Fall is coming

Today I ordered my textbooks for fall. I've decided to mix up my syllabus. I'm using all new books-- except for the one on tutoring, but that doesn't count. I've also decided to use a Children's Lit book for my novel this semester. I don't usually do that, but I really want to teach this book, so I've decided to give it a try. I'm teaching Ellen Levine's _Catch a Tiger by the Toe_. It's such a great book. I think it will fit with the theme of my course as I'm looking at media and people's responses to it for my dissertation-- that can't help but creep into my course theme too. I've taught books I needed to read for my research before, but this is the first time I'm really putting some of it in my syllabus. I just got tired of teaching the same stuff, and I don't have time to be researching other stuff, so this is what's going in. Now to structure the syllabus.

Collective Intelligence

Ever since I read Jenkins' book Convergence Culture, I have wanted to read Levy's Collective Intelligence, and I havent' made the time. I've been trying to write-- I had to read Harry Potter-- putting the house up for sale. Well, now, I'm finally reading it, and it's really interesting.

Jenkins uses his ideas of knowledge-- that the knowledge space is a valuable one and that it in and of itself is a position of power, but the thing that is striking me so far in Levy-- and I'm not that far into it, is Levy's position on the other. For him, there is no "other" there are only people who possess knowledge that we don't have that we should try to get. I think his ideas are much more idealistic, where Jenkins is probably more realistic. I think Jenkins is more based on subject research and Levy is more based on theory. But, as someone who doesn't want to fill out 7 million pieces of IRB paperwork, I appreciate the idealistic theory-- In a realistic sense, I see how Levy's theory is reflected in children's literature. When authors are trying to accomplish the blending of others, they often use a polyphonic text to attempt to disguise didactic moments. They are trying to live out Levy's vision.

Oh, if only there was more time in a day.

PJ Hoffmaster

We have decided that camping trips need to at least be for long weekends. This weekend we went out to PJ Hoffmaster, in Muskegon, MI to go camping. It is a great park. All of these tall trees, an awesome beach, we were there with great friends. It was a fantastic weekend, but when you consider all of the set up work and the tear down work, it's longer than the time you're actually away-- so we've decided camping trips need to be a little longer-- or we have to do it more often so that we better know what we're doing :)

Hoffmaster is a great place though, if you're looking to camp. The lots were really big, so it was great-- plus the back of our campsite was this hill that went down to a creek that ran into Lake Michigan, so the kids had plenty of space to play away from the road-- not that they weren't tempted of course.

But, now, it's time to get back to the daily grind.