In Lindemann's Chapter 6 chapter on,  "What Do Teachers Need to Know About Cognition," she \writes about the dichotomy between absolute knowers and transitional knowers. Absolute knowers in her example,  get  their information from teachers, and are always looking for right and wrong answers;  and do not trust that their peers can supply them with knowledge. On the other hand, transitional knowers do not believe that those with a position of power have all the answers. She writes,  "If you want to be a thinking person you have to take ... many viewpoints into account" (104).

As I was reading these two very different viewpoints, I got chills down my spine, and felt that the views of the absolute knowers were a bit extreme to say the least. How is  it ever possible, or even a good idea to take the viewpoint of one type of authority figure? Teachers can supply students with a great deal of knowledge, but certainly not all knowledge. It is not possible that they have all the answers.  I think the position of the absolute knower is a lazy one as well. When you are in college, I believe that the idea is to always be on a quest to search for many sources of knowledge, and to obtain many different points of view, and to draw your own conclusion. Thus the position of the transitional knower, was one that I identified with. I agree that a thinking person should always make an effort to seek as many different opinions as possible, and yes, play the Elbow doubting game.  By considering the possibilities of a wide range of views, I  believe that this can only broaden your scope of reference, and make you both a better student, and thinker.

One of the other points, that Lindemann  made on education resonated with me as well. She writes that,  "Many students... perceive education as an isolating experience- knowledge seems divorced from their interests, and lived experiences. Students rarely talk to each other in class" (106).

I agree with this statement, especially when I consider my undergraduate experience. At the very beginning, I remember being in rooms with a lot of  students, and having very little interaction with my classmates. I remember that for the most part, the professor lectured, and we took notes, and some of us, (brave souls) asked questions. But for the most part, those big classrooms were rather isolating. It was only when I got further along in the English major, and  was allowed to take seminars, that things got better. At the university that I went to, we  were required to take seminars, and the seminars allowed only  twelve students. This was ideal, and a bit overwhelming at first. We were forced to talk to each other, for three hours once a week, and exchange ideas. It made for a great intellectual experience.

I really believe that this format is one of the best ways to benefit from the college experience on an intellectual level. The exchange of ideas between one's classmates and professor, on a much smaller scale, is crucial to one's progress as a scholar.

Chapter Six

In chapter six Lindemann makes the point that “some assignments we give our students similarly are challenging because their worlds do not sufficiently over-lap… if our assignments tap subjects, purposes, and audiences familiar to students, their writing can be quite powerful”.  Many students do not relate to the material being taught in class, because it’s not their reality and typically it is not that they cannot do the work they have no connection or deep understanding of it. In high school my History teacher made history more potent to our lives by telling the stories we needed to know in terms and language we understood. He used real life situations so we could connect what when on then, to what goes on now. Example: Instead of explaining a king rode through on a carriage and was ambushed, he simply said there was a drive by shooting which many students could visualize and understand. Although that seems like common sense it’s often overlooked, and teachers have the responsibility or rather obligation to teach specifically what would be on state test or other requirements with little wiggle room to tap into creative or choice activities and assignments that will truly engage the students. It is important that the teachers gage a little of what world their students live in and try to adjust their curriculum to the students understanding as much as they possibly can, and then hopefully there will be better outcomes in students work.

As I read chapter six of Lindemann, I could not help but to think about my role as a writer, more specifically as an female African American writer. Lindemann say, "Language shapes our view of reality...people who speak different languages see the world differently. I wonder to what extent  Black Vernacular English (BVE) influences my cognitive thinking.  

In Lad Tobin's essay,  "Reading Students, Reading Ourselves:Revisiting the Teacher's Role in the Writing Process,"  one of the things that he does that I think is very useful for his students, is that he has them write an essay to describe their journey in the writing process. This is an important component of the writing class because it forces them the student to examine the way she writes, as well as forces her to take ownership of her work; and to be held accountable for the choices she makes.

