I once wrote a blog post inspired by a 5 second clip in a Frank Ocean song. One of my favorite things to say to students is, "Look close, not wide." And I invariably run out the clock during class while offering up endless examples to embody a single concept, thereby never having enough time … Continue reading Writing Without Quotes
Category: In The Classroom
Some Thoughts on Group Conferences
So anyway, I decided to try something new this semester: small group conferences. Why? Well, with over a hundred students, single meetings are unworkable, even if I were detail-oriented, which I’m not. Also, I’m learning that conferences can be stressful for students, especially those with social anxiety, and asking them to come to my office … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Group Conferences
Garbage Out, Garbage In
The syllabus for ENG101 "[r]equires students to produce a minimum of 20 pages of writing." With six sections, and a rough average of 20 students per section, that amounts to a minimum of 2400 pages per semester. My Penguin Classics edition of Moby Dick is only 625, not including the "Explanatory Notes." Now I'm getting … Continue reading Garbage Out, Garbage In
Why Do I Even Bother
The title of this blog comes from the comment I"m most likely to put on a student paper: Wrong font! I don't know why I care. I've just come to associate academic writing with serifed fonts, especially Times New Roman 12. I'm also waging a war against Calibri, which, according to Wikipedia, "replaced Times New … Continue reading Why Do I Even Bother
On Gifts Received from Students
"Next to things of necessity, the rule for a gift is, that we might convey to some person that which properly belonged to his character, and was easily associated with him in thought...The only gift is a portion of thyself. Thou must bleed for me. Therefore the poet brings his poem; the shepherd, his lamb; … Continue reading On Gifts Received from Students
The Wrong Font 