Talk of the Town Piece

I have a few ideas for my Talk of the Town Piece that I would like to narrow down. The one I am most interested in is writing about the children's center in Burnell, and it's functions. I am an Elementary Education major, so this idea most interests me because I have always wondered what goes on in the center. I did a little research on the topic and it seems interesting to me, but the issue I am having is I am not sure whether or not this topic would be interesting to a large enough audience. I was also looking into writing my piece about a scheduled Salem Bus trip for students, and different trips and opportunities for commuting students. I think commuters tend to be less informed about campus activities because they generally spend less time on campus so this could be a good focus for my piece.

Book Club # 2

For this book club my group was required to read up to page 142 in "The Working Poor:Invisible in America" by David Shipler. These few chapters focused a lot of attention on immigrants working in the United States, and people who are just entering the job force after coming off welfare. Shipler uses characterization to contrast individuals and their point of views. I found it interesting how Shipler contrasted different employers, and their views on hiring ex convicts and ex welfare recipients. Shipler illustrates the opposing perspectives on how to deal with these individuals. Shipler gives us a lesson in psychology when explaining how these people function, and reveals their true inner securities that are not usually visible to the public. Many statistics are included in these chapters demonstrating just how poorly illegal immigrants are paid, similarly demonstrating the poor living conditions they endure. However, Shipler explains in numbers and facts how this income well succeeds anything they could be making in countries such as Mexico. Dialogue and quotations from several individuals gives the piece an personal aspect. The informal dialogue quoted from the illegal immigrants and welfare recipients highlights their limited understanding of the English language. Overall I think the writing is creatively written, and I enjoy his ability to connect these seemingly different charcaters into on fluent piece of writing.