Reading Journal Blog, Jan. 20
One of the major themes that appeared in each reading was an attention to image and, more specifically, defining what it meant to be African American during the Harlem Renaissance. These definitions were limited by the scope of the author who either referred to gender specifically or spoke to men implicitly. For instance, in “The Talented Tenth” Du Bois claims African Americans need to attend more schools for longer periods to become educated men. He does not distinguish women in his figures of degree-holding individuals. I assume a few women held degrees at that time, so he must have neglected to mention them because he did not find gender pertinent to that part of his argument, women’s scholarship was frowned upon or a combination of the two. McDougald, on the other hand, celebrates instances when women have achieved important working positions. By today’s standards they are not as impressive, but at the time they were positions of community pride, especially those where African American women were managers over white employees.
The idea of spreading positive propaganda through art was an area of contention brought up by the readings. Wall discussed how African American women writers pointedly avoided the stereotypes set upon them, though they were slow to experiment with the folk culture that was pivotal to the period’s male writers. These women were cautious for a variety of reasons, one of which being the intense sexuality given to them during slavery. In Hine’s article she states that white males sexually abused 58% of African American slave women as a means of control and increasing the supply of workers. This is a huge percentage that caused a decline in the perceived “chastity” of the race.
One term that I am having trouble defining is “passing.” There are several obvious meanings it could have, but I am not prepared to decide on one wholeheartedly. It seems to be a term located in the specific racial and cultural framework.
Teaching Philosophy
I have had many excellent teachers, but the one whose methods influenced me the most was my mother. It was not just because we were related but because she shared her knowledge of art in engaging ways. In high school I took some classes from her and was surprised at how well she related to her students. One moment I remember vividly was an afternoon after a particularly brutal critique when most of us had not produced strong pieces. The class had asked me if I could convince her to ease up on our grades that week. I pleaded with her, even going so far as to tell her that one of the younger students cried after class. She stared straight at me and said, “They should be crying.” My mom has never been afraid to push her students to develop their process and achieve more advanced work, even if it is not completely successful. From her example and my own experiences teaching art to children I have come to believe that great teachers are organized and knowledgeable, can relate to their students, value process over product and are patiently committed to their students.
Organization and Knowledge
Why isn’t this section called “Knowledge and Organization?” Knowledge should be more important, right? Although knowledge is power, organization is the ability to control and focus that power. An instructor can be brilliant and at the top of their field of study, but without a strong lesson plan they may ramble off into tangents unrelated to the day’s topic. However, the lesson plan cannot be a bible of unquestionable truths. It is an outline of the day’s material that may need serious revisions based on the class’s comprehension and attention span. The few children’s art classes I taught were all different and after a while each took on a life of its own. Some caught on quickly to the material while others had trouble keeping up with the basics. I had to keep track of these differences and change aspects of the curriculum or how I presented it. This is why I try not to micromanage any class by sectioning off specific amounts of time for lecturing, group work, questions about assignments, etc. There are minimum amounts of time that should be spent on certain things, but if a stimulating discussion comes up in class and gets students involved in the material then I am willing to be flexible.
All instructors need to be knowledgeable about the curriculum they are covering mainly because they should love the field itself. Students can tell when a teacher isn’t interested in the material, which often affects their own feelings towards it. Whether the instructor is an enthusiastic expert or not, they have to find ways to communicate their knowledge to their students by relating to them in meaningful and engaging ways.
Relating to Students
Teachers don’t need to wear backwards baseball caps to class or use slang to relate to their students. Relating means more than not talking down to students by brushing over their comments, questions and opinions. It is the ability to connect with them by linking the curriculum to issues that are current and/or important to them. Instructors can reach out to their students by bringing in sources like current news stories, popular entertainments samples (video clips, songs, etc.) or personal stories that they can sympathize with. These tools, when presented and integrated into the course effectively, can open doors of communication not only between teacher and student but between peers in the classroom. The material appears less stiffly academic and more enjoyable and engaging, not to mention easier to understand. Instructors who lecture at the front of class straight from the book every day think that that method of teaching distinguishes them as an expert who deserves respect. The educators I respect most are the ones who were willing to talk with me, not at me.
