miscellaneous

I wish there was more time in the day. There are so many books I want to read, but I have to sleep. That's part of my problem.

I watched Good-bye Lenin this week and it was pretty interesting to see what the Democratic Rebublic in Germany was like to live in. I kept thinking about what true freedom is. Is it that I get to choose whether or not I'd like to wear Diesel jeans or Gap ones, because although that does not seem like freedom, I'd be pissed if someone took away my ability to choose designer clothing. On the other hand, is freedom having to buy ugly clothes produced by the Republic I live in or being able to choose to buy clothes produced in a sweatshop? Interesting question. Maybe I'm not free in either scenario. But which one is more free? Who knows...

Interesting things about teaching

I've heard some things this week that had never occurred to me, and I find them interesting:

1. I was observed this week and my advisor made the comment that it was really hard for her to evaluate my teaching because she had never observed someone let their students direct the way class would go. Wow. I just thought with all the harping on critical pedagogy in various fields that everyone taught that way. Apparently not.

2. I told my students what my advisor said, and one responded that I don't really let them direct the way class will go, that I always have a plan but I just let them try to guess what it is. Wow. I guess it all depends on your perspective.

3. Truth is, neither party is right. I both let my students direct and have a plan. My plan is usually: talk about readings, talk about an activity, talk about an assignment, etc. I usually don't plan what should be said about those things. Anyway, it's an eye opening moment for me.

4. I've talked to two Rhetoric advisors this week who are watching their advisees teach, and both of them have commented that they get sick of watching Rhet 105 classes. Apparently I'm missing something HUGE, because that sounds like a lot of fun to me. Apparently people don't really teach in anyway close to what I'd imagined. And I know a lot about how people teach business writing classes, but I love observing those. I get excited to see what ways my advisees throw away the textbook and find their way around the classroom.

So much of the literature states that things shouldn't be the way they are at my University. We should be teaching student centered collaborative classrooms. We should be interested and excited about what other people are doing in their teaching. I guess since it always made sense to me, I just assumed this is the way everyone practiced. I feel like I'm in the minority even amongst some of my fellow Writing Studies grads, and that's sad and scary all at the same time.

how cute!

Great ideas

You know what really is a great idea? Giving your students assignments that allow them to produce something that is not the same as everyone else's and that is actually interesting to read. It makes me want to grade more than read for any of my classes. Crazy.

I'm going to be observed teaching on Tuesday. I'm not nervous, but I will be having my students draw and talk about their drawings for a significant portion of the class period. Another portion will be dedicated to their literacy journal assignments that they're turning in. Another portion will be dedicated to the handing out of a new response prompt. But truly, it's better that I wasn't observed for Kindergarten Day.

Speaking of which, let me just tell you that college students love Kindergarten. I believe they would prefer to do snack time, story time, and arts & crafts all the time. Why did Kindergarten seem like a such rip off when I was 5? Anyway, it's a pleasure now, and a really interesting way to talk about literacy practices. Thank you brilliant teachers who have come before me and given me the good ideas!

Two mixes of note

I know y'all aren't super interested in hearing about me making mixed CDs, but it's a literacy practice about knowing these songs, understanding my audience, and mixing together something that sounds good. And plus I just want to tell people about it. So here are the two most recent ones that have yet to find themselves in the hands of those I made them for.

Music Mix for Josh
A mix of mostly singer-songwriters with themes about politics, identity, and love.
1. Sunrise--Norah Jones
2. Tether--Sarah Harmer
3. Out in the Country--Kristen Hall
4. Lullaby 101--Kris Delmhorst
5. 'Tis of Thee--Ani DiFranco
6. Ignorance--Kasey Chambers
7. Among all God's Creatures--Rachael Sage
8. america's on sale--alix olson
9. Simon Says--Sam Shaber
10. Hey New York--Anne Heaton
11. Praise!--Kinnie Starr
12. Company of Women-Poozies
13. It's a Hit--Rilo Kiley
14. 1963--Rachael Yamagata
15. Will You Be the One--Melissa Ferrick
16. Four Leaf Clover--Badly Drawn Boy

