"Take 20"

I'll admit my reluctance to watch the film "Take 20" by Todd Taylor. It isn't often I sit down and watch videos in front of the television, and 65 minutes is a sacred amount of time to give. Thus before this task began, I wondered: How can a film help me learn how to teach?

5 minutes into the film I was shouting to an empty room: I'm not alone! The professors did not sit on top of a throne of books, dictating comments and generalizations. I expected to hear that these professors writing and publishing in the field of Composition and Rhetoric were perfect first-time instructors, suffered no anxiety, and knew exactly what they were doing.

Alternatively, I found myself pausing the film to scribble notes.

I value expression in writing. Thus this week I have been at a loss in attempting how to present paraphrase in a way that captured the attention of the students. I want them to feel the freedom to express. One student commented to me this week that what I am teaching is a bunch of rules. In part this is true.
Through the dialogue presented in the film, I learned I can identify the genre of paraphrase, teach the students how to own the topic, and outline a criteria for success applicable to the assignment and course as a whole. I don't know about you, but paraphrase sounds much more appealing when coined as a genre.

Don McQuade stated something lasting: Writing is recursive. Teach students not to fear writing it wrong the first time. They can always do it over.

So maybe I am a sucker for the still black and white shots with the names of the authors we are reading genie flashing to the side and the idiosyncrasies of the professors in full screen, but this film was the most applicable lesson of teaching yet for me.