The Pounding Thumper

My 6x6 meme

2008-04-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

I was assigned the task of summing up my life in six words. I couldn’t think of simply one six word vignette. So I wrote six six word meme. I feel this is actually a fairly clever innovation (or poetic method of cheating).

Training wheels are optional in Missouri

You have friends, why need more?

Holy Antiquating Postmodern Emo Mystification Batman!

Resistance is Futile, Contrary to Fact

We’ll die, what we write lives

Excrement thinking is worthy of seconds

Teaching writing as a process, not teaching a process of writing

2008-04-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

I am not sure how I would use writing What We Teach. I see it as dangerous if presented in the wrong manner or overtly cautious or overtly reckless. I do see the benefits in having a Textual Analysis on hand which corresponds to what we wish our students to produce, but I am not sure I want to show my process to my students. I inherently write in a process which cannot be really reproduced. It changes on the assignment and how well I know the materials. A simple analysis like this, I will write it knowing exactly what I feel about the text and what I want to say about it with final proofreading and logic checking at the end. But the rough draft and final draft are almost identical in nature. Whereas if I have a 20 page marathon paper over the definition and application of the romanticized ideological author in the Post-modern literary world, it may involve some heavy outlining, note taking, revising, and other nuances of a process.

Presenting the assignment is teaching them how to think towards the assignment. They can see some an example of the thinking needed to produce an agreeable text. Whereas presenting a process may in fact run the risk of teaching them a process not their own. If I had multiple examples of multiple processes at work, I would feel highly inclined to utilize it as different methods would be presented. The fear of a dogmatized instructor process would not plague me.

This is not to say I think all processes are good, but a process is something which occurs naturally and appears purely in the academic setting. I do feel teaching writing as a process is a superior method, but I am not comfortable with teaching a process of writing which is what I fear presenting my process to my students will do.

I can already think of multiple comments, negative responses specifically, which could be presented towards this thinking. I will respond as needed..or wanted.

Let us teach you to write so we can learn to read

2008-04-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Given the prompt, which we are all aware and need no rehashing of, I am of several minds on the issue and am glad I waited this long to reply.

If such requirements were part of my syllabus and my demands of the students were as such and made clear, I personally would follow the same path Eric did by simply working with the students and stressing, with the possibility of sticker punishments as the problem persists.

But this all rides on me putting these requirements in my syllabus which I don’t. I really am not sure why this is even an issue. I see the value in the additional materials in assessing the student’s progress, but let’s not fluff the idea of process as the academic setting may be one of the few times that someone will be required to submit a process over a product. The inherent problems I have with holding back their grade or potentially failing them for not turning in required materials is that it does not show their understanding or comprehension of the material or ability to write. An outstanding process does not necessitate an outstanding writer and vice versa and we must decide what we want our students to be and we will swarm to them being good writers. We teach process in order to make them better writers, but even then the idea of the process being best is still in debate as many of us have been instructed in a product view. I simply can’t justify basing a student grade on turning in something besides the final product.

But I feel Jacob brings up a really great point in his blog which I will summarize and not reiterate. Go read his if you want a better concept of it. He essentially wrote that we are encouraged to be more lenient in our grading of students. We have personal heartfelt strings pulling us in multiple directions but we are pulled institutionally towards the lenient side. I thoroughly agree with this.

I have actually had a conversation dealing with this issue with several friends. MSU does not wish to cater towards the privileged, or “elite”. MSU seeks to cater to a wider and not as selective audience, giving more individuals a chance of a college education and thus opportunity to further their lives. Whether you agree with this or not is irrelevant, but in catering to the under-privileged, we have, as Jacob stated, lowered our desire to enforce harsher penalties and have become lenient. The assumption is that the masses are not as responsible as the “elite” and deserve special leniency. If we wish to be truly cynical, if the harsher penalties are enforced, the student drops out and someone does not receive the tuition check which would be coming in. Wonder where that line of thinking came from.

