tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38316842819518392402024-02-07T12:31:30.815-08:00Losing the Lecture in English CompositionStaging a silent rebellion against traditional teaching...Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-74737334064793029902013-10-18T09:08:00.000-07:002013-10-18T09:08:10.765-07:00Vampires, Zombies, Robots!<span style="font-size: small;">While I was at <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx" target="_blank">U Birmingham</a> (UK) for induction a few weeks ago, the Distance Learning PhD cohort did an activity that was part speed dating, part apocalypse, part screen-writing, and part serious research. The title was "Vampires Robot Apocalypse!" and its purpose was to strengthen our ability to give an "Elevator Speech" about our research. (Either that or one of the folks on the induction week planning committee just had too much coffee--or wine--and thought it would be hilarious. It was.) Everyone met with three different partners and, under a time limit, explained what our research is and what led us to want to pursue that research. After the first partner, we also had to choose which sci-fi/fantasy scenario best lent itself to our research: Vampires, Robots, or Apocalypse. I went with Vamps. With our final partner, we were asked to combine our research foci and our scenario of choice, add ourselves into the mix as protagonists, and write a book or movie preview. The results were pretty hilarious.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I decided then and there that I was going to find a way to work the exercise into my Research & Writing course. So I did.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I modified the title and added Zombies to the mix: "Vampires, Zombies, Robots! (Oh my!)"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">First, I told my students I wanted to give them "Context" on the class meeting's activity, so we watched the previews for <i>I, Robot</i>, <i>Queen of the Damned</i>, and <i>Warm Bodies</i>. Without telling them why, I then instructed my students each to find a partner who is not in their Focus Group (small groups of students organized by theme and similarity in research topic). I then gave the students three minutes each to explain their: 1. Research Project, 2. Purpose, and 3. Justification (why they chose the topic). I then gave them the following descriptions and told them to choose one:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">*<span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">Vampires: Vampires exist by sucking the
life-blood out of humans, ruling over them with their superior life-span
(forever) and strength. Life is short if
you’re a human.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";">*Robots: Science and technology have
triumphed; creative thought, mistakes, and human emotion are no longer
relevant. Life is mechanical.</span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 24.0pt; language: en-029; mso-ascii-font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: white; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 24.0pt; language: en-029; mso-ascii-font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: white; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">*Zombies: People are mindless consuming
bodies, decaying and falling to ruin. Life just isn't life.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">They had a shorter time to discuss their Topic, Purpose, and Justification with their second partners, then additional time to explain their choice of apocalypse. In their third pairings, students had even less time to discuss their Topic, Purpose, and Justification, but additional time to discuss their apocalypse. I then gave them about 15 minutes to write a movie preview combining their research topics, apocalypses, and themselves as protagonists. I made sure to remind them to use their cheesiest "movie guy" voice as they wrote. At the end of class, all of the pairs read their previews aloud as dramatically as they could (when they weren't collapsing into giggles!). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Success! It was an absolute riot and it was a useful exercise: Students had to work with partners they might not normally have chosen to work with. Students also had to describe their research (8-10 pgs.) concisely to someone who wasn't familiar with their project. Students had to think abstractly to connect topics like STDs prevention, the importance of architects, and GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) to an appropriate apocalypse<i>. </i>On top of all this, students had to synthesize their research, an abstract idea (apocalypse via Vampires, Robots, or Zombies), and create a viable end product: a film preview. I will definitely do this again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua";"></span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: "Book Antiqua"; font-size: 24.0pt; language: en-029; mso-ascii-font-family: "Book Antiqua"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: white; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: text1; mso-style-textfill-type: solid;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span>Life just isn’t life.</span></div>
Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-59095239902412268422013-10-01T09:20:00.002-07:002013-10-01T09:20:51.083-07:00Beautiful, Nose-Tickling, Irreplaceable DustI have spent the last week and a half in Birmingham, UK for the induction to my PhD program at the <a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx" target="_blank">University of Birmingham</a>. Much of this time was dedicated to ensuring that the new doctoral students would not suffer the academic version of 'culture shock' after our two weeks on campus are over (a large cohort is Distance Learning students), but I have also spent a significant portion of my time in the campus Main Library. It's a glorious building full of floors and floors of books, periodicals, and journals. (And it doesn't hurt that there is a delicious café on the ground floor...)<br />
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Of course most of the time I've spent in the library has been focused on research and writing--although I spent all of today dealing with course assignments and student questions (I'm teaching my courses via DL/online platform for the two weeks I'm gone), but I've definitely spent more than a few minutes simply drooling over all the beautiful books. Please don't misunderstand me: I love my iPad. This [over-priced] magical tablet allows me access to millions upon millions of books; <i>however</i>, I will never, ever accept a touchscreen as an equitable replacement for the texture of paper. True: I've sneezed more in the past few hours in the library than I normally do in a week, but this seems a small price to pay to be in the presence of so many glorious tomes. <a href="http://www.mit.edu/people/dpolicar/writing/poetry/poems/martian.html" target="_blank">Caxtons</a>, caxtons, everywhere! <br />
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I am an admitted, unabashed bibliophile. --A sneezy bibliophile, but one who will defend the importance of paper no matter how brilliant the technology is to come.<br />
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Today's moral: Read a book, a real one, one that has a possibility of giving you a paper-cut.<br />
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<br />Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-68377526105368433172013-09-09T06:14:00.000-07:002013-09-09T06:14:36.144-07:00Books Every (English-Speaking) Child Should ReadI know there are a number of these lists online; I know because my mother (yup, I have one, too) emails them to me all of the time. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be an affirmation of her excellent parenting skills (Thanks, mom!), or if she's hinting that she wants grandkids. Either way, it's not terribly subtle, even if the purpose isn't clear.<br />
<br />
While stressing over the pile of essays I did not wade entirely through grading this weekend, I came up with the start of a list in my head last night (I was attempting to fall asleep):<br />
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*Please note that I am clearly not listing these in any order of age-appropriateness, etc. <br />
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<i>Frog and Toad</i><br />
<i>The Wind in the Willows</i><br />
<i>Little House on the Prairie</i> (the entire Laura Ingalls Wilder series--and this is good American history, too)<br />
<i>The Chronicles of Narnia, </i>C. S. Lewis<br />
<i>The Lord of the Rings </i>and <i>The Hobbit</i>, J. R. R. Tolkien<br />
Every Dr. Seuss book ever written<br />
<i>Good Night, Moon</i><br />
<i>The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,</i> A. A. Milne<br />
<i>Just So Stories</i>, Rudyard Kipling<i> </i><br />
<i>Gulliver's Travels</i>, Jonathon Swift<br />
<i>Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle</i><br />
<i>Treasure Island</i>, Robert Louis Stevenson<br />
<i>Kidnapped</i>, Robert Louis Stevenson <br />
<i>Around the World in 80 Days</i>, Jules Verne<br />
<i>A Journey to the Center of the Earth</i>, Jules Verne<br />
<i>Black Beauty</i>, Anna Sewell <br />
<i>The Time Machine</i>, H. G. Wells <br />
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairytales<br />
<i>Aesop's Fables</i><br />
<i>The Diary of Anne Frank</i>, Anne Frank<br />
The entire <i>Harry Potter</i> series, J. K. Rowling<br />
<i>Through the Looking Glass</i>, Lewis Carroll<br />
<i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i>, Lewis Carroll <br />
<i>Little Women</i>, Louisa May Alcott<br />
<i>Little Men</i>, Louisa May Alcott<br />
<i>Joe's Boys</i>, Louisa May Alcott<br />
Any of the Hardy Boys series, Franklin W. Dixon<br />
Any of the Nancy Drew series, Edward Stratemeyer<br />
