A few hours ago I almost started my blog in this manner - I have no idea what to write the third blog about. I haven't even finished all the readings, only the two chapters of A Teaching Subject. All the readings so far have presented many questions and ideas but I'm just not feeling inspired by any of them right now. My previous blogs have already gone on and on about the ever changing chameleon that is composition so I want something fresh.....
That is when I decided I needed to read at least two more pieces of this weeks writing before writing my blog. In the pursuit of being honest in my writing as many of our readings have urged, I looked over what readings were left and picked the two shortest ones, Donald Murray's "Finding Your Own Voice: Teaching Composition in the Age of Dissent" and Peter Elbow's "A Method for Teaching Writing". I was looking forward to reading Elbows piece after Dr. Myers said anyone with a little "hippy dippy" (or "hippie dippie" depending on your spelling preference) in them would appreciate it. (Side note: You should really watch this
The Hippy Dippy Weatherman and may I just say RIP George Carlin.)
However I decided to first read the Donald Murray piece. I am only three pages in but totally excited about. So I'm going to pause here so I can actually finish the article and see if I'm still excited and try to read the Elbow piece and still have time to come back, finish this post and hopefully figure out the big question on my mind right now from the Murray reading- Have I earned an audience?
Okay, I'm back! I am still as excited as before, but now also a bit terrified. I finished Murray's essay and the first half of Elbow's but only have about thirty minutes to get this finished and posted before midnight. So here goes -
What got me so excited about reading Murray's paper? It just resonated with me - how many classes have I had where I was expected to churn out the same five paragraph style, knowing I just needed to regurgitate the teachers lecture and I would get my A? It seems there are just so many examples of students having to worry about writing papers in the style and form of traditional college essays and not focused on writing they may use in the real world or in their career path. "Is it not surprising that the student does not learn to write when the teacher, with destructive virtue, has done most of his student's writing?"(Murray 118). When a student is given an narrowly defined subject with just a list of what it must conclude it limits what the teacher is going to get back. This is even further influenced and limited when the teacher proof reads the paper and pulls out that red pen, because the student will then only write towards what the teacher deemed as good.
Another line that really hit home with me was when Murray was talking about the teachers need to accept and enjoy the diversity of the students. "There is no single standard, no one way to think or to write, and we must not give our students the illusion there is" (Murray 118). When we did our free writing about the perfect English class one of the things I wrote about was the teachers giving the students all the rules of English, but also making them realize they are often "more of just guidelines really" (The quote from Pirates of the Caribbean I mentioned). What I was trying to say is that when a student responds to a text, a poem for example, the conclusions he draws are not necessarily wrong. He may have missed the writers’ intent entirely but this is still what the piece made him feel and think.
Murray also gives a list of the core responsibilities of the student and the teacher, as well as those they share. For the most part I also really agreed with these and could relate them to past classes I've had, and even our class now. According to Murray the "student's first responsibility" is that the student "must find his own subject"(119). This seems to be exactly what Dr. Myers is doing in our class with the blogs. Yes she has given us a general set of rules such as word count or MLA style, but we are left to develop our own subject, to make our own connections to the class reading and respond to them in the way we see most fit. This flows right into second responsibility Murray gives the students, they must "mine the nuggets of information themselves and refine the images or the facts which communicate meaning with authority, the smells and the sounds which give immediacy, the citations and statistics which persuade"(119). It's like the teacher is showing them a map to draw, giving them a legend - all the tools and resources to find information, then leaving them to plot there course across it and end up finding where X marks the spot. It was the third responsibility that began to get me a little bit terrified. "It is the student's responsibility to earn an audience, winning respect for what he has on the page"(Murray 119). I highlighted this quote, then wrote a note beside it - "Oh crap, have I earned an audience - and how do I know if I have?" The teacher putting that A on my papers doesn't mean that it was a paper that will appeal to readers, merely writing the safe paper according the form, style and content dictated by the teacher. The thought that I may have been writing all this time, and yet I'm unsure if people want to read what I'm writing is about as terrifying as if it was my paper the teacher had written "Is English really your native tongue?" (Elbow 115). Before reading the fourth responsibility I stopped to check the date of this article, and was very shocked and disappointed when I read it was from 1969. These same arguments have been raised time and time again, yet it seems there is little change. I really loved the fourth responsibility as well, the student must have the freedom to "find his own form" (Murray 120), it actually made me want to try and make my blog reply in the form of poem or prose, but I'm too tired to be that witty in 400 words at the moment.
