A Different Way of Seeing Standards

After leaving class last night, I couldn't help but feel defeated. We talked so much about how hard it is for teacher's today to grade students on hard work and potential when the standards set for student's lower expectations and force one-way thinking. I left class feeling slightly depressed.

That is, however, until I read Rethinking Rubrics. On the very last page, Wilson writes, "Our ideals will always be in conflict with reality, but it is this tension that moves us forward or keeps us from slipping backward." I love this quote. Reading that quote, as the title of my blog states, turned a lightbulb on in my head. These standards set on students and teachers today may be frustrating, but if we didn't have to constantly try to think up creative ideas that work with these standards, education wouldn't be where it is today. I like how she states that our ideals are in conflict with reality... because conflicts can always be solved. This way of thinking is definitely a more "glass is half full" kind of thinking I needed to hear.

I also liked how Wilson writes about the fact that often times, teachers simply look for mistakes. In their hunt to find grammatical errors, they miss out on seeing potential. I can totally relate to that. When I edit my friends papers, I only ever look for grammatical errors. I think that's because it is just easier to look for grammatical errors (that, and they are all science majors, so I have no idea what the content is about). I never really considered howusing a set rubric that only looks for specific qualities in a piece of writing that fit certain standards disregards the artistic value and potential in a student's writing. After reading this book, though, I totally see standards in a new light...

It feels good to see the glass as half full.



For those of you in need of some inspiration...here's a little Whitman to brighten your day. :-)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdW1CjbCNxw

Organized Chaos

As I was looking through all of my old writing assignments dating back to who knows when, I discovered one thing: I am extremely unorganized.

I am not so much unorganized in the fact that my papers are stored in the most random of places it takes a "Where's Waldo" search to find them. I am acutually the opposite of that-- my papers are neatly stored inside a folder from the class they came from which is stored in a folder of the year I wrote the essay in. I think every aspect of my life is like this--organized to a T. Everything from my color-coordinated closet, to my perfectly made bed every morning is organized, but one area where I fail at this systematic lifestyle is in my writing.

While I managed to pull off "A" worthy essays, the path I took to get them there boggles my mind. Some of my original leads are so far out there, I must have had five shots of espresso in my skinny caramel latte before writing them. I save almost every draft I write, and looking through each draft of an essay amazes me. How I end up at point B when I start at the most random point A is something I will never understand. And I think that is why I like writing so much. I could have started with the most irrational and crazy idea I've ever had, but somehow, that chaos forms itself into a logical essay or piece of writing. I think those writing experiences are the best ones--where the process itself takes you in a direction you never even considered when starting a first draft. I often go back to these raw, unedited, and original ideas to inspire me when I cannot think of any ideas.

Who knows, maybe that first draft of an essay on Romeo and Juliet from freshman year of high school will come in handy down the road...

Also, in light of the new season beginning tonight...here's one of my favorite Glee moments. Enjoy! :)
Glee- Don't Stop Believin'

"Old School" Writing Process

After reading R.D. Walshe's article, The Learning Power of Writing, I took a moment to really think about how this new writing process thingy he (it's a he right?) was talking about through the text related to my own personal way of writing. After much contemplation, I decided I am way too "old school". For me, every paper or essay I write for class goes through the same process: I research, I sit and stare at a blank screen for a solid ten minutes, I type an introductory paragraph, and from there I let the words pour out. I don't write a conclusion right away because, as stated in my previous blog post, I despise them. Instead, I come back the next day, re-read the entire thing and then write a conclusion. I am stubborn in the fact that I refuse to give up on a paper if the words don't come to me right away. I often times force them out...which definitely is not a good thing. I refuse to go to bed at night, whether there is a deadline or not, if I haven't gotten through the majority of the paper. It's a bad habit and process that I should probably break.

Walshe nails it when he writes on page 25 that the notion of "process" is often degraded to three cookbook steps between topic and product. I am a total victim of this... I have a definite process for each paper I write, and as of now, I am stuck there. I can't find a way out, and it gets very frustrating. There has to be a better way to write a good paper that doesn't make me despise the act of doing it. I hate how methodical writing an essay is, and I am hoping that someday I'll break my "old school" traditions and find a new process that accomplishes the ever-present task as an English major of writing essays.

This has nothing to do with what I just talked about, but I think it's awesome! If any of you haven't seen this boy sing, check it out! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqMixeRhGfg

Those dang conclusions..

Up until class last Monday, I never really considered drafts to be "healthy" or "unhealthy". I despise writing drafts. Throughout my entire high school career, I don't think I ever wrote one, and I prided myself on being one of "those" students who would write the outline after I finished the paper. The disucussion we had about all of this last Monday seemed almost like a therapy session for me. For the first time, I heard other dreaded AP English stories, and I didn't feel so alone. I had the same AP English experience that  a lot of people in class did--I was told only one formula was correct, and if a thesis statement did not come at the very end of an introduction, the paper wasn't worth anything at all. The formula spelled out exactly how to do things, and until I came to college, it worked well for me. I soon learned, however, that I was far from an excellent writer. I still haven't figured out how to correctly write a conclusion...we were always told to summarize what had previously been said. Little did I know, it is acceptable to add in new thoughts at the end. My conclusions always bring my grades down on papers, and I still struggle to get over the block I have built for myself around being able to figure out the simple process of wrappng up a paper. I am hoping I will learn how to write one before I graduate...that's the goal, anyway. I think that's why I totally left any form  of conculsion off of my draft. I always make it the very last thing I do because I dread doing it so much. I cannot wait for the day I figure out how to write a conlcusion without following the formula I was given back in high school... I'll probably throw a party with ice cream and cake and everything in celebration.


On another note...I'd like to bring to light the fact that Iowa Hawkeye Football begins this weekend! I thought I'd share this clip to get all of you excited...Go Hawks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLBstbt8xJ4&feature=related :-)