Visual Essay: Trials & Tribulations of Traveling

In this essay, it is my intention to capture the essence of international travel. To be brutally honest, a few of these photos make me very uncomfortable. As viewer, I see myself as a complete outcast- a total nerd! I just previewed this post and I nearly took some of these photos down. Yet, I can't recall feeling awkward at the time these pictures were taken.

Traveling is odd to me. The desire to leave all things known and venture into a land that is physically and culturally different than mine can be terrifying. Still, I remember feeling fulfilled and peaceful when they were taken. For instance, the shot of my boyfriend, Mike, in the shower wasn't taken in despair (though it may appear so). Rather, both of us were admiring the Nicaraguan spirit in spite of the lack of natural resources. This essay was an attempt to juxtapose real happiness with the moments of humiliation and reflection associated with travel.

In her article, Selfe writes, "one goal is to help students and ourselves better understand the communicative power and complexity of visual texts...by reflecting on the compositions we create and exchange with others as complex symbolic instantiations of the human need to communicate" (74). Personally, I enjoyed this assignment because it encourage me to reflect on my own experiences in a new way. I was reminded that you can't judge a person or experience by the way it looks. If I did that, I would probably have a vastly smaller supply of excitement and new ideas in my life. In many of the photos, images of myself or my boyfriend provided coherence for the series. The pictures are taken in many different countries, but the subjects remain the same (Or do they??!). In terms of salience, some objects stand out to me: the little girl's red shoe, the backpack, the bare white walls, the man's green and purple shirt. I like that sometimes these objects are brighter than me or my boyfriend. The viewer's eye is drawn to the exotic, not the familiar.

Media=Community?

Both Beach and White support the explicit incorporation of media literacies and media studies in the classroom. Personally, I feel the "transparency problem" is their strongest defense. White defines the transparency problem as "the challenges young people face in learning to see clearly the ways that media shape perceptions of the world" (3). Certainly, I see the value in analyzing the relationship between media, consumerism, and self-esteem/desire/identity. However, I am having trouble rationalizing how teens are "actively involved in what we are calling a participatory culture" when participating in this culture is far from active!

All right, one could argue that the authors intend "active" to refer to the ability to interactively respond to media via media, but I am worried that the emphasis on media literacies will distract students from creative play- the kind of play that results in grass stains, dirty fingernails...oh heck, even a black eye or two (okay, maybe I would think differently about that assertion if it was my kid, ha). The play that you can actually participate in.

Let's talk about communities for a sec. I've been fortunate enough to participate in a number of unique and satisfying communities in my short life: First Stage Theater Company in Milwaukee, a residential veggie co-op, the Macalester women's cross-country team, and Slide Ranch...to name a few. To date, I have yet to participate in a fulfilling online participatory culture.

Okay. Facebook. Talk about performance. White writes, "Role play is very popular with contemporary youth...such play has long been understood as testing identities, trying on possible selves, and exploring social spaces" (29). Some consider Facebook to be an online community. However, how fulfilling is facebook? Be honest. Something's lacking, right? Analyzing facebook through the context of (social) performance is complex. Although facebook is a space to test our identities (since surely, facebook identities are restricted projections of our selves) and stay in touch (sort of) with members of our networks, what do we actually do on facebook? I think for a community to be fulfilling, it needs to stand for something beyond social networking or role-play.

Whereas my thoughts on performance/community/media literacies are rather, well, long-winded, I can get on board with the appropriation train. Creating something is wholly satisfying. In fact, I can almost swear that White quoted me when he wrote, "Art does not emerge whole cloth from individual imaginations. Rather it emerges through the artist's engagement with previous cultural materials" (32). And how. Exploring with remixing is a natural part of creating something fresh. However, like White, I believe that analysis and commentary must be paired with creation (33). Otherwise, we may end up with a room full of students appropriating popular u-tube videos, adding slo-mo, and calling it "art." Oh dear...

My personal philosophy in regards to play and the media grows out of the following sources (none of which I originally found via the internets):

Last Child in the Woods

Taking Play Seriously

Slide Ranch

Camp Killooleet

I love libraries even though I'd cut them before art programs...

A link to teen information, programs, and resources at Minneapolis Public Libraries:
http://www.hclib.org/teens/
Actually, as your local "what's hot" expert, hanging out at the library is the new soda parlor. Check it:

Hot=libraries Not=soda parlor

In all serious though, the East Lake library is hoppin' after school. But ya know why, right? Free internet!

Like a squirrel gathering nuts...

Often, students are "fantastically over-evaluated, with teachers piling up grades like squirrels gathering nuts" (Dornan, 182).

