"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.

Why do we Teach First Year Writing?

Why do we teach first year writing?

I think it is healthy to ask the question why and in fact, I encourage this question. However, it seems that disciplines associated with Arts and Sciences have to defend their why more frequently and extensively than other academic disciplines.
The last statement reflects on why we teach first year writing. Only those disciplines and forms of thought that challenge others are worth doing at all. For instance, I recently saw a PBS special about whether the nomination of Barack Obama invalidates the need for affirmative action. I will not attempt to answer that question in this posting, but use it as an example of how issues of importance are identified according to reevaluation and challenges of relevancy.

With that in mind, I believe we teach first year writing in its most basic form to teach students how to arrive at identifications of truth and processes of critical thinking through the vehicle of composition. Writing to arrive at truth and identification of one's self gives confidence to answer questions, stake claims to life and direction, and function in a literate society. Whether one identifies with expressionists, new rhetoricians, hermeneutics, or traditional rhetoricians the "why" locates itself in the journey as well as in the arrival.

I do not yet possess the experience to define what we should be teaching in first year writing. However, I do identify with the writer Carlos Fuentes in that the geography of composition is continually making itself new. Thus reevaluation of this question must take place in discussions that question the nature of text, identifying the what or to whom of audience and voice in a world of blogs and youtube, to name a few.

3 Most Important Theories of Teaching/Composition

Respect:

The first and foremost belief I have about teaching, especially teaching 1301, is the importance of R-E-S-P-E-C-T. (Sing one for me Aretha.) Some people reading this post might think that I am speaking of respect for my "authority as a teacher." Although this is important as well, respecting my students takes precedence. I believe you have to give respect to your students. Respect gives students confidence in their own ability as writers. Giving respect also means that in the classroom I might be the expert, but on the football field, in a math class, or basket weaving, they could teach me a lesson or two.
I hear far too many first and second year teachers belittling a student's intelligence and effort. It disgusts me. I think some graduate students get high and mighty on their own ability as grammarians (please). They too soon forget that we are the plebeians. Tenured professors anyone?

Relevancy:

(So, what are you going to do with an Master's Degree in English?)
Seriously though, I want the students to know how and why learning the assignment is important. The relevancy of my instruction should explain how they will successfully complete the assignment. What they learn needs to be relevant for more than just making a grade in 1301. The cohesion of the entire class should produce informative relevancy in their other academic endeavors and individual lives.

Literacy:

I believe it is more than the ability to read or write. Literacy translates into confidence: Confidence in one's ability to approach a text and glean the message the author attempts to convey. Literacy makes each person an audience of one. It gives that person an opportunity to take themselves to another time period, culture, section of the world, etc. I am passionate about the arts, especially that of text (i.e. fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, manuscripts, letters, journal entries, etc.) The world of text is available to those who are literate, and I want each of my students to possess fluent literacy.

The Beginning

Today was my first day of teaching. The personality of the first class, linear. The second proves to be a challenge in its spectrum of personalities.

My name is Emily. I'm a graduate student (M.A.) here at Texas Tech. My scholarly interests reside in the History of the Book (with direct attention on editing and publishing) and 20th century British modernism (with specific attention on Virginia Woolf and the Hogarth Press).

I completed my undergraduate degree at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma City. It's a small liberal arts school. The relationships I formed with my professors encouraged my decision to attend Graduate School.

Following graduation in May of 2009, I hope to secure a job as an editor. My goal at this time is Bedford St. Martin's Press.