Lesley's ENGL5060 Blogspot

Outline for Final Paper Project

2006-11-02T10:05:00.000-06:00

What Are We Teaching Here?

I propose to explore the changes in composition teaching pedagogy beginning with the Dartmouth Conference in the 60s, culminating with an examination of the current goals of Freshman Composition, an evaluation of those goals (including economic implications for English Departments), and a proposal of how those goals might be achieved in the composition classroom.

I. Historical Overview – Development of Composition programs beginning with the Dartmouth Conference and proceeding through various pedagogical theories and trends to present day. (Sources: Bedford/St.Martin's "History of Rhetoric and Composition"and other articles)

II. What are we trying to teach here?
a. English Literature?
b. Cross-Discipline Academic Writing?
c. Vocational Writing?

III. Economic Implication for English Departments

IV. Proposals for different types of 1300 level courses.
a. Academic Composition
b. Literature Composition

Works Cited

Bedford/St.Martin's "History of Rhetoric and Composition"

Hunter, Mary Stuart. “Fostering Student Learning and Success Through First-Year Programs.” Peer Review. Summer 2006, Vol 8, No 3. Tomorrow’s Professor(sm) Mailing List Digest. Vol 7, Iss 5.

Dombeck, Kristin and Scott Herndon. Critical Passages: Teaching the Transition to College Composition. New York: Teachers College Press, 2004.

Lindemann, Erika. “Freshman Composition: No Place for Literature.” College English, Vol 55, No 3. (Mar 1993). 311-16. JSTOR 26 October 2006.

Hawhee, Debra. “Composition History and the Harbrace College Handbook.” College Composition and Communication, Vol 50, No 3, A Usable Past:CCC at 50: Part 1, (Feb 1999). 504-23. JSTOR 26 October 2006.

Elbow, Peter. “Reflections on Academic Discourse: How It Relates to Freshmen and Colleagues (1991).” Teaching Writing: Landmarks and Horizons. Eds. McDonald, Christina Russell and Robert L. McDonald. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002. 92-120.

Tate, Gary. “A Place for Literature in Freshman Composition (1993).” Teaching Writing: Landmarks and Horizons. Eds. McDonald, Christina Russell and Robert L. McDonald. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002. 146-51.

Lauer, Janice M. “Rhetoric and Composition Studies: A Multimodal Discipline (1993).” Teaching Writing: Landmarks and Horizons. Eds. McDonald, Christina Russell and Robert L. McDonald. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002. 121-33.

Williams, James D., Ed. Visions and Re-Visions: Continuitu and Change in Rhetoric and Composition. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.

Carroll, Lee Ann. Rehearsing New Roles: Helping College Students Develop as Writers. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.

Bartholomae, David. Writing on the Margins: Essays on Composition and Teaching. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005.

Teaching Composition in the 21st Century

2006-10-15T13:58:00.000-05:00

We've come a long way so far in studying the history and theory of composition. We've studied the influence of formalism, expressivism, and social-construction on the field of composition in general and on our program in particular, especially with technology. After reviewing Bedford/St.Martin's "History of Rhetoric and Composition", you should have a more complete picture of key ideas in composition history. Even though your teaching philosophy essay may not focus on composition, specifically, which ideas from the history of composition are influencing your ideas about what good teaching is the most? Include direct quotations.

I really found the article interesting. I had never given much thought to the question of why and (more importantly) how we teach Freshman Composition. I really enjoy how the writers went back to the very beginning (the Greeks) to ground our discussion historically, but I think that the developments over the last three or four decades are really shaping the experiences of college freshmen today.

I am specifically referring to trends that began in the sixties, as “renewed attention to classical sources helped to foster an increased interest . . . in style as an expression of personal ethos” (“A Brief History of Rhetoric and Composition”). This process of elevating personal expression over literary correctness became a hot topic at conferences dealing with composition studies: “The Dartmouth Conference called for writing instruction that takes more notice of students' needs for self-expression as opposed to their adjustment to social demands” (“A Brief History of Rhetoric and Composition”). In my opinion this has led to way too way too much self-expression (much of it inappropriate) and not nearly enough attention to “adjustment to social demands.”

Call me old fashioned, but I think that the recent trend in English instruction away from mechanics and grammar has had a negative impact on our students today. They are given an inordinate amount of praise during high school just for writing a sentence at all. They seem to receive style points, lots of them, just for trying, i.e. showing up in class with something to turn in. Then these same students arrive in college classrooms and are astounded when they receive Cs and Ds for the same level of work that would have garnered them an A or B in many high school classrooms. Imagine their dismay! Why would they think that mediocrity deserves praise? Because their mediocre efforts have been receiving praise all through secondary school.

