Last week, I met with a former student to review her essay for her graduate school application.  The essay had good content but needed revision to make it stronger and editing to take care of grammatical and mechanical errors.  During the course of our conversation, she mentioned how she had learned all of this stuff – at this point, we were discussing the use of the semi-colon – but really hadn’t paid attention.  Now she needed this information.  Also, she never thought of revision as something useful; you wrote the paper and the teacher made comments.  Well, I had a hand in that, because at the time that I taught her, her 9^th and 12^th grade English courses, I was still in the stage of giving all of the comments and the students making the changes because I said so.  I had not learned how to make comments that sparked thoughtful choices and I did not approach revision as a means to bring out the best in the writing.  In short, I was approaching writing from the standpoint of most literature teachers and not from the standpoint of a teacher of writing, which is my viewpoint now.

Revision is such an important process.  If I were teaching now, and when I have the opportunity to work with teachers, I stress the point of writing in drafts.  If students come to the writing knowing that they are going to make revisions to improve their writing, it is far less painful for them.  It is a shift for the teacher, too, because she or he is not expecting the first draft to be a polished draft.  It is a draft in which the student discovers what she or he has to say about the topic.  Some people are able to stay on topic and write a draft that just needs fine-tuning; most people write a draft that meanders around the topic, trying to discover what is most important. 

In our discussion of her essay, we talked about making the writing more powerful.  For example, putting some pertinent and poignant information at the end of the sentence, actually at the end of the paragraph and offsetting it from the main sentence by use of a colon.  None of this did I say to her when she was my student 10 years ago.  Thank goodness, I have spent the time learning and growing as a teacher of writing through my work with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the scoring of AP English Literature and Composition exams, and the Masters of Arts Writing Program at Rowan University.

I work with many teachers who do not see the need to teach writing.  Some of them think that the students are supposed to come to them already fully informed in grammar and mechanics (from elementary and middle school instruction) and they should just teach them how to write a literary analysis, unfortunately usually in a five-paragraph essay format.  This results in there being no growth in the students’ writing over the course of four years, or at least not until senior year when teachers are mindful of the type of writing that the students may need to do in college. 

In the model that I am currently proposing to my staff, students do come to the high school with the basics.  But our job over the next four years is to advance their writing so that it becomes the powerful tool of communication that it can be.  Using textual support and examples to support an opinion are important, but so is knowing the power of short sentences and long, complex sentences, the power of the comma, the semi-colon, the colon, and the period.  This calls for the teaching of less literature for the sake of literature and more reading of literature, fiction and non-fiction, for a model of good writing and then actually writing to try to incorporate the techniques.  An ambitious endeavor on my part, but well worth the effort for the students.

July is cruising by.  Why do we say “cruising by”?  I think of the cruise control on the car where you set it when you have reached a soeed that you want to maintain.  You don’t need to accelerate or even keep your foot on the gas pedal.  You can rest your right leg and let the car take over and you just have to steer. 

I don’t use cruise control.

It makes me nervous not to be in control of the car.  Even thought I know cruise control goes off witht he touch of a button or a foot on the brakes, that split second of not being in control if something should get in my way — a car changing lanes too close for comfort, a truck making a right turn and coming just a little over the lane line, a deer appearing suddenly in the road — would seem like an eternity.  I already know my reaction time is not the quickest.  No Jedi reflexes here.

So is July cruising by?  Have I or my activities reached a speed where I am tempted to set the cruise control and just steer?  No really.  It’s more like I have so much to do and so little time.  I had about 10 items on my To-Do list at the beginning of the month and now that it is 3/4ths over, I still have 8 items, 6 of which must be completed befor I go on vacation August 3rd.  Today is July 22nd.

Lessons learned?  1.  There is a reason not to use cliches such as “cruising by” because they may not mean exactly what you think or want.  2.  I need to buckle down and get to work.