<i>Adventures in the Big Thicket, </i>Ken Gire<br />
<i>The Call of the Wild</i>, Jack London<br />
<i>White Fang</i>, Jack London<br />
<i>The Prince and the Pauper</i>, Mark Twain<br />
<i>The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, </i>Mark Twain<br />
<i>A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court</i>, Mark Twain<br />
<i>Robinson Crusoe, </i>Daniel Defoe<br />
<i>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</i>, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle<br />
<i>The Christmas Tales of George MacDonald</i><br />
<i>The Princess and the Goblin</i>, George MacDonald<i> </i><br />
<i>At the Back of the North Wind</i>, George MacDonald<br />
<i>The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle, </i>Washington Irving<br />
<i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>, (if s/he isn't already required to read it in school) Harper Lee <br />
<i>The Yearling</i>, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings<br />
<i>Where the Red Fern Grows</i>, Wilson Rawls<br />
<i>Anne of Green Gables</i> (and the whole series), L. M. Montgomery<br />
<i>The Princess Bride, </i>William Goldman<br />
<i>Ender's Game</i>, Orson Scott Card <br />
<i>The Hunger Games</i> Trilogy, Suzanne Collins<br />
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These are just the ones that came to mind last night while I was busy not sleeping. Also, just letting your kiddos watch the movies is <i>not</i> what I mean. In fact, if you let your kids watch the movies for any of these books without first having them read the book (or reading it with them), you have pretty much ruined the book for them. In the case of <i>Gulliver's Travels</i>, don't bother showing them the movie at all.<br />
<i> </i> <br />
More to come, I'm sure...<br />
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<img height="252" id="irc_mi" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/e73ef6b91f9273e257ee5ac7ca342bad/tumblr_mi66037fQG1qixw9io1_500.jpg" style="margin-top: 8px;" width="320" />Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-90077673540006785752013-08-21T06:35:00.001-07:002013-08-21T06:35:49.936-07:00The Charleston Shuffle (or 'Sidestepping the Plagiarist')The semester officially started again yesterday, so I have seen all of my students over the last two days. One change I'm making this semester is the inclusion of a "Contract" on my syllabi detailing 6 reminders and expectations for my students. This is partly an effort to minimize incidents of plagiarism throughout the semester and partly a reminder to my students that I expect them to take my courses seriously.<br />
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I'm teaching one section of Composition, two of Research & Writing, and one of World Lit. I, and all four groups of students received syllabi with the Contract front and center. The nuts and bolts are essentially: 'I understand that by enrolling in this course, I'm agreeing to buy my text, read assignments, abide by University Academic Integrity Standards, be subject to the University's penalties if I <i>violate </i>those guidelines, and that I will strive to avoid any dishonest behavior in the class.'<br />
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I asked all of my students if they thought the "terms" of the agreement fair, and they all agreed. They signed their copies (in their syllabi) and signed a copy for me to keep. This may seem like overkill, but it frustrates and saddens me when, every semester, students try to take a shortcut and plagiarize. Not only do I catch the students who do plagiarize, but I am not lenient on the penalties. I never cheated or plagiarized in school and I want each student who graduates from the University where I teach to have a degree that is <i>worth</i> something. If it's common knowledge that students from any institute get away with cheating and plagiarizing, everyone's degree is devalued. This is a concept I try to explain to my students repeatedly.<br />
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The idea of a student "contract" is certainly not original and certainly not mine. Research, in fact, has demonstrated that the more frequently students are asked to commit to a statement of honesty (or the inverse: a statement of not being dishonest), the less likely they are to cheat (or plagiarize). Frighteningly, the more easily students can access information, it seems the higher the levels of academic dishonesty go. From the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/09/german-education-minister-quits-phd-plagiarism" target="_blank">German Education Minister</a> who quit over the scandal of her plagiarism on in her PhD work (the second such scandal to hit during Merkel's term), to <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1294949/taiwan-names-new-defence-chief-amid-plagiarism-scandal" target="_blank">Taiwan's Chief of General Staff</a> who resigned amid a similar revelation: <a href="http://chronicle.com/blogs/worldwise/cheating-and-academic-integrity-an-international-perspective-on-the-%E2%80%9Cshadow-scholar%E2%80%9D/27635" target="_blank">plagiarism is not unique to the U.S.</a>, for certain. <br />
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The popularity of software like Blackboard's "Safe Assign" and websites like www.turnitin.com has risen dramatically as more and more professors and educators (even at the secondary level) grow concerned with the number of students turning to plagiarism, instead of their own, original work. The question, still, is how do we <a href="http://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/ptn/2013/05/ethical-behavior.aspx" target="_blank"><i>best</i> deter students from plagiarizing</a>? Some research would seem to indicate that simply <a href="http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/burke.htm" target="_blank">educating students on what plagiarism</a> <b>is</b> (via online tutorials, etc.) is more effective than the threat of detection, but clearly this does not stop <i>all</i> would-be plagiarists. Type "plagiarism" into Google and you'll quickly realize that there are millions of websites, pages, tutorials, and videos on plagiarism. Some of these are <a href="http://jisctechdis.ac.uk/assets/Documents/resources/database/id426_plagiarism_prevention_deterrence_detection.pdf" target="_blank">tutorials for educators on how to catch and deal with plagiarism</a>, and some are "How to plagiarize and get away with it" pages for the less-than-ethical student. <br />
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In my experience teaching, students are <i>most</i> likely to plagiarize (or cheat in other ways) when they feel overwhelmed, out-of-time, or under-prepared. Some students spontaneously forget years of training in MLA format and hand in assignments that <i>attempt</i> to cite sources, but can only be deciphered over multiple painstaking readings. I don't see these as equivalent to the blatant and intentional plagiarism of copying and pasting or "copy-summarizing" (wherein students essentially copy material from a source, then change words or rearrange parts so that the end result is not identical to the source), but they are still a problem. Once upon a time, dishonesty in essay-writing meant buying an essay from another student, reusing someone else's old work, or copying material from a book off of a dusty library shelf. Now, it's so easy to plagiarize that I fear some students may simply be overwhelmed by the temptation that dances around in front of their face every time they turn on their smart phones, tablets, or computers.<br />
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How do we help them <i>not</i> plagiarize so that they <i>do </i>learn? This question will be a large part of my focus this semester, in addition to the usual. All of my classes have their syllabi now, and I have promised not to talk so much in a single class again! Best of luck to all this semester...I shall, as always, endeavor to be more faithful to my readers this semester! <br />
<br />Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-61807014551438568352013-04-21T14:51:00.002-07:002013-04-21T14:51:38.019-07:00Katniss vs. Ender: The Final Showdown<img class="rg_i" data-sz="f" name="VxdkDD3m4FjvpM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRpPtbX2mYIjz6_RVM5sscMQU9sB0grk6cM18zJb8rlisXwONs2dw" style="height: 173px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 260px;" /> vs. <img class="rg_i" data-sz="f" name="O2MkeR60KMsoZM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRPvTwcTi5TybJx3m4FlVIpundlzBIdyNA-ePguiqQcKXsQVpAp" style="height: 182px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 240px;" /> <br />
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My Spring 2013 experiment is drawing to a close...with inconclusive results, I might add. I had two sections of ENG 120: Composition this semester, so I assigned one to read <i>The Hunger Games</i> and the other to read <i>Ender's Game</i>. Both classes wrote weekly journals on the chapters they completed each week, had weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) discussions in class, and wrote novel-related essays throughout the semester. The carrot dangled in front of both classes was a week of watching <i>The Hunger Games</i> film (starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen) while they were completing work on their research papers. (The film version of <i>Ender's Game</i> comes out this November, otherwise I would obviously have show it to the class reading Card's novel).<br />
