tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20080301885691037462024-02-06T18:52:22.764-08:00we buy balloonsbased on a true storyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-90288715928965242382016-03-11T16:14:00.000-08:002016-03-12T06:12:11.709-08:00Out<span style="background-color: white; font-family: garamond, serif; font-size: medium;">Out by Ari Zeiger</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br style="color: black;" /><span style="color: black;">Dad lived about a mile away,</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: medium;">and weekends were our time with him.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black;">Mom would drop us off after cereal and Saturday-morning cartoons,</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: medium;">then reappear sometime before supper on Sunday.<br /><br />It was so many decades ago and I couldn't tell you the last time I was back,<br />though I do remember the hat shop just up the block</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: medium;">and the corner bookstore across the street<br />and that tiny, cramped market with the TV behind the counter<br />set high on a cluttered shelf<br />— how the Tyson fight was on when I walked in,<br />how I paid for my soda and sipped at it slowly,<br />slowly backing my way toward the exit,<br />then pausing by the door, drawing myself in,</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: "garamond" , serif; font-size: medium;">making myself small,<br />squinting through the plexiglass at the brawl in the distance,<br />praying to see the punch the world had tuned in for,<br />praying to witness the blow before the owner took notice and counted me out.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-48302148874405947772016-03-02T15:58:00.002-08:002016-03-03T18:28:16.566-08:00The Red BirdThe red bird outside this window<br />
lands long enough for me to see a fin of feathers on its head.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-32164718992472458802016-03-02T12:35:00.001-08:002016-03-11T10:22:53.237-08:00Walking Toward the BayouWalking toward the bayou for an evening jog,<br />
still blocks a way, when a man,<br />
not too far ahead,<br />
bounds off his porch,<br />
clearing all five steps,<br />
and scrambles toward the street,<br />
hurling a green backpack out before him,<br />
toward the back of the white Chevy,<br />
as he rounds to the driver's door, yanks it open,<br />
and motors away, vanishing amid the dark oaks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-81839442880067893292016-02-29T09:56:00.004-08:002016-02-29T10:44:51.575-08:00Two Poems1.<br />
<br />
What a great word:<br />
eject.<br />
<br />
2.<br />
<br />
Directing traffic<br />
is not a job<br />
in which people tend<br />
to smile.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-30686593347063448992014-06-15T10:02:00.002-07:002014-06-15T10:28:24.371-07:00Freewriting<br />
<br />
FREEWRITING by Peter Elbow <br />
<br />
The most effective way I know to improve your writing is to do freewriting exercises regularly. At least three times a week. They are sometimes called "automatic writing," "babbling," or “jabbering" exercises. The idea is simply to write for ten minutes (later on, perhaps fifteen or twenty). Don't stop for anything. Go quickly without rushing. Never stop to look back, to cross something out, to wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or thought to use, or to think about what you are doing. If you can't think of a word or a spelling, just use a squiggle or else write "I can't think what to say, I can't think what to say" as many times as you want; or repeat the last word you wrote over and over again; or anything else. The only requirement is that you never stop. <br />
<br />
What happens to a freewriting exercise is important. It must be a piece of writing which, even if someone else reads it, doesn't send any ripples back to you. It is like writing something and putting it in a bottle in the sea. Freewritings help you by providing no feedback at all. When I assign one, I invite the writer to let me read it, but also tell him to keep it if he prefers. <br />
<br />
Here is an example of a fairly coherent exercise (sometimes they are very incoherent, which is fine): <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I think I'll write what's on my mind, but the only thing on my mind right now is what to write for ten minutes. I've never done this before and I'm not prepared in any way--the sky is cloudy today, how's that? now I'm afraid I won't be able to think of what to write when I get to the end of the sentence--well, here I am at the end of the sentence--here I am again, again, again, again, at least I'm still writing--Now I ask is there some reason to be happy that I'm still writing--ah yes! Here comes the question again--What am I getting out of this? What point is there in it? It's almost obscene to always ask it but I seem to question everything that way and I was gonna say something else pertaining to that but I got so busy writing down the first part that I forgot what I was leading into. This is kind of fun oh don't stop writing--cars and trucks speeding by somewhere out the window, pens clittering across peoples' papers. The sky is still cloudy--is it symbolic that I should be mentioning it? Huh? I dunno. Maybe I should try colors, blue, red, dirty words--wait a minute--no can't do that, orange, yellow, arm tired, green pink violet magenta lavender red brown black green--now I can't think of any more colors--just about done--relief? maybe. </blockquote>
<br />
