Dear Students,
I'm astonished that Thanksgiving break is one week away. We have much to do before everyone disperses to diverse locations. Please remember that we are meeting as usual on Monday and Tuesday of next week, and the rest of the week will be devoted to conferences in my office. If you have not yet signed up, please do so after class on Monday or Tuesday. By the end of next week, you should have three essays--a revised and edited position paper, a revised and edited autoethnography, and a complete draft, ready for revision and editing, of a critique. For those of you concerned about the suitability of one of these papers for the portfolio, I encourage you to write a fourth paper over Thanksgiving break--a narrative of your visit home for the holiday. Just remember, at least two of the papers in the portfolio MUST HAVE EXTENDED ANALYSIS.
Your final assignment for the semester is to write a two page introduction to your portfolio. Since this is the first thing the reader will see, it is an important introduction to the rest of your work. You know how important first impressions are. At our next class, I will give you the details about this letter so that you can get started on it over the break. PLEASE BRING A DRAFT TO CLASS ON THE DAY YOU RETURN FROM BREAK TO WORKSHOP IN YOUR RESPONSE GROUP.
Your final portfolio and your working portfolio are both due on December 7th or 8th. I cannot accept late portfolios. They go to the review committee on Wed. the 8th at 4:00, and no exceptions will be added after that time and date. Once your portfolio is submitted, we will not have classes until the final exam. Please check the on-line schedule for the time and date.
I have every confidence those of you who have worked hard will make the deadline.
See you on Monday or Tuesday. Have a productive weekend and bring your work to class to revise. s
Erika Jaimes
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Reading Response #8
Last week we read an article "the Anti-Heros: The LA4" in class. This article wrote about the Los Angeles area trials, specifically about LA4 trail as well as Rodney King trial.
The LA4 black young men charges took awhile to get some of the charges rescinded and even then they will always be in “ice” as the writer puts it. However, in the Rodney King case the white police officers got off with bail, and they never had a brief moment where they would not have seen the “light of day”.
This article, though close to home, was not as interesting as the people who chose it described. At first I was confused about what the article was going towards. It was not till we discussed it did I realize it was two different cases that where being compared.
I am glad that we are having a conference right before break because it will give me plenty of time while I am at home to revise my essays and get feedback from my family. I started to get a little overwhelmed with all of the work because the critique essay is a little tougher than I had expected it to be. The break will be a perfect opportunity for me to look at other examples of critiques, and perfect mine.
ReplyDeleteIt will also give me a chance to make sure my other two essays are perfect and allow me time to catch up on blogs that I have not finished. The break is at a perfect time to catch up on all of the missing work, and regroup a little.
There will be plenty of time to relax and get all of my work done while being in a relaxing environment like my home.
I need to spend a lot of time working on all three of my essays. I have been slacking because of the lack of structure in the class, but I know I can finish these essays and pass the portfolio. I am the kind of person that needs pressure in order to complete something that I would rather not do. The closer December 8th comes, the more I will be working on my essays. It is crucial that I pass the portfolio because I hate writing and would be devastated if I have to take another writing class next semester.
ReplyDeleteMeeting with you before break was extremely helpful! I now have a much better idea of where I am going with all three of my essays. This is my first response to your blog… I do know that I am way behind on reading responses, however, I plan on getting them all done within the next fourty-eight hours. I still have to set up my personal blog, which hopefuly should be done by tonight and then email the link to you. This loose structure of this class and the immense lack of deadlines has enabled me to procrastinate, I’m not going to lie. And I appologize for flooding you with blog entries this late in the semester. The essays are going smoothly… they all still could definitley use some more editing and revision. But hey! They are getting there. Thanks again for all your time and helping me decide the direction to go in with all three of them. Hopefully if I can perfect the three essays I won’t have to do a fourth. I need to get started on my cover letter too. So, basically, this Thanksgiving break is an English cram week, for me. But, to be honest, I kind of had this coming… Moral of the story: don’t procrastinate like I do! Because in the end, I know that I would be a lot less anxious about the portfolio if I had actually gone with the flow of the class and gotten started early on… Lesson learned. Lesson learned.
ReplyDeleteReading Response # 8 by Alyssa Fraijo:
ReplyDeleteI never thought I would ever say that I was glad to be back in Stockton; but on Friday, those were the words coming out from my mouth. Being away from home for more than three months was not easy for me, especially being a freshman at a college seven hours away from my hometown. Needless to say, I am more than happy to be home for the holidays. Holidays, for me means two things: food and family; and so far, that is what I have gotten. Thanksgiving usually consists of my mom’s side of the family fighting over which dish they want to bring over versus what movie we’re going to watch after dinner; while my dads family is simultaneously helping cook and visiting with the rest of the family. This year however, is a little different. Recently, my family and I received horrible news that my cousin Jason McCluskey was killed while fighting in battle in Afghanistan. He was scheduled to come home this holiday season. In honor of my heroic cousin, my family decided to donate twelve full Thanksgiving dinners to our veteran families throughout the city. My cousin is gone, but his amazing spirit lives on within all of us; and his spirit is what also will bring us even closer together as a family this season and for the rest of our lives. This Thanksgiving, I couldn’t be more grateful for the fantastic family I have, and the opportunity to be with them.
I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
Rest In Peace, Sgt. Jason James McCluskey.
