RESPOND WITH AT LEAST 150 WORDS EACH

POST 1:

1. Name the chosen article and author. Next, the first step asks you to recognize an idea that strikes you within your reading. Write a phrase describing that idea, sentence, or passage. Remember to mark the original passage so you know what sparked your idea.

I selected “Are we teaching composition all wrong?” By Joseph Teller. A section of the article that struck me was the observation that we, as students, do not substantially revise our compositions.

2. Write two sentences explaining how the idea that you've noted relates to what is happening or being said in this section of the text.

Applying feedback for rough drafts help students to improve their composition assignments, and with that their writing skills. Teller relates that he tried multiple strategies to increase the revision activity by his students, but in the end “Weak drafts remained weak; stronger drafts get slightly stronger” (Teller, 2016)

3. Write two sentences explaining what in your own experience you can associate with what is being said in the quote.

I fully agree with Teller about my lack of deep revision of my past work. Most of my past composition work, going back as far as high school level, was superficially revised. I would correct grammatical or technical errors, at most expand on particular sections, but not the deep revision in order to improve the overall paper.

Reference

Teller, J. (1988). Are We Teaching Composition All Wrong? The Chronicle of Higher Education; Washington, 31(17). Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/docvi…

POST 2:

I decided to read the essays by Joseph D. Teller and Emily S. Stewart in reverse starting with Stewart’s “No, We’re Not Teaching Composition ‘All Wrong’” in response to Teller’s “Are We Teaching Composition All Wrong?: Students understand why Barbie is sexist, but they can't make their case in a coherent essay the response and then going back and reading the original Essay”. A line from Stewart’s response that stuck out to me most was where she correlated the success rate of her students to her abilities to effectively teach them. A teacher’s job is to impart knowledge that the student coming in does not posses or has unrefined skills in, therefore, the onus is on the teacher to utilize effective methods to reach their students.

Whereas Teller illustrates a strict method in which he believes should be effective in teaching students, Stewart counters that if his method have not produced students capable of meeting the standards of the courses he's instructed over 10 years then their failures may stem from his ineffective methods. The mantra mentioned by Stewart in particular sets the tone for the rest of the essay on how Teller is wrong in his assumption that teachers are teaching composition wrong.

Reading Stewart’s response immediately resonated with me as I view leadership principles as a supervisor in the same way she does. If my people are not performing to standards, not training subordinates effectively or leading as supervisors; I may not be giving them the necessary feedback or tools for success.

References:

Emily, S. S. (2016). No, we're not teaching composition 'all wrong'. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/docview/1850856198?accountid=14580

Teller, J. R. (2016). Are we teaching composition all wrong? The Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved from http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/docview/1826270801?accountid=14580