WHAT MY JOB IS.....

Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, "How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?" and avoid "How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?"

That's James Thurber in a 1959 memo to The New Yorker.

Thanks to kottke.org for the reminder: it is great to be a good writer and an involved teacher, but sometimes the writer/collaborator has to sit in the back seat while the teacher takes over, especially when we are working on the blog or the wiki. If I were to focus exclusively on formal writing conventions, then the magic would POOF! They are writing more often and more clearly than I even hoped for before the blog. Last year, I saw them to begin monitoring themselves, as they needed new modes and styles to discuss more complex ideas and emotions. It is not always possible to see the line that I need to draw in the "blogger" sand, though. This year I am giving myself more detailed requirements for their self-reviews as well as my assessments, especially with my seniors. More or that as the year progresses.

update 9/20: first blog done last week. UCK! chapter 2 will be an assessment activity. Maybe have them read other posts and choose a good one--but I tell them how to decide what's good--1. mention of more than one device used by the artist, 2. some criteria directly mentioned by the writer of the post, 3. direct reference to work of the artist, 4. what criteria they mention--should have some connection to the artist as writer, creator, producer (I mean, come on, guys, this IS an english class, the 11th you've had already!) entirely too many people just noted the subject of the artist's songs. a few mentioned genre--incorrectly used by most mentions, etc
and then have them apply lit terms to music, duh! it works. maybe they will finally remember their terms--or more accurately, find them useful

TECH OVERLOAD, part two of BLog BLock

This chapter of BLog BLock is inspired by....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/mar/25/ben-okri-poem-twitter I would love to present this Ben Okri (Nigeria/Britain) poem to them and challenge them to unlock it, and then do one of their own. But their inertia has infected me at this point in the year. And I am feeling impatient with them--they are too young to see and feel the power in this new medium, I think. Still entirely involved in the complexity of high school--so little of it has to do with academics. So....
I will not twitter, not because I wouldn't like it, though. I would like it. It would become yet another addiction: the challenge of 140 characters to write a poem or critique a book or send a recipe is tempting. And the drive to be "followed" would take over. But I want to stay married, and my family thinks this "tech problem" I have is endearing and quirky (so far). So I will not be using twitter.
I admit, and I am not sure if this is my age or my personality, that sometimes I want to slow down, limit my input, ruminate on what is most recently in the front of my brain. I actually just thought of three links that I could insert here on this topic, but I don't want to network or link right now. There is a limit to the usefulness of constant input, to the myriad feeds into the human brain. All this information at my disposal is great, but I need to sort and judge and enjoy it. Just USE it.
My students are still learning this skill. They want me to tell them what to think, what to read, what the connections are, why it is important. But, as I told some seniors today, I'm still doing all the work. Let yourself out of the cage today--why did I make you read Garden of the Forking Paths? How could one class include Dante's Inferno and Things Fall Apart? Is this whole class about me and my love of reading? No, of course not--they know that much. I try to give them what I have as a starting point for their own quest for themselves.
Am I working through the BLog BLock? Not sure yet...I wrote a post for the seniors about the Free Culture movement,which draws on their Sita Sings the Blues experience. Very few of the comments were good: they did not explore the information I provided. I guess I am back to the motivation question...what I found out in 5 minutes preparing the assignment they missed in 41! Have I reached the limits of what they can do at this age? Maybe. I am surprised by their lack of curiosity the most, I think.
I am, and have always been, eternally curious--maybe it is an uncommon personality trait. I can't believe that. I read teacher blogs every day which mull over this same problem, and I know that others in my school wonder about the same thing. How have all these smart kids survived on no curiosity?? And if I hear one more person say that school is sucking the life out of kids, I will scream. I am NOT sucking the life out of my students. School is not the culprit. The structure may be flawed, but the strength of the teachers who show up every day ready to engage the students is enough. I bring life every day, I feel it. Why isn't it infecting more of them? Too late to answer this tonight...but all ideas welcome!
Next topic: So I am constantly surprised by the number of people who are totally uninterested in new, really NEW, ways to experience books, people, school, students, art, poetry, shopping, politics, movies, food, driving, etc.