Correct link

Hi all:
Use this link for the first story: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E6DC1F3EF935A15751C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1. The other link brought you directly to page 2.

Sorry about that.
KK

Some fantastic reading

Hi all:
One of my favorite writers wrote two pieces for the New York Times about three years apart. Here are the two links:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E6DC1F3EF935A15751C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/fashion/18Love.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Ann%20Hood&st=cse

Please make sure to read them in this order.

I would really love it if you posted questions and/or reactions.
Best,
Prof. K

**the Beatles were a fantastic and world changing band in an era gone by.

October 22, 2009

Hi all:
Today was our first Grammar Blast - and what a blast we had. Okay, bad joke.

We covered the following elements:

• setting up a document
• puntuating titles Books and "Articles"
• referring to the author - after the first mention
• commonly confused words (their/there/they are - then/than)
• strange groupings (might of / might have)

Please go over your drafts with these elements in mind because you will be held accountable for them in your essays.

For tomorrow, please bring:

• your flash drives ready to print your final drafts
• middle and discovery drafts
• True Diary of a Part-time Indian

See you all tomorrow!

Best,

Prof. Keane

October 21, 2009

Dear all:
My apologies for not blogging in the past few days. All of your essays hae kept me very, very busy. Now that I am sitting at my computer, it is hard to really recap all that has happened, but I will give it a try.

First, you should all be in the final stages of getting your content set for WA 2. We have been talking extensively about the way Rose builds his argument, and I have been pushing you all to think about your audience and what they need to understand Rose and the field of basic reading and writing - and I ahve also been pushing you all to get closer to Rose's text. This means that your examples come from his article and not your own thinking. I hope this is getting easier for you all.

Next, we went over the grading rubric for this assignment. Make sure to look at the rubric and compare your essay with the four main categories: Content, Organization, Mechanics and Source Information. Maybe it will help guide a revision for you.

Finally, we started to get into some grammatical concerns. We are going to do a series of "grammatical blasts" in the next two days. This means that you are going to learn a structure in the larger group and then head off to your individual drafts to make your corrections/revisions. We will do this a few times.

Okay, I am stated to get way too tired to continue to make sense. The only thing that I will leave you with tonight is that I am proud of all of the hard work that you are putting into your work. Keep going!
Best,
Prof. K

October 16, 2009

Hi all:
Well, we all worked pretty hard this week between journal writing, essay revising/submitting, and learning about Sherman Alexie. I now have all of your "middle" drafts and look forward to reading and commenting on them.

For next week, you really need to dig into True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie. If you are curious, here are some links to follow to help you learn more about him and his text:

• http://www.fallsapart.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman_Alexie
• http://www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/alexie/
• http://www.fallsapart.com/PDF%20Files/True%20Diary%20Discussion%20Guide.PDF
• http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/189691/october-28-2008/sherman-alexie

If you find any other good links, please pose them.

Have a great weekend and read your book! I really think you will enjoy it!

Prof. Keane

October 14, 2009

Hi all:
Today in class we finished up with the groups. I will compile all of my notes and let you know your grades soon. For the most part, you all did a nice job.

In addition, we went over some issues that you were all having with Writing Assignment 2. While we went over some smaller issues like: punctuating titles, naming the author, etc., our main work focused on the differences between:

Perception (judgement w/o facts) vs. Reality (judgements with some facts)

both of these concepts are:

• subject to change
• connected to the Rose text
• helpful for our readers to know in the introduction

We then thought about ways to bring this conversation into our writing.

Have a great day and keep re-working your drafts based on our class work.
Best,
Prof. Keane

October 13, 2009

Hi all:
Today was a really fun day in class. We started by making a list of elements that you will now be responsible for in your writing. They include:

• appropriate heading
• creative title
• punctuating titles (shorter pieces in quotes; book titles in italics)
• central argument
• paragraphing

Next, you all took control of the class discussing by covering sections of Graff and Birkenstein's chapter 4: "Three Ways to Respond." While I did push many groups to clarify their thinking - along with finding specific examples from their own writing, I do think that each group did lead their portion of the discussion. Tomorrow, we will continue on with the groups that have not yet presented.

Comming Soon:
WA 2: Middle Draft = due on Friday. I am thinking about having you submit it electronically and then handing in your WA: Discovery Drafts in person, so I can see where you are moving in your work. What do you all think? Did the electronic submissions work okay?

Wednesday's class
We are going finish the graded group presentations and then get into some issues that I see cropping up in your discovery drafts. I am looking forward to this conversation.


Sherman Alexie's True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - start reading!!!

Take care,
Prof. Keane

Rose on YouTube.com

Hi all:
Faiz from the 11:25 class found this clip from Mike Rose on Youtube and thought it might for us to understand more of what Rose is all about.

Enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcpElcBVYKM

Thanks, Faiz.

Best,
Prof. Keane

Oops forgot journal reminder!!!

Don't forget to write Journal #3. It is based on the Graff and Birkenstein chapter 4 entitled "Yes/No/Maybe But."

8:00 am and 10:15
Due on Tuesday


11:25
Due on Monday

Thursday, Oct 8th

Hi all:
I wanted to start off tonight's blog with a link to Mike Rose's blog: http://mikerosebooks.blogspot.com/ It might help you write your essay if you can get a better feel for who he is as a person and an educator.

Reminder: Tomorrow, Friday, we do not have class because I will be at an all-day conference. Instead, you must send your WA 2 Discovery Drafts as an attachment to an email and send to me at: kkeane@bergen.edu. I will send you an email confirmation if I have received your file successfully.

Feel free to email with questions, or post some here.

Take care,
KK

Wednesday, Oct 7th

Hi all:

Sorry for not posting for the past few days. They seemed to have rushed by in a flurry!

Now for the update:

8:00 am and 10:15 am

Review the Radley Balko article "What You Eat is Your Business" and decide Balko's perspective (agree, two minds, disagree). We will finish this discussion in class and get to writing WA 2 discovery draft in class tomorrow.

11:25

You have already finished the Balko article. Your focus now is to write your discovery draft to be submitted by Friday @ 2pm.

For all classes:

• WA 2 Discovery Drafts are due by Friday @ 2pm. You should label your file = lastname_WA_2_DD.doc (or .docx). Please remember that I can't open files that are not saved as .doc or .docx.
• Journal 3 is based on chapter four of They Say I Say by Graff and Birkenstein. You will need to do 6 journal entries. Please remember the format:

#1 "passage" (Graff and Birkenstein #).

Response..........

• Journals are due on Monday for the 11:25 class and Tuesday for the 8 am and 10:15 class.

Best,

Prof. Keane

October 1, 2009

Hi all:

Welcome to the first day of October. A chill is in the air, and it seems like the fall is really starting to arrive.

In class today, we worked through all of our questions regarding "Our Children and Our Schools" by Mike Rose. Additionally, you broke up into pairs and worked through the handout helping you to organize your thoughts and ideas - which will help you in your discovery draft.

I have to say that I am really conflicted about Writing Assignment #2. Should we focus only on Rose, or should we spend some time with Rodriguez tomorrow? If you have an opinion, post it here - or see me at the start of class.

Stay warm, and I'll see you all tomorrow (TGIF)..

Best,

Prof. Keane