Sunday, December 6, 2009
A Topic Choosing You
The second is to begin to collect some writing around subjects that are interesting enough for us to potentially pursue as writers to a finished piece. We are in the collecting stage of the process where students brainstorm/draft/collect some writing in the form of lists, webs, prose, etc. so that they may have some material from which to make their decision. Some call it the prewriting stage, though you are indeed writing. So do some writing around at least 3 of your possible research items and chose one to post on the blog in the comment box.
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This seems like a tough one for me. I feel like I'm so steeped in the traditional research type of work, that I want to pick something "research worthy." I am thinking that I love the Transcendentalist writers like Thoreau, but what is the question here that I need answered? Perhaps, how can I live a better life through reflection...But that seems to far from what I really need. So if I think more purposefully about my daily life and the aspects I need to figure out, a more pressing question comes up. How can I organize my life so that I have time to be healthy, happy and secure? That's a big one too, so maybe I'll narrow it down to How can I fit more exercise (specifically yoga) into my life? I'm thinking there are people I know who do yoga that I can talk to as well as people whose "togetherness" I admire.
ReplyDeleteI explored two topics: an exploration of an alternate life and tracking. The first topic was a disaster and the second worked. I know my creative process well enough to know that I have to "strike while the iron is hot" and thereby complete a piece of writing in a sustained effort over a couple of days. I did not go through the writing process in stages as might be expected of the student. For me, that approach too often results in procrastination, boredom and mediocrity. I wonder if differing creative styles of students can be accomodated for the sake of quality, or are they in conflict?
ReplyDeleteI have been reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan and realizing that while I like to think I know something about growing food, there is a lot I don't know about where food comes from. There are so many different ways to eat in this country and all of them stem from different philosophies about ways to make food. I realized that this is a really hefty topic to take on, so I decided to narrow it down to something involved in the process of making food, but is perhaps less cumbersome (we'll see). I chose compost making to be at the center of my web because it is something I know a little about but would like to know a lot more. It may seem pretty straightforward and scientific upon first glance, but after thinking about it, and especially after talking with farmers who have entire philosophies about making compost, I decided it would be a worthwhile topic to explore. I am hoping that researching this smaller idea will shed some light on bigger ideas about the way we choose to feed ourselves. Ideally, it will also help me think about the system we use at school and how to best keep it going or improve it.
ReplyDeleteToday we met in person and shared the following topics:
ReplyDeleteEllen - Making the best compost
Shannon - Yoga
Patrick - Tracking
Rob - Calypso Music
David - Kurtan or Frame Drumming