So, we started this blogging thing late in the semester, exhausted and run down, but willing to try. If I had to start a work day in the morning, I am grateful it was with your faces. Every bit of it was worth it, and I know that for some of you, so was the blogging.
This one is going to be short and sweet. I simply want to ask you this: why blogging for a writing class? What is its value? Has it taught you anything of the craft and how so?
If you learned nothing else, I hope you found at least part of your own fabulous, creative voice while in 1120. No one can take that away, and truly, no one can grade that. It is all yours.
I will miss you all.
Auntie Dr. P
If you want to actually pull a voice out a member of this generation you have to blog. Everyone is so freaking tired of papers. I really believe people are getting sick of talking hence mass communication via texts, tweets, and face booking (whatever the trendy verb is for that).
ReplyDeleteBlogging allows students to put themselves on the paper, and show off who they truly are. Everyone wants to be noticed or valued. Anyone who says they don't are lying to you and themselves.
Using blogs as a resource to learn how to write is ingenious, and it should be used more frequently and in lieu of standardized boringness. For those who don’t feel like they can write well I think you will agree that you at least enjoyed reading our peers little literary life nuggets. I’m not a English teacher but I kind of feel like getting students to enjoy reading and writing is the main theme...
Side note: I noticed a lot of people wrote about depression and suicide which can be naturally occurring ponderings, but if you feel like its getting to be a dominant thought process please seek help. I've seen every person in our class and everyone is attractive, smart, and awesome! If there isn’t anyone or anything you think you have to live for try living for yourself.
Don’t rid the world of you.
If you need a friend contact me, I kind of love having people over for brunch. I can't promise you won’t want to really kill yourself after hanging out with me for a couple of days, but at least you tried right?
Cheers to all of you, best of luck. War Damn Eagle!!!
Why blog for a writing class? The better question...WHY NOT!? It's real. People have become real with the blog. (Even if some have secret identities...like me). I have become real. It is not about knowing who said what though. It is about HOW people have said things. People are able to open up and truly show themselves whether it be beliefs, passions, dark side, addictions, good side, or whatever. It does not matter what it is...it is real. And what is real, matters.
ReplyDeleteAll throughout high school we have had certain prompts to follow, with certain restrictions, guidelines, grading procedure, length, blah, blah, BLAH. (All that crap). As J.Dallon.B said: shouldn't English teachers want to get us to like to write? How will students ever enjoy writing if all they are stuck in are restrictions? Writing should be free. It should be you. It should be me. We should write about US! I should write about me! (Nobody cares about an argumentative paper on "Crime and Punishment.").
That is why we should blog. Blogging brings out who a person really is. I know blogging has enhanced my ability to write as I feel. Write as I think. And write naturally. (I haven't had to write like a robot making up stuff just to extend my paper length.) When we are able to write naturally, true WRITING is produced. True thoughts are produced. Feeling is produced. (Are we getting the picture yet?). VOICE is the meat behind a lot of what I am talking about here. That is what blogging has done more than anything. The only reason emotion, truth, reality, feelings, and everything comes out is due to voice.
So why do we blog?
To hear your voice.
To hear my voice.
To hear our own voice. (I have missed my voice).
Here it is, my last blog post. I have been on a blogging roll this weekend, mostly because they are due, but also because I feel that I have finally found my voice, and I love it. It has made writing so much more enjoyable for me. Never before have I been asked (or able) to write freely about how I feel and what I think about. Not only have these blogs made a difference in my writing, but they have also made me question myself in ways I have never thought I would. I have learned so much about myself just by reflecting and writing down my own thoughts. These are the kind of ideas and personalities I can now put into my writing.
ReplyDeleteI have also learned a lot by reading everyone else’s posts. I thank all of you for pouring your hearts into this blog like I have done. It makes me feel safe, more normal and that I am not alone. And J. Dallon. P, you are a sweet-heart. I hope those who are having trouble emotionally reach out to friends and good people like yourself.
