SI Reflection...

On our initial meeting on May 7th, we were given several quotes to choose from and were to respond in writing.  I chose the following:

"All my life I have been frightened at the moment I sit down to write" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Pretty much sums it up for me...Academic writing was a genre that I could tackle, but personal writing was something I avoided...until I came to SI.  In my reflection on this quote, I wrote, "It still scares me when I sit down to write, but then I recognize I've been writing all along - with every breath I take, a life narrative grows.  It's the getting down on paper that's both tedious and freeing...I guess writing is commitment - to self, to others- a joining in and celebrating, if you will."

Well, low and behold, this is exactly what I experienced at our SI - a joining together and celebrating, with a strong commitment to write.

Teacher as Writer:
SI taught me to recognize my "writer-ness"  and to use those curiosities in the classroom to become a better teacher and inquirer.  I've always had an affinity to empathize - it helps me to wear others' shoes.  It enables me to identify with the 'other' in people.   I always knew I could empathize, but my writing experience has elevated my social awareness of words.  Empathy connects; it is social, spiritual, communal, comforting, forgiving, ripe with life.  Now I have a much stronger understanding of the necessity to write - because I can empathize, which leads to sharing and greater understanding.  It is becoming my lifeblood - this writing into the day - this reflecting...

Teacher as Inquirer:
Lil's presentation on responding to student writing got me thinking about context.  65% of teacher response focuses on function, 25% focuses on structure, 10% focuses on personal growth, and ONLY 5% is dialogic.  Here is the kicker: Lil suggested that we, as facilitators, "strive for the reverse".  This resonated with me; I like to play with language and interject words where they might not 'normally' occur.  I guess Dr. Seuss really impacted me as a child - I loved the sense of playfulness with nonsense he found with words!  So I should strive to have 65% of my response as dialogic with my students? OK.
Then I remembered a seminar I attended at RCCC, which I blogged about:

Seventh Day...

I am thinking about context, grammar and Lil's pronouncement to strive for fluency with language first; then follow up with clarity and correctness.  Fluency creates confidence in one's ability to express Self.
Makes sense...

I attended a seminar in June at RCCC and had the opportunity to attend a session facilitated by Dr. Linda Best from Kean University in Union, NJ.  The title of the presentation was: "What Writers Know and Do: The Nature of Writing and Implications for Teaching and Learning".   She bases much of her research off research conducted by Flower and Hayes, 1981.  What is interesting to note is her focused attention to differences in dialogue between proficient writers and weak writers.  She notes, "Whereas proficient writers envision their writing, developmental and weak writers adopt a 'what's next' approach, often adding new and unrelated material to their writing, which results in breaks among ideas and an overall lack of coherence"(24).  i.e. lack of fluency!

Even more fascinating are the numbers that come from her data highlights from a 20-year research program on first year college students.  "On the average, student writers producing essays in the 250-word range generated 2500-3000 words during the process of composing these essays"(17).  Kean specified that these students dialogue their thoughts - much like the stream of consciousness exercise that Lil had us do today.  Kean also documented that students repeat words on average five times in order to generate new words. (17)

Wow, today solidified the importance of dialogue in relationship to writing!  I can't wait to practice these exercises with my students!

this reflecting...it is dependent on dialogue - something else that Lil, Sally and Lacy modeled for me.  It is amazing how things connect when we put pen to our thoughts.  Like Jessie said in her blog - once you write about something, you become hyperaware.  This has me thinking about the neuroscience behind writing...hmmm?

Teacher as Professional:

Sally's enthusiasm for E-Anthology - well, I must confess that today is the first day that I have posted a personal piece on this site, but I am excited to see where it takes me.  I guess this is a piece of myself, as a professional, that I have avoided...the willingness to be critiqued, assessed, modified, uplifted, recognized...But is it important to step out of our comfort zone, as professionals, and assume leadership roles, risks, new opportunities.  This is something I need to work on...

