Star Trek Has it Wrong: The Great Language Debate, part II

***Before reading further, please be sure to watch the two preceding YouTube clips***

Star Trek has it wrong. Space is not the final frontier. Well, that is not exactly right. It could become the final frontier, but there is another frontier that is standing in our way: the human condition.

Reading Williams, I could not help but wonder if we would ever progress to the point where we would reach the utopian high ideals (within planet earth – not within the galaxy) that the Star Trek universe challenges all of us to aspire to.

In the Trekean future, humanity has finally managed to lay asunder their differences and face whatever unknown challenges the galaxy holds for them in complete solidarity. And isn’t that a significant part of the allure that draws us to the Star Trek universe? It is this same universal appeal that compels us to strive to achieve the highest ideals beholden unto a Democracy.

With the pervasive ‘English Only’ rhetoric that seems to have come into fashion recently, even the optimist in me has been rendered daunted and doubtful that such a feat will ever happen. Not only does this irresponsible (if not downright dangerous) position marginalize the culture of other citizens, but by doing so, this ardent position can single-handedly subvert democracy. As our history has demonstrated, we have the most to fear from those who believe their voice is not heard. A democracy that does not embrace all cultures is no longer a democracy at all.

Democracy seems to be the easiest path to a Trekean future, but diversity is perhaps the most difficult barrier we will have to overcome if we are ever to reach the high ideals of Kirk and Spock’s universe. So, when I read the argument raised by Williams on page 216 about assimilation and the socioeconomic benefits of doing so, or of the thread that binds diverse people, I violently shake my head in opposition. Subverting someone else’s culture by coercing assimilation borders on the megalomaniacal. Assimilation has its roots in jingoistic xenophobia. And fear is not a good foundation for any civilized society, let alone a democracy.

We might someday reach the high ideals Star Trek challenges us to aspire to, but it has become more and more apparent that it will require a herculean effort on our part in order to do so. Wouldn’t it be great if American democracy - a democracy rooted in cultural pluralism - became the model on how to get there?

The Great Language Debate: Dismantling Culture

Blog Eight - The Teacherless Writing Class

Many times I have wondered, "What is the point of a teacherless writing class? Aren't we studying to be teachers? Are we putting ourselves out of jobs by teaching this 'teacherless' writing?" Chapter 4 of Elbow's text gives us some additional introspection as to what he means by a "teacherless" writing class, "But writing is also a transaction with other people. Writing is not just getting things down on paper, it is getting things inside someone else's head. If you wish you improve your writing you must also learn to to do more business with other people. That is the goal of the teacherless writing class," (Elbow 76). I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get some mixed messages- not only from Elbow, but from Williams, as well. What is this we once heard about "writing for the sake of writing?" Shouldn't we write without the thought of our reader, only to let the chips fall where they may? I would say that this concept Elbow describes is one that I agree more with. It requires writing to be purposeful and directed, rather than self-indulgent. Yes, there is value in writing pieces only for self-viewing, but I believe writing to be like many other art forms: if you keep it to yourself, the world cannot enjoy its beauty.

Elbow then goes on to walk us through the set-up of a teacherless writing class. One of the segments that spoke to me the most was "Advice to the Writer on Listening: Be quiet and listen." So many of my peers make excuses or apologize for their writing. I have never understood this, simply for the fact that everything I put "out there" is a representation of me. Why would I want something in the literary atmosphere that lacks my personal style or flair? Sure, there are pieces I'm happier with than others, but ultimately, one's work should always be signed with personal excellence. I believe the listening phase of writing is one that is instrumental because it allows the writer to take in what they wrote and then do with it what they will, without outside instruction or criticism. "Above all, never say what you want your writing to do, how you want your readers to respond. You'll destroy any chance of getting trustworthy evidence of whether you did it," (Elbow 101). This, for me, shows the opposite side of listening. One of the best indicators of whether one's work is understandable is if someone entirely fresh to the topic comes and reads the paper. If it requires explanation, it needs rewritten. By allowing the reader to tell the writer what they need from the piece, and the writer simply listening, they are getting responses that are un-coached (intentionally or not) and can most benefit their writing.

