Final Reflection for Basic Writing Theory

For this past year, being in the class Writing Center Theories and Practice and Basic Writing Theory, I was made aware of how challenged my students are in being successful as college students. Even though, this program is focused on Adult and non traditional students in college, I believe that my high school students will be students that will face the same issues and problems that adult and non-traditional students will face. Primarily, many of my students are generation 1.5 students, ESL, or they have many issues with their literacy skills. I started to treat my class as if it was an adult education class. I thought to myself, “aren’t they adults?” Most of my students work to support their families, or they are young mothers with their own families, some of them have been in and out of jail already, and they are trying to balance school responsibilities with home life and work.

I was moved by the issues that incoming Basic Writing students face, because I know that in a year, if my students decide to go to college they’ll be in those classes. Most of my students are not confident in their abilities because there is no one they felt would be proud of them, or told them “good job.” I took the information I learned about access to education and created some access for them to learn about colleges and have them think about the paths they want to take. I transformed my class into a writing and reading intensive class so they have many opportunities to produce and interact with text. Fortunately, my attrition rates for my class has significantly increased. Even though I could not get some of my students, it was a relief looking in my grade book that there was an increase in student achievement.

My students are not fluent with language, but I believe they are well on their way. They want to go to college, and a good number of them are planning on attending community college and then transferring to a senior college. Before, college was not in their sights, and they have an idea on how intensive college courses can be because I tried my best to incorporate the theories of Basic Writing into my classrooms. I feel as if this year of teaching has been my most successful year because I learned how to design a syllabus which has eased some stress from teaching because now I can create a clear plan for myself and also some of my students are walking away with confidence of their abilities and goals to overcome when before they had none.

Curriculum Research Project

The following link will lead you to my curriculum research project of Facts, Artifacts and Counterfacts by David Bartholomae and David Petrosky.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u071J_r7bUwVQguqcNfx-qDNRiqvL5QLFuwFpGJhs3w/edit?hl=en&authkey=COmsqq4M

Syllabus Design Project

The first syllabus design project that I had submitted I had received a B+. I have updated and revised the project and this is my updated project.

My Assignment has been uploaded on google documents and you just need to paste this link and my assignment should appear.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EoKHSd9uzQHrC-a63pmu2sbHfve0Y-liXSbsqWVrzoU/edit?hl=en&authkey=CNLQitYB

Response to Jane Parkerton

I agree that a relationship with the student makes a world of a difference. A lot of inner city students do not have guidance at home because they have an absentee father and a mother who works many hours. These students lack direction and structure. Or because of circumstances, they feel as if no one cares about them, and they have no one to be proud of their accomplishments. I know that my students beam when I put "good job" on their test with a shiny star sticker. And they collect these stickers as if they are badges of accomplishments. To them, if it seems like someone cares about them they care more about themselves, and they try harder to make their teacher and themselves proud.
By creating an environment where the student feels safe, connected, encouraged and accomplished can foster tools for the student to apply in different classes and aspects of their lives.
It takes a lot of time and effort on both the student and teacher to establish a relationship, and this is a necessary step. For students to trust a teacher with their academic vulnerability is very scary for them. And for a teacher to help develop their skills, they have to develop trust with the student. By letting the teacher in on their troubles with writing can they let their defenses down to be shaped into better writers.

Response to Jane Maher

I really enjoyed Jane Maher's visit to our class. I thought at first it would be specifically about Mina Shaugnessy and her work. I was very interested and amazed at all the artifacts Jane Maher had brought to the classroom. I felt very apprehensive getting a glimpse into Mina Shaugnessy's life through pictures and letters she had written at first. She was a distant figure, and I felt more appreciative of her efforts for basic writing by seeing her as a human being.
Jane was hilarious and so easy to listen to. I appreciated her divulging her academic struggles and the work she's doing for non-traditional students. And I felt inspired because she works so hard for the women in prison by always fighting for their education and their right to learn. She's making a difference because she's a resource to give these women a better way of life so that they do not return to prison. Sometimes I wonder if I should stay in a tough impact school with high crime rates, but if they don't have care and support then they fail, which doesn't help society. Jane helped reinforce that I want to continue to teach students that need a lot of attention and guidance.