Freewriting may seem crazy but actually it makes simple sense. Think of the difference between speaking and writing. Writing has the advantage of permitting more editing. But that's its downfall too. Almost everyone interposes a massive and complicated series of editings between the time the words start to be born into consciousness and when they finally come of the end of the pencil or typewriter onto the page. This is partly because schooling makes us obsessed with the "mistakes" we make in writing. Many people constantly think about spelling and grammar as they try to write. I am always thinking about the awkwardness, wordiness, and general mushiness of my natural verbal product as I try to write down words. <br />
<br />
But it's not just "mistakes" or "bad writing" we edit as we write. We also edit unacceptable thoughts and feelings, as we do in speaking. In writing there is more time to do it so the editing is heavier: when speaking, there's someone right there waiting for a reply and he'll get bored or think we're crazy if we don't come out with something. Most of the time in speaking, we settle for the catch-as-catch-can way in which the words tumble out. In writing, however, there's a chance to try to get them right. But the opportunity to get them right is a terrible burden: you can work for two hours trying to get a paragraph "right" and discover it's not right at all. And then give up.<br />
<br />
Editing, in itself, is not the problem. Editing is usually necessary if we want to end up with something satisfactory. The problem is that editing goes on at the same time as producing. . . .<br />
<br />
The main thing about freewriting is that it is nonediting. It is an exercise in bringing together the process of producing words and putting them down on the page. Practiced regularly, it undoes the ingrained habit of editing at the same time you are trying to produce. It will make writing less blocked because words will come more easily. . . . <br />
<br />
Next time you write, notice how often you stop yourself from writing down something you were going to write down. Or else cross it out after it's been written. "Naturally," you say, "it wasn't any good." But think for a moment about the occasions when you spoke well. Seldom was it because you first got the beginning right. Usually it was a matter of a halting or even a garbled beginning, but you kept going and your speech finally became coherent and even powerful. There is a lesson here for writing: trying to get the beginning just right is a formula for failure--and probably a secret tactic to make yourself give up writing. Make some words, whatever they are, and then grab hold of that line and reel in as hard as you can. Afterwards you can throw away lousy beginnings and make new ones. This is the quickest way to get into good writing. <br />
<br />
The habit of compulsive, premature editing doesn't just make writing hard. It also makes writing dead. Your voice is damped out by all the interruptions, changes, and hesitations between the consciousness and the page. In your natural way of producing words there is a sound, a texture, a rhythm--a voice--which is the main source of power in your writing. I don't know how it works, but this voice is the force that will make a reader listen to you. Maybe you don't like your voice; maybe people have made fun of it. But it's the only voice you've got. It's your only source of power. You better get back into it, no matter what you think of it. If you keep writing in it, it may change into something you like better. But if you abandon it, you'll likely never have a voice and never be heard. <br />
<br />
<i>Taken from Writing Without Teachers.</i> New York: Oxford UP, 1973, 1-7. <br />
Center for Learning, Teaching, Communication, and Research <br />
Draper 106 CPO 2149 Ext. 3404 <br />
www.berea.edu/cec/cec.html Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-90552334154250079762014-06-15T08:57:00.001-07:002014-06-15T08:57:20.076-07:00Shitty First Drafts<span class="il">Shitty</span> <span class="il">First</span> <span class="il">Drafts</span> by Anne Lamott from her book, <i>Bird by Bird</i><br /><b> </b><br />
<b>In the
following selection, taken from Lamott’s popular book about writing, <i>Bird by Bird</i>
(1994), she argues for the need to let go and write those “<span class="il">shitty</span> <span class="il">first</span>
<span class="il">drafts</span>” that lead to clarity and sometimes brilliance in our second and
third <span class="il">drafts</span>.</b><br />
<br />
Now, practically even better news than
that of short assignments is the idea of <span class="il">shitty</span> <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">drafts</span>. All good
writers write them. This is how they end up with good second <span class="il">drafts</span> and
terrific third <span class="il">drafts</span>. People tend to look at successful writers who are
getting their books published and maybe even doing well financially and
think that they sit down at their desks every morning feeling like a
million dollars, feeling great about who they are and how much talent
they have and what a great story they have to tell; that they take in a
few deep breaths, push back their sleeves, roll their necks a few times
to get all the cricks out, and dive in, typing fully formed passages as
fast as a court reporter. But this is just the fantasy of the
uninitiated. I know some very great writers, writers you love who write
beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them
sits down routinely feeling wildly enthusiastic and confident. Not one
of them writes elegant <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">drafts</span>. All right, one of them does, but we
do not like her very much. We do not think that she has a rich inner
life or that God likes her or can even stand her. (Although when I
mentioned this to my priest friend Tom, he said you can safely assume
you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates
all the same people you do.)<br /><br />Very few writers really know what