New paper is always an inspiration or a reason for making cards or other pojects.  I buy paper because I like the coors and the patterns on it.  I do buy solid color paper but it is usually cardstock for the cards themselces or some very interesting coordinating color or mulberry paper for backgrounds or grounding.  For those who only buy paper in 8 1/2 ” x 11″ or 12″ x 12″ sheets, take a look at some of the paper available online or at a paper store that sells handmade and/or decorative paper.  The variety in weight, texture, and color is tremendous.  I love to window shop on websites such as Paper Mojo, The Paper Studio , and Paper Arts.

Since new paper was my focus, I knew my rubberstamping was going to be minimal, just words and phrases.  When adding just words or phrases, vellum is a nice choice for layering over paper or adding dimension.

Creating New Paper

I gave myself some rules for creating paper:

1.  the paper was cut into 3″ squares.

2.  6 different papers per sheet of created paper — 2 light, 2 medium, and 2 dark.

3.  No 2 created sheets could be exactly the same.

The 3″ squares were adhered to a cardstock background using matte medium.  This was the first time I used matte medium.  I found out what happens when you use too much — the paper buckles or warps when dried.  I also found that I should have tested the paper first because 2 different papers ran and those created paper sheets were unusable.  I also found that I like to use matte medium undiluted.  And I found that matte mediium is great for creating new paper, but I still like double-stick tape when attaching the paper to the actual card.

I prefer using colored cardstock when making cards because white is just too stark.  But sometimes white is the only choice.  In this case, I used coordinating mulberry paper cut slightly larger than the created paper piece to add a border.

Red Mulberry border

Birthday card

Birthday card

Anniversary card

The other 12 cards are ready for personalizing, as the need arises.

ready for personalizing

Ready for personalizing

I am inspired, though, to work on a larger scale in three possible ways.  One is to create a larger piece of created paper, perhaps using watercolor paper as the backing. I think watercolor paper for its ability to absord some of the water if the matte medium is diluted.  Two is to create a larger piece and to use that piece as a motherboard, going to a printer to get a color copy of the created paper and then cutting the copies.  I saw this idea in a magazine a few years ago but have not had the opportunity to try it.  Three is to create a piece on canvas and not use it for cards, but create it as art itself.  I would use canvas which I bought a while ago — last year, actually.  I think I could create some wall pieces.  Interesting thought.  A challenge for myself.  These ideas sound good for a rainy weekend.

Next art that is calling me:  Chinese brushstroke painting.

I came across a blog called “The Book Whisperer”.  The blogger, Donalyn Miller, works on connecting children with reading.  In the post, “Out of the Box”, Ms. Miller writes about the experience of reading Airman by Eoin Colfer and what she has learned about flying because of this book.  She also shares other things that she has learned from reading, fiction and non-fiction.  She also talks about how reading non-fiction sometimes sparks the interest in fiction on that topic and vice versa. 

Her posting has got me to thinking about my own reading and how it connects to teaching.  I have taught elementary schoo, middle school, high school, and college.  The common denominator has been that if I am passionate about what I am reading, the students will catch some of the enthusiasm.  Not every student will love what I am reading but they all express at least an interest.  I think of some works that I taught what are considered lower-level 9th grade students.  We read My Antonia by Willa Cather.  When I recommend this book to other teachers to teach, I hear “The language is too difficult.” or “The book is too long; the students will never read a book of that length.” or “These kids don’t know anything about the 1800’s or the Midwest.”  Well, the book is long, and the language is denser than the students usually read, and they might not know anything about the 1800’s or the Midwest, but each complaint is a point to be dealt with in the teaching of the book.  I love the language and learning some of the older meanings of words.  When students are engaged in the story, they don’t mind the length.  The immigrant experience fascinates me because it is so different from my own experience, but many of my students were immigrants, so the story appealed to them.  For those who weren’t here was a chance to learn something.  The story led us to inquire about immigration in the 1800s – what countries did they leave and why, where in the US did they settle, why did some areas appeal to certain groups and not to others.  Then looking at Nebraska which is very different from our New Jersey home:  just what are those geographical differences; how does this impact the family, schools, community, etc.; what is the Midwest like today; and what were the overall historical and economic concerns of the 1800s.  As you can see, I move from fiction to non-fiction easily.  I think the non-fiction enhances the fiction, adding another layer or depth. 

