Bazerman's Conversational Model

I have to admit that I have never heard of writing along the lines of a conversation.  Bazerman's perspective is interesting in that he suggests that this conversational model actually translates into developing skills we take for granted in the writing process.  For example, his model suggests absorbing, reformulating, and commenting on what was read.  I think we take that idea for granted because it is done so much but linking it to a conversational model is, well, different.  Many of the things he suggests that are better conducted in the conversational model is actually, in my estimation, responsible writing in the first place.  Things like evaluating what is read and significant commitment to reading attentively should already be located somewhere in our writer's toolbox.  However, if Bazerman suggests that conversational models point students into the direction of reading effectively, developing responses, and questioning the material we read to inform the ideas we want to write about, then I am certainly willing to adopt this idea.  As it stands right now, in my experience in teaching so far, ANYTHING that can be done to get students to embrace reading and writing has my vote for didactic effectiveness to the second power.

Pierce blog #8

Although Pierce's article, "Online Strategies for Teaching ThinkIng" is about using the Internet, I have often engaged my, EFL, students in "dialogical" thinking through discussing cultural values & beliefs when learning about controversial issues (in America). Pierce defines dialectal thinking as a way to generate interest in a reading. The fore mentioned unit I cover covers issues that carry a lot of emotion with them, especially samesex marriage and abortion. I wasn't surprised at the shock of Asian, or Saudi Arabian students, but what did surprise me was the most liberal Russian student's complete and utter intolerance of same sex marriage, yet my quiet Saudi student was completely fine with the idea. Other Asian & South American students could not comprehend a woman having the right to choose whether or not she would keep her baby in North America. I am happy to say my students listen to one another and at the end of the discussion not only did their vocabulary increase, but tolerance for others did as well.
I am aware that my students are more apt to listen because they are still trying to comprehend words they don't know in context and I firmly believe by not being completely fluent helps students keep their emotions in check.
Another advantage of emotional discussions in my class was their learning an idiom in context, Let's just agree to disagree

Lindemann Ch. 8, blog #7

I really liked what Lindemann said about the 5-paragragh essay being irrelevant because "real" writers don't write that way. I encounter students from countries, especially Asian and Arabic, who come to the U.S. to go to graduate school and I feel an obligation to teach 5-paragraph essays! These students are going to take the IELTS or the TOEFL before even getting accepted to a school, and in order to pass, one must know how to write a 5 paragraph essay! Now, those going into grad school must also pass the Gre. And the students going to a JC or university must pass a placement test after the TOEFL or IELTS!! I feel trapped. There's no way around teaching the 5-paragraph essay. When I have students whose work, or company, sent them here to learn English, they need a whole other type of writing! I don't mind this al all because my classes consist of 6 - 9 students and they all have goals and want to learn. Small classes afford me the opportunity to work closely with students and really get to know their goals, strengths, weaknesses and personalities to better assist them with their goals.

Mathison-Fife blog #6

I love how Fife used Facebook to teach rhetorical analysis. When I was a student teacher at Banning about 8 or 9 years ago, I had to teach a unit on Persuasion. I wanted to use MySpace at the time, but most students didn't have computers yet and the master teacher said to I use adds I from the Internet. It worked ok, but I wasn't satisfied. Now that I teach EFL to young adults, I did use Instagram by having students evaluate each other's postings and decide what their "silent" or "hidden" messages were. Unfortunately, Has I didn't feel comfortable explaining more than what was in their books, "persuasion". The one drawback of teaching EFL is having to be cognasant of how much information you give at once because some students are trying to learn most of the vocabulary so I just have to work with those at are ready for more in small groups (after setting up the oth re with an activity).

Lindquist blog #5

The article, "Class Ethos and the Polirics of Inquiry" brought up happy memories for me. I remember  having conversations with Dad about being "book smart" or "street smart", which is precisely the question Lindquist posed to one of her 'subjects' she used from the bar research. She asked what it meant to be learned from an institution (book smart through a university) versus through one's experience (street smarts). This made me laugh because when I went back to school, Dad remarked that I will now have a well rounded education. I was confused and said, "I never lived on the street". He just laughed and said I had lived in enough lower income neighborhoods in a variety of states around the US. Another quote that was typical of my blue collar (business owner) dad was the one about forgetting about what you learned in school because now you've got to live in the real world. He concluded saying he never worried about me because I was always aware of the people and things around me and I could take care of myself.

