Teacher as Scholar

My claim to fame in the world of scholarship is an essay I wrote a few years ago titled “Coming Up Empty: Exploring Narrative Omissions in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” which was included in Twain’s Omissions: Exploring the Gaps as Textual Context, a collection of essays published in 2013 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.  Of course I wasn’t paid anything for my contribution, nor was I even given a copy of the book; it retailed for $40 so I didn’t buy it.  It was enough to have my essay published.  More noteworthy, however, is the fact that another scholar (Andrew Levy) referenced this essay in the bibliography of his 2014 book Huck Finn’s America: Mark Twain and the Era that Shaped His Masterpiece.  Thank you Google for revealing this tidbit to me.  It feels good to be cited as a source…

I put a lot of work into that essay, although I’m not exactly a Twain scholar by any stretch of the imagination.  My interest in Huckleberry Finn came out of a class I took in grad school on Twain, Howells and James for which I wrote an essay titled “What Humor Hides in Huck Finn.”   When I wrote that essay, it had been years since I had done any literary criticism (as an undergrad at Purchase College in the 1980s I majored in literature).  I thoroughly enjoyed the process of researching and writing that essay and felt compelled to look for additional opportunities to do literary criticism.  This opportunity presented itself in the form of a call seeking papers by the Mark Twain Circle for a panel at the SAMLA convention in 2012.  When I read that “call for papers” (through U-Penn), I knew I had to give it a shot and got to work drafting an abstract.  Ultimately, I was chosen to present on the panel, and although I could not do so, my proposal was accepted for inclusion in the book.

My interest in literary criticism has remained strong, and I frequently consult https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu to find another “call” to answer.  I recently came across one that caught my eye, inviting “contributions that consider new interpretations or approaches to reading or teaching To Kill a Mockingbird.”  When thinking about how I might approach this topic, it occurred to me that a parallel might be drawn between Atticus Finch and Huck Finn.  If I can argue this successfully, I will be able to demonstrate that while Harper Lee and Mark Twain both put the spotlight on racism in their novels, neither was very successful in making a case for equality.  In that way they were both rather tepid attempts to create real awareness, let alone initiate change.  A contemporary review of To Kill a Mockingbird seems to bear this out.  The Chicago Tribune claimed that the novel “is in no way a sociological novel. It underlines no cause. It answers no questions. It offers no solutions. It proposes no programs. It is simply an excellent piece of storytelling.” 

If my proposal is accepted, I will be embarking on a journey that I know I will enjoy.  This will entail close reading of the texts and investigation into what other scholars have to say.  What will my research uncover?  How will I enter into the dialogue?  Most importantly, in what ways can I contribute something valuable to the scholarship?  Because that’s what the “call” is all about –new interpretations.  This is, after all, the ultimate goal in conducting academic research.  And it’s what I try to help my students understand as they go about their own research.  It takes time and it takes practice, but it is well worth the effort.

On old friends and Facebook

Yesterday I had lunch with an old friend who I’ve known since junior high.  We both shook our heads in amazement over Long Island Iced Teas at the Cheesecake Factory in Danbury when we realized that eighth grade was 40 years ago.  Diana and I were close friends throughout high school, sitting next to one another every morning in homeroom for three years.  She was the friend who knew instinctively what kind of mood I was in based on whether or not I had used a curling iron that morning (straight hair = depressed).  We frequently went out for lunch in my red VW Beetle to nearby Italian Pavilion where we always got a slice of Sicilian.  In the years since, I’ve never had Sicilian to equal IP’s.  We smoked cigarettes and talked boys and laughed (she cried too) when she realized she had missed an entire section on the English Regents Exam in our junior year. 

Diana and I stayed in touch through college, and I met my husband through her (he was her boss at Radio Shack where she worked during her breaks from school).  She went to my wedding; I went to hers.  And then almost 15 years went by until yesterday.  But we’ve been FaceBook friends for several years – I learned that she had married again; she saw pictures of my three boys growing up to be men.  We “liked” one another’s photos, occasionally commented on some, but we never got together.  And then one day she messaged me with this: “I've seen a few of your posts lately, and want you to know I do think of you and really do miss you and our friendship - I know life happens and family/work priorities + distance has made it hard for us to get together - I'd love to see you so let's see if we can schedule something.  Love your old friend, DC.” 

So we met, and we hugged and we laughed and all the years washed away.  And when you’re with someone who knew you when you were trying to know yourself (because let’s face it, isn’t that what adolescence is all about?) you understand that there is a powerful context for that friendship.  Maybe that’s why people of a certain age have the need to connect with old friends on FaceBook – we want to maintain a connection with those we knew when we were young.  We want to know where they ended up in life; whether their lives turned out the way they thought they would.  Presumably they want to know this about us as well.

