FINAL LEARNING BLOG 2

I think my unit two research project was a little flawed from the get go.  I do not think that changing the language of our diary entry was subtle enough.  If I had the chance to do it again I would change the format of the diary entry, I probably would not use a diary entry either. 

            Through our project I learned that people can’t completely understand a text that has “made- up” words in it.  Some of it can be understood using context clues, but for the most part it can be interpreted in a lot of ways.  It makes me wonder how difficult it into translate literature from one language to another or try to understand a dead language.  It also makes me realize how much can be expressed in just a few words, especially if they are “loaded words.”  Some words carry strong or vivid connotations.  I think testing people’s reaction to words with a traditionally strong connotation(s) would make for an interesting study.  I think I would start by writing a horrific and heart wrenching text, but use fairly happy language or visa- versa.

            I know this course is supposed all about independent work on things we are have not considered before, but I was slightly confused in this unit.  I had no idea what you were looking for in our research.  Social and historical contexts are major factors in our perception of reality.  They are infinitely complex concepts and basically any observation can qualify as a comment on social and/or historical context.  This really is not a problem in and of itself, but I do not think that you’re simply looking for just any observations.  In the layout for the unit research findings, under section five, you give us fairly specific instructions.  “Finally, this section connects your research to those larger writing/contextual/rule issues that we’ve been studying all semester.”  I have absolutely no idea what these specific contexts and rules are referring to.  I remember discussing their existence in class, but that is it.  I do not remember any specific “issues” we associated with historical and social contexts.

            My final thoughts on unit two are that I have done something I have never really done before.  I have never constructed a research test to evaluate social and historical contexts of literature.  It is a much different way of learning about social and historical contexts than I am used to.  I consider these contexts everyday when I read for my other English class and I sure I will be doing the same for the next few years, but this was different.  Studying literature that is being influenced by today’s society and perception of history is so much more direct.  It is a different level of interaction with other people and our current perceptions.

Notes 2/27- monday

Diary Entry
- possibly 8th grade girl's perspective
- location: someone's whiteboard, bathroom door, in front of elevators
- very personal in nature, "if someone read this I would just die"
The purpose of this study is to explore the how people react to a traditionally private genre posted in a very public place

Standard English

1. Standard English means different things to different people, English is spoken by a diverse group of people and there is no universal definition. I think it is safe to say that most English- speakers would describe their idea of standard English as the language they use daily when writing and speaking.

2. The variety of English that an individual may define as standard is the form of English that they would be most familiar with. It is probably the English that they encounter most often and use to communicate with.

3. There are situations that students should use a different language than English in the classroom, for example Chinese students probably should not speak English in most classrooms settings, unless it is an English class of course. Students in classrooms of English speaking establishments should also consider not writing or speaking in their idea of standard English if their message can be expressed in a better form of English, whatever that may be.

4. I think that a good writer is someone who achieves what they want from their writing. For example, writing is most often used to convey a message and a good writer will be able to convey their message to those who read their writing and also take pride in the way they conveyed the message.

5. I think that a bad writer is someone who does not convey the message they had in mind or does so in a manner that dissatisfies the receiver.

6. Some people do not speak or write English in a way that I perceive to be standard, but that does not imply that their idea of standard English is incorrect.

7. I really have no authority to say what types of writing students should be doing in elementary and secondary school to prepare for college and the work force. I also have no idea how to respond, the only thing that I can say for certainty is that the writing they should be doing should prepare them for the writing they will be doing in the future. Specifically writing that will help them to convey their ideas in such a way that a reader can understand their thoughts.

 8. no

Feb 22 In Class Activity

Screen Print T Shirt

Language:short, easy to read, simple
Content: informal, personal, semi- appropriate
Other Design Elements: colors, graphics, logos, material
Location: your body
Audience: anywhere you go while wearing a t-shirt, large audience

Breaking Constraints: writing final essay on t shirt
Reaction: Possibly humorous or annoying, have to strip to turn essay in

End of Unit 1 Blog

I can’t get over how surprised I am about the rough drafts and peer revision in this class.  It’s actually very helpful and I feel like I actually get useful feedback.  I wish that I could always have this chance to get a peer’s thoughts on my work.  It would be very useful in ENG 110 and I may very well start looking for people to read over my papers before I turn them in. 

            We have been doing a lot of peer editing and revising in class and I don’t feel like I have learned much since my last blog post, because we have not worked on any new material.  I learned from peer revision that I use a somewhat complicated vocabulary when I write even when I do not mean to.  I think this is just a non- English major’s point of view though.

            It was interesting to look at the genre of newspaper articles though.  I have never read newspaper articles on a regular basis and thus I really didn’t know what they were like.  It was an interesting activity to do, because all the genres my English classes deal with classic examples of literary canon.  The difference is very significant and it is a lot simpler to deal with newspaper articles. Newspaper articles are so short and are straight to the point, the amount of content that needs to be criticaly thought about is very small.