Month: February 2013

  • … and don’t be late.

    She took the words out of my mouth.

  • English 120 Flickr/Pixlr Projects…

  • my last pieces about his passing…

     

    When I heard he’d passed, I was unaffected.
    I thought, “I’ll be sad for his children” because I would be
    if the roles were reversed, but still
    I don’t miss him.
    I see my mom’s perspective, I see others’
    but no one sees mine. Even after the list was read.
    My conclusion:
    I do not miss you, but thank you for the lesson.

  • Febru-Any…

    February’s Hidden Point for English 120.

    Before the end of the month, email your instructor with 10+ sentences on the following topic: 
    We always hope, as teachers, that students will make connections between their classes and from their classes to the world around them. This class, English 120, is pretty easy to connect to the world, but I wonder how easily it connects to the other classes students are taking? I assume there are arguments and controversies everywhere; even when a non-English teacher is teaching something non-controversial, a student might see controversy elsewhere = like, maybe there’s a female who wears a certain overwhelming perfume in the class, or a male who forgot to wear any at all! Yeah. Anyhow, this hidden point asks you to connect what we are learning to other classes you are taking, on our campus or whatever. And if it connects to a class in the past, that’s cool too.

  • I think I’ll attempt to conquer assessing P1 and P1.5 in that 10am class this afternoon. 
    There are 25 of them, and I’m exhausted already (did not sleep soundly last night), but I might as well “give it a go,” right?

  • Lateness…

    I don’t know if “students these days*,” in general, don’t “get” that late means late OR
    if I’ve had one too many rare cases of confusion on this issue JUST this semester (and it’ll go away in the coming semesters)…
    But it’s showing up more. Somewhat.

    I know that this issue seems silly to some, but I detest lateness. I’m rarely – RARELY – late myself (with assignments or dates or bills, etc.), so I can’t wrap my brain around this “easy to understand” rule. Isn’t it disrespect at a low level? Like the same level where students/faculty send error-filled emails. It says to me, and maybe JUST me (I’m well-aware of this), “I don’t care to write nicely; I don’t care to get this to you on time.” Maybe that’s extreme, but it’s my feeling.

    Ugh. I’ve become more lenient on some things, but not this lateness stuff.
    And then some will do the whole: “Just this one time, can you overlook your rule?” Sheesh. I don’t want the bitch switch to go off, people. Isn’t there a saying like: An emergency on your part does not constitute an urgency on my part. Would a boss give them another chance & another chance &… because I doubt they are missing deadlines JUST in my class.

    Anyhow. Let’s end that rant!

    This week:
    Writing conferences with my 1pm & 3pm classes; my 10am is starting on Project 2.
    I have a PD mtg Tuesday & two mtgs (at 10am & noon) on Wednesday.

    *I don’t think there are more disrespectful students now compared to the past like some people/faculty feel…

  • copy writing…

    Some thoughts from a blog I read called Write To Done:

    Step 1: Get in bed with the reader

    Who would you rather sell to? People who won’t benefit from your product, people who could benefit from it, or people who definitely will benefit and have great reasons for buying it?

    Step 2: See the offer as the reader sees it

    Just like the first step, this step is all about the reader. The product or service itself is almost insignificant in this process.You’re looking for:Ways your product can help the readers get from where they are now to where they want to goAspects of the offer that matter the most to themTraits in your competitors they don’t likePast experiences they’ve had with similar productsObjections they have to buying the productQuestions they’ll have about the product and you (or the company selling the product)Other concerns the buyer might have such as risks in purchasing the productForget yourself and your thoughts and forget the product’s features. For now, you’re only interested in what the reader thinks and believes about the product.

    Step 3: Classify, simplify, extreme-ify

    1. Find the strongest concepts that are likely to influence the readers.
    2. Remove everything but the core ideas.
    AND MORE:
    Seven Tips For Casting A Narrow Net
    Here are seven tips that you can use to immediately begin targeting the right audience for you.
    1: Adjust Your Focus.
    2: Stop Writing For The Masses
    3: Toughen Up
    4: Don’t Mimic
    5: Lay It On The Line: Be You, Be Bold
    6: Write to Your Biggest Fan
    7: Learn How to Alienate All The Right People
    Shoot for Progress Not Perfection
    Enjoy Your Uniqueness

  • What if?

    What if I didn’t use word counts? Would the papers be better, the same, or worse from students?

    Huh. I have no idea, but I would guess I’d get a lot of questions similar to, “Is this enough?” Ugh.

  • pump up your brain, kids.

    From the blog, DESIGNLOVEFEST.