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"You have to fall in love with the process to become great"-Unknown
In my second blog post we will take quotes from these readings,
So here I all sit with Don Murray, Susan Sontag, Haruki Murakami, Anne lamott, and Donald Trump, discussing our nation's reading and writing program and whether it should be taught as a process a product. So I say all in favor of having writing taught as a product raise your hand. One very small hand shoots up, as I look it's Donald Trump and he says “ I'm in favor of product because I want to make america great again so that's what we have to do.” Everyone else in the room has a puzzled look and is looking around confused as if what he said made absolutely no sense. Then I say “but we did a survey and the results are astonishing, it shows that 80% of students taught process have better grades and essays.” Don that did the research on the product the replies “Our students knew it wasn’t literature when they passed it in, and our attack usually does little more than confirm their lack of self-respect for their work and for themselves.” Then I replied “No wonder Donald wanted that.” Gasp’s and chuckles echoed throughout the room. Donald sits there livid but then susan adds “It’s a very undisciplined way of working and makes me not very prolific.” Then I reply with “Students get very frustrated and it rushes their work so they don't learn how to produce a good piece of work.” Anne then states “I know its a painful feeling it is when you've been working on something forever, and it feels, and you give your story to someone who you hope validates this and they tell you it needs more work.” Don also adds “No matter how careful our criticisms, they do not help the student since when we teach composition we are not teaching a product, we are teaching a process.” Haruki adds ”The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it’s a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.” Then Anne says “short assignments is the idea of shitty first drafts. All good writers have them” The whole table agreed except Donald and he says ”WRONG.” Don then says “He doesn’t test his words by a rule book, but by life” Then anne replies “It is no wonder why we sometimes take ourselves perhaps a bit to seriously.”(comparing ourselves to donald) So I try to change the subject I ask susan “What is you're Process?” She replies with “Since then there is a computer in my life. After the second or third draft it goes into the computer, so I don’t retype the whole manuscript anymore, but continue to revise by hand on a succession of hard-copy drafts from the computer” I found that very interesting then here comes Donald saying “ Ummm Well if this is going to make america great again do it but I thought this was the right way the whole time I was just testing you guys.” We all agree so he would shut up and left the room because we all had dinner plans to go discuss the meeting and poke fun at Donald.
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