Dear Rios
I agree with you that Berlin was very hard to follow. He wrote about four dominant historical groups with regard to their methods of teaching writing. The first group was the Classicists which follow the philosophy of Aristotle. They believe in deductive logic. An example of this would be, when you begin with a generalization such as "All men are mortal, and go to a specific that "John is mortal". It is important to understand that when it comes to Aristotle he believes that each word has a meaning in and of itself.
The second group is Current Traditionalist. They believe in induction. They believe you learn the truth by observing and experimenting. This style does not believe that a word can have meaning without context, unlike Aristotle beliefs. They believe in proof plain and simple. This style of teaching believes much more in arrangement and style, than the Classicists.
The third group is the Current -Traditional Rhetoric. They can be traced to Emerson and its original source is Plato. They believe that truth can be learned, but not taught. Plato believes that truth can be learned individually. The world we live in is always changing , therefore it holds no truth to itself. Therefore the only truth is one persons own reality.
The last group which is Berlin`s favorite is the New Rhetoric. This group believes that knowledge comes about from two opposing points of view. The result of these two opposing theories going head to head creates a new truth all to itself. An example would be the factory workers fighting with their bosses. The result of that could be the start of labor unions. Therefore those two opposing arguments created a new truth all to itself. This theory also believes that language helps create truth. It makes me wonder do they think then that we would be feeble minded without language?
Reflection on peer writing
I loved this style. It helped me come up with different ideas to write about. Two minds work better than one. It made think when I was reading about what the other person must be thinking. It really kept my mind alert, while writing and reading. I think this style would work great with high school students. I would without a doubt use this method of writing in teaching a high school class. I think it could help students prepare for tests as well. It really helped prepare me for class. I came into class with two points of view on the content, instead of only one. This method is sought of like the New Rhetoric style that Berlin likes. In this style you take two theories, and create a new truth all to its own.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
letter to Rios blog number five
Dear Rios
I thought that what Young had to say stuck to me the most in this week`s readings. The one idea I would like to talk about is the example he gives about an accounting professor assigning his class to write a poem(pg19). I found this to be very clever. Creative writing is not just for English classes. It is also not just for fun. It is a valuable academic tool. To write without using half of your brain, is to not write at all. When one writes strictly in an academic format, without using any creativity, it becomes a blank page with random letters on it. Therefore I think it is very important to stress to students to exercise their creative minds, when preparing for any type of writing assignment.
I was watching a special on the fall of Rome the other day and I asked myself a simple question, how do they know all of this information that has happened so long ago? Rose gave a very simple answer to my question? The information was written down. Rose explains that without writing there is no history, or philosophy, or sociology(pg348). We have always taught WAC in the classrooms, we just didn`t know it.
In reading Bean I began to once again think about what is academic writing. I can recall my last class that I took before this semester a couple of years ago, and the professor told me affront of the whole class that she didn`t know how I got to this level of education. She didn`t think I belonged, because she didn`t think I followed quote on quote the academic principles of academic writing. I think in reading Bean and the other two writers, one can begin to realize that the most important part of any writing, is to make your point. It is to have something to say with a purpose. The academic community sometimes tries to keep people out, they try to find all sought of rules that allows them to think they are smarter than everyone else.It becomes a form of segragation. This attitude stops many young pople from ever getting past high school in their academic careers. The only rule in writing something, is to have a purpose in writing it. I am interested to see what you think about what I wrote.
I thought that what Young had to say stuck to me the most in this week`s readings. The one idea I would like to talk about is the example he gives about an accounting professor assigning his class to write a poem(pg19). I found this to be very clever. Creative writing is not just for English classes. It is also not just for fun. It is a valuable academic tool. To write without using half of your brain, is to not write at all. When one writes strictly in an academic format, without using any creativity, it becomes a blank page with random letters on it. Therefore I think it is very important to stress to students to exercise their creative minds, when preparing for any type of writing assignment.
I was watching a special on the fall of Rome the other day and I asked myself a simple question, how do they know all of this information that has happened so long ago? Rose gave a very simple answer to my question? The information was written down. Rose explains that without writing there is no history, or philosophy, or sociology(pg348). We have always taught WAC in the classrooms, we just didn`t know it.
