Blog Prompt: Using the "double entry" method, observe something and describe it (NOTE: try NOT to observe an academic experience; might be too political). Then, reflect on those observations. Communicate both in your blog--and we'll talk in class about how a reflective activity like this one might/might not be a good experience for students.

I'm describing an evening with my family (one of my brother's birthday dinner).
What I observed:
I watched him often. I smiled every time he even glanced in my direction. I tapped my foot often. I tried to get his attention anytime he was looking toward my dad. I repeatedly told him "happy birthday." This continued throughout the dinner.

SIgnificance:
I think I was trying so hard to make Michael's birthday good and happy. When my mom and dad have to coexist, it can get pretty un-fun, so I was watching him to see if he was noticing that. I was a bit preoccupied by the situation, so I think that's why I was tapping my foot. I was trying to make everything seem as natural as possible and really seem like I was having fun (because when others are having fun, it would be easier for him to have fun), but I felt like an actor, and I'm not very good at acting, so I think my foot-tapping was the result. I think my repeated "happy birthday's" were another form of distraction to try to keep him having fun...

I forgot to post last week...

I forgot to post last week, but as I read the prompt just a moment ago, I just couldn't let the topic fall by the wayside without blogging.

I think that voice that resonates does not have to compete with "academic voice" and can very well enhance it. The fact is, while it does not HAVE to compete with it, it often does. Because it's not something that can be imitated or easily manipulated, one cannot always write with resonance, which is especially true in academic writing.

It's hard to pinpoint how to write with resonance, but when it occurs, it's unmistakeable. So often I find myself reading articles that, despite being filled with complex information or theories and despite being written by someone obviously intelligent, leave no imprint in my mind (unless of course I know that talking about the article will be a necessity in class, in which case, I must force myself to truly comprehend what's being written in spite of myself). Part of why it's hard to teach writing with resonance is because it often stems from when people write about something they are passionate about. And how would one teach that?

Perhaps that's what makes Elbow so approachable in his writing. As Dr. Rickly admitted to us in class, he truly is as nice as he seems and truly cares about education not as a concept or theory but as it affects real people. Whether that can be said for every educational theorist, I'm not quite convinced.

Evolving Teaching Philosophy

I think a perfect teacher is one that challenges and encourages his/her students in a way that makes them want to learn and truly offer their best efforts. The perfect teacher mixes up the teaching style-- sometimes lecturing, other times doing a discussion-- to make sure that the students remain engaged. It is equally important to make one's expectations/requirements for assignments very clear. There is little more frustrating than receiving a bad grade (or even, for some students, a good grade) without explanation. A good teacher makes the criteria clear and helps his/her students practice meeting those aims prior to submitting assignments. I realize that this is much easier said than done, but it's possible. Even just reviewing good examples of the assignment would help some students in knowing what they should do. Despite all those things, I think what it all comes down to is having passion. I think if we all consider who our favorite teachers have been, what our best classroom experiences have been, each of the teachers we think of will have been teachers who wanted to be where they were, who loved what they were doing. It's not a question of "Do you have experience? Do you have knowledge?" (although both of those things are great qualities in teachers); the question is "Do you have passion?"

struggles

I'm still struggling with our current discussions about what the end of composition is and how we get there. As good as ttopic is at getting so many students through the compostion classes, I can't help but wonder how effective it is with so little class time and so little face-to-face interaction and feedback. Are we trading off effectiveness for efficiency?

As a grader and future instructor for the course, I'd really like to be in complete support of the course, but, what with having gone to Tech for undergrad. and having friends who have taken one or both of them and having worked at the Writing Center and had clients taking them, I've just heard so many complaints-- and logical and reasonable ones at that. I would like to believe that the courses teach students how to write to a universal audience, but do students actually learn those lessons? Or do they just do what they think each assignment is asking for and hope for the best, never knowing if they are, in fact, doing assignments correctly or satisfactorily enough to get the grade they're aiming for? From past discussions with friends and/or clients, from a student's perspective, it's like a game of chance.

I think the program has made progress by dividing C.I.'s and D.I.'s into small grading groups, but, as Elizabeth and I have verbalized in class, even those small groups don't negate the misinterpretations or micommunications among group members.

So, while I'm very appreciative of my position as a D.I., I still feel ill at ease with the program as a whole.