Dr. Seuss

I have an obsession with Dr. Seuss. So many people think that he's just writing silly stories, but I think people often miss how much can be found in a Dr. Seuss tale. I mean there is originality with all the newly created language. Plus there is fantastic rhythm that can force you to repeat lines against your will. In addition, Dr. Seuss forces you to address prejudice. I mean just think about Green Eggs and Ham, he won't eat them just because they are not normal. And then Sam I am encourages him to see things from a different point of view.

When we talk to students about learning, especially in a non-traditional format, I sometimes think we are a little like Sam-- we have to go on and on about how great something is, but it really doesn't matter what kind of a song and dance we do. Until students are willing to try something for themselves, they will never know if they like Green Eggs and Ham or not.

Dr. Seuss encourages fun. His books are happy, although slightly didactic at times. Regardless, kids love them. I don't know why more adults don't go back to that mindset. If we have fun with learning, it's just that, more fun.

Pictures

I've decided that I want to attempt to post a picture to my blog. I think that would make it more interesting. I was told that it was easy to do, but I never paid enough attention to realize that it was just a matter of pushing the add image choice in the tool bar.

This fun knowledge of technology will make this project more interesting. At least I think so :)

So, does anyone care to guess where this is?

Ella Minnow Pea

A friend gave me this book by Mark Dunn for my birthday a couple of years ago, and I remember looking at the cover, (which my version has a picture of a minnow-- there are many different versions-- the economics of book publishing) and thinking what a strange name for a child. Then I read it aloud-- L-M-N-O-P-- now it has caught my attention. I sat down and read the book shortly after receiving it. I deemed it a clever little story. There is a town that exists as a tribute to a man who wrote a sentence that uses every letter in the alphabet. (There are several such sentences in the book to prove it is not as daring as a feat as initially assumed.) So, the town builds a statue to the man that has the sentence on it. Well, the statue is getting old, and some of the letters are falling off. So the town council decided that since the letters are falling off, that must be the town founder telling the people that they should no longer use those letters. So, as the town must quit using letters, so must the author, and the letters disappear from the text. Now the book becomes this linguistic challenge.

Upon first reading the book, I thought it was a fun play on words-- it gives a decent challenge. But now, as I revisit it, I can't help but wonder what else it might be saying. I think of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and how it stands against tradition. As educators, I don't think we can just stand against tradition as a means of being innovative. But, we should question edicts to find out why they exist. If I was told I couldn't use the letter q again, it might not be worth the fight (although I think the principle of it would make it so) but if I was told the letter a was off limits-- well, it just wouldn't work.

When we think about standards and expectations, I think it is more important to consider what they are standards off. What is the reason behind their existence? What is their purpose? We shouldn't just eliminate ideas because something symbolic happened. But, we shouldn't just exist based on the symbolic either.

Just some thoughts.

Tutoring

I'm interested in seeing the different student responses to tutoring. I work in a tutoring center, and I used to work for 2 different tutoring centers, and I've seen numerous different responses. Some students latch on to a tutor. They begin to feel that they cannot function on their own. Then a tutor has to sort of break a dependence because a tutee can't get tutored forever. Some students defend their intelligence. They are so defensive that they can't actually get any help. Others are so hostile that they too cannot receive help. And then there are ideal students. They know they have something intelligent to say but that they could improve. They try to learn something new each time they come so that eventually they will no longer need to see a tutor. This makes me wonder what the role of the tutor is. How does a tutor help a student see that seeking help is not necessarily a weakness? How does a tutor help a student get the most out of what they are learning without creating a dependence? I'm sure some of it has to do with personality and enabling, but I'm also sure that a tutoring center's mission statement has to play a part as well.

Some tutoring centers want their students to be dependent because they want the income generated from returning students. Other centers are free, so they want independent students so that they can serve as many people as possible.

I think it is important to work to help students become independent learners. If people are willing to try new things and willing to take risks, their work becomes much more interesting.

Writing in a Visual Age

This textbook sucks! I'm writing a review right now, and I keep trying to be objective about what I say, but the more time I spend with this book, the worse I think it is.