I would say, that for the most part,  the idea of students examining the way that they write is an unique idea. One of the things that resonated in the essay for me was when  one of the student's became aware, that each of her professors became a different audience reading her paper.  One of her professors might allow her to take liberties with her work, while another would hold her feet to the fire, so to speak, and force her to write,  "impeccable English prose."  I connected with  this student the most when she complained that her Humanities professor took issue with her using the pronouns, you and I in an academic paper. The student argued that by using the pronouns, it made her feel more connected to her work; and ensured that her voice was heard. I remember reading these lines, and having the same reaction at the beginning stages of my own writing process. I felt as though I was being true to my own voice, and my perspective when I used the pronouns you and I in a formal essay.  Unfortunately, it was one of those things I had to unlearn, if I was going to be taken seriously as an English major.

In Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff's essay,  "Summary of Ways of Responding,"  I was at first, not quite sure how I should respond to it; especially in the section on,  "The Two Paradoxes of Responding."  They both argue in their essay that both the reader and the writer are always right. How can this be? Can another way to argue this be,  "The truth is always in the eyes of the beholder? "  In this case, the issue of being right, would depend on your perspective. Perhaps what I took away the most from this essay was that the writer is always in charge, and in control of her material, regardless of what a reader might think of it. In this case, the writer has autonomy over her work, and is not easily influenced by readers.

What I like most about this section is that while the writer may indeed welcome suggestions from readers, she is not obligated to take them into consideration. In this instance, she can pick and choose, (and in some cases, not choose) which suggestion is most beneficial to aid her in the writing process. Perhaps, one of the best lines in the essay for me is,  "You need to make your own decisions about what kind of feedback will help you, don't let readers make those decisions."  What I appreciated most about this advice was that it allows the writer to stay true to her own vision.

While I was reading Hephizibah Roskelly's essay,  The Cupped Hand and the Open Palm,"  I was reminded of an experience that I had as an undergraduate student that can be described as comparable to group work. The course was a ten week seminar. It was a special one because not only did our professor read our papers, we first read our paper aloud to each other. There were twelve of us in the seminar course, and every week we had to produce a two page paper on a selected topic. Every week we sat around the seminar table, and read our papers aloud; and each participant had the opportunity to comment on each other's work. It was often while reading our papers aloud,  that we would catch mistakes that we had made, or realized that we could have made better word choices.

I remember how daunting it sometimes felt to read my words aloud to my classmates. In many respects, it felt as though I was writing my essays for my classmates, as well as my professor. For the most part, everyone was nice and considerate of each other's feelings. I would say that my professor provided the most constructive criticism, which is, I suppose, how it should be in an undergraduate seminar. During this seminar, I remember gaining more and more respect for myself, and for the  writing process.

Food and Pedagogy

Of course we should cater to all students.

All students of different learning styles.

I feel I am an Abstract Sequential learner.

But why does the way we learn have to be categorized?

Why must we fit into one "type" of learner?

What if I am Abstract Sequential in one class and Concrete Random in another?

In both Lindemann and this PDF ideas are far too formulaic.

Perhaps there is no clear structure to pedagogy and learning.

Perhaps these are just webs of thought that intermingle.

Of course we should speak in different ways when teaching.

When guiding.

When facilitating.

This will be a lame metaphor but imagine.

Imagine if you went to a restaurant and were not allowed.

Not allowed to order a hamburger the way you wanted.

Well done? Nope. You're getting medium rare.

No cheese? Nope. You're getting one slice of American.

I told you it was a lame metaphor.

But just like we want our food catered to us because.

Because we are paying for our food.

We want our education catered to us.

Because we are paying for our education.

Because we are invested in our education.

And so as teachers we must cater to our students.

Obviously not too much to the point we are getting abused.

Just like a waiter who expects a tip for service.

We expect respect for teaching.

I know this is still a horribly lame metaphor.

But food helps us relate.

Accommodating Student Learning Styles

Even though I find learning styles super interesting to read about, I felt like this reading just stated the obvious. I think that any teacher, not only composition teachers, would think it wise to cater to different learning styles in their less plans. The text made points that I related to. I do feel a little shy when it comes to having peers read my paper. I don't even like watching a professor read my paper, it makes me feel uncomfortable. And I have experienced (and am guilty of) just saying nice things about a paper. In one of our peer edit groups, I remember I complimented someone on her paper and left it at that because I just felt weird critiquing it and she finally said, "Well, what about things I need to improve?" It was only after she prompted me that I told her what I thought she could improve on.

