Young, Art. “Writing Across and Against the Curriculum.” College Composition and Communication. 54.3 (2003): 472-485.
Art Young, in the article “Writing Across and Against the Curriculum,” proposes an innovative and effective approach to promoting language skills and critical thinking amongst college students. As an English professor, Young describes a project in which his campus used poetry across the curriculum to stimulate learning in a variety of subject areas, including English, psychology, accounting, biology, and engineering. He also describes the element of the project which made it so cutting edge is that students did not write across the curriculum but “against it.” This approach not only
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As Young argues, the point is not to critique students’ poems for poetic elements of form but to allow students to make a personal connection with the material and to construct meanings in a different way. The benefit of this approach across the curriculum, according to Author, is that students are challenged to think outside the box, which prevents cookie cutter approaches to learning, especially in the sciences where lab reports and essays are written according to a standard formula which over time becomes a mundane and predictable task. As a theoretical framework for his argument, Young refers to research by James Britton, author of The Development of Language Abilities. The importance of Britton’s research to Young’s argument is that Britton emphasizes freedom in learning and distinguishes between the “spectator role,” which frees the imagination and allows students to become active learners who shape their own “world interpretation” and the “transactional role,” in which writers “transact business” as a participant according to predetermined structures. This framework is useful to argue the usefulness of poetry as an innovative form of communication and expression and to combat those scholars who argue that instructors like Young should “stop suggesting to students and teachers that there are purposes for writing in which correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar are
Murray is insightful not only to instructors but also to learners. Murray argues that the challenge facing writing is the fact that teachers have treated it as a product rather than a process and the same concept passed on to students. The author holds that the main problem with this view is that students get to receive irrelevant criticisms that are not related to their learning goals. While I tend to agree with the author based on the arguments presented, it is notable that Murray has paid little attention to the idea of education in the contemporary world. In most learning institutions, the outcome of the writing is considered more than the process. As a teacher paying attention to the process of writing but not be consistent with the students, who are mostly driven by
Kim Brooks, we know has been “teaching composition at state universities and liberal art colleges and community colleges as well,” (Brooks 2) however what makes her truly passionate about the situation is her love for literature since she was a teenager. “Like so many, depressive, creative, extremely lazy high-school students, I was saved by english class” (1). Brooks demonstrates through these quotes her credibility, not only because she’s a teacher but because she truly loves writing and believes others should receive the education which she was fortunate enough to get. She was not apart of any clubs or extracurriculars, she wasn’t interested in other academic classes, so she knows how beneficial having the skills to converse, to write and to properly articulate one's self are. Brooks shares this personal anecdote, otherwise known as pathos, to relate to those reading, most specifically high school students like she once was. While focusing this piece mainly on English it can also be associated with other classes in high school as well. She is trying to illustrate how one can use what is learned in high school in their life if given the proper tools and taught skills which can be applied
In literary education, from childhood to maturity, individuals are taught how to write not to improve themselves as critical thinkers, but to fulfill the requirements given to them in a prompt. Whether to analyze or argue, this form of writing has led to a cease of literary improvement in students today, making many question the effectiveness of writing classes. Mike Bunns, in his article “To Read like a Writer”, explores this topic and stresses the necessity for young readers to critically examine the author’s choices in order to improve their own pieces of work. Bunns effectively argues to his audience of college students that improved comprehension comes from focusing on the rhetorical choices authors decide to make in their compositions by tying personal narratives with repetitive questioning throughout his article.
Over the past month, we have been studying the concept of reading and writing in different communities. To assess this, we have read two different texts. Richard Rodriguez’s the achievement of desire”, from his autobiography “Hunger of Memory”; and Lucille McCarthy’s “A Stranger in Strange Lands: A College Student Writing across the Curriculum” from “Research in the Teaching of English”. Both answer key questions regarding what it takes to become a great reader and writer, however, from the reading that I have done, each one only answers one part of the question. Rodriguez’s main focus is in the aspect of reading, whereas McCarthy mainly focuses on the writing portion. Both do a decent job of analyzing and putting forth a view of how they believe a person can best perform in these environments. This then allows us to use their concepts and create our own version, based on their points of view. But why should we care? Most people at this level of academia will have developed a system of writing that works for them, and will have a difficult time breaking from it if they’re process doesn’t meet the criteria that Rodriguez, and McCarthy put forth. The reason it’s so important is because of implications these ideas have. Both authors put forth concepts that are indirectly related to one another and that are highly beneficial to all who will apply them. They will force you to conform to new environments in order to succeed, this in turn will make you more
A well-written poem would help one to engage into the work with their senses. One should be able to ask themselves what the poem caused them to think, hear, see, feel, taste, and to determine what he or she learned from the poet’s words. Many people believe that because poetry is an enigmatic art, and that there is no way for sure to know the
United State government has tremendous problem that they continuously agitate. One of the problems they are facing is immigration system. There are hundreds of thousands of immigrants move to our country every year and the number of illegal immigrants in the United State has been increasing enormously over the years. Some people may escape from political or religious oppression and others may come to pursue the American dream. However, this is unfair to those who come to United State legally. Unlike illegal immigrants, Although They enduring the delay, hardship, bureaucracy, and sacrificed, they are following the immigration law and obtain it. They would not do anything to violate the laws of this great nation, and if I compare both of
The United States experienced the major problem of immigration during the 19th century. America is one of the most attracting countries in the world, and people came from around the world in hopes of a better life. Most of the Illegal immigrants travel to America looking for jobs. Unemployment and increasing poverty have encouraged many labors, and rising countries seek work in another place. In the United States, the migrant farm workers and their families face dangerous environment and poor working conditions in agricultural industries.