I think the concept behind the book is great. Students should use more visuals when they write. I think it would be great for students to use meaningful pictures to highlight their texts. I also think it would be great if more teachers would appreciate that. Really, the only thing a teacher would have to do would be to change page length requirements to word requirements-- and tell students to include pictures/charts and so on.

I really don't have an issue with the idea of the book; it's the execution. It has all these charts-- they are so busy that you don't know which things are important and it took me too long to figure out why the pages were colored the way they are. Also, the questions it asks are really leading. It doesn't ask students to think freely about something-- it guides them-- this isn't analysis-- it's barely a step above reading comprehension. Plus it's section divisions are useless. The first half of the book is just writing styles. All of the useful information about the visual is in the second half of the book, but the authors spent more time gathering information for the first half.

It's probably unprofessional to spout off like this about how annoying this book is. I'm sure there will be loads of instructors who use it and love it and think it is so innovative, but I find it really difficult to follow, and I think the creative aspect of it is extremely limited.

Harry Potter Rocks!

I got in my car at lunch today, and there was some guy on the radio talking about the evils of Harry Potter. He was ragging on parents who read Harry Potter with their kids, saying that he does things with his kids too, but that means that he doesn't let them do drugs, drink alcohol, or read Harry Potter. Since when does reading anything equate with letting an 8 year old do drugs or drink?????? The guy was trying to market anti-Potter crap to pass out for Halloween. I can't help but see the irony here-- How can you boycott Harry Potter (about witches and wizards) and support Halloween (again about witches and wizards). I'm just not sure.

I, as you can probably tell from my heading, am a big supporter of Harry Potter. I have read all of the books. I had my copy of book 6 reserved 3 months in advance, and I had it read within 4 days. And I was slow. I can't wait for the next movie to come out on November 18. I will make my husband go with me that weekend to see it. He already knows and is looking forward to this.

So, why do I like Harry Potter so much? For the same reason I chose to go into Children's Lit in the first place. There is so much to dissect and look at in children's fiction, and it is all frequently overlooked. People look at a children's book and they say-- oh it's a nice story about this or that. They don't evaluate it the same way they would evaluate an adult text. Although a text geared at children might use a simpler vocabulary or a simpler plot line, doesn't mean that there aren't other literary elements to the text. The Harry Potter series has complex characters who change and evolve. And it places characters in moral dilemmas that force them to think about more than just the obvious right and wrong. Although it is fantasy, it makes a statement about cultural criticism-- it creates a culture of its own-- and that culture is not a utopia-- it has ethics and civil situations. People can glean far more from the text than merely a good plot. I enjoy the novels, but the exciting plot is not the primary reason why.

Alright-- now that I've defended Harry Potter in this "public" place, maybe I can get some work done :)

James Berlin

James Berlin's text about reinventing English studies is making me think-- especially as so many schools want to discontinue basic writing. It's interesting to me, because at the university, I've met far more people who claim to be Marxist in thinking or at least democratic in thinking than anywhere else. And yet, it is often these same people that want to make sure that education remains a priviledge. We can't have anyone getting into university-- that would be wrong. No, we need to keep the gates closed to the university. We shouldn't let anyone in who won't be able to successfully complete what they set out to do. I mean I understand competitive programs. I also realize that it is unfair to flood the market with ill-qualified job candidates. I even understand the idea of supply and demand and wanting to be able to have more demand before there is too much supply, but I don't think that is Marxist or democratic thinking. I think that is capitalist thinking. I don't think all students enter the university equally, and I don't think they should all be placed in the same classes. I do think they should all have the same expectations. We can't lower standards for less qualified students, but I'm not sure we should shut them out either.

odd behavior

Today I was in the bathroom at the library-- and I couldn't wash my hands because their were two girls washing their feet. in the sink. I'm not sure why it's appropriate to wash your feet in the sink in the bathroom in the library. I'm also not sure why you would not let people wash their hands. but, this is Wayne State-- people do strange things.

Academic Responsibility

I can't help but wonder where the line is on academic responsibility. When does that responsibility cross over to civic responsibility. If a student doesn't want to do his/her homework that shouldn't matter to the instructor, right? But then, what does the instructor do if the student's homework involves other students. This semester I'm teaching a service learning course, so if my students don't do their homework and serve, they are cheating others out of something. Other people are counting on their work.