Our educational system has been selling these kids short. They are capable of learning how to use the English language properly, but why should they when the people who are supposed to be teaching and guiding them are descending to their levels instead of pulling the students up to a higher plane of achievement. Students are good at meeting our expectations; when we expect mediocrity that is what we will get.

Imagine for a moment that we were teaching children how to play a musical instrument, the piano for instance. Would we tell them, "This is a C-major scale, but don't worry, you can play it however you like. Feel free to use some of the black keys if you want to "? Of course not! We would teach them how to play the keys properly! We wouldn't think of sending them out into the world having convinced them that they know how to play, only to have them discover—when their future may be riding on it—that we didn't share with them all of the knowledge that they need. Yet we are content to do this with the future leaders of our country. They are like those poor deluded souls that are shark bait to Simon Cowell on American Idol, who are convinced that they have acquired skills that they simply do not possess.

I am not opposed to students finding and writing in their own voices, I firmly believe that this is and should be our ultimate goal. However, voice represents a sophisticated level of language usage which most freshman students are not ready to tackle. Consider our piano student, would we begin to critique the expressiveness of her playing before she had mastered the notes? Common sense tells us that we should teach her to master the basics first: the notes and their placement, fingering techniques, rhythms, and musical notations. We need to approach our teaching of composition in just such a manner, making certain that students have achieved mastery of the fundamentals of academic writing before allowing them the latitude to bend the rules in the name of expressivity. This knowledge is exactly the sort of cultural capital that students need to be successful in college classes.

The Genius of George Bush

2006-10-08T14:14:00.000-05:00


A short music video about the genius that George Bush is. Music video by Goof.

ERROR . . . ERROR . . . DOES NOT COMPUTE

2006-10-05T13:35:00.000-05:00

My 3-minute presentation is on Error. I will be addressing a class of freshman writers. I'm going to try to define error for the students in terms that they can relate to. My focus will be that while errors may not prevent us from communicating, they can come between us and our audience, creating perceptions that may not be useful to us. Then I will talk briefly about errors that prevent communication. I will show the students a web site designed by Paul Brian. Here he lists common errors in English, hundreds of them. There are errors in punctuation listed, but by and large the errors he lists are usage errors that can really affect meaning in communication. He also lists a page of Non-Errors that I may address if I have time. Lastly, I will discuss the evolution of English language and grammar (very briefly), and ask the students, "Why should you even worry about all of this if it's just going to change in a few years anyway?"

The Answer:
Well, first of all, change in written language since the creation of modern printing methods is very slow. Once the standard is set, it stratifies and only changes after a long process of erosion. Second, people who are evaluating your writing will probably have very specific ideas of what they consider correct. I am not referring only to your teachers; when you apply for a job, write a letter to the editor, request a raise, send a memo out to your company, write a letter to your sweetheart, write a letter to your parents, write a letter to your senator, representative, or president: in these and many other situations your writing will be evaluated. Your image, and possibly so much more, hangs in the balance.

Hello, class. I'm Dr. Howell (Shelton)

2006-09-26T08:42:00.000-05:00

Dr. Rickly wants us to consider who we are as teachers, or, for those of us who are mere DI's, what kind of teachers do we hope to be?

I honestly haven't given this topic much focused thought. I have skirted around it, for example, when reading the various articles assigned, but I have been concentrating my energies on trying to define myself as a graduate student. Now that I have a moment (and as assignment calling for it), I will consider what kind of a teacher I hope to be.

First and foremost, I want to be a scholar. I want my students to look at me and see a mentor, a role model, demonstrating what it means to be in higher education. I know that my favorite teachers are the ones that really know their subjects. And that relish study in their favorite areas. They are interesting and accessible inside as well as outside of class. I had two role models that really stick out in my mind as an undergraduate. They are two of the smartest people I know.

I suppose that what I should take from this is that they were really smart in their chosen areas, but that they focused their attention on this area in order to create that focused knowledge. I hope to specialize in the study of poetry, and be the kind of teacher that fosters a love of poetry in my students in the same way that Dr. Dudt fostered a love of Shakespeare in me and my peers at WTAMU. And I want to be like the teachers of poetry that I have had, who quote from poems with ease. This, I am sure, will only come with the focused study that I will engage in over the next several years. I also want to be able to read every poem aloud if I feel like it, which many of my professors seem also to enjoy. This is, I suppose, one of the more self-indulgent aspects of teaching poetry.