Tomorrow I will give my presentation.  I think it encompasses all three of these personas I have been focusing on: teacher as writer, inquirer and professional.  I hope that you each can sense a part of yourself in this final presentation - for I did not compose it on my own.  Bahktin believed that the Self is plural.  In Zebroski's book Thinking Through Theory, Bakhtin is quoted, "One's own discourse is gradually and slowly wrought out of others' words that have been acknowledged and assimilated, and the boundaries between the two are at first scarcely perceptible"(189).  I view this demo as a collective effort- I have been diligent in listening and hope that you can find yourself within this work.

I love the first lines in this music and think they best sing of our experience in SI...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxRyRc3EOas

As I close, my eyes go back to my first page in my daybook,  I see the following:  This daybook is a gift from the UNC Charlotte Writing Project.  As Ralph Fletcher says, 'this notebook is your private place to write badly.'  

True, but write on, baby, write on!!!  Thank all of you for this collaborative gift...

Carrie W.

Seventh Day...

I am thinking about context, grammar and Lil's pronouncement to strive for fluency with language first; then follow up with clarity and correctness.  Fluency creates confidence in one's ability to express Self.
Makes sense...

I attended a seminar in June at RCCC and had the opportunity to attend a session facilitated by Dr. Linda Best from Kean University in Union, NJ.  The title of the presentation was: "What Writers Know and Do: The Nature of Writing and Implications for Teaching and Learning".   She bases much of her research off research conducted by Flower and Hayes, 1981.  What is interesting to note is her focused attention to differences in dialogue between proficient writers and weak writers.  She notes, "Whereas proficient writers envision their writing, developmental and weak writers adopt a 'what's next' approach, often adding new and unrelated material to their writing, which results in breaks among ideas and an overall lack of coherence"(24).  i.e. lack of fluency!

Even more fascinating are the numbers that come from her data highlights from a 20-year research program on first year college students.  "On the average, student writers producing essays in the 250-word range generated 2500-3000 words during the process of composing these essays"(17).  Kean specified that these students dialogue their thoughts - much like the stream of consciousness exercise that Lil had us do today.  Kean also documented that students repeat words on average five times in order to generate new words. (17)

Wow, today solidified the importance of dialogue in relationship to writing!  I can't wait to practice these exercises with my students!

Additional reflection for Tuesday...

As I re-read my writing from this morning - specifically about I see myself as a teacher/writer, I thought of  how to bring myself into these two nouns.  What is it about me that I can pour into these words and I recognized something:  I really enjoy empathasizing, putting on someone else's shoes, absorbing the contexts that I surround myself in - saturating and marinating in them.  Oh, I should also add that I like to focus on the positive.  So how does this make me a better writer/teacher?

Our group exercise for the day was a tableau; we chose an action and froze in response to the word 'assessment'.  Now for me, I view assessment in positive terms...as much as I dread turning in papers, as well as grading them.  At my core, I know that assessment is linked to opportunity and critical thinking/analysis/re-examining, revising, re-visiting in hope of creating something more fully...

Unfortunately, I am also aware of the numbers game teachers are forced to play at the end of each year and the dread that accompanies these tests.  There has to be a way to dialogue out of the old perceptions and into new ones...

Sixth day...

Today provided much information to reflect on...

Tableau was a very creative opening game to play with words, ideas, themes, our bodies, interpretations.

Rashid opened with a demo on how to inspire our students to social action...He introduced a wonderful new piece of software, The Museum Box.  I really want to explore this venue for composing.

Ashley brought home the beauty of glogger with her demonstration.  Megan also created an environment for critical thinking; I plan on using her lesson in my classroom this semester.

Today has me thinking about what it means to be a writer; how do we define writer?  Do the genres writers write define them?  Rashid tagged on the importance of being, and that if we claim to be a writer, then we are.  I wrote that writing is life expresses, a journey that requires us to be curious and socially engaged.  Metamorphosis...

More inquiries on inquiry...