I don't think people feel very responsible these days. People just want to do what they want to do-- they don't care about what other people think. I also don't think it's the place of a composition class to teach cultural ettiquette. I know that I put a heavy weight on my students grades if they don't behave responsibly, but I don't want to have to do that.

I guess maybe that's the difference between college and jobs-- you can get fired for a bad work ethic-- in college, it just means you don't get an A.

Student papers

What should be important in a student paper? What should I, as a teacher, point out to the student?

Some teachers want to comment on everything in a student's paper. But then some students complain that that is too overwhelming. Some teachers want students to have impeccable grammar, but that's considered a low priority concern. It's important to figure out what is most important.

When I read about instructors' responses to grammar it seems like authors assume a binary approach to grammar. People are viewing grammar errors as colossal mistakes or they think that grammar errors are completely irrelevant. I think the evaluation of grammar must fall somewhere in between. No, a grammar mistake is not a reason to call in the national guard and force someone to behave differently. However, grammar exists for a reason. It makes writing more readable. If everyone spoke and wrote what was convenient for them, it would make communication more difficult. There has to be some semblance of clarity in the work.

Comp instructors also talk about the dangers of collaborative writing, and yet, it is considered a good thing because it forces the writers to think about things more thoroughly. I think grammar should fit into a similar type of format. Collaborative writing forces a writer to think about audience. It forces a writer to prepare and not wait until the last minute to do the writing. Good grammar works the same way. The writer should think about what people will think while they are reading the work-- does the grammar make it the content more clear? If a writer writes ahead and then proofreads his/her work, grammar errors usually decrease.

Inventing the University

The phrase "Inventing the University" seems so ideological. I would love to invent my ideal university. To think about about the things that I think would really make a great learning environment. But, that's not what this post is about. This is about David Bartholomae's article. He feels like students must invent the university in order to write successfully-- but I don't think he's discussing invention. He wants students to figure out what his expectations are and then write to those.

Students are faced with a daunting task when they have to write qualifying exams in English. What qualifies someone to be a good writer? The problem is that I don't think many people think the same things qualify.

Bartholomae brings up several problems that occur in composition classrooms, but he doesn't necessarily provide solutions. I agree that audience and appropriation are problematic in a composition classroom; I'm just not sure how to solve those problems.

Technology in the classroom

In the year 2005, I'm not sure how anyone can think that technology doesn't have a place in education. Granted, some teachers have more expectations of technology than others, but I feel like the idea of using technology, at least in its simplest sense, should be expected by students.

The last sections in _A Guide to Composition Pedagogies_ have annoyed me. I don't feel like they are helpful at all. We should have writing center's on college campuses. Good. We should have a basic writing option for students who are part of open admissions and don't know how to write. I agree. We should help students use computers but it will be hard because computers are expensive. Yeah, so what. what involved with college isn't expensive? Tuition is expensive. Books are expensive. Parking is expensive. Living in the dorms is expensive. Eating on campus is expensive. If I had 10 cents for every time I had a student complain to me about some various expense regarding college I could work for free. But I don't, because expense is a reality, and it wouldn't be kind of me to charge for complaining about it.

Pedagogies are teaching styles. In a book explaining teaching styles, I would expect some stylistic information-- not a defense for why the style exists.

I probably shouldn't just spout off about the tone of the articles. I'm sure there are valuable pieces of knowledge tucked into the reasons why we should have these pedagogies and the 55 other things to read in order to know about them. Maybe it's the long bibliographies that are the most useful in this book-- I know where I can begin to find more information about this or that style.

Nevertheless, I'm sticking to my thoughts from days ago that say no pedagogy is an island. They just don't work by themselves.

Blending Pedagogies

I don't think there is one right pedagogy. I also don't think it is possible to teach using only one pedagogy. When I read about so many of these different teaching methods I realize I do elements of all of them. Especially feminist pedagogy. I've never fully considered myself a feminist, but I realize that I ask all of the important feminist questions when I teach. I'm concerned with representation and equality. But, I don't think feminist pedagogy is only about women now. I think it is really about the under-represented. That could be a gender, a race, a disability. I think feminist pedagogy is more about raising awareness period than about raising awareness about women.