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All of my students have completed their "Exit Journals," in which they detail (rather openly, as I encourage them to be) 1) What they expected the course to be like, 2) What the course was <i>really</i> like, 3) How they felt about the course, and 4) What suggestions they might have to me for future classes. Here is where the conclusions come into play...the class reading <i>The Hunger Games</i> was consistently more on top of life than the section reading <i>Ender's Game</i> (and I mean from Day 1). The <i>HG</i> section was consistently on-time, in class, and attentive. The <i>EG</i> section was rarely more than half full, usually very late, and hit-or-miss attentive. While some students in the <i>EG </i>section did genuinely enjoy the sci-fi classic, the majority (I'm fairly certain) flat-out did not read it; ergo, I can't really use their feedback.<br />
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I can, however, report that the feedback from my second group of students to read <i>The Hunger Games</i> was <b>overwhelmingly</b> positive. So positive, in fact, that a number of students recommended that future classes <u>read the entire trilogy!</u> Color me shocked: College students who ask for more reading. What is becoming of the world of academia?!<br />
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I will have to do some soul-searching as to whether I will include <i>Ender's Game</i> in my Fall readings for ENG 120, but I will <i>absolutely</i> use <i>The Hunger Games</i> a third time. Perhaps I will even orchestrate a class field trip to see <i>Catching Fire</i> in theater when it releases! (I know, I know--I'm on the edge of insanity!) I do intend to poll my <i>HG</i> section to see how many students would honestly have read all three books if they had been assigned. And, if I do assign the trilogy, I will need to consider actually making students buy the books from the bookstore, as opposed to buying them myself and lending them to students (which, by the way, I have about a 98% return rate on).<br />
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Overall, including a novel in my ENG 120 course has absolutely been a success!Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-33619476681183390812013-03-22T07:47:00.000-07:002013-03-22T07:47:32.601-07:00Singing the Budget Cut BluesAs a public-private institution, my University receives a significant portion of its funding from the local government (in addition to grants and funding from the Federal government). Unfortunately, our local government is pretty much incapable of managing its funds, so all the government agencies and public-private institutes (like the University) are feeling the squeeze.<br />
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This time around, although our Senate is claiming that it will restore the 8% it claimed in salary reductions for all government employees beginning in 2010, simultaneously, it is proposing to make an across-the-bard 5% budget cut. For our University, this means that all open positions are frozen, faculty on short-term contracts (including <b>me</b>) must be defended by their respective department chairs and college deans, class sizes may be increased, and a number of other uncomfortable measures may be implemented.<br />
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Why am I writing about this? Because, ultimately, my concern is my students. Government cuts affect me, absolutely, but they also affect my students. Larger class sizes mean: 1) Teachers are more stressed, 2) teachers cannot spend as much individual time with students or on assignments, and 3) students begin to feel lost in the mix. Larger class sizes and overload (teaching more than 12 credits per semester) also cut into whatever personal and family time professors have left. Professors are also <i>heavily</i> pressured to complete significant research, to attend conferences, and to present their research--although the University has a paltry amount of funding dedicated to funding those endeavors. There are absolutely <i>no</i> funds for faculty to take significant time in order to complete research, unless they write or apply for grants themselves (but they still have to give credit to the University, even though it didn't give them any support in the process).<br />
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The end result is, inevitably, unhappy, stressed out professors. These, in turn, lead to discontent students suffering from lower quality instruction. How do we combat these inevitable outcomes?<br />
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Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-82012866446002335832013-01-29T12:07:00.000-08:002013-01-29T12:07:08.371-08:00Numbers vs. ActionI took the time to review most of my ENG 120 students' SAT scores in Writing and Reading this semester. I was already aware that my university has remarkably low SAT score percentiles across the board, but I was curious about my specific students' scores. With few exceptions, my students had the low Reading and Writing SAT scores I had expected, although many, surprisingly, had passed the University's in-coming Writing Placement exam (although many failed the Reading Placement exam).<br />
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What does this mean? Well, when I couple it with one sections' responses to my question, "What was the last fiction book you read-for pleasure or school?" it means my students are writing and reading well below what is acceptable for college students. Still not shocking.<br />
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At the beginning of the third week of the semester, however, with both sections roughly six weeks into their respective novels (<i>Ender's Game</i> and <i>The Hunger Games</i>), I can start to judge how many students are reading (and how well). My students are, across the board,<i> reading</i>! Yay! Hoorah! Fireworks and hooplah! Not only are they reading, but they are also <i>enjoying</i> what they are reading!<br />
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I'm not just patting myself on the back here--I'm genuinely thrilled that my students are reading. Both novels engender great discussion about social issues, ethics, and morals--and my students are largely driving the discussion. They also keep a weekly blog about the novel (I post general topics/guidelines each week), which forces them to write about what they are reading, in addition to discussing it. <br />
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<img class="rg_i" data-src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTnf1E-ldJ8S-E9AaME0nrXeboyVgDWjON2WqL9nXfw3wj9i8s50A" data-sz="f" name="9MR3W_VcEGNnoM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTnf1E-ldJ8S-E9AaME0nrXeboyVgDWjON2WqL9nXfw3wj9i8s50A" style="height: 196px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: -5px; width: 258px;" />Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-85618352293590098122013-01-17T06:23:00.001-08:002013-01-17T06:23:30.109-08:00Spring, Sprang, Sprung?After an admittedly lazy holiday break (I read a dozen books--it was <i>glorious</i>!), I am back in the classroom. I am teaching only four courses this semester. Wait, go back and read that again. Yes--that's right, only <b>four</b> courses! It's just so exhilarating! Before you start to wonder what I'll be doing with all my free time, I ought also to announce that I have been accepted to the University of Birmingham (UK)'s full-time, distance learning PhD program in English Literature and Creative Writing. I begin my doctoral studies this week!<br />
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Now, back to the teaching side of my life.<br />
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This semester's courses include two sections of ENG 120: Composition, one section of ENG 201: Research & Applied Writing, and one section of ENG 262: World Lit. II (Poetry & Drama). One of my ENG 120 sections will read <i>The Hunger Games</i> and the other will read <i>Ender's Game</i> (assuming the post office does not lose yet a second order of 25 copies of the novel!). My one section of ENG 120 in the Fall absolutely loved reading <i>The Hunger Games</i> (and subsequently, watching Jennifer Lawrence rock the screen as Katniss) and pitched a fit when I wondered aloud if I should choose a different book for my Spring sections. I listened.<br />
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Unfortunately, the silver screen debut of <i>Ender's Game</i> is not until November this year (whomp, whomp, whoooooomp...), so I'm not sure what I'll do during the week I will show the other class the film of <i>The Hunger Games</i>--I may just show the movie in both classes. After all, the novels have similar themes: the use of children by adults, war, ethical and moral struggles, etc. <br />
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I will do my best to post weekly updates...but if I don't, it's only because time will again have gotten away from me.<br />
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This semester was much more stressful and demanding than I expected it to be. I took on an additional ENG 201: Research and Applied Writing course (our students needed the additional section), resulting in a semester of manic rushing and grading. This, among other areas of my life, fell by the wayside. Never again--I promise!<br />
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I do want to share that reading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games" target="_blank"><i>The Hunger Games</i></a> in my ENG 120: Composition class was a <b>resounding</b> success! Not only did my students actually read the book (I know this is shocking...I will understand if you need a moment to absorb that...), but they enjoyed it! We watched the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Jennifer Lawrence film version</a> of the book in class during the last week before students' Research Papers and Presentations were due. Many of my students finished reading <i>The Hunger Games</i> fairly quickly, so I lent them my personal copies of <i>Catching Fire</i> and <i>Mockingjay</i>.<br />