they are doing until they've done it. Nor do they go about their
business feeling dewy and thrilled. They do not type a few stiff warm-up
sentences and then find themselves bounding along like huskies across
the snow. One writer I know tells me that he sits down every morning and
says to himself nicely, "It's not like you don't have a choice, because
you do -- you can either type, or kill yourself." We all often feel
like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being
the most natural and fluid. The right words and sentences just do not
come pouring out like ticker tape most of the time. Now, Muriel Spark is
said to have felt that she was taking dictation from God every morning
-- sitting there, one supposes, plugged into a Dictaphone, typing away,
humming. But this is a very hostile and aggressive position. One might
hope for bad things to rain down on a person like this. <br /><br />For me
and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact,
the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really,
really <span class="il">shitty</span> <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">drafts</span>. The <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">draft</span> is the child's <span class="il">draft</span>, where
you let it all pour out and then let it romp all over the place, knowing
that no one is going to see it and that you can shape it later. You
just let this childlike part of you channel whatever voices and visions
come through and onto the page. If one of the characters wants to say,
"Well, so what, Mr. Poopy Pants?," you let her. No one is going to see
it. If the kid wants to get into really sentimental, weepy, emotional
territory, you let him. Just get it all down on paper because there may
be something great in those six crazy pages that you would never have
gotten to by more rational, grown-up means. There may be something in
the very last line of the very last paragraph on page six that you just
love, that is so beautiful or wild that you now know what you're
supposed to be writing about, more or less, or in what direction you
might go -- but there was no way to get to this without <span class="il">first</span> getting
through the <span class="il">first</span> five and a half pages. <br /><br />I used to write food
reviews for California magazine before it folded. (My writing food
reviews had nothing to do with the magazine folding, although every
single review did cause a couple of canceled subscriptions. Some readers
took umbrage at my comparing mounds of vegetable puree with various
ex-presidents' brains.) These reviews always took two days to write.
<span class="il">First</span> I'd go to a restaurant several times with a few opinionated,
articulate friends in tow. I'd sit there writing down everything anyone
said that was at all interesting or funny. Then on the following Monday
I'd sit down at my desk with my notes and try to write the review. Even
after I'd been doing this for years, panic would set in. I'd try to
write a lead, but instead I'd write a couple of dreadful sentences, XX
them out, try again, XX everything out, and then feel despair and worry
settle on my chest like an x-ray apron. It's over, I'd think calmly. I'm
not going to be able to get the magic to work this time. I'm ruined.
I'm through. I'm toast. Maybe, I'd think, I can get my old job back as a
clerk-typist. But probably not. I'd get up and study my teeth in the
mirror for a while. Then I'd stop, remember to breathe, make a few phone
calls, hit the kitchen and chow down. Eventually I'd go back and sit
down at my desk, and sigh for the next ten minutes. Finally I would pick
up my one-inch picture frame, stare into it as if for the answer, and
every time the answer would come: all I had to do was to write a really
<span class="il">shitty</span> <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">draft</span> of, say, the opening paragraph. And no one was going
to see it. <br /><br />So I'd start writing without reining myself in. It
was almost just typing, just making my fingers move. And the writing
would be terrible. I'd write a lead paragraph that was a whole page,
even though the entire review could only be three pages long, and then
I'd start writing up descriptions of the food, one dish at a time, bird
by bird, and the critics would be sitting on my shoulders, commenting
like cartoon characters. They'd be pretending to snore, or rolling
their eyes at my overwrought descriptions, no matter how hard I tried to
tone those descriptions down, no matter how conscious I was of what a
friend said to me gently in my early days of restaurant reviewing.
"Annie," she said, "it is just a piece of chicken. It is just a bit of
cake." <br /><br />But because by then I had been writing for so long, I
would eventually let myself trust the process -- sort of, more or less.
I'd write a <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">draft</span> that was maybe twice as long as it should be,
with a self-indulgent and boring beginning, stupefying descriptions of
the meal, lots of quotes from my black-humored friends that made them
sound more like the Manson girls than food lovers, and no ending to
speak of. The whole thing would be so long and incoherent and hideous
that for the rest of the day I'd obsess about getting creamed by a car
before I could write a decent second <span class="il">draft</span>. I'd worry that people would
read what I'd written and believe that the accident had really been a suicide, that I had panicked because my talent was waning and my mind was shot. <br /><br />The
next day, I'd sit down, go through it all with a colored pen, take out
everything I possibly could, find a new lead somewhere on the second
page, figure out a kicky place to end it, and then write a second <span class="il">draft</span>.
It always turned out fine, sometimes even funny and weird and helpful.
