Questions for you

The areas where we could use some help are in our transitions between questions and what music to have playing. We plan on having a yellow legal pad that we write the next question on with differing locations in the background. Can you suggest some creative locations for the backgrounds and some songs? To get an idea of what we are doing, look at my previous blog entry.

Semester Project Draft

Our group, Ryan Thorpe, Kasey Ozymy, and Eric Warner, wondered why there are not more videos in the Take 20 style that focus on other English curriculums. We decided to make one that focuses on creative writing. This video is designed for teachers and students of English. Our intention is to provide instruction into the act of teaching and learning creative writing for beginning instructors. We decided to use the Take 20 video as a template from which to create our own version, with a few additions reflective of our personalities.

We are interviewing professors and graduate students/teachers to illustrate the methods and strategies they have used in the past. The questions we have and are asking are included in the outline below. At this time we are still arranging interviews with professors and instructors who have previously taught creative writing classes. We are attempting to cover several areas including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

We feel that beginning creative writing instructors will benefit from this video because it will present new and/or different strategies that they could employ. Additionally, it will allow beginning instructors (those that feel this way) to realize that they are not alone. Others have had similar experiences of excitement and anxiety upon entering the arena of teaching creative writing. It is our hope that this video we be provided to all beginning creative writing instructors at Texas Tech University.



Outline

1) Introduction:
- Title
- Directors/Editors/Compilers
- Possible music during intro

2) Interviews:
- Transitions entail video of a legal pad of paper in differing locations with a hand writing out the questions.
- Possible music during transitions
- Questions asked:

1) What was your first day of teaching like?
2) Why did you decide to teach writing?
3) What is the goal of your writing class?
4) If students could only read one story, what would it be?
5) What is the goal of workshop?
6) What did you wish you had known when you’d started?
7) What is your favorite writing prompt?
8) What do you think beginning writers fail to understand?
9) How do you evaluate student’s writing?
10) What do you hope your students gain out of your class?

- Video will switch between interviewees to help reinforce points made.

3) Conclusion:
- Credits/Acknowledgements
- Possible gag reel
- Possible music during credits

The Observation of Everday Activities

It was amazing. I was sitting at a coffee shop when a West Texas Free Range Hippopotamus walked in. He ordered double decaf half-caf with four shots of espresso and a dash of cinnamon. I thought wow, why decaf? The hippo, I named him Karl, paid with a credit card. It struck me as odd that a West Texas Free Range Hippo would have a credit card. As Karl left, a Russian satellite crashed on top of him. What are the odds of that?! The most amazing thing, Karl did not spill his coffee! Unfortunately, he was dead. So I got a free double decaf half-caf with four shots of espresso and a dash of cinnamon! Awesome!

Okay, I might have exaggerated a bit. I did, in fact, go to a coffee shop. There were several people there. I did name them all Karl. Karl 1 was man in a suit who appeared to be drinking some frozen/blended coffee drink. He was talking on two cell phones each with a Bluetooth headset. He kept switching between calls. It was quite amusing to watch. He would be carrying on a conversation with one person then have to switch to another call on the other phone. He was very busy with some kind of real estate deal. I could not help but think, “I am glad I am not that guy.” I do not need to look more ridiculous than I already do. There were what appeared to be three college students using laptop computers. The first, Karl 2, a brunette woman in shorts and a t-shirt was on myspace.com responding to messages. The second, Karl 3, a black haired guy in cargo pants with numerous strategically placed holes and a t-shirt seemed to writing a paper. The third, Karl 4, was a blonde woman in calf length pants and some kind of shirt with thin shoulder straps. I could not position myself to see what she was working on. What struck me was the number of people who had laptops. Ten years ago, in a similar venue, you would not see the same distribution of technology. The other aspect that I found intriguing was the lack of communication between the patrons of the establishment. Everyone was absorbed in their own worlds. They did not even notice that I had entered and was observing them. Perhaps they did not want to make eye contact, or maybe they were distracted by Karl 1’s strange conversation. It was difficult not to eavesdrop. Apparently, Karl 1 was having difficulties obtaining a permit due to zoning issues. They had to halt construction until the permit was approved and it was costing the company $20,000 a day! I would be concerned as well. After an hour of the this, I decided to leave as nothing new had occurred.

Thoughts on Voice

The key to using “voice” in an academic setting is to apply it to your individual style of writing. The difficulty is finding your voice or style as it applies to writing. Many teachers/instructors have never found their voice/style. As a result how can they teach their students how to find it? We often discuss how it is essential that students practice reading and writing to improve their skills. We never mention that this should apply to teachers as well. I think voice/style is incredibly important. Voice separates us as individuals. It allows for our personality to come through in our writing. If used properly, an author’s voice/style can be a very potent and engaging quality in a text. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true. Poor use of voice/style can turn a reader away. Finding your own voice/style is not easy. The best way to find it is to read and write. It’s that simple. As teachers, it will be up to us to guide the students to their own voices/styles.

Get out the cattle prod!

Teaching is the act of educating others. A teacher helps to instill knowledge and skills in their students. Teachers are some of the most valuable members of society. They promote growth and understanding. Teachers allow for students to explore new ideas and ways of thinking. They have an incredible influence on society, whether for better or worse. Think of all the teachers who have made a difference in your life. How did they accomplish this? How did they motivate and/or inspire you? For me, the most influential teachers pushed, prodded, and dragged me to produce my best work. I wanted to make them proud of my work, so I did my best. That is the kind of teacher I want to be, the kind of teacher that students do not want to disappoint.

What comes after this?

What puzzles me? Hmm…puzzles puzzle me, does that count? Also, how do they get the cream filling in pastries like Ding-dongs and Twinkies? That bugs the crap out of me!

Okay, attempting to be serious. I am curious how do we apply the lessons we learn using TOPIC/ICON at a university that does not use a similar system? I mean not all of us will be attending and/or teaching at large colleges. So how do we apply the skills/knowledge from a mass grading system to the more traditional grading system of smaller colleges? Also, how does an instructor maintain quality grading comments when the student submissions are abysmal? I find that I dread grading because the students’ work is so bad that it is depressing. I keep thinking, oh crap, these are the future leaders of the country!

Is there an end to composition?

I would argue that there is no “end of composition”. Composition is an ongoing process where the achievement of one skill leads to the development of another. There is no finish line, only the next skill to learn. The most important skill for students to learn is the art of expressing themselves, or to find their voice. Self expression forms the basis from which all other composition skills are derived. The next is to teach students the proper uses of grammar and syntax. Also, to inform them of the other applications to which they can use the skills developed in freshman composition courses. The method that instructors should use to develop students writing abilities is practice. We should have the students practice various types of writing. Another important method is quality feedback on their writing. Students benefit from constructive criticism. Lastly, a positive environment is crucial to the students’ development of good writing skills. The classroom should be open and engaging. Any lesson plan should accommodate these methods.