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Reading The Hunger Games was an experiment, but it was incredibly successful in a number of ways:<br />
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1. Students read. (If you teach, you understand that this, in and of itself, is a major accomplishment!)<br />
2. Students engaged with what they read. We had debates and in-class discussions about morals, ethics, government involvement in personal life, the value of life, and dozens of other topics.<br />
3. Students used what they had read to write interested, engaged essays.<br />
4. Students wanted to read <i>more</i> than the assigned reading. On any given class day, more than half of my students were ahead of the reading schedule on the syllabus. By midterm, several students were reading the second and third books in the trilogy, and by the time we met for our final exam, almost half the class had read the entire trilogy--without the promise of any sort of class credit.<br />
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I teach two sections of ENG 120 in the Spring, and while one section is definitely going to read <i>The Hunger Games</i>, I am considering assigning <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27s_Game" target="_blank"><i>Ender's Game</i></a> in the second section. With any luck, the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2633535/" target="_blank">film of </a><i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2633535/" target="_blank">Ender's Game</a> </i>will make it out of production and into the theaters in 2013!<br />
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Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all--I hope you have a wonderful New Year, if I don't post again until January!Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-57732416163594762682012-10-08T17:16:00.001-07:002012-10-08T17:16:06.842-07:00Wait, you tricked me--that wasn't LEARNING, it was fun!I'm a firm believer in horizontal, all-inclusive learning. This is why I'm teaching <i>The Hunger Games</i> in a Composition class, why my students use Blogs, Wikis and YouTube throughout the semester, why my World Lit. students recognize Spoken Word <i>and</i> a Shakespearean sonnet, and why my ENG 100 students now know who Hans Christian Andersen is.<br />
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I was lucky enough to have parents who encouraged me to read, took me to the library, and bought me books when they could. I have a lovely illustrated compilation of some of Hans Christian Andersen's best-known stories, so I knew that Disney's <i>The Little Mermaid</i> was stuff and nonsense even as a child. My students, however, do not.<br />
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As their journal assignment this week (12-15 sentences), my ENG 100 class was to read a fairytale by Andersen, give a short summary, and indicate whether or not they had ever heard anything like it before. Other than the Little Mermaid, none of my students recognized the tales they read--and some read "The Princess and the Pea"! I wasn't shocked, but I was gratified that I had introduced them to something new.<br />
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While initially the students griped because the stories looked long to them, in the end, they all enjoyed the fairy tales they read. They learned something new, realized that the fairy tales they thought they knew were rooted in stories that were much older and more sinister, and synthesized what they are learning about narrative in writing with classic literature. And we all lived happily ever after...<br />
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<br />Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-10118097681494889632012-10-03T11:22:00.000-07:002012-10-03T11:22:04.431-07:00Banned Books Week Virtual Read-OutSeptember 30 - October 6 marks this year's Banned Books Week.
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Every year, individuals and groups who believe they know what is best for others <i>challenge</i> books, plays, poetry, short fiction, and art in an attempt to ban the works or restrict them. While this is common practice in many countries--often government or church mandated--in the United States, the right to exercise the freedom to read, view, and hear whatever we want is protected by the First Amendment. The American Library Association (ALA) promotes <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned">Banned Book Week</a> every year to highlight <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged">works that have been challenged here in the U.S.</a>
Banned Books Week involves a number of activities meant to draw attention to censorship, including a "Read-Out" of banned material. Thanks to the internet, the Read-Out has gone digital this year. The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/bannedbooksweek">Virtual Read-Out</a> has a channel on YouTube.
A sincere opponent to censorship, I have encouraged the students in <i>all</i> of my classes this semester to participate in the Read-Out, even if only for our class's benefit. ENG 120 (Composition) is reading <i>The Hunger Games</i> with me this semester--this YA novel has been challenged a number of times already. ENG 201 (Research and Applied Writing) has been challenged to create a video for any challenged or banned work. ENG 262 (World Lit. II) is a poetry and drama class, so students will create Read-Outs of challenged or banned plays and poetry. Even if they don't submit to the Virtual project, students will post them to class blogs so other students can view them.
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What are you doing this week?Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-71986522746925948882012-09-27T11:13:00.000-07:002012-09-27T11:14:02.328-07:00Teaching in the Era of YouTubeToday I found myself wondering how teachers ever made it through a school year without YouTube. The answer is somewhat fuzzy, and I believe it involved something along the lines of "V H S." (Whatever that is!)
I have implemented YouTube videos into two difference courses this week, underscoring concepts in a way that would not otherwise be feasible within the time constraints of the classroom. While I'll deal with the second use later, I must share this first:
ENG 262: World Literature II deals with poetry and drama (World Lit. I tackles short stories and the novel). My students have covered closed and open form poetry, rhythm and meter, sound in poetry, and figurative language this semester. I wanted to broaden their concept of poetry, however, so yesterday I introduced them to <a href="http://eckovision.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/conspiracy-headache/">John Ecko's</a> and <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/article/177216">Apollinaire's</a> interpretations of concrete (or shape) poetry and to poetry as spoken word.
Shape poetry is fun; it's visual and engaging. Almost every American child learned what a "diamante" (diamond-shaped poem) was back in elementary school. Moving on...
Spoken word is new-ish on the scene of poetry in some ways, but in many ways it is the oldest form of poetry. Before man began to write, he spoke. Epics like <i>The Iliad</i>, <i>The Odyssey</i>, and <i>Beowolf</i> were not the only types of poetry--or even literature--to be passed down orally. Poetry has a long and illustrious history as an oral art.
If you mention "spoken word" to some older lit. profs, you may hear scoffing, or note memories of smokey coffee shops, espressos, hash and and snaps flicker across the face of your listener. One never knows the secret lives of professors! To introduce spoken word to my students, I begin with this stereotype: students in berets, black jeans, and turtlenecks, sipping gourmet lattes, smoking lazily, and listening intently to an identical speaker at the focal point of the cafe. Snaps can be heard at the finale of the artist's poem, then silence as each digests what he or she has heard, sipping and smoking all the while.
My students laugh; this is a scene they recognize from the movies. Good, I've made a connection. I then note that while this is how some spoken word poetry is still delivered, it has become something of a sensation now in the U.S. Poetry slams begin at school levels and end on live, televised, national events introduced by celebrities. Spoken word poetry has always been largely in the first person, dealing with social commentary, pop culture, or personal angst.
Having thus introduced my students to and engaged them with spoken word poetry, I turn to YouTube. As an aside, I note that we will watch, then take a moment to absorb each piece before moving to the next. I have good reasons for these pauses, my class soon realizes.
First: <a href="http://youtu.be/kvxQnT9Luqk">Sierra DeMulder's "Paper Dolls"</a>
We discussed the role of poetry in feminism (and feminism in poetry) at the beginning of the class session, so this connects with the Sexton and Rich poems we've discussed. Students are visibly affected by young Miss DeMulder's condemnation of society's treatment of women, culminating in a passionate call to raped women not to accept society's handling of their "situation." I cried the first time I saw this, several years ago. I had a difficult time keeping everything together in class. Moving on...
Second: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9jTkDYs8q8">Joshua Bennett's and Justin Reilly's collaboration "Women"</a>
Again, this ties into the theme of women's role in the world and in poetry.
Last: <a href="http://youtu.be/70wiwgwGzZk">Miles Hodges' "Maskless"</a>
This affected some students more than others, but none were entirely unaffected. To hear a young black man talk so nakedly, so unapologetically about his fair skin tone on an island where nearly everyone is black and skin tone still matters--even if no one will admit that out loud--was disturbing at a foundational level for many students.
