This is from a poem I wrote way back in like week 4. I just kept the idea of the childhood, and really expanded it.
Battle of the Bulge
Friday’s bell singles the resumption
Of World War II. First stop,
Pearl Harbor on the shores of the Coosa River
with Jimmy subbing as Admiral Hirohito.
As night fall, the kamikazes pilots
Reanimate back on Mr. Irwin’s
back porch with smells of a summer barbeque
and wafts of macadamia nut cookies.
The campaign is over for the day, so the
soldiers draft back to fortified bunk-beds
filled with goodies from last week’s “bank heist.”
Saturday’s sun transports Mark and his merry gang
To the future. Wrigleyville is a buzz as its time for
Game 7. Chants of “Lets go Cubs, Lets go Cubs”
rise softly as the players take their places in the
cul-de-sac on 7th street.
The brick and Ivy are replaced with vinyl siding and
Mrs. Johnson’s cotton topped azaleas. The crowd noise
Dampens as Tim steps to the plate. The pitch,
Low and outside, just like a replay played out with
an accompanying Sports Center highlight.
As he rounds third, a rusty man-hole cover,
bleecher bums throw stale beer on each other,
the vision fades to be replayed,same time next week,
but its John’s turn to be the hero.
The celebration is short-lived as I sit bathed
in vertical splashes of purple, green and brown
on Sunday with a man, dressed in black, keeping
the primal world contained for at least another hymn.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Draft #1, Week 10
Our Hitchock Childhood
Cary Grant points out the train's commotion,
like we are some great prize.
Little snot-nosed pre-teens devour
the many-storied buildings like a
hungry beat in autumn.
My insides shift, like my 1986
red Tercel on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Sally's mixes the pesticide of of her
childhood in circular motions.
The latest privilege lies in the fact
that Jimmy Stewart spies on our nocturnal
adventures of tee peeing my neighbors house.
Cary Grant points out the train's commotion,
like we are some great prize.
Little snot-nosed pre-teens devour
the many-storied buildings like a
hungry beat in autumn.
My insides shift, like my 1986
red Tercel on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Sally's mixes the pesticide of of her
childhood in circular motions.
The latest privilege lies in the fact
that Jimmy Stewart spies on our nocturnal
adventures of tee peeing my neighbors house.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Calisthenics, Week 9
No more chains or letters
That you gave me were Enough to
erase craving of nachos without cheese.
Something sweet, so delightful, gives
Us all a useful escape from yesterday’s reality.
Silly patterns that we follow
pull us through escalators filled with oranges
I'm being swallowed by the ones
that hate Tuesdays, but love Mondays.
They pull you down streets that haven’t been touched
by street sweepers.
Manipulation is the key
to quality control devices that
teach use the future, while forgetting the past
that leads us to Detriot's 8-Mile.
That you gave me were Enough to
erase craving of nachos without cheese.
Something sweet, so delightful, gives
Us all a useful escape from yesterday’s reality.
Silly patterns that we follow
pull us through escalators filled with oranges
I'm being swallowed by the ones
that hate Tuesdays, but love Mondays.
They pull you down streets that haven’t been touched
by street sweepers.
Manipulation is the key
to quality control devices that
teach use the future, while forgetting the past
that leads us to Detriot's 8-Mile.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Junkyard Quotes 1-4, Week 9
My husband said he needed more space. So I locked him outside. -- Roseanne
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened. -- Unknown
Start every day off with a smile and get it over with. -- W. C. Fields
The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it. -- Franklin P. Jones
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the hell happened. -- Unknown
Start every day off with a smile and get it over with. -- W. C. Fields
The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it. -- Franklin P. Jones
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sign Inventory, Week 9
My Sad Self
Allen Ginsberg
*The poem is dedicated to Frank O'Hara, who is another beat poet at the same time.
*Interesting that the speaker goes up to the RCA building (now the GE building) to get a look at the city. It actually has better views, but most people flock to the Empire State Building.
*The fact that Ginsberg makes reference to his birth place of New Jersey where the sun is going down, while Brooklyn is bathed in light.
*The boroughs continue to play important part as they all places where he recounts love.
*He moves from the tops of the building down to street level to get a look at people.
*There is a movement from positive memories on top of the building to deeper thought of despair and loss as he walks home.
*The city changes towards the end of this draft. My once fabulous amours in the Bronx becomes "avenues stalked by tall buildings.