When I went to write my first blog, I was a bit stressed because I wasn't quite sure what the teacher wanted. This very question is echoed by Murray when he pleads for teachers to "not compound the felonies of the past"(120) but allow the students to explore their own subjects and forms. The writing lab he describes in the first responsibility of teachers sounded like a place I'd love to work or study. I actually thought to myself, if I could teach a class like this, I wouldn't mind being a teacher. The set up they have reminded me of the teachers in the Take 20 DVD we watched, when they were talking about knowing when to back off and let the students go off on their own. The next two responsibilities seemed pretty basic to me and just repeating what I've discussed about students heeding to teacher expectations. The fourth responsibility made me realize why I've had so much trouble with editing my own work- I've been letting teachers do it for me. I've grown accustom to writing a first draft, turning it in, getting it back with lots of little red marks, and rewriting it mostly to only take care of the issues that were marked. I loved the idea of sitting down with the teacher and discussing the content of the essay before they pull out that dreadful red pen. Since I've never really planned on becoming a teacher, I've only really been applying what we've been reading about to my own writing.
Murray also discusses the shared responsibility of teacher and student. I am still not sure how I feel about his idea of teachers and students publishing together, but once I realized he meant publishing in an informal manner it made more sense. It reminds me of my creative high school teacher who would do our free writing exercises with us, and read hers aloud as well. Though I can't say I ever really recall her "failing with [us]" (Murray 122) it was nice to have her participate in the writing process. However I was once again terrified by the idea of being forced to "face my audience" (Murray 122), hopefully that is something I can overcome in my remaining years of school.
Murray and Elbow seem to share the idea that students must be given the chance to teach themselves how to write, by finding subjects that interest them and then searching for supporting evidence and figuring out how to put it together in its best form. Though I wonder what ever happened to Murray's anticipated "age of dissent"? The same arguments seen throughout our readings do not seem to have been resolved at all. Is that the true nature of the field of composition? Not just that it evolves and encompasses many different aspects but that those different aspects also continue to war with each other to be the main focus.
Hahaha. I still love your Pirates of the Caribbean references and not just because I think the quote in the movie is funny, but because it totally makes sense. Part of reading someone else's work is to invoke personal feelings about it. I can't tell you how many times I've spoke up in class with my own opinion about a poem I really dug, just to get my idea either entirely or partially shut down. To be honest, the experiences have probably made me speak my mind less in classes that I've been in. I fully believe that teachers have the responsibility to accept all thoughts and feelings and interpretations about poems, no matter how far off they might be. That student is just expressing his or her opinion about he poem.
ReplyDeleteThis also applies to writing. English grammar and “rules” really are just guidelines. Sometimes a person’s style can be quite deviating from proper English rules. I mean, think about ee cummings…no punctuation and capitalization? Seriously? Yet, he is one of the most famous poets ever.
Given, students should be taught about grammar and how to form proper sentences and what a gerund is. Those things are important, but in writing, what is most important is that the student gets his or her feelings and emotions across in way where the audience can understand and react to it.
I love the way you write!! There is a mood that you create that makes me feel at ease and drawn into your thoughts. So, I guess you have accomplished what Murray suggests…gaining an audience! As you wrote in your blog, "Is it not surprising that the student does not learn to write when the teacher, with destructive virtue, has done most of his student's writing?"(Murray 118). I completely agree with Murray’s statement. I have had an expereince in highschool where, basically my teacher revised my paper enough times that she ended up writing it herself and giving me an “A”! It made my confidence in writing deteriorate, because I did not feel like I could accomplish what my teacher needed. Though, in my freshman comp. class I was able to push aside all feelings of uncertainty. I had a wonderful professor that incorporated Murray’s belief into her lessons/assignments. I flourished in my own thoughts and was able to express myself beyond anything I had ever known. I had a voice! I love that Murray suggests, "There is no single standard, no one way to think or to write, and we must not give our students the illusion there is" (Murray 118).
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