In answer to the first, it kind of makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit. It is bad writing. And not bad writing like Stephanie Meyer who cannot string together a sentence using proper grammar, it is bad writing that poses as good writing. "Oh how beautiful" we are meant to say, thinking of a loom and thread and the nostalgia that the modern world inherently ties to the old ways, the more tactile and human ways, of production but the truth is that it is a weak piece of writing and what is worse is that it does not need to be; God already did the writing! If one is looking for a metaphor with spiritual ramifications, how about one that has appeared in literally every single major world religion; that of the clay and the potter (Isaiah 64:8); this archetypal image still carries the meanings that are inscribed upon the loom image but due to its cross-cultural, nigh-pre-cogniscient meaning (owing to society's familiarity with it) it carries that meaning in a more effective and more poetic manner.
Moving on from my critique of the writing (which really was not the intent of the question anyway): I would agree that good teachers have a capacity for connectedness and that it is our goal to inscribe our lessons upon the hearts and minds of our students; I do think it is a bit too wishy-washy for my taste when it references the "loom of the heart"; I just cannot connect to such a blatantly emotional appeal; I like the idea of education being a spiritual endeavor but it is, in the end of the status quo an intellectual endeavor before any other kind and lines like this just do not match that real-world I find myself living in.
In answer to the second query: I do my best to keep my students' interests in mind; I've found that many appreciate some of the same television shows and/or music I do and using that I can connect to students in a very effective manner and that allows for instruction to be more effective in and of itself.
Hmmmm. Very interesting. I honestly do not know whether or not to laugh out loud or pick my jaw up about how blantantly negative you are on the quotes. And I suspect that the comment about vampires is not so much a personal jab to the author as an honest critique of her writing style. However, upon finishing I find myself slowly nodding in agreement with your criticism that the author's language is too drippy and the metaphor about the loom is overly poetic. Yes, the real world doesn't always work like this. I have seen numerous classroom settings ranging from the public and private to predominantly Asian with these being highly motivated students (almost surreal, in fact) and in none of these classrooms can you honestly apply the "wouldn't it be grand if only..." ideology to teaching. In short,Joshua, I think that you get what is being asked of you in this assignment. Sharing similar interests, commenting on pop culture when it applies to the curriculum and weaving current events into your lessons always make you feel connected to your students. I see you do this all the time. So ease up on the skepticism a wee bit and just refrain from throwing up when you get flowery assignments like these in the future.
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