Lindemann-- CH.12

When it comes to writing workshops/peer review sometimes I feel like I have a problem with constructively criticizing someone else's paper. Sometimes I feel like maybe I just don't think something's right because it's not my style, but maybe that is the style that the writer likes. And I realize that teaching writing involves critiquing students' writing, but I feel bad sometimes. I don't know if I'm just a pansy, but I always feel bad telling someone something doesn't work in a paper even though I know it's supposed to benefit the writer in the end.

FB

I agree that FB can be used in rhetorical analysis.  This becomes apparent especially when there's something happening like the Chris Dorner case-- my newsfeed exploded with everyone voicing their opinion of what was happening, some more infuriating than others.  You can see people sing ethos, pathos, and logos while they try to convince everyone on their friends list why their interpretation of the event was the correct interpretation.  There is also a clear example of how many different perspectives could come out of one single event.  Though some presented perspectives had me block certain "friends" immediately, it was still an example of how people use writing in order to accomplish an agenda.

I think it would definitely be helpful to meet students at a place where they are already visiting because it's something that they find interesting already and it does really show examples of rhetoric.

Mellix

This reading connects to my literacy autobiography because even though I don't think I have my own version of English, I do feel like I try to write in a way to makes it look like I "belong in a college classroom."  I've actually found that when I write more closely to my own voice (more casual than academic),  that I've actually received better grades because I'm able to get my point across more accurately and closest to what I'm actually thinking in my head.

Sometimes I feel this pressure not only when it comes to composing an essay for class, but also when I'm around people who always make this big deal about me being an English major.  My friend introduced me to another person and they asked what I was doing for grad school and when I told him I got the far too repeated remark (aside from: "What are you gonna do that with an English degree?") that usually goes something like: "Don't judge my bad grammar or spelling, haha."  Or sometimes when I'm texting/messaging someone and they find out what I'm in school for, their spelling and grammar changes into something far more formal compared to the casual way they were talking before. Then I feel like I have to make sure everything I write is error free and I like being able to write however I want without feeling like someone's going to judge me for being an English major that still texts things like, "let's go grab dinz."

How to Avoid Spending Your Weekends Grading and Give Better Feedback in the Process

Knowing how to avoid spending weekends grading and giving better feedback is great; however, I have to wonder – Why do students tend to repeat the same errors in their writing from one paper to the next even after an instructor provides feedback. Much thought is spent “break[ing] down the task into manageable steps” for students, yet many still walk around with a huge question mark above their heads.

I have spent time using rubrics, remarks, proactive guidance (sample papers, handouts w/examples, etc.), face-to-face conferencing, referring students to Writing/Tutoring Centers, et cetera.

Many students still manage to claim that they do not know how to improve their writing. The most thoughtful marginal comments on a student's paper are useless if the message fails to penetrate the student(s).

Then there ARE the many students who declare they will do anything to improve their grades – come to office hours, make appointments with Tutoring Center(s), and even show their drafts to friends – before attempting to do the most obvious: READ THE INSTRUCTOR’S FEEDBACK!

This is just a thought as I spend my afternoons and weekends (this semester) addressing the ineffectual needs of students taking a Basic Skills English course. The instructor has provided a straightforward template, excellent feedback, rubrics, sample essays, detailed guidelines, et cetera; however, students are continuously fumbling through the process.

I've been left wanting to GOUGE my eyes out after “mak[ing] all elements of the task clear,” and yet only about 8 of a class of 40+ students get it!

Rodriguez-- Going Home Again

This reading was interesting because it's so drastically different from the experience I have with my family.  I don't know if it's stereotypical Asian, but my family embraces the fact that I'm continuing my education and there's no separation at all when we have a family get together.

Rodriguez mentions that he wanted to keep his success in his education to himself, but within our family, the parents will not shut up about who just graduated, who just got into med school, who is beginning their MBA at USC soon, etc.  I can't even fathom having to hide educational success within my family.

This reminds me of a peer's paper that I read who had to hide the fact that she loved reading from her father because I had that same mindboggling feeling of not being able to comprehend what that could feel like.