I really appreciate you as a teacher Dr. P, that you have taken a risk in the name of education and although I admit I was skeptical, it definitely paid off in the end.
So if we’re going to be completely honest here… I hated the idea of blogging when it was first suggested. But I’m a good little student so I wasn’t going to complain and hey, it was better than writing another paper right? Honestly, writing is just not my thing. I don’t enjoy it all that much and I’m not all that good at it. The idea of writing two to three blogs a week terrified me, that is a lot for me! Even ‘til the very last blog I dreaded writing.
ReplyDeleteYet, when I look back now, it has been such a blessing. It’s hard to admit but blogging actually improved my writing! (or so I think). Every blog got a little easier to write and it wasn’t such a struggle. The mountain I had to climb kept getting smaller and smaller until it was just a hill. I would find myself just typing away, and before I knew it I would have a whole page written.
My favorite part about the blogging though, is how it is so relaxed. There is so much freedom, and I never had to worry about proper punctuation or complex sentence structures. I had the ability to simply write what I was thinking, no pressure. It finally gave me the chance to show my personality. The one thing Dr. P begged us to have.
I was extremely timid at first, after viewing everyone’s posts and reading the beautiful writing from my classmates. How could I compete with that? I honestly thought people were going to laugh at me. But you all have actually inspired me and pushed me to become a better writer. Ya’ll (love that I can say that!) encouraged me to push my limits and go outside my comfort zone. Thank you!
And thank you Dr. P
Thank for genuinely caring for us- not just as your students, but also as people. That’s hard to find in a teacher. Now that it’s almost over, I can honesty say thank you for pushing us and allowing us to blog. Thanks for believing in us.
I hope you all have a wonderful break! ☺
"May your tears come from laughing, you find friends worth having with every year passing they mean more than gold. May you win but stay humble, smile more than grumble, and know when you stumble you're never alone."
ReplyDelete--Lady Antebellum
I'm going to be 100% honest. I came into this class figuring i'd just "get by". I had no interest in writing. Writing had always been so dry and miserable throughout high school. I was never allowed to really say what I was thinking or feeling because that would have not only resulted in an F, but most likely landing me in the principal's office as well. Shocker.
Then, out of the blue crazy Dr. P came into the room. "How was I to handle this woman? Teachers are not supposed to be cool," I thought to myself. All of a sudden, here I was being ENCOURAGED to use my voice, no matter how vulgar the language ever was. At that moment I knew I was all-in...get it? Because we go to Auburn...all-in. Haha. Maybe i'm the only one that would find that punny. Oh well.
Anyways, i'm so blessed to have had a teacher like you, Dr. P. Someone to encourage and push us to our limits with writing. I didn't even know I could write that this; I always assumed it was for "those english people". No offense of course...i'm jealous.
It's very freeing now that I have not only the ability to vocalize my voice, but also show it through my writing. I've honestly grown as a person, matured if you will, in not only my school work but my friendships as well.
Dr. P, thank you for not just being our teacher, but being our friend. You have no idea how refreshing it was to have someone of authority who didn't necessarily treat us like an "authority figure". I feel like I could do anything when it comes to my writing now.
Lastly, shout out to McGee...you are a wonderful person inside and out. So glad we found our friendship again and I honestly don't know what I would do without you. Love you lots.
When this year started, I was honestly the most upset about having to go the English. Dr. P walked into the classroom and started describing how the class was going to go. I was scared. Freedom? Learning without structure? Never heard such a thing. I never thought I would learn as much about writing as I have in this class. It has defiantly showed me that I can express my feelings and not get in trouble for them. My personality is actually starting to come out in my writing and it is an amazing feeling to see my writing change into a more mature and better form.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of this blogging experience, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. There were some parts of me that would have rather done a paper just because it was a little more structured than the blogs. I have had to think more during this experience that I probably have ever thought about writing in my entire life. And I love it. I have loved every thing about this experience and I am so grateful to have an amazing teacher like Dr. P who let us have an opportunity like this.