The Amazing Mr. Elbow

Mr. Elbow, my friend, I see you have returned. We are all blessed to have you in our hands again. Like a noble sage, Elbow starts the chapter with some amazing food for thought, “To improve your writing you don’t need advice about what changes to make; you don’t need theories of what is good and bad writing. You need movies of people’s minds while they read your words.” Elbow’s concept of a teacherless writing class is an interesting idea. I’m sure that everyone does not receive it with open arms, but I like it. As educators, we can apply this to the classroom by breaking our students into groups to allow them to experience this. If we are able to gather a better understanding of how we are being perceived, we may in fact become more aware of our own writing. This should not be hard to understand. For instance, who can think of a time when you were out with a group of people and you stated something in pure innocence but you received an awkward glance from someone? It’s true; the statement did not contain even the slightest bit of racism, rudeness, or neglect. But somehow, one person took it out of context. We must realize this, and teach this to our students (not necessarily from an offensive standpoint, but as a illustration of confusion). As writers, we can easily forget our audience. If we are addressing a specific crowd that does not mean that we should ostracize everyone else. Elbow’s teacherless environment addresses just this issue. Elbow states in the “Class Time” section of the chapter that we should “find a regular time and stick to it. Otherwise you are asking for trouble.” This is a good idea, but I think that we should rotate our audience, because if we grow too comfortable with several others, they may develop that bizarre (tongue in cheek) mental telepathy that ultimately results in the completion of each other’s sentences. This is problematic. Our audience, regardless of who is reading it, should understand the “movies” we are constructing.

Elbow 76-116

Welcome back Mr. Elbow...I have missed you.
I enjoyed this chapter because it really gets into the fact that writing is a a "transaction" between yourself and other people. That is an interesting thought:a transaction..."do more business". I imagine two people standing on either side of a cash register. One with a piece of paper, trying to sell themselves through their writing. The other person, contemplating, has to buy into it and purchase it. Thus, the "point of a teacherless writing class(Elbow, 76)".
When Elbow states, "..What you aren't getting is the main thing that helps people speak better: direct feedback to your speech- a directly perceived sense of how different people react to the sounds you make (Elbow, 76)." It made me think of what it is like hearing your own voice on a recording, and how different it sounds. When you write a paper then have someone else read it, this is a similar experience. Certain methods changed the way the original product was intended, altering the outcome.
I agree with Elbow that there needs to be a diverse group of people in a teacherless writing class. Although people want to understand each other better, it helps for different folks to give completely fresh feedback. "...each needs to experience what it is like for the other to find the writing worthless, and where the other sees glimmers (Elbow, 79)." I love when someone, who i never would have expected, can give me whole new ideas and inspirations on a paper.
On page 83, Elbow suggests to allow at least a minute of silence after reading for impressions to become clearer for listeners. I am definitely guilty of NOT doing this. I think I get nervous about reading my work out loud in general and just want to say it quickly.
I think this entire chapter could be used during an English or Language Arts class during a paper writing preparation activity. I can see it being beneficial for everyone involved.

Finally Elbow again!

I have to admit that I was starting to miss Elbow terribly, no offense to Williams! I know Elbow is trying to encourage us and enlighten us about writing without teachers, but this week's assigned chapter was hard for me to contemplate. Maybe because I work best under deadlines and authority. I do not know. Although what he says is quite fascinating, I find it quite unrealistic. It says that the teacherless writing class tries take you out of darkness and silence. It is a class of seven to twelve people who get together at least once a week. I feel peer review classes are the best way to improve writing without teachers. I have done it several times to know that it has definitely improved my writing quality.
These steps Elbow talks about is quite time consuming in my perspective. Especially if you are a college student, setting up the class to meet once a week for this many hours seem tiring for me. I would rather go to class, have a professor guide me, get in peer reviews and research on my own to make my paper better. The key is having a teacher who is smart enough to let us make decisions independently and treat us like adults.
I know that Elbow has some very strong points but it just does not do anything for me. There are so many steps and regulations to this process and I feel that would tire students at some point. And things could actually get chaotic among these 7-12 people.
Nevertheless, Elbow talks about some important issue that caught my attention. On page 101 he talks about trying to listen quietly as a writer. I feel that is the hardest thing to do for any writer simply because we get so defensive as writers, however in the long run if we try to understand how the readers tell us their perspective it will actually help us to improve our writing.
And of course we should not reject what the readers tell us. So even if the reader is wrong we should all take it in and reflect on it later.
Elbow wraps up this chapter well when he says its not a foolproof plan and that he has seen a teacherless class drift in the opposite direction. So at least he is being objective about it.

