Post #9: On this type of reading/writing experience

Prior to ENED 250, I had never participated in a class that was digitally-based, nor had a kept a reader's notebook (digitally or otherwise).  I've noticed some changes in the way I read, write, and think about the literature I'm coming into contact with.  There are some things that I like about this type of class and some things I don't.  Here they are:

I'll start with a pro: direct communication with the instructor.  So many students in so many classes have questions or insights about what they're reading, but for whatever reason, be it timidness, lack of time, etc, they never get the opportunity to discuss it directly with their teachers.  The writers notebook gives students and instructors an arena in which to discuss these things.  Having said notebook digitized only adds to the benefit; it incorporates technology and makes this discussion quick and easy.  On a personal level, being able to read the comments that my instructor has made has been quit helpful.  Those in the instructor's position tend to know what questions to ask and how to help students expand their reading of a given text.

Another pro:  publication.  I've always been of the mindset that writing for a purpose - for the public sphere - is more exciting and beneficial than writing for yourself and your teacher.  Students tend to be more interested in writing, too, if their writing is for a reason.  If students are writing for something personal, in this case a their own blog, they're more likely to try and enjoy it.  Writing for this blog was, on the first day of class, an assignment.  Now, it has become something that I enjoy writing because it matters more to me on a personal level than an essay or paper would.  Giving writing a purpose beyond the classroom gets students, myself included, far more interested in writing than would be otherwise possible.

And for a con:  The only real downside that I've seen is difficulties with in-class discussion.  I'm not saying that discussions are impossible, but they're fewer and farther between than they would be if we were all reading the same text at the same time.  This is a personal opinion, and my views on the subject may differ from many other students, but I've always really enjoyed the in-class discussion aspect of English classes.  Sitting in a circle, discussing a book, thinking on your feet, even getting into a debate about a theme... these are all things that I love about the discussions that can be had in a classroom when everyone is reading the same text.  It seems more difficult to have such a discussion in this type of setting, where people are all reading different books of different genres with different themes and different subject matter... which leads me to another pro... well, two, actually.

Pro (two of them wrapped into one):  1. WE GET TO PICK OUR BOOKS!  This is the first class I've ever taken where I've gotten to pick what I'm reading, and it has been great.  No more will students be forced to read something that doesn't spark their interest.  So many students are turned off to reading because they're assigned things that are of no interest to them, so having students read what they want is an excellent counter.  2. Having students read different books has two pros in itself.  First, students hear about the books that others are reading, and hence, are introduced to a range of texts they would otherwise remain undiscovered to them.  Here's an example: I'd never heard of Rand's Anthem prior to this class, but someone mentioned it in class, and being that I've read The Fountainhead and love it, I decided to go out and get Anthem.  Had we all been reading the same books, its likely that the discussion about Anthem never would have occurred, so Anthem may have gone on unknown to me indefinitely.  Second, since were all reading different books, were given the opportunity to discuss themes and motifs that span genres, authors, and texts.  When I write on my blog that I really like theme X in novel Y, someone can read it and say, "Hey, Tim, you should check out poem Z, or short story A."  I, in turn, can do the same for others, offering suggestions or ideas that may further someones reading or introduce them to otherwise undiscovered reading material.

These are just a few of my thoughts on the way this class is set up. It isn't a definitive list by any means, for I'm sure that I could continue.  The bottom line is that I really think setting up a class as this one is is beneficial to the students, myself included.  I've enjoyed it, I've been engaged in the work, and most importantly, its shown me uses of technology that will benefit me (and my students) when I'm teaching.

Post #8: Survey from Ellie's mini-lesson!

TAKE MY SURVEY!!!

Post #7: An apology to J.K. Rowling and a response to Dr. Cole's posts on Harry Potter Book 1

First, I have to apologize to J.K. Rowling, not that she'll ever know that she deserves one from me.  This is embarrassing, but I've been calling her Rawling in my blog, and since that isn't her name, I feel kind of bad about it... and as I said, rather embarrassed.  You'd think after reading the whole thing I'd know how she spells her last name.... Oh well, life goes on.

In response to Dr. Cole's posts about Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone...

I'm really excited to move on with the series, and I look forward to the bureaucratic and good/evil stuff that you mentioned.  I won't be reading them for this class, but I'll definitely let you know what I think.  I think that Book 1 was great, and watching Harry develop over the course of the series will certainly be interesting.

As for her technique, I suppose that the most interesting to me is her juxtaposition of muggles and the wizards.  It's as though all of the muggles work as excellent foils against the "magic endearing people" in the novel.  I also like the words and turns of phrase that she invents.  Muggles is a great example, but there are plenty more.  Finally, I find her naming of characters and locations (which often act as characters themselves) to be really amusing. I tend to find it difficult to follow characters when their names are kind of foreign to me (most of Shakespeare's work can be offered as good examples), but that's not the case with Harry Potter.  The names are so funny and fitting (Hagrid and Dumbledore are great examples) to the characters that they remain easy to follow.

As for Laurie Halse Anderson's work, I don't remember thinking negatively of her endings.  That must have been Anthony.  I do remember thinking that her work was kind of formulaic, but I wasn't too critical of that.  I'll have to reread Twisted or Wintergirls with the endings in mind so that I can take note of any similarities that I notice.

Post #6: Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone - Finished.

Why J.K.?!?!? WHHYYYY!?!?!?

The above is in reference to the fact that every single conflict in the book resolved in the last 8 pages.  The last chapter seriously seemed like she took each conflict in the book and wrote a paragraph or two for resolution.

