First In-Class Writing

We did our first in-class writing today.  It's our introduction as a writer prompt.  I wanted to write a new essay, but I couldn't do it.  I'll just post the one from last year.  It's about my grandmother.

I mentioned it in class showing the students how I started it... I got choked up.

Now, my grandmother's old house was in the area that was hit by Hurricane Harvey.  The house is in Refugio.  Looks like Bertha Allen is always gonna be on my mind at the beginning of the school year.

Miss ya! Grandmama... Rest well!

Fall 2017

It's the new school year.  It's my endeavor to keep this blog current.  #professorproblems

Weekly In-Class Writings...

I'll start posting the in-class essays that we write each week eventually.  I hand write them with the class, but I finish and post them later.  I'm a couple of weeks behind. I have them written in my Writer's Notebook, though.

Try Again Next Year Professor... Next Time Professor

This did not exactly go according to plan.  I'll try again next year!

This Meme Means...

Prompt: Find a school appropriate meme. Discuss the rhetorical devices of the meme. How does the meme use ethos, pathos, logos, purpose, audience, stance, genre, and medium?

This meme is about the Patti LaBelle Pies (sold at Walmart) that surfaced at Christmas time.  It uses pathos to exploit the supposed battle between two R&B divas, Patti LaBelle and Aretha Franklin.  It also uses ethos to suggest that perhaps Patti didn’t really make the pies herself.

The purpose of the meme is to make fun of the pies since many have assumed that Walmart massed produced the pies and “slapped” Patti LaBelle’s name and likeness on the box.  The genre is the fun, teasing side of African-Americans who like to boast about their pie making skills.  The audience is specifically African-Americans, but could be anyone familiar with the pies.

The Writing Process

Prompt: Discuss the writing process. What is it? How can it help a writer?

I am a big believer in and follower of the Writing Process.  The five steps are: Pre-Writing, Writing, Revision, Editing, and Publishing.

I feel that every writer should follow the process because it helps you pay attention to the various steps of your writing.  It can help focus on your writing in a methodical way, particularly if you pay attention to each step, and focus on your writing at that stage.  You should not skip a stage in the process because your work can be damaged because of it.  You may have to go back to a previous step, but that’s okay because the process is cyclical.

A writer should always take a moment to check and make sure they are staying true to their outline, which is part of the Pre-Writing step.  Also, a writer should never skip the Revision or Editing step to save time.  Your work will not be credible because it will contain mistakes and errors.  The whole process is important.

Respecting the Process will produce quality writing.

Go to College

Prompt: Discuss advice you would give to high school seniors about college.

I would tell high school seniors that college is a fun place to grow and learn.  You can become whoever you want to be, just by learning about yourself, new subjects, new people, and more.  You just only have to take a chance.

College has become a special place where you can be whoever you endeavor to be, by growing as a person and student.  You get to meet people of all kinds of nationalities, who can enrich your thinking and worldview.  There are people there who know so much and have so many experiences that can teach you more than you ever thought you could learn.

College is hard work, but in the end the hard work pays off.  Not only in money, but in experiences that you may never have had were it not for attending college.  There will be struggles, but these struggles help develop your character, work ethic, and self-motivational skills.  You will learn things that will help you later in your career, as well as in your life.  Don’t be afraid of a challenge.

Academic Writing

Prompt: Discuss why academic writing is important to a college student and their college career.

Academic writing is important to a college student because all throughout college students will be writing.  It is important that college students learn how to write well.  They will use writing in their careers as well, so learning to write in a freshman college English class is vital.  This class teaches students how to express themselves in an effective and acceptable way.

Most incoming freshman students currently comes into college speaking TextSpeak, which is very inappropriate for academic or professional writing.  Also, they have a rudimentary level of writing.  Most importantly, most of them coming in disliking writing because it is an arduous task that they were asked to do in high school.  This creates issues for college instructors because they must tear down writing myths created by years of writing being rammed down their throats, and build a love of writing in a way that it will create a comfort for the student.  This can be both a task and a treat.

Overall, students must learn that writing is necessary as they go through college, and into the workforce.  Taking Freshmen writing courses should not be looked at as a “CHORE,” but as a way to grow as a person, which is what college is all about.

Woven in the Fabric of Life Writing

One day, I walked into the house and announced to my mother that I wanted to be a writer.  This happened after I read a story that I wrote for my Creative Writing class when I was in the 8th grade.  My story was the only story that the entire class, including the teacher listened when I shared it to class, as was part of the assignment.

I have always liked to write stories.  Ever since I can remember, I have written stories.  Even when I wrote poems, they ended up being epic poems that told a story in some way.  I am not sure how this storytelling gift came about because I am not good at telling stories verbally, but when I write them, they become great.

I discovered the writing genre called “Life Writing” while I was in college for my Master’s degree, years after I had been writing in my storytelling style.  It was for an assignment for an English class.  I still do not remember what the assignment was, but I remember reading about Life Writing.  Life Writing is recording one’s story, memories, experiences, etc. through autobiographies, biographies, diaries, memoirs, letters, personal essays, blogging, emailing, vlogging, etc.  It is a way to keep track of your life.

I discovered what I would come to know as Life Writing, when I was a young girl by watching my grandmother write in her diary.  I did not know that this simple act would propel me into my career field of writing.  I saw Grandma’s Hands write in her little book, and share something about her day.  Shortly after that, I began keeping a diary, writing random thoughts, things about my day, stories ideas, and things I wanted to write about later.  It was fun.

I developed my skill of Life Writing by writing stories about people, and things that happened in their life.  As I think back to the many stories and poems I have written, I made up lots of stories about imaginary people’s lives.  That has been my writing style ever since the 8th grade.

I wrote a short story for my Short Story Writing class while in my Master’s degree program.  My professor said it was a great slice of life story.  At that moment, my career as a Life Writer was reinforced.  I discovered how I could bless the world with my talent, fully.  I would share a message of hope and redemption through sharing the life stories of the imaginary people I make up.

Change Is a Must for Even Me

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi

Change is a hard thing.  It makes many people nervous, including me.  Do we really want to change?  Do we really want to stand up and say, “Something is wrong and we need to change?”  if we are really honest, most people would say no at first, but when faced with the inevitability of change, we are forced to change, if not be the agent of change.

As I reflect on the things that are happening in the USA at this time, there is so much going on… We’re about to elect a new president, many issues that we were once silent about are coming to the forefront, and personally, I’m being taught new strategies and techniques to use as I teach my English classes.  Change is all around me.  And it’s SCARING me to death!

When I pay attention to the national landscape of change, I wonder if Colin Kapernick thought about what he would face when he decided to “be the change,” and not stand for the singing of the National Anthem.  Did he imagine that he would be the “talk of the town?”  Did he imagine that a well-known sportscaster would cast aspersions on his “BLACKNESS?”  Did he know that people would burn his jersey?  Did he think that it could cost him his job?  I wonder.

However, Colin’s action has caused us to think, read, evaluate, and process what we value as Americans and humans.  Will anything change because of his actions?  Perhaps.  Will Americans come together and work towards some solutions.  I don’t know.  But, Colin made a stand, and it has affected us all in some way.

As I think about the changes going on in my own small, diminutive world, it seems insignificant compared to the world at large.  So much is going on, that I often think… “Will making a change in my life or in my teaching make a difference?”  The conclusion I come to each time I ask myself that question is… YES!