I think my desire to raise awareness is what fuels my interest in service learning. I'm glad I'm teaching a Service Learning Composition class this semester, because I think it is important for students to get outside themselves and help others. I also think it does work to make the learning experience more authentic. It helps students understand about planning and responsibility and deadlines in a way that a regular classroom situation cannot. I'm looking forward to doing more work with service learning. It's interesting to me that it is considered a pedagogy. For me, service should be something people want to do, not a teaching style.

Writing Across the Curriculum is another pedagogy that I find intriguing. I think it's important for students to have resources that show them that various fields view writing differently, but I'm not sure where that resource should be. In my mind I feel like teachers of various disciplines should understand this more than students. How can a composition classroom bear the responsibility of teaching it's own discipline when it has to teach all of the other disciplines? I think WAC is important-- I'm just not sure it's a teaching style.

Cultural Studies

As I'm reading about various composition pedagogies, I came to Diana George and John Trimbura's essay on cultural studies. As I said before, in composition studies, I think content is important; therefore, cultural studies can add a dimension to content. But, I don't think the composition classroom is a place to limit cultures. My background is literature, so I think of examples from there, as I realize that it is important to understand the culture of the time or the author to fully understand some pieces of literature. I think that can be translated into the composition classroom. However, I don't think that all students should feel obligated to support the same cultural behavior.

Just spouting off.

Composition Pedagogies

I don't think I realized before how many ideas there were about how to teach writing. I also don't think I realized how differently people feel about what is important in a writing classroom.

I have 2 gut feelings.
1. Interested writers create interesting writing. Anything a student writes will be better if that student wants to write about that topic.
2. Content matters. I had a student this week outraged that the professor before me graded her on content. She'll be sorely surprised this week when she discovers that I do as well.

A writing assignment isn't a Seinfeld episode-- a paper about nothing. Otherwise it isn't worth the student's time to write or the teacher's time to grade. But, in a composition classroom, I can't get away from the idea that writing itself should improve.

Lad Tobin is a process guy-- He thinks students should always take part in the writing process. not necessarily Brainstorm, Draft, Revise, Revise again, proofread, publish, but that students should never think the first thing they write is the finished product. I agree with that. But with students and technology, I think that free for all writing is dangerous. It is too easy for a student to buy a paper that can be about anything.

Christopher Burnham discusses expressive writing and refutes the idea that it ignores theory. I think it's interesting because most theory is expressive. So, why shouldn't students put their own voice into their research and findings as well? One interesting thing I see Burnham addressing is that there is a difference between ideology and practice. What I'm now interested is seeing, or thinking about, is how to make that gap as small as possible.

Reviving the old

I had thought blogging would be such a great way to keep up with all of my reading. I would write about various things I read, especially children's literature, and make notes of it so that I'd have a handy resource to go back to, but then I found I didn't keep up because I just wanted to keep reading and not keep writing, but I've found the necessity of writing about what I'm reading, so I'm going to start this all back up again. This time though I'm just going to write about it all.

The Gold Bug Variations

Until I started classes this semester, I had never heard of Richard Powers. He writes novels that appear on the New York Times best seller list, but their titles have never caught my eye enough to decide to read one of his works.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been reading his novel The Gold Bug Variations. I really enjoyed this book, way more than I initially thought I would. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to go back and read it again-- it's been a long time since I've felt that way about a text. The novel is really clever-- he is playing with Poe's tale the Gold Bug and Bach's Goldberg Variations, specifically the version by Glenn Gould. In addition, he's telling multiple love stories alongside scientific discovery and the beginnings of computer programming. The way he integrates these various types of knowledge so fluidly creates a collage of knowledge that feels like smooth sailing. These seemingly different bits of information flow into one another like it couldn't possibly be any other way.

