Exploration Five: Allison Clark

Part  One:

Mr. Money Mustache - Get Rich With Your Public Library:

In this post, he talks about the saving money by using the public library, which he goes on to say that many people do not. The need to feel intellectual cannot be overcome by being money savvy, he goes on to say. He claims that if people simply used the tool of the library and their free books, then you wouldn't waste nearly as much money on a stack of books that end up laying idle on your bookshelf, only becoming something pretty to look at. 

The strengths of this article is that he is urging people, in a connectable and sarcastic way, to become something that everyone wishes to be (smart with their money), and so people genuinely want to learn that, so then it becomes an easy subject to relate to. His opinions are blunt and to the point which is easily understandable but can become a weakness to the article because some may take his stereotype of the average person "attempting to be intellectual", in an offensive way.

As someone that loves to read, I can relate to the people wanting to purchase these books, I often buy them to read them over and over and mark them to however I desire. I have a copy of The Outsiders that I've read more than 10 times, and I would be lost without my own copy of it. So I do agree with his money saving technique, but I don't think that it can always be realistic. So the idea was useful but maybe a compromise would be more useful, A lot of my books have been handed down to me (i.e my beloved copy of the outsiders) or bought at stores like half priced books and goodwill. Its easier to save money by going through the cheaper alternative. 

Link to blog post: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/11/08/get-rich-with-the-library/

Part Two:

A website that I have found a really educational one is the YouTube channel that is run by the famous author John Green. He has started this YouTube channel called Crash Course, giving short videos about certain subjects regarding history, and teaches them in a fun and quirky manner. He has tons of videos that are about specific topics like the civil war and women's suffrage, and are extremely helpful if you're looking for a refresher over or a topic or a couple of fun facts, and most are mildly entertaining. 

As a Social Studies Education major, these videos are a gold mine for me. As I have a genuine curiosity for these subjects, I enjoy the short videos to pick up on some facts that I didn't previously know or refresh on something that I had previously learned, Even for the people that don't find history as interesting as I do, this could be a tool used to help with subjects that come off as a little dry. It also provides crash courses to other subjects in math and science. 

Link to Website:  https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse