Subject: Re: comfort ye, my peepul
From: Jim Rovira (jrovira@drew.edu)
Date: Tue Feb 12 2002 - 15:34:00 GMT
ach, Diego, I love your posts. Talk about nice wordcraft.
When Will spoke of "making meaning," I took him to be saying, "students
don't care about saying something effectively until they have something to
say" -- or, at least, realize they have something to say that could be
important. This makes sense to me. Sometimes we have to start by throwing
an idea at them to see if they'll throw one back :).
I think by the time they get to the point you're speaking of, they've
decided long ago they want to say something and say it well.
Besides all this is the immediate practical concern created by US academic
practices. EVERY student in most colleges, regardless of their major, are
required to take at least one writing course. This means we're not teaching
students who are meant to be writers most of the time. The most I've
learned to hope to see are 1-3 per semester out of a class between 15-20.
Jim
"Diego M. Dell'Era" wrote:
>
> Will said:
>
> "I don't think students learn how to care about
> rules of language until they care about making
> meaning."
>
> I disagree. If they are meant to be writers, words
> (and their rules) will arouse them, not the abstract
> "making meaning". And if they aren't, well, the
> meaning they want to make is already made. Much
> better.
>
> Ultimately, rules are inconsequential. The airy Muse
> and the Holy Ghost fly and alight and inspire where
> they will.
>
> Of course, you have to sweat like a bastard learning
> rules, so that you can see them coming and feel them
> blowing on your face, and grab them by their slippery,
> treacherous ass before it's too late.
>
> diego d.
>
> -
> * Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
> * UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Wed Mar 20 2002 - 09:44:24 GMT