I'd go over it one more time and mail it in. Then, a month later, when
it was time for another review, the whole process would start again,
complete with the fears that people would find my <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">draft</span> before I
could rewrite it.<br /><br />Almost all good writing begins with terrible
<span class="il">first</span> efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something
-- anything -- down on paper. A friend of mine says that the <span class="il">first</span> <span class="il">draft</span>
is the down <span class="il">draft</span> -- you just get it down. The second <span class="il">draft</span> is the up
<span class="il">draft</span> -- you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more
accurately. And the third <span class="il">draft</span> is the dental <span class="il">draft</span>, where you check
every tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God
help us, healthy.<br />
### Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-964471963195169902012-10-12T18:15:00.000-07:002012-10-13T20:21:53.114-07:00eventually everything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5yxwKEISt8Z_mzq3ApM4jpFJNbv5YTMloP5excSQYzXFG_xOLv5_DucKBmvxPzK83Sgz_mw6i3aA6zel_ITo9mVww5zcY1750HGr8SzZ7yws7lDIH3BuftaufMR3zIzqjnxc5keHoQXxg/s1600/Picture+159.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5yxwKEISt8Z_mzq3ApM4jpFJNbv5YTMloP5excSQYzXFG_xOLv5_DucKBmvxPzK83Sgz_mw6i3aA6zel_ITo9mVww5zcY1750HGr8SzZ7yws7lDIH3BuftaufMR3zIzqjnxc5keHoQXxg/s400/Picture+159.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The above Simon Laurie painting ("Still Life with Scraps") changed everything. Give it a look. Make an observation—an observation based on something <i>you</i> find interesting.<br />
<br />
Now let me tell you a story. I love to paint. I love to paint <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://webuyballoons.tumblr.com/">simple pictures on small blocks of wood</a></span>. I'll add a handful of words, then I'm done. A lot of my paintings seem silly—and I hope they are. But they're not ONLY silly. Something about the old fragments of wood, about painting with just a few colors, it all adds up to a kind of whimsical poignancy.<br />
<br />
I also paint because I can't draw. In painting, I've learned how to hide my lack of talent.<br />
<br />
Simply put, I'm afraid of what might happen if people discover I'm a fraud, if they discover I can't draw. But, I mean, <i>so what</i>? There's tons of stuff I can't do, and it bothers me not one whit. Weirder still, I find this to be the case almost universally: your average person is terrified—almost paralyzed—if asked to draw something and share it with others. Why is this? What is it about <i>drawing</i> that elicits such a deep phobia?<br />
<br />
Whatever the answer, the other day I saw the above painting and felt a connection. I loved the simplicity. But there was also an invitation that held my attention, that kept me looking, that told me there was something just about to be revealed. But what? And then it appeared: I loved how flattened—how steamrolled—everything appeared, how so much of what I was seeing felt both geometric and organic. More than anything else, though, I loved how the artist seemed to have <i>owned</i> this perspective, this style—this choice.<br />
<br />
And so the next day, at a meeting, I began to doodle (which I haven't done more than once or twice since high school). Almost without knowing it, I also had decided to <i>own</i> the rendering, to willfully steamroll everything—proper perspective and dimension be damned.<br />
<br />
Below is the sketch I had when the meeting was over.<br />
<br />
It looks like I drew it, but it also looks unlike anything else I've ever done. And thus I'm excited to sketch something in this way again. And, more importantly, I'm not afraid you won't like me anymore because you're now privy to my big bad secret: I'm not a gifted drawer.<br />
<br />
I don't care. I'm not seeking talent. I'm just letting go.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDCGKDZanSDuuS3juSAGLP_QZKA8kMbu4frD-3e9lMrw2_0g-6KPesOeCbmCCoDJ3hyHjlOoJjlLwcMy0hbuGRUUVBYvSfzOZOmFxHVUB38WIaMQvDTQcL7jusD77pNVwhj5PkCuMP0zd/s1600/drawingA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMDCGKDZanSDuuS3juSAGLP_QZKA8kMbu4frD-3e9lMrw2_0g-6KPesOeCbmCCoDJ3hyHjlOoJjlLwcMy0hbuGRUUVBYvSfzOZOmFxHVUB38WIaMQvDTQcL7jusD77pNVwhj5PkCuMP0zd/s400/drawingA.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-1458773222342055852012-10-06T13:48:00.002-07:002012-10-06T16:28:14.764-07:00Do Now<b>Teachers: here's a fun "Do Now" to engage reluctant writers. </b><br />
<br />
***<br />
Look
around. Almost everything you see is made <i>by</i> people <i>for</i> people. The
objects that populate our world are here because they serve some (real
or imagined) human need. Pick something—<i>anything</i>—and write down its name. full stop.<br />
<br />
Next sentence: define and explain your object (give it the ol' 5W's
treatment). See if you can land on some broader connection that you
wouldn't have made were it not for holding forth about your object on
the page. <br />
<br />
EXAMPLE:<br />
<br />
Shoes. Shoes protect your feet. They keep you
comfortable when you have to stand; they soften the blow when you must
run. We wear shoes to keep stuff out. Without shoes, we'd be forced to find the long way around. But with shoes, we can charge right through. With
shoes, we scramble up. Or skip the whole way down.<br />
<br />
Some shoes are just for play and some are just
