tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post6515653039698150335..comments2023-12-19T23:18:30.239-05:00Comments on Reticulated Writer: What it means: the purposeReticulahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-28894561823760612752008-12-30T21:45:00.000-05:002008-12-30T21:45:00.000-05:00I don't know what your English class will be like,...I don't know what your English class will be like, Mothersong, but in the ones I teach, the writing goes beyond what most professors require of their students. I expect my students to create knowledge through their writing; I want them to learn about something and be excited about that learning as they communicate it in writing. I don't want them to tell me what somebody else said; I want them to understand what other people are saying in a larger context and then add to that conversation. And I don't want to see it in that dreaded five-paragraph essay format. (Imagine the sound of me retching here.) It's hard work, and no matter how hard I work as a teacher, a quarter to a third of my class will fail.<BR/><BR/>In fact, if I were to take my own English 101 class, I would find it challenging, and so would most of my peers in the English department. I hope they would also find it fun and rewarding. That's what writing should be.<BR/><BR/>Because it's a required class (required for graduation), most of my students don't care about writing better; they just want to know what they have to do to pass. But there's always that handful who step up to the challenge and find out that even something hard like writing can be a rush when they create something bigger and better than they thought they had in them.<BR/><BR/>I have no doubt you'll get your A out of your English class. The question is whether you will write in ways that make you want to go back and read your own words over and over just because you love they way they sound. And whether you will say exactly what you want to say in a way that amazes you and makes you want to share it with your friends, even though it's just an college English paper. I like my A's too, but that buzz you get from putting what Yeats called "the inevitable word" on the page is worth all the A's I've ever earned in my life.Reticulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-74364651864300947002008-12-30T19:46:00.000-05:002008-12-30T19:46:00.000-05:00I'm taking English this semester, reluctantly. I t...I'm taking English this semester, reluctantly. I tested into the highest English class, but it didn't fit into my schedule. I took a bunch of classes that had an English pre-req, or having tested into the higher English.<BR/><BR/>So now I'm thinking why bother? I already have been writing a ton of research papers, and getting good grades. I already tested high. Why should I have to take English at all?<BR/><BR/>This is sounding fun, though. Maybe this will get me in the mood, you know? Writing as interesting rather than writing as required.mothersonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02678632839250939962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-56659267411642738042008-12-30T19:24:00.000-05:002008-12-30T19:24:00.000-05:00Oh, my Twittering. Now I do have something to look...Oh, my Twittering. Now I do have something to look forward to. Do I need one more internet addiction though?Reticulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05577343017332273507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-85075199046707568902008-12-30T18:38:00.000-05:002008-12-30T18:38:00.000-05:00Yay! Welcome to the Blogosphere!Next thing you kno...Yay! Welcome to the Blogosphere!<BR/><BR/>Next thing you know, you'll be Twittering!Cartophiliachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15474715424129283330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5856183318248330085.post-71311915958612534312008-12-30T18:11:00.000-05:002008-12-30T18:11:00.000-05:00Oh, I'm excited! We are very alike with the patte...Oh, I'm excited! We are very alike with the pattern and connection thing. I think the human brain does that naturally, but not all of us are as aware of the process as some. I'm also always trying to connect people, which can be hard because once a connection is made I tend to feel responsible for keeping it healthy. <BR/><BR/>See, you've already got me thinking and wanting to write more!Jen - Queen of Poohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08017912976750336147noreply@blogger.com