*It's the countryside that is painful, while the city is filled with beautiful suits.
*In terms of the structure, the first stanza is relatively close together, where in the second stanzas and later there are more disjointed lines.
*The narration of the speaker leaves towards the end of the draft. There is no reference to I in Stanzas three, four or five.
Allen Ginsberg
*The poem is dedicated to Frank O'Hara, who is another beat poet at the same time.
*Interesting that the speaker goes up to the RCA building (now the GE building) to get a look at the city. It actually has better views, but most people flock to the Empire State Building.
*The fact that Ginsberg makes reference to his birth place of New Jersey where the sun is going down, while Brooklyn is bathed in light.
*The boroughs continue to play important part as they all places where he recounts love.
*He moves from the tops of the building down to street level to get a look at people.
*There is a movement from positive memories on top of the building to deeper thought of despair and loss as he walks home.
*The city changes towards the end of this draft. My once fabulous amours in the Bronx becomes "avenues stalked by tall buildings.
*It's the countryside that is painful, while the city is filled with beautiful suits.
*In terms of the structure, the first stanza is relatively close together, where in the second stanzas and later there are more disjointed lines.
*The narration of the speaker leaves towards the end of the draft. There is no reference to I in Stanzas three, four or five.
Improv, Week 9
When Collections Come
When Collections come
like the worst fear realized;
when collections come and steal dignity's crown
to pull me, and close the door on any chance of home ownership;
when collections come
like uninvited guests at the dinner table;
when collections come
like the aunt that always grabs your cheek,
I long for H.G. Wells truth and wonder
if choices made yesterday can slip past the digital age?
Therefore, I game the system
wait for hours to bleed the ones and zeros,
and become an undesirable leech
and I choose to follow Frost,
and each phone call now screams, as common as
as yesterday, but as whispers,
and each letter's neon threat, becomes
Jerry's next story about nothing.
When the FICA drops off the register, my life
will no longer be enslaved airline miles.
I was set free from percentages.
When it's over, status returns as sternness
becomes soft pillow fights.
When Collections come
like the worst fear realized;
when collections come and steal dignity's crown
to pull me, and close the door on any chance of home ownership;
when collections come
like uninvited guests at the dinner table;
when collections come
like the aunt that always grabs your cheek,
I long for H.G. Wells truth and wonder
if choices made yesterday can slip past the digital age?
Therefore, I game the system
wait for hours to bleed the ones and zeros,
and become an undesirable leech
and I choose to follow Frost,
and each phone call now screams, as common as
as yesterday, but as whispers,
and each letter's neon threat, becomes
Jerry's next story about nothing.
When the FICA drops off the register, my life
will no longer be enslaved airline miles.
I was set free from percentages.
When it's over, status returns as sternness
becomes soft pillow fights.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Pedogegy Forum, Week 9
I wanted to expand on some earlier comments made during my response to Brian's blog. Education reform is a topic of debate, but everything I hear doesn't come close to solving the problem. Today, I gave the PSAT and I'm looking at variety of students taking the test. A majority of the students are trying, but I focused on the ones are not taking the test seriously. I wanted one student just stare around the class for three hours and not answer one question. What makes a student do that? I know these students are tested to death, but I tried with all my might to tell them how it would help them prepare for the SAT and the Graduation test. In the end, it was not enough because I know that student is not going to college. I've had that student before, but yet here she is wasting three hours of her time taking a test she doesn't care about and, even more scary, doesn't understand at all. Why are we forcing our students down this path towards college?
I fundamentally disagree with the one approach method to schooling. Some children just are not college material. The problem is that politicians don't get elected by saying some students don't need to go to college. There is another side of this issue as well. Not to sound like a conspiracy, but I'm sure colleges and the federal government want their loans to be taken out. I was fortunate enough to have my college paid for during my undergrad and master's programs. During this ED.S. degree, I've paid cash along the way. But what about the student who attends one year of college and takes out 30,000 in loans? I'm sure there are cases of these people succeeding and paying back loans, but what about the ones suffer through years of repayment?
It all goes towards a philosophy that all students are not equal. I hate to be the one that says it, but i truly believe that some students excel in academics and others are better at sports. So why do we force tests down our students throats all the time? This class has inspired me to try new things, but I highly doubt I'm publishing books on poetry any time soon. It has given me an appreciation and skills to improve my teaching, which is what I was looking for in the class. What skills are we giving our students? Most of them know how to fill in bubble on a standardized test, that's for sure. I'm sorry if this seems like a long rant. As educators it is important that find out what is truly important to our students and help them find ways to meet those goals. What do you guys think?
