Apparently Jamie didn’t bring a copy of his syllabus to class on Monday. What a jackass. He tried to pass off a handwritten version - some of you might remember his insistence on having students handwriting initially to get, what he called, “creative juices” flowing. Frankly, I question whether or not he is really equipped to instruct one of these classes.
I thought a third person observation of myself might be an interesting way to examine my own progress throughout the semester. After several drafts, I kept coming up with paragraphs like the first. So, instead I’ll go back to the first person self-importance that I’m used to.
Anyway, I’ve been considering different ways to structure my class. As I mentioned the other day, I’m thinking of at least one paper on American politics. My issue is that I don’t want to end up teaching a political science class, especially for students who might not find the political process as interesting as I do. However, I think with the coming election (including the Ohio primary in May), students may be showing more interest as next semester progresses.
The primary is set for May 4, and while in recent elections it seemed that the candidates had already been chosen early on, this year may be a little different (at least I hope so for the sake of democracy). Both the democratic and republican fields have a handful of interesting candidates. For example, Edwards may pick up southern states while Clinton and Obama split the coasts. Richardson could win out west, and that’s just the democrats. On the republican side, Huckabee could win Iowa, Romney New Hampshire, and Giuliani the more moderate strongholds in New York and so on. So, students may still have an interest in examining a candidate, his or her arguments, ect., throughout most of the semester. The only problem is that many of the old Super Tuesday states have moved their primaries up to February 5, with so many states voting, that both parties could decide by that point. I wonder if assigning the candidate paper first, before the 5th, would be wise so that many candidates are still in the thing. I also thought of ways to encourage students to look into third party candidates, not for voting, but as a way to expose students to the field of candidates outside of the two major parties. A paper on Michael Badnarik (the libertarian candidate in 2004) might be more interesting research than another paper on Hillary Clinton.
I was thinking that this kind of paper might spark some passionate debate among the students. Although next fall will probably provide even more of this during the general election. At the same time, I wouldn’t want so much angry debate that the classroom would reflect the kind of thing that goes on among cable news talking heads. This would run the risk of students becoming disinterested, and might unintentionally reinforce the apathy I would hope to combat.
I think that there is a lot of value in looking at presidential candidates, beyond policy issues. The way that a candidate structures his or her arguments, the rhetorical devices utilized (Brandon, that “utilized” is for you), the style of communication, and so on are all interesting facets of the campaigns, and can be directly connected to the class. For example, contrasting the candidacies of Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul might be interesting for students. One’s a classic liberal and the other a classic conservative; however both have come nearly full circle, meeting in a realm where seemingly no other candidates (Mike Gravel might be lurking around there too) have dared to enter. Both men are brutally honest, it seems, with strong convictions, and have developed a mutual respect, even going so far as suggesting one another as potential running mates. Examination of their campaigns, while very different, especially in terms of domestic policy agendas, in contrast with the “top-tier” candidates would be useful for students.
So, in the end, I am going to have the students study a particular candidate and write a paper on that candidate. My main issues with this assignment are when to assign it, so as to make sure that students maintain some level of interest, and in what way I should narrow the scope of the assignment. Should it be a sort of overview of a candidacy? Or, a more interesting (at least I think) argument for or against a particular candidate? Also, how might I encourage them to choose a third-party candidate? Should I assign candidates? Maybe provide a list of lesser known candidates from all political stripes (so as to not show any bias) and let them only choose from that pool? Any thoughts are welcome.
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I just had a cup of fair trade hot chocolate and am prepared to post some more ideas. (Okay, I’m not sure if it was fair trade; it was given to me, and I’m crossing my fingers that it did not come from cocoa beans harvested and picked by small children). Anyway, I’ve been thinking of more assignments that might be of interest to students. Bob and Brandon’s plans to look at American culture (or a broader sort of American Identity examination that Brandon suggested) are interesting to me. I might use/steal some of their ideas. In fact, I might swipe a copy of either of their syllabi, cross out the name on top, and not worry about any of that boring “construct my own syllabus” kind of busy work that seems to go on throughout the university.
