome when returning to my field site because all of the members (insiders) run to me and welcome me back with hugs. It is different in a few ways though, because now instead of being on the other side of the power, I get to sit with the coaches and give advice to the team. So the power level has shifted in a way.
I am now pretty much considered an outsider. The reasons why I am an outsider is because I no longer go to that high school, also I am no longer on the dance team. I feel extremely like an outsider when I see them out on the dance floor performing and I know I can't go out there and perform with them. Also they get all of the new outfits and clothes for the new year, and I no longer get those clothes anymore. Part of being an outsider in this subculture includes not knowing all of the news about whats going on and the dates of when they perform which dances and the practice schedule. All of that information is more easily obtained when you are an active insider.

Week 6 (Sources)

Indiana High School Dance Team Association. 18, February 2009. IHSDTA. 18 Feb 2009 http://www.ihsdta.org/.

This source is a dance competition organization website for Indiana. This site is where all of the Indiana high school dance teams go to register, look at, or search for Indiana dance team competitions against other schools. This is their official site, so it will have a lot of different types of information.
I will be using this site mainly as a first hand look at one of the major rituals that high school dance teams do...which is competition. This site will be giving all of the information I need to know about how teams sign up, what the competition levels are, where the competitions are held and much more information that will be useful in my mini ethnography.

Feller, Allison. "Fundraising Can Be Fun." Dance Magazine Vol. 82, Issue 10October 2008 10. 18 Feb 2009 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=112&sid=bec4a499-9790-4359-91e8-8d0a41f63056%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=34668650.

This is an article about another major ritual that dance teams everywhere have to do...fundraising. It gives dance teams some different ideas of how to raise money for competition costs and other things. It also gives them different ideas of fundraisers to do.
I will be using this source to learn about the different costs that dance teams have to pay. I think the main use of this article will be to mainly see the different types of fundraisers dance teams do, and how they go about them.

Box #18

One of the main focal points in my field site is going to be the Benton Central commons area. The commons is where the dance team holds their practices after school. It is a carpeted area. The commons is a wide open area also, with four windows in the front of the way they face when they are practicing. The dancers use the windows to look at and see themselves as they dance to make sure they are doing the moves correctly. There is a little brick half wall, which the dancers put their belongings against and the coaches sometimes sit there to watch the dancers perform. The commons also is where the vending machines are that the dancers get their before practice snacks out of. Another main use of this focal point is that the dancers do their ritual of stretching in the commons as well. The commons leads to the gym, as well as to two other hallways of the school, the cafeteria, and the auditorium. In the middle of the commons there are some benches and tables where some students sit after school. I am very familiar with this focal point because not only did I practice there as a dancer, but I attended that school for high school, so I am very familiar with the commons area.

Trip To Georgia

In September 2008 I traveled with my boyfriend's family to Fort Benning, which is located in Georgia. All six of us drove down there together in a van type of vehicle. It was extremely crowded. Once we finally arrived at Fort Benning, it was a whole new type of atmosphere. Wherever you looked there were soldiers walking around very properly. Everything was so strict and there were so many rules. The whole point of our trip was to go watch my boyfriend graduate from boot camp. We almost couldn't even get on base because we didn't know exactly what his company number was. Once we finally got on base we got lost looking for the graduation area, since there were about five other graduations going on at that time. However, we found it, and just in time because right once we pulled up the ceremony was starting. The first thing I noticed was you had to stay behind a certain line while watching the ceremony. Also all hats were removed. There were soldiers everywhere in their uniforms watching over the ceremony. Nobody could talk at all during the ceremony, and when we could clap it was specifically announced. When the soldiers' separate companies were being announced they could not smile or anything as they walked by and saw their families for the first time in three months. That was very awkward to me. Finally after all of the speeches and announcements were done, they said we could go hug our soldier. So we ran out there and found him. Once with him, we learned more rules. He could not display hardly any affection, in other words no PDA. Also he talked a little differently and acted a little differently. We soon found out that was just while he was on base though. After we all went back to the motel and out to eat, we realized he was still just as goofy as ever. Although while we were leaving Fort Benning, I realized just how strict their lives were. The soldiers could not walk and talk on a phone, they had to stand completely straight up, perfect posture and looking forward. There were many other rules to their lives that I just don't think I could live by.