The Teacherless Writing Class--Why, What, and How?

The teacherless writing class looks at why the reader’s perception should always be taken into account when writing; the feedback of others can give insight into what a reader experiences when he or she reads the work, which in turn allows the writer to write better.

The idea of a teacherless writing class reminds me of a club for people who enjoy something. I can’t help but laugh, a writing “club” sounds funny since it’s so out-of-the-ordinary. The title of the chapter, “The Teacherless Writing Class” also seems a little misleading, since the “class” appears to meet for a fun writing experience. The chapter doesn’t seem clear whether the purpose of the class is to meet for fun or for the growth of a writer through the learned experience. To what end is a writer trying to know how a reader perceives a piece of writing? Additionally, if the purpose is for learning, then ultimately, one’s peers become the teachers.

Elbow does have some good ideas about having a writing class. People who are committed about writing will be more serious about good writing. I’ve always had a phobia of commitment myself. Obviously, a set time and a different people bring stability and diversity to the group. The chairman or even temporary discussion leaders can keep the meeting flowing and running smoothly. Summarizing is good practice for memory, and giving reactions is an interesting show of impromptu skill. Handouts and reading out loud provide practice as well. Patience, listening, courage, and responsibility will benefit the class as well. “Don’t try to understand what people tell you . . . but do try to understand HOW they tell it to you.” (102)

Perhaps is why Elbow is confusing and contradictory. From Elbow’s perspective, how he says what he says is important, and because how he writes is correct, Elbow doesn’t notice what he says. However, what he says by how he says it is often contradictory or meaningless. For example, the subtitle, You are always right and always wrong is logically inconsistent (106). To be wrong implies not being right. Another example, No kind of reaction is wrong (95). Is a reaction of anger and hatred a right kind of reaction? Also, if my reaction to that statement is that some reactions are wrong, then, logically speaking, either the statement that no kind of reactions are wrong is wrong or my reaction is wrong . . . While how someone says something is important, what someone says determines how one should say it. I want to know something that is not an empty truism; I don’t want to know more empty whats because the focus of how something was said is more important than what was said.

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Copying and pasting this from the word document was extremely difficult. The only way I could do it was to drag the entire text from the docx into the web window. Newer technologies and software become more fail every day! :(

No Teachers Allowed Club

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I find this chapter of Elbow, very enlightening. The idea of writing without a teacher seems so foreign and even impossible. Because of my own experience of writing training, always a feeling of being “under the gun” accompanied it. Elbow expresses certain ways of looking at our own writing abilities and perceiving them differently. I mean the difference between, say, my writing and other people’s experience of my writing never really stood out to me. I feel almost selfish and pigheaded in a sense. It seems, after reading Elbow, I’d been so introspective and worried over only what I think about “my” writing, and not so much how others perceive it. That sounds strange, but it really feels like I’ve been doing just that.
Believing that the focus on the “objective qualities” of my writing speaks to the limits of what I’ve known and understood about how to write (85). Perception makes all the difference in the world when it comes to meaning and interpretation of the what the writer is trying to say. I can look at everything with a broader spectrum. It’s not only about getting out what you want to say and how you want to say them, it’s getting out thoughts in a way that will be interpreted by the reader in resulting in the same way they sound to your in your head.
This all sounds simple, and Elbow provides a nice set of “processes” that outline his point. It’s is whole thing, though, the “process”. Either way, I am glad to know that there does exist a system or a method which takes the scary part out of writing, or at least reduces it. Elbow puts a lot of emphasis on the reader. I believe that this focus on the reader is something that the writing instruction which I endured left out. It sounds like a very important piece to the puzzle has been missing; Elbow seems to have found it.