I have loved reading each and every one of my classmate’s blogs. Everyone has such special stories to share that I would have never found out without this experience. I feel like now I can be relaxed about my writing and show who I really am and not be scared about it. I really wish more teachers were like this because they would honestly get more out of grading something like this than a stupid old paper.
Dr. P, you are amazing! I thank you so much for this experience and even though I never really talked in class I promise I took everything in and cherished every moment of the class. Your class was the only one that I enjoyed coming to every day! I wish that I could take this class over again. You have made me believe in myself when it comes to writing. Thank you so much again for everything!
Ohhh and p.s. lehhhgo I love lady A! They are awesome!
ReplyDeleteWriting, essays, papers.. when I hear those words honestly I just want to cry. I have never been a writer, and probably will never be one. This English class probably was the best one I have ever taken. We weren’t just told to write an eight-page paper on a certain topic. There was actually a purpose to our writing. So now we come to the question, why did we blog in an English class? Well exactly like dog21 said… why not? To people who enjoy writing a blog is probably considered fun. And I realized that even people who don’t enjoy writing, like me, consider it fun. It’s a good way to express your feelings and be able to write freely on anything. Everyone in the class has probably gotten more out of this blog exercise then any paper. It was a time to express ourselves and write for real.
ReplyDeleteSome may think that blogs don’t teach you anything, and honestly before writing them I didn’t think they did either. I just thought they would be a fun way to write instead of a boring paper. Having written them, I have gained knowledge not just on writing but on topics and writing tools. Blogging is a good way to bring out personality in writing. It helps get a sense of who people are and what they are about. Throughout this course I can’t even begin to count how many times Dr. P said to put personality into our papers. I found it a lot easier to put personality into these blogs then into papers. And in the end that was exactly what this whole courses goal was, to become a better writer, which means putting your personality into the paper. By blogging I feel like I achieved that goal. Maybe not completely but I defiantly feel like I became a better writer. Now I could go on and on about how I feel like blogs were a good adjustment to this class, and that I learned a lot from them but I feel like I have covered all of what I thought about blogs, so I’m going to end this blogging session by saying I, and I’m sure half the class, have benefited from this blogging exercise greatly. It has not only gotten us to become better writers, but to feel comfortable about ourselves when we write.
I loved doing the blog. I think it is more effective in a writing class than writing papers. I began writing to me instead of to the paper. I know I've had a voice somewhere, but this definitely helped me in the search for it. I can't imagine writing another paper. (Unfortunately I know I'll have to write a damn ton of them) Blogging taught me about warrants. I feel like in having blogged, I've come to discover those warrants and used them to help me procure some pretty decent writing. While writing research papers still rather sucks, I've learned that I kinda like writing and that sitting down to do some is quite so bad. I know one thing. When it comes time for me to take a lit. I know who I'm getting. I'm so calling shottie.
ReplyDeleteBlog? I don’t think I even knew what that meant before a few weeks ago. Of course I had heard of people blogging but I thought it was only when they went on really cool trips or had some big event occur in their lives that they wanted to share with a friends and relatives. When I found out that I would be blogging as a grade, I was scared to death. Stuck in my high-school essay days of fretting over every misplaced comma and apostrophe. The first blog came around, and I was clueless. I had NO idea where to even begin. As I read through the posts of fellow classmates and read the prompting words of Dr.P, I started to grasp the meaning of these blogs. The goal wasn’t to sharpen the grammatical elements of my paper at all. The idea of these blogs was to get real, pure, personality-filled writing out of boring, high school-taught kids like me. I was so tempted to delete the first contraction I used and replace it with its proper form. But I gave myself a little pep and continued on my way.
ReplyDeleteI shouldn’t have been surprised at all. I mean, seriously, this has been the coolest class ever. It only makes sense that our final paper would be comprised of a series of heart-felt, through-provoking, incredible blogs. This class has pushed me like never before to get out of my old, comfortable ways and begin to write with real emotion. I have always been told that I was a good writer, never great though. And the only real reason why I was even considered good by my previous teachers was because of my ability to follow the rules to a t. No one has ever challenged me to think outside of the box and create writing that was truly my own. I have never felt connected to my papers, just a chore that had to be done. These blogs and this class overall have allowed me to regain my spark for writing. I no longer dread the announcement of a new paper due. I now see it as an opportunity to show me. The REAL me.
