Prompt #3: Have I ever had to "Invent the University?"

This prompt is meant to address the article written by David Bartholomae titled, "Inventing the University," in which Bartholomae discusses the dynamics of students and professors. He speaks of what is expected from students and the communication between students and professors and how it effects there college experiences. The definition of "Inventing the University" in simple terms, is how students must learn each individual professor and the expectations there professors have for them in each class.

Bartholomae speaks of professors needing to aid the students, but I believe it should be the other way around. I understand that professors could work a little harder for better communication with students, but as students we need to have the initiative to do some things on our own. When we graduate college we won't have someone there to help us along the way. We are on our own. Our future bosses won't be able to "Invent the workplace" for us, so why start with the coddling now? I believe it's a good experience.

Have I ever had to "Invent the University?" The answer, yes. 

When I started college as a freshman in the fall of 2011, I was not sure what I would find the first day. I was nervous, excited, and worried. College and high school are on two very different wavelengths. I was unsure if I would have the same positive communication with my professors as I did my high school teachers. I quickly learned that in college it is up to me to get my assignments done. The professors weren't going to nag me about them until I turned them in, either I did them or I didn't. If I didn't come to class no one was going to call my parents and tell them I wasn't present that day. I realized that the only person who it negatively affects if I don't come to class, is myself. I found this out extremely early on in my History 203 class. 

My History 203 professor is a very smart man. He knows everything there is to know about History. He had a straight forward way of explaining history. The one thing not straight forward about his course was what expected of me. No one knew until about the second week of class that he would not be taking attendance, but I quickly realized that if I missed one class I would be missing out on an entire era of history. Little did I know that the only points you received in class were on the tests. If I did poorly on one test it might negatively affect my final grade. The way I had to "Invent the University" in his class was through trial and error. He was not a professor that would communicate with me on a regular basis so I had to wait until after the first test to see what he wanted from me in the form of information on the tests. After the first test passed I finally understood what was needed to receive a good grade on the tests. 

In the end I did well in the class but it was like pulling teeth trying to find out what my professor wanted from me in the beginning. I'm glad that I had this experience because it has made me more assertive in trying to find out what my professors want from me. I realize now that my professors want me to succeed but the success isn't going to be handed to me on a silver platter. Having to "Invent the University" affected me in a way that made me more independent in my classes. This is an important skill to have because I don't know when I'm going to get another professor like my History professor. I want to do well in college and to have a successful life and career and that begins with being an assertive person, which is what I learned in having to "Invent the University." 

I think it's important for all students to have to go through this process because then they can fully appreciate when they have professors that are good communicators. No matter where you go to school you will always have to deal with all different kinds of professors. If you have the skills necessary to handle them in a way that will help you, it can only bring out the good in a college experience. 

Have a lovely day, always remember to stop and enjoy the sunshine. 

~Kelsey

Prompt #2: They Say, I Say

Hello again! I'm back and ready to argue. This will be a brief argument on behalf of Gerald Graff's essay, "Hidden Intellectualism."

They Say, I Say...
Gerald Graff, who is an English professor at the University of Illinois, published an essay entitled, "Hidden Intellectualism," which is written about the capabilities of someone with "street smarts." Graff argues that most people believe intellectual smarts are more appreciated in the real world but he believes "street smarts" are more important. Graff says when he was in school he would rather read about sports then a play written by Shakespeare. His main point is that he would rather see a student write about something they enjoy then for them to write a lifeless piece on a boring topic that does not relate to them in the least.

This topic is as "real world" as it gets. The debate between what needs to be taught and what students want to be taught is a constant battle. The old-age question that is asked in classrooms across American is, "How will I use this information in the real world?" The answer does not come as easy as one would think. If a student isn't going to be an English major in college why do they need to know the rhetoric of a Shakespearean sonnet, when they could be learning about their favorite Red Sox player's batting average?

I see Graff's point and I agree that most students would most likely do better in school if they could chose the topics they learned about. Most students would do a significant amount better if they could write about there favorite sports team, but the downside of this, is that it downgrades the real reasons kids go to school. School is a place of learning and a place for children to learn how to open up their mind. If teachers only had students focus on just the things they liked they would never find out new things that they might enjoy. That exact reason of students being shut off from new experiences is why I disagree with Graff's point of only having "street smarts" in the classroom setting. Students need to have many different choices of learning.