I fundamentally disagree with the one approach method to schooling. Some children just are not college material. The problem is that politicians don't get elected by saying some students don't need to go to college. There is another side of this issue as well. Not to sound like a conspiracy, but I'm sure colleges and the federal government want their loans to be taken out. I was fortunate enough to have my college paid for during my undergrad and master's programs. During this ED.S. degree, I've paid cash along the way. But what about the student who attends one year of college and takes out 30,000 in loans? I'm sure there are cases of these people succeeding and paying back loans, but what about the ones suffer through years of repayment?
It all goes towards a philosophy that all students are not equal. I hate to be the one that says it, but i truly believe that some students excel in academics and others are better at sports. So why do we force tests down our students throats all the time? This class has inspired me to try new things, but I highly doubt I'm publishing books on poetry any time soon. It has given me an appreciation and skills to improve my teaching, which is what I was looking for in the class. What skills are we giving our students? Most of them know how to fill in bubble on a standardized test, that's for sure. I'm sorry if this seems like a long rant. As educators it is important that find out what is truly important to our students and help them find ways to meet those goals. What do you guys think?
Response to a Classmate's Jounal, Week 9
This response comes from Brian's journal:
I share Zac's concern with students, and I could see how many students fall through the crack. In high school, I was unmotivated by school, but I knew that I had to work hard to get into college. I was a B+ student that turned in work, but always the bare minimum. Now, that trend has plagued me somewhat, because I run into "myself" in the students I teach. The problem is that many of them aren't even willing to do the bare minimum. I struggle with the same things of motivation, and "going to college" doesn't seem like much of a motivator. Which is surprising, since many of the students say they want to go to college? We have a new generation of students that expect everything to handed to them, and I don't blame them for some of the disturbing trends I see in education.
I share Zac's concern with students, and I could see how many students fall through the crack. In high school, I was unmotivated by school, but I knew that I had to work hard to get into college. I was a B+ student that turned in work, but always the bare minimum. Now, that trend has plagued me somewhat, because I run into "myself" in the students I teach. The problem is that many of them aren't even willing to do the bare minimum. I struggle with the same things of motivation, and "going to college" doesn't seem like much of a motivator. Which is surprising, since many of the students say they want to go to college? We have a new generation of students that expect everything to handed to them, and I don't blame them for some of the disturbing trends I see in education.
Free Write, Week 9
This free write is made up of things I observed while I had to give the PSAT in a math classroom. I thought it would be an interesting exercise.
Geometry Bugs
Odd numbers and symbols decorate
the geometry classroom. Sponge bob
on graph paper looks past my
inadequacies as a teacher, and as a
person. Fundamental segments of life
displayed, once forgotten as Algebra
takes hold. Spray-painted Styrofoam jumps
off the wall on unsuspecting prey.
Division amongst trusting ninjas give way
to the misery of math. The zebra-beetle
laughs and looks forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Geometry Bugs
Odd numbers and symbols decorate
the geometry classroom. Sponge bob
on graph paper looks past my
inadequacies as a teacher, and as a
person. Fundamental segments of life
displayed, once forgotten as Algebra
takes hold. Spray-painted Styrofoam jumps
off the wall on unsuspecting prey.
Division amongst trusting ninjas give way
to the misery of math. The zebra-beetle
laughs and looks forward to seeing you tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sign Inventory, Week 8
The Man on the Hotel Room Bed
*The narration shifts from the description of the man's condition, but quickly moves into observation.
*There is a lack of light in this poem, because darkness always prevails over the night.
*Objects that are missing things such as depressions in the pillow like our subject is missing somebody.
*The idea that our subject doesn't sleep, but moves as little as possible for sleep. There could be a connection in the images he sees.
*The use of mathematics to calculate things as fear and desire.
*The fact that the man has turned away from religion in contrast with the dark and sleeplessness.
*The use of religious imagery of praying and the contrast between traditional religious beliefs.
*The fact that man has to lie along and not be abandoned. This is intriguing idea because being alone is in contrast with being abandoned.
*Another sign deals with the fact the man lies in a hotel room. He doesn't want to be abandoned, but yet goes to place that has little human connection.
*Dealing with his mom and dad and how they were different could be an area to focus on since he dad was not always ready.