After reading about how Rodriguez's parents wanted him to get an education to deflate the "dumb Pancho" stereotype, it made sense why our family's reaction to education differed.  I feel like my parents don't feel a need to deflate a stereotype, but to upkeep one.

Flynn--Composing as a Woman

This reading seemed to contradict itself.  Flynn seems to want to talk about how composition has been marginalized like females.  She also states that there is a difference between female and male writers, but I feel like that just undercuts what she's trying to do as a feminist. Shouldn't she have tried to talk about how males and females compose equally?  And she made a couple generalizations about how woman compose that I don't agree applies to all females.  There was also a statement that males have no need for relations in their writing and I don't think that applies to all males either.

The Struggle

I’ve always been the student that takes feedback to offense, well sometimes depending on how it’s worded, and/or who the professor is. The exercise where we had to write a paragraph critiquing the two students work “Four Seasons” and “The Right to Pray” definitely allowed me to walk in the teacher’s shoes and briefly experience the struggle educator’s face in correcting a student’s work. How does one critique a paper without completely bashing or discouraging the students? Of course providing positive, encouraging notes is an effective way, but as discussed in class these writings can have personal attachments to them and students can be sensitive about their work. Most of the time the negative comments stick with the students longer than the positive ones. Although we found some perks and good parts of the papers, there were far more things that needed to be corrected and we literally tore those papers apart, thank goodness the authors weren’t there to hear us critique them. Personally, I accept the feedback because it’s a part of writing/English, doesn’t mean I like it but it is what it is. I will say I can now take a step back and not take the feedback too personal.  It’s not an easy task trying to correct a paper without leaving the student feeling some kind of way. I think I now have a deeper appreciation of this struggle.  

Immediate Reactions to A Few Lines In Chapter 5

"That knowledge - linguists call it competence - enables us to understand sentences we've never heard or read before, sentences we may read or hear only once in a lifetime" (60).

WOAH BRO! THAT SHIT IS TRIPPY AS FUCK. So pretty much, we read a sentence that we've never read before and most likely will never read again. We understand the sequence of words because we understand basic rules on composing sentences as well as the definition of those words. So. as. you. read. this. you. are. subconsciously. understanding. what. I. am. saying. because. you. have. been. conditioned. to. understand.


"What right have we to force a particular language or dialect on speakers of other languages and dialects?" (61).

NO RIGHT! NO RIGHT AT ALL I SAY!!!


"We are social animals who depend on one another and spend a lifetime maintaining mutually sustaining relationships by sharing our experiences and ideas. Language is an important way of establishing contact, of realizing a psychological need to live in societies rather than as isolated individuals" (64).

WORD HOMIE WORD!!!!! I believe the meaning of life is human interaction. Lindemann FINALLY gets me and I FINALLY get Lindemann here. How beautiful, great, wonderful, powerful, magnificent, awesome is it that COMPOSITION is just another source of interaction amongst human beings? Also, goes to show that composition studies has a greater purpose than just teaching students to write to get jobs. Elbow - I got your back here.


"All grammars are theoretical" (83).

TRUTH!!! I admit I am the one who asked "How important is it to know grammar as an English professor?" I asked because I feel that all grammar is theoretical. Or more precisely subjective. I say all punctuation goes inside of the quotes, Amanda refuses to do so. I say you cannot use semi colons that way, another person says you can. How are we supposed to follow guidelines when the guidelines are ever in flux, are ever evolving, are ever changing, differing, altering, fucking with our minds?!

HappyFeet

In class we have been talking about best methods to evaluate student writing.  I recently began teaching a WAC Basic Skills course focused on CTE Welding Technology students.  My first assignment for the class is below:

Most Americans begin to work legally at the age of 16.  That means that before we finally settle down in our life-long career or specific type of work, we will have worked a multitude of jobs gaining many skills.  For this writing assignment, I would like you to talk about your work experience dating back no more than 5-7 years.  I would like to hear about what type of work (industry) it belonged to, your responsibilities and duties while at work, positives and negatives about the job, any skills/abilities/specialty knowledge (tools, job specific vocabulary), or anything else relevant that you gained from those experiences.

