Time to reflect and revisit ideas presented this semester and juxtapose them next to beliefs I had at the beginning of the semester. As a current teacher of writing -- in a high school composition class of senior Advanced Placement level students -- most of which are brighter and more motivated than those I would face in a standard freshmen composition class at the college level -- my standards for what it means to be a teacher of composition cannot really be altered much in terms of the high standards I expect of my students. I have always viewed writing with an open mind in terms of what can be done with it and have also resented the restrictions I have had in the past and present in terms of the methods I am allowed and not allowed to use in which to teach writing. So, this course has opened my eyes to what is now being considered in college level composition courses new ways in which to teach writing as new media influences the ways in which students compose. It has also inspired me to think of teaching composition in terms of viewing the act of writing as an act of composing. With that in mind, I will briefly revisit the original questions posed to us at the beginning of the semester.
1. Some people struggle with writing because they are not comfortable with the particular materiality of the writing process in which they are required to write. Some people would thrive better in a situation that allowed for them to compose in a media and format that is most comfortable for them and frees up the most potential for creative thinking.
2. I still believe some are more talented at writing than others and always will be. For someone like me to believe otherwise is to denigrate a talent that I myself possess. However, I do believe, with practice, writing, like any other skill, can be improved greatly. And hidden talents can be freed-up by alternative and varied methods of written composition.
3. I still go with my original answer. Writers need feedback and an audience for their work in order to improve. Maybe this can now be accomplished with our on-line writing communities and audiences, too.
4. I still enjoy picturing Hemingway at his old black Underwood in Paris. But, I realize that is an antiquated picture easily replaced by the lone blogger in a Starbuck's, shutting out the external world as he composes a new world on the screen.
5. I don't need to re-reflect on writing images in my head. At my age, there are too many. Writing and the teaching of writing has been a part of my life for a long time.
6. Technology is a fair weather friend and we must recognize its power and its shortcomings. Any skill that can be learned is technical in its way (like the writing process). Technology -- wonderful and exciting as it is -- should be used wisely as we should never become so dependent on it that we forget how to think and do things without it. And I don't say that with any kind of moral judgment or moral panic. I just think that even in Socrates time, when Plato and his buddies were scared that writing and reading would replace oral storytelling and teaching, the best remedy to that fear should have been to embrace the new but not forget the old. And lo and behold, hundreds of years later, we can still communicate, teach, tell stories, with only our mouth and our memories. Make new friends but keep the old.
7. My answer to 7 has not changed much except to add that technology has definitely changed the writing process. For me and everyone else. I know that I now never draft anything out in long hand on yellow legal pads anymore like I used to. First drafts disappear completely unless I think to electronically save each draft. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't save drafts. My brain works too fast for my handwriting skills -- my typing skills keep up better. I haven't quite mastered the art of thumb typing though, so my text messaging composition skills are lacking. Technology has definitely changed the writing process for the better for all writers. We just need to remember to safeguard our work against file corruption!
8. My answer hasn't changed much. Writing is social and private, but with the advent of the internet and text communication devices, it has become much more social than ever before and definitely an outlet for those who believe even their most private thoughts should be on display for anyone to see. Fun for the exhibitionist and voyeur in all of us!
9. If we can combat illiteracy using new media technologies I am all for it. I still believe much of the work and initiative needs to be taken by those who are considered illiterate. You can lead a horse to water and all that . . .
10. I am excited by the new possibilities for writing and rhetoric in the digital age. Like I said -- it's a good thing -- but we still need to remember some of the good methods of old and incorporate them with new. I am also excited about the possibility of teaching outside of the high school environment as hopefully at the college level, if the texts we have read are any indication of what is really happening out there, instructors of composition will be able to embrace new media technologies and teach composition in alternative and exciting ways that will be beneficial to students at all levels and backgrounds.
I have much to think about and learn. As a teacher, I have been, and always will be, the perpetual student.
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