*The narration shifts from the description of the man's condition, but quickly moves into observation.
*There is a lack of light in this poem, because darkness always prevails over the night.
*Objects that are missing things such as depressions in the pillow like our subject is missing somebody.
*The idea that our subject doesn't sleep, but moves as little as possible for sleep. There could be a connection in the images he sees.
*The use of mathematics to calculate things as fear and desire.
*The fact that the man has turned away from religion in contrast with the dark and sleeplessness.
*The use of religious imagery of praying and the contrast between traditional religious beliefs.
*The fact that man has to lie along and not be abandoned. This is intriguing idea because being alone is in contrast with being abandoned.
*Another sign deals with the fact the man lies in a hotel room. He doesn't want to be abandoned, but yet goes to place that has little human connection.
*Dealing with his mom and dad and how they were different could be an area to focus on since he dad was not always ready.
Free Write, Week 8
Reality or Lack There Of
For 180 days blank memory march
upon the day. Told how to talk,
walk and even think. Pythagoras
rolls over in his grave as
2+2 is forgotten on the lips of
the next generation.
Stories told long ago, fade as the ink
is no longer powerful as 184-bits
of Modern Warfare's board in Afghan.
Now, now, now is the cry of
the restless pawns striking out for themselves.
Focused learning is taught, but
what is learned? 2+2 still equals 4,
yet this is questioned as irrelevant
dribble from people that fail understand
the greatness found in Air Jordan's.
For 180 days blank memory march
upon the day. Told how to talk,
walk and even think. Pythagoras
rolls over in his grave as
2+2 is forgotten on the lips of
the next generation.
Stories told long ago, fade as the ink
is no longer powerful as 184-bits
of Modern Warfare's board in Afghan.
Now, now, now is the cry of
the restless pawns striking out for themselves.
Focused learning is taught, but
what is learned? 2+2 still equals 4,
yet this is questioned as irrelevant
dribble from people that fail understand
the greatness found in Air Jordan's.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Improv, Week 8
Goodnight, Brooks
So, you left your glove in the clubhouse.
Pink slips, you kept dodging for years,
will creep up once again in the spring barking
at every misstep.
Goodnight, Brooks.
So, you left your glove in the clubhouse.
Pink slips, you kept dodging for years,
will creep up once again in the spring barking
at every misstep.
Goodnight, Brooks.
Response to Classmate's Journal, Week 8
This comes from Jeff's journal this week:
Jeff,
This is one area where your job really has some advantages over some of the other spots in a school. I think it's important to let students have an outlet for their creative ideas, and having them write and preform a skit is something that many students probably want to try their hand at sometime.
I was thinking about areas where English teachers can do the same kind of things. I think there should be some kind of partnership between the arts and academics, so some students might be able to get their work showcased in new arenas. This is something that could encourage students to participate more in creative areas, while trying out new things at the schools. Good job and keep up the work.
We worked this week on writing and improvisation for skits in class. I used the technique of creative erasure that we worked on the first day of class. Each group has a skit and each member had to find something trite or repetitive and erase that and revise. That in combination with Hugo's idea of the triggering town for specifics on setting and other calisthenics, junkyrading and skiving are producing some very interesting skits this year.
My goal is to have the best two skits from each class perform at Drama Night this year. This class has been very encouraging where implementing writing into the Drama curriculum is concerned. Before taking this class I never managed to help students produce something they felt ready to share with an evening audience. Generally speaking they had given up on skit writing by this time and moved on to performing published pieces. I am certain the students are getting more out of the class this year, and certainly it is helping to improve their writing skills.
In addition to the skits, I am thinking of incorporating poetry reading with the usual dramatic monologues this year for Drama night. I hope that the majority or entirety of this work will be student produced.
In the meanwhile Drama Club is trying to find a way to showcase some of this work earlier on certain mornings while the students wait to enter the school building.
Jeff,
This is one area where your job really has some advantages over some of the other spots in a school. I think it's important to let students have an outlet for their creative ideas, and having them write and preform a skit is something that many students probably want to try their hand at sometime.
I was thinking about areas where English teachers can do the same kind of things. I think there should be some kind of partnership between the arts and academics, so some students might be able to get their work showcased in new arenas. This is something that could encourage students to participate more in creative areas, while trying out new things at the schools. Good job and keep up the work.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Junkyard Quotes 1-4, Week 8
Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian.