I want to thank you, Dr.P, for caring about me enough to push me to do this. Everyone else has been content with me being grammatically sound and putting my paper into the correct MLA format. You have shaped me into a real writer. One worth listening to.
This class has not only served to further my writing but also my friendships. Nancytembo has become one of my dearest friends, and someone I can’t imagine my life without. Had it not been for this class, we may have never met and I can’t even stand to think about that. So I have many things to be thankful for because of this class. It was an experience I will truly never forget.
I remember the day in class when Dr. P asked us if we would like to write a ten page paper for our final or blog: I was all for blogging. It seemed so easy and so simple. I mean we sure didn’t have to write as much! I know that’s probably not what teachers want to hear but I know a lot of us were thinking how easy blogging would be (or at least the new comers who have never blogged before). Once we got our new blog and I sat down to start writing and I was stuck. Great, writer’s block and this wasn’t even a paper. I didn’t quite understand how to write this or approach it. I didn’t understand how to put feeling or emotion behind my writing. I looked at Dr. P’s and other classmates’ blogs and was inspired. Inspired to share my story and what I had to say. I finally find my voice.
ReplyDeleteThis whole blogging experience changed my view of writing. I never really understood how you can be passionate while writing. How you can have a voice in writing, and to know that it was okay! Blogging got me to think of writing as an art form and not a boring structured school essay. Thank you Dr. P for giving us the opportunity to share who we were, to be there as a friend when we needed someone the most. Thank you for understanding us and not judging us. I’m grateful and blessed to have a teacher like you who has showed me that I matter and I have a voice.
To my classmates- I love that when I see y’all on campus I can say “Hey” and it’s not like that awkward staring match and you’re debating on whether to say hey or not. We’ve all grown into a relationship with each other. I have LOVED reading every single blog y’all have posted. Everyone has such an incredible story and has impacted me more than y’all will know. I’m going to miss seeing every on MWF at 10 am. On a final note, I just want to say that y’all came into my life for a reason and have left your mark and your stories will forever stay with me.
I'm going to miss seeing everyone on MWF at 10 am.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the typo!
“Would you rather write a blog or write a paper?” Given the choice, I gleefully choose blogging, no thought required. After all, I do it all the time already. I’ve racked up three and a half years of posts on Tumblr (let’s just pretend my LiveJournal days never happened). But this assignment was harder than I thought it would be… writing a blog for a grade is different than writing a blog for fun. I struggled on some of the posts. I didn’t know what to say, and I was a little nervous to see my classmate’s responses and reactions to my intimate thoughts. I’ve never been one to hide behind the veil of being anonymous on the Internet, so when it came to these blog posts I chose to use my real name, but sharing the posts with people who seemed real to me – meaning I had sat next to them in class – was daunting at times.
ReplyDeleteThis experience has been so much more than just a classroom assignment. I feel like I’ve gotten to know all of you through the stories, feelings, and thoughts we’ve all shared. Dr. PD, you’ve taught me to look beyond the standard rules of writing technically, and I’ve learned that I can share my personality when I write papers instead of turning in a boring, 5-paragraph essay. I can honestly say this English class has been so different from the other English classes I’ve taken, and I look forward to (hopefully) taking other classes with you in the future!
I had no idea what a blog could do to you. I was so hesitant about this whole blogging thing when you first told us about it. I thought sure, ill try it out, make up some "BS" and post it! Man was i wrong! I have honestly shared with you guys more than i ever thought possible. I never thought i would just sit down and write about my past, my hurts, my pains, my joys my struggles. But thats what came out when i started writing and I am so beyond thankful.Thats my voice. I'm not a fake girl so why would i write fake things? I have found my voice through these blogs and this class and I have you to thank for that Dr. P.
