If these wall could talk....

Wesch argues that if the walls in a classroom could talk, they would groan about the flaws in the educational system. Conventional chalkboard teaching does not give students the life experiences they need to make their education both effective and beneficial to themselves in their lives and out in the "real world" post-college. Teachers don't always teach effectively and students don't always try to learn effectively, either. Technology can be helpful since it gives some life to teaching but it can also serve as a tool of distraction and wasted time for students.

Writers and Readers

My reader is like a fussy child that needs to be appeased. All activity must be conducted with the reader in mind- is this catering to his needs? Will he understand what I'm trying to say? And if I write something unclear or poorly phrase- "Oh, he won't like that very much." And I really don't want to make my reader unhappy. The reader cries out for attention and cannot be ignored, though sometimes I wish he would. I write in fear of the tantrum he may through and I write to please him, too, because I care.

What Is Happening To Writing? WORDLE

The Bluff in Metaphor

The Bluff is not a Hawaiian beach paradise.

It is not a breezy Grecian shore,

or a hot Floridian vacation spot. 

It is not an ideal secret fishing spot

or a mountain you climb just for the bragging rights.

It is not the kind of place you'd send your child unsupervised. 

The Bluff is not a Hawaiian beach paradise.

The sand isn't fine and warm,

the sky isn't blue and sunny,

and it certainly is not a tourist destination

(or anyone's destination, for that matter).

It is not somewhere you brag about going

or dream of in the dead of winter.

There are no postcards to send from The Bluff

(not that you would want to, anyway).

The Bluff might be like a secret fishing spot,
where no one goes because they don't know about it
or because they wouldn't want to eat anything that comes out of the water there.
It might be the kind of serene, peaceful place where you'd see a man in rubber pants
standing waist-deep in the water, very still.

Quick Write: Home Is...

Home is where you feel the most comfortable. It's the place where you don't have to worry about looking nice, like you can sit around in sweatpants and have ugly hair and the people there will love you anyway. It is also where I keep my cat. Home can be anywhere the people you love are. Home is family and comfort and sometimes discomfort too because that's what family is like, after all. Home is that feeling after you come in from the snow and put on dry socks and drink hot chocolate.

Index Card: Revisited

Bolter writes of the balance between acknowledging your medium and not allowing yourself to be limited by it. It is important to accept that the medium used will affect the reader, but also to not allow it to dictate the quality of writing. For instance, a writer should use the ability to collaborate in a productive manner. For example, when using Prezis, a writer is given a medium with the option of being extremely direct with the information being presented or using the aide of other media like pictures and video clips. While this can help enhance one's writing, it is important to not fully rely on the form of presenting to portray his or her ideas. Rather, the writer should use the text and appearance to eliminate the transparency and create a piece that will portray hypermediacy.