Now, don't get me wrong; the book was good.  It was worth the time I put into it.  It was highly entertaining, and the lessons/themes were clear and worthwhile.  I suppose the fact that every single conflict resolved at the end isn't such a bad thing given the target audience (younger folks), but as an adult reader, it was a little... "in your face" I suppose.  Too much resolution too fast, and entirely too perfect.  I know I keep coming back to this resolution thing, but it really bothered me... maybe I'm weighing it too much, I don't know.

On the positive side, this is the type of book you can't put down.  Rawling ends every chapter in such a way that the reader can't help but continue reading.  She is definitely adept in keeping the reader on his/her toes.  The twist at the end was great, too.  I didn't expect it in the least, nor did the characters in the novel.  Rawling also touches on imagination, loss of innocence, love, hate, revenge... the list is quite long.  I loved the book (minus the complaints I've made), and I plan to read book 2 in the series, if not the series in its entirety.  Like I said, I'm an adult and I really enjoyed the book, and I think that it offers a great deal to younger readers.  Its highly accessible and entertaining, which makes it a great suggestion to reluctant readers.

Post #5: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

For 13 years now, I've been hearing about Harry Potter.  I've never heard anyone that has actually read the books speak negatively of it; all it seems to get is praise.  Until now, I've never had the chance to read it.  Well... I've had the chance I suppose, but I've never actually picked it up off of the shelf.  It just wasn't something I picked to read when I've had time to read for pleasure.

Being that we were given the assignment to read 10 books of the course of the semester, I chose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as the book that will fulfill the Fantasy/Science Fiction portion of the assignment. I figured I'd give it a shot since there's so much said about it.  To be honest, before I started it, I didn't think I'd like it as I've never been overly interested in the fantasy genre.  Needless to say, I was wrong.  I started reading the book last night, and before I went to sleep I was on page 180.  Seriously, I can't put this thing down.  It's a breeze to read, its very entertaining, and the characters are pretty well developed.

As a social commentary, the book is pretty interesting.  The way that the author describes the "real world" and the people in it (muggles, they're called) seems to me to be a direct commentary on the way people lose sight of the magic that could be in their lives if they just looked around a little bit.  It's certainly made me look around and appreciate the little "magical" things that're out there. 

It's written for a younger audience, but I think that it works just as well as an adult novel.  If nothing else, it brings an adult back to their youth, when magic really did exist.

Post #4: TKaM - Finished.

I've finished To Kill a Mockingbird, and I have to say that it was a great read.  I was reading it for a class, so it benefited me in that regard, but its great even as a pleasure read.  As for the themes, they were great, too, though I'm not going to get into that tonight.   I'll just say that if you haven't read the book, I suggest you do; both the themes and the story itself are excellent.


On my blog, Scout's role as narrator has been discussed to some degree.  I've also discussed in ENED 450, the class for which it was read. In both places, Scout's being young has been an important topic.  We've spoken of her innocence and and what that does for the novel.  However, the fact that the narrator is Scout as an adult (or at least older than she is during the last scene of the novel) hasn't been brought up.  We're listening to an account of a girl's childhood from an adult narrator.  The entire process of her loss of innocence is put out on display from start to finish.  We watch a child's innocence disappear piece by piece.  At the end, she agrees to lie for an entirely good reason; nevertheless, her innocence is gone.  I guess I've never read a loss of innocence story that I've found so compelling.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to read TKaM.  I can definitely see myself using it in the classroom; it offers so, so, so much.

Post #3: TKaM, Pt. II

First, I'll respond to Dr. Cole's comments, then I'll offer a little update on my reading of TKaM.

I agree entirely with Dr. Cole's comments on the perspective of Scout.  Due to Scout's age, Lee was able to create in innocence in her perspective that would have been otherwise unattainable.  I think that Lee would have lost a lot had she gone with Atticus, Jem, or any other character as the narrator.  As for substituting TKaM for Monster... I don't know.  TKaM is an excellent novel, no doubt, and would benefit an Adolescent Lit class, I'm sure.  The downside would be that Adolescent Lit students would miss out on reading Monster, which was a really excellent book.  It opened my eyes to a genre of YA lit to which I was previously oblivious.  Also, I've thought about the benefits monster would bring to a High School classroom (I think that its a great read, with awesome themes, and being set up like a movie script would help draw reluctant readers that dig movies).  Had we never read Monster in Adolescent Lit, there is a very good chance that I wouldn't have been exposed to it, and had I not been exposed to it, I feel like I would have missed out on something. 

Also, the intended audience of all of the texts that we read in Adolescent Lit, if I remember correctly, were young people.  I don't think that this was the case with TKaM.  Granted, TKaM has become a major work in the High-School cannon, but I wouldn't classify it as YA literature.  I really enjoyed reading the YA lit in Adolescent lit, and I'm not sure what the effect of replacing a valuable piece of YA lit with a classic high-school text would be.

In regard to why I didn't read it in high-school: I was lazy and disengaged.  I rarely read assigned work during that period of my life.  In my experience up to that point, I couldn't relate to or enjoy a lot of the assigned readings, so I gave up on it.  That isn't to say I didn't read at all; I read plenty, I just chose to read outside of class rather than for class.

So, more on TKaM. I've read 6 chapters since my last posting, and what is most notable to me, as of late, is Jem's growth.  Since the trial scene, we've seen Jem grow from a boy into an adolescent.  Lee does an excellent job in portraying the difficulties that adolescents endure during this time, as well as the struggles that every adolescent goes through when they're trying to figure the world out for themselves.  Jem's troubles deal mostly with racism, but the growth, change, and discovery are universal.  No matter where they live, or what dissatisfaction with society an adolescent might have (for everyone has problems with the way our society works), they could easily relate their struggles to Jem's.

In terms of whether or not I like the book... I like it more and more with every page I read.