Response to Melanie

I was a student of an educator that neglected my differences. When I had started Kindergarden I did not know how to speak any English. My parents spoke Bangla to me at home, and when I started school, I didn't know how to communicate with my teacher. My classmates all spoke English, and were predominantly white. I didn't know what my teacher was saying to me, but, I understood her body language, tone of voice and facial expression. She was extremely frustrated with me and in turn, neglected me. She just avoided teaching me, and sent me to the ESL office when I didn't understand anything. The ESL office only knew how to deal with students that spoke Spanish and not Bangla. I didn't want to go to school. I used to feign illness, because I felt like an outsider, and because my teacher was so mean, I didn't want to be in her presence.
Being an educator now, I try my hardest to include my students' differences, and not shun them because of it. I know that it was a troubling time for me until I did learn English. But because I felt unwanted, and that I was a nuisance, I didn't want to go to school. I am sure that this does not change for many other students at whatever age they are. The feeling of being put down for my differences was enough for me to want to give up.

Response to Natasha

It is very upsetting to learn of the injustice Willie and his family faced over his brother's death. Unfortunately, the stereotype is that Black English is seen as unintelligible and unintelligent. That people that speak with that dialect or ignorant and ill-educated people. This same stereotype is perpetuated by educators, they these students and their voices are not worth listening to because they "sound ignorant." Many students become resistant and resentful because they feel as if their identity is being stripped away. But it's not just Black English, any other form of English that isn't White English is seen that way.
I think that the letters may have been taken more seriously if it was written in White English because it is the standard. But overall, I believe that with the bias against inner-city black people, they are stereotyped as criminals and cops are always shown leniency. Even today, with all of the media and news coverage of unwarranted cop shootings and beatings, these cops don't ever receive an extreme form of punishment. Now if a cop shot an upper-class white person with no just cause, I am sure the media and public would be in an uproar and the policemen would receive punishment.

Respone to Monique

I feel as if this essay resonates some of the experiences I have faced as well as my colleagues. There is a huge struggle on how to raise the skill levels of students who have been labeled as "remedial" or "unteachable." They have been subjected to such treatment and thus do not believe in their own ability and yes they do lack motivation. At this point in my teaching career, I go by the saying "I teach them what they need to know through what they want to know." I choose books that first grab them because the themes within the books help them connect themselves to the characters, and since they become interested in the plight of these characters they become interested in themselves and where their lives are heading. For instance, I have two low level tenth grade classes... And I decided to "teach" the book Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas. This book covers the life of a teenager in Spanish Harlem and how he falls prey to the drugs, alcohol crime and jail time. It's controversial because the book's content is seen as inappropriate, but the student who tell me they hate reading, cannot put this book down. We have to build these students up in steps, they won't have an appreciation of Shakespeare if they deemed that all books are bad. So, first step is to want them to get to read a book. Then get them to have writing assignments based around this story. Next book would be Like Water for Chocolate, which is a more "appropriate" book because the content isn't as controversial but still has connections to Down These Mean Streets because it's about a female protagonist that lives in a household that has no father figure, a villainous mother and an evil sibling... which a lot of my student can relate to. So it's about progress in steps.

6:07:00 PM

Response to Daryl

I think that the idea of literary letters are great, and I think that plot summary is an important skill to have. It gives background information to their audience, but I see this as a rut that students on the high school level fall into. And many teachers label these students at "lazy" or "dumb." They can summarize in great detail, but they cannot analyze or cite evidence to support analysis. I think that summary is a great starting point so that students can develop their literary analysis. Under Bloom's taxonomy, summary is the first level, and is labeled as a basic skill. Teachers need to take steps so that students can develop from summary, so that they can be able to synthesize and evaluate the literature they've read.