Another book that I have taught that others won’t is John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.  I love it.  I love the way in which it is written with the alternating chapters of story and social commentary.  The Depression is a time period that fascinates me — a period that my parents and grandparents lived through and a period that has had such lasting effects on the psyche of the nation at large, one of those defining moments.  Again, the complaints arise about the length, the time period is too far removed from the students, there is easier Steinbeck to be taught, the ending is so depressing.  Again, each of these can be addressed in the teaching, even the ending.  In grad school, someone typified the differences between the British and American novels:  American novels looked for a happy ending, British novels did not.  Steinbeck leans toward the British in this case, but it is reasonable.

Sometimes, I think that teachers get an idealized vision of our students and then expect that we can predict their likes and dislikes, even their strengths and weaknesses.   I think that we do students a disservice when we lapse into that behavior.  I believe that we should challenge students, all students, and that with scaffolding, support, and guidance, they can reach new heights.  i also think that all students should be exposed to a plethora of literature and good writing, fiction and non-fiction.  If we don’t expose them to it in school, students might never choose to read the various types of literature available to them.  And don’t get me started on poetry . . .   Too often teachers have killed poetry because they have analyzed for techniques and literary/poetic devices and left out the most important part — the effect or the meaning that the poet was trying to convey.  I could go on and on about poetry, but that is a post for another day.

The bottomline is that if the teacher is enthused and willing to take the time to break the literature into appropriate pieces for the students, just about anything can be achieved.  The same is true for writing, another passion of mine.  But that, too, is a post for another day.

I make my own greeting cards through rubberstamping and the use of paper.  I love paper.  I love the variety of decorative and handmade papers that are available, especially through online shopping.  I visit my local craft stores, such as Michaels, A. C. Moore, and JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts, when paper is on sale to see what is available. But when I want to see beautiful paper, paper that does not come in 8 1/2 by 11 or 12 by 12 but 21 by 37 and other sizes, I visit my online resources, usually Paper Mojo.  For the past few years, I have purchased from Paper Mojo and usually buy a dozen or so pieces that tend to last me for the year.

Buying paper and planning art projects is another antidote for the contraries (see my post on Views From the Rear Window for more on the contraries).  I make a list of things to do and sometimes go as far as to detail a project or two and the bad mood of the contraries is lifted.  For example, I have not had the time to paint.  I paint in the Chinese Brushstroke watercolor style, having taken lessons for about two years.  I have not had the time to paint, but I have detailed a landscape that I plan to do of the mountains and desert of southern Arizona.  I usually paint on rice paper, but am aslo interested in expanding to silk.  On the Dick Blick website, I found silk hoops that are inexpensive and are actually packaged as a children’s or class project.  So, I bought a set to have on hand when I get the time to try this.

Sometimes though necessity intervenes and yesterday I needed to create Father’s Day cards for the fathers in my life — my own, my husband, my brother, and two of my sons.  I bought a stamp that says “Happy Father’s Day” last year, so I knew what I was putting in the middle of the card.  But, the outside is always a problem.  I have lots of floral stamps because I like flowers.  I have leaves and trees.  I have southwestern theme stamps.  I have dragon flies and a few birds.  But I don’t really have male-oriented stamps.  When I think of these men and their interests, I think of cars, rvs, tools, and possibly music.  I don’t own stamps with these interests because there are not a plethora of stamps available on these interests. 

So what could be the theme of my Father’s Day cards?  I thought of June and the approaching summer, and that takes me to the shore.  I do have some stamps of shells but not a complete beach scene or paper that reflects a beach theme.  But I do have some ocean wildlife stamps from when I was creating invitations for my daughter’s baby shower and the theme was the aquarium.  So a sunfish, a dolphin, and a sea turtle were my choices.  Now for the paper.  Going through my stash, I found two pieces of 12 by 12 paper that looked like underwater.  They would work.