 

I tailored this assignment like Dr. C’s lit autobiography, but I’m having them construct a work history/work autobiography.  The assignment is a gateway for them to begin to document their employment history and begin to compile the needed information for their resume and cover letter assignment that is soon approaching.  I’m just providing a little background and context about the assignment.  With no further ado…The Submission:

 

HappyFeet’s Work History

            When I was in high school I stared to learn about contrtion. One of the skills that I learn was cement. My responsibilities was to put cement onto the mixer and turn on the machine. My duty was to sure the cement wasn’t too watery. Sometime we didn’t have a machine so we had to mix it on ground. the first step of this process was empty the bag of cement  onto ground. Then you would make hole in middle… then you pour water onto the hole, after that you get a shovel pour the cement onto water and mix up.

            I learn how to landscape, I took out a tree tuck. The first step was I dig out dirt and then I chop the root off. My responsibility was to make sure that tree tuck can be remove dirt. Then we got the trunk and put the chaie allround the tree .  My duties was to sure that to fill in in hole. Then make sure that dirt was soleit.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

Yup, it was submitted to me just like this…Best believe I was like what the FRACK is this ish…(In my mind)… LOL.  My question to all of you is what comments would you have made to this student?  Keep in mind that this student has already expressed that he can’t write or spell “really good” from Day 1 and that he is a Gen 1.5 student.  I had a hard ass time not succumbing to “Red Pen Rage” reading it the first time through, as I think some of you might as well…LOL.  I have already given the student feedback and am waiting to see if changes are made.  I guess my more specific question would be at what point would you start addressing the obvious lack of grammar skills?  Would the grammar lesson be focused and planned or would you treat it as an incidental topic during another lecture?

 

 

Reading literary fiction improves empathy, study finds

An article from The Guardian (of London) summarizing recent psychological research at The New School for Social Research. New York Times writeup of the same research.

Let's Cover Two Things...

I enjoyed the section about editing and it was quite timely with my job as a supplemental instructor. In our training on Friday we were discussing whether or not we should be EDITING student papers that are brought to us during tutoring. First, I think this goes back to defining what certain terms mean (like the chapter - or was it an article- we read earlier this semester about what revision means). I hadn't thought about EDITING meaning more than just helping with corrections. EDITING, it seems, has the strict definition of "fixing" every mistake in a paper. Also, I used to feel that I wasn't giving the student sufficient feedback if I wasn't editing every detail. After discussion with my boss (holla at Amanda!) I discovered that editing every mistake was actually detrimental for students as they wouldn't actually grasp WHY they were making the mistake but instead would just robotically retype what I had already corrected for them. I now only do nitty gritty edits on the introduction and (because 9/10 times students make the same mechanical errors throughout their papers) explain the mistakes and then have the student find these mistakes and correct them themselves in the rest of the essay (I realize that was a run on sentence). I was able to provide this technique as a piece of advice to another SI who was experiencing the same issue (it felt nice).

NEXT SUBJECTTTTT. As far as standardized tests go... BULL SHIT BULL SHIT BULL SHIT. As Lindenmann points out "Many researchers, however, insist that standardized tests aren't valid measures of writing performance" (223). Ummm or any performance for that matter. On the STAR testing in high school I used to draw designs because I knew I wasn't getting a grade, that my school was making money for me taking them and well I just didn't give a fuck about school, tests or ANYTHING for that matter.

The Cupped Hand and the Open Palm

The Roskelly article and the factors she lists about why group projects fail really says all the reasons I dislike group work.  The statement about the one student ending up doing all the work was sooo me.  I am the type of student who always aspires to get the “A” for any assignment.  This would always lead me to ensuring that all the work submitted for the project was up to par.  Most times it wasn’t and I seemed to be doing a lot more of the work than anyone else in the group.  I guess after analyzing myself I fall under the category of one who doesn’t trust the work other people are submitting.  I am the “untrusting chief.”  Also, group projects often required an oral presentation as well.  I would be mortified sometimes when the group members didn’t know what they were talking about, trying to bullshit their way through their part.  Or it would be that I would wind up doing a majority of the talking to avoid that occurring.  I really dislike the feeling of being accountable or someone else being accountable for the grade being given.  I understand that there are some good things to come out of them as Roskelly discusses.  Ideally, it alleviates the pressure of the student feeling like all the work is on them.  It also allows the students to hear different perspectives and alternatives ways of seeing things.  The idea of making sure the group project has focused tasks and benchmarks to hit is important for it to be successful.  Even though I have a strong dislike for group assignments, I will still include them into my classes

What Keeps Blue Collar Kids on Campus?

