(note: Rhonda will be back later today)
Those of you who have been following this blog are already aware that my goal here is both to provide a sample for my 101 and 102 students and to present a method for creating a realistic research paper assignment, i.e. one that is representative of actual assignments in college courses. If you haven't read the initial material, there are links above.
Since my department is shifting to new textbooks this term (Ruszkiewicz,
John J. and Jay T. Dolmage. How to Write Anything: A Guide and a Reference with Readings. 2nd ed. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2012, and Ruszkiewicz, John J. A Reader’s Guide to College Writing. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2014), this seems like a good time for a brief progress report. Over the past few years, the most obvious result has been a decrease in students dropping the course, which has been my greatest encouragement. In addition, the problems I've seen students having are the same ones we all see every semester: writing issues, difficulty with time management, critical thinking skills that aren't yet up to the material, etc (here in Illinois, high schools apparently focus primarily on 5-paragraph essays, with the result that many students can't immediately grasp the reality that those won't work at the college level: for some, it's a kind of security blanket, and they resist the change). All of these are college-readiness issues that should have been addressed before they enter our classrooms, but that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon. So, as far as the things I can control go, this project is producing a quantifiable benefit.
New versions of the assignments and critical model packet will be available shortly (links will be on the left).
Finally, my thanks to those who sent condolences after my mother's death. I am very hopeful that the gaps in posts that have marked this year to date will not be necessary again.
And now, Rhonda is up next. She is taking 102 this term, so if you need a 101 example, use the Fall 2011 or 2012 entries.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Monday, June 9, 2014
A Haunting Memory
Note to new readers: this begins Rhonda's 101 journal for Summer 2014. You can read earlier 101 blogs in the fall 2011 and 2012 postings (start with August).
Finally got my blog set up, and since I haven’t done a reading yet, I’m going to talk about my topic for Project 2, the memoir. The story I’m going to use is actually my first memory (or so I think). I remember sleeping on the sofa in my grandmother’s living room in Joliet. I was about four years old and the windows were open, which they never were at our house. You could tell it was going to be a hot day, but the breeze was just cool enough for me. My grandmother came in to wake me, and the next thing I remember is her helping me put my socks on.
Finally got my blog set up, and since I haven’t done a reading yet, I’m going to talk about my topic for Project 2, the memoir. The story I’m going to use is actually my first memory (or so I think). I remember sleeping on the sofa in my grandmother’s living room in Joliet. I was about four years old and the windows were open, which they never were at our house. You could tell it was going to be a hot day, but the breeze was just cool enough for me. My grandmother came in to wake me, and the next thing I remember is her helping me put my socks on.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Don't Wait Until Mother's Day
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| My mom, Joyce Wiertelak, about age 3 |
On April 8, my mother died. Not long after Rhonda's last post (on 3/10/14), Mom went into the hospital because of an infection, and over the next 3 weeks, she had innumerable tests, scans, x-rays, etc., of every part of her body as they tried to figure out what was causing the pain she had been experiencing. The upshot of all this was that while she was finally getting medication for the pain (and the infection, which did clear up), they discovered that she had cancer of the spine. The prognosis was as bad as possible: 4 weeks (or 6 months, if she were to continue her kidney dialysis). She chose to forgo the dialysis-- she hated it -- and so she was put under hospice care and we brought her home.
I cannot say enough good things about the hospice and the help they gave us, so I won't try, but looking back on it now, a month later, I find that I am very glad that we went that route. You might think that doing all the things that have to be done for a person in that situation would be . . . well, pick your adjective-- disgusting, gross, whatever, but when it's someone you love, that aspect of it doesn't even come into play. You're just happy you can do something to make her more comfortable. Really, it was a privilege to take care of her and help her during this time; we're all agreed on that. From the moment of the diagnosis, our primary concern was that Mom would get whatever she wanted (obviously, she would also get whatever she needed, too), and my four siblings and I did everything to make that happen. Unfortunately, her condition worsened so rapidly that there wasn't time to do all the things she wanted to do.
So, on Mother's Day this year, the family will gather the way we always did. In the hospital, she told me she wanted the chilled cucumber soup I make every summer. When she came home, I bought the cucumbers, but the next day she wasn't up to eating much, and it just went downhill from there. We'll be having the soup on Sunday, along with some of her other favorites, and I know I'm still going to feel guilty that I didn't make it while she could enjoy it, but I also know that she would tell me it was not my fault and that I shouldn't feel badly about it.
What I want to say right now is this: don't wait to make the cucumber soup. Don't wait for Mother's Day. Do it now.
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