Cricket is basically baseball on valium.
I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture.
Bob Uecker
If I walked back into the booth in the year 2025, I don't think it would have changed much. I think baseball would be played and managed pretty much the same as it is today. It's a great survivor.
Ernie Harwell
I'm looking at a couple interesting ideas for a trigger on baseball. We'll see where it goes.
Cricket is basically baseball on valium.
I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture.
Bob Uecker
If I walked back into the booth in the year 2025, I don't think it would have changed much. I think baseball would be played and managed pretty much the same as it is today. It's a great survivor.
Ernie Harwell
I'm looking at a couple interesting ideas for a trigger on baseball. We'll see where it goes.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Calisthenics, Week 8
Curley's Wife Talks of Loneliness
Bindle stiffs gawk at feathers in shoes
and curves up soft sausage hair.
Only mentions to rabbit farmers
keep my day from fading
as picture dreams finish like the end of
Saturday's matinee.
Marriage's promise of love and companionship
is only as good as this week's
welter-weight challenge at the Dance Hall.
Bindle stiffs gawk at feathers in shoes
and curves up soft sausage hair.
Only mentions to rabbit farmers
keep my day from fading
as picture dreams finish like the end of
Saturday's matinee.
Marriage's promise of love and companionship
is only as good as this week's
welter-weight challenge at the Dance Hall.
Pedagogy Forum, Week 8
Studying a novel this week, I was finding it hard to get poetry involved in my lesson plans until today. We started with a simple task of writing a defining poem in the voice of a character in the book. This worked on a few levels, because it required the students to look at the point of view of that character and see what they might think about different subjects. Today we started very basic, but we are going to work on these poems to make them stronger after they get the first idea down on paper. This also works as a review, because they have to take things from the novel to justify their choices in the poem. I know it is not exactly what we have been working on, but it is a another chance for students to be creative.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Sign Inventory, Week 7
In Response to a Rumor That the Oldest Whorehouse in Wheeling, West Virginia, Has Been Condemned
I will grieve alone,
As I strolled alone, years ago, down along
The Ohio shore.
I hid in the hobo jungle weeds
Upstream from the sewer main,
Pondering, gazing.
I saw, down river,
At Twenty-third and Water Streets
By the vinegar works,
The doors open in early evening.
Swinging their purses, the women
Poured down the long street to the river
And into the river.
I do not know how it was
They could drown every evening.
What time near dawn did they climb up the other shore,
Drying their wings?
For the river at Wheeling, West Virginia,
Has only two shores:
The one in hell, the other
In Bridgeport, Ohio.
And nobody would commit suicide, only
To find beyond death
Bridgeport, Ohio.
James Wright
*It's an interesting idea that one man would grive alone for a whorehouse as stated in line 1.
*Quickly the poem moves into a flashback to an earlier time.
*Equating sex with drowning could be further studied.
*There is a representation of duality as the "women" climb up the other shore after they leave.
*There are only reference to people that are not postive members of society, prostitues and hobos as examples.
*The fact that the two shores are hell and Bridgeport, Ohio is interesting, because neither seems that appealing.
*The use of death and hell in relation to living is striking.
*The speaker is always looking on the scene, but is never a active member of the narrative.
*Women are the only people singled out. The hobo's are hiding in the weeds, while factory workers are never really named.
*The title stands out, because the whorehouse is only closing as a rumor.
I will grieve alone,
As I strolled alone, years ago, down along
The Ohio shore.
I hid in the hobo jungle weeds
Upstream from the sewer main,
Pondering, gazing.
I saw, down river,
At Twenty-third and Water Streets
By the vinegar works,
The doors open in early evening.
Swinging their purses, the women
Poured down the long street to the river
And into the river.
I do not know how it was
They could drown every evening.
What time near dawn did they climb up the other shore,
Drying their wings?
For the river at Wheeling, West Virginia,
Has only two shores:
The one in hell, the other
In Bridgeport, Ohio.
And nobody would commit suicide, only
To find beyond death
Bridgeport, Ohio.
James Wright
*It's an interesting idea that one man would grive alone for a whorehouse as stated in line 1.
*Quickly the poem moves into a flashback to an earlier time.
*Equating sex with drowning could be further studied.
*There is a representation of duality as the "women" climb up the other shore after they leave.
*There are only reference to people that are not postive members of society, prostitues and hobos as examples.
