Cross Post: Reading Again...

 It’s Week 3.  I’m ready to go.  We’re still talking about reading in 1302.  I’m sure they’re ready to be done with this topic, but it’s so vital to their education, that I have to give them one more lesson on it.

Here’s what we’re learning about reading…

You must read EFFECTIVELY, ACTIVELY, & CRITICALLY!

It’s important to be a Critical Reader/Thinker.

•       To evaluate what you’ve read

•       To form judgments

•       To develop your own point of view

•       To respond analytically to the ideas of others

•       To exchange ideas with others in conversation

•       To ask and answer questions

•       To develop ideas that can be explored further in your writing

Definitions

Effective Reading is reading in a way that allows you to understand the writer's message without spending too much time in the process.

Active Reading simply means reading something with a determination to understand and evaluate it for its relevance to your needs.

Critical Reading is reading carefully, actively, reflectively, and analytically to understand, evaluate, and analyze a text.  Critical reading is a technique for discovering information and ideas within a text.

Six Traits of a Critical Reader/Thinker

1. Focused on Facts
2. Analytical
3. Open-minded
4. Questioning/skeptical
5. Creative
6. Intellectually active

Reading is a two-way street.

The author is writing to teach you something, and you are reading to learn something.

You must engage with the text, and evaluate the author’s words, thoughts, and feelings; as you acknowledge your thoughts, feelings, and disagreements with and about the text.

Cheers to being an EFFECTIVE, ACTIVE, & CRITICAL reader!

Week 3: Prompt 2: But What if I’m the Away Team Member that Dies

Week 3: Blog Prompt 1 – Pick one of the Leadership lessons from "Five Leadership Lessons…" that you value and discuss it.

“Five Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk” is an essay written by Alex Knapp.  In it, he discusses lessons we can learn from James T. Kirk, the main character from the TV show Star Trek.  He contends that Kirk’s successful missions were not by accidents.  According to Knapp, “His style of command demonstrates a keen understanding of leadership and how to maintain a team that succeeds time and time again, regardless of the dangers faced” (28).

In lue of my score for Developing Interdependence on the Self-Assessment test (http://livinglovingteachingwriting.blogspot.com/2018/01/thats-not-right-score.html) from Week 1, I thought I’d pick this one...

Be Part of the Away Team

“Risk is our business. That’s what this starship is all about. That’s why we’re aboard her.”

Knapp discusses James T. Kirk’s willingness to put himself in harms way and join the away team missions.  He writes, “With his boots on the ground, he was always able to make quick assessments of the situation, leading to superior results, at least, superior for everyone with a name and not wearing a red shirt” (30).  This proves that Kirk was a hands-on leader.  He was able to lead his team by doing, and not just by talking.  As a leader, often we feel that we do not have to have our boots on the ground, causing us to forget what it was like when we were in our team’s shoes.  This can cause a leader to lose perspective.  Losing perspective can facility a lack of empathy for your team.  And, you do not get to know your team members.

One thing I try to do is get to know the names of my students.  It is not always easy, depending on the class size, but I think that is what makes me a caring professor, I want to know my team.  I enjoy being with my students, talking to them, and hearing their thoughts and ideas.  I think my students trust me more because I have been through what they are going through, and I still remember what it is like to be a college student.  In the classroom, I am Kirk.  I am the leader.

When it comes to being a teacher, I like being with my students, but I just have to learn to be a part of the away team in life.  My scariness with being part of the away team in life is that on Star Trek, almost always, one of the away team members, (the extra for that episode) ended up dying.  In real life, I feel like I am the extra, and I will be the one who dies in whatever episode I am in at that time.  I know that it is fear that causes me to feel this way, but I do not want to be in the extra in life.  I do not want to be that random person who no one knows their name or where they came from.  They just showed up, and then died.

Developing Interdependence will help me overcome this weird fear, but I must work at it.  I must remember, that in real life… I have to be a part of the away team, even if I am not the leader of the team, and there is a chance I will be the Away Team Member that Dies.

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Works Cited

Knapp, Alex. "Five Leadership Lessons from James T. Kirk." Read, Write, Reason, Edited by Dorothy U. Selyler, McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. 28-32. e-file.

That’s Not the Right Score

I asked the students to write an essay discussing their scores.  I thought I’d discuss mine.

We must apply self-reflection on a regular basis.  It helps us become a better person.  We did that in my ENGL1302 class.  It was a Self-Assessment test.  It looked at many areas that a student needs to develop to be a successful college student.

Often, taking these types of tests are monotonous and useless, but I found this test to be helpful.  I have taught this lecture twice before, but this year was the first time I took the test.  The questions were interesting, and they caused me to pause and think several times.  They were eye-opening as well.  The scoring of the test took awhile because it requires more math than I wanted to have to deal with, but it was worth it.

I knew that I would have only one low area, Employing Interdependence.  This is where you create relationships that will help you be successful in life.  I am a self-actualizer, and I prefer working by myself whenever possible.  I do ask for help, but I would rather work alone.  I hate, yes, hate working in groups.  But, as I tallied up the scores, I saw that I had a low score in Developing Emotional Intelligence.  This is where you understand your emotions, control them, and work towards creating your own happiness and peace of mind.  My score there was 20 points lower than I expected it to be.  I was shocked.

It seems that I need to work on developing my emotional intelligence more.  I usually am even tempered, but I can zone out on you when I am in “one of my moods.”  I have been known to ignore people well.  My husband laughs at me and tells me that he wishes he had my focus.  I am still somewhat upset about this low score, but I am working on growing in this area.