This image intrigues me because it demonstrates a number of assessment paradoxes in our educational system. For one, we are forced to consider the significance of many graded assignments as opposed to a few graded assignments over the course of a semester. The more-the-merrier camp might argue that a larger selection of grades would render a student's progress and evaluation more reliable. On the other hand, the-quality-over-quantity camp might respond that grading less work but higher quality work (thanks to revisions) is a more reliable measure of student progress. To some degree, both approaches make sense.

The image of the squirrel gathering nuts also conjures up questions regarding high stakes testing and the teacher's responsibility in preparing students for this assessment. What is the teacher's motivation in his/her assessment? If the teacher is assessing with the MCA's in mind, is it better to assign work that parallels the test? Or, should teachers assess the skills that students need through creative and hands-on tasks? Do these tasks really need to be graded in order to encourage student motivation?

To me, motivation is linked with assessment. If formal assessments motivate students to produce high quality work and continue to improve, then I support assessments. However, I also feel that students need feedback from teachers that are not linked to grades. Even if a group of students were highly motivated by grades, those students need to learn that process is ultimately more significant than result. Through informal assessments and self/peer evaluations (mentioned in Dornan), students can reflect on their work and consider peer/teacher responses.

I believe pride in one's work can motivate beyond the expected or acceptable result (i.e. an "A"). Striving for an "A" still has limits whereas inner-motivation requires students to reach for their personal best.

linkatoid

Lecture on documenting culture at the Walker/it's free!:
http://calendar.walkerart.org/event.wac?id=4922
Talk about identity and portraits with Wing Young Huie (for those who missed out!)/also free!:
http://calendar.walkerart.org/event.wac?id=4923

A hippie posting on revision.

If you don't already know it, life is cyclic. Decay turns into grass, grass returns to decay. The patterns of the moon, the tides, all cyclic. Thought, and therefore, art is cyclic too. When we create something, the piece is never finished. Published writers (or, in my case, published writers thanks to underfunded college lit magazines) struggle between the pleasure of seeing their work in print and anxiety because their piece could use a tweak or two. Truly, no work is ever complete, even after it is sold and framed. Viewers and readers apply what they already know and the piece transforms over and over again (so pomo).

However, my point here isn't to argue that nothing is ever done so why keep doing it. No, I am definitely of the-more-you-stare-at-it-the-better-it-gets-camp. And, speaking of, Fulwiler definitely gets it. Off the bat, Fulwiler identifies one of my greatest pet peeves- when people write what they are going to do in a paper before doing it. Editing my friends' work in college, I often crossed off the first four sentences of their papers. The thesis was all they needed. Where the heck does this cumbersome habit come from? Like Fulwiler mentions, it is most likely the love child of writing on the run rather than writing in a bubble bath followed by a cold shower.

Fulwiler also mentions the "story embedded in a story" conundrum, or rather, a blessing in disguise if you will. Although it can be terribly hard to switch one's focus, sometimes the best ideas for writing appear in the process of writing something else. I'd argue that this is because people simply don't put pen to paper enough. When they finally do settle in to write, they find that they have buschels of stories yearning to see the light of day. Virginia Woolf would be tickled. But, in all seriousness, there have been dire occasions, midnight cram sessions, where yours truly suddenly discovered an even better paper waiting in the wings. There was nothing to be done but embrace the little sprout and go with it. Revision! ("Tradition!")

Across the board, my best writing has been the result of hours of brainstorming, outlining, free writing, and turning in a "final" draft...only to get a not so brilliant grade and a paper covered in notes. Fortunately, those teachers and professors gave me the opportunity to work with them and rewrite (fully rewrite...no shortcuts) my heart out. Not only was the paper improved, but I learned. And, honestly, isn't that the dog gone point?

Now...I better go back and revise this posting. (I actually did.)

Paulo Freire Resources

Although Freire's writing is mainly about critical pedagogy, I feel he is a good place to start as we consider what content and questions are important to consider as we think about teaching writing.

It turns out that much of Freire's research is archived at McGill University. The following website has lots of great resources for Freire fans.

http://freire.mcgill.ca/
And, for kicks, another Paulo Freire....
http://www.naic.edu/~pfreire/

At odds...

It appears some educators are at odds. Are multigenre projects it? Or, are traditional essays and research papers still top dog?

Personally, I believe we can gather some invaluable tenets of writing if we compare traditional and alternative papers.

I found a few characteristics of writing that cross genres:

1. Process is more important than product.

Supporters of both multigenre and research papers argue in defense of the discovery and revision process. The best work is the result of multiple drafts, conferences, and peer reviews.

2. "Perfunctory 'for the teacher writing' to committed writing" (Gillespie, 678).

Regardless of the paper's objective, thesis, or audience, student writing needs to focus on a theme, idea, or question that inspires them. Too often, students are content with completing the minimum amount of work. Educators argue that students will make an effort if they are passionate about the subject.