Without YouTube, without immediate access to these young poets and their relevant, striking, evocative works, the discussion of spoken word poetry would have been nearly pointless. Not only did students react to the works, but many of them also understood--for the first time--that poetry IS relevant, not just in the classroom, but to the world, to THEM. This poetry <i>moved</i> my students. I cannot take credit for that, but I can take pleasure in knowing that I opened up the world, just a little bit, more for those twenty-five students. Without YouTube, I could not have done this.Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-59885338202378034672012-09-14T11:25:00.001-07:002012-09-14T11:25:41.820-07:00Extra! Extra! Cheating Scandal at Harvard!<a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/9/12/platt-letter-reveals-scandal/">"Typo at Root of Cheating Scandal, Letter Reveals"</a>
Oh, you thought Harvard students didn't cheat? WRONG.
A number of studies right now are dealing with the question of not <i>whether</i> people cheat, but<i>how</i> they cheat. <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/06/04/154287476/honest-truth-about-why-we-lie-cheat-and-steal">Everyone, given the opportunity, cheats.</a> The difference lies in the skill with which a person cheats and the magnitude of the situation (ie: copying a multiple choice answer on a quiz from a classmate versus versus insider trading or embezzling money from a company).
The question then becomes, how do we minimize cheating--or at the very least, discourage it?
If the emphasis in a classroom is actually <i>learning</i>, and not passing or earning grades, the temptation to cheat is lower; however, the u1biquity and popularity of MOOC's have shown that people will cheat even when there is nothing (money, grades) at stake. Signing an honor code is minimally effective for a short time, but not long-term. Must we, as teachers, accept that if a student is going to cheat, plagiarize, or lie, he is going to do it regardless?
Have we, as a society, also taught our students that it's okay to cheat--even if one gets caught--especially if one does <i>not</i> get caught? I'd err on the side of HELL YES WE DID!
How many corrupt executives, politicians, or other public figures have been caught with their fingers in the proverbial cookie jar or with their metaphoric pants down in 2012 alone? Can we really blame our students for buying into the philosophy that society has taught them, that everyone cheats, so as long as we are smart about it, we can (and should?) cheat, too? Frightening.
The last time I cheated was in second grade, when I copied off Alexis M.'s reading quiz. I felt so terrible about it that I admitted it to the teacher. I don't think she even punished me, she could tell my guilty conscience was doing a better job than she could anyway. I learned my lesson, though, and have not cheated on anything academic since. I am a fanatic about proper citations and giving credit every single time it is due. Undoubtedly, I have "cheated" in other ways since, but none that gave me pause like that one did. Am I as bad as my dirty little plagiarizing students? Perhaps I am; I'm sure I've kept my mouth shut as a cashier rang up an item at a sale price when it should have been full-price.
Next question: What do we do about it? We are all cheaters! Thoughts?
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Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-26164206702048527782012-09-12T10:57:00.000-07:002012-09-12T10:57:55.222-07:00Publishing and Respect for CultureSounds like an odd mix, doesn't it?
I spent most of my downtime (if you can call it that) Monday putting the final touches on an article I wrote. "Regional Dialect and Homophones: Teaching Standard English Composition to Thomian-Dialect Speakers" will be published by Claflin University in Summer 2013 in an anthology backed by the Claflin Initiative. Oddly enough, the topic became germane at happy hour last night with fellow UVI employees (not all professors). We were discussing cultural differences on St. Thomas--especially those that create difficulties for our students. One of those is the stigma surrounding mental illness--even so basic as stress or anxiety. Many West Indians believe that only the truly "crazy" seek help for mental concerns, and others believe that we are still in a 1950's time warp when anyone who admits to mental concerns will be given a shot and never seen again.
This obviously causes difficulty for advisors, counselors and professors on the college campus. If a student believes that her anxiety or severe stress are normal, or that she must "get over it" on her own, she is quite likely to fail right out of school. Sadly, if that student had spent an hour with a counselor on campus, she might have found some coping strategies and become a more successful student as a result.
Mental health, however, is not where my article nudged its way into conversation; rather, a discussion of perception led to some of our observations about how crucial <b>respect</b> is in the society here. Students will not listen to a professor they do not respect, nor will they do much more than show up and sulk through the class, texting or playing Angry Birds (if they aren't flat-out listening to music on their smart phone). One of my challenges--which I addressed in the article--is to teach students how to communicate effectively in Standard English (SE). Most West Indian students (from any island) use a dialect similar to English, but largely without most of the grammar or syntax structures familiar to SE speakers. In order to teach my students effectively, I must first help them to accept that while there is nothing "wrong" with the manner in which they speak, it is not SE; therefore, they must learn to use SE for the academic and business worlds. If a teacher sounds condescending or insulting, however, the students simply won't care--she will already have lost their respect because the students will feel that she disrespected them.
Teachers at every level walk thin lines, but at the end of the day, shutting down students with a condescending or sarcastic comment is <i>not</i> going to serve anyone--least of all the students.
Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-22191777815228019162012-08-21T12:56:00.003-07:002012-08-21T13:02:57.976-07:00Let the Games Begin!<br />Oh yes, you heard correctly--I am teaching <span style="font-style:italic;">The Hunger Games</span> in English 120: Composition this semester!<br /><br /><br />I am only teaching one section of ENG 120: Composition this semester, so you'll have the joy of reading about ENG 100: Writing Across the Curriculum (a remedial grammar and writing course), ENG 201: Research & Applied Writing, and ENG 262: World Lit. II (poetry and drama). You may also have to suffer through hearing about my new office mascot--my kitten, Titan. If you teach at a college or university where you cannot bring your pet to work, I sincerely feel sorry for you.<br /><br /><br />And with that, bring on the students!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKcS4afMJbDl1cKwdeCL-LLrHtGwEmr15ZejG_vuTI69uE209rCyp9THuxDKBjENZfbmY3xSo_HlykD0D6L5_liL-l5kgxdb8dzxQF_6AB3RrOb0K4JBf_7IV9Iuj6bORT0FaGC4QqqM/s1600/I_Am_The_Teacher_funny_education_photographs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 378px; height: 378px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiKcS4afMJbDl1cKwdeCL-LLrHtGwEmr15ZejG_vuTI69uE209rCyp9THuxDKBjENZfbmY3xSo_HlykD0D6L5_liL-l5kgxdb8dzxQF_6AB3RrOb0K4JBf_7IV9Iuj6bORT0FaGC4QqqM/s400/I_Am_The_Teacher_funny_education_photographs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5779219194815373330" /></a><br />Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-38251828225757484972012-08-02T10:26:00.001-07:002012-08-02T10:35:59.916-07:00TWO "N" Words?I was reading this article on <i>The Chronicle of Higher Education</i> this morning and feel that it touches on an issue with which nearly all English professors (and even middle and high school level English teachers) deal.
<a href="http://chronicle.com/article/The-Trouble-With-the-Other/133141/?cid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en">
"The Trouble with the Other N Word"</a>
I am white. My students, upwards of 97%, are not. The U.S. Virgin Islands are historically black. It is fundamentally wrong to describe my students as "African-American." Why? Oh, let's see: 1. Even those born in the "U.S." Virgin Islands (post <a href="http://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/wwi/107293.htm">our $25 million purchase of the islands in 1917</a>) prefer to be designated as "West Indian" (believe it or not, many "Diversity" surveys include this designation as distinct from African-American); 2. Not ALL of my students are from the U.S. Virgin Islands; in fact, many of them are from 'down island,' Puerto Rico, Dominica, Haiti, or Africa; and 3. The U.S. Virgin Islands is a non-voting territory in the U.S. Congress--that means no vote in the electoral college--and are about as different from mainstream U.S. culture as it gets, so no, my students do not self-designate as "African-American."