But I am still mixed. I am naturally lenient, taking to heart what Dr. Weaver asked, “Would you rather have a good paper later or a bad paper on time?” The whole concept of looking at 110 as a job is flawed I feel as the setting and perception is entirely different and incomparable except on the vague concept of projects. The pay-checks don’t even float the right way. I handle this on a case-by-case basis of who the student is and their attempts at progress. But also I recognize this really isn’t holding them to the standard of an educated person as society will want to hold them to for having a college degree. I am still having personal wars with this and have more to say, but this a long entry and I may be rambling. So I am going to shut up.

Literature is the rebel without a cause boyfriend to Father Composition

2008-04-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

Bringing my focus/area of emphasis has always been a slight challenge. For starters, I in a way treat the different areas of English as summer jackets and winter coats, trying each one to see how it fits and if it keeps me warm only to find that it may do the job at this moment, but it fails miserably and suffocates me later on. I am officially am focusing on Literature for grad school (I have a penchant for contemporary short story) but find it hard to remove the creative writing undergrad….so just to be high brow, difficult, and a general nuisance to some, I try and bring both to the 110 classroom.

I use story telling rhetoric in my class unconsciously. I always tell them to treat their papers like stories, you can’t move from point in the plot without taking care of this other point just as you can’t progress your paper without tying up some of these loose ends. I encourage them to build their papers around concrete examples and in some cases create a hypothetical character or problem to help ground their reader in a specific scene. A short story and typical academic paper are strikingly similar, both attempting to convey thought and a message but use mediums which differ on the…well…on the chromosome level to be honest.

Literature…well since Literature is apparently the rebel without a cause boyfriend Father Composition doesn’t want dating his daughter 110 Students, it is a little more difficult to get the two sneaking out together at night. But all my research examples deal with literature along with many of my academic analysis examples. I use A Modest Proposal (thanks for the idea Moses), Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery” as a text to analyze, the critical methods applied to literature are now applied to basic essays, articles, and other venues in order to deepen the student’s awareness. If they don't come out of the class knowing at least one author they did not know before, they didn't show up for about a 1/3rd of the class.

Is it the teacher or student's fault?

2008-03-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have not heard, there is a rather healthy lot of us who take 621. And in that healthy lot, we all are supposed to have English 100 student who we are supposed to tutor. Setting aside all political implications of “basic writer” and “tutoring”, I need to have a cathartic moment as new and personally jarring thoughts have come to mind in the wake of one of these tutoring sessions.

In multiple classes, we talk of “empowering” the student. Making the student “take hold and control” of their education. There have been theories thrown around of “liberating” the student. We want the student to be “master” and “direct” their education. I tend to agree with these. I want the student to be self-sufficient and capable of operating in the fields of discourse unaided and unbridled. In addition to these theories of student supremacy, the question has always been asked but never fully answered, “Where does the teacher fit in?” And we thus are the “empowerer”, “liberator”, “director”, or whatever type of “-er” you prefer. I don’t think I am the only one who feels this, in a way, alters the role of the teacher in the classroom from authority to companion of sorts. I am not saying all teachers adhere to this model, but it is certainly one we all have heard. I have now decided that this mode of thinking is escapist, delusional, and self-perpetuating to a near harmful level.

In this mode of thinking, when the student fails, the blame falls primarily on the students shoulders. The teacher is a companion offering opportunity which the student fails to grasp and take hold of. I understand that this may not be how anyone views it, but it certainly is the implication. In placing the blame on the student, we remove a decent size portion of the blame from ourselves. And this type of rhetoric is inherent in the discipline of teaching. “I don’t give grades, student earn them.” “All the other students understood the assignment, why not this one?” “I can’t help stupid.” There others we all can think of, but I feel you can get the gist of what I mean.

I know/understand/realize that there are several students we simply cannot get to; the ones who sit in the back of class flipping the bird for the full hour or the ones who come to a whole two class periods. But what I am primarily worried about is that the current line of thinking unintentionally removes the teacher from a certain level of blame. With shifting the role of the teacher from less of authority to the companion, we not only give the students power and responsibility, but we remove it from the teacher and decrease the amount of responsibility they have towards the class. So if the student fails, we absolve ourselves from blame. In the most exaggerated sense, it is a way to say, “It’s ok that the student didn’t learn to write. It’s not your fault.”

