Through the course of my "Blogging Around", I saw Thomas's very precise, succinct comment on his blogging experience. He stated roughly that although the concept has it's pitfalls, the benefits of casual free-flow of thought writing are very nice. I responded as such:
"Thomas, I thought you had some great thoughts on here. Whereas I normally take a long time to express a point when writing it, you got the jist of my feelings regarding blogging in some very few sentences. I too feel like the informality (though, yes, the reigns do need to be kept somewhat tight) makes for easy writing and some real thinking that isn't TOO forced. Of course we're going to have some days where we just don't know what to write about a certain assignment, but at least this way we don't have to sound like calculating, expository geniuses while trying to pretend as though we do know what to say.
And by the way, great cartoon. Poor cheerleaders."
Secondly, I responded to Jon's blog, which talked about free-thinking, how he's come to understand his pattern of thinking, and his concerns over the overall "restricted" assignment process of blogging in Mr. Allen's class.
"Hey Jon, love the post. I found it interesting how, right off the bat, you said you felt blogging taught you something about your own thinking. The reason I found that...interesting, I suppose, is because I've never looked at it that way. You've now kind of inspired me to go back and really try to rember WHY I think the way I currently do vs. merely know how I currently think.
Regarding your thoughts on how it's "free flow thinking", I totally agree.
About that last bit though? I recognize that sometimes the prompts and forced, and how that's, well...inconvenient, but many people seem to wish that they hadn't had to do them in the first place. And when thinking about that, I have to disagree a little bit, because school isn't always going to suit our thoughts or needs, nor should it. I think these were made to make us think and, if I may...uncomfortable in our thinking, so that we really examine things to come to a truly thought-out answer. If we had it our way and could just write about anything in english class, I doubt there'd be any challenge to the process and I suspect there'd be little gain from it.
No, the gain that Mr. Allen hoped for may not have been as big as he wished (and that's just a guess). Still, I think it was worth the try. And overall, I think you have a great flow and natural vibe to your blogs, as you do whern you speak. I hope you keep yours up and running :]"
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Metacognition: This Year's Blog
This year's blog process has been one that I've enjoyed. Granted, I felt a bit forced at times, but when something has to be done for school, it's got to be done for school, and I understand that. We can't blog about whatever we well please in this process or else, well, I'll ramble endlessly about art and love, someone else'll ramble about birds, and someone else'll ramble about how this is "like, oo my god, the biggest waste of time I've like ever spent on homework, Mr. Allen!" (This, of course, is a guess. I do, however, think I could find some people who might agree with me.)
In any event, I've enjoyed this process as a way of doing work that doesn't require me to research and doesn't have the teacher's opinions or intended "lessons learned" as the guiding factors of a grade. I need to be awake and cognitive in class, and be ableeto read directions, and, as long as no complications occur, I can do this assignment. I love the fact that the structure by which we're held day in and day out isn't necessarily forced or upheld; I feel it brings a certain unhindered flow of thought into the blog that one wouldn't get elsewhere. When I'm writing in the blog, I'm surprised that thoughts just FLOW out of me. Honestly, I feel like it's harder to write an essay because one feels forced and restricted in the many different ways that essays control/guide the writer (which I don't think I need to explain) and so perhaps it would be a better idea, as an experiment,, to give an assignment, have students blog about it, find their central focus among all the psychobabble, and have them construct an essay from that. No, I'm not a teacher, so I don't find that something I'd sit up at night thinking how to do. But if I was a teacher, that might be how I'd go about things.
In the end, except for the amount of cursing that I'm assuming isn't allowed in school blogs, blog-speak is US speak. It is, more or less, how students speak, unless we're using correct grammar for brownie points or not typing "lol" at every sentence (and we've all wanted to at one time or another). But you probably already know this, Mr. Allen. I'd be surprised if you didn't. So WHY am I telling you? Well--and with my luck, you've probably already deduced this yourself--we come out writing and using writing skills and learning to improve and turning in legible, intelligent, and thoughtful pieces almost every week, and, this being the kicker, without a classic format.
Maybe it's just us.
I know it's not just me (Blogging around has showed me that).
But I seriously think this blog of ours has allowed us, or at least myself, as students, to get the best of both worlds. And through this experience, I've learned that not only can one be unrestricted (outside of a desired subject about which to write) in writing and still be effective, but that it can be done over, and over, and over again, without obsessive control, from day one. I've enjoyed watching myself be a part of that realization, knowing that I can produce "good" information just through being told to "write", and that my education can be taught by a teacher through a method not so intense that students come crawling out of the wall shouting "We don't need no education" (as some inevitably do, sometimes).
This is a great model for continuing material learning in class and for keeping students' writing abilities up to par. What else can I say?