Andersen Blog #9 - Teaching and Judging Voice

Teaching and Then Judging Voice

In primary education students are encouraged to write like everyone else and follow the pattern that the teacher has laid out. After students have learned, and eventually mastered, the formulaic essay writing processes, they enter university and are told that they have no voice in their writing. As Jeffery asks in her essay, “is it even possible to teach voice” (117)? How do we assist our students in not only finding their voice but making that voice apparent in their essays? This is a challenging prospect that even the experts have not yet overcome.  Jeffery says that more research is needed in this field while at the same time conceding that the need for voice in student essays are a part of the rubrics used to assess students entrance to college and other important aspects of their future. This research needs to be completed posthaste if we are to fairly judge the students and their attempts at including their voice in the essays that we assign. And we need to create some judging criteria that does not negatively impact the students we teach while we investigate these issues.

Blog #8 Freewriting: Teaching Philosophy

I grew up tormented by negative people who assumed that I would not be able to succeed in life. My own teachers’ judged me based on my ethnic background and anticipated a fail in their classes. Luckily, I was born into a family who never gives up on me and cares about my future. I am passionate, caring, responsible, organized, and very social. Thanks to my institution I have been able to take many courses that have helped me grow and improve my teaching skills. I believe that the purpose of education is to understand society and to find our own place in it, and for that reason I am determined to find my place as a teacher. As a future teacher, I know that I should always aim to inspire and improve learning for students. I understand that teaching will not always be easy, but I have learned to enjoy any challenge!

Lindquist's Class Ethos piece

Julie Lindquist argues that there isn't much difference between classrooms and barrooms, when it comes to rhetorical principles.  Using several examples of barroom discussions, Lindquist shows the significance of rhetorical "performances," in particular in a barroom where the bulk of the population is working class people.  She warns of a disconnect between middle class people and working class people that is so profound it greatly intervened in the leverage she tries to muster in an argument: she was an "outsider."  And although she admits some of the views expressed by the "regulars" at the bar were easily anticipated, Lindquist claims her flawed ethos, despite being amongst the "regulars," was problematic.  The barroom provided for her a way to peek into the thinking of working class people and take the temperature of their views.  Her classrooms, then, were able to include writing assignments that people and children of working class people could relate to.  I want to take her discussion of the barroom and its "rhetorical practices" to the barber shop or the nail shop.  What about the rhetorical practices in these facilities that serve the community without the attraction of alcohol?  These places have "regulars" and many if not the same topics can just as easily dominate discussions in the barber shop or the nail shop just as it does in the barroom.  Can the conversations that take place in these institutions be transcribed, thus giving teachers in these communities a means to connect with the rhetorical practices routinely displayed in the barber shop or the nail shop?  I think so  The rhetorical practices in barber shops can be just as stimulating as those in the barroom.  And they can provide compelling insight into their rhetorical practices and this information can inform the writing assignments for teachers in these areas.  I guess a better question is who would investigate this further?  I would. 

Lindsey Valbuena: Writing Genres

I have attended numerous trainings on teaching writing and new programs geared toward writing instruction. In all of these trainings there seems to be a lack of consensus as to what genres of writing there are, which should be taught in each grade, which should be prioritized, etc. The list of genres I have been introduced to most recently is: information, persuasive, interpretive, narrative, and personal. Many of the programs I have read seem to suggest that narrative, for example, is taught K-8 and eventually trickles out by high school. The literary essay is not really covered until 7-8 grade. These rules are of course not set in stone during these trainings, but seem to beg the question: What genres of writing are there? Which ones should be covered in which grades? Are there genres that should be prioritized over others?

Andersen Blog #8 - Developing Writing Assignments

Developing Writing Assignments

“If we want students to produce meaningful writing, we must design meaningful assignments, tasks that encourage students to use writing to act” (Lindemann 219).

