Tobin hates Baseball?

First attempts at anything are also consequently, our worst attempts. It does not matter if we are talking about writing, sports, science or an attempt to explain the world around us; just give the Bible a thorough reading and you will see what I mean. So I guess as I was reading the Tobin piece, I was feeling a little bit of empathy for the guy. I have not taught a writing class so I can only guess at the amount of bad writing the average teacher must slog through on a regular basis. Some of it must make James Patterson’s perpetually published drivel look positively Shakespearean. Tobin seems to be acutely aware of his own short comings when it comes to reading his male student’s writing without prejudice. He readily admits to missing much of the nuance of a piece because he is so fixated on baseball caps and attitude.

“By studying the ways that masculinity is constructed for men in the larger culture, we could begin to understand the ways that male students struggle to construct themselves in our classroom.” (Tobin)

I guess I see this piece very differently from Joseph because Tobin continually admits his biases and, as with the above quote, provide suggestions on how to avoid our own pre-judgments regarding gender. I honestly had not considered any biases of my own, but I certainly have them. I realized this when reading the essay from the 12 Readers project on prayer in the class room. The student who wrote that piece needed more guidance than I was prepared to give him after reading it. Tobin did lose me with some of the more detailed points he had to make regarding baseball caps and the reasons they are worn, but maybe he is just trying to be a little controversial with his writing. Publishing is everything for some people and I thought it was one of the more readable essays so far this semester. Joseph! Take off that ridiculous cap please!  ; )