Words, words, words, mores words....and just for good measure some mords

2008-02-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

I don’t feel this lends itself that strongly to any particular teaching issue and is one we inherently are all aware of, but I feel it makes for an interesting side note if not grand old fiesta.

When I taught the textual analysis last semester, I approached it in a very concrete method. I showed them questions they would have to answer along with outlines for how they could proceed and structure papers. It was sequential and very document like where all they would have to do is go through a step by step approach. I included activities where we analyzed different documents and used different methods in different genres, but it was all sub to the very sequential and step by step approach.

I know what every one is saying, “That isn’t teaching them to do anything! They just sit there and churn out a few damn sentences to meet your damn requirements for your damn assignment for your damn class and this damn university.” Well, minus all the expletives, I feel you are very correct good colleagues. But I defend myself by the assumption I had that they already knew how to analyze and approach a text critically. They critically approach sports and movies, the transition to a text should be no problem.

And it is at this point that you may lay forth the claim of what an assumption is. “You know Kevin, all you do when you assume is make ASS out of U and ME. And now you made asses out of your students. Way to go and keep up all the work.” Well, I appreciate your concern for me keeping up the work because I needed to.

The approach failed not miserably, but failed reasonably. They missed many of the marks and all they did was churn out very short papers answering all the questions I gave them to answer, but nothing more. The horror! There was no deep analysis or flavor or feel. No voice, no joy. No disrespect or shouts of “Yes! It’s correct!” Merely, “He says this, and I feel that, but he may be abstract.” Through conferences, I got them on the right track.

So for this semester I jostled it up a bit. I hit them with different documents, movies, songs, and posters to analyze. I had these two posters with Japanese characters on them. One was clearly geared towards females and clearly towards males. We looked at them as a class and did an analysis of them worthy of any class, undergraduate and graduate. I helped them arrive at this position where they were honestly great at analyzing and could make the transition from sports team to written document.

Then I got the rough drafts and all was not sunshine and roses. They were all over the place. No order or rhyme or clairvoyant sign. No structure, no rhythm, nothing tied together, not even with a nice little ribbon.

Given we had a few more class periods before the final drafts were due, I quickly rebounded and realized the mistake and brought all the outlines and questions that my last class turned into bland sequential documents in order to corral the mental wonderings. While I still have to receive the final drafts, the marked improvement I have seen while having conferences with students is uplifting and encouraging. They see what they did and should have done.

This is just more of an answer to, “How much should I focus on one aspect versus the other.” The assignment requires both aspects and each class will respond differently to different stimuli. Everyone probably has their own reflections on the Textual Analysis and methods and situations have failed miserably. Please share for fun if you have the time.

SWE and Me

2008-02-22T08:58:00.000-08:00

Everything in here could be the result of a drastic mis-reading.

In 621, we just finished exploring the theory of SWE (Standard Written English) as being equivalent to a foreign language. Meaning, there is spoken English and Written English. The reason being it explains many of the errors which arise in the work of Basic Writers.

I do not profess to know the theory in full detail or to understand it in such a way where I can stand as staunch proponent or opponent of it, but given the limited knowledge and acquisition we have gone through thus far in concern to this theory, I feel its implementation may be problematic. As a method of composition, I see it having a vast amount of benefits which put the detractors to sleep rather quickly. Taken to its extreme, it removes written English from culture, thus creating a universal written form which could even cross the Atlantic, while allowing linguistic subcultures to exist without conflict. It standardizes the curriculum to where we acknowledge the existence of the cultural spoken language and the universal written language, removing the hierarchy and aristocratic notions who speaks proper English. It simply forms a sense of cohesion and answers many of the questions on how teach English.

Yes, there would be a period where all hell breaks loose, no one knows what to read or write, teachers chain smoke with their students, cats sleep with dogs, while all sorts of other confusions and hypocrisies frolic through the education system. But isn’t that expected of all major changes?

