Today in class for our freewrite we responded in a short 3-paragraph essay to Writing about Literature Chapter 1: "The Role of Good Reading." Tomorrow we will look at "Writing about Stories" (57). Preview this section.
Students were also supposed to read the section on the Writing Process.
For the freewrite answer the following question:
How is the role of good reading connected to good writing? Define terms like "active reading" and "annotation." Discuss how this assists one in his or her understanding and interpretation of texts.
Use 1 (one) citation per paragraph: 1 free paraphrase. 1 shorter citation. 1 block or long quote. Don't forget the works cited section of the essay. Each paragraph is 5 sentences long except the one with the block quote. 4 of the 5 sentences is original, the 4th etc. is a citation. Do not forget to introduce your quotes with appropriate signal phrases.
We will read Chapter 4 tomorrow.
On Thursdays we will meet in A-232 not in A-211. If you have a laptop bring to class.
Homework is to read the preface and the first story: The Dance Boots. Decide which 3 jobs descriptions you can live with per Literature Circle handout.
We will spend half an hour in Lit Circles. Many students come late. Latecomers will be their own Lit Circle. You are late if you miss my calling roll.
Some students were lost per: homework because they missed the explanation. Emergencies happen, but if a student is always late then this will be a problem.
Students who do not have their books yet, can make up this freewrite.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
State of the Union Cyber-Assignment
For students who watched the Address and wanted to share responses, post here. The speech and comments are also at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
The cyber-assignment is listed below. It was homework, although no one posted anything (smile). It still needs to be done. Post it where assigned. This post is for short remarks or comments.
Students can respond to each other here.
Cyber-Assignment We Still Live Here
Today we watched the film, directed by Anne Makepeace, We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân. Visit www.makepeaceproductions.org Write an initial response to the film here. I am still stalling. Buy the textbooks. I am not giving anyone a permission number who doesn't have books.
Synopsis from the website:
Âs Nutayuneân tells a remarkable story of cultural revival by the Wampanoag of Southeastern Massachusetts. Their ancestors ensured the survival of the Pilgrims in New England, and lived to regret it. Now they are bringing their language home again.
I find the study of language and culture fascinating. Can one participate in one's cultural reality if one lacks linguistic access? How do we speak about what we know, how do we know what we know and what others in our ethnic group knew or found valuable if we have no way to communicate with them via artifacts left or living history in the elders?
Is such a person culturally inept forever? What happens when languages disappear but the people don't, as is the case in so many indigenous communities?
I find the study of language and culture fascinating. Can one participate in one's cultural reality if one lacks linguistic access? How do we speak about what we know, how do we know what we know and what others in our ethnic group knew or found valuable if we have no way to communicate with them via artifacts left or living history in the elders?
Is such a person culturally inept forever? What happens when languages disappear but the people don't, as is the case in so many indigenous communities?
When we read The Dance Boots, Linda LeGarde Grover uses indigenous language in the dialogue characters speak. Note how this language which we are no conversant in adds to the fullness of said characters who like the Wampanaog people who were robbed of their culture.
Think about what the narrator says about converted Wampanaog, "I am pitiful. I loath myself." Why is there so much alcohol or substance abuse in such communities--colonized, assimilated traumatized people?
Think about what the narrator says about converted Wampanaog, "I am pitiful. I loath myself." Why is there so much alcohol or substance abuse in such communities--colonized, assimilated traumatized people?
When I was in JHB, South Africa, I saw so many ads for alcohol and encountered so many inebriated adults, healers and medicine men, who were drunk on the job. South Africa, like America, was stolen from its people.
Essay Assignment
In a 250-500 word essay, look at a theme such as language and culture and discuss how its presence or absence affects a community either positively or negatively. Introduce the film in the introduction and then state your thesis after a brief summary. The essay should be minimally three paragraphs.
Bring a paper copy to class tomorrow to share. The final draft will be emailed to me tomorrow sometime.
Freewrite due now. Post here.
Now, share initial impressions about the film. If you came in late to the film, read a review of the film and read the website, listen to the interview with the author. How is film a great storytelling medium. How well does the director tell the story. Does her personal involvement in the story affect the product or enhance it?
Presently, Sundance is taking place in Utah. It is the largest film festival in the country. I noted on the board that the film is screening at Stanford University Feb. 7, 2012. If you go and write about it, you can have extra credit. Check the film website for the details. I am interviewing the director on my website Friday, January 27, 2012 (9 AM). The show starts at 8 AM. The link is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/01/27/wandas-picks
What questions does the film raise which are perhaps unanswered? Are there references you are unaware of? If so, look them up and list them here in your response to the film.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
We are in a holding pattern, can't move forward until students purchase their materials. We read the syllabus today via projector. I also gave students a paper copy, those who wanted one (smile). We reviewed how to email assignments and copy oneself.
Homework is to watch and read the President's State of the Union Address which I thought ended eloquently. It was balanced and well-written. I liked the way he invited all of us to participate in our country's success and progress. It sounded so possible, but the same way he is having trouble getting Congress and the Senate to do the right thing, so it is with the lofty suggestions possible with the stroke of a pen--sounds good, but probably won't happen.
Look at the speech as a piece of writing. Analyze its merits or strengths. Pay special attention to literary devices like repetition, alliteration, examples. Why does the president choose the examples he does to represent patriotism? Why does he open and close with war imagery?
Visit http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ for commentary.
Bring your comments to class in the morning for discussion. Post them here after class. Responses can be 250 words.
Homework is to watch and read the President's State of the Union Address which I thought ended eloquently. It was balanced and well-written. I liked the way he invited all of us to participate in our country's success and progress. It sounded so possible, but the same way he is having trouble getting Congress and the Senate to do the right thing, so it is with the lofty suggestions possible with the stroke of a pen--sounds good, but probably won't happen.
Look at the speech as a piece of writing. Analyze its merits or strengths. Pay special attention to literary devices like repetition, alliteration, examples. Why does the president choose the examples he does to represent patriotism? Why does he open and close with war imagery?
Visit http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ for commentary.
Bring your comments to class in the morning for discussion. Post them here after class. Responses can be 250 words.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Day 1
Today students read an article from Skyways magazine about thinking outside of the cage--hamster cage, that is. After reading the article, students then introduced themselves to a classmate and shared.
We spoke about the class materials and the email I sent many students but not all. Hopefully, students have rectified this and added email addresses to their Peralta contact information. I wasn't able to drop anyone, so Permission Numbers are how we'll handle those who want to add the class.
There was no homework other than reading the syllabus and the letter I sent out this weekend. There are two assignments connected to the syllabus: one is an email to me, the other a response to the syllabus.
Make sure you use a heading when posting anything to the blog. Sign in as anonymous. The heading is: Your complete name, my name plus title "Professor," the class name spelled out, and on the last line (4) the date: day month and year.
Joe Blow
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
23 January 2012
Tomorrow we will review the syllabus in more detail, talk a bit about the class, do a bit of writing, start reading from Writing about Literature with homework in The Dance Boots.
We spoke about the class materials and the email I sent many students but not all. Hopefully, students have rectified this and added email addresses to their Peralta contact information. I wasn't able to drop anyone, so Permission Numbers are how we'll handle those who want to add the class.
There was no homework other than reading the syllabus and the letter I sent out this weekend. There are two assignments connected to the syllabus: one is an email to me, the other a response to the syllabus.
Make sure you use a heading when posting anything to the blog. Sign in as anonymous. The heading is: Your complete name, my name plus title "Professor," the class name spelled out, and on the last line (4) the date: day month and year.
Joe Blow
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
23 January 2012
Tomorrow we will review the syllabus in more detail, talk a bit about the class, do a bit of writing, start reading from Writing about Literature with homework in The Dance Boots.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Course Syllabus for Spring 2012
English 1B, Spring 2012 at COA
Professor Wanda Sabir
In the Night
Women are out in the night.
They are cleaning streets
some are walking streets
coming home from work
othrs are working/
answering a call
rushing to the hospital
to bail someone out of jail
getting the forgotten loaf of bread
running from here to there
going to hang with the girls
enjoying the freedom of the club
relaxing from a hard day
of taking orders
sunny-side up
by tomorrow
in stilettos dressed to kill
with glistening lips
begging for kissers.
And some are just alone again in the dark
actually enjoying the moon.
What are you doing out so late Ma?
Being a woman, Officer,
being a woman.
--Myesha Jenkins from Dreams of Flight: A Collection of Poems, Geko Publishing 2011
Course code 21792 Lec 08:00-08:50 AM MTWTh Sabir C-211
Class Meetings: Jan. 25—May 17, 8-8:50 a.m., MTWTh
Drop dates: February 4, Full-Term Credit Classes and Receive a Refund. Note: Short-term and open-entry classes must be dropped within three days of the first class meeting to receive a refund. Feb. 5 last day to add. Feb. 11 last day to file for Pass/No pass. Feb. 16 last day to drop w/out a W. Drop February 24, Full-Term Credit Classes Without “W” Appearing on Transcript; April 25 (w/W) and no refund.
Holidays: Feb. 6, 17-20; May 18, May 30; Spring Break: April 2-8 M-Su Spring Recess
Final Exam Week: May 19-25. We have no sitting final. Portfolios are due by May 25, 12 noon electronically. Last day of semester May 25, 2012.
Class blog: http://poeticsrapandtothersocialdiscourses.blogspot.com/
Syllabus for English 1B: College Composition
English 1B is a transferable college writing course. It builds on the competencies gained in English 1A with a more careful and studied analysis of expository writing based on readings of selected plays, poems, novels, and short fiction.
Writing is a social activity, especially the type of writing you’ll be doing here. We always consider our audience, have purpose or reason to write, and use research to substantiate our claims, even those we are considered experts in.
We’re supposed to write about 8000 words or so at this level course. The 8000 words over the semester (not per essay) include drafts. What this amounts to is time at home writing, time in the library on campus and public libraries too. Students will be researching, and reading documents to increase his or her facility with the ideas or themes he or she is contemplating, before he or she once again sits at his or her desk writing, revising, and writing some more.
