Resolutions Revisited

The first day of class, the first assignment for the semester was about resolutions. Your resolutions for EN101A. So, how's it going? Reread your first essay and write about each of the resolutions you made. Have you been keeping them? Have you worked towards some of them? Had success? Dropped the ball? We are halfway through the semester, so now is a good time to reflect on how you are doing. Make sure you read your essay carefully and respond specifically to what you wrote. Be honest. Then, write about any changes you plan to make for the rest of the semester. What needs tweaking or complete reworking? Before posting your blog, be sure to reread the blog post guidelines in the files of our MyMC course page.

Names. What is in a name?

We have read Naylor's "The Meaning of a Word" and Leong's "On Being a Chink." In both of these essays, the author's talk about their personal experiences with racist words and their definition of the word they are writing about. As you know, there is an ongoing controversy concerning the name of Washington's major league football team. While many people, including local residents, native Americans, and elected officials (President Obama said that if he were the owner of a team and people thought the team name was offensive, he would consider changing it), have stated the term is offensive, Dan Synder, owner of the team, refuses to change the name. His definition of the term is quite different from the protestors' definition. He thinks it mean heroic, brave, strong, and it is the name of the team he grew up with and has loved all his life. Think about these two definitions of the name: Synder's and the protestors. Write a definition for the protesters, Dan Synder, and your own definition. What is your opinion -- is it racist? Please remember to follow the blogging guidelines on our MyMC course
page.

The Dreaded Deadline

I hope I have made it very clear from the first class and in the syllabus that my resolution for EN101A is not to accept any late assignments. I'm done being an enabler and "teaching" students that deadlines aren't really deadlines, and it's acceptable to miss them. Because in the "real" world, missed deadlines have very real consequences.

Some of you may have experienced this by not paying a bill on time and having to pay a large fee, some of you may have experience with this in other ways. I know some of you experienced this in class Thursday when you didn't turn in the homework, asked for an extension, and I said I wouldn't accept it late.

So what is it that makes it hard to meet deadlines? For this blog, write about yourself and your experience with  attitude towards deadlines. Do you meet them? Miss them? Ask for extensions? Why? If you do miss them, what can you do to change because you already know, that not getting your work done on time for this class isn't going to get you the grade you hope to earn (or get you into 102).

Please remember to read carefully and follow the blogging guidelines I've post in the files on our MyMC course page. And remember the deadline!

Final In-Class -- Strategy

The time is quickly approaching when you will all have to write a final in-class essay that goes directly into your EN 002 portfolio. Most students find in-class writing to be extremely challenging and stressful -- 85 minutes to plan, write, revise/proofread an entire essay that is then evaluated as part of your portfolio. This is a good time to think, and write, about how you are going to approach this task and manage it -- manage the time and manage the stress. For this blog post, make a plan. Think about what is most challenging for you, think about the pressure, think about the 85 minutes, and then write a plan. What is your strategy to handle this and produce your best possible writing under the circumstances. You can approach this as a process description.

Malala

We all watched Malala Yousafzai on Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and were impressed by how well-spoken she is and by her passion for education and for doing the right thing. Watch the interview again and select one idea or thought that she expresses to reflect on (I touched on a few in class after the interview – education is power, we don’t appreciate what we have until we lose it, not being cruel, not waiting for someone else to stand up for her, but standing up for herself and her beliefs, education teaches more than just individual subjects/courses, etc.). Write two to three well-structured and well-developed paragraphs in response to what she said—the one thing you chose after rewatching the interview. Please remember to keep in mind the EN 002 grading rubric and all the work we have been doing on developing paragraphs. Link to Jon Stewart

Education: Shackles or Freedom

Carolyn Hax, an advice columnist for the Washington Post, wrote in a response to a letter about the value of school.

She said, "Doing the work (note emphasis on work, not grades) feels like being shackled but it’s actually a path to freedom; blowing it off feels like freedom but it’s really a path to shackles. Real shackles, poverty shackles, shackles of ignorance, take your pick"

First write about what you think she is saying and means by this. Second, write about how this quote relates to you and fits into the context of your education and attitude to your education.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/carolyn-hax-helping-a-younger-daughter-get-past-a-high-achieving-sisters-shadow/2013/10/27/21037e02-35dc-11e3-be86-6aeaa439845b_story.html

Song Assignment

Your next blog assignment -- due Tuesday, Oct 8th -- is to select a song and punctuate it following the punctuation rules we have been working on this semester. Think not only about the four comma rules, but also about compound sentences, complex sentences, and correcting run ons and comma splices. Remember to use the tools that you have -- handouts, class notes, class notes posted on MyMC, your textbook, and anything else we have relied on for using correct punctuation. Have fun with it.