I also want the students to be able to trust me. I enjoy being liked, but I would prefer being respected and trusted. I hope to remain open to hearing different ideas. I want to allow for personal expression, within the confines of what is expected and accepted at the university level. I want my students to feel free to express their ideas, especially the ones that are bugging them or that seem to threaten the status quo. I want to encourage an environment of open and respectful discussion, and a questioning of ideas they may have carried around all of their lives without really knowing why. This can be an exciting and a frightening process. I want to help my students experience this.

Much to my surprise, I have found myself thinking about Freshman Composition, a lot. I can see myself teaching this course and getting a lot out of it. Last year, I tutored a freshman who was in danger of flunking 1301. He was so quiet in our sessions; he hardly ever said a word, even when I asked him direct questions. I sometimes wondered if he was interested in improving his writing. He often came to our sessions with a paltry amount of writing for us to work on. However, he was always respectful and always showed up on time and with the necessary materials.

No one had taken the time to sit down with this young man and show him how to read a text, how to take useful notes, or how to express himself in writing. I had such compassion for him. He had very interesting ideas, but couldn't get them out onto the paper. Over the course of the rest of the semester, I modeled close reading, selecting significant quotes, and note taking, as well as outlining, developing a thesis, and supporting it with evidence. I saw his papers improve, but I worried that he was not absorbing the information; it seemed like so much information, and I got so little feedback from him.

I finally received the feedback that I was hoping for when he took his final exam. He had to produce in class writing on the exam. He outlined, organized his thoughts, and produced a piece of writing that more closely represented the level of work that he was capable of. I was so thrilled for him! I felt like all of those sessions I had spent with him had been really worth something! Now, for the rest of his life, he will be able to organize his thoughts and express himself in writing. What a great skill! What an important accomplishment! And ultimately, how rewarding for me as well.

So there, that is what kind of teacher I want to be; one who teaches students how to be effective communicators, how to express themselves with the written word. I can't think of a more important job.

Now, you may be wondering about the title, Dr. Howell. Well, my dad is a Dr. Howell (an MD, not a PhD). When I was little (about a hundred years ago!), I dreamed of growing up to be a doctor just like my dad. I will change back to my maiden name when my divorce is final, hopefully next year. So that's why I will be Dr. Howell! I like the sound of that (and so does my dad).

The Great Balancing Act

2006-09-18T08:21:00.000-05:00

Well, the lateness of this post would suggest that I'm not doing the greatest job of balancing my duties as student/teacher/mother. I have to include mother to the list, because despite my best planning, this role has repeatedly interfered with my ability to meet my own expectations in the other two areas. My seven-year-old daughter frequently feels the need to remind me that she is my number one priority, regardless of the urgency with which I perceive my other responsibilities. Erin obstinately refuses to fit neatly into the tiny boxes on my schedule.

The area in which I feel that I am most lacking is definitely in my role as student. I am a slow reader. I often wonder how I made it this far with my clearly sub-par skills in this area. Add to my inherent inability the anxiety that grips me as I feel the minutes tick away faster than the pages turn, and it is no wonder that I am having difficulty in this area. I often find myself gripped with a fear of failure that nearly incapacitates me, creating yet another obstacle to overcome in order to achieve success as a student.

I feel most confidant in my role as a document instructor. Of course, this may be completely misguided, since I have received no feedback as yet on my performance in this area. However, having worked for over a year in the writing center at my previous school, I feel adequately prepared to comment on students' work in a helpful way. Considering the insecurity I feel in my other roles, my inclination is to focus my attention on this role, in order to find some kind of comfort in knowing that I have done at least one of my jobs well. But in the greater scheme of things, this is realistically the least important of the three. Not that the role is unimportant, indeed, it is so important that I sometimes feel inadequate even to this task, but of the three, this one has to come number three.

I guess what I am lamenting is that I have been forced out of my comfort zone, not just flushed out of the brush, but completely evicted with no hope of returning. I find this new reality very daunting and frightening. I feel the weight of responsibility as never before. And often, I simply don't know if I'm up to the task. Nevertheless, I know that I must trudge onward, bravely facing each day's duties as they present themselves. The only way to get through the semester is to keep walking until I get to the other side in December. I know that I'm not alone in my fear, but that knowledge is little comfort. However, experience has taught me that I will find a new level of competency, that this place that looks and feels so foreign today will eventually become familiar and comfortable. I'm just praying that that day will come soon, very soon.