Maybe there’s a better question we should be asking ourselves, though: Am I the person I want to be?  As I sat there with Diana catching up on our lives over lunch, I wanted her to know that I am, in fact, the person that I want to be.  I never thought I’d be a teacher, but as it turns out, I love teaching.  And I needed my old friend to understand this – that the girl who was trying to figure herself out all those years ago, finally did.  So thanks, FaceBook, for facilitating not only a walk down Memory Lane, but for an opportunity to reestablish an important friendship.  Sometimes old friends make the best friends.

At the Mid Point

Yes, I am the evil teacher who assigns her students work over spring break – but I don’t feel too bad because to this point in the semester the work load has been entirely manageable.  They’ve mostly been doing short reading responses and reflections.  Unfortunately, the major portion of their grade will be earned during the second half of the semester.  I did this by design, however, as we have been building toward the one research essay to be completed in this course.  I decided to tackle academic research in stages this semester by showing them how to implement reading strategies and then moving them into analysis and finally into research.  The spring break assignment is, in fact, to create a research plan.  I even provided them with a sample plan.

I too will be doing school work over the break.  Following a mid-semester course evaluation that I administered last week, I am faced with implementing some changes that I believe, in the long run, will go a long way toward making the class better.  For ideas see https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/mid-semester-evaluations.  The students were asked to answer four questions:

What’s going well?

What needs improvement?

What can the students do to improve the class?

What can the instructor do to improve the class?

As most of the students identified that improvement on their part would involve participating more (I agree 100%), I decided to partially turn the class over to them, at least when it comes to discussions that follow assigned readings.  Since participation counts for 10% of their grade, it seems fairly important to give them an opportunity to earn this grade, as they’ve made limited effort to do so thus far.  So here’s my simple idea – to divide the class into six groups, having each group assign a reading from our text along with a discussion question.  Groups will be tasked with deciding how to best lead the rest of the class in a discussion.  At the very least, this forces every student to participate on one side of the equation.  Although I can’t predict whether the students will be more likely to engage in a discussion led by their peers, I believe it’s worth a try. 

I think what’s important here is not so much whether the students actually participate in the above scenario, but that I am creating an opportunity for them to do so.  In other words, I am responding to their suggestions.  I am showing them that I care about what they are thinking.  I am taking their evaluations seriously.  So now it’s up to them to make the most of this chance to engage with the material and with one another.  I hope they rise to the occasion...

Dr. Michael C. White Publishes New Novel

Michael White, founder and former director of Fairfield University’s low-residency MFA Creative Writing Program, has just released his seventh novel, Resting Places, which won the Tuscany Prize for Best Novel.  His six other novels include Soul Catcher, which was a Booksense and Historical Novels Review selection, as well as a finalist for the Connecticut Book Award; A Brother’s Blood, which was a New York Times Book Review Notable Book and a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers nominee; The Blind Side of the Heart, an Alternate Book-of-the-Month Club selection; A Dream of Wolves, which received starred reviews from Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly; The Garden of Martyrs, also a Connecticut Book Award finalist; and Beautiful Assassin, which won the Connecticut Book Award. A collection of his short stories, Marked Men, was published by the University of Missouri Press. White has also published over 45 short stories in national magazines and journals, and has won the Advocate Newspapers Fiction Award and been nominated for both a National Magazine Award and a Pushcart.

Here’s a synopsis of Resting Places:

After receiving the devastating news of her son’s death, Elizabeth ekes out a lonely and strained relationship with her husband, Zach. While he takes comfort in support groups, Elizabeth becomes withdrawn and seeks solace from the only thing that helps her forget: alcohol. A chance meeting with a man on the side of the road spurs her to travel cross-country to the site of her son’s death in the hope of understanding what had happened.

Dr. White's upcoming reading/book signing schedule (all begin at 7:00 p.m.)

March 22, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT
March 29, RJ Julia, Madison, CT
April 5, Fairfield University, CT
April 7, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT
May 21, Blackstone Library, Branford, CT
May 25, Guilford Library/Breakwater Books, CT
July 15-24, Fairfield MFA residency, Enders Island, Mystic, CT

For more information, visit the author’s website at: michaelcwhite.com

How Am I Doing?

Like it or hate it, ratemyprofessors.com is the go to site for many students as a way to screen potential teachers.  Based on ratings posted on the site, students rely on other students’ opinions and experiences to make decisions about whether or not to enroll in our classes.  While there is, of course, always the possibility that a student might post something negative about a professor out of spite, it seems more likely that students believe providing an honest assessment about a teacher might help other students.  After all, why post a good review if not to encourage other students to take a class with a favorably rated professor?   

I finally made it to ratemyprofessors.com last semester.  Although there are only three reviews from the same class, each one rates me positively.  If I were a student reading these reviews, I would want to take a class with Professor D’Ascoli.  Apparently my class was enjoyable, and I am funny and helpful.  Of course, three students’ opinions hardly represent a fair sampling; formal student evaluations provide a broader perspective.  Unfortunately, students are not required to complete the online evaluations, so it’s virtually impossible to get a full perspective. 