Quotes to ponder from Brannon's "The Development of Writing":

"Teachers err in their use of grades only when they allow the fiction of 'improvement' to distort their judgements" (165).  Wait!  You mean I live in a fictitious world???!!?  Very true, aptly phrased and frustrating.  The writing program I am a part of  has bought into and canned the functionalist view of writing classes.  Lil Brannon elaborates on this view: 

"A functionalist view of writing classes, emphasizing such low-level technical accomplishments as the manufacture of a business letter, is seductive because it assures a measure of teaching 'success', yielding public evidence of productive effort.  But its effect, often, is to encourage a rudimentary behaviorism in the classroom, not unlike the training of pigeons to push levers, where students are drilled to affect the appearance of literacy without striving to acquire the humane values or the intellectual competences that literacy really entails"(166).  The phrase 'affect the appearance of literacy' really resonates with me - actually it really bothers me because there is so much truth to this.  I so want to hit a homerun with this concept and break the windshield of my student's' cars - wake up!  

"Writing - writing about things that matter, writing to make sense out of experience, writing to discover new knowledge, writing to reach ethical judgements, writing to examine the problems and complexities of the world, writing in response to meaningful reading - is an activity both truly liberal and truly artful"(167).  Zebroski would agree; he is an advocate for studio - a concept I need to implement into my  curriculum.  I have studied the Ross School in NYC, where students are surrounded by art and participate in atypical 'classrooms'.  Shoes are left at the door of the school and a multi-disciplinary approach to topics of interest is the approach taken by teachers. (a writing across the curriculum, if you will).  Wouldn't Scott also agree that writing is liberal and liberating - which is why, perhaps, we have all of these assessments currently in place - as a way to codify and control the masses?


Brannon goes on to write: "Presumably, the value of a reading program would lie mainly in its effectiveness at creating new incentives and offering additional support for readers [students], so that school reading [learning] reinforces and intensifies the literary experiences students are also accumulating elsewhere"(167).  This has me thinking of global interaction via internet - there are two professors at ECU who have implemented a digital classroom program.  It facilitates opportunities to interact, teach, learn and dialogue with students and teachers from different countries.  Dr. Susan Gardner speaks of 'updating and relating'; this is what is missing in the 'classroom'.   I want to name my class "Language Studio I", etc...  The term 'Developmental English' bothers me; what does this really mean?  Aren't we all developing and evolving our understanding and wordsmithing of language on a daily basis?  

"The answer, again, and it is an ancient one for the liberal arts, is that evaluation emphasizes, not short-term outputs, which are always inconclusive, but the character and appropriateness of activities going on in such courses, and the impact of those activities on students' dispositions to learn"(168).   This concept of activity has me thinking about transitivity analysis and the transitive nature of writing courses.  How can we create more experience in the classroom?   I think a key word here is 'activity'.  Learning is active; it is not a product to be consumed, but an experience to be shared.  I did a transitivity study on a short story writing from The Brownies Book, a magazine published initially in 1920(?) by the NAACP for children.  It has been fascinating to delve into the actions of the characters and ask the questions why? when? where? how? How does the transitive essence of verbs affect the reader/student?


More later...

Spotlight: Peacemaker’s Talk to Focus on Education in Action

Spotlight: Peacemaker’s Talk to Focus on Education in Action

Weekend reading...

Thoughts that resonated with me from Chapter 7: "The Development of Writing Ability: Some Myths About Evaluation and Improvement", written by Lil Brannon

This article advocates for the use of writing across the curriculum as it tackles the central question:  How do we measure the 'improvement' of student writers?

This was illuminating to me:  "The most debilitating illusion associated with writing instruction is the belief that teachers can, or at least ought to be able to, control writers' maturation, causing it to occur as the explicit consequence of something they do or ought to do" (165).  How many times have I thought to myself, 'Well, we covered that in class last week...you should know that by now!?"

More to come...

UNCCWP Writing Marathon...

Today, I declared myself a Writer!

Ironically, my words will not fully convey my experience at my first writing marathon...However, I can try...
In a nutshell, I think I rediscovered myself - as the 4th grader who wrote a history play for her class at the request of the teacher - as the high school photographer who left behind her aspirations to create images in exchange for a college degree -and now, a rediscovery of my love affair with words - my ability to listen - pure joy!