ReplyDeleteIn high school there was so much structure to every writing assignment ever. (this is why i have been so tempted to correct every little grammatical era in these blogs, but i didnt!! me-1 point highschool-0 points). Thats why i hated writing so much. Taking this class has taught me so much about my true voice and has sparked in me a passion for writing again. Thank you Dr. P, I really just cannot thank you enough.
Lastly in response to laugh001 i truly believe that God put us together in this wonderful english class for a reason. You have become one of my dearest friends and i cant wait t to take on the next 4 years of our life together. I know you will be with me every step of the way and we would have never began this friendship without this class.
I am overwhelmed with gratefulness right now as i finish this last blog. Thank you for truly teaching me Dr. P, you are a blessing. I will miss you all, truly, and have loved getting to know alot of your hearts through this blog. In words of one of my best friends "this is not goodbye, this is 'ill be seeing you'" So....I'll be seeing you.
This class has been my saving grace. This semester has been horrid. From being chronically sick, to dealing with my empty-nest syndrome parents, and everything in between. I love writing. I forgot how much so until this class. I know it sounds cliché and whatever, but I’ve missed this side of me. This blog has saved my mental status these last few weeks. And I want to thank you, Dr. P, and everyone else in this class. For sharing, for reading, for making English class fun again.
ReplyDeleteY'know this is actually the first...well anything... that I've ever saved from a class. It serves as a reminder of what real people can do when given freedom with no pressure. I guess that's what these blogs have meant to me. No pressure.
ReplyDeleteI've always held myself to rather extreme standards, and with high standards comes high pressure. But this class has relieved that pressure somewhat.
Now, I'm one of those people that rarely says the word "love". I've only ever said it to people unprompted a handful of times in my entire life. But I love you guys. I love you and Dr. P both. I feel like I've actually gotten to know you through these blogs.
I think blogging is a way to see a side of someone that you would not normally see. For me, writing is hard and impossible. I always have a hard time finding the right words to say when I am asked to a paper. Since we started this whole blogging thing, I've been able to catch on to this whole writing thing a little bit better. I can actually write my thoughts with it coming easy to me.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that blogging is important to a writing class. It serves as a place for students to put their thoughts and opinions out there, while getting to see the thoughts and opinions of others. I believe it also makes people open up more and not be as intimidated with the course. It means a lot that a teacher cares enough to open up to her students and also wanting to hear what the students have to say. I loved that Dr. P allowed us to have a voice in this class, making it not like every other standard college course.
So, thank you Dr. P for such a great semester. I have learned a lot and I feel like my writing has greatly improved since the beginning of the semester.
Honestly, when we first discussed this "blogging" thing, I was massively skeptical. It was one thing to heavily put my emotions in my essays (which was seriously possibly the greatest thing I have ever done in an English class, thank you Dr. P for encouraging us to do so, it made mine, and I'm sure everyone's papers a hell of a lot more interesting), but I was not entirely comfortable with the world seeing my writing. Trust me, I loved the idea. I knew this would be a great way to experience another way of writing.
ReplyDeleteSo, after I finally manned up to put my stuff online, I found that with each time I pressed "Post Comment," I became much more optimistic, interested, and comfortable with my replies. (I even went as far as to call out other posts that I found irrational, which is something I would never tell people in person.) This blogging created a sort of comfort zone for me. I wasn't afraid to come out and say things that I normally wouldn't promulgate to the world.
Doing the blog in this class was the perfect closing to this specific English class. There was no other alternative to it. I know a few classes where students worked on the same paper multiple times, and they finished the class with the final same paper of however many pages long. And that's how their class should have ended. With the way Dr. P designed our classroom learning experience, I feel as if having all of us do the blog was the only righteous way to culminate what she wanted from us all along.
This was my favorite class I have had at Auburn by a large margin. Dr. P, you are just flat out awesome. I can't believe I got lucky enough to be put in your class.
War Eagle!!!