As an undergraduate, the feedback from my teachers was quite limited to punctuation and form. They noted when I presented good ideas sometimes, but other than that, I had no idea what they thought. Sometimes my work was completely misinterpreted. It didn't matter. I was writing for myself. As a graduate student, I had the finest mentor I could have had, Dr. Kenneth W. Brewer.
He was ruthless with my work. He tore it apart. Shredded it. Criticised me in front of the class as he did no other student. Of the rest, he was very supportive, fairly gentle. I knew why he was doing it to me. I wasn't sure he was doing them any favors, but some people get discouraged easily. Because of him, my poetry matured, became more transparent. I miss him to this day. I'm quite sure he wouldn't like the way I write now, but I have a whole new purpose. He might not understand.
The big difference between us was, he tried to get published. And he was. I found his book at the New York City library and took a picture of it in the light of a Tiffany lamp. The book looked holy. I meant to give it to him, but I never did. We didn't keep in touch. We were both too busy. I know I influenced his writing. I read it in one poem. It was probably the highest compliment he could have paid me. I think sometimes he felt as though we were competing. When I defended my thesis he complained he didn't have "our collective uterus" to write about. I thought it was funny. He had plenty to write about. He is one of the finest Western regional writers (if not the best). In the end, he could only publish by collaborating with artists to have his work presented as a piece of visual art. There was only one book published before he died.
I relate this story to you because it is important to evaluate how much you should expect of your students. When teaching composition, I have very high standards, but I don't expect the same quality work from all of them. It's not possible. I encourage my students from where they are. Then, as they improve, I expect a little more. Expect the very best from your best students. They expect that from themselves. You're not doing them any favors by giving them "A" grades without telling them why it is an "A." You're not doing them any favors if you don't tell them how they could have done a better job of it.
When students are struggling, doing their best, but struggling still. Don't discourage them. Support every effort they make. Let them be aware of how far they've come from where they started and exactly what's improved. Work with each one of them as though they were your only student. Otherwise, only some of them will benefit from taking your class.
The most valuable thing you can give your students is feedback. Let them know what you think about what they thought. Tell them when they've communicated it well. If they fail to do that, but you can see what point they were trying to get across and didn't quite. Let them know what they could have done.
As a writing teacher, you are probably the most influential teacher they will ever have. No one else will change their lives they way you will. No one else will give them a skill they'll need for the rest of their lives. Never forget how important your job is.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Using Poetry In the Classroom: A short cut to everything
Arrival
From a rain-swept night, from wind, from darkness,
he dreams a ten-by-ten unit of the Moab Hotel,
showers, television, toilets flushing either side of him
He wakes at dawn with the rattle of water
piped from deep wells in this land of drought,
He drives six hours alone through Utah desert,
through clouds at six thousand elevation
then down, into Cache Valley greenness.
Having imagined decisions, spoken forcefully,
afflicted his enemies, imposed his will,
directed his life, finally, he arrives.
No one is home.
He sees two day's mail on the kitchen table,
a coffee cup, some silverware in the sink.
He hears the washer churning in the basement.
Kenneth W. Brewer
To Remember What Is Lost
I read poetry to my class every day at the beginning of every work day. Poetry is a short cut to understanding. If students can understand poetry, they can understand anything. They thoroughly enjoyed it. One of my students compared me to the teacher in "Dangerous Minds." I felt complimented. The teacher in the movies was committed to her students on every level and was an excellent teacher.
You may well say this is not your "style" of teaching. Anyone can do what I did. Students are used to studying classical poetry. Most of them have never been exposed to modern poets. "Arrival" is a particularly relevant poem because it is regional. The poet speaker talks about places they are familiar with - sounds they have heard in their own houses - even the feeling the house has when they come home from school to find their mother gone.
We talked about each poem briefly and then moved on to the subject matter at hand. But, the poetry helped them use more descriptive writing than they might have used. It helped them understand the concept of show not tell. All in all, it improved their writing immensely.
Just as students learn to think and write from the text chosen to teach from, poetry teaches them more about writing than you could ever teach them yourself. If you are not familiar with current poetry, get familiar. I find obscure, unknown poets to be the best examples. Good poetry is never popular. Poetry is published according to the tastes of today, dictated by publishing houses and literary critics.
