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The meta in your reflections

Following on our in-class discussion of Fox and Freire, I'm posting responses on the meta in your third reflections letters. Note: This is all prep for your Final Reflection Letters! steph (COM) 12:32, 11 May 2007 (EDT)

Huh?!

Metacommunication? I teach backwards, which happens to be the same way I write. I write what I think, learn what I do and do not know, and then re-write (usually several times) to highlight what I think I know that might be of use to someone else. If I had this semester to do over again, I would start with metacommunication. Since I cannot rewind the clock, I will start with metacommunication in the fall, with a new group of young people making the transition from the presumed "safety" of high school to the trouble zone of their first year in college.

Wrapping up this semester, the Spring of 2007, I hope the creative and ambitious young women and men who have endured my high expectations, lame sense of humor, and political passions will remember more than the fact that this writing class was not an easy A. Many of you, yes - you! - earned A's, and others of you earned other grades while learning (I hope) broader skills and values. I have enjoyed you very much. Please keep in touch.

Jessica metacommunicates Emotion

If I had to describe Jessica's identity based only on Truly Inspired, I would say she is a person with a rich emotional life. Her theme is inspiration; the examples she draws from her peer's writing both tell and show a relationship between writer and reader. Jessica finds atshekleton's deep look into writing as self-discovery "touching;" "struggle[s]" with writing in the same ways as some peers (John?), "learn[s]" from her colleagues (IceCreamMan), celebrates similar successes (Esco, IceCreamMan), and is "jealous" of peers who "'got a much better sense of what kind of writer'" they are (TheFlyingScotsman). I wonder how Jessica connects with people who seem more "different" than "similar" to herself? She notes how her challenges as a writer are different than Andy and Ksweets, but these examples are not presented as "inspirational." The metacommunication in this framing could be a message about who or how Jessica can be inspired. Meanwhile, notice how effectively (!) Jessica wrote "in a way that is pleasant to the reader.” She establishes her claim, makes good use of quotations, and organizes her thinking to end with her own inspirational summary:

In other words, Jessica is someone who not only seeks and appreciates inspiration; she enjoys being an inspiration for others, too. :-)

Andy’s Got Integrity

“It was not the problems of my classmates that motivated me to become a better writer . . . It was the successes.” Andy’s personability shows through his writing in two ways: his conversational, informal style and his candor. We can metacommunicatively “read” Andy’s character in the admiration he shows Dave, and the yearning he expresses to improve like Dave, Annerrs, and Adam. He wants to feel proud of his writing (and who does not?!) Andy is also humble. He admits to being confused about the mix of wikinames and real names in the second reflection letters, “I had no idea what was going on at first, but, thankfully, my brain was finally able to put two and two together by the third one I read.”

From a metacommunicative level, the struggle to understand what is going on in a piece of writing is a perfect example of the reader’s encounter with the author’s organization. Andy proposes that the written organization of thinking into a logical flow for readers is “a part of our writing that was not focused on and criticized in high school english [sic] classes.” Andy is honest enough not to just blame previous teachers, instead admitting that “basic grammar problems remain an issue,” and also that he “always thought rewrites were annoying, but so far all of them have improved my grade…”

Andy's reflection, shows evidence of his challenge with organization, although the outline of what he wants to accomplish is apparent. The conflict between his desire to stay casual (informal, personal) and the drive to improve his clarity and rhetorical effectiveness suggests that Andy is still trying to decide if his writing is more for himself (as a means of expression), than for his audience (for them to enjoy). No doubt a rewrite or two would help him sort this out! :-) (fyi - Andy's Listening to You belief statement provides a perfect wrap for the class magazine.)

Dave of the Hidden Heart

As an author, Dave hides himself more than Jessica and Andy. There is still information about his identity that can be gleaned from his writing, but I have to confess that my perception here is aided by all the interactions we had throughout the semester.

Dave is thoughtful and precise. He specifies that his struggles with organization involve trying to make “too many claims,” and is not satisfied with a general admission of grammar concerns: “I still seem to have problems with verb tense agreement and using improper pronouns.” There are no distracting grammar issues in Dave Reflects, but there are a range of claims. I am not sure which claim has priority!