It is up to us as composition instructors to provide creative, assignments that students will be interested in writing. Unfortunately, what students get are the same tired prompts that have been passed down for what seems like generations. Lindemann encourages us to ask ourselves, “What do I want the students to do?” This seems an easy enough task for the teacher; however, looking at the follow-up questions, it becomes a more daunting task that we must set for ourselves. Especially true is her question, “Does it appeal to the interest and experiences of my students?” It is up to us to generate that interest and make our assignments something they are interested in completing, so that they are not completing the assignment the night before it is due, but are willing to actually put in the work to improve their writing. 

Ideas for writing assignments

Last week Dr. Cauthen asked a very interesting question: "Why does the marketing industry seek to profit off "cool" elements in society in poor neighborhoods?  Several students offered compelling insight as to why this happens.  I see, or at least I think I see, a perfect prompt that is in direct alignment with Lindemann's chapters regarding developing writing assignments.  And here's why.  Lindemann suggests that effective writing assignments must and should be grounded in rhetorical components, even if the assignment never says that is what it is doing.  With a question or a prompt similar to Cauthen's, the writing assignment would involve rhetorical principles: purpose, audience, and a discussion or engagement with material clearly extending beyond the classroom.  In other words, this assignment would enable students to weigh in on events in our world, thus exercising critical thinking skills.  As an instructor, here's what I'm thinking.  To give the assignment some context, the prompt would begin with the exact portion of the poem Melvianne recited during our discussion and allow students to look at the documentary, or segments of it, as Leonard suggested.  I think Leonard said it was titled "Cool Hunting."  With those two forms of context for the essay, find a story, book, poem or article catering to the idea or question Dr. Cauthen asked.  From there, the assignment would look something like this:  For this final essay, students will write a well developed essay considering portions of the poem (the one Melvianne recited in class) and the documentary "Cool Hunting" (Leonard's recommendation).  You are free to use as many external sources needed to support your ideas.  You can either disagree or agree that marketing in poor neighborhoods is not a problem.  Consider your neighborhood and the consuming trends of your friends and family friends to further support why you agree or disagree with marketing strategies in a specific region or area.  You also may want to define the term "cool," "rad," "awesome," or "turned up" to  connect this attitude to generations using these terms.  Of course this is just a rough draft of the prompt.  What do you think?  Is it too much?  By the way, I'm thinking a word count of 1,250 words, due in two weeks, the level would be intermediate composition courses, and at least five sources, MLA, work cited page.  

Stir em Up!

Wayne Booth discusses what he calls "the perversions of rhetorical stance" in his essay The Rhetorical Stance.  Of the list of "perversions" the second one that he discusses is the "advertiser's stance" which suggests the "undervaluing of the subject and the overvaluing pure effect."  Unfortunately, it is far too easy to uncover examples of this sensationalizing the argument with the "controversial of argumentative" assertions instead of exploring or promoting positions based upon information.  The irony is that just as the audience is engaged in the subject from a pseudo-intellectual emotional position, they are obliviously acknowledging and empowering limiting marginalizing tropes that they think they are fighting against.  Take for example, the panel type discussions often found on television shows and news shows.  There is a mediator between two opposing views who is usually from some marginalized group, women, LGBT, or etc.  The opposing views are often highlighted by stark symbolic divisions presented in either visual cues like gender, race, or political positions.  As, the debate ensues (pure entertainment) the audience is tricked into thinking that each side is offering information.  However, what the audience experiences is an emotional affirmation of their subconscious and conscious positions.  If there is to be a positive in teaching rhetoric, a goal or purpose, it should be to empower young writer's and audiences with the ability to uncover perversions like this so that real discussions, arguments and debates point towards the exposition of information that will empower people to make choices that lead to innovative change.