I discovered context does create text - ah, the smells of French pastry stimulates my memories of Paris with my sister and mother, and evokes a desire to create the same with my two daughters - the smell of fresh java and a plush comfy chair by the window - the exotic smells of curry, cinnamon, rice - the clink of wine glasses in a dimly lit early afternoon 'living room' as we gather to celebrate this day within a writing community.

Saturdays don't get much better than this...

Fourth Day...

This Friday was a perfect ending to this initial week at the UNCC Summer Writing Institute!   Sally offered up a wonderful opening writing prompt with her analogy to yoga and breath...following her example provided me with the time to slow down and gather my thoughts.

Jessie's demo on poetry sparked all types of discussions...why is it that we can be intimated by this genre?  I find great joy in poetry - it enters our lives without rules - much like the rebellious child.  Hmmm...

Free time followed, with the option to participate in seminars...I personally needed the time to develop some sense of Glogster, which I managed to do with help from others - Thanks!!  With much anticipation, 2pm finally arrived and we ventured on an E-Gallery crawl!  What an amazing group of talent; I was blown away by the digital stories!  I feel so blessed to be a part of this writing group!

Bravo to all!!!

Third day...

Another very informative day at the summer writing institute!  We started with a fun game of protector/enemy.

Stephanie's demo on Storify was fantastic and has me thinking of ways to include it in my class.  Melissa also provided food for thought with her demo on motivating students to believe they have authority.  I would like to use her concept of video in my classroom.

Fish bowl revision is very helpful - we had great success with our writing groups.

Can't wait for Friday!

Happy digital composing!

Second day...

Whew!  Today seemed to fly by...Rebecca gave a wonderful demo on motivation and created a lesson using so many resources that were threaded together by a pair theme.  I found it so much fun to try to think of pairs that did not 'go' together.  This exercise got me thinking about the importance of binaries and how they can help to define/create.    

Revision...reviewing...renewing...re-seeing...Sally's exercise helped me to think about the myriad ways I could motivate my students to view this practice.  I really love Dorry's idea of creating a portfolio of revisions from a single text...this is something I may use in my classroom this year!

Tech lunch was helpful-especially at the end of the day...thanks so much Lacy.

Lil's inquiry on Responding has me thinking about the importance of a writing community.  The word community evokes so many things - social threads that weave and bind us together.  If we respond to the writer and not the writing (product), then shouldn't we be working to create relationships?   Respond to the writer and not to the writing... Perhaps our students are asking us to redirect our attention to them and not their product?

In her essay "Between the Drafts", Nancy Sommers aspires to the "teaching a language out of the context of life."  She dialogues the importance of authorship and of how stories and experiences are unique to each student.  Sommers writes: "But, of course, our students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled with authorial intent.  Given the opportunity to speak their own authority as writers, given a turn in the conversation, students can claim their stories as primary source material and transform their experiences into evidence."  Respond to the writer and not to the writing...

I cannot wait to see what tomorrow holds!

First day...

I came home exhausted from our first day at the summer writing institute!  My girls were packing to travel, last minute, to Hilton Head to see their aunt and cousins.  Banana bread was in the oven - a thank you gift for my sister.  Laundry was fluffing - a last minute load for Grace.  Rachel returned from Target with a bathing suit - she had left her other one in Atlanta.  Oh, and Lindsey, Grace's friend, was shadowing both girls like a puppy that knows she will soon be left at home.  We packed up the car; I recovered some beach chairs from the garage, along with a boogie board for body surfing and stuffed them in the trunk next to their luggage.  After hugs, off my girls went,   hands waving,  smiles on their faces - ready for their adventure.

Funny, I felt lost once my girls left...then I went inside and started writing.

Book Review: Critital Teaching and Everyday Life, written by Ira Shore

I chose the book Critical Teaching and Everyday Life which was written by Ira Shore; I  heard his name mentioned in a prior graduate class I took at UNCC two years ago, and I was intrigued to learn more about his theories.  I should preface this review by noting that I just recently re-entered the workforce.  I have been working as an adjunct at a community college for three years.  Prior to this, I was at home with my three children and filled in occasionally with sporadic part-time jobs; I dabbled in education as a second grade TA at a private school in Charlotte eleven years ago. I have also worked as a substitute teacher in elementary and middle schools in Cabarrus county.  I grew up in Charlotte and attended both private, as well as public schools.  Please note that my undergraduate major was in Business Administration and English - not education.  My career focus was in banking, insurance and advertising.  I consider myself an outsider to the education profession, to say the least!

