OK, so enough of that… So, my lesson plan is going well. I am having some trouble really getting into gear. I am hoping to have everything clear up (as far as questions go,,) by the end of the class session today. I know that there is no specific page requirements on any of the sections, but I am still wondering if mine is sufficient.

Also, I feel like I am going to be repeating myself, especially between the background section and the theory and research (formal writing portion)? Also, for the formal writing portion… who is my audience? Caroline?

I just really want to do well on this project, so I am trying to ask all the questions I have…

Oh, also I see on our class blog we have one requirement for the formal writing assignment part… should I copy and paste that format  in my document  and fill it in? Or should I put the responses in paragraph form?

SO FAR everything is going really well, I am having trouble getting into the heart of the project and I am a little confused about each section, but hopefully by having these questions answered and our class session today and Thursday I should have all my stuff together.

I am really looking forward to the final product! AND for my SIX finals to be done

After my class presentation and seeing what my peers are doing I think I have a better understanding of what I need to accomplish in the next week. (AH!) I have started writing the introduction and I have obvious completed the lesson plan worksheet. Although, by the end of the final project I might end up changing some of the concepts described in the worksheet.

Questions:

In class we have talked a little bit about the academic content standards, and to be honest… (since this is basically my first education class) I have never really heard of them before? I am guessing it is a set of criteria… but what exactly do we do with that?

Also, is this project being submitted in email form? In one document?

So far I think I am doing well! I’m sure I’ll have more questions for the next blog!

I picked out a couple quotes from the reading and I just wanted to comment on them:

“Freewriting is intended to be truly free. There are no rules because there is no reader; it doesn’t even necessarily need to make sense. It is a way for the writer to get at what he truly feel, to generate ideas that are his alone, to explore- or to find- his own words (his voice) on paper without risk.”—- This quote really struck a chord with me. I really value the time when I can freewrite in my journal. If someone else decided to read it, which I hope they never do, I don’t think they would understand much of it at all. I also agree that it is a great safe space for a writer to find their voice, although, I would never write on a school paper like i do in my journal.

“Your authentic voice is that authorial voice that sets you apart from every living human being despite the number of common or shared experiences you have with many others: It is not a copy of someone else’s way of speaking or perceiving the world.”—- Yes, I agree that this is true. I do have trouble finding what is different about my “voice” than other peoples writing. It is something that I am exploring a little more, and this class has sparked that further investigation.

“changes include emphasis on the writing process and on collaborative work…and reduction of teachers authority…”—- I think that these changes that have emerged with the voice movement were crucial to our society. The value of a writing process is so important to a writer and with out it, many of us would be lost. The new ways of working with other students to come up with new and interesting ideas is absolutely necessary for creative growth in todays world. I couldn’t imagine not asking others for advice, suggestions, or opinions.

After reading the article, I looked at some of the discussion questions and decided to comment/answer a couple:

1. (PART ONE) I think that I most definitely adjust my voice more for speaking occasions rather than writing occasions. I find myself doing this whether I am talking to my sister, a friend, my mom, my boss, or a professor. I automatically censor my word choice and tone of voice used when speaking. I asked a couple of my peers the same questions and they all answered that same as me. I think that we might notice the way we speak more than we write and this is why our answers are identical.

2. DICTION- If I am writing something that is formal I usually use a set template on a computer and used very proper English with words and phrase like, “one would think…” and etc. SENTENCING- I think for a paper or piece of work to be “good” there needs to be a mix of sentences. A paper full of long complex sentences would be terribly boring and hard to read, in my opinion.

I think the subject of voice and discovery is very interesting and I am looking forward to learning more about it in class discussion on Tuesday.

After interviewing her, I realized that she is a lot more organized and clean in her writing process than in our room. She has a set way of completing a paper. She like to have a set plan with different ideas and options. She likes to make an outline and write out main points she hopes o focus on in her paper. She does all of this in pen. Then she takes it to the computer. One of the main things we talked about was how the assigned paper really determines how she approaches a paper. She works with research projects differently than an essay or more creative type of writing.

I have always considered my roommate to be a good writer. We have been in a couple classes together and she has always gotten good grades on her papers. She really enjoys writing… a lot. I found it interesting to find out that she didn’t keep any form of a journal or notebook and that she claimed she’d never try. She actually said she might attempt if after our interview. Her favorite part about writing is the opportunity to be creative.

I briefly skimmed her text that I will be analyzing and then conducted my interview. Next, I will read through her paper in great detail and come up with some follow up interview questions.

I think this will turn out really cool. Our topics of conversation usually do not consist of writing processes but I think it will be neat to take a closer look at her as a writer.

It is important to look at different ways for people to being writing, rather than to just give a set way or method of doing things. This usually distracts and discourages the writer. I feel that it is important to think about ideas prior to actually writing a paper, but different ways work for different people and I think that should be something that is implemented into the classroom.