Process over Product
Each student comes into a course with a different level of skill and understanding so they need to be evaluated individually. Those who have trouble keeping up should be brought up to speed and those who are on track must be pushed ever farther. In my children’s classes, students often rush through assignments they feel they are proficient at, raise their hand to get my attention and announce to me that they are “done.” “You said to draw a cat. I drew it. It’s done. Now what?” Their previous instructors were satisfied with the stick figure cat, but I ask for more. I show the student pictures of finished drawings of cats and step-by-step examples, asking them to fill the whole page with different types of cats. A more advanced student might spend an hour on their detailed cat, but even they have room for improvement. The problems students have valuing process is that they are taught that only complete products will be “A” material, or in this case be stuck on the refrigerator. They think that they can achieve or earn skills instead of developing them. I try to teach them to stop viewing their work as either right or wrong and start interacting with their pieces so they can discover their own strengths and weaknesses.
Patient Commitment
It’s easy to have unrealistic expectations going into teaching. As instructors, we would like students to want to be in class to learn and grow. We hope they will take notes, ask questions and reflect on what they have learned. We think that if they do these things then they will succeed and, therefore, we will succeed in educating them. The truth is that many students need to take certain classes to graduate and as long as they pass they could care less about what we are teaching. Some students will blow off coming to class or turning in assignments then beg for one-on-one help late in the semester. I will be willing to assist any student to improve their quality of writing and comprehend the material, but I will stand by the rules laid down in my syllabus. They must be aware of the level of work and dedication required from them and that I am willing to help if they are willing to admit they need it. I understand that certain subjects are more challenging for some than others. In high school I stayed late for math tutoring nearly every week just to keep up and I still only know the very basics of Algebra. Everyone works at their own pace, and although I don’t expect all my students to become stellar English majors or even pass the class, I will take the time to teach them the essentials to the best of my ability.
Literacy Autobiography Part 1
One of my earliest writing memories was in Kindergarten. I went to a small private school that emphasized exploration, such as measuring and comparing the growth rates of different species of plants and tasting cheeses from around the world (cheese has always been a vivid memory for me). Anyway, near the end of the year we brought home notebooks that were half lined and half blank. We were supposed to write, in our own words, and illustrate fairy tales. I had to erase frequently because my letters were too varied in size, causing me to run out of room. My parents tried their best to help me, but I became frustrated and just wanted to draw and color the pictures, something I prided myself on. When it came time to present them to the class I could not read what I had painstakingly wrote and had to ad-lib.
I despaired when my handwriting did not improve much in elementary school. It was sporadic and expressive instead of even and round like all the other girls, which made some of my classmates accuse me of being a boy. I slowed down and tried to imitate my friend’s writing, but that only stressed me out more because I fell behind during lectures. Since I was naturally shy, going up to the teacher at the end of math class and explaining which 9s were actually 4s wasn’t much fun either.
Although I was an A student throughout elementary school, it wasn’t until I learned to write in cursive that I had any real confidence in my writing as a whole. I started writing short stories that had been running through my head for years without a written outlet. I gave them to my parents and teachers to read and they were always impressed with my work. It was then that I discovered that writing was something I could actually do well.
The dentistry of first year writing
Why should students take first year writing? Probably for the same reason kids need to go to the dentist. Some stuff needs to be yanked out and black, rotting holes need to be filled in. Crap the patient could not get at well before is meticulously chizeled out and shown to them. Fencing may be required to keep the peices from drifting out of line. Most importantly, there has to be bleeding. Lots of bleeding. The kind of bleeding that makes them check and recheck their work to make sure they will never have to bleed (so much) again.
Trifecta
For me, the three most important concepts in composition are:
1. creating texts with both technical and analytical substance
2. organizing ideas into clear, structured formats
3. language that illustrates and engenders interest in the topic discussed