Writing is a lonely process. No one can write for you. The social aspect comes into play once you are finished and you have an opportunity to share.
We are practicing skills which you developed in English 1A. The difference is we are looking at literature and analyzing other genres, in our case: poetry, fiction, music, theatre, visual arts, and dance. In order to do justice to the topics you chose to explore, the writer cannot ignore the history of the genre nor its current discourses or new roots.
I will be looking at the writing, but more than this I will be paying attention to the scholarship, which is why each essay has to include a citation from a scholarly article—4-10+ pages.
Your essays can use multiple styles . . . be creative. However, I need to know that you know how to write an essay, so save the creative work for last (smile). And if you plan to deviate from the norm, don’t surprise me, share the idea with me first.
We are going to read a book or play every few weeks. We start with short fiction and then move into a novel, dramatic literature, another novel and conclude with poetry. I am going to show you a film. We finish with students selecting writing outside of the assigned readings and writing a research analysis based on the work. The selection can be two short poems or a longer one, a novel, another play or a short story.
On Thursdays we will have critiques when an essay is due. More on this later. We will practice writing research analyses mid-semester. Students will grade each other based on a rubric.
Office Hours
I am a phone person, so when I give you my telephone number, use it. My office is D-219, (510) 748-2286 (office phone). If you are a poor writer, get a tutor. We will have minimal revisions, like none unless the essay is horrible—students only get 1-2 BAD ESSAY DAYs (and the penalty is writing a correction essay, plus revising the essay). We will do peer reviews. I want to see polished work. Last semester, students did poorly on their first essay. I don’t know, maybe it was the topic, Indian boarding schools, substance abuse, assimilation, who knows . . . find a topic that interests you; however, if you hate the stories and its characters, well then I don’t know what to tell you (smile).
Methodology
We will use Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide, Second Edition by Janet E. Gardner in the class. There is a chapter for each genre of literature we will examine. We will review a chapter every week or two. The first section of the book reviews the writing process.
Keep a reading log/journal/notes containing key ideas outlined for each discussion section, along with vocabulary and key arguments listed, along with primary writing strategies employed: description, process analysis, narration, argument, cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, problem solving. I will collect these typed notes electronically with the completed essays. The essays will be submitted electronically. Type all your notes and in-class writing assignments.
I repeat: each book or play will have a corresponding essay. There will also be a series of short 250 word essay responses posted on the class blog pertaining to each piece of literature. Students have a choice of writing a new paper or expanding the cyber-assignment into a longer work. Each research paper will be between 3-4 pages long. This includes a works cited page.
Again, the final is an oral presentation of one’s paper or a defense of one’s thesis. The student portfolio is the FINAL for the class. We will talk about this more. If any students are creative writers and wants to lead a workshop, let me know (smile).
Each student will have to attend a literary event of his or her choosing: lecture or author event, play or film. We can attend an event together or separately. The writing assignment will be an analysis/critique, like a review . . . but a bit deeper. I suggest students read published reviews beforehand to prepare for the task. This essay will be minimally two (2) pages or 500 words, not including a works cited page with minimally two (2) sources. All essays have to have 1 citation per page, so in the case of a two page essay, that is two citations (period).
Essay research requirements
Each essay needs to use at least 2-3 outside sources which should include at least one (1) scholarly article along with other material (taken from the COA on-line Library Database (if possible). Each essay should also include One (1) direct quote, one (1) free-paraphrase and one (1) block quote—one citation per page—no more, no less. Each essay also needs to include a works cited page and a bibliography. It needs to be perfect. We will practice this in class. We will write many of the shorter essays in class or for homework. The task should be simple once students decide which four (4) elements they’d like to respond to in depth.
I am making an assumption that students know how to correctly document their sources using MLA. Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers or text. At this level, I expect students to know how to write passing essays at the first submission. Submit your best work the first time. Don’t submit drafts, masquerading as polished work. I am serious.
Midterm
One of the essays will be the midterm, possibly fiction maybe dramatic literature (smile).
Jot down briefly what your goals are this semester and action steps to get there. Separate into what you can do alone or have control over and what you might not have control over and why.
List them in order of importance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Homework Assignment 1: E-mail introduction to me tomorrow, Tuesday, January 24. Send to coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com.
Homework Assignment con't:
Besides the usual: where are you from? What languages do you speak besides English? What child are you in the family? What are your hobbies? Why are you taking this class? What books have you read recently that took your breath away?
Include: your contact information: Name, Address, phone number, best e-mail address, best time to call and answers to these questions as well: What strengths do you bring to the class? What do you hope to obtain from the course – any particular exit skills? What do I need to know about you to help you meet your goals?
Homework Assignment 2:
Respond on the blog to the syllabus, so I have a record of your reading it. Make sure you include examples from the syllabus to support your points. The response is due by
Wednesday, January 25.
Write a comment to me regarding the syllabus: your impressions, whether you think it is reasonable, questions, suggestions. This is our contract, I need to know you read it and understand the agreement. Include the understanding that to pass the class you have to have your materials by day 1, no later than the end of the week.
Grading
Essays: 55 percent of grade
Short Story
1. The Dance Boots by Linda Legarde Grover is the text for the short story unit. Each unit includes the definitive essay, plus in-class writing, group writing and blog assignments.
The Novel
2-3. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok and The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is the text for the fiction unit (2 essays), plus a film.
Dramatic Literature:
4. Ruined or some other selection (handout).
Poetry Unit
5. Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry edited by Neelanjana Bannerjee, Summi Kaipa, and Pireeni Sundaralingam
6. Final essay –student choice
Portfolio: 25 percent
Participation: 20 percent
What do I mean by participation? This includes preparation and active participation in group assignments, blog responses and posted comments; discussion group preparedness, attitude and leadership. To post comments select “ANONYMOUS” and then type your name in the post. Students do not need to get Gmail accounts.
To encourage participation, and for this, students have to be prepared, I weighed the preparedness and participation strongly which means I will be taking notes when students do not do their homework. If you are in a group where students are pretending to be prepared when they are not, drop me an anonymous note. If a student is absent, he or she cannot make up in-class assignments such as group work, freewrites, presentations, etc.
Portfolio Suggestion
Students can start a personal blog for the class and send me the link for your portfolio at the end of the course. This is not the only type of portfolio. The other is to submit a word document with the semester's writing.
Quizzes
I am not above pop quizzes on readings. Remember, this plan can change in a twinkling of the eye, if we find it isn’t working.
Writing Center
The Writing Center is a great place to get one-on-on assistance on your essays, from brainstorming and planning the essays, to critique in areas like clarity, organization, clearly stated thesis, evidence or support, logical conclusions, and grammatical problems. In the Writing Center there are ancillary materials for student use. These writing programs build strong writing muscles. The Bedford Handbook on-line, Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers on-line, Townsend Press, and other such computer and cyber-based resources are a few of the many databases available. There is also an Open Lab for checking e-mail, a Math Lab. All academic labs are located in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) or library. The Cyber Café is located in the F-bldg.
Again, students need a student ID to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free. Ask in Student Services (A-bldg.) where photos are taken.
Have a tutor of teacher sign off on your essays before you turn them in; if you have a “R,” which means revision necessary for a grade or “NC” which means “no credit,” you have to go to the lab and revise the essay with a tutor or teacher before you return both the graded original and the revision (with signature) to me. Revise does not mean “rewrite,” it means to “see again.”
When getting assistance on an essay, the teacher or tutor is not an editor, so have questions prepared for them to make best use of the 15-20 minute session in the Lab. I will give you a handout which looks at 5 areas of the essay you can use as a guide when shaping your questions for your peer review sessions. Please use these guidelines when planning your discussions with me also.
For more specific assistance, sign up for one-on-one tutoring, another free service. For those of you on other campuses, you can get assistance at the Merritt College’s Writing Center, as well as Laney College’s Writing Labs.
Correction Essays & Essay Narratives
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done, that is, a detailed list of the error(s) and its correction; a student can prepare this as a part of the Lab visit, especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take. Cite from a scholarly source the rule and recommendations for its correction.
Students can also visit me in office hours for assistance; again, prepare your questions in advance to best make use of the time. Do not leave class without understanding the comments on a paper. I don’t mind reviewing them with you.
Student Learning Outcomes
Student Learning Outcomes include a better facility with written communication which includes critical thinking, analysis and of course comprehension. Such tools help us make better choices and decisions about our lives and the lives of those persons we are responsible for. Hopefully students will gain an appreciation for the literary arts beyond what is due for the course. Education is not limited to the classroom; rather an implicit goal is always to trigger a desire in students to continue the cultural pursuit after transfer, after graduation, after career goals are met. Reading and writing are skills one does have to practice to prevent dullness, so another goal and SLO for this course is for students to know how to keep their tools ready for use which might translate into keeping a journal once the semester ends, reading more for pleasure, going to literary events, and/or hanging onto some of the course reference books like Diana Hacker's Rules for Writers.
English language fluency in writing and reading; a certain comfort and ease with the language; confidence and skillful application of literary skills associated with academic writing. Familiarity if not mastery of the rhetorical styles used in argumentation, exposition and narration will be addressed in this class and is a key student learning outcome (SLO).
We will be evaluating what we know and how we came to know what we know, a field called epistemology or the study of knowledge. Granted, the perspective is western culture which eliminates the values of the majority populations, so-called underdeveloped or undeveloped countries or cultures. Let us not fall into typical superiority traps. Try to maintain a mental elasticity and a willingness to let go of concepts which not only limit your growth as an intelligent being, but put you at a distinct disadvantage as a species.
This is a highly charged and potentially revolutionary process - critical thinking. The process of evaluating all that you swallowed without chewing up to now is possibly even dangerous. This is one of the problems with bigotry; it’s easier to go with tradition than toss it, and create a new, more just, alternative protocol.