Blog #7 Spanish Speaking Parents

Today, I encountered a very common, yet disturbing situation. A 7th grade teacher called me over to translate her comments over to a student, who only speaks Spanish and was not completing his assignments. I feel that the teacher did not allow the student to respond to her comments. The student mentioned he was not completing the assignments because he had trouble understanding them, and because he was afraid they would be wrong. I mentioned that to the teacher and she just ignored my translation, and I was then told to call home and let the parents know that the student was not turning in work and would be transferred over to "special classroom," because they will help him more there. I spoke to the mother of this student and mentioned that I was not the teacher, yet I was told to translate on behalf of her child's teacher. The mother, who is also only a Spanish speaker, mentioned that she would try to talk to her son, and agreed to the teachers request of moving the student to a special ed. class, then the conversation ended. Once the student left, the teacher mentioned that the child was struggling because the parents are not involved in the education of their children. I did not respond, but now that I think about it, I do not think that it is correct to blame the parents. Spanish speaking parents often avoid confrontation with school staff and officials, and are open to anything they (the school staff) recommend because they believe the teachers know what is best for their child. Spanish speaking parents are not likely to go against the teacher; sadly, the teacher is not always correct in suggesting that a student who only speaks Spanish is "not average" and will probably do better in lower class levels. It is just disturbing to see that a student who is simply struggling with the language will be placed in special classes, because there are no ESL classes available or any support from staff or school officials.

Publication

I have been curious lately about the publishing process. Dr. Cauthen has mentioned on more than one occasion that it is valuable to publish our work in various publications. Having never considered this option, I am curious what this process looks like. Also, it leads me to think of the various articles we have read on audience. Do we revise our pieces based on the audience of the publication we are submitting to? Should we be encouraging our own students to make publication a goal? What is the payoff of publication from a student perspective?

The process of accepting responsibilty

Lad Tobin's Reading Students, Reading Ourselves: Revising the Teacher's Role in the Writing Class is a honest thought provoking process essay that examines his role and the role of writing teachers in influencing the outcome of the students writing as part or the writing, reading and revision process. He says, "my discomfort grew as I began to see how much her whole argument echoed my own ideas."  Of course, Nickki, the student did well in his class as a writer even though she struggle in other classes.  Lad's self reflection is important as he suggest the need to develop reader theory that accounts for the teacher unavoidable influence on the writers outcome.  His honesty went even further as he acknowledged his biased reading of student work that he didn't find appealing.  Moreover, the admission of the impact of unconscious gender bias is profound.  In the end, I think teachers would do well to read and reflect on the process on a regular basis as a refresher that may help sharpen our eyes and our awareness of our bias so that we might get closer to that realm of objective readers and limit the strong influence we have on a writer's work.

Andersen Blog #7 - Teaching Through Technology

Teaching through Technology

As technology becomes such an integral part of society, we must learn to also make it an integral part of the classroom, especially writing classes. 60 Minutes came to the CSUDH campus recently to discuss how apps and their content are designed to be addictive. According to Tristan Harris, a former Google product manager, smartphones are like slot machines, making the student increasingly curious about the number of likes or comments they receive on a post or picture. It becomes a constant desire that is reinforced by the immediate response from followers that app users are able to generate.  Collaborative writing assignments are an excellent way to incorporate writing and apps in the classroom. We can begin an essay, short story, or novel and have the students continue writing from there. It offers them the opportunity to write in a low stakes collaborative manner, but engages their fixation (addiction) to social media. It can also incorporate various levels of discourse and become a writing of the students' choosing and liking. Once they like what they are writing about, they will put more effort into the task, ensuring that they like what they write, which is the first step toward “good” writing. 

Chose your words...

Thomas E. Recchio juxtaposes  Robert Scholes saying, "Different, even conflicting assumptions may preside over any reading of a single text by a single person..." and M.M. Bakhtin saying "the arena of almost any utterance an intense interaction and struggle between ones' own and another's word is being waged..."  As his essay continues, he uses a Bakhtin view to analyze the competing views that are found in the students essay.   In doing so, he identifies four competing discourse express the writer's knowledge and their perspective on the issue while at the same time challenging the cohesiveness of the writing.  At this point Toby Fulwiler's essay The Role of Audiences comes to mind as he suggests, "when we write about anything we learn it better."  The students "draft" is a good example of that very point.  I think Recchio's reading and analysis of the draft would be very helpful for Graduate level or maybe Undergraduate students.  However, I think it would need to be greatly simplified for High School level students.  At that level, it would be very help for the student to have a reading of their draft that highlighted the existence of the different discourse found in their draft. Moreover, to avoid the tendency of teacher centered in judgment, I would suggest that the writer choices the discourse that they feel most passionate about and expound upon it. Also, it would be helpful here to suggest how the other discourses might be more effective for other audiences.  In the end, This type of reading and revision requires the time and patience of both the writer and the teacher/audience with a common goal of refining writing and learning at its highest level.