In any event, I've enjoyed this process as a way of doing work that doesn't require me to research and doesn't have the teacher's opinions or intended "lessons learned" as the guiding factors of a grade. I need to be awake and cognitive in class, and be ableeto read directions, and, as long as no complications occur, I can do this assignment. I love the fact that the structure by which we're held day in and day out isn't necessarily forced or upheld; I feel it brings a certain unhindered flow of thought into the blog that one wouldn't get elsewhere. When I'm writing in the blog, I'm surprised that thoughts just FLOW out of me. Honestly, I feel like it's harder to write an essay because one feels forced and restricted in the many different ways that essays control/guide the writer (which I don't think I need to explain) and so perhaps it would be a better idea, as an experiment,, to give an assignment, have students blog about it, find their central focus among all the psychobabble, and have them construct an essay from that. No, I'm not a teacher, so I don't find that something I'd sit up at night thinking how to do. But if I was a teacher, that might be how I'd go about things.
In the end, except for the amount of cursing that I'm assuming isn't allowed in school blogs, blog-speak is US speak. It is, more or less, how students speak, unless we're using correct grammar for brownie points or not typing "lol" at every sentence (and we've all wanted to at one time or another). But you probably already know this, Mr. Allen. I'd be surprised if you didn't. So WHY am I telling you? Well--and with my luck, you've probably already deduced this yourself--we come out writing and using writing skills and learning to improve and turning in legible, intelligent, and thoughtful pieces almost every week, and, this being the kicker, without a classic format.
Maybe it's just us.
I know it's not just me (Blogging around has showed me that).
But I seriously think this blog of ours has allowed us, or at least myself, as students, to get the best of both worlds. And through this experience, I've learned that not only can one be unrestricted (outside of a desired subject about which to write) in writing and still be effective, but that it can be done over, and over, and over again, without obsessive control, from day one. I've enjoyed watching myself be a part of that realization, knowing that I can produce "good" information just through being told to "write", and that my education can be taught by a teacher through a method not so intense that students come crawling out of the wall shouting "We don't need no education" (as some inevitably do, sometimes).
This is a great model for continuing material learning in class and for keeping students' writing abilities up to par. What else can I say?
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Blogging Around
The first blog I responded to was Jamie's. She talked about Growth, in an intellectual sense. She spoke of how we, at earlier points in life, frequently dismiss things because we think we've gained all there is to gain and there's nothing else that could possibly fit its way into our head, because there's simply "nothing more to learn" from it. Looking back, after having read Michael K, she realized that this was not the case, and she's grown to appreciate what she previously dismissed, to which I responded:
"Alright. So. Jamie Tolmatsky could kind of, sort of, be my hero in this blog's case.
Why?
Because (switching to speaking to the writer, now) you 1) acknowledged the fact that at many times people (and especially teens) overlook things because they think they can see everything to be taken from it and find there's nothing to learn, and
2) You've personally recognized that particular ideaology and chosen to move away from it (I never find enough people who think like this and it literally made me incredibly happy to see. It was refreshing, to say the least.)
Oh, and 3)--You actually connected that ideology with something we did in English class. Personally, I can't remember the faintest thing about the "Stone" poem and I'm sure some of the lessons from Michael K, though he's been my favorite character, will wash away over time in the tide of my brain. So the fact that you can make these connections that're required of us and make an actual, valid, (and, if you continue to think this way throughout your life) life-changing distinction from it is...awesome. Keep doin' what you're doin', a'right?"
My second comment was in response to Leanne's Metacognition blog, which showed her frustration with writing a story that felt forced and not entirely hers, hoping for the best in the end. Hoping to clear things up, I responded, saying:
Dear Leannaaa,
In a way, I agree with you. I understand that it sucks to not be able to finish the story you originally intended to write, only to be told to rewrite most of it in another direction, whereupon you feel you've lost that creative drive and you miss your voice.
It's like being given a chance to do something you'll enjoy and then, once you've had a taste of it, someone takes it, alters it, and tells you to enjoy what you can out if it, because they know it'll be better in the long run...somehow.
Now, here's the thing.
I really, really think you should write out the whole story as you originally planned it (if you're still interested in it as it first was). Write it with all the language devices you can, with all your specific twists and turns, with whatever you thought was significant to you, and be able to say that you finished it. You finished YOUR story.
Then, I think you should read it aloud. Read it aloud, find all the awkward sentences and phrases (and no, not "awkward teenage dialogue *chuckle chuckle*", but sentences that just...don't seem right) and try to fix those. Use everything that you've learned so far in all your English classes to make it seem as professional as possible. Because, at least for me, how comfortable we are with our story is determined by how good it sounds, how well it stands up in the boxing ring of criticism against published bigwigs. Of course we may not be necessarily good enough or experienced enough to be published as proifessionals yet, but it's a good thing to base your writing on. In the end, you have to be comfortable with it, to be able to read it and not grimace at what sounds strange or juvenile.