There are three claims Dave makes that I found intriguing. First, “I think that everyone has improved in their writing because of this class.” The next sentence, though, explains how everyone has struggled with organization. Of course, one must recognize the problem before one can begin to build solutions . . .

The second claim has to do with something Dave learned from someone besides the teacher. As a teacher, I am excited to read this. It tells me two important things about Dave: that he is the kind of person who is willing and able to learn from everyone, and that he does not hold the teacher on a kind of pedestal (that might prevent him from learning from his peers, or undervalue the kinds of things he – and all of you - can learn from each other.

Finally, Dave says “the writing we have done in class has brought out emotions and feelings, revealing our true identities.” If, in the terms of a model or theory (!), identity is rooted in or comes through emotions and feelings, Dave is reserved. His words tell us more about how he feels, but the emotions themselves are held close to his heart.

Earnest John?

First of all, one has to appreciate the clever way John? addresses the matter of anonymity/publicity with that simple question mark. The opportunities for metacommunicative analysis of this rhetorical strategy alone are fascinating. In fact, John?’s writing elicits a mix of belief and doubt in me as a reader.

I have noticed this before (particularly in regard to his Unit Three “Conversation”) and the guess that I have about it right now has to why how he uses pathos. Looking at John? Senses Improvement as our sample, we can see that John? uses supportive quotes well, but the way they are tied to a larger claim is not immediately apparent. Each quote seems to be in service of a different claim of similarity or difference between John? and a classmate. There is an overall unification under the theme: “each of us can also learn from what the others have discovered.” John? clearly enjoys learning from his peers, describing one of Kelley’s ideas as, “Genius!” He also ends on a note of personal celebration: “I am not only happy with my grades thus far, I am happy with what I have learned about my own writing. I have gained much confidence in my work and sincerely feel that I am a better writer.”

I agree that John? has improved as a writer (as have you all). I wonder if anyone else senses a disjuncture between the content of what John? writes (logos) and the way he adds emotion (pathos)? Does this mix effect your sense of his ethos? Or is it just me?! Did I fall sway to John's ambiguity? :-) (In which case, has John? managed to produce the precise effect that he intended?!)

Contradictory Mralexan :-)

Michelle is a rebel. She says it right out!

Given that the whole point (!) of this course was to learn to write to and for an academic audience (!), one can see that conformity is not high on Michelle’s list of priorities. She mentions wordiness and writing as she speaks as if these are always admirable traits. Obviously, teachers have to live with whatever small influence we can etch upon resistant minds. :-) Writing for expression rather than effect is a laudable goal which I encourage, especially for self-knowledge. Re-reading what you’ve written, in order to clarify your thinking and revise your writing is not a bad idea, even with private writing just for oneself. For instance, if Michelle would surrender the magical desire to turn out perfect prose on the first go, she might have noticed that “clear,” “concise”, and “excessive” are contradictory. Then again, this may be exactly what she meant to convey, and the rewriting would not be in order to merge these three as synonyms but to clarify how they operate in tandem. Michelle’s self-confidence is a boon and will benefit her determined climb up the mountains to come.

Annerrs Alliterates for her Audience

You might get the sense Annerrs has had enough of College Writing:

then she adds, "we have been growing gradually as writers.” Whew! If you read Writing With Growth, you’ll see that she sticks to the assigned task like glue. “I learned,” she writes, “that if you stray away from your claim, your readers will stray away from your paper.” Do you think maybe she wants to hold our attention? (Or is that just me, reluctant to lose you all, now, at the end of the semester?!)

Although Annerrs recognizes that audiences might desire to know more about her own opinions, she is learning how to hold us with other techniques. Some of which she admits she steal from the rest of you! Now that’s an outcome of public education to make a teacher proud.

Nick Knows What He Needs

One can tell that Nick and time have a relationship based on rush!?! Did anyone else manage to breathe while reading Nick's Unit 3 Reflection Letter? Talk about someone on fast-forward! The cool thing is, Nick doesn’t seem to running away from anything, he’s not interested in escape; he just wants to get where he’s going! Nick not only tells us the major obstacles in his writing process – (lack of) time management, revision, catching mistakes, including full detail – he also describes his plan for revision. Nick knows he needs to be more persuasive, explaining the meaningfulness of summary information and including “more intellectual and meaningful arguments.”