My guess is that all students are interested in music of some kind of another. So, if I decide to have them look at presidential candidates more objectively, I might then have them do a rhetorical analysis of a musical act. They could concentrate on a specific song from a band or musician, they could look at a complete album, maybe stage shows, ect. For example, a student might want to write a feminist analysis of George Thorogood and the Destroyers. On his 2003 release, Ride ‘Til I Die (highly recommended by me) a student could listen to a specific song, say “The Fixer,” and break down the lyrics, beats, instruments, and so on to figure out what Lonesome George is getting at. Granted, the student may be so blown away by the Delaware Destroyers’ blues slide guitars that the student arrives unconscious in a catatonic state by the song’s end. For those that are able to make it out mostly in tact can take a deeper look at what George is arguing for while he belts out the lyrics.
A student could also look at an album in its complete context. Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band’s latest release, Magic (also, surprisingly, recommended by me - what a coincidence to have two albums recommended by me in the same blog post), is largely anti-war, and while anti-war albums are not hard to come by, this is the Boss, and students will listen. The work would be interesting to examine in its entirety. So long as students can stop be-boppin’ and foot-stompin’ long enough during “Living in the Future” to pay attention to everything the album has to offer, then they can make thorough conclusions about the rhetorical devices Springsteen employs.
I think we can all agree that the Mighty Mighty Bosstones provided a soundtrack for our coming of age experiences in junior high and high school. And I’m not talking about their only big single, “The Impression that I Get,” which does not do justice to the ska-core kings from Boston; I’m talking about their more hard-edged, underground days. Rather than focusing on “The Devil’s Night Out” or Question the Answers, a student could look at the Bosstones’ performances while an unknown, independent act in comparison to their work after becoming slightly more mainstream. Of course, that is said with the assumption that everyone has attended Mighty Mighty Bosstones concerts like I have, and I think that is a pretty safe assumption.
Giving students a chance to research, listen to, and write about a band, singer, or other musical act of their own choosing would be a good way to get students thinking about argument and rhetoric. It is also a good way to get them thinking about expression and communication. Music is the avenue people like Thorogood, Springsteen, and the Bosstones (three acts I’m sure all of the first year students are absolutely in love with as much as I am) use to spread a message or an idea. Students’ medium, at least in this course, will be writing. A connection is there, though, in that both the students and musical acts have some thing, some idea they want to express. Students can see ways that this is done in other art forms, and then actually communicate their own thoughts in response.
So I plan to do something with music. An in class exercise to get students thinking about music in this way would be to play music from different genres (I may have to branch out to find something that students actually recognize), and discuss that specific song together. Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” seems like a pop song from early rock and roll, but actually has other layers that students might not consider at first. Using something like this as an example could prepare students for their own projects.
Of course, with all that said, I didn’t want to overuse technology in the classroom. As a result, I’ll have to sing the songs in class, rather than use a CD player or the internet.
I’m going for the trifecta today, having finally gotten the hang of this blogging business. It’s a great way to structure a day. What’s so nice about this particular blog is that I’m posting back-to-back-to-back, so that the conversation, for now, exists only between me and me. I’m a big fan of both, so everyone involved (right now anyway), remains happy.
I’ve been thinking about my class observations and what tools I’ll use and which ones I won’t. There were a lot of handy ones that my group will speak more about tomorrow in class. I have been considering all of the teachers and have come to some conclusions. I think that Mahli Mechenbier had some wise advice when she said that she assigns the larger, research paper about two-thirds or three-fourths of the way into the semester. This way, the students will have a good grasp on what she expects as an instructor, and will probably still be somewhat productive in the tenth or twelfth week. Then, at the end, she has them read something a little more relaxed and fun. In this particular class, it is a play about the Matthew Shepard case in Wyoming. While the subject matter is heavy and unsettling, the discussion was lively and interesting; the students were quizzed on the material, but the quizzes were very short and seemingly easy. By having a play, and a modern one at that, at the end of the semester, the students remained interested and engaged, and while they did write a research paper, it was at a point in the semester in which they were able to still breathe easy.