What I am more concerned about is artistic aspect of writing. If we approach this teaching of SWE as that of a different language, effectively removing it from vocalization and culture, don’t we run the risk of losing the flavor which come along with it? Someone who knows the theory better than me may want to chime in at this point. But developing this universal structure, I feel that we remove the individual from the writing. Voice is non-existent. Vivid detail will just become detail. Would SWE even be considered a living language at that point? Without the influence of cultural vocalization and trying to find the balance between the two, SWE will essentially remain a stagnant form. A student in class brought up the scenario of the Middle East where they all read and write the same language but speak a different one depending on their culture. It is in some way the full realization of this view of SWE being a separate language.

When I started writing this, I was primarily concerned with how this view potentially removes the personal element to writing, but now I see it as a little more destructive. It basically changes the conception of what English is in order to meet the needs of the students. Agree or Disagree? Is this really what we want? It is not even a theory but just a given that we need to help our students in any way possible, but are we necessarily helping them by altering the language itself? I just can’t justify it. I feel that is what I don’t like about this view in the end. Although I hate the idea of changing the language, I am much more concerned about how this represents a P.C. view of teaching which ends up in being so concerned about the students self-awareness that we drastically alter the subject material for this concern and not the actual student.

It is what it is...sort of.

2008-02-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

I feel we should all experience having a student drop out under ambiguous circumstances. I received an e-mail from a student this past Wednesday. I wrote her originally inquiring about her absences and lack of participation. She responded back stating she was dropping out of college in order to save up money for future ventures versus taking classes which did not “progress her education and moral preparation”. Now, there are many ambiguous terms and the e-mail as a whole was impersonal but professional, quite contrary to myself and the class I try to encourage which is more personal than professional. But regardless, it sent me into a tail spin for one day. It occurred a week after I assigned Guts, (and I thank everyone who chimed in their voice on that decision.)Literally. I was overtly depressed over this. Common sense and reason escaped me and I could only focus on the lack of educational progression and moral progression.

Then, sometime that evening common sense and reason decided to have a reunion with me after talking to several people. After examining the student’s attendance and actually reading the e-mail, I realized, with the help of a few faculty members, that there is no way I could be souly responsible for this decision of hers, in fact I now consider a great act of hubris to feel that on only four class periods together I could push any student to this life altering decision. The reasons she gave me were ambiguous at best. While I do agree that the progression of a student’s education is an important factor, she attended a whole four class periods. Am I expected to restore faith in the entire academic community in four class periods or is it even conceivably possible to fail it in four class periods? Even then, why the whole of college versus just my class? If it was the instructors fault for her dropping out, it was a group effort then. As for moral preparation…I simply don’t know what she means. I told this to Dr. Weaver, and she hit on what I feel is the best explanation and that is that this reasoning may be just what she is telling herself to further justify it. It's a decisionWhether her reasons are her own, forced, or initiated, I simply don’t know, but I simply can’t reasonably take everything as a personal commentary

But it doesn’t erase the effect to an extent. I don’t take it personally nor as a comment on me as a teacher. I take it for what it is. I thoroughly believe that the key hallmark to any great writer is that they are sympathetic to people’s motivation, life movements, moral reasoning (please, don’t begin to comment on that one), and personality. They understand character in short. This is one student who I don’t think I will understand.

No, I will not apologize for "Guts"

2008-02-01T09:43:00.001-08:00

The other day, I assigned “Guts” by Chuck Palahniuk for my English 215 Short Story class. My reasons for assigning the story are wide and varied, but let it suffice to say that the story is not wholesome, not clean, is quite provocative, and should not be read by anyone with a weak stomach or delicate sensibilities or wishing access to 8th sphere of Heaven. Here is a link.

www.seizureandy.com/stuff/guts.html

I have always been hesitant about teaching 215 because I always asked myself, “Why me?” Because there are a plethora of other creative writers in the GA department who I feel are better writers and deserve a chance at a job I feel woefully unprepared for….So I have insecurities about the class. And that will be all personal Kevin stuff you get.

But moving on. I coupled the story with a noir piece I found and appreciated. Together, I used the two pieces as examples of vivid descriptions and details in use to convey imagery and tone. I was apprehensive about the piece because it had been several months since I had read the story. On a refresher read before class, I realized I had forgotten exactly how extreme the story is and a sudden and incomprehensible fear of undeniably offending a student swept over me. I was preparing my excuse for it to Dr. Blackmon before the class had even begun. There was even one student I expected to raise a qualm over the reading.