One of my old professors told me my poetry would not be publishable because it was too old fashioned. I took his word for it and never tried to publish. I didn't want to torture my writing into what was fashionable.
I strongly recommend using poetry at the beginning of each class. I told my students it was our "opening prayer" - something they could all identify with through their experience with religion. However you choose to present your poetry, what ever poets you choose to share with the class, you will be well rewarded for it by the improvement in their writing.
From a rain-swept night, from wind, from darkness,
he dreams a ten-by-ten unit of the Moab Hotel,
showers, television, toilets flushing either side of him
He wakes at dawn with the rattle of water
piped from deep wells in this land of drought,
He drives six hours alone through Utah desert,
through clouds at six thousand elevation
then down, into Cache Valley greenness.
Having imagined decisions, spoken forcefully,
afflicted his enemies, imposed his will,
directed his life, finally, he arrives.
No one is home.
He sees two day's mail on the kitchen table,
a coffee cup, some silverware in the sink.
He hears the washer churning in the basement.
Kenneth W. Brewer
To Remember What Is Lost
I read poetry to my class every day at the beginning of every work day. Poetry is a short cut to understanding. If students can understand poetry, they can understand anything. They thoroughly enjoyed it. One of my students compared me to the teacher in "Dangerous Minds." I felt complimented. The teacher in the movies was committed to her students on every level and was an excellent teacher.
You may well say this is not your "style" of teaching. Anyone can do what I did. Students are used to studying classical poetry. Most of them have never been exposed to modern poets. "Arrival" is a particularly relevant poem because it is regional. The poet speaker talks about places they are familiar with - sounds they have heard in their own houses - even the feeling the house has when they come home from school to find their mother gone.
We talked about each poem briefly and then moved on to the subject matter at hand. But, the poetry helped them use more descriptive writing than they might have used. It helped them understand the concept of show not tell. All in all, it improved their writing immensely.
Just as students learn to think and write from the text chosen to teach from, poetry teaches them more about writing than you could ever teach them yourself. If you are not familiar with current poetry, get familiar. I find obscure, unknown poets to be the best examples. Good poetry is never popular. Poetry is published according to the tastes of today, dictated by publishing houses and literary critics.
One of my old professors told me my poetry would not be publishable because it was too old fashioned. I took his word for it and never tried to publish. I didn't want to torture my writing into what was fashionable.
I strongly recommend using poetry at the beginning of each class. I told my students it was our "opening prayer" - something they could all identify with through their experience with religion. However you choose to present your poetry, what ever poets you choose to share with the class, you will be well rewarded for it by the improvement in their writing.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Do Your Own Research: Post degree education
When I saw how well my students were doing, I thought it would be wise to analyse why. I had them sign consent forms so I could use their writing for the project I intended to do.
I kept all their papers from the prewriting stage on. I kept all their revisions. I kept the tapes I'd done for them (more about that later). I collected them all in large manila envelopes. I'd already done this kind of research before. I did a large project for the Department of History.
Intending to use my syllabus and reference books, I began the analysis of what had worked. As things turned out, I never finished it. Circumstances prevented that. I ended up throwing all my research away.
It would have taken a considerable amount of time. For this reason, as well as others, I suggest you not teach more than one or two classes, unless you can't afford to. In that case, everything you do will suffer.
Representatives of a publisher overheard my conversation with the head of the department concerning the success of my students. They expressed an interest in publishing if I ever completed the project.
Don't do research for the sake of publication. If you do, your objectivity will suffer. You'll always have the reader in mind. You'll always be thinking about what you have to do to get published. Therefore do it for your own information, have other teachers give you their input when you have something for them to review.
I kept all their papers from the prewriting stage on. I kept all their revisions. I kept the tapes I'd done for them (more about that later). I collected them all in large manila envelopes. I'd already done this kind of research before. I did a large project for the Department of History.
Intending to use my syllabus and reference books, I began the analysis of what had worked. As things turned out, I never finished it. Circumstances prevented that. I ended up throwing all my research away.
It would have taken a considerable amount of time. For this reason, as well as others, I suggest you not teach more than one or two classes, unless you can't afford to. In that case, everything you do will suffer.
