Miller
Miller’s question of why people read blogs bears some scrutiny. She lists several reasons but didn’t mention the reasons I read blogs, and suspect some others do to. The first is for entertainment, and the second is to find people I feel I can connect with (even though I have no intention of ever contacting them). I definitely agree with the common interest reason though – I have noticed I read a lot more blogs since I had a child, and most of these are the “mommy” blogs or other humorous looks at parenting. As an added bonus they usually contain some pretty good tips (who knew sunscreen will take Sharpie marker off of human skin?).
Atkinson
I enjoyed reading Atkinson’s article, particularly the points on progressivism. The information from Kalantzis and Cope reminded me of the debates about the cultural bias of standardized tests. It does seem that progressivist pedagogy may have some issues if it does indeed favor those who are more “mainstream.” The closing quote really made me think, and I think framed the issue very rhetorically.
Durst
This article pointed out a lot of things that might affect a student’s writing. I hadn’t really considered how instructors might use community service in combination with writing to help them grow academically as well as empathetically, but it seems like a good idea. I would be interested in seeing some studies on this: whether it affects writing style, whether the students’ writing is affected based on whether they agree with the cause, etc. It seems like the sort of thing that might be polarizing, depending on the cause, and could possibly get quite a reaction from some people which could be seen in their writing, for good or bad.
Rebecca, I wonder why Miller didn't include the reasons you mentioned for reading a blog, especially since it was written only seven years ago. According to Dan, blog reading has been on the decline since 10 years ago, which comes as a surprise to me. Those reasons you mention would certainly be why I would follow a blog, especially one that caters to common professional interests and research.
ReplyDeleteCultural bias found in standardized tests has disturbed me ever since I noticed that such EFL exams like America's TOEFL and the UK's IELTS contain unfair lines of questioning.Is it the right thing to focus on a mainstream demographic? Is that ethically sound?
Durst's suggestion to introduce community service in the Freshman Composition classroom was quite refreshing, especially since most of the others could be a bit too questionable for my student demographics (sigh). It's our responsibility as educators to introduce new ideas, new ways to examine issues in hopes that some of them stick. Maybe it would be a good thought to have students write about it in before / after pieces so that we can see how / if they changed their minds. It would certainly provide substantial subject matter that keeps us all away from My Favorite Vacation:-)