for work. We have
shoes for underwater and shoes that help us fly. Some we wear to pray. And some we wear in war. We tie and buckle and
strap. We slip and slide and pull.<br />
<br />
If you want to know who I am, just look at my shoes. In the
classroom, they are black and shiny—a penny in each tongue. On the
weekend, I live in sandals. In the morning, slippers. On a jog,
sneakers. The field, cleats. When I<i> </i>change my <i>shoes</i>, I change my <i>me</i>. And sometimes I wear no shoes at all. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-76238866714091790542012-09-30T08:21:00.006-07:002012-09-30T18:35:51.291-07:00LOL<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[0]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[0].[0]">That's my
first reaction to reading</span></span></span></span> <a href="http://m.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/09/how-self-expression-damaged-my-students/262656/">How Self-Expression Damaged My Students</a>.<br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[0]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[0].[0]">The author's premise is both disingenuous and absurd. He thinks (and thus
taught) that process writing is ONLY expressivist. His whole argument, then, is like saying "running" can't be taught</span></span><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[0]">
because he modeled sprinting to his students but they didn't get
faster. I guess nobody every told him that running can serve other ends
besides sprinting.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><br id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[1]" /><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[3]">Si</span></span></span></span></span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[3]">mply
put, process/expressivist (call it what you will) is a MEANS for young
writers to explore their thoughts and ideas. but...BUT (!!!) it doesn't follow
that those thoughts and ideas MUST be channeled into narrative or fiction or "the day the kittens were born" or a poetry chapbook called "Me."</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."></span></span></span></span><br />
I feel embarrassed to be the one stating the patently OBVIOUS . . . but, well, <span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[3]">why didn't the
teacher use his writer's workshop as a "test kitchen" for students to
develop ideas for <i>expository</i> writing that actually exists in the real world: reviews,
proposals, evaluations, "how-to's," blog posts, newsletters, public speeches, analysis and
interpretation of current events, executive summaries,
advertisements, letters of request, calls to action,
request for information, etc.? (These genres, with a bit of trial and error, can be spiraled up or down to different grade levels.)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3].">Th<span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[6]">e
author tries to blame everyone but himself. He blames the "process
method" for its failed approach . . . and he blames the students for
failing to learn how to magically polish their prose (absent any
instruction). Perhaps all of this could have been solved if the teacher didn't ONLY focus on exploratory writing. Perhaps he could have done what most writing teachers do, which is this:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><br id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[8]" /><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[9]">1. let the students explore, create, and discover.</span><br id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[10]" /><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[11]">2. then help them establish an authentic audience and purpose for their raw material. </span><br id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[12]" /><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[13]">3. then (after they've edited and revised and work-shopped) model proofreading.</span><br id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[14]" /><br id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[15]" /><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">CODA:
did ya notice how the author never gives ANY direct examples (or specifics showing)
that his students didn't learn to write? He just goes into the cargo
cult metaphor. I found that very, very weird. Can someone show me <i>one single sentence </i>in the article where he actually addresses (concretely, specifically) what aspects of the students' writings he found unsuccessful . . . and why?<br /><br />In other words, if I were to talk about an approach (a writing theory/model) I tried in my classroom and how it didn't work, I would do this:</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">Discuss the approach. </span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]"><b>Discuss its rationale.<br />Show what we did (artifacts).</b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]"><b>Analyze the artifact's quality (good, bad, rhetorical, etc.).<br />Generalize how the <i>approach</i> did or did not influence the <i>quality</i> of the artifacts.</b><br /><br />Instead, here's the approach the author used.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">Discuss the approach.</span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">Discuss it rationale.</span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">Make a metaphor.</span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">Generalize about writing instruction.</span></span></span></span></span></b><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]"><br /></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">And this guy wonders why he failed as a writing teacher.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">LOL.*</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">____________________________________________________________</span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]"><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]."><span id=".reactRoot[3].[1][2][1]{comment10151191151138216_24087972}..[1]..[1]..[0].[2]..[3]..[16]">*Framing device.</span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-935060878652974352012-08-17T14:34:00.000-07:002012-08-17T17:36:44.195-07:00Children's PoemMy Horsey<br />