To use color on the stamps and emboss in clear, or to stamp clear and use colored embossing powder what is the next decision.  I decided to stamp clear and to use Gold Crystal and White Silver embossing powder by Rubber Dub Dub, Inc., rather than actual colors.  (I tried to create a link to Rubber Dub Dub which is in Cape Coral, Florida, but the web address on the embossing powder kept taking me to a military supply store, so I don’t know if this comapny is still in business.) 

The White Silver actually looks white on the paper and for a change I used white cardstock. (I usually don’t like white cards and have a variety of colored cardstock purchased from my local stationers.)  I left enough room to use the shell stamps across the bottom and used the ”On Your Special Day” stamp on the front.  I tried first in the Gold Crystal but I found it difficult to read.  No, I thought it was impossible to read, but I asked my husband to read it and he could, so it was just difficult for me.  When I used White Silver, it was much clearer.

The cards turned out well, I thought. 

I would love to say that I will start earlier next year and will have these done sooner than the night before, but the reality is that it probably won’t happen.  I will keep my eye out for appropriate stamps for men  or will figure out another way to get appropriate images on my cards — photo transfer, perhaps? 

I would love to say that I will make a bunch of cards so that I have them on hand and just need to stamp or put in the appropriate message.  That does happen from time to time, just not often enough.  When my pace slows in the summer, I will spend some evenings engaged in card making, especially now that I have new paper to play with!

My dream is to one day create enough cards and on a consisten basis that I am able to sell some on Etsy.  I don’t see that dream being fulfilled any time soon, but it is a dream so who knows what will happen.

Too many ideas . . . too many talents . . . too little time!

When he was Poet Laureate from 2001 - 2003, poet Billy Collins developed Poetry 180, a project designed to bring a poem per school day to high school students.  As the program continues to be used by high school teachers, new poems have recently been added to the 180 poems listed.

A new project of Collins’s is BC Action Poet which is poems by Billy Collins that have been turned into a multi-modal presentation. Most have animation and all have Collins providing the reading of the poem.  I look forward to the application of this type of technique for students and other poets, either collaboratively with artists which is what Collins has done, or by the poet herself expanding or employing other self-created media.

Today 

Budapest 

While clearing my desk at work this week, I was trying to empty my “To Look At” folder.  This folder holds newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and advertisements that I should consider for one reason or another.  I found an articile from the Philadelphia Inquirer that I have been considering since July, 2007:  Still Looking at Blackbirds” in Katie Haegele’s DigitaLit column.  Ms. Haegele examined a piece of digital poetry by Edward Picot, 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, which is inspired by the Wallace Steven’s poem.  Picot has used animation to . . . augment . . . recreate . . . digitize . . . innovate the poem.  As a former teacher and an aspiring writer, I love that Picot is able to include his notes on writing the poem.  It is a delightful piece and it is worth looking at Picot’s work on his web site and his other web site, The Hyperliterature Exchange.

I have been taking a graduate course, Writing for Electronic Communities, which is just about over.  I have come to appreciate all that the electronic world has to offer for writing and I look forward to the time to explore my own hypertext creations, including this blog and my other blog, View From the Rear Window.  Look for future postings on my endeavors!

In an e-mail update from eSchool News, I read an article entitled, “Blogging helps encourage teen writing:  Survey reveals that student bloggers are more prolific and appreciate the value of writing more than their peers”.  This article is based on a survey conducted by Pew Internet and others.  The main finding was that students who blog out of school write more in school.  Other interesting items were that students think “it would help their writing if their teachers used computer-based writing tools such as games, multimedia, or writing software programs or web sites during class”. 

