my paragraph for our book review

In The Literature Workshop, Sheridan Blau sets out on the admirable goal of developing a way of teaching literature that gives students "the kind of experience teachers have," that is "work[ing] hard at the task the night before and com[ing] to class prepared to the discuss the essay in ways that would illluminate its difficulties and advance our inquiry into textual or conceptual problems that deserved further interrogation" (2-3). Recognizing the valuable collaborative learning that takes places in writing workshops, Blau's literature workshop is an attempt to bring "the process-orientated, collaborative, and learning-centered practices of exemplary writing classes" into the literature classes to strengthen students' critical reading and thinking (5). As teachers of writing and literature, we found Blau's ideals and methods inspiring and found the classroom scenarios engaging.  Yet, the open inquiry found in his literature workshops seemed in conflict with the authoritative tone Blau often used in his analysis and the strident claims he made about the value of teaching literature. Perhaps the subtitle "Teaching Texts and Their Readers" reveals something about his own values as an English professor:  the "texts" and what they mean (although contested) are more important than the "readers" in the classroom.

notes on our 23 July 07 group meeting and our presentation planning

 our responses to the text:

"I don't object to what he's saying but to his tone."

How do different audiences react to that tone (scholarly and authoritative, but potentially condescending)?

*is he trying to speak to his fellow profs in english and english ed, so wanting to use the language of this particular discourse community?

*preservice teachers may find his confidence and authority comforting and useful

*but many experienced educators feel talked down to

*more english lit prof than english ed prof than colleague?

our changing responses, moving from feeling inspired/intrigued at first to being annoyed (by his tone) or just bored/uninspired by the lengthy prose (the blah blah blau), see ch 3

the "I" of Blau vs. the "we" of Kirby, Kirby & Liner (which demonstrates/enacts the collaboration they are talking about)

his conclusions don't take us further than the snapshots of the literature workshop in action

admire the goal of bringing together NWP ethic, pedagogy theory, literary theory, but is he hypocritical/blind to his own lenses/aware of his own biases (traditional literary criticism)?

"This book is about Blau trying to be a teacher that he wants to be, but can't be because he's still invested in the teacher he was."

He says he wants to have people to leave his classroom ready to make their own interpretations, but he really wants to move students towards his/dominant readings.  As teacher, he gets the last word.

p. 91 "mine is the best"  Is this and example of his blindness or is he self-aware about his pompous tone and authority and poking fun at it?

double-bind of inspiring learning while evaluating (we embrace their process but judge their product; is that a bait and switch?)

our discussion of teaching grammar

*value of slowing down (as Blau suggests)

*contextualizing within their reading/writing

*"diagramming" as appealing to particular learning styles

*students who want to learn grammar "right answers" to be "smarter" than others (like some teachers or people's stereotypes of English teachers)

*how teaching grammar is about teaching power/master's tools

*issues of code-switching, purpose, audience, how you are judged by your language usage

challenges of teaching:

*assuming our values are shared by others or pushing those values on others

*privileging what's meaningful for us or the ways of learning that work for us

*acknowledging the real diversity of our students and how they don't value what we value (and that's okay: literature will not enhance X's life the way it does mine)

*Blau's p.53 argument for teaching literature as "teaching operations of mind"-- too simplistic, English-centered, too WAC-unaware

Blau's method "I don't know; let's figure this out together" vs. his tone "I do know more than you."

wanting to be taught by someone smarter/more experienced/with more answers than you, while knowing the best teachers don't have the answers

What are we going to do....

for our review?

strengths and weakness of the book

what's most valuable to read (how to read)

why read

for our presentation?