Administrators obviously review formal student evaluations of teachers.  But do they ever look at reviews posted on ratemyprofessors.com?  As I perused the poor reviews of a colleague, I found myself wondering whether anyone other than students had read these reviews.  And what about the teacher?  What had she thought while reading students’ comments that described her as spiteful, rude, and unpleasant?  Perhaps she had the good sense to avoid the site altogether.  On the other hand, perhaps she dismissed the ratings as rants posted by dissatisfied students.

I think if students are willing to be honest by providing genuine feedback that a teacher can use to improve, then it makes sense to encourage them to do so.  As a writing teacher I provide students with feedback all the time, and it’s not all good.  But I’d be a poor teacher if I only praised their writing and failed to suggest how they might actually make their writing better.  I’d like to offer my students the opportunity to rate a specific aspect of my teaching, such as my ability to communicate effectively so that a student understands the goals of an assignment and sees where he or she has either met or failed to meet those goals.  This is useful information.

Ed Koch was noted for asking his constituency, “How am I doing?”  No doubt he hoped he was doing well and if not, they’d let him know.  I think it’s a fair question to pose to students.  Sure, there are those who might be taken aback by the question and wouldn’t answer honestly for fear of reprisal.  There are others, however, who would relish the opportunity to engage in such a dialogue.  Sometimes they just want to be given an opportunity to be heard.  If this can result in a better learning experience, then why not listen?  Feedback beats ratings any day.

The Professor Who Blogs

If you enjoy reading The Chronicle of Higher Education, you’re probably familiar with the blog “Lingua Franca.”  Lucy Ferriss, writer in residence at Trinity College and author of 10 books, including 7 novels, a collection of short stories and a memoir, has been writing for the blog for almost five years.  Lingua Franca was originally a magazine about intellectual and literary life in academia; after it folded, Chronicle editor Heidi Landecker decided to turn it into a blog and invited Ferriss to be one of the initial bloggers.   213 blog posts later, Ferriss still very much enjoys writing for Lingua Franca.

What’s blogging like?  Ferriss explains that because blogging is a short form, a writer needs to learn how to make a point concisely – the goal is to prompt ideas.  Speaking of ideas – Ferriss says that she gets ideas everywhere, because language is everywhere.  “I find interesting tidbits in the news, in the classroom, in emails that friends send me.”  

Ferriss’ most recent post http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2016/02/17/me-myself-i-and-yourselves-too/ (2/17/16) examines the use of “the reflexive pronoun in a non-reflexive way.”  I appreciate this post because I find myself correcting my son when he refers to himself as “myself.”  It may be, according to Ferriss, that speakers are resorting to this usage to avoid the “pretentious or narcissistic I” or the misused “me.”  Take a look – you’ll enjoy it!

Here’s what Ferriss has to say about the process of blogging: 

When I begin a blog post, I'm rarely aware of how far it will take me down any number of paths, be they etymological, political, or cultural. Blogging in general feels like a different form for writing, and it took me a while to get the hang of it. Much depends on the links you provide to material elsewhere that either informs your thinking on the subject or suggests another path that a reader might want to pursue. It's not quite the same as footnotes, because the conversation is more "live," more interconnected via the Internet.

The “live” nature of blogs is directly related to the interactivity inspired by the form.  Reader comments are, in fact, integral to a blog’s success.   Ferriss says that she is fascinated by the comments she receives.  “Often these are quite witty and entertaining and lend a lot to the dialogue. Sometimes, as in the comments to my post on "manspreading" -http://chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2015/01/06/otiose-manspreading/ - I'm simply flabbergasted.”  

She and the other Lingua Franca bloggers appreciate responses to the posts as well as suggestions for language topics.  Ferriss encourages readers not just to check out the blog, but to comment and to let their voices be heard.

Ferriss, who has been at Trinity since 2000, has taught literature as well as creative writing, and for some years she taught a course on sentence diagramming that was highlighted in the Chronicle of Higher Education. In addition to writing her weekly Lingua Franca posts, Ferriss is currently writing a historical novel set in New York State in late 17th century, during the transition from Dutch to English rule.  Visit her website at www.lucyferriss.com.

Teaching Resource

I've found a great online teaching resource - Faculty Focus - Higher Ed Teaching Strategies.  Today's Enews features insight on the use of rubrics.  I've generally found rubrics to be helpful for students; after reading this article, I think I'll make a more concerted effort to use them this semester.

Here's the link for those interested:


http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/rubrics-an-undervalued-teaching-tool/?utm_campaign=Faculty+Focus&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=26244894&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_s_1csi5TUNxvrIh7myctCI16z83ZV1xzl8aByIM2b1KER6lPgCAZz-fsZSlb5nQIRusPQBM6sEMWfwqBh_5MXi21EpQ&_hsmi=26244894