I am not so sure about the quizzes. In one way, as we discussed in class, I like them as a means to make sure that students are reading the material. In another way, having structured quizzes might put students in a standard academic mindset where they don’t get as much from the course as we (both the students and me) might have hoped. I don’t plan to use quizzes during the first semester, and I hope that they don’t become necessary. If I ever did use them, I think I would make them very brief, 4-6 questions, and allow the students to drop one or two questions after having taken the entire quiz. Maybe one a week could be administered throughout the semester, and at the end, the students could have their 3 lowest scores dropped. This would be a way to make sure that all students who read are given proper credit.
At the same time, I like Pam’s idea of having writing responses to remedy the problem of students not reading what is required. In this way, students could “prove” that they read the material by writing a one or two-page response. Again, maybe one a week could be assigned throughout the semester. I think I will add this component to my syllabus this coming semester.
Another aspect I was thinking about is the attendance policy. The best way to go about this is probably to use to the standard university policy (which I assume is three days). As Mel mentioned in class, some students might not take this seriously. I wonder, though, if a student has extraordinary writing skills and misses, say, six classes, should he fail if he still turns in the completed assignments? Obviously, he would still be completing the work as assigned. Again, though, everyone I’ve talked to says to make sure to stick to the syllabus and clearly outline everything that will be required for the semester. Otherwise, chaos.
One thing I do want to do is allow the students some leeway in terms of the assignments. For example, rather than writing on a specific topic, I'd like to have a couple different topics that they can choose from. Allowing for more choice in what students can write, my assignments will hopefully develop, cultivate, and make the best use of their skills as writers. For example, in the model of Stephen Colbert, my students can write on whether Jamie De Monte is a great teacher or the greatest teacher. Obviously, the choice would be up to them, as I have no interest or bias (well, maybe a slight bias) in terms of which topic they choose. One group, say the “just greats” might be noticeably smaller and will be reprimanded accordingly, but this way will give them all a chance to write about something important to them.
Anyway, I’m curious to see who replies to this post. Hopefully, it is someone as thoughtful and interesting as the last guy.
wow! I never actually read someone having a conversation with themself. It has been enlightening.
I think you have lots of good ideas floating around there. I especially like the music one. I would dig that if I were a student in a class. It is intriging.
I have an idea for a fun in-class assignment. I'm going to have students bring in copies of lyrics to one of their favorite songs, and then in class have them do some freewriting of an argument of what they think the song means. It will be a mini-workshop on providing good detail and explanation when writing an argument. (I will have to make sure they don't pick too simplistic of songs though, I guess. haha)
i like your idea, ashley. that's actually pretty awesome and i might steal it.
jamie, can i cut in? i doubt your cocoa was fair trade, but i like your politicized theme. it's gonna be a crazy time leading up to the election next semester . . . heck, it already is. i'm surprised we haven't seen heads blow up yet.
in addition to a straight analysis of the candidates, i think you should talk about all the sordid details (which would inevitably creep up): the ralph naders of the world who "steal" votes, celebrities running for office (colbert!), term length, president age/gender/race/religion, the factor of $$$$ and how it can determine your likelihood of becoming the candidate, the relevance (or irrelevance, you choose) of the electoral college, and on and on. to me, these issues are more interesting than the actual candidates.
i also like the music idea and think it's an amazing way to show our students that writing is their oyster. springsteen, et al, may be a little out of date for them, but you know that. what about the history/analysis of rap and hip/hop? i've been thinking about this as a theme all week (and last), but am way underqualified to teach it. here's an amazing bell hooks article on rap/hiphop i recently came across: http://www.allaboutbell.com/Misogyny.htm
i'm real bad about pasting links in here, so sorry if that doesn't work. anyway, it's a completely misinterpreted genre. as hooks says, we live in a culture where one is rewarded for the demonization of rap and hip/hop. i'd love to help give this genre what its due.
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