Having said all that...we read Harlem Renaissance literature, as well as Caribbean literature dating from the early 20th century. Both "N" words are used in both of these. The blatantly inappropriate "N" word (if you have to ask which one that is...) is used by West Indians just as alternately negative and colloquial as it is by mainstream African-Americans (listen to any hip-hop or rap radio station if you don't believe me). Again, let me remind you: I am white. This puts me in a unique position. First, you must realize that I <b>am</b> the minority here--at the University and on St. Thomas. Second, as a professor, I believe that my role is to open up my students to different worldviews--this is not the same as blatantly insulting them. This creates an interesting cultural paradox for me:
My students (once they get to know me) trust me to be honest with them. AT. ALL. TIMES. This is a promise I make to them on the first day of class, every semester. I also promise my students that they will not offend me, and while I will not intentionally offend anyone during the duration of the course, I will apologize once and only once in the event I do so unintentionally: "Sorry" (and that's all you get). Even in my composition courses without literature components, we discuss topics that are racially, culturally, spiritually and politically sensitive. (After all, isn't that what college is for--to learn about others' points of view and the way the world works?)
I have not asked my students for their thoughts on <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/05/huckleberry-finn-edition-censors-n-word">the current debate over whether to censor the "N-word" out of Mark Twain's <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> </a>, but a senior advisee from last year did bring it up with me while she was reading it in a capstone Humanities seminar. She has family ties in the Caribbean, but has also lived in a number of places throughout the contiguous U.S. and will be moving back stateside to work on her Master's (so proud!). She was bothered by the use of the "n-word," but when we talked about it, she eventually verbalized that what <i>really</i> bothered her was the ease and innocence with which the word was once tossed about, even in 'polite' society: her discomfort (and no small amount of genuine P.O.'ed-ness) came from the realization that HISTORY, not Mark Twain, was insulting. Once she was able to express this to me (and herself), she grew pensive. I asked her what she thought about publishers who wanted to censor the word from the text...and she thought it would be akin to editing history. I have to agree with her.
This still leaves me with the question of whether "Negro" is just a thinly-veiled way of saying the BIG "N" word...but unlike the author of the article, I think I will be able to ask my students their opinion, and proceed accordingly.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHb0Vhs8ftuUHUrXAn_dmGlprRxyghqHDfLd9USAPt3jb1DWmtOpd2OWB531cNJmu6YecF5tLHczbKU3SvkILeZ4gpuAh_6k2H9fo6Z5CnPC8LJrCc88Czo0IT-hSEdO9nGth1J78gNA8/s1600/HuckleberryFinn" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="249" width="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHb0Vhs8ftuUHUrXAn_dmGlprRxyghqHDfLd9USAPt3jb1DWmtOpd2OWB531cNJmu6YecF5tLHczbKU3SvkILeZ4gpuAh_6k2H9fo6Z5CnPC8LJrCc88Czo0IT-hSEdO9nGth1J78gNA8/s400/HuckleberryFinn" /></a></div>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-44656161047511466152012-07-24T10:47:00.000-07:002012-07-24T10:47:01.420-07:00Fifty Shades of RubbishI would just like to put it out there that if I had <i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i> author E. L. James in any of my composition courses, she would maybe squeak by with a C-.
People, we need to <b>stop</b> reading trash! Just because it becomes a "Best Seller" (which only really means that the publisher managed to pre-sell X amount of books to major retailers like Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble), Oprah likes it, Dr. Oz likes it, or a friend read it and "like, totally LOOOOOVED" it does <b><i>NOT</i></b> mean it is worth the time it takes to suffer through it!
Perhaps the moral of this story is that we need better erotica authors, although I tend to think that it's really just that the book industry is going to pot and publishing idiots.Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-77252001980940643952012-07-23T11:12:00.001-07:002012-07-23T11:22:37.507-07:00The Anatomy of a PlagiaristThere is more than one way to plagiarize. Did you know that?
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The simplest method of plagiarism (and, in my opinion, the dumbest) is simply to copy and paste an essay or article in its entirety. When students go this route, they often neglect to correct minor errors like font differences or embedded links.
Slightly more advanced plagiarism involves copying and pasting key sections of essays or articles from more than one site. One of the reasons these plagiarizers are inevitably caught is the lack of transitions, font differences, or complete and utter lack of coherence in the final essay product.
The most blatant and unforgivable plagiarism is of the sort that involves an essay mill or a student paying another writer for an essay. A professor who is paying attention and has seen her student's writing style before should recognize fairly readily that the work is not her student's.
The (pardon my colloquialism) dumbest form of plagiarism is when a student copies and pastes material, then <i>cites</i> the material either in the Works Cited or with an in-text citation. Citing material does NOT negate copying and pasting. If the materials is an <i>exact quote</i>, it MUST be in quotations and properly cited; otherwise, this is just more plagiarism.
Students who "accidentally" plagiarize do not do so intentionally, but still ought to re-do any work in which they made the mistake so as to learn how to avoid even the accidental sort of plagiarism in the future.
Bottom Line: if YOU didn't write it, you MUST cite it!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0E8QnTw4UYApi8pdrzpYhuXrvCsjlJUo_gvDT3FO6uycakkNXvgo747go1VpKMhrbguW9X3UWp-jDnQmf7Iq7_8ZptPtZMh65WIAq-f0dKJ_Z61ehljtPAaHmnKj0JfITlWELPlzy2C8/s1600/whatisPlagiarism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="280" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0E8QnTw4UYApi8pdrzpYhuXrvCsjlJUo_gvDT3FO6uycakkNXvgo747go1VpKMhrbguW9X3UWp-jDnQmf7Iq7_8ZptPtZMh65WIAq-f0dKJ_Z61ehljtPAaHmnKj0JfITlWELPlzy2C8/s400/whatisPlagiarism.jpg" /></a></div>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-54227623995384447412012-05-16T11:47:00.001-07:002012-05-16T11:47:58.714-07:00Summertime is here again...Spring 2012 ended with the predictable, although nonetheless depressing, rash of students who thought plagiarism would help them finish their work. Oh, how so very very wrong they were!
Several English 120 students failed major course assignments because they copied and pasted material from websites. One failed the course because she copied and pasted in both her last essay, <i>and</i> her research paper. She plagiarized from essay mills, by the way, and everything she copied had terrible grammar errors and made little to no sense.
Two World Literature students attempted to cheat on their final exam and earned big, fat zeroes for their efforts. One World Literature student copied and pasted the vast majority of her essay on <i>Hamlet</i>. I noticed. She earned a zero for the paper.
Summer sessions means I am only teaching one course, Monday through Thursday, from 3:20-5:20pm. During Summer I, I am teaching English 120, and English 201 (Research and Applied Writing--which I teach as a gender studies course) in Summer II. One student already approached me to tell me that this is her fourth time taking ENG 120...
I am still not lecturing, but I also need to request a classroom change, as my class is currently in a VC (video conference) room, and does not have a big white board. For all my technology use, I still need to be able to write on the board! The summer will continue my efforts to engage and teach without "lectures." I've instructed my students to stop me from talking if I've been teaching, uninterrupted, for more than 8 minutes.