When we got to “Guts” I asked the class how many of them felt the story was mere exploitation and how many felt it was not exploitation. 11 for exploitation and 6 for not exploitation. Kind of one sided. We discussed the story and heard reasoning from both sides. I told them my feelings on it. I let them know that I originally was shocked by it and while not offended, I did feel it went over the top for pure exploitation and shock value. I had since changed my opinion and appreciated the story as an excellent piece of craft and post-modern work. Then, the student I expected to raise a qualm asked the question, “If it shocked and offended you when you read it, why did you assign it?” Ah, now the story begins.

I didn’t know what to answer. I truly did feel it was an excellent piece of writing and while I don’t feel everyone needs to read it, it certainly deserves respect. But even then, I may have forgotten how extreme it was, but I still knew it dealt with topics which may push someone a little too far. I told the class I wanted to see how they reacted to the story and its gruesomeness does not negate its status as “quality”. But even after the class, I kept wondering if I assigned it for the right reasons. I talked with some 203 instructors and they admitted to assigning a few poems so the students could be shocked. In a way, that certainly was one reason. I wanted to expand their view beyond this realm of modernist writing based in Hemingway, Joyce, and admitted dullness. I wanted to show them the extreme. Give them a little shock and awe. But how appropriate is it to assign something which you know has the strong possibility of going against your students moral foundation?...well….let’s just say aggressively challenges and possibly offending them versus going against moral foundations. I feel that challenging the students is the role of all teachers in any sort, but the possibility of offending them?..........

It is happening in one of my other classes, one I am taking; the professor deliberately stresses certain aspects which he knows will make us uncomfortable and challenges us. I am not entirely sure if I have resolved all the conflicts this brought up. I would still assign again, I would tell the students that it has a strong possibility of being offensive. But if you read my last post, this could really just be the first step to being the instructor I hate but respect….a much more timid version though…..ok…..maybe that is a little much.

Prescence of Others

2008-01-30T13:48:00.001-08:00

I really do not have any deep attachment to Presence of Others. The essays and pieces of writing in it are not unpopular and can easily be found on the internet. Am I saying the students should be forced to find these articles? No. We can easily supply them with copies. I, for one, do not use nearly enough essays or pieces of writing out of the book for it to be worth the student’s money. I do appreciate the diversity academic pursuits that the book attempts to bring and I do believe it succeeds in stimulating the students in some form or another, but it has never really struck me as superior.

What would I recommend for an alternative…tricky question. I prefer to use contemporary articles from credible newspapers, magazines, internet sites, or other media venues. But these venues do not give access to academic works. It is in that sense that I find Presence of Others valuable because it gives us a direct source. While the articles can be found on the internet, we are not going to know where to directly go for them.

One criticism my students often complain about the book is that the articles in it are clearly not geared towards them, but more so towards an academic audience. As one student put it, “Does anything in this book have to do with anything that matters?” While I agree that we need to show them how these articles do apply, I still hold to the position that we need to take into account what will engage our students naturally and stimulate their interest without our prior aid.

I have to agree with what Charity about how to implement the text through course reserves or even going through blackboard. There is also the possible alternative of referencing many online materials which may aid the student in their development.

1/25/08-The greater good professor

2008-01-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

I almost feel as if what we are discussing right now in 621 will play a major component in what this blog will contain. This for example, this one will be reminiscing over topics we have discussed in that class.

The other day in 110, we in class talked about teachers and professors who used reverse psychology on us. You know them. The teachers who readily announced your stupidity, ineptitude, or made out right claims of how you will progress no further than high school and achieve, at best, a bottom rung job with no hope for advancement or self respect? Maybe they even held the worst 7th grade test you ever took up for the class as an example of what not to do with a few poignant jabs at your 13 year old intelligence.