Now here is the caveat---my educational roots were planted  back in the 1960s to early 80's and a lot has happened since I was a 'traditional' student!   Currently I am classified as a 'non-traditional student' at UNCC - whatever that means.  I hope to complete my graduate degree by next spring after having lived a parent/student/teacher's life for the past four years.   Now that you have some background about me, let me share my thoughts on Shore's book.

Ira Shore's book titled  Critical Teaching and Everyday Life was written in 1980, yet it reads with surprising relevancy.  I found passages, indeed - sentences, that provoked deep reflection.  Shore writes with political passion and after having read his book, I am even more aware of the power of the classroom.  I have chosen to share some of these passages that resonated with me. 

In Chapter One, page 2, Shore explains the why of education: "In a vast American frontier dotted with cities, New World Utopianism emerged from cheap land, no kings, an expanding economy, and the possiblities of a public school system.  Great expectations were applied to education: to democratize, equalize and stabilize an unsettled society."    Wait a minute...you mean to tell me that the creation of schools had a very different ulterior motive than  to educate?  This hit me like a mack truck!  

Shore introduces the phrases "greenhouse college towns" versus "warehouse community colleges"(7).   What a keen and weighted analogy to describe these two very different educational resources.  He goes on to explain, "The career curricula of the two-year colleges is a paper replica of the job market, and thus habituates students to the shape of their future occupations."(7)  I find myself questioning my role as an adjunct at a community college. Indeed, what can I do to facilitate critical thinking within this environment?  Do I even agree with Shore's term "warehouse community college"?

Shore continues to pave a path towards the importance of liberal studies as a means to intellectual freedom versus dependency on corporations.  Personally, I have always known the value of critical thinking, yet Shore describes it much more eloquently than I ever could in the following passage found on pages 28-29: 
 
 A liberal arts education offers workers the verbal and philosophical practice to become leading
 factors of dissent.  Therefore, liberal arts is viewed contradictorily by worker-students because
 their humanities education has less than no value in the marketplace; they can have their intellectual 
 development held against them.  Liberal studies facilitate self-growth.  So to get a job, raise or
 promotion, workers zero in on the technical and informational skills which impress the boss or
 supervisor.  It's fair to say critical knowledge.... will not help you make it through the job market.  It
 is a leisure to read art and history.

A personal note:  I live and vacation with engineers; this is both a challenge and an enlightening binary lifestyle - if you will.  My experiences have made me keenly aware of the truth within this passage. Shore's insight strikes a cord deep within me - a cord entwined with years of experience with feelings of inadequacy over my choice of degree - my pursuit of knowledge - my low pay in the job market because of my lack of  'technical expertise'.  I confess that I have allowed my thoughts to veer to 'less than' or 'inadequate' where my liberal arts education is concerned. 

Yet Shore does not fully embrace liberal studies as THE ANSWER.  He reminds us: "Another obvious issue in liberal studies is the elite, white and male character of its canon and teacher corps.  The 'great tradition' of the master's tools has denied the critical thinking of women and minorities.  This highlights the issue of politics of discourse"(30). 

It is here, with the phrase "politics of discourse" that Shore dives in with some very clever and interesting alternatives to education.  He focuses on community colleges because this is where he teaches, yet his ideas would work across all educational stratas.

I encourage you to read this book.  IIra Shore's ideology stems from Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator and theorist of critical pedagogy who died in 1997.  I plan on introducing some of his ideas into my demo at the Summer Writing Institute in hopes of providing new and interesting alternatives to our perceptions of instructors/facilitators/students. 

Perhaps Shore and Freire might have closed my blog with "Power to the People!"

Until then...happy reading trails!