I'm reading "Introduction to Writing" final portfolios, and in one reflection essay, a student talked about blogging.
Students post to a blog, just like this one, to talk about our college's common book, The Good Soldiers. It's a tough book, both in terms of content and form, so the Engl 90 students struggle. But the casual writing space seems to be a good way to practice that struggle for a real audience.
One student realized this goal. She reflected on her choice of assignment (I ask them to read through the blog and then write an "analysis" about what they notice). Here's how she expressed her realization:
"Similar Views" is the essay I chose to polish [for my portfolio] because it made me feel more comfortable with the blog. I didn't like the idea of blog writing at all, it was a scary thought other people reading my writing. I felt people would judge me. Once this assignment came up and I had to read through the blog it was nice to realize that other people felt the same way I did. I wasn't worried about their typos or the punctuations errors, I was just reading their thoughts. It made me feel a lot more comfortable knowing me and other classmates feel the same on certain subjects.
I'm pretty pleased -- she made the connections I was hoping for -- especially around the struggle to write about something disturbing. Many students did not like reading the book because, as one student wrote, "We should not have to know about war."
Yep, these students want NOT to know things that they find disturbing. But it's my job to help them know -- and to help them articulate their thinking about what they learn. Educational job security, right? :-)
Students post to a blog, just like this one, to talk about our college's common book, The Good Soldiers. It's a tough book, both in terms of content and form, so the Engl 90 students struggle. But the casual writing space seems to be a good way to practice that struggle for a real audience.
One student realized this goal. She reflected on her choice of assignment (I ask them to read through the blog and then write an "analysis" about what they notice). Here's how she expressed her realization:
"Similar Views" is the essay I chose to polish [for my portfolio] because it made me feel more comfortable with the blog. I didn't like the idea of blog writing at all, it was a scary thought other people reading my writing. I felt people would judge me. Once this assignment came up and I had to read through the blog it was nice to realize that other people felt the same way I did. I wasn't worried about their typos or the punctuations errors, I was just reading their thoughts. It made me feel a lot more comfortable knowing me and other classmates feel the same on certain subjects.
I'm pretty pleased -- she made the connections I was hoping for -- especially around the struggle to write about something disturbing. Many students did not like reading the book because, as one student wrote, "We should not have to know about war."
Yep, these students want NOT to know things that they find disturbing. But it's my job to help them know -- and to help them articulate their thinking about what they learn. Educational job security, right? :-)
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