I found this article particularly interesting because of my graduate course, Writing for Electronic Communities, and of my work.  At work, I am facilitating the revision of the 9th grade College Prep English Curriculum.  Just today I gave the committee a list of areas that we still need to address, one of which included use of technology as a tool for learning, along with looking at how we teach writing and what types of writing will be required in 9th grade.  Within the writing, incorporating a variety of computer-based tools, such as the Review Function in MS Word for writing, editing, and revision was an item that was identified, as well as incorporating avenues for publication which makes the writing authentic, digital avenues such as blogs, group web sites, Voice Thread.  I would say that most of the teachers on this committe, most of the teachers in the English Department in general, do not have the knowledge or comfort in working with these media.  Their students might.  The challenge for them as we implement this curriculum next year will be to learn the media and techniques.  I will facilitate workshops/professional development opportunities for them, with myself and with others such as the technical staff and school media specialist. 

Since the goal is to get students to write and to advance in their writing, we will work very hard to meet this end.  But here is a question for those who use some or all of the technology mentioned:  how do you assess the work of the students? I would love some responses from anyone who works in this area. 

I think that it would put my teachers at ease to know that they are not alone in working with these media and that I am not leading them to some unknown, uncharted territory — like Columbus’s crew who must have thought that they were going to fall off the end of the earth.  I, personally, am excited and can’t wait to embark on this endeavor.  Our high school has enough of an electronic infrastructure that students and teachers should and can be successful. 

I love trying new things and embrace change!

I bought the new issue of Artful Blogging on Friday.  Yesterday, I spent the day doing work for my graduate courses and looking at the pages of Artful Blogging was my treat for sustained work.  Today, my treat will be to begin to read the articles from the bloggers.

I am working on a Masters in Writing from Rowan University in NJ.  I was neglecting the writing side of my creativity and this program tied into my professional life as a curriculum supervisor for Language Arts and Reading as well as my creative side with the ability to explore creative non-fiction, memoir, and more journalistic writing such as feature writing.  I will complete this program next year and I have no regrets about having spent this enormous amount of money on a personal whim.  Unfortunately, what has suffered has been my other creative outlets.

I paint in Chinese watercolor techniques.  It has been months since I have ground ink to paint.  I work with paper and create cards with rubber stamps and all of the extras, but my main focus is the use of paper.  I worked on cards in December because I had received some gifts and wanted to give personally created thank-you cards and I knew of some upcoming birthdays and events that needed cards.  I also made a set of cards as a gift for a friend.  So, I created for a very practical purpose and that window of opportunity closed, the semester began and this avenue of creativity ceased.  My husband and I have been working with photography and I would love to explore it further.  Right now, it’s just on my list of things to do when I finish grad school.  Then there is my love of fabric and the needle arts . . .

But, my list can’t wait until I finish grad school.  The inspiration that I am getting from reading Artful Blogging  and the blogs of others such as Inspiraculum make me want to create now.  My task or my test is to find a way to incorporate all of my creativity into one project.   Or to at least incorporate multiple genres into my projects.  

How do others who work full-time and have full lives find time for their art?  I would love to hear from others and how you manage this.

When I was in grad school the first time, there was a semester when my money was not right and I had to take a semester off.  I was used to going to class one night a week and had established a routine with a babysitter and my children for that night. 

Today’s Burlington County Times has an article on the proposed closings of nine state parks which I have written about in previous posts on April 4th, April 5th, and April 9th.  In this installment of the saga, corporate sponsorship is being considered as a way to keep the parks open.  The Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson said that alternatives are  being considered but that “amping and swimming — the most expensive services — might not be retained.”  She also stated that “new or increased park fees and sharing services with local governments and nonprofit groups that support parks were among other options to keep parks open.”

Again, New Jersey needs to listen to other states.  The state of Washington considered corporate sponsorship in 2006, according to the article, “to find new money for repairs and construction.”  This matter never reached the point of being voted upon.  The folks in the state of Washington decided not to commercialize their parks. In fact, Washington’s Centennial 2013 plan looks like a way for citizens to become involved on an intimate level in maintaining, improving and expanding their parks.  The State of Washington seems to have a culture in which the parks are valued as a treasure of the people and for the people.

Hopefully, the good people of New Jersey will see that our parks are a sacred trust for ourselves, our children and grandchildren and will keep them open.  July 1st would be the date of closing for the designated parks — only 64 days away.  The saga continues . . .