First, I needed to word vomit about my mess of ideas for our final group project. When we first started brainstorming, I was excited about the possibility of an installation of some sort but, as time went on, I realized this is probably less likely with the time we have. (I will keep it in mind for future projects anyway…) Then, I was excited to include something audio related since that is a bit of a quick, but still interesting and different, approach to the project. My first audio idea had to do with an audio file of each of us personally “defining” whatever subject we found most intriguing in the semester and compiling those together with some visual aspect.

Once we met in our breakout rooms, we kind of stuck to a more writing heavy idea, which I was on board with because it had to do with the concept of remixing, something I’m really comfortable with and still intrigued by. If we do go ahead with the remixes of fairy tales, I think I’ll choose Alice in Wonderland, mostly because the story explores identity and that’s something that has been so important in all our of readings. I’d rather not just write a remix and call it a day though. I still want to include some other element (maybe audio, but now I’m thinking of colleges since the aesthetics of the story easily match that) to elevate the piece.

Moving onto the reading for this week, I’m not sure if I’m still too stuck of Freire, but a lot of what these writers explore does match with what he claimed in his essay. The quote, “Claims of universalism have given way to the demands of the particular, but the particulars have their own universalisms.” (72) was something that resonated with me. I think this has to do with erasing the individual experience by assuming that, if they are placed under the same umbrella, those experiences are the same. I guess it clicked because of Freire’s claim that the oppressors tend to view their surroundings as objects rather than real people and this kind of thinking is just as lazy. There is no real work or thought being put into it.

“Public voices, though, are required to listen to other public voices, and listening can cause uncomfortable changes.” (72) Instead of feeling and acknowledging the uncomfortable, it is pushed aside and deemed unimportant. However, in avoiding or ignoring it, there is no action towards understanding and no way of moving forward. We end up stuck in the mud.

paper: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lhCP3VpTSrfqHMoJUVn087Cj8NsQ5kjx1E5JVvi2k3U/edit

slides :

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1G8NES-uSG8qaFqbVfBQKwxovi6vYeh9dT21C2BdRVwE/edit#slide=id.g18142ebd1e5_0_0

As someone in the educational field as myself, reading pieces as such really bring an insightful and helpful lens to what we might have known or honestly haven’t know. And I know I say that every piece is insightful but that’s because every piece in this class has been. The reading was quite interesting to say the least as this piece is intended to spark a debate in efforts to offer “better” ways to teach writing. I put the word better in quotes because someone’s version of better does not fit everyone. And just like anything else in life, there are multiple ways to do one thing.

I really enjoyed how this piece covered a lot of writing myths that we may have encountered or dealt with personally. I also found it helpful as to how the reading really dived in to many bad ideas; such as, bad ideas what good writing is, bad ideas about genres, and so on and so fourth. I found this to be helpful because as I kept reading I was able to develop also a new understanding and I was kind of informed on some new ideas, which I always enjoy.

One of the ideas that really stood out the most to me in this piece was this;

“Here’s why that idea needs to die: Writing and language are like screens between humans and what we (can) know about theworld around us. Even that which we perceive as cold, hard facts are ultimately filtered through the words and symbols we use tomake sense of…well, everything. Thus, the process of learning to write is a matter of broader intellectual development and surviv- al-gear-for-living. Writing, in other words, embraces much more than relaying a preset message to a reader. As students learn how to approach the written word—how to read it, yes, but also how to read the many voices, ideas, moods, circumstances, and rhythms that influenced and shaped the words on the page—they begin to understand how language is an essential tool for learning and exploration.”

I couldn’t agree more. And this little sample right here is just one of the many parts in the piece I agree with. Writing is really the foundation for all of us but the way we explore it and dabble more into it, writing can become a whole new world with lots more deeper meaning.