The scores of my other areas were in the 70s.  I expected that.  My highest score was Discover Self-Motivation.  I am a self-motivator.  In fact, I enjoy motivating others.  I have always motivated myself.  I function best when I am accomplishing various tasks and goals that I set for myself.  It is fun to find ways to motivate myself; I used to use stickers when I taught pre-k, but as a college professor, I find that checking off or crossing through completed tasks works.

Overall, taking this test with my students helped me learn more about myself.  I believe in showing my students that I use what I teach them to succeed.  I was able to tell my students that I had low scores on the assessment, so they should not feel bad if they had a low score on the assessment.

Life is all about growing, learning, and becoming better.  this is just one tool that shows you how you can do that.

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Works Cited

Downing, Skip. “Self-Assessment.” On Course, 5th edition, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 2007, 6-10, e-file.

Assessing Ourselves

We took a Self-Assessment last week in 1302.  It looks at the following areas:

Accepting Personal Responsibility – “seeing themselves as the primary cause of their outcomes and experiences.”

Discovering Self-Motivation – “finding purpose in their lives by discovering personally meaningful goals and dreams.”

Mastering Self-Management – “consistently planning and taking purposeful actions in pursuit of their goals and dreams.”

Employing Interdependence – “building mutually supportive relationships that help them achieve their goals and dreams (while helping others do the same).”

Gain Self-Awareness – “consciously employing behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes that keep them on course.”

Adopting Lifelong Learning – “finding valuable lessons and wisdom in nearly every experience they have.”

Developing Emotional Intelligence – “effectively managing their emotions in support of their goals and dreams.”

Believing in Myself – “seeing themselves as capable, lovable, and unconditionally worthy human beings.”

I feel that this lesson will help the students greatly.

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Works Cited

Down, Skip.  “On Course.” On Course, “Creating Success in College - On Course,” Handout, Freshmen Composition II: ENGL1302, (Professor Deartra D. Boone,) Richland College, Jan. 2018, e-file.

Week 2: Prompt 2: Read... Read... Then Read Some More

Prompt: What advice can you give a high schooler who is preparing for college?  Be sure to give specific, concrete, sound, helpful advice.

Reading is the foundation of being a good writer.  Once I had a student ask… “I heard you have to read a lot to be a good writer, is that true?”  I smiled and said, “Yes, it is.”  The student has this look on his face that let me know he didn’t like to read.

***

Reading well is one of the most important skills for succeeding in college and in life.

Yet, according to the American College Testing organization:

about half (49 percent) of the 1.2 million students who took the ACT college entrance test in 2005 had scores indicating…

they were unready to handle college-level reading.

-From On Course by Skip Downing

***

This week and next week we are discussing reading in my 1302 classes.  As I teach them about reading, I stress to them that college requires a lot of reading.  The material may be hard to read, you may not like the subject matter, and you may not want to read; but you must read.  And, we practice reading.  We read at least two articles each week.  I also make sure that they write something on both articles, so that they don’t feel as if they wasted their time reading something with no purpose other than just reading.

After LISTENING ACTIVELY, READING ACTIVELY, EFFECTIVELY, AND CRITICALLY is the best skill you can have when going to college.  Doing all four of these take practice.  The last skill you need in college is NOTE-TAKING.

So, as you prepare to go to college work on these skills…

• Listening actively
• Reading actively, effectively, and critically
• Taking notes

Once you master these three skills, you’ll be able to conquer college.

Read "College Ain't Easy" to learn about Dual Credit Classes - http://livinglovingteachingwriting.blogspot.com/2017/02/week-2-prompt-2-college-aint-easy.html

Week 2: Prompt 1: The Modernizing of Hansel & Gretel (A Fairytale)

Prompt: Thinking about the discussion of Hansel & Gretel today, how would you make the story more meaningful for millennials?  Be sure to give specific examples.

Being that I am not a millennial, I am not sure how I would change the modern adaptation.  It seems modern enough.  But, here’s my attempt at making it meaningful to the youngins’.

First, I would take it out of the woods.  I would put it in a modern metropolitan area.  Then, I would have the parents drive them to the country, and leave them there.  This would probably make it almost impossible for the children to get back because they may not be able to get back to the city.  That might defeat the whole purpose of the story.

Instead of dropping something to leave a trail of M&Ms or bread crumbs as referenced in the original story, I would have the kids take pictures of the various landmarks.  That would be more effective in getting them home.

I would have them walk for a few miles until they found a farmhouse, where the lady of the house welcomed them in with open arms because she was lonely, and wanted companionship.  She would feed them, then treat them well, lulling them into a false sense of security before she puts them to work as farmhands.  Of course, the man of the house would come in and crack the whip.

The kids would eventually grow tired of the hard work, and then steal the farmer’s truck, and drive home using the pictures they took as their parents drove them to the country.  They would come back home with a new appreciation for what they have, and what their parents gave them.  They would go to college, and become productive citizens, learning the lesson to be appreciate and work for what you have.

But knowing millenials as I do, if they were allowed to keep their cell phones, they could just call an Uber or Lyft, and get back home.  Yes, this would not teach them a lesson, as a fairytale is supposed to, but they use their resources.

Works Cited
“Hansel and Gretel: A Modern Adaptation.” Rhetoric and Civic Life, Penn State University, 26 Sept. 2013, sites.psu.edu/rclsen/2013/09/26/hansel-and-gretel-a-modern-adaptation/.

Here We Go Again...

I only posted for two weeks last semester.  I'll get further this semester.

Well... Here we go again... another Spring semester in ENGL1302.
We ready!!!!