You've got to be willing to be your own critic, I think. Very few people like to be criticised by others who think they have a much better idea of how THEIR story should be written. And that's a valid dislike. In the end, the critic represents the public. So, right now, we have that in Mr. Allen. It doesn't take a genius to see that you're not happy over the laborious revisions, that you want your story to be told, and not a teacher's.
So refresh yourself. Being tied down by criticisms and rules and regulations while writing a story that isn't even yours has GOT to be inhibiting you and your creativity, and that's the last thing anyone wants. So again, refresh yourself. Step back, shake your head violently, and re-write. (Nah, you probably don't want to do this now. But the summer can get kind of boring some days. Maybe try it then :].) And write out your story. Read it aloud, coax the awkward out of the first -draft sentences, and think about all the ways it could be done better. If you enjoy storytelling, and feel like it's worth it to start and finish something so that you can truly call it YOURS (and that feels gooood), then try that out. And no matter how good it may be for the public, it won't really matter; it's your story, written by you, for you. Written freely, happily, and with an open mind.
And, you know...you always have that other "school" one to fall back on ;].
Capice?
"Alright. So. Jamie Tolmatsky could kind of, sort of, be my hero in this blog's case.
Why?
Because (switching to speaking to the writer, now) you 1) acknowledged the fact that at many times people (and especially teens) overlook things because they think they can see everything to be taken from it and find there's nothing to learn, and
2) You've personally recognized that particular ideaology and chosen to move away from it (I never find enough people who think like this and it literally made me incredibly happy to see. It was refreshing, to say the least.)
Oh, and 3)--You actually connected that ideology with something we did in English class. Personally, I can't remember the faintest thing about the "Stone" poem and I'm sure some of the lessons from Michael K, though he's been my favorite character, will wash away over time in the tide of my brain. So the fact that you can make these connections that're required of us and make an actual, valid, (and, if you continue to think this way throughout your life) life-changing distinction from it is...awesome. Keep doin' what you're doin', a'right?"
My second comment was in response to Leanne's Metacognition blog, which showed her frustration with writing a story that felt forced and not entirely hers, hoping for the best in the end. Hoping to clear things up, I responded, saying:
Dear Leannaaa,
In a way, I agree with you. I understand that it sucks to not be able to finish the story you originally intended to write, only to be told to rewrite most of it in another direction, whereupon you feel you've lost that creative drive and you miss your voice.
It's like being given a chance to do something you'll enjoy and then, once you've had a taste of it, someone takes it, alters it, and tells you to enjoy what you can out if it, because they know it'll be better in the long run...somehow.
Now, here's the thing.
I really, really think you should write out the whole story as you originally planned it (if you're still interested in it as it first was). Write it with all the language devices you can, with all your specific twists and turns, with whatever you thought was significant to you, and be able to say that you finished it. You finished YOUR story.
Then, I think you should read it aloud. Read it aloud, find all the awkward sentences and phrases (and no, not "awkward teenage dialogue *chuckle chuckle*", but sentences that just...don't seem right) and try to fix those. Use everything that you've learned so far in all your English classes to make it seem as professional as possible. Because, at least for me, how comfortable we are with our story is determined by how good it sounds, how well it stands up in the boxing ring of criticism against published bigwigs. Of course we may not be necessarily good enough or experienced enough to be published as proifessionals yet, but it's a good thing to base your writing on. In the end, you have to be comfortable with it, to be able to read it and not grimace at what sounds strange or juvenile.
You've got to be willing to be your own critic, I think. Very few people like to be criticised by others who think they have a much better idea of how THEIR story should be written. And that's a valid dislike. In the end, the critic represents the public. So, right now, we have that in Mr. Allen. It doesn't take a genius to see that you're not happy over the laborious revisions, that you want your story to be told, and not a teacher's.
So refresh yourself. Being tied down by criticisms and rules and regulations while writing a story that isn't even yours has GOT to be inhibiting you and your creativity, and that's the last thing anyone wants. So again, refresh yourself. Step back, shake your head violently, and re-write. (Nah, you probably don't want to do this now. But the summer can get kind of boring some days. Maybe try it then :].) And write out your story. Read it aloud, coax the awkward out of the first -draft sentences, and think about all the ways it could be done better. If you enjoy storytelling, and feel like it's worth it to start and finish something so that you can truly call it YOURS (and that feels gooood), then try that out. And no matter how good it may be for the public, it won't really matter; it's your story, written by you, for you. Written freely, happily, and with an open mind.
And, you know...you always have that other "school" one to fall back on ;].
Capice?
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