Author: Michael Montlack (Page 4 of 6)

WHAT TO DO NEXT: DUE BY 11pm FRIDAY OCT 16

THANKS FOR SENDING YOUR REVISED EDUCATION NARRATIVES.

I’LL SEND COMMENTS AND GRADE SOON.

We’re done writing education narratives, but I do want you to think about a couple of things before we move on to our next unit, which is about curiosity—and those are, basically: how do people get curious? How do they lose curiosity? What are YOU curious about? We’ll be spending this next week reading and thinking about those types of questions and introduce UNIT TWO.

1) READ: “A Talk to Teachers” by James Baldwin.

https://www.spps.org/cms/lib010/MN01910242/Centricity/Domain/125/baldwin_atalktoteachers_1_2.pdf

2) POST: ON BLACKBOARD DISCUSSIONS, Write at least 200 words.

In “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin writes:

“I would try to make [the student] know that just as American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it, so is the world larger, more daring, more beautiful and more terrible, but principally larger – and that it belongs to him. I would teach him that he doesn’t have to be bound by the expediencies of any given administration, any given policy, any given morality; that he has the right and the necessity to examine everything.”

• First of all, what do you think of what Baldwin was saying? What do you think he means when he says “the world is larger?”
• Secondly, what do you think you have the “necessity” to examine, or the obligation to learn about? To put it another way: what do you wish had been taught in school that wasn’t? Why do you want to know about these topics?

THINK: WHAT RESEARCH TOPIC DO YOU TRULY CARE ABOUT.

3)  READ: “Schools are killing curiosity”

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jan/28/schools-killing-curiosity-learn

4) POST: ON BLACKBOARD DISCUSSIONS, Write at least 200 words.

• What is something you were interested in when you were a kid? Are you still interested? How did asking questions help you learn more about that topic?
• If so, how has your curiosity changed and grown over the years? And what role did the educational system play in your curiosity (good or bad)?
• If you are not interested in this topic anymore, what do you think happened to that interest? Do you remember the specific time you LOST interest?  What did you become interested in instead (and why?)

5) READ: UNIT TWO Annotated Bibliography (It’s Under Blackboard Content)

This will give you an idea about what we’ll be doing.

THINK: Start thinking about a topic you are interested in, something you might want to know more about.  This can be something heavy, like police brutality, or it can be something that seems on the surface more light-hearted, like ballet.  The only criteria is that you are actually curious about it.

This may seem like strange advice, but it can be helpful to go for a walk and think about topics you’d like to write about. Come home and jot down a few notes.

EDUCATION NARRATIVE (Week 5):

Goals for the week:

1. Discuss peer review expectations
2. Perform peer review
3. Turn in essay one 

Due by 2pm Tue Sept 29:

1) EMAIL: In order to share your drafts with two other students for peer editing, I will need your email address and draft.

EMAIL your DRAFT in a file to mikemont17@hotmail.com by 2pm Tue Sept 29. WRITE 76 (class section) in Subject Line. 

In the email include the paragraph you posted in Discussion Board about concerns you have about the draft.

On Tue Sept 29, I’ll put you in groups of 3 and email you each other’s drafts to read for peer editing.

2) READ: DePeter, Ron. “How to Write Meaningful Peer Response Praise” (under Content)

https://writingspaces.org/sites/default/files/depeter-write-meaningful-peer-response-praise.pdf 

Due by 11pm Sat Oct 3: 

3) READ THE STUDENT DRAFTS I SENT YOU AND COMMENT ON THEM:

Remembering what DePeter says about positive peer response, do these two things to respond to your peers’ Drafts:

1. In an email to the student, mention things you really liked and places where you had questions either about what they’re saying or what you would like to know.
2. Here are some prompts for the kinds of comments you can leave:

• I liked (           ) because …
• I got this from reading your work:
• I found this part interesting (                     ) because…
• I got confused here (                   ) because…
• I wanted to know more about                   because…

4) DISCUSSION BOARD: In Blackboard, post the comments you sent to the students.

No need to mention their names. And write a paragraph about what you learned from comments they sent to you.

Format this way please:

MY COMMENTS FOR STUDENT 1: copy/paste comments you sent to student 

MY COMMENTS FOR STUDENT 2: copy/paste comments you sent to student

WHAT I LEARNED: a paragraph about what you learned from feedback you got.

Due by 1130pm Tue Oct 6

5) EMAIL YOUR REVISION OF EDUCATION NARRATIVE

• Send to mikemont17@hotmail.com
• Write 76 in the subject line.
• Simple doc file. No PDFs.
• Double spaced.
• Don’t send drafts. Revision only please.

thanks,

Montlack

Hi Everyone,

We’ve read some narratives and discussed them in your posts. Now you will draft your narrative.

To do that, this week we will:

1. Read a Comic (Due 11:59pm Thur Sept 24)
2. Watch a Video with a Writing Exercise you’ll do while watching  (Due 11:59pm Thur Sept 24)
3. Read a short essay about Shitty First Drafts  (Due 11:59pm Sun Sept 27)
4. Draft your Education Narrative (Due 11:59pm Sun Sept 27)
5. Post about your draft on the Discussion Board  (Due 11:59pm Sun Sept 27)
6. I will tell you Mon Sept 28 where/when to send Education Narrative Draft 

HERE’S INFO: 

UNIT ONE (Week 4): Drafting an Education Narrative

Due by 11:59pm Thur Sept 24

READ (COMIC): “Tardy” by Lynda Barry.  https://jackshalom.net/2018/10/17/tardy/

THINK: Think of one specific incident that changed your views on education. Picture the scene (for example, when Marlys walks into the office and gets her tardy slip.)

WATCH and WRITE: Please watch and do the activity outlined in the video below by Lynda Barry (she’s the person who drew the comic “Tardy!”).  You will need:

• Two pieces of paper
• Something to write with
• A few words (for ex, “When Miss Speck told me I was going nowhere in life”) describing a scene from your life that changed your views on education.  Write this description at the top of one piece of paper. This will be the “X” page (meaning, you draw an X right through the page.)
• Ignore the screen that says “pause play.”

Do the exercise—along with video. To clarify: you answer the questions Lynda Barry asks anywhere on the X page. Answer in note form. The “X” is to remind you that the rules of the paper are off—you don’t have to write in the lines.

After you’ve answered these questions, write the scene out in paragraph form, like you’re writing an essay or a story. This exercise is meant to help draft.  I hope you find a scene to use in your essay—if not, I hope you learn something about writing scenes.

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjmwJX4KobY&feature=youtu.be

Due by 11:59pm Sun Sept 27

READ: Shitty First Drafts, Anne Lamott:

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnx3YXJyZW5zY2xhc3Nyb29tb25saW5lfGd4OjYzZmM1ZTBjNjhiNmE4NjU

WRITE: A Shitty First Draft of UNIT ONE (at least 750 words).

See UNIT ONE ASSIGNMENT SHEET Education Narrative (under Content)

POST: On Blackboard Discussion Board by 11:59pm Sun Sept 27 

• Comment on these two things about your draft (8 – 10 sentences):

1. What you intended to do: Here’s why you wrote about the moment. What you hoped it would do. What you want people to take away from it.
2. How you feel about the project so far: How you think it’s going, what problems you’re having, what is working, and what you need help with.

thanks,

Montlack