Week 5 (The Task)

So far this researching is going great. I am getting a lot of research done. Last Friday I went home and got a lot of information done. I went to the field site early before the game, so I could spend more time with the dance team. I got to watch them do their make-up to get ready, and sit it on the before game practice as well. I then went to the game with them and watched them perform. After they performed I stayed with them till the end of the game and spent more time with them. I think to finish up my mini-ethnography I am going to give them a survey type of questionnaire to fill out to gather some more information. I also need to still go to the library to collect some more broader information about dance teams in general. I need to specifically research a little bit more about their new rituals. I noticed a few while I was there. I am planning on visiting the field site again shortly also. They have a major ritual at the end of each season called their "senior dance" which I will definitely be there for. I am going to be conducting most of the interviews that night and maybe one or two over the computer. So to finish the assignment, I am going to be going to the field site again, and finish up the interviews, and conduct the survey. As of right now I don't have any questions about the assignment. Everything is pretty well explained on the class site.

In class writing (rewrite)

• 1. caring, helpful voices of employees
• 2. scents of hair dye and finger nail polish
• 3. wall to wall views of endless beauty supplies
• 4. familiarity
• 5. the comfort of being a child and going on this "trip" to Sally's with my mom

Box #15

A spot that brings back a rush of details to me would be from my childhood. The place is called Sally's. Sally's is a beauty supply shop. My mom is a beautician, and when I was younger she use to take me in there with her at least once a week to get supplies for her customers. Right as we would walk in to Sally's the voices of the workers would be the first thing I would hear. Their kind voices were always at the front of the store to greet us and ask us if they could help us find anything. Soon after we were done talking to the workers, I would recognize the unique smell of Sally's. It had a smell unlike any other. The smell is hard to describe, it was like a clean smell. But it also smelled like many shampoos and conditioners of the best scents, along with a fresh smell. I just loved it. As you look around the store there was endless beauty supply possibilities. Everything was sold there; nail polish in every color imaginable, hair colors of all kinds from neon colors to black, hair weaves and extensions, bleaches, hair repair products, curling irons, blow dryers, straighteners, and much more. The sounds that I remember hearing were either the workers talking to a customer, or the sound of the door chime as someone would walk in.

Dogtown and Z Boys

I think this is both an ethnographic study and a work of entertainment because it has some history involved in it and facts, but also it is very entertaining and easy to keep watching. Surfing and skating itself is entertainment. The interview subjects are members of the surfing and skating group. They were all like a close group of friends. They are important because they are the heart of the story. The interviews are major roles in the film. The interviews enlighten the story and give it more meaning. They do move the story along, because they give the viewers and insider point of view. The attitudes that contribute to this subculture would be the overall "I don't care attitude". They were going to skate and surf wherever they wanted to no matter what. Their rituals were they skated every single day. The artifacts would be the surfboards, the skate boards, their logo tee shirt that was blue. The structure of this piece was easy to follow and understand. The way they did their interviews and put them into the piece with the music and pictures made this subculture easy to understand. I didn't really have any stereotypes about skaters because I grew up with all of my guy friends skating. Almost all of the stuff I saw in the film was true about my friends that I grew up around. Yes I trust what the film maker was telling us. If he was a skater, then it probably has some bias to it, but he flat out showed us everything like it was. My emotional response was excitement, I really thought it was interesting and fun to watch.

Week 4 (Conclusions)

So far from what I know about my subculture I can make a few conclusions. I know that they are open to sharing information about their subculture in any way. They are willing to share rituals, secrets about getting ready or learning their practices. So I am happy to know that I won't be prying into them about anything. I am going this Friday to visit my field site and learn more though, so I am very excited! I think mainly that this subculture (high school dance team) would be the same at any high school for the most part. However, everywhere you go, of course there are going to be different personalities made up within the team. Also the teams might be different in the types of dances that they do, and the rituals like practices might be slightly different as well. But, as far as their language and group terms that they would be using, I'm sure it would all be relatively the same. This subculture is located in a very country area. It is mainly surrounded by corn fields and three very little towns. So everybody knows everybody on the team, and altogether in the whole school. A difference between locations at a different school would probably also have more students and maybe a little more difficult to make it onto the team.

Box #12

Privileges = Female, born in U.S.A., good education, loving and helpful family...