Excellent article by CSUDH grad student and tutor Jose Gonzalez.

The power of the collective.

I thought that the article “The Cupped Hand and the Open Palm” was pretty extensive with enumeration the apprehension and reservations associated with working in groups, but it left off of the biggest causes of concern for me: the feeling of dependency. For me, one of the biggest concerns I have with working in a group, is whether or not I will let my group down. I obviously want to, and try to be, an active participant in my assigned group, but there are times when “life happens” and my expectations don’t align with my potential, or my work isn’t on par with the rest of the group because something is going on outside of school. It worries me to be in a situation where I’m holding the group back, or that I am letting my group down. I don’t want to hold another person’s grades in my hands; sometimes I feel it’s too much pressure.

On a different not, one of the most fascinating ideas that Rosekelly brings up, is the sense of agency that is developed by working in groups. Rosekelly, when commenting about powerless state students feel, writes: “[the best reason to work in a group] is because they force writers and thinkers to consciousness, groups foster action and change.” I thought this was interesting, because it made a case for the power of the collective. I think if we were more conscious of the “big picture” (which would come through group work), and if we collaborated better, we would do a better job of promoting change.  

The Role of the Audience

What role should the audience play in one's own writing? Why should we consider the audience?



As I was reading,  Toby Fulweiler's,  "The Role of the Audience,"  I was reminded of the character of Howard Roark in Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountain Head. He was an architect who did not bend to the whims of his clients, but instead designed buildings the way that he envisioned them to be. His opinion about this work mattered more to him than the views of his audience. Of course, as we see in the novel, he does pay a price for his opinions.



How then, do we acknowledge that the role of the audience is important when it comes to reading a piece of writing, while at the same time acknowledging that the writer should have a sense of his or her own views; and dare I say, consider them more highly that his or her potential audience?

How can a writer be original, authentic, and true to his or her vision, if at the back of the writer's mind, he or she is always considering his or her audience? Or in a perverted sense, pandering to his or her audience?



As I am writing these thoughts, I keep thinking of the old adage,  "To thine oneself, be true."

Roskelly - An Assuring Work

I was inspired by the Roskelly article because it touched upon a subject I am quite passionate about. While I sat reading it, I did not feel like I was necessarily reading anything new though. I was reading points and assertions that I had already known, that I had already developed on my own, and instead was being assured that my thoughts were sane.

I will most likely end up using this article as a secondary source for my thesis (which I hope will be about collaboration in the classroom and in the institution). There are so many intricacies of this idea that can be thought up, that already exist but need to be developed, or that are unfortunately non-existent that need to be introduced. I have already written an entire outline (obvi not finished - nor will it be ever finished) that includes student collab, teacher collab, student-teacher collab, lesson plans, digital/multimodal sources for encouraging collab, and that's only the beginning.

What I like about Roskelly's thoughts is that she takes specific examples in the class to show how competition is encouraged over collaboration. Though most would argue it is in an attempt to prevent cheating, her description of students being encouraged to cover their papers while taking tests rung a bell for me. It brought me back to high school when I was a "bad" student. I say this because I ultimately cheated my way through high school math and can't say I never cheated in any other class either. One day in US history (a class I absolutely loved, got an A and usually did not cheat in) I hadn't had the time to study for an exam so I wrote the answers on my desk and placed the question portion of the test over it, lifting up the paper every time I needed an answer. The teacher came over to me, lifted up the paper I was covering the test answers with (meanwhile my heart palpitating thinking I was done for), put the paper over my scantron, smiled and said "Make sure to cover your answers." In this instance, the teacher was far more worried about other people cheating off me - the good student, the student who loved the subject, the student who always got As - rather than seeing what was right before her nose. Irony... (I've been told people use the would "ironic" incorrectly and I hope I'm not one of those people though I understand I may very well be).

Lastly, I enjoyed the way Roskelly gave examples of how to encourage, maintain, control (gross word) collaboration in the classroom for teachers. Very helpful. I dig it.