Then I thought that might be a bit much…

Just in my own experience I have had so many different interactions with many people throughout elementary, middle, high school, and college. So, after thinking about this a bit more, I have decided to focus my autoethnography on middle school children and their love lives. A very hard hitting topic, I know from experience.

Just thinking of all the stupid notes my friends and I would pass to each other makes me laugh. Just thinking about how my whole day usually revolved around my friends and who they were “going out with” or my own “boyfriend”. Oh… why? (I ask myself now..)

I have a two little sisters, and being the oldest I can see that this whole process hasn’t changed a bit! Except now, instead of scribbling down a note the kids text each other NONSTOP. My twelve year old sister has racked up over 1000 text messages in only a little over a month. That is nuts.

The middle school children show their affection in very weird ways. I remember the boy I liked in 5th grade, Frank Saraniti (who is now my best guy friend), pulled my chair out from under me in science class. He supposedly liked me. I guess I am no better because the next week, I returned the favor and pulled his chair out from under him. I really liked him

Nowadays I see my sisters texting away and I can’t help but look at their inbox from time to time. Here is what I find:

“Hey”

“Hey”

“Wuz up?”

“nuthin, you”

“n2m, just chillin”

“cool”

My heart just skipped a beat. How cute….. (Insert scoff here).But the thing is, I can’t even be cynical because I had that exact same conversation and loved every minute of it.

I think it will be pretty cool to take a deeper look into the romantic lives of middle school children today and reflect on my own experience. I am sure I can dig up some old love notes that were slipped into my locker!

Oh… that will be interesting…

The part of Booth’s article he gives the different synonyms I found to be pretty cool. I liked it mostly because when reading each of those words, I could see how one might think that is what rhetoric means. Which, again confirms to me personally that rhetoric is and can be everything.

The way that Booth went on to talk about the different kinds of reality and how that some cannot be changed, some are definitely up for change, and how others are changeable but still not created by rhetoric. I think it was nice to see that explained because there are certain things that rhetoric and easily affect and others that will never see any changes because of rhetoric.

After learning about rhetoric and what it actually means, I think it is a good idea to keep everyones different ideas about what is actually is and to compile those into a bank of “rhetoric” that can be used for any situation.

To be honest I had no idea what this class was even about, but I just had to sign up for it as a requirement for my major (which I was still very unsure on) and after having a few class sessions I have grown more interested in my major (middle childhood education with focus in language arts and history). I knew that I always had an interest in history, but writing and language arts was a different story.

In this class I have realized the importance of writing, forgetting all of the so-called “important stuff” and just getting your thoughts out on paper. I can see now that in the future this is how I would also want my students to feel. That is is just important to write.

I really like the ways we discuss future class scenarios and strategies to be used in the classroom. I have never really thought about the importance of sharing your work with your students, because it is very true that students rarely see a writing teachers writing pieces.

I feel that this class is going to be a very beneficial tool for the future. I know that it has already helped me become more secure with my decision in my major, and with myself as a writer.

I am a lot like the first student described in Wyche’s article. We are similar in the way that we both schedule out our week. This is definitely a ritual of mine. I have my planner, which I write down everything I need to do for that specific class, and then I put an open green circle, and when I finally accomplish the task I put a green check mark in the circle. I also use the same pen for writing in my planner. Another way Adriana and I are alike is the way we both have the television on when doing work. It depends on what kind of mood I am in and I can usually tune out the sound and that in turn helps me focus better on my own work. But at other times I am just not excited about the homework and I get sucked into watching whatever program may be on tv. 

I have noticed that whenever I am trying to do homework I have to make my mind stay on task, which sometimes leads me even more off task. My thoughts always turn to what is stressing me out or bothering me at that time. When this occurs, like Adriana, I just sit and stare into space or at my paper not knowing where or what to do next.

I am a big procrastinator. I have this in common with all three of the interviewees. This is not a quality I like about myself. I do feel that I work well under pressure, but I guess that is all I have ever known. 

There are somethings I have been doing already this year to help my thinking and creative strategies. I have begun to carry around a small little Mead notebook. In this notebook I jot down things I need to get done, ideas, things I need to buy, books to check out, and many other things that pop into my head throughout the day. I have also tried out some different locations to do my homework. I went to the library to read Wyche’s article and found that it was just too quite of an atmosphere for me, so I went up to Kofenya. I found that I really enjoyed the warm atmosphere and the low roar of voices and sounds. I know that I will definitely be returning there to do a lot of my assignments this year.

I think it is really important to examine  and reflect on the ways we complete our best and worst work, so that we can adjust our strategies to enable us to create the best possible outcomes. I know that I will think about how I do things in the future from reading this article. It came at a perfect time!