Using the Collage for Collaborative Writing

Using the Collage for Collaborative Writing

Elbow, Peter. “Using the Collage for Collaborative Writing.” Teaching Developmental Writing. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2007. Print.
Teachers are hopeful for the potential collaborative learning holds for their students. Teachers are hoping for “increased communication among students, better problem solving, and better critical thinking skills” (260). But many students are usually not willing to collaborate with their peers and teachers try to revise their plans to better aid students to become comfortable with each other so that they will work effectively together. Usually when students write alone, they depend on their tacit knowledge. Our tacit knowledge is quick, and overrides out conscious and articulate knowledge. When a student writes with someone else, their partner may propose changes, and they have to negotiate with each other which “forces students to become more conscious and articulate about rhetorical decision making” (261). There are difficulties faced when students work in pairs or groups. Most students find it to be an unpleasant experience because it leads to disagreements. So student opt to write alone. The writing that is produced is usually not up to par because students “can only agree on lowest-common-denominator thinking” (262). Collaborative writing also “silences weaker, minority or marginal voices” (262). Peter Elbow suggests using “the collage” as a method to tackle student apprehension to collaborative work. First students will write individually, as much as they can about their own thoughts on the topic. Student can also write for 10 to 15 minutes and then switch their papers with their peer. This can prompt dialogue, because peers are responding to each other’s papers because it’s a “thought answering thought” (263). Secondly students are to individually go back over what they have written and choose the pieces of their writing that they like the most. Next, students are to share their writing by reading aloud or they can switch papers and silently read. Every member choose and agree on which pieces of writing should be used and everyone has to contribute a piece of writing. All group members must give feedback on all the pieces of writing chosen. Then all the pieces should be sequenced and then discussed because new ideas may come up, or figure something new needs to be added or something is missing. Then, individually write new pieces, or revise and fix-up the chosen pieces. Then everyone should look at what the group had produced and see if it’s finished or if it still needs more work. This bridges individual work into group work. Students are engaging in weak collaboration and strong collaboration. Weak collaboration is when peer’s influence each other’s thinking and writing by giving each other feedback on individual writings. This is an easy process for students because they do not have to agree or disagree on ideas. Strong collaboration group members have to agree on which pieces to use, what order to the pieces in, who revises, they need to agree is more revising is needed or is the product finished. This is more stressful on members because they have to agree or disagree and come to a consensus. The final product of the collaborative collage has all members be accountable for their writing, and since no voice is silenced the final product is not “weak or bland writing” but a “richer and more complex than most collaborative writing” (264). At the end of this collaboration “the final product contains multiple points of view, multiple voices, multiple styles- and as a result, more tension and energy Minority ideas and thinking have not been left out… The collaborative collage is a gathering of pieces each written from an “I” point of view- for the sake of a “we” enterprise” (264).
Peter Elbow suggest three additional methods for students who rather work alone to begin engaging in collaborative writing.
1- The student writes a draft, and then shares his or her draft with another peer and their peer is to write a response.
2- The student is to make a collage of quotations from readings or interviews, which is to “help students “place” their own thoughts and voices in authoritative dialogue with the voices of others” (265).
3- Students can work in pairs and engage in a dialogue by passing a sheet of paper back and forth to each other so each can write a response in turn. This is like passing notes in class.
These three additional methods are to help students make “good texts out of multiple thoughts and voices” (266).
Solo writing has the same issues that collaborative writing suffers from. Collaborative writing can be used to improve solo writing. We learn to do things by ourselves by internalizing what we learned to do socially with others.
QUESTIONS1- The collaborative collage is one way to engage students in working with each other to produce a final product. What type of activity would you have your students engage in so that they may become comfortable with each other so that they can work together for assignments?
2- What are some problems of the collaborative collage? What are some ideas that you can include to improve upon this method?

5 Basic Writing Resources

1- Purdue Online Writing Lab

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

This website is a quick reference to MLA and APA style. It gives descriptions and examples on how to cite, quote, paraphrase, and summarize properly.

2- Guide to Grammar and Writing

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

This website gives rules and examples for grammar use and rules and examples for writing. This site also gives quizzes for users to take so they may practice and test themselves.

3- How to read college texts

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jewel001/CollegeWriting/READSPEAKTHINK/READ/HowToRead.htm

This website gives college students a guide on how to read academic texts critically, what the structure of academic texts are like, how to skim and speed read, and how to read literature critically.

4-An Online Textbook for Basic Writing

http://webster.commnet.edu/sensen/

This online textbook gives students three approaches in becoming better writers by examining how sentences work, common errors that appear in written English, and suggesting how to develop ideas for writing.

5- Online Dictionary

http://dictionary.reference.com/

The online dictionary gives a quick look up for definitions, but it gives examples on how that word is used in various ways. It also has an online thesaurus, a translator for 50 languages into English or vice versa.