3. Form relies on content.

Although this notion is common practice in teaching multigenre papers, even traditionalists (or supporters of the research paper) argue that ideas, supporting material, and purpose shape the format of the paper. Wesley writes, "I have found the essays that best fulfill format requirements often turn out to be neatly packaged but intellectually vapid" (59). Dornan et. al. also suggests that the primary concern is the organization of information based on the ideas at hand...not inserting information into a five paragraph structure.

There are certainly more characteristics that cross genres, but these are a few main concepts that I felt many of the articles touched on.

***

I also couldn't help pondering, as I read about research and multigenre papers, what would Delpit say? What about Freire? (I realize these authors were assigned for another class...but still, as their voices echo in my mind...I gotta respond to them!)
I have a feeling Delpit would argue for the need to assign and teach more traditional papers. She would defend them on the basis that the analytic essay uses the language of power. It's the writing that is expected in college, in companies. If we did not teach the essay, the research paper, we would be withholding the means to equal opportunity from the less privileged. However, Delpit would also emphasize and make explicit the language of power used in these essays (rather than teach without answering "Why?").
And Freire? My hunch is that he might explore the analytical essay...but I think he would encourage his students to write in a non-oppressive way. The creative freedom and expression would appeal to Freire. Still, he would encourage his students to write pieces with intellectual depth and a focus on well-organized rhetoric.

Writerly Talk, or rather blogospheric exclamation!

One place that I go for inspiration to write is my collection of writer memoir and biographies. A long time favorite is Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones (isn't that title fantastic?). A converted Buddhist, Natalie applies Buddhist tenets to her writing process. She emphasizes looking into matter deeply...and letting yourself make mistakes. She also writes about where to find inspiration (everywhere...but more specifically, inspiration within your personal daily experiences).

She writes, "When you tell friends stories, you want them to listen, so you make the stories colorful...It is good to talk. Do not be ashamed of it. Talk is the exercise ground for writing. It is a way we learn about communication- what makes people interested and what makes them bored" (77). I think my struggle with the internet is grounded in this idea. Using media in the English classroom stifles living and colorful human conversation and interaction. Case in point: I hosted a dinner party for a small group of some artist friends...musicians, dancers, writers. Sitting at the table after the meal, conversation shifted to utube videos. Suddenly, three of the six people pulled out their iphones/internet connected hand-held cellphones. Everyone gathered around these small screens...conversation diminished...I felt lost. What happened? Where is the energy? I guess the situation did provoke me to writing...but, isn't there more to say? What about strange exchanges we had that day? Or new ideas for a dance or song? No...instead, we looked at some dumb video. Can I blame the influence of hand-held technology? Or...should I blame us as a generation? More on this soon...

The Writing Process

Reading Romano's "Blending Genre, Altering Style" moved me to set down the text and pick up a pen. Except for a creative writing class or two in college, I was never encouraged as a student to stray from literary analysis or research papers in my English classes. It was so refreshing to read, "the quality of writing that I get to read is often much truer...the power of the multigenre form makes the information real" (p. 5). Looking back at my own experiences, I feel like we spent so much time exploring the writing and ideas of published authors and theorists. Clearly, there is value in that discussion, however, I think the danger is that we lose the opportunity to develop our own voices as writers and thinkers. The concept of a multigenre paper is so exciting because it encourages students to think outside of traditional boxes. Further, students are more likely to enjoy writing as it becomes a more personal art.

Romano also explores the relationship between writing and other forms of art. In my own reading, I love to follow the friendships and sources of inspiration in artistic communities (for example, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Picasso). With this in mind, good place to go for writing inspiration is the art museum. Most of you know I work at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (so I putting in a plug, ha, there I said it), but seriously, it is a free art museum and it has such a HUGE collection. I've spent hours walking the halls, sketching, and taking notes. Here's the link: artsmia.org.

I also enjoyed the first chapters of "Within and Beyond the Writing Process." The authors seem to stress the connection between writing and thought, and I can connect with that. For instance, if I haven't written in my journal for a few days, I feel a little lost. I know there are thoughts swirling around in my head...but I can't internalize them until I put pen to paper. In fact, like Dornan suggests, I believe that keeping a journal or record of daily life and thoughts can be eye-opening. In this day and age, we rarely take time to reflect on what we actually do each day.

Additionally, as a teacher, I hope to enact Dornan's point that writing is a process. I have never agreed with the concept of "final grades" or "final paper." The best paper I ever wrote in high school was the result of five earlier "final papers." Each time I handed one in, my teacher read it, marked it up, and conferenced with me. Each time, he said, "I think you can do better." By the end of the semester, my writing had improved...and not just my paper, but my whole writing process. That teacher really did his job...and that's how I intend to do mine!