By Ari Zeiger <br />
<br />
I'm riding on a horsey.<br />
It has handles by the ears.<br />
This horsey's made by Grandpa<br />
and passed down through the years.<br />
<br />
My horsey's two-feet tall,<br />
which might seem sort of low.<br />
But I'm also small, so I give my all<br />
when I'm rocking to and fro.<br />
<br />
Oh, my horsey's made of wood<br />
so sometimes I believe<br />
that I'm riding on a horsey<br />
and we're swinging through the trees. <br />
<br />
You too should ride a horsey.<br />
There's nothing more you'll love.<br />
Just wrap your arms around like this<br />
and hold on with a hug.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-35080810666992801282012-08-15T21:44:00.001-07:002012-08-16T17:06:02.077-07:00Children's Poem<div>
Bliss</div>
<div>
By Ari Zeiger<br />
<br clear="all" />
Who am I?<br />
What makes me <i>me</i>?</div>
It all seems such a mystery.<br />
<br />
Usually I just let this go.<br />
I laugh out loud and say:<i> I don't know</i>.<br />
But then sometimes, well, here's the thing.<br />
I have this heart. And it likes to sing.<br />
Yet once or twice the song gets lost.<br />
And in its place, a million thoughts.<br />
That's when I feel incomplete.<br />
Like I'm no one you'd want to meet.<br />
<br />
But soon enough, I'll feel OK.<br />
Little by little, throughout the day.<br />
And though my heart might still despair,<br />
something trusts the music's there.<br />
And then I'm free to dance again.<br />
To follow bliss, to be my friend.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-52291603063319746202012-07-26T17:05:00.000-07:002012-07-29T08:06:28.346-07:00Children's PoemSupermarket <br />
<br />
We'd just strolled in the market<br />
when something caught my eye.<br />
Look, the cereal Grandpa eats!<br />
Don't just pass it by.<br />
<br />
I screamed.<br />
I laughed.<br />
I pointed.<br />
But Daddy only smiled.<br />
He wouldn't stop.<br />
I cried, <i>why</i> <i>not</i>?<br />
It was a long trip down the aisle.<br />
<br />
So then I just went crazy.<br />
It's one way to get heard.<br />
I want that box,<br />
and I want it a lot.<br />
OK, I'll use my words.<br />
<br />
Oh, look there's a banana.<br />
Daddy, can I please?<br />
I'm gonna scream.<br />
Then you'll get mean<br />
and say I made a scene.<br />
<br />
Thank you so much, Daddy, <br />
for peeling this for me.<br />
Now pass me that tomato,<br />
and I'll finally let you be.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-15261739650636940522012-07-24T20:16:00.002-07:002012-07-26T19:01:47.940-07:00Children's PoemKittens Need Space <br />
<br />
Kittens need space,<br />
but I wish it weren't true.<br />
We just brought you home,<br />
and now all I want to do. . . <br />
<br />
But, Kitten, is that right,<br />
can't I carry you around?<br />
Mom says listen when<br />
you struggle to get down.<br />
<br />
I want you to love me.<br />
And don't know what to do.<br />
Kittens need space,<br />
but I wish it weren't true.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-57319792890903351402012-07-24T13:12:00.000-07:002012-08-16T09:37:34.395-07:00The ShowThe Show<br />
<br />
I missed the show.<br />
I couldn't go.<br />
Whose fault it is,<br />
I do not know.<br />
<br />
I was on my bike,<br />
but got a flat.<br />
I began to run—<br />
imagine that!<br />
<br />
I was almost there<br />
when I lost my shoe.<br />
Now what's left for me to do?<br />
<br />
A truck sped by.<br />
I leapt in back.<br />
It began to rain—<br />
so much for that!<br />
<br />
Now it's time for the show to start.<br />
I tried to make it with all my heart.<br />
<br />
But you were there,<br />
so take it slow:<br />
Tell me all,<br />
go blow-by-blow.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-18085266332415972792012-07-23T14:50:00.000-07:002012-07-24T17:06:44.382-07:00PoemMy Room <br />
<br />
I don't want to clean my room.<br />
I want to make a snack—<br />
some toast with jam,<br />
an ice-cold plum,<br />
and don't forget my nap.<br />
<br />
I don't want to clean my room.<br />
I want to write a poem.<br />
Or ride my bike out to the lake,<br />
or just be left alone.<br />
<br />
I don't want to clean my room.<br />
Who says that it's a mess?<br />
A heap of clothes sits on my bed—<br />
to that I will confess.<br />
<br />
I don't want to clean my room.<br />
But it's hard to find a path.<br />
To walk around this cluttered ground,<br />
feels like I'm doing math.<br />
<br />
So I don't want to clean my room.<br />
But let me pick that up—<br />
and clear this off<br />
and wipe those down.<br />
OK, that seems enough.<br />
<br />
No, I don't want to clean my room.<br />
But it looks as if I did.<br />
It's almost done,<br />
