Portfolio Reflection (Argument)

First off, thanks for the fantastic class. I have so many ideas for this fall that I can’t wait to try.

Some notes on my portfolio submissions:

Divided We Stand… (Informational Text Revision)

The first piece I’ve chosen to include in my portfolio is a revision of a piece I wrote in early 2017, reflecting on the results of the 2016 presidential elections and gathering my thoughts about how truth is a multifaceted thing and how our choices when seeking and presenting truth play a very real role in shaping our understand of world events.

When we first talked about the “They Say/I Say” argumentative structure and later discussed “Harris Moves,” this piece of writing came to mind. I went home that night after class and revised the piece to try out these techniques.  I quickly found that they clarified my thinking and strengthened the argument of this piece.

In Defense of the Trickster (Personal Essay)

I struggled to decide what to write for Tuesday’s journal, waffling between several ideas, but unable to mentally map any of them onto a writing idea that I thought I could develop in 45 minutes.

This piece started with the Tuesday journal topic, “Do you prefer your children’s’ book characters obedient or contrary?”  Thinking about the books my son likes, I recognized a connection between his heroes and one of my literary favorites, the villainous Iago.

As I started writing, I found myself working another journal topic, “In the moment of need,” into my thinking.  Originally, I used those exact words when describing the adaptability of the Trickster archetype. This realization broadened my view and a structure for the piece became clear.  Other characters I admire and one character who amuses me in contrast, recommended themselves to the piece.

Combining the prompts helped me to identify a key trait in what I look for in a literary character. Having identified the trait, it was easy to fill up the essay and create a narrative through-line.

Leave It at the Door (Personal Essay)

On the board, someone wrote, “What I know to be true…”  I thought about this for half the writing time.  What do I know? Only what I’ve learned. What have I learned? AHA, a writing topic.  The rest is a familiar rant using a variation of the, “I used to think, but now I think” stem that we talked about.

Truth in Public Discourse Infographic (Argument Conversion)

I was sitting at my 2nd consecutive night of swim meets.  If you’ve never experienced a swim meet, all you need to know is that they are about 4 hours of boredom, punctuated by about 4 minutes of excitement.  Thankfully, I took my iPad along to work on research for my argument.

My argument was nebulous and unwieldy, growing out of control as I jumped down every tangental rabbit hole that presented itself. It’s a problem I have, but I had the time, for a change.  I began to formulate thoughts and organize quotes and pretty quickly realized that it was too much.  The topic couldn’t be handled in fewer than 6 pages, I thought. Also, for all the heat surrounding the topic right now, it was hard to pin down cool, reasoned approaches to sorting out who, ultimately, ought to be responsible for maintaining truth in public discourse.  My gut said it was us, the citizens; there were numerous quotes from eminent thinkers suggesting the same, but it would take rhetorical leaps of faith to pin it on the public definitively.

Not wanting to over-write the topic, I asked in class about the suggested requirements, since I was already at 4 pages, with no end in sight…the revelation that it needn’t be an essay set me free. I immediately thought of creating an infographic, which was surprisingly difficult.  In the end, however, I was able to recycle some of what had already been written for the essay into the text of the infographic.

Figuring out how to represent bias, information flow, modes of transport, etc. took time.  I think it all works fairly well, though I’m not satisfied with the graphical representation of the role “choices” play in public discourse.  In the end, I’m pleased with how much information I was able to include, however.  Most infographics I’ve seen include sourcing information on the actual page. I’m including them here, as space was at a premium on the product.  Are there guidelines for appropriate attribution in infographics?

[UPDATE] I opened this graphic up for comments in the OWP Digital Tools class and the biggest critique seems to be the size and density of the text. Commenters asked if it could be trimmed down. I’ve attempted that.  In the version linked below the font size has been increased to 18, but this necessitated an edit of the content.  I’m not sure which I like better.

Sources:

• http://grist.org/article/2010-03-30-post-truth-politics/
• http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.594.93&rep=rep1&type=pdf
• https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learners/citizenship-rights-and-responsibilities
• http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/305794-rediscovering-the-role-of-public-citizen-and-the-art

Heroism Text Set (Conversation)
I have published the text set I worked on in class to my blog, cross-linking to Facebook, hoping to start a conversation with English teacher friends and my network of former students about increasing the diversity represented in the unit.

I included a set of guidelines for critiques and suggestions, along with this note:

Friends, I need your help. I am trying to redesign my launch unit for 2017. Beowulf will remain my anchor text to start the year, but rather than dive into the history of ancient England and study the waves of migration along side Anglo-Saxon poetry, we’re going to thematically break down the idea of “heroism.”

Most of the skills development is standard stuff that can be done with almost any selection. It will begin with the more accessible non-fiction and then extend to the larger, more difficult works.

I’m trying to build a set that will be engaging AND stretch minds (not too far, perhaps).

I’m tagging some people who I know might be interested, but please feel free to comment if you have suggestions, even if you’re not tagged. You can comment here or at the link. Thanks gang.

The conversation has started coming in on Facebook and it’s already good.  I’m including a sample below. I’m so fortunate to have such a strong cross-section of thinkers contributing.

From a teacher-colleague:

Nonfiction historical text:
1. The Declaration of Sentiments – women’s rights in 1848
2. Lincolns second inaugural – “with malice towards none”
3. FDR – four freedoms or the Pearl Harbor declaration of war
4. JFK inaugural
5. Reagan – evil empire speech
6. Obama – Cairo address
7. Churchill – “we will fight them on the beaches”

And this conversation, featuring two former students, both graduates in the humanities.

-A.L.: Cool suggestions above but where are the women? You’ll have a diverse class so you’ll keep more of them interested if they can relate to some of the subjects. Also there are diverse forms of heroism that go beyond the hyper-masculine warrior type (Id argue there are some examples listed above).

-Shawn Gilliand: A L, I agree. That’s why I’m asking…also why you’re tagged. Suggestions.

-J.B.: Agreed with Adriane, I’m commenting because I want to put some thought into this and get back to you and notifications remind me to do that