In reading Bean I began to once again think about what is academic writing. I can recall my last class that I took before this semester a couple of years ago, and the professor told me affront of the whole class that she didn`t know how I got to this level of education. She didn`t think I belonged, because she didn`t think I followed quote on quote the academic principles of academic writing. I think in reading Bean and the other two writers, one can begin to realize that the most important part of any writing, is to make your point. It is to have something to say with a purpose. The academic community sometimes tries to keep people out, they try to find all sought of rules that allows them to think they are smarter than everyone else.It becomes a form of segragation. This attitude stops many young pople from ever getting past high school in their academic careers. The only rule in writing something, is to have a purpose in writing it. I am interested to see what you think about what I wrote.
Monday, October 5, 2009
letter to Rios blog number four
Dear Rios,
I agree with your assessment on chapter one of WAC for the New Millennium. It amazed me how diversified this movement is. After reading this chapter I am sure this movement is here to stay. Writing is a tool that is needed for academic success. There is no reason why it should be taught only in the English class room. I really enjoyed how it has reached out into community programs. Schools are not the only place to learn how to write. It also makes sense to me that if you can learn other content material while learning to write, that is making the most out of the time the school has with its students. Why should we teach only one thing at a time, when we can successfully teach several things at a time. I agree with you that this movement can help with SAT`s scores. I think that writing to learn is a very effective way to prepare kids for tests. This chapter taught me a lot of useful information that will help me in my teaching career.
I think that peer tutoring is a great tool that is not used nearly enough. In Writing to learn and the WAC book, both express the importance of peer tutoring. I believe students are much more likely to listen to their peers, than their teachers. It is a more comfortable experience for them to learn. Both books also point out that it is a learning experience for the tutor as well. I was a English major and in many of my writing classes, we were judged by our peers much more so than our teachers. This was especially true in my creative writing classes. It can be humbling at times, but in the end it serves a vital purpose. My concerns with it are that the right people need to be matched up. A bad experience in learning with your peers could set a struggling student back in their studies.
You made a good point about the importance of starting this process with younger students. If the students are more familiar with these teaching methods when they get to higher learning, then they will be more effective. It is always good to start new teaching methods with younger kids, this way they will know nothing else, but the most up to date teaching theories.
The comment that Bean made that good writing grows out of good talking, I thought to be excellent. I think this is the best way to teach students. We care so much about where a comma is and all that stuff, but we don`t focus enough on the student`s writing voice. That is why there is such a disconnect with students and writing. If you teach them that writing is just another vehicle for them to talk, then they will be much more engaged. It has been a pleasure exchanging ideas with you.
Donald Ritter
I agree with your assessment on chapter one of WAC for the New Millennium. It amazed me how diversified this movement is. After reading this chapter I am sure this movement is here to stay. Writing is a tool that is needed for academic success. There is no reason why it should be taught only in the English class room. I really enjoyed how it has reached out into community programs. Schools are not the only place to learn how to write. It also makes sense to me that if you can learn other content material while learning to write, that is making the most out of the time the school has with its students. Why should we teach only one thing at a time, when we can successfully teach several things at a time. I agree with you that this movement can help with SAT`s scores. I think that writing to learn is a very effective way to prepare kids for tests. This chapter taught me a lot of useful information that will help me in my teaching career.
I think that peer tutoring is a great tool that is not used nearly enough. In Writing to learn and the WAC book, both express the importance of peer tutoring. I believe students are much more likely to listen to their peers, than their teachers. It is a more comfortable experience for them to learn. Both books also point out that it is a learning experience for the tutor as well. I was a English major and in many of my writing classes, we were judged by our peers much more so than our teachers. This was especially true in my creative writing classes. It can be humbling at times, but in the end it serves a vital purpose. My concerns with it are that the right people need to be matched up. A bad experience in learning with your peers could set a struggling student back in their studies.
You made a good point about the importance of starting this process with younger students. If the students are more familiar with these teaching methods when they get to higher learning, then they will be more effective. It is always good to start new teaching methods with younger kids, this way they will know nothing else, but the most up to date teaching theories.
The comment that Bean made that good writing grows out of good talking, I thought to be excellent. I think this is the best way to teach students. We care so much about where a comma is and all that stuff, but we don`t focus enough on the student`s writing voice. That is why there is such a disconnect with students and writing. If you teach them that writing is just another vehicle for them to talk, then they will be much more engaged. It has been a pleasure exchanging ideas with you.
Donald Ritter
Thursday, October 1, 2009
reflection on first three blogs
I liked the format very much. It made me think deeper about the readings. It allowed me a chance to communicate with the authors. I would without a doubt use this style of writing with a high school class. It would give them a chance to understand their readings better. It would also make them read on a deeper level. This style of writing allows for more creativity. It gives the writer more places to go with their responses to the readings. I really enjoyed this method of writing and it helped me understand the readings much better.
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