The Education of Katy Hutchens

Teaching Student Writing

katykat77 — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:48:41 +0000

I had a hard time following Linda Brodkey. She gets into an argument about text and subtext. I think subtext is what is being said without actually saying it, and text is what is actually said. She gets into a whole argument about anti-smoking campaigns that I found it a little hard to follow because I was unsure about what she was trying to prove with her argument. Finally, she got to it in the middle of her essay. I believe she arguing about teaching writing and the way to go about it. She feels that students know all the rules, yet they fail to follow them becuase they don’t care or are unwilling to play “the game.” Her big argument seems to be that literate people write when speech fails.

She seems to be arguing what Elbow was earlier. We need to give students opportunities to write where they feel iti relevant. When students want to write they will. When tehy understand the importance of writing well, they will “fix” their “errors.”

I do see the how she feels in this aspect,but her essay seems to be a defense of her actions at the University of Texas at Austin. Once she got into defending her actions, I felt she lost credibility in her argument. Maybe it is just me, but that is how I feel. I also could be waaaay off on her argument, I was having trouble following her.

Professor Pilinovsky

katykat77 — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:47:56 +0000

I have never met a person more interested in fairy tales in all my life. I am having a hard enough time coming up with a research topic, and here I meet a professor that was so sure of her topic even from her ealry eduactional years. It is amazing though. I found her take on her subjecxt and translation issues fascinating. I never was really good at learning foreign languages, so I never really thought about translation issues. Now I understand that the translators have to make decisions about the words that they will use in a translation in order for a text to retain its meaning. Interesting. It really makes me wonder now about books that I have read in translartion, hell, it even makes me think about movies that I have seen.

Plagerism Vs Patch Writing

katykat77 — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:52:12 +0000

In Howard’s “The Dialogic Function of Composition Pedagogy” she is arguing that composition pedgogy be measured by its own standards. These standards are different from Literary studies. She feels that the problem with composition pedagogy is that people judge it by the rules of “English Studies” whereby literature and composition are judge in the same categories by the same merits. She also argues that Literature is more respected as a discipline. Composition is relegated to part-time staff and underlings in the educational institution. Composition needs to be judged by its own merits. True enough; however, this is not the part of her argument that I find the most fascinating.

When Howard discusses plagiarism is the part of the essay I found more intriguing. She states that Susan Stewart argues that no one person has ideas that are original. Nobody has original thought; therefore, a scholars we can not full cite our sources. If scholars tried to fully cite their sources, they would have limit his or her own intellectual history. To engage in full citation is basically arbitrary in Stewart’s point of view. I find it interesting that Howard says what is important is the appearance of autonomy. Basically, as a writer we need to write in such a way that our thoughts “appear” original. I am having a hard time with this idea of plagiarism vs autonomy. In most of my classes, we have been looking at the collaborative model of discourse theory. We understand to a certain degree that we learn better when we work with others and discuss the things that we have noticed. By working with others, students are able to use others as a sounding board for new ideas, thoughts, etc. Other’s views can help students see knowledge in a new light. Knowledge is gained by interactions with others. However, when it comes to writing, as scholars we do not favor collaboration; we favor “original” thought. We want individual genius. We say one things, but value another. I find it fascinating, and wonder how this will play out.

By the way… because I did not fully cite my sources in the areas of plagiarism, collaboration vs individual genius, I am guilty to a degree of plagiarism. This is weird because all my knowledge is not my original thoughts; instead, it is things I have learned from others, so how do you have scholarly discourse without a degree of “plagiarism”?

The Reader

katykat77 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:30:55 +0000

Gallager’s essay was especially hard to get into. I find it interesting that these rhetoricians break down writing and its purposes, yet they themselves are not the best writers. However, I especially think that the quote “Percevel happens whenever and wherever it is read: the historical text is, in the words of Wolfgang Iser, Jauss’s Konstanz school colleague, the virtual text of the reading process and is thus multiple in time and place” (181) important when thinking about reading a text. Texts “live” forever. They transcend space and time. This is why it is important to read a text. They tell us not only about the time in which they are written, but they also tell the reader about themselves. When looking at a text and the reaction one has as a reader, one can find out a lot bout themselves if they are willing to examine their own reactions. most people read passively and do not analyze their reactions to a text, but as graduate students in the English field, I find that we sometimes cannot help but to analyze our reactions to a reading. These reactions say a lot about the reader as well as the society that they come from. The idea that Barthes had that “the reader is without history, biography, psychology; he is simply someone who holds together a single field all the the traces by which written text is constituted” (182) is ludicris. Tosay that a readers experience has no impact whatsoever on the reading of a text is not realistic. All readers come to a text with a certain amount of baggage. This baggage is what helps to interpret a text. Jauss and Fish have it right when they say that the experiences of different readers in different times will all have different experiences and approaches with a text. I think Cavallo said it best ” the one constant in the scholarship is the reiteration that the meaning of a text depends on its reading and its reading depends on its material and cultural conditions: reading is not solely abstract intellectual operation; it involves the body, is inscribed within space, and implies a relationship to oneself or to others” (183).

