September 22: Auto/biography

Today we used your analysis of auto/biographical research books/essays as a basis for talking about the methods and resources auto/biographical researchers used in their work.  We generated a list of methods/sources/resources and it is posted to the right under Class notes.

We also discussed Evans' article on the contributions & pitfalls of auto/biographical research.  You identified what you saw as the author's main points.  My perspective on the focus of the reading is posted to the left.  Important "cues" to what Evans saw as central to her essay were provided by her use of numbered lists (first, second, third = sets up the three main points of the essay), definition + use of specialized language )e.g. "hidden author") and the use of concluding sentences that summed up what a discussion was about.  I was impressed with how well you did at identifying the important sections/sentences.  I think the difficult part for this reading was to interpret what those sentences meant!  Because this is a class - you should definitely ASK me or your classmates.  If you were on your own and trying to understand a research essay - it is also a good idea to ask a colleague - or to resort to the internet.  If you become an English teacher - the NCTE has an email list you can join where you can share your work, aske questions, announce (and find out about) events, and so on.  Poets & Writers offers similar connections for writers. Networking is essential for mondern teachers and researchers.

We didn't get to the sample syllabus - but that's OK.  We can catch up next time.

I will be grading Blogs 1-3 - beginning Friday morning.  Blogs not turned in by that time will be counted as not  turned in.  We've taken a couple of weeks to get used to blogging - using the software + what is expected of the prompts - and I think you've got it.  So, for the rest of the term, blogs not posted at the time I give feedback to the class will be counted as not turned in; to be on the safe side, blogs are due by the beginning of the class after the date they are assigned.

For Monday:
Read:  Teacher Training (posted to the right), and "Composing 'Teacher Training'" (handed out in class).  If you did not get a copy - there is an extra copy of the article in the notebook in the writing center. You may copy it - but please return it to the notebook.
Blog 4: Imagine and describe 3 possible research projects you might like to do for your senior seminar project. Include information about the focus, where, when, how you would do it.  Include questions or misgivings you have about whether you would be able to do what you have imagined.