Representatives of a publisher overheard my conversation with the head of the department concerning the success of my students. They expressed an interest in publishing if I ever completed the project.
Don't do research for the sake of publication. If you do, your objectivity will suffer. You'll always have the reader in mind. You'll always be thinking about what you have to do to get published. Therefore do it for your own information, have other teachers give you their input when you have something for them to review.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Return to the Guilds of Europe: College education and art
At the university where I taught, the mission statement sought to make it little more than a technical school supposedly for practical reasons and in acknowledgement that not everyone is suited for a university education. Research was discouraged. They had a very good Auto Mechanics program and an excellent Education Department. In the field of science, students and faculty even designed satellites for NASA. The Business Department had an excellent program for entrepreneurs. Of course there was a graphic arts program and photography available for art students, but there is a reason artists starve.
In Germany, where my grandfather came from, at the end of high school students were tested for suitability to go on to the university. Those who did not were free to choose a guild. My grandfather chose to go into painting and decorating. He was not an interior decorator as we think of them now. He was trained in the art of faux finishing, stenciling and gold leaf. He left an indelible mark on his own community and beyond that many years later still stand.
His skills have fast become a lost art. Crafters of fine furniture, silver, and pottery are not as supported as they might be because we've invested in technological education. Now those jobs are being exported overseas.
There are plenty of poets who are ditch diggers and electricians and meter readers who are artists. If this country is ever going to have more than pop culture and movie stars, we will have to shift our emphasis on the way we train and educate the population.
Time and time again the legislative body has endeavored to cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. Not only does that undercut art, it threatens our freedom of speech. If it weren't for National Public Radio, I would have no idea whatsoever about what's going on in the world. Our national media is a disgrace. Our manufactured furniture and goods are hardly worth buying.
I live on a very meager subsisted income, but I have never felt impoverished because I was exposed to art, music and literature as a child. I learned from my grandfather something about practicing some of the arts he did. No matter where I live or what I have, my life is beautiful.
We are a culturally starving people, devoid of taste, culture and spirituality. People deprived of the opportunity to pursue their true passion, slowly wither and die.
In Germany, where my grandfather came from, at the end of high school students were tested for suitability to go on to the university. Those who did not were free to choose a guild. My grandfather chose to go into painting and decorating. He was not an interior decorator as we think of them now. He was trained in the art of faux finishing, stenciling and gold leaf. He left an indelible mark on his own community and beyond that many years later still stand.
His skills have fast become a lost art. Crafters of fine furniture, silver, and pottery are not as supported as they might be because we've invested in technological education. Now those jobs are being exported overseas.
There are plenty of poets who are ditch diggers and electricians and meter readers who are artists. If this country is ever going to have more than pop culture and movie stars, we will have to shift our emphasis on the way we train and educate the population.
Time and time again the legislative body has endeavored to cut funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. Not only does that undercut art, it threatens our freedom of speech. If it weren't for National Public Radio, I would have no idea whatsoever about what's going on in the world. Our national media is a disgrace. Our manufactured furniture and goods are hardly worth buying.
I live on a very meager subsisted income, but I have never felt impoverished because I was exposed to art, music and literature as a child. I learned from my grandfather something about practicing some of the arts he did. No matter where I live or what I have, my life is beautiful.
We are a culturally starving people, devoid of taste, culture and spirituality. People deprived of the opportunity to pursue their true passion, slowly wither and die.
Teaching From Texts: The difference between literarary and writing approaches
As an undergraduate, when I took composition we read Plato. Of course, it was difficult for most students to understand. But, with writing and class discussion it proved to be enlightening to all of us. Even small progress in thinking skills is laudable.
As a teaching assistant in graduate school, I taught from a text The Great American Bologna Festival. Bologna is what it was. The writing contained by the text was supposed to be sterling examples of composition by college students. Most of it was hardly worth reading. I used it as an example of what not to do. As such, it was useful.
As an adjunct professor, I used a multi-cultural text. It was useful in teaching the students to learn to think from other perspective far different from their own. It was exceptional for learning how to contrast and compare.
I did not suggest any kind of topic or point of view. Students who are not invested in their writing, rarely do it well. I noticed the other teaching assistants in graduate school spent a lot of time preparing "prompts." There is a major difference in the approach to writing taken by students of literature, and students of theory and practice of writing.