We are using more discussion, small group and partner work, Socratic method, and interactive media this semester to keep the "lecture" out of the classroom...more to follow soon.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7V0hTRADuqeXL2ryerW7iNd72En96zucngfDD_qcHOElSfKP8ajP7X-09f29Q9QEetl14_-lXuQwgo6wVeedeWC5gOeFRxchBfDV4cjYqUHeU1SG_tfDw2G3SGqRDFU-Uds2WSrZokKE/s1600/29750058271332497557.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7V0hTRADuqeXL2ryerW7iNd72En96zucngfDD_qcHOElSfKP8ajP7X-09f29Q9QEetl14_-lXuQwgo6wVeedeWC5gOeFRxchBfDV4cjYqUHeU1SG_tfDw2G3SGqRDFU-Uds2WSrZokKE/s400/29750058271332497557.jpeg" /></a></div>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-42533877616566812772012-03-29T10:09:00.003-07:002012-03-29T10:20:56.177-07:00Not Quite CompositionI am teaching <span style="font-style:italic;">Hamlet</span> in my ENG 262: World Lit. II (Poetry & Drama) course right now. We are in Act II, and while looking for "modern English-friendly" resources for my students, I stumbled upon <a href="http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/hamlet-facebook-news-feed-edition">this hilarious re-working of the play.</a><br /><br />I also found a few riotous Youtube videos on <span style="font-style:italic;">Hamlet</span>, but they are mostly funny because I know the play and love Shakespeare, so I will only be sharing one or two with my students.<br /><br />My department chair is sitting in on my ENG 262 class today, so rather than watching a handsome young Mel Gibson terrorize poor Ophelia half-naked (II. i. 75-98), I'm putting together a small-group activity focusing on imagery and themes in the play.<br /><br />I'm going to assign a theme to each pair of students (I have 11 in the class) and ask them to find a line in Act II that uses imagery to support the theme. I found a suggestion from a high school teacher to have students write poems using the lines as a starting point, but I doubt that we will have the time.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WfRaRP82yXkRWwi7ceIiTjwhV_kkXtXwvkJr7iYFOUk6NLv_FNLudKXRguh4WuZwEdJlgqUGJwcyXGy_WGJdz05B65FyQU6Myr4wko0Jpw3m_B9zpQeisT6XWOASsGbXlU-NcnrqScw/s1600/HamletinStickFigures.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WfRaRP82yXkRWwi7ceIiTjwhV_kkXtXwvkJr7iYFOUk6NLv_FNLudKXRguh4WuZwEdJlgqUGJwcyXGy_WGJdz05B65FyQU6Myr4wko0Jpw3m_B9zpQeisT6XWOASsGbXlU-NcnrqScw/s400/HamletinStickFigures.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725370175663323202" /></a>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-11209536105126998442012-03-29T10:06:00.003-07:002012-03-29T10:09:14.734-07:00Article Accepted!It's time to toot my own horn:<br /><br />I submitted an article abstract to the the Claflin University Conference on Contemporary English and Language Arts Pedagogy entitled “Regional Dialect and Homophones: Teaching Standard English Composition to Thomian-Dialect Speakers.” <br /><br />I received an email this morning informing me that my article has been accepted!<br /><br />I'm honored and excited to be able to contribute. <br /><br />(I'm also doing a happy dance in my office...with the door closed, so my students don't think I'm even weirder than they already think I am!)Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-77356622591706186742012-03-12T18:34:00.004-07:002012-03-12T18:59:38.090-07:00ParallelismI didn't discover "parallelism" as a grammatical concept until high school. By then, I'd figured it out instinctively, although it certainly helped to be able to name the idea.<br /><br />My students have never heard of it.<br /><br />Rather than require them to read a chapter full of grammar-speak, redundant exercises, and narration designed to lull even the most attentive readers to sleep, I sprang parallelism on my Composition classes as an in-class activity.<br /><br />After covering point-by-point and subject-by-subject organizational patterns for compare/contrast essays (using the thesis statement: Although Hershey's and Godiva chocolate are both well known and time-tested, they differ greatly in their price, availability, and varieties.), I handed out a piece of paper with sentences. The first page was pairs of sentences, the back side just sentences that had problems with parallelism.<br /><br />I began by asking, "What does it mean to be parallel in geometry?"<br /><br />Students: "Two lines that will never intersect." I responded by drawing the perfunctory "parallel" lines on the board with hash marks to represent their parallelism. (I resisted the urge to draw two elliptical lines and ask if they were parallel too...Euclid still reigns supreme in University geometry).<br /><br />"What about parallelism in literature or movies?" Blank stares.<br /><br />I gave examples of recent films that capitalize on "parallel" storylines, such as <span style="font-style:italic;">New Year's Eve</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Valentine's Day</span>, explaining that we consider two or more storylines that happen concurrently to be "parallel" until they cross over one another. <br /><br />Student response, "Ooh, got it."<br /><br />Me: "But in grammar, parallelism is about matching, patterns and balance." I pointed out that no one effectively learns grammar by reading its rules (duh), and explained that I would read pairs of sentences and I simply wanted them to tell me which of the pair sounded "better."<br /><br />For example: <br />In English class, Tashonda learned to read poems critically and to appreciate good prose.<br />In English class, Tashonda learned to read poems critically and she appreciated good prose.<br /><br />The class chose the first sentence (clever little darlings), which is correct. I then explained the concept of matching verb tenses (ie: consistency). We moved through 9 examples covering everything from adverbs, adjectives and lists to more verb tenses and direct and indirect pronouns.<br /><br />As a side note, I teach my kids to simply "finish the sentence" to decide which pronoun is correct.<br /><br />Example: She is taller than I/me.<br />If I complete the sentence, it reads either <br /> 1. She is taller than I am. or<br /> 2. She is taller than me am.<br /><br />The correct option is clear, although it sounds funny because no one speaks in proper English grammar. As simple as this grammar lesson on parallelism seems, it's by far one of the most successful. My students rarely muff up parallelism after we go over it.<br /><br /><a href="http://writing-rag.com/457/some-more-grammar-humor/told-by-the-teacher1/">Just in case you haven't smiled today:</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzfg-LKhoV1GGKQGpPlI8E3gtl0uM3UE7gmxW_RXBd-aX0ojawcR8REq-NHvvme3vOa8zJBsbyKD5DVq_UiPOGGtHgFivUEH8EE14K1Yt82tit5xsLD4mDiixJVbAVssyK7LTMA1nrvw/s1600/told-by-the-teacher1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 375px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKzfg-LKhoV1GGKQGpPlI8E3gtl0uM3UE7gmxW_RXBd-aX0ojawcR8REq-NHvvme3vOa8zJBsbyKD5DVq_UiPOGGtHgFivUEH8EE14K1Yt82tit5xsLD4mDiixJVbAVssyK7LTMA1nrvw/s400/told-by-the-teacher1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719194992159410530" /></a>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-38369381376752323372012-03-11T09:37:00.002-07:002012-03-11T10:05:54.062-07:00Student Feedback on Lectures<span style="font-style:italic;">The Chronicle</span> gathers some student feedback on lectures in this article supplemented by Youtube videos made by students: <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Lecture-Fail-/130085/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en">"Lecture Fail?"</a>.<br /><br />I plan to ask my students in an evaluation at the end of the semester how they felt about the course throughout the semester, but perhaps I should do an eval now, too?<br /><br />(By the way, I've been swamped in grading lately, which is not a great excuse for leaving you out here in the cold, vast Internet without my words to guide you, but it is true.