Last words on Grades
We will be honest with one another. Grades are not necessarily an honest response to work; grades do not take into consideration the effort or time spent, only whether or not students can demonstrate mastery of a skill - in this case: essay writing. Grades are an approximation, arbitrary at best, no matter how many safeguards one tries to put in place to avoid such ambiguity. Suffice it to say, your portfolio will illustrate your competence. It will represent your progress, your success or failure this semester in meeting your goal.
Office Hours: D219
I’d like to wish everyone much success. I am available for consultation on Monday/Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30 AM and 3-4 PM and on MTWTh 3-5 p.m. by appointment. My office is located in the D-216 suite. I have an office phone, but do not leave messages on it. Call me on my cell phone and leave a message. My email again is: coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com Let me know the day before, if possible, when you’d like to meet with me. I am more of a phone person.
I am a phone person, especially on weekends, so take time to exchange email and phone numbers with classmates (3), so if you have a concern, it can be addressed more expeditiously. Again study groups are recommended, especially for those students finding the readings difficult; don’t forget, you can also discuss the readings as a group in the Lab with a teacher or tutor acting as facilitator.
Keep a vocabulary log for the semester and an error chart (taken from comments on essay assignments). List the words you need to look up in the dictionary, also list where you first encountered them: page, book and definition, also use the word in a sentence. You will turn this in with your portfolio electronically.
I do not expect students to confuse literal with free paraphrase (a literal paraphrase is plagiarism). Students should also not make confused word errors, sentence fragment errors, comma splice errors, subject verb agreement errors, errors in parallel structure, subject verb agreement errors, MLA citations errors, errors with ellipses, formatting an essays—margins, headings, etc. If you are not clear on what I mean, again I suggest you take my Stewart Pidd Experience workshop Mondays 10:30 to 11:30 AM.
Students are expected to complete work on time. If you need more time on an assignment, discuss this with me in advance to keep full credit. Again certain assignments, such as in-class essays cannot be made up. All assignments are to be typed, 12-pt. font, double-spaced lines, indentations on paragraphs, 1-inch margins around the written work (see Hacker: The Writing Process; Document Design.)
In class writing is to be written in ink—blue or black, then typed for inclusion in portfolio or posting on blog: http://poeticsrapandtothersocialdiscourses.blogspot.com/
Cheating
Plagiarism is ethically abhorrent, and if any student tries to take credit for work authored by another person the result will be a failed grade on the assignment and possibly a failed grade in the course if this is attempted again. This is a graded course.
Homework
If you do not identify the assignment, I cannot grade it. If you do not return the original assignment you revised, I cannot compare what changed. If you accidentally toss out or lose the original assignment, you get a zero on the assignment to be revised. I will not look at revisions without the original attached – no exceptions. Some student essays will be posted on-line at the website. Students will also have the option of submitting assignments via email: coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com
Textbooks Recap:
Gardner, Janet E. Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. Second Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
Grover, Linda Legarde. The Dance Boots. Athens, Georgia and London: The University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead Books, 2010. Print.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2007. Print. ISBN 0375714839
Bannerjee, Neelanjana and Summi Kaipa, Pireeni Sundaralingam. Ed. Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2010. Print.
Recommended
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Fourth or Fifth edition. Bedford/St. Martins. (If you don’t already have such a book.)
A college dictionary. I recommend American Heritage.
Additional materials
Along with a college dictionary, the prepared student needs pens with blue or black ink, along with a pencil for annotating texts, paper, a stapler or paper clips, floppy disks, a notebook, three hole punch, a folder for work-in-progress, and a divided binder to keep materials together.
Stay abreast of the news. Buy a daily paper. Listen to alternative radio:
KPFA 94.1 FM (Hardknock), KQED 88.5, KALW 91.7. Visit news websites: AllAfrica.com, Al Jazeera, CNN.com, AlterNet.org, Democracy Now.org, FlashPoints.org, CBS 60 Minutes.
This syllabus is subject to change based on instructor assessment of class progress.
Professor Wanda Sabir
In the Night
Women are out in the night.
They are cleaning streets
some are walking streets
coming home from work
othrs are working/
answering a call
rushing to the hospital
to bail someone out of jail
getting the forgotten loaf of bread
running from here to there
going to hang with the girls
enjoying the freedom of the club
relaxing from a hard day
of taking orders
sunny-side up
by tomorrow
in stilettos dressed to kill
with glistening lips
begging for kissers.
And some are just alone again in the dark
actually enjoying the moon.
What are you doing out so late Ma?
Being a woman, Officer,
being a woman.
--Myesha Jenkins from Dreams of Flight: A Collection of Poems, Geko Publishing 2011
Course code 21792 Lec 08:00-08:50 AM MTWTh Sabir C-211
Class Meetings: Jan. 25—May 17, 8-8:50 a.m., MTWTh
Drop dates: February 4, Full-Term Credit Classes and Receive a Refund. Note: Short-term and open-entry classes must be dropped within three days of the first class meeting to receive a refund. Feb. 5 last day to add. Feb. 11 last day to file for Pass/No pass. Feb. 16 last day to drop w/out a W. Drop February 24, Full-Term Credit Classes Without “W” Appearing on Transcript; April 25 (w/W) and no refund.
Holidays: Feb. 6, 17-20; May 18, May 30; Spring Break: April 2-8 M-Su Spring Recess
Final Exam Week: May 19-25. We have no sitting final. Portfolios are due by May 25, 12 noon electronically. Last day of semester May 25, 2012.
Class blog: http://poeticsrapandtothersocialdiscourses.blogspot.com/
Syllabus for English 1B: College Composition
English 1B is a transferable college writing course. It builds on the competencies gained in English 1A with a more careful and studied analysis of expository writing based on readings of selected plays, poems, novels, and short fiction.
Writing is a social activity, especially the type of writing you’ll be doing here. We always consider our audience, have purpose or reason to write, and use research to substantiate our claims, even those we are considered experts in.
We’re supposed to write about 8000 words or so at this level course. The 8000 words over the semester (not per essay) include drafts. What this amounts to is time at home writing, time in the library on campus and public libraries too. Students will be researching, and reading documents to increase his or her facility with the ideas or themes he or she is contemplating, before he or she once again sits at his or her desk writing, revising, and writing some more.
Writing is a lonely process. No one can write for you. The social aspect comes into play once you are finished and you have an opportunity to share.
We are practicing skills which you developed in English 1A. The difference is we are looking at literature and analyzing other genres, in our case: poetry, fiction, music, theatre, visual arts, and dance. In order to do justice to the topics you chose to explore, the writer cannot ignore the history of the genre nor its current discourses or new roots.
I will be looking at the writing, but more than this I will be paying attention to the scholarship, which is why each essay has to include a citation from a scholarly article—4-10+ pages.
Your essays can use multiple styles . . . be creative. However, I need to know that you know how to write an essay, so save the creative work for last (smile). And if you plan to deviate from the norm, don’t surprise me, share the idea with me first.
We are going to read a book or play every few weeks. We start with short fiction and then move into a novel, dramatic literature, another novel and conclude with poetry. I am going to show you a film. We finish with students selecting writing outside of the assigned readings and writing a research analysis based on the work. The selection can be two short poems or a longer one, a novel, another play or a short story.
On Thursdays we will have critiques when an essay is due. More on this later. We will practice writing research analyses mid-semester. Students will grade each other based on a rubric.
Office Hours
I am a phone person, so when I give you my telephone number, use it. My office is D-219, (510) 748-2286 (office phone). If you are a poor writer, get a tutor. We will have minimal revisions, like none unless the essay is horrible—students only get 1-2 BAD ESSAY DAYs (and the penalty is writing a correction essay, plus revising the essay). We will do peer reviews. I want to see polished work. Last semester, students did poorly on their first essay. I don’t know, maybe it was the topic, Indian boarding schools, substance abuse, assimilation, who knows . . . find a topic that interests you; however, if you hate the stories and its characters, well then I don’t know what to tell you (smile).
Methodology
We will use Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide, Second Edition by Janet E. Gardner in the class. There is a chapter for each genre of literature we will examine. We will review a chapter every week or two. The first section of the book reviews the writing process.
Keep a reading log/journal/notes containing key ideas outlined for each discussion section, along with vocabulary and key arguments listed, along with primary writing strategies employed: description, process analysis, narration, argument, cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, problem solving. I will collect these typed notes electronically with the completed essays. The essays will be submitted electronically. Type all your notes and in-class writing assignments.
I repeat: each book or play will have a corresponding essay. There will also be a series of short 250 word essay responses posted on the class blog pertaining to each piece of literature. Students have a choice of writing a new paper or expanding the cyber-assignment into a longer work. Each research paper will be between 3-4 pages long. This includes a works cited page.
Again, the final is an oral presentation of one’s paper or a defense of one’s thesis. The student portfolio is the FINAL for the class. We will talk about this more. If any students are creative writers and wants to lead a workshop, let me know (smile).
Each student will have to attend a literary event of his or her choosing: lecture or author event, play or film. We can attend an event together or separately. The writing assignment will be an analysis/critique, like a review . . . but a bit deeper. I suggest students read published reviews beforehand to prepare for the task. This essay will be minimally two (2) pages or 500 words, not including a works cited page with minimally two (2) sources. All essays have to have 1 citation per page, so in the case of a two page essay, that is two citations (period).
Essay research requirements
Each essay needs to use at least 2-3 outside sources which should include at least one (1) scholarly article along with other material (taken from the COA on-line Library Database (if possible). Each essay should also include One (1) direct quote, one (1) free-paraphrase and one (1) block quote—one citation per page—no more, no less. Each essay also needs to include a works cited page and a bibliography. It needs to be perfect. We will practice this in class. We will write many of the shorter essays in class or for homework. The task should be simple once students decide which four (4) elements they’d like to respond to in depth.
I am making an assumption that students know how to correctly document their sources using MLA. Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers or text. At this level, I expect students to know how to write passing essays at the first submission. Submit your best work the first time. Don’t submit drafts, masquerading as polished work. I am serious.
Midterm
One of the essays will be the midterm, possibly fiction maybe dramatic literature (smile).