Of course, as I've said because there are only three programs in the country offering this as a major, it is very difficult to find someone with this background. There is only one school (at least at the point I last kept abreast of the field) that offered a PhD.
It is very difficult to keep up with your own field, but a little reading in the current research will make a major difference in the approach taken in teaching writing. Most PhD programs are a process of learning more and more about less and less. In order to publish, that process repeats itself in post doctorate work.
So, I'm only suggesting a little reading in the professional journals to inform your approach to teaching writing. If you're going to teach anything, no matter what it is, it's imperative to do the absolute best you can for your students.
As a teaching assistant in graduate school, I taught from a text The Great American Bologna Festival. Bologna is what it was. The writing contained by the text was supposed to be sterling examples of composition by college students. Most of it was hardly worth reading. I used it as an example of what not to do. As such, it was useful.
As an adjunct professor, I used a multi-cultural text. It was useful in teaching the students to learn to think from other perspective far different from their own. It was exceptional for learning how to contrast and compare.
I did not suggest any kind of topic or point of view. Students who are not invested in their writing, rarely do it well. I noticed the other teaching assistants in graduate school spent a lot of time preparing "prompts." There is a major difference in the approach to writing taken by students of literature, and students of theory and practice of writing.
Of course, as I've said because there are only three programs in the country offering this as a major, it is very difficult to find someone with this background. There is only one school (at least at the point I last kept abreast of the field) that offered a PhD.
It is very difficult to keep up with your own field, but a little reading in the current research will make a major difference in the approach taken in teaching writing. Most PhD programs are a process of learning more and more about less and less. In order to publish, that process repeats itself in post doctorate work.
So, I'm only suggesting a little reading in the professional journals to inform your approach to teaching writing. If you're going to teach anything, no matter what it is, it's imperative to do the absolute best you can for your students.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Respect Your Own Time: Office hours and teaching
Office hours are expected to be kept. The premise is you need to be available for your students. I did not keep regular office hours once I left graduate school. I gave my students my home telephone number in case they had a real writing emergency. However, I didn't wait in my office waiting around for someone to show up. You may use that time for correcting papers and revising your syllabus, planning for the class, or any number of things.
I required my students to make appointments. If they didn't show up in a reasonable amount of time, I left. I demand respect for myself and my time. I think my decision was wise both for me and my students. A few times each quarter, I required teacher student conferences. These were also scheduled.
If a student was late, I only gave them what time was left. I had to do that to avoid having other students wait and therefore disrespecting their time. I never molly coddled my students. By they time they are attending school at the university level, they are old enough to be responsible. I expected them to call and cancel appointments they couldn't' attend.
They were very well aware of the reasons I did these things. Once they knew, it was more than acceptable to them.
I required my students to make appointments. If they didn't show up in a reasonable amount of time, I left. I demand respect for myself and my time. I think my decision was wise both for me and my students. A few times each quarter, I required teacher student conferences. These were also scheduled.
If a student was late, I only gave them what time was left. I had to do that to avoid having other students wait and therefore disrespecting their time. I never molly coddled my students. By they time they are attending school at the university level, they are old enough to be responsible. I expected them to call and cancel appointments they couldn't' attend.
They were very well aware of the reasons I did these things. Once they knew, it was more than acceptable to them.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
The Sky Is Not The Limit: The limitations of education
Students are required to learn certain things entirely irrelevant to their lives or their chosen occupation. They recognize the irrelevant and resent it. Well they should. My youngest son has a way to make a good living at something he loves. He is an artist. His opportunity is very rare. I told him not to go to a university. They would squash his considerable intellect and ruin his thirst for knowledge. I'm sure his father would disapprove strongly with what I said. All the same, I think it was the best advice I could have given him. I was right and he knew it.
It is important for students to understand why it's so important to write. We studied business letters, letters to the editor, and personal correspondence. The first assignment I gave them was to write me a letter telling me what their prior experience with English was. Some of them were grateful to their English teachers for what they taught them. Those who had bad experiences usually suffered because their teachers were teaching toward standardized tests. They are required to do that, and their evaluations often depend on how well their students perform on those tests.