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbDukwxr5qDBfWOow5jrFSokh0XtNq9MNu1Hnp6b3bjS5Qpjlq4n17Wxewx7EJJrdJqkUunsiB82DLPfI-avRpqAgotMCxLwwhBrX926fkNsGhyphenhyphenQZPvWFS5yiMw_EwVM1d6KihIJzTxc/s1600/ballandchain"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 199px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbDukwxr5qDBfWOow5jrFSokh0XtNq9MNu1Hnp6b3bjS5Qpjlq4n17Wxewx7EJJrdJqkUunsiB82DLPfI-avRpqAgotMCxLwwhBrX926fkNsGhyphenhyphenQZPvWFS5yiMw_EwVM1d6KihIJzTxc/s400/ballandchain" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718686820430699858" /></a>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-69627314279853236482012-02-20T09:59:00.005-08:002012-02-20T10:13:06.660-08:00Fallacious Fallacies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_VKPjLTADjjnsB2tZNJGHx1y_06bFz-9zk_vfonTbSbme_zVU_i9BK2InWXXmueWlSQE8p1rK2AM4QyTRbhUIX7kDDjO-2r3lZpdNcj0PiZn39vaSLF1qxv-gyWm19maI97T9N2ppZM/s1600/ad-hominem.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_VKPjLTADjjnsB2tZNJGHx1y_06bFz-9zk_vfonTbSbme_zVU_i9BK2InWXXmueWlSQE8p1rK2AM4QyTRbhUIX7kDDjO-2r3lZpdNcj0PiZn39vaSLF1qxv-gyWm19maI97T9N2ppZM/s400/ad-hominem.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711281462402154882" /></a><br /><br />Today was Argument day. Not debate, but argument--the principles of logic and argument.<br /><br />We started with inductive and deductive reasoning; I asked my students and they supplied me with definitions of each, and I provided the examples. We then moved on to Aristotle's three appeals: pathos, ethos, logos.<br /><br />I gave them word associations to remember which was which (pathos = sympathy, ethos = ethics, and logos = logic), then we distinguished each from the other with examples. The students provided most of the examples when I asked, although I have some tried and true examples that I threw in as well:<br /><br />Pathos: Humane Society commercials<br />Ethos: Every adult who has ever said to my students "Because I'm an adult and you're a kid"<br /><br />I also shared my cupcake (or ice cream sundae) analogy: Logos is the cupcake itself, ethos is the icing, and pathos should just be some sprinkles on top.<br /><br />We then moved on to fallacies in argument. I love teaching fallacies--there are just so many great examples to go with each (especially during an election year)!<br /><br />Today's class was closer to lecture, but truly I made the students tell me most of the material, so rather than talking at them, I had a conversation with my students about what we have experienced to be successful or unsuccessful arguments. We remember conversations, but rarely monologues, I have found. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUtaqDjxHOZPUl9INc24WpBYTwXSdPVCQaUaL9FOprjmtA8YqO_q07w-NN24FV4T5e7S5eqB9J7UKFRz67Tqjfl3T5L6MPIlyFH5E3VKZYJ9bdvZgFGeuMVBqtnOqCAppXAkDwngvFAc/s1600/fallacy_logic"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 176px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUtaqDjxHOZPUl9INc24WpBYTwXSdPVCQaUaL9FOprjmtA8YqO_q07w-NN24FV4T5e7S5eqB9J7UKFRz67Tqjfl3T5L6MPIlyFH5E3VKZYJ9bdvZgFGeuMVBqtnOqCAppXAkDwngvFAc/s400/fallacy_logic" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711281068643852082" /></a>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3831684281951839240.post-52556317502527183542012-02-17T16:35:00.009-08:002012-02-17T17:19:17.930-08:00"Can't I just Google it?"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUhSTqhOng7YtScQo6IXSLqj3xsnfBCSD9AaxKlmeGFx-kuiTZePPxJX-xtqHys9JvftI0q1rlneK5-14SRNHf8kbm1FPQDJzEZNSl1WqtSFhhUto4fDHk7m0LSptqTvkWC0OC2n1ggU/s1600/internetmustbetrue"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUhSTqhOng7YtScQo6IXSLqj3xsnfBCSD9AaxKlmeGFx-kuiTZePPxJX-xtqHys9JvftI0q1rlneK5-14SRNHf8kbm1FPQDJzEZNSl1WqtSFhhUto4fDHk7m0LSptqTvkWC0OC2n1ggU/s400/internetmustbetrue" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5710278766943511202" /></a><br /><br /><br />My ENG 120 students have turned in their research prospectuses (or prospecti?), narrowed their topics and are perfecting their thesis statements. Now, all that remains is to write the outlines and the essays. Oh, that's right--and do the research!<br /><br />While I am no stickler to "books only" research (I would be a hypocrite!), I <span style="font-style:italic;">am</span> very strict about what constitutes an up-to-date, valid academic source. Wikipedia is so far from my students' minds by the time they start their research, I often wonder if I've brainwashed them. WebMD and other "reputable" sites are always a challenge, however.<br /><br />When it comes to how recently an article was written/published, I tell my students "If you weren't born when it was written, it's too old!" The exceptions here are primary historical sources or sources for subjects that simply don't change.<br /><br />When it comes to the author of a source, I warn them, "If you can't figure out who wrote it, <span style="font-weight:bold;">run away!</span>"<br /><br />Most importantly (and most terrifying for those of us who have taught today's students and know how lacking they can be in this department--), I tell my students to use their <span style="font-style:italic;">common sense</span>.<br /><br />To illustrate just why Wikipedia (sorry, boys!) isn't an academic, verifiable, or valid source, we read <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/The-Undue-Weight-of-Truth-on/130704/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en">"The 'Undue Weight' of Truth on Wikipedia"</a>, by Professor Timothy Messer-Kruse in <span style="font-style:italic;">The Chronicle</span>. My students were shocked--and we had some great impromptu vocabulary work, too!<br /><br />To illustrate why the World Wide Web isn't to be blindly trusted, I sicced this little gem on my students: <a href="http://www.fvza.org/science1.html">"The Science of Vampires,"</a> courtesy of the <a href="http://www.fvza.org/index.html">Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency</a>. Oh? You didn't know FVZA existed? Or that HVV (Human Vampiric Virus) is the cause of Vampirism? Right, because ".org" at the end of a web address does <span style="font-style:italic;">not</span> always (or often, for that matter--most are biased) a valid, useful academic source make !<br /><br />Amusingly, some of my female students who have been caught up in the throes of <a href="http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html">Edward and Bella's</a> bliss (<a href="http://news.discovery.com/human/twilight-movie-causes-seizures-111128.html">and seizure-causing spawning</a>), the slightly more mature <span style="font-style:italic;">True Blood</span>, or any of the other blood-sucking obsessions this generation drools over, actually <span style="font-style:italic;">believed</span> the article--as much as they could, anyhow. One student flat out sighed, looked me in the eye and said, "I want to be a vampire." I maintained my composure...mostly. For the most part, though, my students realized that this article is absurd, albeit entertaining. They acknowledged that it was logically written, but their common sense simply would not allow them to buy into this nonsense about a virus causing vampirism--or the existence of vampirism at all.<br /><br />Smart kids.<br /><br />To drive the point home, I introduced my bright little minds to <a href="http://theflatearthsociety.org/cms/">The Flat Earth Society</a>: "The mission of the Flat Earth Society is to promote and initiate discussion of Flat Earth theory as well as archive Flat Earth literature. Our forums act as a venue to encourage free thinking and debate."<br /><br />I shan't deign to elaborate on that. I will, however, thank Mr. Bill Loughran for corrupting my adolescent mind with the fascinations of Shakespeare, Latin, ancient Greek and Roman history, and ancient Greek, along with thousands of witty barbs for students--all of which I must admit I freely use today--and, the buttercream icing of it all, an introduction to The Flat Earth Society.<br /><br />And thus concluded my lesson on how not to be an idiot when using the Internet to find sources. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFpXmEtoDgEIelIj6TnyyogKlomWX2G2uRktI0m2wcmQuOOUhVmf8-zE1yRUFOuHkx9BZgjdmltfam0Eskro0JIXSv-NWW264GCpbyjjQQkXkMSiK_niGFnstiXYXUJzWZ8P5yisLkec/s1600/quotesonline"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 122px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFpXmEtoDgEIelIj6TnyyogKlomWX2G2uRktI0m2wcmQuOOUhVmf8-zE1yRUFOuHkx9BZgjdmltfam0Eskro0JIXSv-NWW264GCpbyjjQQkXkMSiK_niGFnstiXYXUJzWZ8P5yisLkec/s400/quotesonline" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5710277738625496226" /></a>Professor Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03063884753895834576noreply@blogger.com3