Powers also reminds his reader that he is well read-- he integrates facts and quotes like everyone should have as much background knowledge as him. It's a fun challenge to try to remember where these various phrases initiated. However, i also wonder how many i've missed.

it's interesting to me-- i want to use this space to think critically about the various things i'm reading and also to record thoughts about things that have struck me about a text-- yet i know i'm not doing that with powers-- i'm just praising his work.

what is the challenge here? how does this fit into other thought? i think collage is going to become an important way of processing knowledge. people want to have new and different things to say, but i'm not sure there is anything new to say-- it's just that we want to say it differently. when people find connections between seemingly different things, these collages put a new spin on information.

powers is looking at different styles of research-- he has biography and memory, and he also looks at library research and scientific discovery. all of these things are so different, and yet really, the only complete picture can be gained through these various methods. i think it's important to look at information from more than one angle and through more than one perspective-- i think that's the only way to really see something.

regardless, i recommend people read this novel-- it takes careful attention, but it's worth the time.

The Giver

Lois Lowry's The Giver is another "difficult" text. yet, it's complex for completely different reasons than cormier's text. both of these novels have boys seeking out knowledge, and this knowledge is difficult for them to obtain, it changes their perception on the outside world.

i think both of these novels are considered difficult because they engage the reader. the reader cannot just read the book and say, what a nice story. he/she must do something with the information given.

as i read The Giver, i was struck by the variety of adult behavior toward children. in the perfect society everyone is nice and polite, and almost condescending. stripping away differences removes cocky pride, but it also removes self-efficacy and motivational pride.

fantasy and realism are interesting things in novels. what is possible, what is my experience in comparison to the author's experience or the character's experience?

i want to begin to pay attention to how knowledge is portrayed and given in these works for young adults. in I Am the Cheese, knowledge is necessary-- it is both a life sustainer and a life taker. in The Giver, knowledge is a privledge and a curse. which viewpoint is reality? which is fantasy?

I Am the Cheese

Robert Cormier wrote I Am The Cheese back in 1977. I just finished reading it for the third time. The first time was several years ago, and I really believe that I didn't get it. I mean I understood the story, but I didn't see the brilliance behind Cormier's writing. The second time was only a couple of years ago, and it finally began to make sense. Now, reading it for the third time, I see so many things he's trying to do in the text.

The back of the laurel leaf edition says, "A boy's search for his father becomes a desperate journey to unlock a secret past. But it is a past that must not be remembered --if the boy is to survive." I wish that wasn't there. It gives the book a level of intrigue that takes away some of suspense Cormier builds in.

Wolfgang Iser writes about reader response theory, and how texts have certain gaps in them. I Am The Cheese is all gaps. That's the point of the text. The main character has blanks in his memory and he's trying to fill them in while simultaneously having an adventure on a bicycle. However, these two happenings are explained through different voices, so the reader doesn't know, do they happen simultaneously. Are they related one to another?

I'm trying to decide how I feel about difficult texts addressed to young adult audiences. This text is often censored for its content. People argue that it makes the government look bad. Fiction is fiction; I don't think this is making some big statement about fake government offices that we supposedly dissolved before the novel even began. I'm not sure young adults will understand the split in the text. Maybe they will understand it better because they are not married to the idea of a unified text.

I don't have a solution today. But I do have a question? What should we do with "difficult" texts? Why do we like them so much?

Tristram Shandy

i want to write mostly about children's literature on this blog, because that's my favorite type of literature. but, this week i had to read tristram shandy for a graduate class, so it's on my mind. the novel is supposed to be about the life and opinions of the title character, tristram, but by the end of the novel, the reader actually knows very little about him.

the false allusion the title gives isn't what strikes me most about the text. what i notice is that while i am reading, i feel like i am reading someone's blog. the narrator rambles on about things that are important to him, the night he was conceived, the night he was born. he talks about his father, his uncle, and his uncle's friend. all things that seemingly shouldn't interest a paying audience, and yet the book has remained in print for hundreds of years. as i keep reading this book about random events, i also wonder why i read other people's blogs. somehow i think all of the randomness makes us feel connected. we read and post hoping to find others that feel the same way we do, but we're too busy to go and meet them, we just want to connect with them during some moment of someone's free time.

tristram shandy's an interesting read, mostly because it just tells a normal, random story with interjected moments of humor.