Why is My Date Wrong?

katykat77 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:01:17 +0000

Anyone notice my date and time? Very strange, as this is posted, I am sitting in Professor Rhodes class. Hmmm. Maybe I am having an out of body experience, or is this a glitch in the Matrix? If you see me in class, tell me to stay there, so I can find me.

Where Did it Come From, and Where is it Going?

katykat77 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:57:59 +0000

Rhetoric. The theories are everywhere. Everyone thinks that they are right. I feel like the theorist have become a victim of their own rhetoric. They all think that they are right; they are leaving very little room for gray areas. The bottom line is people need to learn to write. If we are going to teach students to write “well,” someone must be hired to teach them. However, there does not seem to be a unified way to do this. Each theorist is quick to explain why their method is correct, and everyone else’s is wrong.

I am also getting caught in this idea of virtue. Why do all the theorists seem to think that understanding rhetoric will make people virtuous? What is their definition of virtuous? I have read, and read lots of theory, and they all argue that their theory is going to make people more virtuous. What is the standard? I have found in my own experience that the most skilled rhetorisions are the least virtuous. They do not make society a better place. Look at politicians. They are full of rhetoric. They say one thing, but they do another. It is a do as I say, not as I do atmosphere. How is this virtuous? I know I am not looking at the big picture, but really does speaking and writing well, the ability to persuade others really make a person virtuous. After all, Jim Jones was able to persuade hundreds to drink special kool-aid, and I don’t think he was very “virtuous”.

Library Research

katykat77 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:38:08 +0000

Unlike Andrew, I actually found the Encyclopedia article fascinating. Well not exactly fascinating, but it was definitely informative. I was the type of person that believed that Brittanica was what encyclopedias were all about. Having never found it useful is my career as an undergrad, it was a source that I never even thought about when researching. I never would have thought that there were thousands upon thousands of encyclopedias that are specialized by area of interest. I probably should have, but I didn’t. I really do not think that I am alone in this.

Since considering starting this program, I have been afraid to do a thesis because I had no idea where to start doing real, in depth research. I did not know how to begin. I really do nothink that I am alone in this. I really think that most undergraduates have no clue to the numerous resources that are out there for them to use. This first chapter has relieved my mind. I am starting to feel some relief from the stress that I felt. The anxiety is clearing; I am starting to regain my composure. I am myself again. I have regained a modecum of my former self esteem and am starting to feel invinsible. I never thought information on encyclopedias would actually make my day. Either I was more stressed than I thought, or I am getting pretty dorky in my old age. I prefer to believe that I was more stressed than I thought.

In regards to the other article in the Nicholls book. I do agree that teachers are usually having to defend their work; however, since I am a teacher, I did not really feel like blogging to defend my work here. Sorry, just the way I felt tonight.

Hello World Here I am

katykat77 — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:46:39 +0000

Having never done this, I am not exactly sure where to begin, so I will start at the beginning. My formal name is Karensa Hutchens, but I go by Katy and always have. Karensa just sounds too weird to me when people use it. When I was in school (by school I mean high school), I was not exactly an honor student. Hell, I wasn’t even a mediocre student. I was the non-interested, do care about what the teacher has to show me type student. I was in no way any teacher’s favorite. I didn’t even graduate from “traditional” high school. At this point I think I should point out that it wasn’t because I was stupid or didn’t get it. I just didn’t like school. I was bored, they weren’t showing me anything that I didn’t know already, and I had discovered that there was a whole world of fun outside the classroom walls. After barely graduating, I took a job at an Indian casino. The money was good, real good especially to an 18 year-old kid.

I worked at the casino for 5 years, but I knew all along that this was not the job that I wanted to do for the rest of my life, so I quit and checked into college. I majored in English Lit. In the process of getting my degree I got married. He helped me to get through college by making sure that I could concentrate on my studies and only hold a part-time job.

Upon graduation, I enrolled in the credentialing program at CSUSB (I got my BA here). In the last quarter of that program I had a baby. He is wonderful, and I love him to death.

Right now I am employed at Rialto Unified School District. I teach 10th grade English. This week I am on Spring Break. I get to be home with my son 24 hours a day. I actually love it even though right at this moment he is screaming his head off and throwing toys at me because I am not paying attention to him. Every time I look up, he gives me a smile that melts my heart and I can’t remember why I was irritated. I am pretty sure that is nature’s big trick on parents.

I enrolled in the MA program in English Lit. because some of the best learning experiences of my life were getting my BA at CSUSB. It was the first time that I actually enjoyed school. I realized that I love to learn and am not done learning. As for research, I really don’t know exactly. I think I would like to look at the portrayal of women in literature or something like that.

Well this is me. See you all in class.