Elbow 76-116

Elbow believes that quality writing is possible outside of the classroom. Teachers are not needed as a mediator as long as the group is picked carefully. I found it interesting when he brought up the importance of letting the writer know if you completely tuned out. The writer may not feel good, but its better than listening to someone fumble around pretending they paid attention to something that they clearly didn’t. The other facet of that is when Elbow suggests not giving any feedback when you feel as though you are sick of the whole thing as a way to let yourself recuperate mentally after allowing your brain to be picked. I will find myself forcing responses in my one class when no one else is raising their hand and it is mentally taxing. It also kind of makes me resent participating. Maybe giving myself “permission” to take a break from participation may allow me to become a better participant.

Many times, the teacher is the only motivation for showing up to class on a faithful basis. Handing in writing once a week to a group, in which no one is a certified facilitator, takes immense will power and self discipline. Sorting out the people who are unwilling to make the commitment to spend the time needed in class or the time to write outside of class is of course necessary as Elbow says. I think that a teacherless class is important in achieving the things that Elbow discusses. I think another key element would be to ensure that one of the group participants did not try to take that position in the group. An even playing field is important, where everyone feels that they have an equal opportunity to participate without feeling inferior. “Brave people” are not people who try to run the discussion, but rather ones who are the first to open up an otherwise unapproachable or avoided criticism. The criticism, which is meant to not only achieve better writing, but also to delve deeper into open honest discussion instead of polite surface chatter which you can stay home and get from acquaintances and in laws. This type of honesty has to be received well by everyone in order to be effective and to draw out further comments. The writer has the right to hear honest commentary and will feel lousy about thinly veiled flattery that the writer will realize as such. The whole point of the writing group will be undermined if deep discussion is not reached.

Elbow’s Return!

After reading this week’s assignment, I thought that this chapter best summarizes the role of peer review and writer’s groups. In the first part of this blog, I will discuss this idea. In the second part of this blog, I will address Elbow’s initial belief that everyone can write and is a writer.

Peer review is an excellent technique because it allows the writer to actually receive authentic feedback from numerous sources. Elbow states that “The goal is for the writer to come as close as possible to being able to see and experience his own words through seven or more people” (77). I love this quote because it highlights Elbow’s whole point on the teacherless writing class. We have discussed at great length this idea but Elbow’s statement best captures the essence of this process. Student writers often highly disdain writing because the paper is only going to be read by one person, the teacher, the extreme authority figure whose red pen annihilates their work and controls their academic future. Elbow believes that if students are going to fall in love with writing again, the teacher must be removed and the student’s audience (who are also a group of fellow writers) must reign. Students respond positively to peer review or writing groups because they get the chance to experience an audience’s reaction. He or she can actually see what statements or parts work well and which parts are confusing or ill received. Basically, Elbow believes that peer review allows the writer to see how a potential audience will react to his or her paper (book, article, etc.).