Break Up Mix for E
A variety of songs about breaking up and starting over. Most of these songs I listened to during periods when I was breaking up and starting over.
1. That's Just What You Are--Aimee Mann
2. My Lover's Gone--Dido
3. China--Tori Amos
4. Then So It Is--Melissa Ferrick
5. Untouchable Face--Ani DiFranco
6. Love Ridden--Fiona Apple
7. Rain-Patty Griffin
8. Not Pretty Enough--Kasey Chambers
9. Break Up Song--Melissa Ferrick
10. Are You Happy Now?--Richard Shindell
11. Coffee Stain--Sarah Harmer
12. You Had Time--Ani DiFranco
13. I Still Love You--Melissa Ferrick
14. Short Work--Kris Delmhorst
15. Paper Bag--Fiona Apple
16. Your Heart is For Breaking--Anne Heaton
17. Miss Misery--Elliot Smith
18. Hallelujah--Rufus Wainwright
19. Moses--Melissa Ferrick

Sociohistoric theory and Private vs. Public

I created this blog at some point early this year when I felt like I had too personal a persona on the other blog I was posting to. I wanted something more academic, something to sort through my ideas, and a place I could share them with others. But I was sick of writing about my relationships to purge the inner blahness by sharing it with a public audience. I wanted to separate out my personal life and my work.

And then blogging became far less interesting...

I have a class on sociohistoric theory this semester. The basic idea is, academic life does not exist in a vaccuum. You really can't separate them out. Activity is laminated, and its all occurring at the same time all over the place in my brain. It's huge. You can't study writing just by looking at some papers a set of students did for a class. There are personal histories, classroom activity, academic politics, etc. that affect how students write in classes.

It's been very difficult for me to separate my personal and my academic life. I have a journal that I wanted to use for both, but I hate to take it to campus for fear I'll leave it somewhere and people will be able to read about everything I think. All of it is who I am, and yet I constantly feel the need to omit what I think whatever audience I'm addressing won't understand and will misinterpret. Like I can only teach certain things to my students cause I need to think of where they come from and what topics they will be able to take up.

So I've decided to relive on this blog a conversation I recently had with some friends. Basic gist, copying Paul's course pack would be a pain in the butt, some of us chose to do it and some not, and I dressed cute that day, and my friends liked my shoes. A picture of my cute new shoes:

blogging stranger

I've been so busy and I really just keep forgetting to blog. I'm sure there are interesting things related to technology and women and rhetoric that I could be blogging about... but mostly there are little stupid things I want to talk about:

1. My course pack for one class this semester cost $96. The other cost nothing. I could be kind of mad cuz $76 of that was just in copyrights, but I'm not cuz the other was free, so in the universe it all evens out.

2. I'm teaching Freshman, and they're so cute and active and interesting... I can barely keep up. I'm getting too old for this. I want to have more directed conversations, so that my students get some point out of our diversions. I'm working on it.

3. I'm an all organized advisor this semester. I even made a schedule for my advisees which I promptly changed. Go me.

4. I'm singing with Amasong. Did I tell you that? It's my community thing to do this year. It's lovely. There are many great women. I love great women. It's such a good soul lifting thing to be doing. It's hard though cuz I haven't sang since High School, but I'm looking forward to the sense of accomplishment I'll feel when I sing in the winter concert, I'm ok with it.

6. I feel guilty because I haven't managed to get up before 6 and do yoga all week. Bummer.

7. There is a lot of beginning of the semester chaos as well as relationship chaos as well as other chaos all around me. As much as I hate chaos, I kind of thrive on it as well. It motivates me. This morning I am feeling motivated enough to walk to campus with my roomie and get a lot of work done. Go me once again.

More later, when I have something intellectual to say.