Jot down briefly what your goals are this semester and action steps to get there. Separate into what you can do alone or have control over and what you might not have control over and why.
List them in order of importance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Homework Assignment 1: E-mail introduction to me tomorrow, Tuesday, January 24. Send to coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com.
Homework Assignment con't:
Besides the usual: where are you from? What languages do you speak besides English? What child are you in the family? What are your hobbies? Why are you taking this class? What books have you read recently that took your breath away?
Include: your contact information: Name, Address, phone number, best e-mail address, best time to call and answers to these questions as well: What strengths do you bring to the class? What do you hope to obtain from the course – any particular exit skills? What do I need to know about you to help you meet your goals?
Homework Assignment 2:
Respond on the blog to the syllabus, so I have a record of your reading it. Make sure you include examples from the syllabus to support your points. The response is due by
Wednesday, January 25.
Write a comment to me regarding the syllabus: your impressions, whether you think it is reasonable, questions, suggestions. This is our contract, I need to know you read it and understand the agreement. Include the understanding that to pass the class you have to have your materials by day 1, no later than the end of the week.
Grading
Essays: 55 percent of grade
Short Story
1. The Dance Boots by Linda Legarde Grover is the text for the short story unit. Each unit includes the definitive essay, plus in-class writing, group writing and blog assignments.
The Novel
2-3. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok and The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is the text for the fiction unit (2 essays), plus a film.
Dramatic Literature:
4. Ruined or some other selection (handout).
Poetry Unit
5. Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry edited by Neelanjana Bannerjee, Summi Kaipa, and Pireeni Sundaralingam
6. Final essay –student choice
Portfolio: 25 percent
Participation: 20 percent
What do I mean by participation? This includes preparation and active participation in group assignments, blog responses and posted comments; discussion group preparedness, attitude and leadership. To post comments select “ANONYMOUS” and then type your name in the post. Students do not need to get Gmail accounts.
To encourage participation, and for this, students have to be prepared, I weighed the preparedness and participation strongly which means I will be taking notes when students do not do their homework. If you are in a group where students are pretending to be prepared when they are not, drop me an anonymous note. If a student is absent, he or she cannot make up in-class assignments such as group work, freewrites, presentations, etc.
Portfolio Suggestion
Students can start a personal blog for the class and send me the link for your portfolio at the end of the course. This is not the only type of portfolio. The other is to submit a word document with the semester's writing.
Quizzes
I am not above pop quizzes on readings. Remember, this plan can change in a twinkling of the eye, if we find it isn’t working.
Writing Center
The Writing Center is a great place to get one-on-on assistance on your essays, from brainstorming and planning the essays, to critique in areas like clarity, organization, clearly stated thesis, evidence or support, logical conclusions, and grammatical problems. In the Writing Center there are ancillary materials for student use. These writing programs build strong writing muscles. The Bedford Handbook on-line, Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers on-line, Townsend Press, and other such computer and cyber-based resources are a few of the many databases available. There is also an Open Lab for checking e-mail, a Math Lab. All academic labs are located in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) or library. The Cyber Café is located in the F-bldg.
Again, students need a student ID to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free. Ask in Student Services (A-bldg.) where photos are taken.
Have a tutor of teacher sign off on your essays before you turn them in; if you have a “R,” which means revision necessary for a grade or “NC” which means “no credit,” you have to go to the lab and revise the essay with a tutor or teacher before you return both the graded original and the revision (with signature) to me. Revise does not mean “rewrite,” it means to “see again.”
When getting assistance on an essay, the teacher or tutor is not an editor, so have questions prepared for them to make best use of the 15-20 minute session in the Lab. I will give you a handout which looks at 5 areas of the essay you can use as a guide when shaping your questions for your peer review sessions. Please use these guidelines when planning your discussions with me also.
For more specific assistance, sign up for one-on-one tutoring, another free service. For those of you on other campuses, you can get assistance at the Merritt College’s Writing Center, as well as Laney College’s Writing Labs.
Correction Essays & Essay Narratives
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done, that is, a detailed list of the error(s) and its correction; a student can prepare this as a part of the Lab visit, especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take. Cite from a scholarly source the rule and recommendations for its correction.
Students can also visit me in office hours for assistance; again, prepare your questions in advance to best make use of the time. Do not leave class without understanding the comments on a paper. I don’t mind reviewing them with you.
Student Learning Outcomes
Student Learning Outcomes include a better facility with written communication which includes critical thinking, analysis and of course comprehension. Such tools help us make better choices and decisions about our lives and the lives of those persons we are responsible for. Hopefully students will gain an appreciation for the literary arts beyond what is due for the course. Education is not limited to the classroom; rather an implicit goal is always to trigger a desire in students to continue the cultural pursuit after transfer, after graduation, after career goals are met. Reading and writing are skills one does have to practice to prevent dullness, so another goal and SLO for this course is for students to know how to keep their tools ready for use which might translate into keeping a journal once the semester ends, reading more for pleasure, going to literary events, and/or hanging onto some of the course reference books like Diana Hacker's Rules for Writers.
English language fluency in writing and reading; a certain comfort and ease with the language; confidence and skillful application of literary skills associated with academic writing. Familiarity if not mastery of the rhetorical styles used in argumentation, exposition and narration will be addressed in this class and is a key student learning outcome (SLO).
We will be evaluating what we know and how we came to know what we know, a field called epistemology or the study of knowledge. Granted, the perspective is western culture which eliminates the values of the majority populations, so-called underdeveloped or undeveloped countries or cultures. Let us not fall into typical superiority traps. Try to maintain a mental elasticity and a willingness to let go of concepts which not only limit your growth as an intelligent being, but put you at a distinct disadvantage as a species.
This is a highly charged and potentially revolutionary process - critical thinking. The process of evaluating all that you swallowed without chewing up to now is possibly even dangerous. This is one of the problems with bigotry; it’s easier to go with tradition than toss it, and create a new, more just, alternative protocol.
Last words on Grades
We will be honest with one another. Grades are not necessarily an honest response to work; grades do not take into consideration the effort or time spent, only whether or not students can demonstrate mastery of a skill - in this case: essay writing. Grades are an approximation, arbitrary at best, no matter how many safeguards one tries to put in place to avoid such ambiguity. Suffice it to say, your portfolio will illustrate your competence. It will represent your progress, your success or failure this semester in meeting your goal.
Office Hours: D219
I’d like to wish everyone much success. I am available for consultation on Monday/Wednesdays, 10:30-11:30 AM and 3-4 PM and on MTWTh 3-5 p.m. by appointment. My office is located in the D-216 suite. I have an office phone, but do not leave messages on it. Call me on my cell phone and leave a message. My email again is: coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com Let me know the day before, if possible, when you’d like to meet with me. I am more of a phone person.
I am a phone person, especially on weekends, so take time to exchange email and phone numbers with classmates (3), so if you have a concern, it can be addressed more expeditiously. Again study groups are recommended, especially for those students finding the readings difficult; don’t forget, you can also discuss the readings as a group in the Lab with a teacher or tutor acting as facilitator.
Keep a vocabulary log for the semester and an error chart (taken from comments on essay assignments). List the words you need to look up in the dictionary, also list where you first encountered them: page, book and definition, also use the word in a sentence. You will turn this in with your portfolio electronically.
I do not expect students to confuse literal with free paraphrase (a literal paraphrase is plagiarism). Students should also not make confused word errors, sentence fragment errors, comma splice errors, subject verb agreement errors, errors in parallel structure, subject verb agreement errors, MLA citations errors, errors with ellipses, formatting an essays—margins, headings, etc. If you are not clear on what I mean, again I suggest you take my Stewart Pidd Experience workshop Mondays 10:30 to 11:30 AM.
Students are expected to complete work on time. If you need more time on an assignment, discuss this with me in advance to keep full credit. Again certain assignments, such as in-class essays cannot be made up. All assignments are to be typed, 12-pt. font, double-spaced lines, indentations on paragraphs, 1-inch margins around the written work (see Hacker: The Writing Process; Document Design.)
In class writing is to be written in ink—blue or black, then typed for inclusion in portfolio or posting on blog: http://poeticsrapandtothersocialdiscourses.blogspot.com/
Cheating
Plagiarism is ethically abhorrent, and if any student tries to take credit for work authored by another person the result will be a failed grade on the assignment and possibly a failed grade in the course if this is attempted again. This is a graded course.
Homework
If you do not identify the assignment, I cannot grade it. If you do not return the original assignment you revised, I cannot compare what changed. If you accidentally toss out or lose the original assignment, you get a zero on the assignment to be revised. I will not look at revisions without the original attached – no exceptions. Some student essays will be posted on-line at the website. Students will also have the option of submitting assignments via email: coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com
Textbooks Recap:
Gardner, Janet E. Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. Second Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
Grover, Linda Legarde. The Dance Boots. Athens, Georgia and London: The University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead Books, 2010. Print.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2007. Print. ISBN 0375714839
Bannerjee, Neelanjana and Summi Kaipa, Pireeni Sundaralingam. Ed. Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2010. Print.
Recommended
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Fourth or Fifth edition. Bedford/St. Martins. (If you don’t already have such a book.)
A college dictionary. I recommend American Heritage.
Additional materials
Along with a college dictionary, the prepared student needs pens with blue or black ink, along with a pencil for annotating texts, paper, a stapler or paper clips, floppy disks, a notebook, three hole punch, a folder for work-in-progress, and a divided binder to keep materials together.
Stay abreast of the news. Buy a daily paper. Listen to alternative radio:
KPFA 94.1 FM (Hardknock), KQED 88.5, KALW 91.7. Visit news websites: AllAfrica.com, Al Jazeera, CNN.com, AlterNet.org, Democracy Now.org, FlashPoints.org, CBS 60 Minutes.
This syllabus is subject to change based on instructor assessment of class progress.