Distance and Technology

2006-09-09T12:22:00.000-05:00

For this blog, I am playing the disbelieving game as assigned by Dr. Rickly:

In the essay, “The Distancing Question in Online Education,” Glenn Russell discusses the effects of decreased bandwidth on communication as it relates to online classes. He describes in the research of J. B. Walther (1992), finding that “As the channels or codes available within a medium decrease, the user pays less attention to the presence of the social participants, and as social presence declines, messages become more impersonal.

“What do you mean, technology distances me from my friends? I don’t think so! No matter where I am, I can always talk to my friends with email, or I can IM them. Even in class, I can text message them without the teacher even noticing.”

“So what your saying is that, with the aid of technology, you are able to maintain an even closer and more personal link with those in your circle of friends?”

“Yeah, I mean just because I have to go on some stupid field trip or go to my grandparent’s anniversary party or something . . .” Her cell phone rings. “Hi, Jimmy.” Pause. “Oh, nothing. Just talking to this guy about technology. Don’t worry about it.” Longer pause. “What did she say about me?” Pause. “Well, what were you doing there anyway?”

“Excuse me, Mandy. I’m on a schedule here. I have other interviews.”

“Hang on a sec. This guy’s trying to talk to me while I’m on the phone. (To the interviewer) Are we almost done here?”

“Mandy, you were paid to take part in this survey. Do you think you could finish?”

(Into the phone) “Jimmy, I’ve got to go. Yeah, call me back in fifteen minutes. (To the interviewer) Are you happy now?”

“Yes, Mandy, I am quite please that you decided to continue. Now, have you ever been in a class conducted online?”

“Yeah, once.” She fiddles with her phone. She appears to be text messaging her friend. She continues, but is distracted. “We had this collaborative class with a school in Chicago. Every day during third period, we would go to the technology room and do the class on the computers. You could use the mouse to look around their classroom. They had better stuff than we did in our classroom.”

“Well, how did you like the class?”

“It was okay. Their teacher lectured every other time, and he was better than our teacher.”

“Do you remember any of the other students?”

“Well, I do remember this one boy, Daniel. He was real cute and sat in the front of the classroom.”

“In your classroom here?”

“No, he was in Chicago. But we got to know each other during the chats and we worked on a group project together.”

“What about your classmates here?”

“Well, I think that Jenny was in that class, but we weren’t put in a group together. And there was this one weird kid, Micah—not Michael, M-I-C-A-H, Micah. He was pretty smart. He was in my group.”

“Are you still friends with Micah?”

“Well, I like reading his blog, but he’s not really one of my friends. I say hi to him if I see him in the halls.”

“When you’re not talking or texting on your phone?”

Laughs. “Well, yeah. I guess that I’m not usually paying that much attention.”

Her phone rings again. She looks anxiously at it, wanting to answer it.

“Are we done here?”

“Yes, Mandy. Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today.

“Hi, Jimmy.” She picks up her purse and walks away. “Yeah, I’m done. So what happened?”

My First Computer

2006-08-31T11:56:00.000-05:00

Write a narrative focusing on how a particular technology or technological practice impacted you in the past.

I still remember when I got my first computer. I was a student at the University of Texas in the early 1980's when the Apple Macintosh computers were introduced. The school offered a special deal for students; I got the high-end model, the 512k. I didn't want to get the computer; my younger brother, who was still in high school, insisted that I get one. He was only two years younger than me, but he had been exposed to computer technology for about five years, while I had no experience. Because he wanted the computer for himself so badly, I decided that I must need it, and I soon realized the power of word processing.

Up to that point, I had paid to have my papers typed. I didn't even own a typewriter. I would write my paper up in longhand, submit it to the typing service well in advance of my due date, and hope that I didn't need or want to make any changes after I got it back. The word processing capabilities of my new computer were revolutionary. I not only could work on my paper right up until it was due, but I found that my writing process also changed as a result of using the software. I still created a paper outline (and I still do that today), but I had the added flexibility of cutting and pasting, moving whole chunks of writing from one paragraph or page to another. I began to free write in the early stages of the paper development, knowing that I could easily edit my ideas later, rearranging things according to the organizational structure of my paper. The cut-and-paste technique was similar to my longhand process, which involved writing each paragraph on a separate page so that I could move my ideas around as I settled on a final structure in my paper. I honestly can’t remember if I used this technique before I had been exposed to word processing software, but I suspect that this comes from my original, pre-digital process.