Every written word should be considered literature. Language is the most powerful tool they will ever be given in their lives. I taught at a well known national business university. There was no text, but the lesson plans were very strict and unyielding. Of course as a first quarter teacher and because I was often monitored I didn't have the courage to teach them how to write business letters, mission statements or business plans. Those things were what they needed to know about. I quit after my second quarter there. They approved me to teach several other courses, but not even the freedom to do that was enough to tempt me to stay. Their education was totally irrelevant to their real lives.
Further, the administration firmly believed they had the best students in the nation and the best teaching staff. They inflated grades. Students expected because they had turned in all their assignments they deserved "A" grades. They complained it was as bad as taking classes at the local university - a place where they would have received a much better education. Because their tuition was often paid for by the business they worked for based on grade point average, the second quarter I inflated their grades too. There was no sense paying money for something they couldn't use.
Students are never taught to read widely and well because English literature is so focused on Western Civilization. Recently, a law was passed in Arizona forbiding anything be taught critical of Western thought. Student groups based on ethnicity were banned, even if they were open to anyone. Teachers have been fired in California for ethnocentric teaching, even when they were teaching from approved texts. We should pray for the librarians.
It takes courage to defy irrelevance. However, it is the most important part of students' education. Why learn something you'll never need to know about just because you are supposed to. I have forgotten most of what I "had" to learn. Further, I seldom learned what I was "supposed to learn." I just couldn't think the right way. I had spent too much of my childhood with my nose in a book, free to make of it what I would. I starte writing poetry when I was seven.
Even the words noun or verb, preposition and conjunction are quite useless. They only describe what the student is writing. It may be supposed they must at least be taught the differnece between a noun and a verb lest there be incomplete sentences. I found the words "do and name" more useful. By the time they get to the university level, they are sick to death of grammar and diagraming sentences. Leave that to the teachers required to teach it and the students who must to graduate.
Every class should teach to what students really need to know - to think, to write effectively and be practical as well.
It is important for students to understand why it's so important to write. We studied business letters, letters to the editor, and personal correspondence. The first assignment I gave them was to write me a letter telling me what their prior experience with English was. Some of them were grateful to their English teachers for what they taught them. Those who had bad experiences usually suffered because their teachers were teaching toward standardized tests. They are required to do that, and their evaluations often depend on how well their students perform on those tests.
Every written word should be considered literature. Language is the most powerful tool they will ever be given in their lives. I taught at a well known national business university. There was no text, but the lesson plans were very strict and unyielding. Of course as a first quarter teacher and because I was often monitored I didn't have the courage to teach them how to write business letters, mission statements or business plans. Those things were what they needed to know about. I quit after my second quarter there. They approved me to teach several other courses, but not even the freedom to do that was enough to tempt me to stay. Their education was totally irrelevant to their real lives.
Further, the administration firmly believed they had the best students in the nation and the best teaching staff. They inflated grades. Students expected because they had turned in all their assignments they deserved "A" grades. They complained it was as bad as taking classes at the local university - a place where they would have received a much better education. Because their tuition was often paid for by the business they worked for based on grade point average, the second quarter I inflated their grades too. There was no sense paying money for something they couldn't use.
Students are never taught to read widely and well because English literature is so focused on Western Civilization. Recently, a law was passed in Arizona forbiding anything be taught critical of Western thought. Student groups based on ethnicity were banned, even if they were open to anyone. Teachers have been fired in California for ethnocentric teaching, even when they were teaching from approved texts. We should pray for the librarians.
It takes courage to defy irrelevance. However, it is the most important part of students' education. Why learn something you'll never need to know about just because you are supposed to. I have forgotten most of what I "had" to learn. Further, I seldom learned what I was "supposed to learn." I just couldn't think the right way. I had spent too much of my childhood with my nose in a book, free to make of it what I would. I starte writing poetry when I was seven.
Even the words noun or verb, preposition and conjunction are quite useless. They only describe what the student is writing. It may be supposed they must at least be taught the differnece between a noun and a verb lest there be incomplete sentences. I found the words "do and name" more useful. By the time they get to the university level, they are sick to death of grammar and diagraming sentences. Leave that to the teachers required to teach it and the students who must to graduate.
Every class should teach to what students really need to know - to think, to write effectively and be practical as well.
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