Syllabus Letter
22 January 2012
Dear Students:
I am still on South Africa time waking at two and four in the morning. The time difference is about 10 hours between here and there. It was great when I needed a bit more time to complete something, I could go to bed and wake up in the same day—different time zone. I got up today at 4 a.m. went to sleep yesterday about six or seven in the evening. Today is my granddaughter’s birthday. She is nine. Her mother is a graduate of COA: psychology, with a BS in psychology and women’s studies from Cal State East Bay (2011).
This morning I completed a wonderful book, might I say, a mighty work (smile), entitled, Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War, A Memoir, by Leyman Gbowee with Carol Mithers.
When I watched the film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, directed by Gini Reticker, produced by Abigail E. Disney, I marveled over the courage of the Liberian women to defeat the Charles Taylor war machine with prayer and nonviolent resistance. The women assembled along the road where the president’s caravan passed twice daily. Dressed in plain white garments, these women, from the city, from the countryside, rural women, educated and uneducated women, Christian and Muslim women, women who called on the ancient indigenous spirits and goddesses, sat or stood together in the oppressive heat and in the summer storms getting wet and growing dark and weak as they became the key voice for peace in a country that was violently spinning out of control. The film is on-line at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/full-episodes/pray-the-devil-back-to-hell/ There are also links to other films in the series: Women, War and Peace, as well as to interviews with Ms. Gbowee.
Unlike her memoir, the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell, is a heroines’ story, the story of a nation which is confronted by its most vulnerable population, its women. It is a story, Liberia’s quest for peace is a story, a story which ends as it begins. The film could be a miniseries; the culminating event is not the end, rather the beginning, which we’d never know unless we read 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Gbowee’s tale of triumph and personal sacrifice. I am happy Abigail Disney told me about the memoir when we last spoke in a radio interview—what a wonderful journey is has been this weekend. I am just disappointed I wasn’t able to meet Ms. Gbowee when she was here on tour last year.
I bought the book at the college book store Thursday where I have it listed as required. I assigned it for my English 1A class, along with Half the Sky, the Pulitzer Prize winning book from the married team, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Students either hate the book or love it. I never know what to expect from Spring semester to Spring semester over the past three years. One criticism is the formulaic nature of the book and the fact that men are not key characters and when they are, they are often the villains.
I assigned this book after seeing the authors and a woman profiled in Half the Sky on Oprah. You can imagine my great surprise when a student told me its authors were hosting a global event for International Women’s Day in theatres throughout the country. We attended of course. Locally our event was in Emeryville. Students bought tickets and I got some free ones from a sponsoring organization in San Francisco and we went. Students said they found the film and discussion inspiring.
We will start with Gbowee and then shift into the Kristof WuDunn land where all women are suffering— Yes, it would be depressing without evidence of triumph. Gbowee’s success is not singular, that is why her story is so remarkable. However, Half the Sky is unable to go into such depth, this is why we are reading her story first.
Students in English 1A will look for a woman entrepreneur in Northern California to profile in an essay. Students will also chose a book about the woman entrepreneur or a book by a woman to write an essay exploring the memoir, autobiography or novel’s themes and topics as relates to women’s empowerment or peace. These are the major essays for English 1A. We will write a series of short essays and post on the blog, these cyber-assignments will often start in class. All cyber-assignment are interactive and students have to respond to minimally 1-3 students posts for credit for the assignment. The first cyber assignment is a response to this letter, the second is a response to the syllabus. The second response includes a private response to me. My email addresses are: coasabirenglish201@gmail.com, coasabirenglish1A@gmail.com, coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com, coasabirenglish5@gmail.com
I love memoirs and autobiographies that cover political, social and historic movements, like this one does. The Warmth of Other Suns does a similar job, except Isabel Wilkerson didn’t live it, as Gbowee does. A short book, just under 250 pages, Gbowee’s work addressed in the award winning film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, doesn’t start until the book is nearly two thirds finished. I thought of all the murder mysteries I love where the crime is solved in the last ten pages; was this one of those reads?
Each Spring in honor of Women’s History Month in March, I have used women’s issues as the theme for the semester. So here we are again. In English 5 we are looking more are the criminalization of a population in California and in America, poor people of color, more specifically black people. California incarcerates more youth as adults than any other state and more women. I am concerned about this. I am a member of an organization called, California Coalition for Women Prisoners. We are an advocacy organization. I serve on its board.
Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, looks at the criminalization of a population and how this tale is not new when one looks at the historic Jim Crow polices of America’s south, instituted at the end of enslavement of an entire race for four centuries. Cornell West’s forward to the paperback edition is quite provocative as he raises questions and issues you might not be familiar with. As English 5 meets for 1 hour and 15 minutes. We will have to do a lot of preparation at home and come to class ready to talk and discuss what we have read, the theories we have explored in our text book or in other readings I will supply on other argument forms: Toulmin and Aristotelian. Writing Logically, Thinking Critically only uses the Rogerian argumentative form.
We will write four arguments using these forms. The last argument, which takes its theme from Alexander, will be an opportunity for a student to craft an argument using one of the three explored. There might be an opportunity for the “super students” to craft an argument taking on a topic they disagree with arguing its merits. Since this is an election year, it will be fun analyzing campaign speeches, looking for examples of logical fallacies or flawed logic in ads, op eds and other media.
All arguments are both written and oral. Students will present their written arguments for critique. Each of three arguments will take their topic from one of the texts. We will start with Yummy, then move to Mosely, and end with Alexander. Alexander is a hard read, so if you are a slow reader, start it early.
We are leaving Alexander for last, as I’d like to get through much of Writing Logically, along with its exercises, before we start the book. I love Walter Mosely’s work. He is one of my favorite writers since the Easy Rawlins’ series of detective novels, to his science fiction work, and lately his protagonist Socrates Fortlow novels, Fortlow who is just as thoughtful as Ezekiel "Easy" Porterhouse Rawlins, perhaps more.
One of my students in English 1A Fall 2010, shared the title with me and I checked it out from the Oakland Public Library. I read it in a day and a half and immediately decided to use it this Spring Semester. The argument is classic. How many of you ever thought the destination “hell” as negotiable (smile)? Well, Mosely’s character disagrees with his sentence and gets sent back to earth to work it out with his angel. There he meets the devil or Lucifer himself. It is a great story that makes the reader rethink her notion of right and wrong, good and evil.
When I was in Los Angeles last year in November to say good bye to a good friend who was dying, I went to the Holocaust Museum that Sunday, where the author of Yummy was receiving a book award. I hadn’t known the story of the child in Chicago. After reading Yummy, I decided to make it one of our texts this semester as it is an easy read and a story—those of us who live in urban communities can undoubtedly, unfortunately, relate to.
I also like films and in the classes longer than 50 minutes, we watch a few (smile). For English 1A, we will definitely watch, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, even if it takes two classes or I might assign it as homework (we’ll see).
Sandra Cisneros’s House on Mango Street, first, Yummy, second, and last, Always Running. Students will also read a book, a memoir of their own choosing. I suggest the sequel to Always Running, It Calls You Back.
There will be a Social Entrepreneur Essay for English 201 and English 1A students.
In English 201, we will take our freewrites in response to House on Mango Street and make a book. We’ll have a book release party with refreshments (smile). There will be five major essays, three tied to assigned textbooks, one tied to a memoir you choose, the last on the social entrepreneur.
Four of the five essays involve presentations: House on Mango Street, Always Running, SE Essay, Book Report Essay. The response to Yummy can be a graphic essay for the artistically inclined (smile). In English 201 we might read the play, Elephant Man. I see this play and its character as a metaphor for what happened to the protagonist in Yummy and what happened to Luis Rodríguez in Always Running.
I chose Always Running after many years of not teaching it, because of the recent by the author, whom I had the opportunity to interview when he was in town last November on a book tour. I loved teaching his Always Running, a classic tale similar to Down These Mean Streets by the late poet and author, Piri Thomas, Claude Brown’s Manchild in the Promised Land, Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman, and more recently, The Pact by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt with Lisa Frazier Page, and The Color of Water by James McBride. These coming of age tales about young men, are stories where growing up is not a given for the men who tell these stories, so how they survive proves instructive then and now.
In English 1A we will read the Greek play, Lysistrata. I also have a collection of poetry with the theme, war, which we will look at in English 1A in March as well.
I hope we can attend at least one play or author event as a community of writers. I will let students know what is opening and where. You can let me know of events you are attending as well. Films are also great, especially when the director is present or there is a discussion before or afterward.
Some students are not receiving this communiqués from me, which means, said student has no email address on file with admissions and records. Correct this omission immediately. Add an email address to your application. Make sure the phone numbers listed are the ones you are able to be reached at.
I have be using the book Stewart Pidd Hates English for too many years to recall when I started exactly, but suffice it to say over the years, “The Pidd Experience,” which many students hate as well as Pidd, has become a trademark text I have become well-known for on this campus and perhaps in the District (smile). It is a book that through a series of prescriptive exercises and essays covers many of the more salient errors writing students make which give their college teachers the most grief. The errors reviewed are both grammatical and mechanical, with an overview of summary and paraphrasing most third semester students have forgotten, not to mention a mind expanding section on plagiarism, which some scholars are not serious enough about, a slight which often comes back to haunt many a student as he or she crams at the end of the semester.
Deceptively simple, SPHE grows steadily more complex until the student who has been simply gliding along runs into major difficulty. This is around the third or fourth essays, Pronoun Case or BeVerbs. The fictional character, Stewart Pidd, supplies all the course work and students act as his teachers, grading his essays and offering comments on how he can improve by naming the errors and giving an example(s) of how he can correct the essays. These corrective essays are written as templates, which means there is little space for creativity, rather, the correct essay looks like everyone else’s, with perhaps originality in the title or often in the concluding paragraph. Many students cannot believe how simple the task is, until this simplicity is shattered by failing grades.
The essays are nonsense essays, which enable students to focus on the writing, rather than the content. This to fosters in students a false sense of competence failing grades quickly shatter. It isn’t the difficulty that gets students; it is the attention to detail that gets them over and over again.
Last semester, for the first time, I had students write an essay called, “The Stewart Pidd Experience.” I also had students write an essay where they evaluated their two grammar exams in an essay. This was a part of the class portfolio which is our final assignment. There is no sitting final in this class.