and it was kinda fun.<br />
You know I love to kid.<br />
<br />
Because when my room is clean, <br />
when everything's just so,<br />
I feel at ease—<br />
Hey, look, my <i>keys</i>!—<br />
no matter where I go.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-50708108881860539822012-07-22T17:03:00.000-07:002012-07-22T17:03:29.695-07:00PoemThe Bird <br />
<br />
The bird that tried to race the rain<br />
is back in flight to try again.<br />
<br />
They say she's slow and far too old.<br />
They say she's bound to catch a cold.<br />
<br />
But there she goes—she's in the sky.<br />
Her wings spread out and yet she's dry.<br />
<br />
This drizzle yet may turn to storm.<br />
These clouds keep coming—so dark and torn.<br />
<br />
She zooms ahead, now left and right.<br />
She swerves around a lightening strike.<br />
<br />
Her feathers still have not got wet.<br />
And if they do, she'll lose the bet.<br />
<br />
So much depends upon this claim:<br />
to be the bird that races rain.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-68242118915537524322012-07-21T14:57:00.001-07:002012-07-21T15:01:52.990-07:00poem"I love..."<br /><br />
I love drawing and scribbling and sketching and more.<br />
I smudge and smear and splatter and pour.<br />
<br />
I'm drawing a house.<br />
It's so wonderfully wrong.<br />
The windows aren't square<br />
and the chimney's too long.<br />
<br />
And look over here,<br />
at all that's crossed out.<br />
OK, fine, I'll erase it.<br />
There's no need to shout.<br />
<br />
It's just I like how it's messy,<br />
how it's every which way.<br />
Wait, what are you doing?<br />
You're going to throw it away?<br />
<br />
Fine. Go ahead.<br />
Now just let me be.<br />
I don't care that it's bad.<br />
I care that it's me. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-43917907051991017102012-07-15T09:32:00.001-07:002012-07-15T09:32:24.967-07:00"To Feel"we are made to move.<br />to climb, to dance,<br />
to lose.<br /><br />we are built for bliss.<br />
we laugh, we love,<br />we miss.<br /><br />we are here to feel.<br />the heart, the soul,<br />
the tear.<br />
<br />
we are here to fly.<br />
to grow, to live,<br />
to die.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-5142248663867175002012-07-13T09:41:00.001-07:002012-07-13T11:31:01.063-07:00"On Moving"sometimes poetry seems the only way to find the words<br />
the emotion<br />
the insight<br />
the observation<br />
the thing that will make a difference<br />
<br />
and so i come to the poem<br />
not to make a splash or find an audience<br />
but to live and look around<br />
to cry<br />
to laugh<br />
to feel<br />
<br />
to truly feel this life<br />
and let go.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-71142143270969857622012-06-23T14:10:00.002-07:002012-06-24T17:02:00.842-07:00Poem"Two Sitting Figures - New Orleans, LA"<br />
<br />
This sculpture before me.<br />
This thing I can name.<br />
This black copper<br />
—industrial, geometrical, anonymous.<br />
<br />
Two bodies, I think.<br />
A woman and man, I think.<br />
A couple, I think.<br />
<br />
The woman in peace.<br />
Something about her legs, hushed before her.<br />
Something about the way this face tilts away.<br />
<br />
The man leans near.<br />
Wants to hear.<br />
Wants to say.<br />
<br />
I want to ask if she is young or old.<br />
(I can't tell.)<br />
I want to ask if she's with child.<br />
(I can't tell.)<br />
<br />
Sculpture, your heads are those windows<br />
built above doors.<br />
<br />
Sculpture, your robes are stiff and stark.<br />
<br />
Sculpture, does it really matter what you mean?<br />
<br />
The pine needles gather at your toes.<br />
<br />
This lizard takes to a shoulder,<br />
soaking the heat.<br />
<br />
And I take to this poem because<br />
how else would I do it?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-85576185594713203012012-06-21T19:02:00.001-07:002012-06-21T19:07:49.444-07:00a poem called "Where It Hides"<br />
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
"Where It Hides"</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
In the kitchen, while cutting mango.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
With the folding of laundry at night.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Every time I straighten my toppled books.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
In the green candy my aunt bought me in the shop below her job.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
In the courtyard in summer under the fans.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
With the smell of New Orleans under the oaks.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
With the oranges Brod ate in the canoe on his birthday.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
When the red apple glows a galaxy—cloudy with stars.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
When the yellow balloon rolled toward my bike.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
In the gold of my nephew's curls.</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
In the way they sing "free" with "me."</div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
When I walk to get there because, really, what's the rush?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-21705608581861502122012-05-30T12:36:00.002-07:002012-05-30T21:29:57.259-07:00whither core skill?I was daydreaming over coffee today asked myself this question: what
core skill—above all else—do I want my writing students to learn?