*The fact that the two shores are hell and Bridgeport, Ohio is interesting, because neither seems that appealing.
*The use of death and hell in relation to living is striking.
*The speaker is always looking on the scene, but is never a active member of the narrative.
*Women are the only people singled out. The hobo's are hiding in the weeds, while factory workers are never really named.
*The title stands out, because the whorehouse is only closing as a rumor.
Improv, Week 7
The Mad Hatter
Blessed with talent and ablility
to crush opponents: the clock always
impeeds this ragged man. Hoards of purple
and gold surround each Saturday with
hope that time is not a factor.
Yet, each passing second the throngs
of reverlers brace for horrors unknown
and stories never to be spoken. New pawns, but
similar results lead to conclusions
that the "Hatter" is in charge.
Practice, Practice, Practice is
promised, only JJ fails to see things that
tick, tick, tick. T-Bob rescuses the result,
yet the masses weep still over
the place where, "Les Miles Happens."
Blessed with talent and ablility
to crush opponents: the clock always
impeeds this ragged man. Hoards of purple
and gold surround each Saturday with
hope that time is not a factor.
Yet, each passing second the throngs
of reverlers brace for horrors unknown
and stories never to be spoken. New pawns, but
similar results lead to conclusions
that the "Hatter" is in charge.
Practice, Practice, Practice is
promised, only JJ fails to see things that
tick, tick, tick. T-Bob rescuses the result,
yet the masses weep still over
the place where, "Les Miles Happens."
Free Write, Week 7
Furniture Shopping at Macy's
Spattered ketchup dots a broken food court
like a massacre Angry consumers storm
the Chick-fil-a for free
milk shakes. Wrappers lay
destroyed as the after work crowd waltzes inside.
Young terriers pester the AARP as they walk off the
latest 2 for 1 at Applebee'. Coupon cutters pinch
bottom lines to stop shrill sounds of red numbers at home.
Awake fights sleep as tomorrow brings the
latest "best price of the season." All trying to convince
the next generation they more style this season.
Spattered ketchup dots a broken food court
like a massacre Angry consumers storm
the Chick-fil-a for free
milk shakes. Wrappers lay
destroyed as the after work crowd waltzes inside.
Young terriers pester the AARP as they walk off the
latest 2 for 1 at Applebee'. Coupon cutters pinch
bottom lines to stop shrill sounds of red numbers at home.
Awake fights sleep as tomorrow brings the
latest "best price of the season." All trying to convince
the next generation they more style this season.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Junkyard Quote 4, Week 7
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
Junkyard Quotes 3, Week 7
"Few things are harder to put up with than a good example."
- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
- Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Pedagogy Forum, Week 7
One of the aspects of creative writing I'm struggling with the most is the time spent in the classroom working on it. Block scheduling does have some advantages, because we have 90 minutes a class. On the other hand, we have so much material to cover in a semester along with all the standards that are on the American Literature EOCT. Right now, I'm doing it about once a week, but I'm not sure if that is enough. It's hard to balance the two things with all the other writing that we have to do. Does anybody else feel the same way? It's just something that I'm struggling with right now.
Response to Classmate's Journal, Week 7
This comes from Randie:
That is an interesting take on mentoring, and something I've struggled with in the writing process. Being a journalist for many years has been a struggle as I transitioned back into graduate school. My writing style has been straight forward for years, and it's a hard habit to break. Working with writers that have different strengths can be very helpful, but it is something that very painstaking. Writers have to be willing to change their style, but it is an important step in the writing process.
After helping mentor a genre poetry class with editing and finding their signs, I found that adjusting to different people and different writing styles becomes an important aspect to teaching a writing intensive course. What helped the most with working each student, I believe, was opening the dialogue with the poem they are working on to find a specific element in the poem through such dialogue. Helping the students was quite similar to how we have discussed sign inventories in class, yet at, perhaps, a different level and perspective as many of the students were new to studying and understanding poetry. The signs I discussed with the students varied as some often jumped to interpretation while others named more than one sign to work with so I was then able to focus on several ways of approaching the mentoring process.
That is an interesting take on mentoring, and something I've struggled with in the writing process. Being a journalist for many years has been a struggle as I transitioned back into graduate school. My writing style has been straight forward for years, and it's a hard habit to break. Working with writers that have different strengths can be very helpful, but it is something that very painstaking. Writers have to be willing to change their style, but it is an important step in the writing process.
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