I have decided to not require Pidd for Spring Semester, except as a recommendation for all students who have never used the book before. The only class where this is not true is English 201 where I am making SPHE required. For everyone else, if your essays include errors covered in Pidd, students will have to write a correction essay outlining their errors, how to correct them and a revised essay.
The errors covered in SPHE are: confused words, sentence punctuation, pronoun agreement, pronoun case, be-verbs, possessives, verb tense, parallel structure, MLA, plagiarism, paraphrasing, summarizing, ellipsis use, signal phrases, works cited pages.
I plan to give students the quizzes and the exams, just so you can know if you need to get the book and run the exercises. Beginning Week 2, I will host a six week workshop on MW mornings (10:30-11:30) for students interested in “The Pidd Experience.” I could possibly host a meeting also on M or W afternoons, after 3 p.m., let’s say, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., if more than 5 students are interested. Students do not have to be in English 201 to attend. One has to commit to the entire six weeks though. The workshop is open to all Sabir students. Students in my English 1B class last semester who did not buy a grammar style book and made many errors up to the portfolio in MLA from works cited pages to ellipsis marks, received Bs instead of As in the course. For English 1A, it was crucial that students cited correctly. This is a key goal of Freshman composition. After English 1A, students are expected to know how to cite their sources and understand the importance of scholarly research when proving a point. Students are also expected to know the difference between free and literal paraphrasing, summarizing and plagiarism. It is that serious that students who are scholars know this information, so if you don’t look at the book—SPHE, and think about this short refresher workshop. Here at the College of Alameda students can enroll in Grammar 6 in the ESL department.
I am teaching four classes: English 1B, 21792, 8-8:50 AM, MTWTh in C211; English 1A, 21757, 9-9:50 AM, MTWTh, A-202; English 5, 21763 & English 211, 21777, 11-12:15 AM, TTh, A-202; English 201A 21768 & English 201B 21774, MW, A 202, 1-2:50 PM. (The two classes ENG 201A & ENG 201B, as well as ENG 5 and ENG 211, run concurrently.)
As usual, I am looking to hold one class a week in a lab with computers so students can learn to navigate the blog and how I want essay portfolios sent to me.
If you do not have technology at home, use the computers here on campus in the LRC. There is the Open Lab and the Writing Center for your use. All you need is a Student ID, which is free. Make sure you get on early on. Students also need to sign up for a special LRC course, which is also free. Do this early in the semester as well.
For first year students, I suggest you fit College Success at COA into your schedules: Counseling 21739, MW 12-1:15, 3 Units, in C-113, with Cobb or Counseling 21738, MW 9:30-10:45, in CV-205 (portables) with Nakmo. Similar classes are offered at Laney and Merritt colleges (Peralta Colleges 2012 Schedule of Classes 96). There is a Grammar class at Laney: 20428 6-8:50 PM, Eng. 206A, English Grammar, 3 units (Peralta Colleges 2012 Spring Schedule of Classes 107).
In all except the English 5 or Critical Thinking class, I am using a new book, I hope students like or at least find useful, They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. Oh, no, students might cry, another book that uses templates?! What is wrong with Sabir, doesn’t she trust original thought (smile). You won’t believe this, but this book has been sitting on my desk for at least five years, maybe more and it wasn’t until a former student of mine, now professor, Maria Acuna, shared it with me last semester, did I decide to try it.
I have been reading it this weekend as well and I like the premise the authors use to explain why they wrote it. Granted, templates can get tiresome, but for those who are familiar with Stewart Pidd Hates English, these templates are nothing like the ones Pollitt and Baker use. Rest assured there (smile). Instead, this book helps students enter the discourse or conversation, often one which has been raging or simmering or bubbling over for a short or long while, a conversation you have never entered, however, one which affects your life in profound ways. Why haven’t you joined in? Often, the reason certain communities are not called to the table or invited to participate is intentional. The reason is, to do so doesn’t serve the interests of the body politic at the table.
Whether one is invited or not, whether one has a chair or not, whether one has the proper suit or proper language with which to engage those at the table using one’s life as a ping pong, the conversation is open in a democracy and it is yours to join even in an assignment for a class such as ours. I have students who have used their writing here to launch careers in politics. I have had students publish writing completed here in class in newspapers and respected journals. We are working in a laboratory where results can actually change lives beginning with our own. What you learn here is not “academic” if academic means useless. Each of you is a change agent; that is why you took time out of your life to show up.
Showing up is important. We all showed up for different reasons, some not as lofty as others, but you are here and because you are here, I expect great work from you. That is my goal and that is why and I am here and when you start hating me, remember, the promise I made to you here: meritocracy will never get a reward in this class. There is no grading on the curve. Everyone is held to a high standard and while I set the bar, well the State of California sets the bar and some of you will not reach it this time— keep trying and you will eventually.
The class might appear disorganized and I smile a lot and seem easy, this is an illusion. I am not easy. I demand a lot from each of you, but this is college—and you expect huge demands right? Don’t worry, I think you will get your money’s worth and then some. I do not assign writing assignments because I have nothing better to do. I can think or many tasks I love more than reading first drafts of students’ papers—you think they are final drafts, but they are not. I am a professional writer and I know what I am doing, so trust me when I tell you something is wrong. It is not personal, rather it is the writing not you I am critiquing. Some students enter the class with more skill sets than others. Some expect success in high school to tide them over here, and have rude awakenings. My suggestion is to come to class awake and sleep at home the night before.
I hope students surprise me and actually know a bit about the writing process and can read with comprehension and most importantly, are not lazy. You can enroll in this class not knowing everything, but if you do not exert yourself and fill in those spaces where perhaps time or preparation left you under-ready then, I expect you to get the extra help needed, whether that is attending my “Pidd Experience” workshop or a getting a tutor or both.
Be honest with yourself and do what you need to do to be successful here. Do not waste your time or your classmates. I will not let you waste mine or theirs or use my brain as your own. I do not suffer fools at all. Some students say I am rude, perhaps I am; however, when students are not prepared and want to waste the time of those who are, I cut them off. I am not interested in anything an unprepared student has to say. If you ever come to class unprepared, keep silent. Do not open your mouth except to tell us you are not prepared and are just observing that day.
I have to pay out of pocket for an assistant to help me with record keeping. I haven’t had a student aide in years to help students with their essays, so it’s on me and you. If you need help I can help you to a point—there is no magic. I am a great writer because I write and I kept writing when I got failing grades, had to take remedial writing classes at UC Berkeley, and got failing grades on first drafts at Holy Names.
Believe it or not, I didn’t know what a thesis sentence was until graduate school Teaching Writing course. I do not have hours to spend with one student a week, but you can get assistance, so ask when there are questions. I think faster than I write sometimes and I am an awful speller. No one is perfect. Learn what your strengths are. I have an almost photographic memory. Writing things down is a way for me to record them in my mind almost verbatim. I don’t hold hands and after last semester, a deadline is a deadline even if only one student makes it, so keep the due dates in your calendar, just in case I forget to remind you when something is due.
The blog is a place where reminders tend to go, but if you have limited access to the web, take good notes from the white board and get a few students phones numbers just in case. I suggest students hold study sessions to discuss readings and assignments. The library (first floor in the LRC or Learning Resource Center) has classrooms students can use for discussions.
Each class has varying requirements for the writing, which is about 6-8,000 words. I tend to assign more writing. In English 1A, students will have several short research essays, rather than one long essay. Each essay in English 1A will be about 3-4 pages, 250 words a page. In English 5 3-4 pages per essay. This is minimally. Essays can be a bit longer. In English 201 essays will be between 2-5 pages depending on the level. English 1B, 3-4 pages. This excludes the works cited page.
I am giving you all this in advance so you can drop the course and find a better fit.
Recap on textbooks. Find your class:
1. English 5: Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow; Walter Mosley's The Tempest Tales; Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, and Writing Logically, Thinking Critically 6th Edition. Recommended: Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary.
2.English 1B:
Gardner, Janet E. Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. Second Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
Grover, Linda Legarde. The Dance Boots. Athens, Georgia and London: The University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead Books, 2010. Print.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2007. Print. ISBN 0375714839
Bannerjee, Neelanjana and Summi Kaipa, Pireeni Sundaralingam. Ed. Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2010. Print.
Recommended: Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers, 4-7th editions. American Heritage Dictionary.
3. English 1A: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn; Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War by Leymah Gbowee, Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary. They Say, I Say, Second Edition, by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein.
Recommended for students who have not taken my classes before: Stewart Pidd Hates English.
4. English 201A: Stewart Pidd Hates English*, Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Always Running: Gang Days in LA by Luis Rodriguez. American Heritage Dictionary.
English 201B: for Pidd Alumni: Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers and They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein. If a student has not had me for English 201A then Pidd is recommended.
Sincerely,
Wanda Sabir
English Professor, College of Alameda
Dear Students:
I am still on South Africa time waking at two and four in the morning. The time difference is about 10 hours between here and there. It was great when I needed a bit more time to complete something, I could go to bed and wake up in the same day—different time zone. I got up today at 4 a.m. went to sleep yesterday about six or seven in the evening. Today is my granddaughter’s birthday. She is nine. Her mother is a graduate of COA: psychology, with a BS in psychology and women’s studies from Cal State East Bay (2011).
This morning I completed a wonderful book, might I say, a mighty work (smile), entitled, Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War, A Memoir, by Leyman Gbowee with Carol Mithers.
When I watched the film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, directed by Gini Reticker, produced by Abigail E. Disney, I marveled over the courage of the Liberian women to defeat the Charles Taylor war machine with prayer and nonviolent resistance. The women assembled along the road where the president’s caravan passed twice daily. Dressed in plain white garments, these women, from the city, from the countryside, rural women, educated and uneducated women, Christian and Muslim women, women who called on the ancient indigenous spirits and goddesses, sat or stood together in the oppressive heat and in the summer storms getting wet and growing dark and weak as they became the key voice for peace in a country that was violently spinning out of control. The film is on-line at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/full-episodes/pray-the-devil-back-to-hell/ There are also links to other films in the series: Women, War and Peace, as well as to interviews with Ms. Gbowee.