What is most interesting about this chapter is the fact that Elbow’s suggestion is nothing new. All great authors or authoress have discussed how they had a community, a group or a selection of readers. One famous example is Jane Austen. Jane Austen is noted for having a community of readers. Elbow writes that “you [the writer] need to keep getting it from the same people so that they get better at transmitting their experience and you [the writer] get better at hearing them” (77). Jane Austen’s community of readers never changed and some Austen of scholars believe that this community’s influence aided in the cultivation of Austen’s mature voice. What is most interesting about Austen is that she was never formally educated. Yes, she read a lot and yes, her father and mother did give her a rudimentary education but she was raised to be a potential wife and mother, not an authoress. Thus, if Austen, whose works are still cherished to this day, is a writer, why are students not called author or writer? Austen was and is a great writer because she took common experience and added emotional elements to these ordinary events. Indeed, Elbow writes “But writing is also a transaction with other people. Writing is not just getting things down on paper it is getting things inside someone else’s head. If you wish to improve your writing you must also learn to do more business with other people” (76). Thus, Austen’s career highlights this point. This point should encourage our students. They are writers and they have experiences with people that they can rely on when writing. After all, the point is not “whether the writing is good or bad, right or wrong: ask whether it worked or didn’t work” (80). Hence, Elbow’s initial point that all students are writers is true. Peer review or writing groups encourage students to have “more business with other people” to see what “worked or didn’t worked” (76, 80).

There were several other quotes that I thought were very important in this chapter.

“Writing is a string you send out to connect yourself with other consciousnesses but usually you never have the opportunity to feel anything at the other end” (77).
Explains why peer review techniques are actually needed in the classroom.

“ Do you want to learn how to write or protect your feelings” (78). Free yourself from burdens and embrace your pen.

“Hearing your own words out loud gives you the vicarious experience of being someone else. Reading your words out loud stresses what is most important: writing is really a voice spread out over time, not marks spread out in space” (82). Once again, this supports the whole purpose of peer review and writing groups.

“It’s more important to learn what actually got through to a real reader than what might get through to an ideal reader” (83). Idealized readers can harm us as we write but if we have an actual audience in mind, they will aid our work’s purpose, aim, language and usage of specific examples.

“Telling is like looking inside yourself to see what you can report. Showing is like installing a window in the top of your head and then taking a bow so the writer can see for himself” (92). Does anyone else remember the show and tell days at school??? I use to love those days. This quote perfectly summarizes once again the need for peer review experiences (real readers) in the classroom and its positive affect on a writer and work.

Cannot wait to talk about this chapter on Thursday! This was really an insightful chapter!

blog 8

I do actually read everyone's blog: often, to give myself ideas, and my personal favorite, to guess who the author is before I get to the last line.  At this point, I am pretty good at making intuitive assumptions.  I agree with Diggs and with Elbow that too often we shy away from giving each other harsh criticisms regarding our writing.  However, when it comes to arguing points of writing pedagogy, I fear I am too much the novice to claim a proper battleground and fight to the death for any one side.  I have read enough to believe that teaching grammar does not work to improve students' writing, but from my own experience in school and from what I'm observing now, this statement ignores the fact that most students just don't write enough in general.  Is it because we thrust correctness down their throats not just with grammar but in all facets of their learning?  By the time my students are in my class in high school will I have to slyly tell them to disregard all those pesky rules of grammar.  I wonder about ways to insert writing as in my own life and in my future classroom.  I figure I will cross the grammar bridge when I come to it.  Deconstruction.  Trial and error.  Trial and error.  This is not to dismiss that I have found the overview of varying viewpoints on writing pedagogy extremely necessary.  Without any sort of road map, I would be very uncomfortable indeed.  Perhaps, I am too mired down with my own persistent need for having to know everything through lectures, taking notes, and subsequent, success with regurgitating facts.  Only before I feel I know points A through at least M will I begin to argue against those who are probably not my friends in the education world, those pesky ahem conservatives. 

I found this whole chapter extremely helpful regarding the creative writing workshop.  In all of my creative writing classes at Temple, the teacher served as more of a coach than anything else.  These classes were unforgettable experiences, and I feel as if this was the first time I was able to see writing as a permanent fixture in my life.  The workshop brought into reality the vampires in my process, and my classmates weren't all that scary after all (well most of them).  By the end of the semester, most of us chose writing buddies with whom to revise and edit our future pieces.

Diggs, I wonder what you had to say in the previous blog that could have offended.  The very mention of the word "offended" is like telling a 2-year-old to absolutely not look underneath the covers and then step out of the room.  I think we would all agree that since you mentioned the "offensive blog" you must now post it.