My English Literature major has helped me to achieve an outstanding level of appreciation, enjoyment, and knowledge of both American and British Literature. As a high school AP English student, I struggled through great works like Hamlet and To the Lighthouse. My teacher’s daily lectures (there was no such thing as class discussion) taught me merely to interpret the works as critics had in the past. I did not enjoy the reading or writing process. As a freshman at Loras, I was enrolled in the Critical Writing: Poetry class. For the first time since grade school, my writing ability was praised and the sharing of my ideas was encouraged by an enthusiastic and nurturing professor. Despite the difficulty of poetry, I enjoyed reading it.
Prose starts off with very strong language in her essay “I know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”. Prose’s opening paragraph includes words such as “appalled”, “dismal”, and “dreariness”, which establishes negative connotation, a central feature of the essay(Prose 176). These words signify the lack of confidence that Prose has in the trends of American education. By beginning her essay with judgemental and cogent language, Francine Prose develops a clear and concise argument. She intends to hook her readers by immediately stressing the importance of the subject and conveying her justifiably strong perspectives. Prose claims that she is “ appalled by the dismal lists of texts that her sons are doomed to waste a school year reading” (Prose 176). Prose’s use of negative connotation allows her to clearly and effectively convey her message regarding the negative influence that American education has had on literature.
poem is not merely a static, decorative creation, but that it is an act of communication between the poet and
While reading the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins sends a message to the readers that they should be patient and impartial when it comes to analyzing a poem in order to see the true meaning behind the without being over analytical. There is a revieting situation that takes place because Billy Collins is delivering his message to all readers about the way that one should be able to read a poem. This poems educates the reader on how to be able to read and plunge into a poem, through using many techniques like mood, tone, and literary devices to do so. In the first two lines Collins demands that we tackle a poem with a invigorating eye. There should be an exploration of what the poem means to us. How does this poem apply to our
During Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle brings forth an argument on what every person should aim to achieve in life. Aristotle argues that in every action that people do should aim to achieve happiness and a flourishing in life. (Nicomachean Ethics, 1097a-b). Through life’s activities, one should aim to always look at the highest good of flourishing and keeping that in mind while carrying out their life activities and choosing the activities in life will benefit them the most. In his writing, Aristotle specifically gives one definitions of happiness, “Happiness is a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue” (1102a)
On his first day, he asks someone to read the introduction of the students’ textbook on poetry. The introduction was full of complex wording and ideas about how to understand poetry, which Keating thought was meaningless. He then tells the kids to rip out the whole introduction, saying that poetry goes well beyond the “technical aspects”.
ABSTRACT: I discuss some of the educational implications emerging from Heidegger's views on poetry, thinking, and language. Specifically, Heidegger's views on the neighborhood between poetry and thinking suggest that most accepted methods of teaching poetry are in error, because they ignore this neighboring relation. The importance of this relation is presented and clarified. I then discuss the implications of Heidegger's view for teaching poetry.
One of my most defining traits is being very analytical to what I am passionate about. I feel that critical thinking and analysis are some of the most important skills someone can have in this world today. The ability to look at everything presented to us critically: whether it be our own pop culture, the people around us, the events happening in the world, the social situations close to us, or the crucial decisions you make every day, can lead us to making better judgements by thinking about things with more complexity and understanding. I want to teach high school English for sophomores and seniors, because I feel that those are the most formative years during high school. For sophomores because that’s when they start forming their identity as a young adult, and for seniors because that is when they are about to leave high school and enter the adult world. Those two points in high school feel like the most crucial times we should be teaching literature to high schoolers, as an appreciation for literature and analysis can be very beneficial for students who are grappling with difficult questions and ideas about themselves. The lessons we can learn from literature and the critical thinking skills they would gain through analysis can help benefit the students and help them process the difficult changes they might be facing.