We need more rhetoric

Jennifer brought up a very powerful point in regards to the duplicitous nature of rhetoric.  In other words, there are two sides to rhetoric: a dimension of negativity and a dimension to contribute to the stability of humanity.  Furthermore, when Recchio asks, "What do students need to know about rhetoric, it is important that students know the ideas but not necessarily the theoretical foundation.  When a student writes a well-written paper, one of the reasons it is considered well written is because it contains at least the fundamentals of rhetoric: clarity, evidence and purpose of the writing.  Does the student need to know how much Plato, Cicero, Aristotle, and Quintilian contributed to the art of rhetoric?  It will be nice to know, but it will be even better that students are using the power of rhetoric as evidenced by the effectiveness of their paper.  So we as teachers are actually contributing to our students' understanding of rhetoric by the mastery of writing that students show.  In other words, as long as our didactic principles are founded in meaningful instruction to convey ideas, the students are already rhetoricians, they are just not all the way sure how they are.

The word "rhetoric"

This word comes up in news in connection with Trump. The phrase "Trump rhetoric" is being used to describe the questionable things he says about people, women, policy, and everything else. Recently, my neighbor brought the subject up to me in a conversation about the English language. This neighbor thinks that rhetoric has a negative connotation; in the same way, the word propaganda has become a misunderstood and/or misused word that carries a negative connotation. I.e. anything you don't like is propaganda. I defended the word rhetoric because  it has a general application to any type of speech or argument and is not negative.

Timed Writing

Because so much of our conversation seems to center around the writing of process pieces, I thought it might be interesting to explore the teaching of timed writings. I sometimes wonder what the purpose and benefit is of using timed writings as assessment. Is a timed writing an accurate assessment of a student's writing capabilities? So much of the standardized writing students do is based off of their ability to compose an essay in 1 hour. How much of our time should be dedicated to teaching this skill? Is there a way to teach timed writing that is not formulaic? Or is the formula a necessity for students to fall back on? What do you assess in a timed writing in comparison to a processed piece?

Blog #6 Technology in the classroom

After conducting some research on the use of technology in the classroom, I was surprised to read that there has been little research done on the benefits of technology and writing. There was a handful of sources on technology and math, but very few on writing. If any were available they were very old, and I believe that many teachers have created and discovered many possible ways to integrate technology into their writing lessons (other than the use of powerpoint). I have noted that when I incorporate social media (Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook) into my classrooms, and use e-journals (through google docs), the interest level of my students rise and their writing enhances. Students use technological devices all the time, they send text messages, emails, and share posts that have writing in them. Students are writing constantly throughout their day, they may not be writing academically, but to me it is like free writing. I believe that technology can be integrated into the classroom effectively, but many teachers will argue the contrary. There are teachers that do not allow students to use their phones, laptops, and other technological devices because they fear that it will distract students from learning. What do you think? Do you use technology in your classrooms, if so what devices/programs do you recommend?

Andersen Blog #6 - Discontinuation of Developmental Classes

Discontinuation of Developmental Classes

I am trying to come to terms with the new pedagogy which removes developmental writing classes from the community and state colleges. It has already started at Southwest, a community college in South Los Angeles where I tutor. These students are typically older adults who have come back to school after years of separation and need a refresher course. They are extremely anxious coming back to school. With the students’ initial introduction to college/university being a composition class that is above their reading and writing level, I feel it will be discouraging. I have had students tell me that the class was over their heads and they had no idea what was happening in the classroom. They have become disheartened with their return to school feeling like a failure. Some have told me they were considering dropping out because they are not doing well in the class. I try to encourage them, but as a writing lab tutor, I am only able to help with an assignment they have written and not the skills that are needed to be successful in the classroom. I have learned recently that CSUDH is moving in that direction as well, and I am concerned that the freshmen coming into the program will become just as disheartened and the retention level will drop drastically. The students I work with currently are at a pass rate of about 50%. I’m scared to think what the pass rate will be once developmental classes are no longer available to them.