With a personal computer, I also discovered that I am an indiscriminate printer. I waste much more paper than any conscientious person ought. I often print multiple copies as I revise and re-revise and discover typos, which are usually corrected one by one, each with a new draft printed in between. I have cut back on the number of drafts that I print, and I have learned to print on the front and back of a page until I am relatively sure that I am actually printing a final draft. However, I still feel guilty at the number of pages that I print and waste each semester.

As I write this post, I realize that it is somewhat difficult for me to recall accurately how I wrote papers before the advent of the word processor. I never took typing in high school (what you would call keyboarding now). That class was for girls who were going to be secretaries. Now virtually everyone takes the class; it is a required skill for college or the current job market. However, I do have a vivid memory of trying to type some poems I wrote in high school and of being so incredibly frustrated by that process that I only completed one page. I still have that typed paper, a souvenir from a bygone era.

Looking back, I can remember Mrs. Beehler teaching me how to write English papers in ninth grade, writing my outline in longhand much as I still do today. I remember lying on the floor between the shelves in the library, learning how to construct an argument using nothing more than my books, a pen, and paper. I recall struggling with organization and structure as I tried to imagine different ways of putting my paragraphs together. I can almost see the scribbles, arrows, and other cryptic markings on the page as I searched for the most effective configuration of words and sentences. And after I had finally settled on a product that was happy with, then the real heavy lifting would begin: the task of trying to type a clean draft, with properly measured margins, no typos and correct page numbers. Heaven forbid that I had to make some kind of correction that might shift the content on subsequent pages! The whole thing would have to be typed again to accommodate such changes. It was a daunting process.

I think about today’s students, who have never actually typed anything. They will never know that sense of permanence one felt when trying to produce a typed final draft; typewriters have gone the way of the washboard and butter churn. I am grateful that I experienced what came before, but even more so that my little brother had the foresight to encourage me to make friends with that strange creature, the computer. Today, I prefer to embrace technology rather than to scrub, churn, or type.

OMG! What have I gotten myself into?

2006-08-25T21:04:00.000-05:00

Orientation is over. We have all been prepped to go into the trenches in a mere three days. With all the emphasis on teaching, I feel pretty secure about my role as a Document Instructor. I still have some anxiety, mainly relating to technical issues, but I feel confident that I will be able to handle my responsibilities in this area. I am eager to get after it and jump right into the grading because I believe that I will be competent in this area.

I feel less sure of my role as a student. I was already nervous about how I would do in my classes. I knew coming in that I would have a much heavier load in these classes than I had had in my undergraduate classes. I understood that the reading assignments would be much more extensive. I am used to doing well in my classes, and quite frankly I am fearful of not measuring up to my peers.

Add to this the dawning realization that my various responsibilities will require a level of time management skills that I am not sure that I possess. I bought a daily planner for my office, but I felt like a fraud. As I left with the planner in my bag, I found myself wondering how many blank pages I would find in the book at the end of the year, not because I didn't have anything to do on those days, but because I simply became so overwhelmed that I completely gave up trying to schedule everything! And I know from experience what happens when I tackle life without a plan. Putting out brush fires is an exhausting endeavor; without a plan, damage control is all that I can find time for.

And so I prepare for my first week of graduate school, obsessing over my spreadsheet that is to be my time manager, trying to read ahead in my classes, and wondering what the grading will be like and how soon I can begin. I try to remember that I am also a mother, and that more than just a grade is riding on me. The responsibility becomes stifling at times. Thankfully, I only have to complete one task at a time, and usually the correct task presents itself in its due time. If you pray, say one for me, please, while I just try to remember to breathe.

My Very First Blog

2006-08-10T23:34:00.000-05:00

Honestly, when I first started hearing about blogs, I thought, Not for me! Now, I'm pretty computer savvy. I understand how software works and have even written a couple of programs in my day. I enjoy being one of the few English majors who knows how to format in Word and how to use Excel for something besides creating schedules and lists. I have kept my address list in a database for over ten years. But when blogging became hip, I just wasn't interested.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my first exposure was related to politics and political posturing. I didn't want to have anything to do with that! Or maybe my predisposition to writing by hand is the force at work, like a devil on my shoulder whispering in my ear to avoid all things blog no matter the cost. But now that I'm taking this class, ENGL5060.002, I am required not only to have a blog, but to USE it! So here I sit and type, determined to overcome whatever obstacles I may encounter, as I acquaint myself with yet another piece of technology that flashes into existence and spreads like wildfire!

When I started school, the only modes of communication were hand-written notes, intricately folded with hearts and doodles and "For Your Eyes Only" in bold block letters on the outside, or calls placed on a phone that actually dialed and was attached to the base with a coiled line called a CORD. My how times have changed!