Unlike her memoir, the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell, is a heroines’ story, the story of a nation which is confronted by its most vulnerable population, its women. It is a story, Liberia’s quest for peace is a story, a story which ends as it begins. The film could be a miniseries; the culminating event is not the end, rather the beginning, which we’d never know unless we read 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winner Gbowee’s tale of triumph and personal sacrifice. I am happy Abigail Disney told me about the memoir when we last spoke in a radio interview—what a wonderful journey is has been this weekend. I am just disappointed I wasn’t able to meet Ms. Gbowee when she was here on tour last year.
I bought the book at the college book store Thursday where I have it listed as required. I assigned it for my English 1A class, along with Half the Sky, the Pulitzer Prize winning book from the married team, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Students either hate the book or love it. I never know what to expect from Spring semester to Spring semester over the past three years. One criticism is the formulaic nature of the book and the fact that men are not key characters and when they are, they are often the villains.
I assigned this book after seeing the authors and a woman profiled in Half the Sky on Oprah. You can imagine my great surprise when a student told me its authors were hosting a global event for International Women’s Day in theatres throughout the country. We attended of course. Locally our event was in Emeryville. Students bought tickets and I got some free ones from a sponsoring organization in San Francisco and we went. Students said they found the film and discussion inspiring.
We will start with Gbowee and then shift into the Kristof WuDunn land where all women are suffering— Yes, it would be depressing without evidence of triumph. Gbowee’s success is not singular, that is why her story is so remarkable. However, Half the Sky is unable to go into such depth, this is why we are reading her story first.
Students in English 1A will look for a woman entrepreneur in Northern California to profile in an essay. Students will also chose a book about the woman entrepreneur or a book by a woman to write an essay exploring the memoir, autobiography or novel’s themes and topics as relates to women’s empowerment or peace. These are the major essays for English 1A. We will write a series of short essays and post on the blog, these cyber-assignments will often start in class. All cyber-assignment are interactive and students have to respond to minimally 1-3 students posts for credit for the assignment. The first cyber assignment is a response to this letter, the second is a response to the syllabus. The second response includes a private response to me. My email addresses are: coasabirenglish201@gmail.com, coasabirenglish1A@gmail.com, coasabirenglish1B@gmail.com, coasabirenglish5@gmail.com
I love memoirs and autobiographies that cover political, social and historic movements, like this one does. The Warmth of Other Suns does a similar job, except Isabel Wilkerson didn’t live it, as Gbowee does. A short book, just under 250 pages, Gbowee’s work addressed in the award winning film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, doesn’t start until the book is nearly two thirds finished. I thought of all the murder mysteries I love where the crime is solved in the last ten pages; was this one of those reads?
Each Spring in honor of Women’s History Month in March, I have used women’s issues as the theme for the semester. So here we are again. In English 5 we are looking more are the criminalization of a population in California and in America, poor people of color, more specifically black people. California incarcerates more youth as adults than any other state and more women. I am concerned about this. I am a member of an organization called, California Coalition for Women Prisoners. We are an advocacy organization. I serve on its board.
Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, looks at the criminalization of a population and how this tale is not new when one looks at the historic Jim Crow polices of America’s south, instituted at the end of enslavement of an entire race for four centuries. Cornell West’s forward to the paperback edition is quite provocative as he raises questions and issues you might not be familiar with. As English 5 meets for 1 hour and 15 minutes. We will have to do a lot of preparation at home and come to class ready to talk and discuss what we have read, the theories we have explored in our text book or in other readings I will supply on other argument forms: Toulmin and Aristotelian. Writing Logically, Thinking Critically only uses the Rogerian argumentative form.
We will write four arguments using these forms. The last argument, which takes its theme from Alexander, will be an opportunity for a student to craft an argument using one of the three explored. There might be an opportunity for the “super students” to craft an argument taking on a topic they disagree with arguing its merits. Since this is an election year, it will be fun analyzing campaign speeches, looking for examples of logical fallacies or flawed logic in ads, op eds and other media.
All arguments are both written and oral. Students will present their written arguments for critique. Each of three arguments will take their topic from one of the texts. We will start with Yummy, then move to Mosely, and end with Alexander. Alexander is a hard read, so if you are a slow reader, start it early.
We are leaving Alexander for last, as I’d like to get through much of Writing Logically, along with its exercises, before we start the book. I love Walter Mosely’s work. He is one of my favorite writers since the Easy Rawlins’ series of detective novels, to his science fiction work, and lately his protagonist Socrates Fortlow novels, Fortlow who is just as thoughtful as Ezekiel "Easy" Porterhouse Rawlins, perhaps more.
One of my students in English 1A Fall 2010, shared the title with me and I checked it out from the Oakland Public Library. I read it in a day and a half and immediately decided to use it this Spring Semester. The argument is classic. How many of you ever thought the destination “hell” as negotiable (smile)? Well, Mosely’s character disagrees with his sentence and gets sent back to earth to work it out with his angel. There he meets the devil or Lucifer himself. It is a great story that makes the reader rethink her notion of right and wrong, good and evil.
When I was in Los Angeles last year in November to say good bye to a good friend who was dying, I went to the Holocaust Museum that Sunday, where the author of Yummy was receiving a book award. I hadn’t known the story of the child in Chicago. After reading Yummy, I decided to make it one of our texts this semester as it is an easy read and a story—those of us who live in urban communities can undoubtedly, unfortunately, relate to.
I also like films and in the classes longer than 50 minutes, we watch a few (smile). For English 1A, we will definitely watch, Pray the Devil Back to Hell, even if it takes two classes or I might assign it as homework (we’ll see).
Sandra Cisneros’s House on Mango Street, first, Yummy, second, and last, Always Running. Students will also read a book, a memoir of their own choosing. I suggest the sequel to Always Running, It Calls You Back.
There will be a Social Entrepreneur Essay for English 201 and English 1A students.
In English 201, we will take our freewrites in response to House on Mango Street and make a book. We’ll have a book release party with refreshments (smile). There will be five major essays, three tied to assigned textbooks, one tied to a memoir you choose, the last on the social entrepreneur.
Four of the five essays involve presentations: House on Mango Street, Always Running, SE Essay, Book Report Essay. The response to Yummy can be a graphic essay for the artistically inclined (smile). In English 201 we might read the play, Elephant Man. I see this play and its character as a metaphor for what happened to the protagonist in Yummy and what happened to Luis Rodríguez in Always Running.
I chose Always Running after many years of not teaching it, because of the recent by the author, whom I had the opportunity to interview when he was in town last November on a book tour. I loved teaching his Always Running, a classic tale similar to Down These Mean Streets by the late poet and author, Piri Thomas, Claude Brown’s Manchild in the Promised Land, Brothers and Keepers by John Edgar Wideman, and more recently, The Pact by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt with Lisa Frazier Page, and The Color of Water by James McBride. These coming of age tales about young men, are stories where growing up is not a given for the men who tell these stories, so how they survive proves instructive then and now.
In English 1A we will read the Greek play, Lysistrata. I also have a collection of poetry with the theme, war, which we will look at in English 1A in March as well.
I hope we can attend at least one play or author event as a community of writers. I will let students know what is opening and where. You can let me know of events you are attending as well. Films are also great, especially when the director is present or there is a discussion before or afterward.
Some students are not receiving this communiqués from me, which means, said student has no email address on file with admissions and records. Correct this omission immediately. Add an email address to your application. Make sure the phone numbers listed are the ones you are able to be reached at.
I have be using the book Stewart Pidd Hates English for too many years to recall when I started exactly, but suffice it to say over the years, “The Pidd Experience,” which many students hate as well as Pidd, has become a trademark text I have become well-known for on this campus and perhaps in the District (smile). It is a book that through a series of prescriptive exercises and essays covers many of the more salient errors writing students make which give their college teachers the most grief. The errors reviewed are both grammatical and mechanical, with an overview of summary and paraphrasing most third semester students have forgotten, not to mention a mind expanding section on plagiarism, which some scholars are not serious enough about, a slight which often comes back to haunt many a student as he or she crams at the end of the semester.
Deceptively simple, SPHE grows steadily more complex until the student who has been simply gliding along runs into major difficulty. This is around the third or fourth essays, Pronoun Case or BeVerbs. The fictional character, Stewart Pidd, supplies all the course work and students act as his teachers, grading his essays and offering comments on how he can improve by naming the errors and giving an example(s) of how he can correct the essays. These corrective essays are written as templates, which means there is little space for creativity, rather, the correct essay looks like everyone else’s, with perhaps originality in the title or often in the concluding paragraph. Many students cannot believe how simple the task is, until this simplicity is shattered by failing grades.
The essays are nonsense essays, which enable students to focus on the writing, rather than the content. This to fosters in students a false sense of competence failing grades quickly shatter. It isn’t the difficulty that gets students; it is the attention to detail that gets them over and over again.
Last semester, for the first time, I had students write an essay called, “The Stewart Pidd Experience.” I also had students write an essay where they evaluated their two grammar exams in an essay. This was a part of the class portfolio which is our final assignment. There is no sitting final in this class.
I have decided to not require Pidd for Spring Semester, except as a recommendation for all students who have never used the book before. The only class where this is not true is English 201 where I am making SPHE required. For everyone else, if your essays include errors covered in Pidd, students will have to write a correction essay outlining their errors, how to correct them and a revised essay.
The errors covered in SPHE are: confused words, sentence punctuation, pronoun agreement, pronoun case, be-verbs, possessives, verb tense, parallel structure, MLA, plagiarism, paraphrasing, summarizing, ellipsis use, signal phrases, works cited pages.
