Though I haven't enjoyed every reading we've done for class, I think it's good that I've gotten a chance to read about so many different approaches to teaching. Do I think the theories are useful? Sure. If nothing else, being familiar with an assortment of teaching approaches gives one a bigger bag of tricks to try on a class. Are they necessarily important? Ehhh...

Teaching style, like any form of self expression, should be a personal thing. I don't think you need to know a theory to find that style, it should come naturally, over time. That said, if you're having trouble finding your feet, a skeleton to work with certainly could help you get started...I think the fence is where I'll sit on this one.

Once you HAVE found a teaching style you like (which can certainly change from class to class), I don't think staying up to date on teaching theory is vital. If you know the material you're teaching, you should be able to convey it to your students in an effective manner, without the assistance of some new-fangled theory.

So, in sum- theories are important for new teachers to know, unless they have a naturally developed teaching style. They're unimportant for experienced teachers to know, unless they enjoy staying up to date. I do love the fence.

Golsan Out

Process This

My writing process isn't something one should emulate. While at times effective, it's fueled by pervasive fear of failure and heavy doses of insecurity. "This sucks, why bother? Get a job..." tends to be the internal rumbling while I type away. As far as the process, it's a disorganized, variable thing. I pre-write (when I'm doing creative stuff) on a dry erase board next to my desk, and periodically in a notebook I carry around, although really, the latter occurs because I think carrying around a nifty little notebook and scrawling in it is a very writerly thing to do. Sometimes beer helps, sometimes it doesn't...I don't know. I believe much more strongly in environment control than process.

You need to be comfortable where you are to write effectively. Find out what's most conducive to focusing on what you're doing as far as location, noise level, etc. I need pretty much total silence to write; if there's a TV or a radio on, I can't do it. I also like to sit back in a soft chair and wear only boxers when possible. Tragically, this limits the amount of writing I can do in libraries in coffee shops.

I don't think process is something you need to TEACH to students, but it's definitely something they should be encouraged to find on their own. Writing can be such a lonely, boring thing if you're not into what you're writing about. If you have a process that makes the ordeal more efficient, things become more bearable. If you wanted to work process exercises into class, I suppose you could do something similar to the voice exercises we discussed about. Hand the kids a sheet of paper, say "Go anywhere you want, do anything you want, and give me a paragraph on topic X by the end of the hour," and watch them go to work. It won't be instantaneous, but it might help students find what works.

If you do find a process, stick to it. I feel like this blog is a little disjointed, and I think it's because I wrote it with the TV on in the background.

Voice cannot be directly taught. You can make suggestions as to what might aid one in finding a voice in their writing, but it has to be manufactured internally. To take the time to manufacture or perfect anything, you have to give a damn. The problem I had with all the exercises laid out in the Elbow piece regarding development of voice is that they're all contingent on a student caring enough to practice. When I was a freshman in college, I cared about beer, sex, and video games, with order of importance depending on the day. I don't feel this is an uncommon set of passions for an 18 year-old male (or a 24 year-old one, for that matter). How do you make that guy care about his writing voice?

The only answer I can think of is to let these kids play to their passions as often as possible, no matter what those passions are. Make the classroom comfortable. Convey to them that they won't get in trouble if they write, say, a persuasive piece entitled "Why A Guy/Girl Should Sleep With Me", if that's all they care about. If you've got a socially conscious kid in the group, let them write about about why we should save...something. What's trendy these days? I was about to say "whales", or "rain forests", but the reference felt disturbingly dated. It would be upsetting to be that far out of touch.

I do agree with Elbow in that I think voice is born of passion/motivation. If you can't get a kid to find his voice on something he's passionate about (with the extra motivation of writing for a grade), there's no hope. You don't need voice on a TPS report, anyway.

-Golsan Out

The Big Teach

It's fair to say that "Take 20" had little affect on me. It's not that I had anything against the film, it was interesting to see so many veterans of the field packed in together, offering insight, but...I don't know. Am I allowed to admit in a teaching class that teaching isn't precisely my post graduate goal?

If teaching and academia are where I end up, I'd be fine with that. You could do FAR worse than teaching (I, in fact, have done far worse, many times), but I want to be a writer. Novels, movies, video games- I don't care as long as I can throw words on a page that entertain people. Breaking into any of those brands of writing is a long shot, but improving my shot at them is why I'm here. To watch "Take 20" was to observe a passion that isn't mine.

Don't get the wrong idea, I still plan to work hard for my students while I'm here in school. Their growth as writers reflects on me as an instructor, and frankly, I've got an ego to feed. It is important to me that I do well by them. That said, I don't see myself getting terribly worked up about what I'm going to wear to class, how I'm going to conduct myself with students, etc. The best teachers/professors I've had have always been the ones who were professional, informative, and supportive. If I can play it relatively close to those standards, I think I'll be ok...said the potentially naive graduate student.

-Golsan Out

180

I fear for potential error in my execution of this prompt. Should I be saying why we teach first year writing per the readings we've done so far, or can I make up my own answer??? Three question marks' worth of uncertainty is a lot to handle this early in the morning. I'm going to give you my answer. Damn the torpedoes.

We teach first year writing because everyone should be at least coherent on paper. If your work aspirations take you beyond the floor of Lowe's, you're going to have to write SOMETHING, some day, no matter what you're doing professionally. Of course, you could argue that basic writing skills are obtained in high school, and thus a mandatory course for college students is unnecessary, and I might have agreed with you, right up until I started grading freshman assignments. These kids need help. Lots of help.

WHAT we should be teaching, at least at first, are nuts and bolts. The "What is Composition and Why do we Teach it?" article speaks highly of writing ambitiously rather than pursuing perfection on a more rudimentary subject, but you need to learn to use a hammer before you start building a house (does this contradict my first blog? Yes, a little. Whatever). Once we've got the rules drilled into these kids, the next part of the course should be dedicated to organizing their writing. Being clear and direct is vital for both further college writing (in any subject), as well as professional writing. It's possible I'm insulting these kids, but the bulk of them are coming out of the Texas state schools' system, and TAAS/TAKS/whatever the grand assessment it is they're taking these days doesn't teach you to write worth a damn. I know this because I went through the same system.

Once they've got the tools and the frame down, THEN the students should start really working on the jazzy stuff I talked about in the first entry, i.e., developing their own voice, being a fun and exciting writer, etc. The spark of individuality is secondary to learning how to place a comma. Freshman writing in three paragraphs or less, James style.

-Golsan out