Week 1

When do you write, and where, and how?

When, where and how really depend on what I am writing for. If I am writing for this class, I am writing live and for the most part unedited. In other words, this class lends itself to a blogging style that is allowed to be more raw than a “polished” piece. If I’m writing a 10-page paper for a class, I usually kick around the ideas for a few days before I start writing. I call this “dedicating grey matter” to the subject. A colleague referred to this as “letting it fester,” while a friend used the much more poetic “steeping of tea” imagery. This idea of thinking before writing applies to all situations.

I have noticed that it is difficult to just write blindly for whatever reason on whatever subject. It’s not that I don’t trust myself; it’s just that anyone could read this. Granted, I missed the generation of the reality show, but other people’s dirty laundry as spectacle is appalling. Listen, I don’t care who works for Donald Trump or who Flavor Flav wants to screw. Life’s too short to waste my time on that.

This is something that I want to work on this semester: becoming more comfortable letting it flow. I became aware of this with music first. I wouldn’t play a song out (on stage and in front of people) unless I knew I could nail it (which requires spending hours annoying my neighbors playing the same song). Basically, I want to blur the line between practice and performance. With music, this means getting comfortable sitting in on songs you don’t know and figuring it out at that moment. With writing, it means sitting down and writing. I’m not saying I won’t edit, but the process of spewing my ideas on paper should be less rehearsed.

What is technical writing?

I didn't mean to limit technical writing defining it by its opposite, which I believe to be creative writing. It is merely a technique to define something by what it's not. I realize that technical writing involves creativity, but not of the "imagine you are on another planet" variety. I don't know what the denotation of technical writing is (writing for technical purposes?), but the connotation is that it is for a specific reason, usually more formal than for fun or fiction. Technical writing could include business writing, manuals, procedures, grants, etc. This is my definition before studying the subject, so I am not tied to this initial offering.

What connections can you forge between your major and the findings presented in this case study?

As an educator, this changes everything and nothing. It changes everything in that students have access to information and ways to share it like never before. It changes nothing since much of that potential is wasted. Let’s use the television as an analogy. Not that long ago, there were less than a dozen channels. People seemed to manage. Whether it was news or sports or entertainment, people found what they were looking for. Now there’s more of it, but it’s not necessarily better. Too many people mistake quantity for quality and motion for progress.

As far as society is concerned, I see the glass as half-empty. Let people update their Facebook status every five minutes if it gives them something to do. Let them empathize with people on the Swan who just weren’t happy until they got massive amounts of cosmetic surgery to the point that their family doesn't even recognize them. This technology hasn’t made us any smarter or any more humane. We’re still creating the best weapons so we can kill even more people from even further away.

As far as education is concerned, I see the glass as half-full. I will use this to my advantage. I will assume that they have the resources. If I can find something on an internet search, they can find something on a search. I will also assume a level of technical savvy. Even if they’ve never used powerpoint before, I will expect them to learn as they create a powerpoint demonstration to present to the rest of the class.

who are you? remix

I was born in New York City,

But Philadelphia’s my home town.

Then Colorado, now Florida,

You won’t find me hanging around.

I’ve always been curious

And I love to learn,

So it made sense

That education is where I’d turn

Taught here and taught there

And have war stories galore.

I had a lot of fun,

But I’m not doing it anymore.

Brow beaten by parents

Who think their kid can do no wrong

And smart ass kids

Who came to class smelling like Tommy Chong

I still will teach;

It’s what I do.

Hopefully, community college

Is more my crew.

I didn’t mention music or traveling.

The traveling comes from my curiosity. If you love to learn, I’m convinced that there is no quicker or more lasting way to learn something than by being there. This also ties into my idea of experiential learning in that you learn by doing. You can read dozens of books about a country, but until you are walking the streets and talking to the people, it’s just academic.

Music is probably the only man-made thing that makes sense to me. Not to go too far off, but I look around at all the things in this world and not a whole lot makes sense. I’m open to being proven wrong, but many times I am amazed that this is the best we can do. The “who are you?” assignment had me pull up some Who music. Eminence Front is a great song. (And in pulling it up, I have a new understanding of the song now.) I love the way music just pulls you in and takes you somewhere else. Even if it is only for three minutes. It even beats caffeine for my favorite drug.

I mentioned it in my class introduction, but I’m working on being able to teach at the community college level. I taught English at the high school level locally and taught ESOL overseas. I have some pointed criticism about the education system that will inevitably be shared over the semester. The short version is I can’t work somewhere I’m completed emasculated. Maybe when I was 16, but not now. Now, I have a clear vision of what will be. I will create an organic classroom where critical thought is the objective and students pursue their own interests to arrive at their own understanding (that they’ll have to share with the rest of the class). Maybe students won’t be able to pass the FCAT after my class, but they will learn and grow.

And for those of you that don’t know me, I don’t mean to offend. I’m just passionate and caffeinated when I show up to class. The crazy Italian blood doesn’t help either, but I promise to only gesture with one hand when I talk. Like I said, I love learning. This is what I do. I learn; I teach.

What does opensource mean to you?

Open source means that people can use what is out there already and reinvent and rediscover it for themselves. This has been happening for centuries. A little symbol indicating trademark and someone hiring a lawyer isn't going to stop it. I mentioned music before. I also mentioned defining something by its opposite. In a non-open source environment, piano players wouldn't have access to Mozart's music. Guitar players wouldn't be able to hear Carols Santana play. Trumpeters wouldn't get to experience Miles Davis.

I am making the assumption that you will recognize these songs. If you don’t know the original or the cover, maybe you should look it up on you tube so you can see how different the versions really are. In a non-open source environment, none of this would be possible.

Ivan Neville covers the Rolling Stones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOeSLS-t1N8

Stevie Ray dedicates this to Jimi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk4_MrjEs6k

I couldn’t find a live performance, but here is the original “Black Magic Woman” written by Peter Green, but made famous by Carlos Santana:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ELydnDgKY

How about the original “All along the Watchtower”?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOdcsK0NM6g

How about a scratchy as hell, but brilliant song that was unknown until a white kid from Tupelo, Mississippi covered it?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74vRiqYPCx4

Link Pile

Are we supposed to put any specific sites here? Here are five that I like.

1. You Tube (www.youtube.com)

I am always amazed at what you can find here - particularly with music.

Eminence Front, The Who: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URFbwUkBrjA

2. Pandora Radio (www.pandora.com)

You may as well have a soundtrack of your choosing. This site rocks.

If you are anti-pandora for some reason, there's always slacker.com.

Either way, get more music in your life!

3. Merriam Webster's Dictionary (www.merriam-webster.com)

This site rocks because there's an icon to hear how the word is pronounced.

4. Dave's ESL Cafe (www.eslcafe.com) and Volunteers for Peace (www.vfp.org)

Dave's is a site with international job postings. VFP is your chance at volunteering. They are an escape fantasies, but they are good ones and it's not a fantasy.

5. Third World Traveler (www.thirdworldtraveler.com)

I'm not even sure how I found this site, but I have learned so much from it, it's frightening.

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