My answer (which I'm sure will change a year from now) is
DEVELOPMENT—that is, students must learn how to effectively<i> develop</i> an idea in writing. Why?<br />
<ul>
<li>Development, at least in the idealized sense, rests on the belief that people can come
together and listen to ideas based not just on claims, but on how
they are also supported. And, truth be told, is anything taught less
in our schools than the importance of support for an opinion? We are so busy teaching our students how to make a focused and singular claim that we
often fail to teach the larger lesson, which is this: Argument is not just the thesis
statement, but also the collective evidence one is using to support it.</li>
<li>Effective development involves a chain of reasoning that
acknowledges other perspectives exist, that wrestles and responds to
such perspectives in good faith.</li>
<li>"School Writing" is often characterized by a certain flatness. The
point is stated early and often and then it's over. The end. Some of my
colleagues call this "circling the drain of generality" or "pained"
writing. To break students of this style, a fellow teacher explains
development thus: "An idea gets handed down the page, sentence by
sentence—like the baton in a relay race." <i>Totally</i>.<br />
</li>
<li>We can't talk about development without talking about order. When a writer is effectively developing an idea, his or her
discourse demands a sort of "logical sequence." Change the sequence, and
the entire thing falls apart. Simply put, if the arrangement of your
sentences is not bound by a certain causal connection, then you've
put forward nothing more than a pile of bricks. For more on this, consider how a baseball
manager puts together the lineup. The same is true for how writers
put together ideas.</li>
<li>When a writer has effectively developed an idea, the logic is
visible—that is, we (as readers) can take note of how the ideas are
sequenced according to an
intention. Rereading the text, we even able to name
the precise relationship between how each sentence connects to the preceding one. What's
more, we're able to summarize what larger point all the sentences add up
to.</li>
</ul>
In sum, all ideas (if they're worth writing about at any length)
contain layers of complexity. When we develop our ideas, what we're doing
is taking our ideas apart to better see what they contain, what they're built upon, how they interface with other ideas, and so on. When we do this, we are doing more than just writing; we are engaged in <i>rhetoric</i>. Speaker, topic, audience, context: all the moving parts. But forget all that. All you need is this: <i>raise questions</i>. Raise questions while you write. It takes time, it doesn't happen overnight, but it gets easier and more natural with consistent practice. And it's the only way to get the bulb switched on.<br />
<br />
That said, freewriting (making a mess, embracing chaos, exploring ideas to see where they go) is still the start of it all. We can't develop an idea that we don't have. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-65018012014207035802012-05-25T17:07:00.002-07:002012-05-25T17:09:46.888-07:00DIAGNOSTIC<div style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This test is designed to help assess certain </span><span style="font-size: large;">English skills </span><span style="font-size: large;">strengths and weaknesses.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="color: black;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/hackerdiag/pages/bcs-main.asp?v=chapter&s=01000&n=00010&i=01010.01&o=%7C00020%7C00010%7C&ns=0"><span style="color: black;">TEST A </span></a></span></div>
<div style="color: black;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: black;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/hackerdiag/pages/bcs-main.asp?v=chapter&s=01000&n=00020&i=01020.01&o=%7C00010%7C00020%7C&ns=0"><span style="color: black;">TEST B</span></a></span></div>
<div style="color: black;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/hackerdiag/pages/bcs-main.asp?v=chapter&s=01000&n=00010&i=01010.01&o=%7C00020%7C00010%7C&ns=0"><span style="color: black;"></span></a></span></div>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-80704919642616208282012-05-23T16:21:00.000-07:002012-05-23T16:53:56.851-07:00Vision Statement<br />
OK, so in my last post I shared my teaching <span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">mission statement</span>, which was<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To create a quality environment where students experience, discover, and develop key critical-thinking tools for academic engagement.</blockquote>
Now I want to take a crack at writing a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;">vision statement</span>. Here goes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To create a dynamic team of students who sharpen their analytic reading and writing skills through inquiry-based classroom dialogue.</blockquote>
Simply put, I want to create a virtuous circle where my students write thoughtful responses to challenging texts after (and only <i>after</i>) they've closely read the work and deepened their understanding through Socratic class discussions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2008030188569103746.post-34040540213705170312012-05-22T16:45:00.002-07:002012-05-23T12:37:11.119-07:00Mission StatementAs a teacher, my job is to create the conditions for optimal learning. This is an idea that I keep coming back to time again and again. Why? Because it helps me remember that, among other things, my lesson plan is only as good as the educational outcomes it yields. Anyway, this is all topical because I've decided to draft a mission statement to better clarify who I am, what I do, and who I serve. So far, it looks like this:<br />
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To create a quality environment where students experience, discover, and develop key critical-thinking tools for academic engagement.</blockquote>
My emphasis on "experience, discover, develop" comes from my belief that learning happens when we have an experience wherein we discover something that changes (develops) us. I place critical-thinking tools at the center of my mission because analysis, reflection, open-mindedness, etc., are essential for success in the classroom, workplace, and community. Finally, "academic engagement" because active learning is at the very core of education. Without it, problems-solving and dealing with difficulty become cues to quit, rather than opportunities for growth.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow, I will hopefully have a vision statement ready to share.<br />
<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0