A simple solution to this debate would be to come to a happy medium in the classroom. If teachers had a time of the day to discuss and teach on real life related issues and have a time to learn about specific rhetorics and narratives the students would be getting the best of both worlds. Graff's point are not totally discredited but rather revised to fit to the best of the students abilities.

For example, this blog is a good source to show that using real life in the classroom is an effective way of teaching. I am allowed to explore my own ideas and formulate my own thoughts on the topics assigned. I am using 'narratives' and 'rhetorics' but in a way that I can identify with. I am a true teenager and I love the internet. By my professor allowing me to explore my own thoughts and ideas in a way that I enjoy she is ensuring that I stay interested in this project. This new way of teaching is something that should be introduced in more classes.

I'm going to round out my point by saying that this issue of "street smarts" vs. "intellect" is one that will be in a constant debate unless someone takes a stand to change it. Graff begins to address the issue in his essay but someone needs to take things a step farther for future generations. This step would be to settle this on-going debate and give everyone a little of what they need. Some people may think that this issue can be swept under the rug and dealt with at a later time but I believe someone should take action now. Students are the future of society. The kids in the present need someone who will make an effort to better there future.

Have a lovely day, always remember to stop and enjoy the sunshine.
~Kelsey





*Words Cited
Graff , Gerald. "Hidden Intellectualism." They Say, I Say. Ed. Gerald Graff and Ed. Cathy Birkenstein . Second Edition: New York: W.W. Norton and Company , 2010. 198-205. Print.

Prompt #1: Got Blog?

Hello! First off, lets start by saying that this is not the first time I have done a blog before. I tried one last year and it did not work out as planned. Hopefully, this will be the one time when I actually follow through with it.

This blog is about a writing project for my college English 301 class. The first topic we were assigned to discuss is about the rhetorical situation. The rhetorical situation is basically the reason behind why people write using purpose, text, audience, author, and context.  I am going to discuss why I am using a blog as my WAW project for this class using the rhetorical situation.

My purpose for using a blog as my medium is because I want to be a writer someday, in the far and distant future. I need to be comfortable with my writing being out in the open for anyone to read or comment on. As I stated earlier I want this blog to actually work, because it is important as a writer to have some constant goal for your writing. This is a project for my college English class so I will follow through with this blog because I will have a reason for an end result (a good grade in English). 

My audience would be anyone who might need motivation to write or wants to learn more about different topics in writing. 

The author is me, Kelsey. I bet you're glad I cleared that one up for you, just in case you didn't know who was writing this superb blog post. 

The text would be the blog. This is where I will  be putting all my thoughts/opinions/statements on any of the prompts we get in English for this WAW project. 

The context of this project in a historical sense is to show how much the internet has changed the way we work as people. I wanted to use a blog because it shows how far technology has come and how it has dramatically changed the course of writing. We, as people, have a more free form now of voicing our opinions on a certain subject matter. We have websites were we can post stories about our favorite celebrities or talk to are friends who live in a completely different timezone. The internet has changed us all, whether we chose to admit it or not. History itself is changed everyday with the use of the internet. I could not be writing my college homework on a blog if the time was 1942 instead of 2012. The social focus of this blog is to showcase how people interact using the internet. I am writing my thoughts on a writing project but other people blog about cooking, reading, television shows, fashion, just about anything and everything under the sun. This blog is an example of the social aspect of today's society.

This is an important topic that reverts back to real world discussions. The internet is a part of everyone's daily lives. Most of the population has iphones or blackberries that allows you to check your email, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram at any time in the day. There's even an app that I could post this blog on from my iphone. My point is that since the world has such easy access to the internet in this century why not challenge the students of today to take complete advantage of that. If more students, middle school, high school, or college aged, could use the internet to voice there opinions in a positive light then the internet wouldn't get such a bad rap for simply being a useful tool.

For example, I can write this English project on a blog, which gives me a chance to get a break from the normal, sometimes boring, formal college essay. If more students could voice there opinions in a free matter, such as a blog, and be encouraged by there teachers and professors to do such work, there would be more writing and less complaining. In my opinion, students of today's society don't get to voice there opinions in a positive way because no one is there to push them to do it. Let's face it, teenagers are lazy, they aren't going to do something unless someone forces them to do it and then maybe they'll find a way to enjoy writing and teachers everywhere can breath a peaceful sigh of relief.

There will be 10 entries in this blog series about Writing about Writing. Fingers crossed that this one will go well and I can grace this wonderful world of the web with my presence once again for a future blog when this one is finished.

Have a lovely day, always remember to stop and enjoy the sunshine. 

~Kelsey