I think that my privileges will be sort of helpful as I enter my field site. All of the members of the subculture that I will be researching are all females. The coaches are even females. Within the subculture there are some differences in race, but all of them are American citizens. They are all currently in high school. They are attending the same high school that I attended, so they mostly have the same educational background as I do. Not every person has the same family history though. Some people have poor family relationships or other types of family problems. All of the members of the subculture are within two to three years of the same age as me. Since I will be having many of the same privileges as the people that make up this subculture I will be able to relate with them on the same level.

Week 3 (progress)

So far, for this project I have just done the basics. I have decided upon which sub culture I am going to be researching. I have also typed up my plan of research. I have not yet started my interviews, however I do know who I will be interviewing and the possible times of when these interviews will be taking place. I am planning on asking questions of how they got into the sub culture, how they like it, would they change anything about it, would they recommend others to join their sub culture, and questions like that. I find these to be important questions because they will enlighten everyone else about the sub culture. I have not yet visited my cultural site, however I am going to be going there soon, within the next week or two. I have not really attempted to find any text information yet, because I don't feel that I will find much text information other than the library time I will be spending on it. Yes academic research we be more along the lines of looking up and trying to find the answers to things asked of you, and researching more at libraries and actual text information. Non academic research is more casual and finding out information that maybe you are more interested in yourself.

Research Plan

I am planning on going to the library at least a week before our actual library class date. I am guessing that I won't be able to get much information out of text though. Hopefully I will be able to get at least 3 or 4 interviews. I also want to conduct a survey to the subculture for them to fill out while I am visiting the site one of the times. The site is back home, so I am planning on visiting the site a few times. However many of the people in the sub culture I can contact online, or via the phone. I can meet with any of the informants at the actual sites on at least 3 days out of the week.

Week 2 (my fieldsite)

I have chosen the Benton Central Rhythmette dance team as my subculture. I will be doing most of my fieldwork at Benton Central high school, which is located in Oxford, Indiana. It is about two hours away from BSU. The two main field sites that I will be researching at will be in the gym,(where they perform their dances), and also in the school's commons area, (where they practice). The gym is a regular high school basketball gym arena. The commons however has some tables in it, and then a big open area where the dancers will be practicing. I am already an insider, but I do want to learn and discover more about the culture. Things do change over time in every subculture at least a little bit, so I am expecting to see if any new rituals have been initiated. Also I am looking forward to meeting and interviewing some of the new members of the subculture (the team). I will be gathering most of my information from interviews and also surveys. Some of the new members might be able to serve as a reminder to me to what it was first like to join this subculture. I am very excited to learn what its like to be a fieldworker/writer.

Box #11

I am thinking of choosing my subculture to be the Benton Central Rhythmette dance team. I am choosing this subculture so I can inform people more about dancers. My fixed positions will work well with my subculture, because all of the team members are girls also. My subjective positions are that I was already on this dance team for three years. I also know many of the girls that are on the team now. Plus I am close friends with the two coaches.

Box #2

I wake up each morning and jump down off of my flat surface that I sleep on. I realize it is now time to get ready for class. The first thing I do is reach for the electronic that lights up and makes sounds come out of it. After touching the screen a few times, sounds began to play. These sounds help me wake up and get energized for my day. Next I usually reach for my brush that I use on my teeth along with the goo that goes on the brush. After making my mouth taste good, I like to then make my hair unknotted. To complete this objective I use a purple stick with mini sticks coming out of one side of it. The next thing that I do in the mornings is find something to keep my body warm during the day. I then reach in my box that slides out and grab a piece for my upper body and a piece for my lower body. Lastly I make sure that my sack is packed and filled with all of the paper with words on it that I will need for my classes. Then, I turn off the electronic sounds and lock my barrier to the rest of the hallway.

Week 1 (Past Paper)

My last paper that I wrote was probably my favorite.I spent the most time on it. Before I wrote it I did a little bit of brainstorming about what I was going to actually focus on in my paper. I did this by making an old fashioned web chart. Then I wrote up my outline. That was the worse part about it. I hate writing outlines. I didn't have any music or noise in the background though, it was complete silence. If I have music in the background I tend to listen to it instead of writing. By the time I finished the paper I had written three different drafts, including the final copy. The paper was basically a persuasive type of paper. We were given the option of picking our own topic to write on. Editing to me is more along the lines of grammar, checking the spelling of words, and rules suck as that. It also helps to do peer editing because then you have a different set of eyes looking at your paper. Revising is maybe more of switching the wording in a paragraph or using a completely different set of information in part of the paper. Revising can also be changing around a sentence to make it easier to understand.