I plan to give students the quizzes and the exams, just so you can know if you need to get the book and run the exercises. Beginning Week 2, I will host a six week workshop on MW mornings (10:30-11:30) for students interested in “The Pidd Experience.” I could possibly host a meeting also on M or W afternoons, after 3 p.m., let’s say, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., if more than 5 students are interested. Students do not have to be in English 201 to attend. One has to commit to the entire six weeks though. The workshop is open to all Sabir students. Students in my English 1B class last semester who did not buy a grammar style book and made many errors up to the portfolio in MLA from works cited pages to ellipsis marks, received Bs instead of As in the course. For English 1A, it was crucial that students cited correctly. This is a key goal of Freshman composition. After English 1A, students are expected to know how to cite their sources and understand the importance of scholarly research when proving a point. Students are also expected to know the difference between free and literal paraphrasing, summarizing and plagiarism. It is that serious that students who are scholars know this information, so if you don’t look at the book—SPHE, and think about this short refresher workshop. Here at the College of Alameda students can enroll in Grammar 6 in the ESL department.
I am teaching four classes: English 1B, 21792, 8-8:50 AM, MTWTh in C211; English 1A, 21757, 9-9:50 AM, MTWTh, A-202; English 5, 21763 & English 211, 21777, 11-12:15 AM, TTh, A-202; English 201A 21768 & English 201B 21774, MW, A 202, 1-2:50 PM. (The two classes ENG 201A & ENG 201B, as well as ENG 5 and ENG 211, run concurrently.)
As usual, I am looking to hold one class a week in a lab with computers so students can learn to navigate the blog and how I want essay portfolios sent to me.
If you do not have technology at home, use the computers here on campus in the LRC. There is the Open Lab and the Writing Center for your use. All you need is a Student ID, which is free. Make sure you get on early on. Students also need to sign up for a special LRC course, which is also free. Do this early in the semester as well.
For first year students, I suggest you fit College Success at COA into your schedules: Counseling 21739, MW 12-1:15, 3 Units, in C-113, with Cobb or Counseling 21738, MW 9:30-10:45, in CV-205 (portables) with Nakmo. Similar classes are offered at Laney and Merritt colleges (Peralta Colleges 2012 Schedule of Classes 96). There is a Grammar class at Laney: 20428 6-8:50 PM, Eng. 206A, English Grammar, 3 units (Peralta Colleges 2012 Spring Schedule of Classes 107).
In all except the English 5 or Critical Thinking class, I am using a new book, I hope students like or at least find useful, They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. Oh, no, students might cry, another book that uses templates?! What is wrong with Sabir, doesn’t she trust original thought (smile). You won’t believe this, but this book has been sitting on my desk for at least five years, maybe more and it wasn’t until a former student of mine, now professor, Maria Acuna, shared it with me last semester, did I decide to try it.
I have been reading it this weekend as well and I like the premise the authors use to explain why they wrote it. Granted, templates can get tiresome, but for those who are familiar with Stewart Pidd Hates English, these templates are nothing like the ones Pollitt and Baker use. Rest assured there (smile). Instead, this book helps students enter the discourse or conversation, often one which has been raging or simmering or bubbling over for a short or long while, a conversation you have never entered, however, one which affects your life in profound ways. Why haven’t you joined in? Often, the reason certain communities are not called to the table or invited to participate is intentional. The reason is, to do so doesn’t serve the interests of the body politic at the table.
Whether one is invited or not, whether one has a chair or not, whether one has the proper suit or proper language with which to engage those at the table using one’s life as a ping pong, the conversation is open in a democracy and it is yours to join even in an assignment for a class such as ours. I have students who have used their writing here to launch careers in politics. I have had students publish writing completed here in class in newspapers and respected journals. We are working in a laboratory where results can actually change lives beginning with our own. What you learn here is not “academic” if academic means useless. Each of you is a change agent; that is why you took time out of your life to show up.
Showing up is important. We all showed up for different reasons, some not as lofty as others, but you are here and because you are here, I expect great work from you. That is my goal and that is why and I am here and when you start hating me, remember, the promise I made to you here: meritocracy will never get a reward in this class. There is no grading on the curve. Everyone is held to a high standard and while I set the bar, well the State of California sets the bar and some of you will not reach it this time— keep trying and you will eventually.
The class might appear disorganized and I smile a lot and seem easy, this is an illusion. I am not easy. I demand a lot from each of you, but this is college—and you expect huge demands right? Don’t worry, I think you will get your money’s worth and then some. I do not assign writing assignments because I have nothing better to do. I can think or many tasks I love more than reading first drafts of students’ papers—you think they are final drafts, but they are not. I am a professional writer and I know what I am doing, so trust me when I tell you something is wrong. It is not personal, rather it is the writing not you I am critiquing. Some students enter the class with more skill sets than others. Some expect success in high school to tide them over here, and have rude awakenings. My suggestion is to come to class awake and sleep at home the night before.
I hope students surprise me and actually know a bit about the writing process and can read with comprehension and most importantly, are not lazy. You can enroll in this class not knowing everything, but if you do not exert yourself and fill in those spaces where perhaps time or preparation left you under-ready then, I expect you to get the extra help needed, whether that is attending my “Pidd Experience” workshop or a getting a tutor or both.
Be honest with yourself and do what you need to do to be successful here. Do not waste your time or your classmates. I will not let you waste mine or theirs or use my brain as your own. I do not suffer fools at all. Some students say I am rude, perhaps I am; however, when students are not prepared and want to waste the time of those who are, I cut them off. I am not interested in anything an unprepared student has to say. If you ever come to class unprepared, keep silent. Do not open your mouth except to tell us you are not prepared and are just observing that day.
I have to pay out of pocket for an assistant to help me with record keeping. I haven’t had a student aide in years to help students with their essays, so it’s on me and you. If you need help I can help you to a point—there is no magic. I am a great writer because I write and I kept writing when I got failing grades, had to take remedial writing classes at UC Berkeley, and got failing grades on first drafts at Holy Names.
Believe it or not, I didn’t know what a thesis sentence was until graduate school Teaching Writing course. I do not have hours to spend with one student a week, but you can get assistance, so ask when there are questions. I think faster than I write sometimes and I am an awful speller. No one is perfect. Learn what your strengths are. I have an almost photographic memory. Writing things down is a way for me to record them in my mind almost verbatim. I don’t hold hands and after last semester, a deadline is a deadline even if only one student makes it, so keep the due dates in your calendar, just in case I forget to remind you when something is due.
The blog is a place where reminders tend to go, but if you have limited access to the web, take good notes from the white board and get a few students phones numbers just in case. I suggest students hold study sessions to discuss readings and assignments. The library (first floor in the LRC or Learning Resource Center) has classrooms students can use for discussions.
Each class has varying requirements for the writing, which is about 6-8,000 words. I tend to assign more writing. In English 1A, students will have several short research essays, rather than one long essay. Each essay in English 1A will be about 3-4 pages, 250 words a page. In English 5 3-4 pages per essay. This is minimally. Essays can be a bit longer. In English 201 essays will be between 2-5 pages depending on the level. English 1B, 3-4 pages. This excludes the works cited page.
I am giving you all this in advance so you can drop the course and find a better fit.
Recap on textbooks. Find your class:
1. English 5: Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow; Walter Mosley's The Tempest Tales; Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, and Writing Logically, Thinking Critically 6th Edition. Recommended: Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary.
2.English 1B:
Gardner, Janet E. Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. Second Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
Grover, Linda Legarde. The Dance Boots. Athens, Georgia and London: The University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print.
Kwok, Jean. Girl in Translation. New York: Riverhead Books, 2010. Print.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2007. Print. ISBN 0375714839
Bannerjee, Neelanjana and Summi Kaipa, Pireeni Sundaralingam. Ed. Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2010. Print.
Recommended: Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers, 4-7th editions. American Heritage Dictionary.
3. English 1A: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn; Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War by Leymah Gbowee, Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary. They Say, I Say, Second Edition, by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein.
Recommended for students who have not taken my classes before: Stewart Pidd Hates English.
4. English 201A: Stewart Pidd Hates English*, Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Always Running: Gang Days in LA by Luis Rodriguez. American Heritage Dictionary.
English 201B: for Pidd Alumni: Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers and They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein. If a student has not had me for English 201A then Pidd is recommended.
Sincerely,
Wanda Sabir
English Professor, College of Alameda
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Course Materials for Spring 2012
Greetings Students:
Welcome to English 1B!
Course materials for all Sabir courses Spring 2012. Find your class:
1. English 5: Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow; Walter Mosley's The Tempest Tales, Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, and Writing Logically, Thinking Critically 6th Edition. Recommended: Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary.
2. English 1B: The Dance Boots, Girl in Translation, The Complete Persepolis, Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry, Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. Second Edition, Janet E. Gardner. Recommended: Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary.
3. English 1A: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War by Leymah Gbowee, Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary. They Say, I Say, SE by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein.
Recommended for students who have not taken my classes before: Stewart Pidd Hates English.
4. English 201A: Stewart Pidd Hates English*, Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Always Running: Gang Days in LA by Luis Rodriguez. American Heritage Dictionary.
English 201B: for Pidd Alumni: Diana Hacker Rules for Writers and They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein. If a student has not had me for English 201A then Pidd is recommended.
Welcome to English 1B!
Course materials for all Sabir courses Spring 2012. Find your class:
1. English 5: Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow; Walter Mosley's The Tempest Tales, Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, and Writing Logically, Thinking Critically 6th Edition. Recommended: Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary.
2. English 1B: The Dance Boots, Girl in Translation, The Complete Persepolis, Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian Poetry, Writing about Literature: A Portable Guide. Second Edition, Janet E. Gardner. Recommended: Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary.
3. English 1A: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War by Leymah Gbowee, Diana Hacker Rules for Writers, American Heritage Dictionary. They Say, I Say, SE by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein.
Recommended for students who have not taken my classes before: Stewart Pidd Hates English.
4. English 201A: Stewart Pidd Hates English*, Yummy: the Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Always Running: Gang Days in LA by Luis Rodriguez. American Heritage Dictionary.
English 201B: for Pidd Alumni: Diana Hacker Rules for Writers and They Say, I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birenstein. If a student has not had me for English 201A then Pidd is recommended.
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