As a class we talked about them and their affects on us. One girl’s husband had one such principle and when her husband mailed him a copy of his bachelor’s degree, the principle hung it in his office. One girl who was advised to be held back by her second grade teacher due to illiteracy sent her copies of all the editorials she had featured in a newspaper. The teacher has since kept them in a scrap book. I don’t feel all teachers who treat a student in such a way can have this grand altruistic motive hidden behind their scorn and discontent, but I find it amazing how it works in some cases. These students, me among them, have been subject to this type of method and we have come out on the better end of I feel. The only drawback is that despite our awareness the teacher acted in our best interest, we still hate them and will not cry at their funerals.

Which leads me into 621 discussions….or maybe questions I want answered. Why are we so afraid of telling our students that they simply are not up to snuff in areas and need to get better? And I do not mean telling them altogether, but why are we so afraid of students not liking us or the subject of English? Yes, all us will agree we are not there to be their friends, but how many of us will actually go so far as to knowingly make them hate us for their own benefit?

I know this sounds somewhat harsh and elitist, but I feel the whole academic setting is inherently elitist. We unconsciously give the professor/teacher/instructor the authority of the class and a general consensus he/she knows more about the subject than us and can help us learn more about it. That is not to say the authority figure can’t learn from his/her students (I can’t even begin to estimate how much I have learned from my own) but in regards to the subject matter of the class, it is somewhat unspoken the professor/teacher/instructor has a greater awareness of the topic.

I for one could not treat a student in such a way as the greater good professor. Not because I am worried about them hating me, but because I have been subject to it on a few occasions, I could not send one of my students through that kind of anger and shame. But this does not prevent me from telling my students that they can get better or that they did not live up to their potential (or what I perceive to be their potential.

I’ll cut this now because this is long and I don’t think anyone is going to read it for that reason. It may prompt some discussion…or hatred…maybe even some carnal violence.

1/18/08

2008-01-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

Wednesday evening, I received an E-Mail from a student who wanted to register for my class. It had grammar which was less than perfect, no name or identifying signature besides the E-mail address from which it was sent, it was a whole two sentences long marked by only one period. I immediately felt it was sent to the wrong person. The student wished entry into my class while not specifying which one and this prompted a certain amount of disdain due to the investigation needed for a response I felt needed. The mental picture of a bummed out education major took form.

As it turned out, the student was an education major and an issue with the writing aspect of c-base prevented him from being enrolled in the degree program. He wanted to be in my 215 class to make up for the issue/deficiency. He has a job and a family which he needs to work around, thus making his schedule quite limited. His advisor even E-mailed me and gave her support for his admittance into my class. This is where my conundrum begins. My 215 class is already filled to maximum capacity. Even then, I am still only in my 2nd semester. I truly do not feel as if I would be able to hold another student. To add further discomfort, the average age in the class is 19. He is supporting a family. The only thing which really leant itself to him being in the class is that he is truly the only person who needed the class without question. All of my other students were in it to fill a gen-ed or for what they see as a blow off class (I do plan to prove them wrong).

The student came and met with me after class, without my prior warning, to talk to me about the enrollment. He was middle-age and did appear to be more professional than the others. I told him my class was full and while I really did want to help him, I could not in the way he wanted. I simply was ill-equipped to handle more students at that time. Allowing him in would do nothing more than hurt everyone, including him, in terms of what they got out of the class. What I did do was open my lap top and look at what classes were available for him to take (He was limited to 203,205, and 215, our creative writing line up). I advised him to take a non-fiction class for a few reason.

One, he would most likely benefit from it more than a short story class. There is a practical reasoning and self-exploration to it which would benefit him and his future students more than I felt the short story class would.

Second, he already knew the G.A. teaching it and smiled when he realized who it was. I took it to mean they were on good terms.

This incident really just brought me to realize that despite my age and actual status in the eyes of the university, there are still judgment calls we, the G.A.’s have to make which affect more than our students, but also their families. And while we may be the bottom on the seniority list, we still need to make the same class decisions that a tenured professor would.

To top it off, this has set a precedent for how I’ll handle the situation.

The Pounding Thumper

2008-01-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

Let this be the first entry for the pounding thumper. First, the title. Back in high school, I had a plethora of nicknames. One of these was Thumper. Now, no one calles ne Thumper. But everytime I do anything online which needs a superficial but eloquent name, I feel pounding thumper does nicely. So there. It's your explanation.

I will add a much more which is relevant to teaching.