Reading Response # 9 by Alyssa Fraijo:
ReplyDeleteBefore school let out for Thanksgiving break, we all had to meet with you for yet another writing conference for our third essay. This was the first essay where I kind of had to get a “running start” on it. The goal for the essay was to attend a Dialogue On Race Seminar or film, and write about it. I attended the “Beautiful Boxer” movie, which was about transwoman learning how to box to raise money for her sex change operation. Since this essay is supposed to be a critical review of the movie, I had a little trouble getting started. Being that this was my third conference, I knew what to expect and I knew what to gain from it. These conference sessions always help me strengthen my writing skills, but they also point out the mistakes I seem to make over and over again.
Going into this conference, I only had an introduction done, mainly because I wasn’t quite sure what was expected out of this essay as a whole. As I read my introduction aloud, I liked how it sounded, but you gave me tips on how to make it stronger. I liked how I started out with a good quote, and then slowly getting into what the movie was about and what I got from it. As the conference came to a close, I walked out of your office with a piece of paper filled with things to talk about in my essay. It still needs some work, but it will be pristine by the end, thanks to all of your helpful tips.
Reading Response # 10 by Alyssa Fraijo:
ReplyDeleteOn the fourth of November, 2010, while walking on front in battle in Afghanistan, Sgt. Jason McCluskey, my cousin, was killed. Jason died of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked with small arms fire. He is remembered as one of the greatest and kindest people you will ever meet, not because of his title, but because it was his nature to be. The first time I’ve ever met him was the summer of when I was going in to the fourth grade and he was going to be an incoming freshman in high school. He had come to California to stay with us, his family, for a couple of months. Even though it was my first time ever meeting him, he immediately treated me like I was his favorite person in the world, and surrounded me with nothing but hugs, kisses and smiles. Jason was the kind of person that you just couldn’t be in a bad mood when you were around him, because he’s either making you laugh, or just smiling at you. Unfortunately, the first time I met him was the last time I got to see him, as well. My senior year in high school was when I started to be very active on the Facebook website, and was also the time where Jason and I reconnected through Facebook. Knowing he was in the army, I was shocked at the fact that he even has time to be on the computer, let alone have a Facebook account. I was so happy when Jason requested to be my friend because I hadn’t seen or talked to him since I was in fourth grade! Even though they were just pictures, I was glad to see how my cousin was doing in Afghanistan and was very excited to get to talk with him again. We would exchange messages and try to catch up as much as we could, but with both our busy schedules, we didn’t talk enough. When my mother called me on November 4th telling me about the news, the only thing that flashed through my head was the last thing me and him talked about on Facebook. That last thing we talked about was that he wanted to help me out with money as I go off to college, because he knew how hard it is to be away from home. When I rejected his offer, I felt he was kind of taken back about it, and didn’t know how to take my rejection. I felt awful after I didn’t take his offer, because I felt like I was rejecting him, my own cousin. I pray everyday for forgiveness, but knowing Jason and his heart of gold, I know I have already been forgiven, and I know he is up there smiling down on all of us. Rest In Peace Jason, I love you so very much.
Conferences over papers written in class was probably the most effective of improving my papers. Throughout my years of schooling, I do not recall every being offered the chance to meet one on one with a teacher and go over a paper. If I ever did, it was useful, for we would go over my mistakes, but not have another chance for revision and to turn it in. I did not find the fish bowls and peer editing groups very helpful at all. I rarely received any sort of constructive criticism to improve my papers. I received comments such as "I liked this paper" when I was aware that they had just read a first draft that was in dire need or revision and organization. I really enjoyed being able to receive feed back from a teacher that not only gave my useful feedback, but also from someone that truly cared. Talking out terms of revision and improvement is immensely more helpful then receiving small unclear scribbled on the side of my essay. Writing is simply conversion on paper, so there is nothing more helpful then conversing vocally about it to teacher.
ReplyDeleteI did not get a chance to meet for a conference time before break due to an injury. However, I was able to set a time after break and quickly wrap up my portfolio. To my advantage, this allowed and persuaded me to write the final paper of my portfolio on Thanksgiving break. I learned a great amount after experiencing changes during break and am glad to have received a change to lay our my thoughts and come to a conclusion. I think that this paper added a lot to my portfolio; it tied it all together.
This week in class we turned in our portfolios. I’m a little nervous as to what I will get in this class, but I know I did all the necessary requirements to pass. It just all depends on whether or not I get an A in the class or not. I’m trying to raise my GPA so I can study abroad next year so getting an A in this class will definitely help me in succeeding my goal, which is to get all A’s this semester. Writing the cover letter for the portfolio was easier than I thought it would be. People were talking about it and making it seem like it was going to be really hard to write. I think they were talking like this though because the cover letter is the most important element to the portfolio. I can’t wait to get my portfolio back on Thursday and see what grade I got. I put three pieces as well as my cover letter into the portfolio. I inserted my autoethnography about being apart of the single mom culture, the position paper on school uniforms, and an essay on Thanksgiving break. For my cover letter I started out by saying “Writing is like learning how to ride a bike with no training wheels.” Throughout the letter I kept referring my pieces to learning how to ride a bike. I felt very confident with my work and I knew the judges would approve. I’m nervous to get my portfolio back as well as anxious.
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