Monday, June 23, 2008
Theory v Practice v Real Life
My greatest concern is being able to transfer writing theory, e.g. Peter Elbow, into classroom writing practice. I teach five English classes with an average of 25 students per class and I want to find the balance of doing right by my students and having a life. I'm confident, however, that I will find what I need to strike the balance.
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5 comments:
oohh. great worry to put on the table Matt. notice i am not taking time to use caps :) i love wrestling with the theory practice issue. i think we will have some great conversations about this. but, even if some of what we learn in regards to theory doesn't always translate to practice there can be some value in that too.
I think we all feel this way. Theories are wonderful, but when it's Thursday morning and you have a classroom full of under achievers who are resistant to putting out even minimal effort, it takes some real effort to push ahead.
I agree Matt. I too have an intensive grading load - sometimes as many as four writing classes ( basic and advanced levels) and two speech classes. To imagine multiple drafts and all the feedback needed to really to do the job Peter is talking about seems daunting. I think that if I can get the hang of the multiple peer feedback modes and the kind of exploration of good thinking needed for input to create the writing -- maybe the job will be slightly less frustrating and more engaging!
And don't forget guys, Peter Elbow is a teacher, too. He didn't just dream this stuff up in his head--it's a reflection of how he writes and how he has taught writing for years and years and years (And he wasn't always PETER ELBOW, so cool and famous that he could do whatever he wanted in his classrooms).
I'm with you on how to put theory into practice. I find it hard to remember sometimes what that really cool demo was and how to carry it off in class. Good point you brought up.
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