The fact that Nick can describe his rhetorical strategy of comparison demonstrates his logos. He’s aware of pathos but (like John? perhaps, but in a different way?) has not learned how to harness this to his benefit, yet. (Want to be he will? Smile.) In the meantime, it is useful for him to continue to concentrate his powers on increasing the logos in his writing: “I definitely need to create a stronger outline to develop the sequence and the topics of each paragraph and what is needed in each.” One rhetorical strategy at a time is probably just plenty for those who alternate between frenzied activity and “just pure laziness.” ;-)

Flying Flat-Out with Eyes Wide Open

One thing I have admired about our Flyer, here, is his honesty. His mind takes him places, he checks ‘em out, and then does his best to understand and explain his experience. Writing seems to take him to different spaces than he is accustomed to; the fact that he admits to the scattering effect and confusion of trying to integrate the spaces/places of other people’s minds (as shown in their writing) with his own consciousness displays serious effort. Understanding each other well is hard work. Caring enough to dig deep into what a writer is trying to convey requires just as much effort as writing your own thoughts clearly for readers to comprehend.

Writing well has so many elements – you all know this now, right? :-) Let me tell you one thing about grammar: once habits are in place it takes serious attention and repetition to learn how to change them. Hopefully the painstaking penguin drills have trained a part of your mind to pay attention: keeping the level of grammar in mind will also help you sort out the “higher-level” tasks of organization and integration of varied, even contradictory ideas.

It is also common to struggle more the more you learn – I think this applies to any subject, at least in my own experience. Knowledge brings self-consciousness, and hyper-self-awareness can interfere with the smooth flow of activities you once took for granted. Mr. Flyer – you know I am not speaking exclusively to you, don’t you? I have everyone in the whole class in mind; you just gave me the opening. We might all be able to catch glimpses of ourselves reflected in each other's work.

Phane at the Edge

I am tired too. :-) I sense exhaustion – we have worked dang hard all semester long, enit? Just as I wrote TheFlyingScotsman, it is good to feel the strain. I do not mean that it feels good! Overstretch is not enjoyable. Being worn out with accomplishment, though, can be alight, don’tcha think? :-)

Your story opens Piecing It Together! Everyone’s gonna read about you. :-) I know challenge is tough, and when the reality of all that must be learned sinks in, I imagine most people have that fleeting wish to escape. Life isn’t just about losing points (I know you know this). You learned that it is time to consider your audience, but also that you do not have to think about them in the beginning – you can free write until you’ve got all your thoughts out there and then package them to fit. You’ll also learn that writing based on what you think is powerful. Start with similarity, imagine the overlaps, notice the differences, and think about them. Write. You will make [[ Phane at the Edge

I am tired too. :-) I sense exhaustion – we have worked dang hard all semester long, enit? Just as I wrote TheFlyingScotsman, it is good to feel the strain. I do not mean that it feels good! Overstretch is not enjoyable. Being worn out with accomplishment, though, can be alight, don’tcha think? :-)

Your story opens Piecing It Together! Everyone’s gonna read about you. :-) I know challenge is tough, and when the reality of all that must be learned sinks in, I imagine most people have that fleeting wish to escape. Life isn’t just about losing points (I know you know this). You learned that it is time to consider your audience, but also that you do not have to think about them in the beginning – you can free write until you’ve got all your thoughts out there and then package them to fit. You’ll also learn that writing based on what you think is powerful. Start with similarity, imagine the overlaps, notice the differences, and think about them. Write. You will make plenty of good connections. :-)

Adam’s Reach

There is a sweet quality to Adam’s expression of growth “as a thriving college student.” Life’s lessons loom larger in his Third Reflection Letter than the concrete mechanics of avoiding contradictions, carefully choosing diction, and not ending sentences with prepositions. :-) His thoughtfulness still comes through, even if he does seem to think it is a good thing (?) to accomplish challenging writing tasks “without really thinking about it at all.” Hmmmmm! Obviously, Adam has thought much about many things this semester, which is exactly what thriving college students are supposed to do.