LSC - NH Write Club Fall 2014

-
Dozens of students in Spring 2014 found it helpful to find a safe place off campus and just write and as needed, get feedback from peers about their writing. Most of this writing was academic, but not all. I'll continue to host Write Club in Fall 2014, with some significant changes:

 The night will change to Tuesday. 
1. This is because the LSCS Board meetings are held once a month on Thursday and I want to permit all students, faculty, parents, taxpayers to attend the Board meetings.
2. I want to avoid Wednesday night when most people who attend church do so. I realize that some people attend church on Tuesdays, but I'm trying to accommodate as many as I can.
3. I've found that too many academic projects are due later in the week. Perhaps even one or two more days of revision will help.
The place will change to Aldine, specifically (for now) Starbucks on I-45 and West Road, in front of Best Buy (I hate the product placements I just dropped, but those who are looking will find these landmarks trademarks easily). [I'm also talking to some some folks in Aldine about a more permanent, non-corporate place. More on that if it happens]. Please purchase at least one drink or snack to demonstrate our appreciation of the use of their space. 
The Write Club will be open to everyone, not just LSC-NH students.
1. All LSC - NH students -- ENGL, POLI/GOVT, SOCI, MUSI -- all students are welcome.
2. All LSC -- NH -- Greenspoint and Victory students are invited as well.
3. All faculty and staff are invited
4. All parents and friends of students are invited. Please -- if your friend is younger than 16, you are responsible for her behavior and safe return home.
5. All MacArthur, Eisenhower, Aldine, Nimitz seniors are invited, understanding that they must be writing, and not just socializing. Do not need to be dual-credit or AP enrolled. All seniors are invited to write.
6. All writers are invited -- academic writing, hip hop writing, poetry, short-story, spoken word, painting, photography, etc. 
7. There will be some "rules" and these will be explained later.

 The theory is (this is academic theory, not the street use of the word) that writers with a specific writing schedule and with a supportive feedback group become more creative, disciplined, and rhetorically effective. 

 So clear your Tuesdays, and even if you're not "required" to write, find a purpose. Change your world. Make your world. 

 The hashtag will continue to be #lscrhetoric
Google +

Popular posts from this blog

Student Feedback on the State of the Public Sphere in Harris County, Texas and Houston

-
Image
I asked my students (my teachers) today what they've learned so far in this summer course on public sphere rhetoric. Some held their heads down -- because they've learned nothing? -- because they've not yet learned to speak up? -- because they don't believe in public rhetoric? -- because of their own insecurities? I don't know. Most of the responses below came from five students. Their authorities take no responsibility for communicating with the stakeholders  Authoritative texts too difficult to locate; language often inappropriately difficult for public to use  Lack of sufficient documentation and literature reflects authorities' apathy towards public engagement   Our own lack of knowledge about the power structures increases both our and their apathy  Public fails to recognize problems because we have been habituated to "learned helplessness"  Public notices but feel powerless because we've been taught we can't change anything  A
Read more

Visiting a Texas Prison

-
It's exhausting, emotionally. It's not necessarily the emotions of why he is in prison and what he experiences in prison -- that's another discussion and I separate those emotions from the visit itself. The gates open for visitors at 7:00 a.m., but that means I need to get there at 6:30 to get in line; I arrived in Beeville the previous evening and just captured a hotel. The town has limited food selections (and poor beer selection), so I have no reason to get outdoors except to appreciate a nice spring day of south Texas. That morning, the moon was near full and brilliantly shined on the flat fields around the prison, a mix of brush oaks, and the grasses for hundreds of acres on the unit property. The chilled air made the morning even more pleasant and while I waited for the gate to open, I thought about camping down here. Ultimately, the gate guards permitted visitors to approach the gate, the first of the all-grey officers: turn off the engine, open the trunk and ho
Read more

On Independence Day, Fourth of July, Fireworks Day, Whatever We Call It

-
Image
In general, I avoid observing holidays, especially those which have been marketed from an original intent of respect or adoration into a Bacchanalia of barbecue, escape from one's workplace, and the purchase of stuff we don't need, stuff that will quickly be found at the local landfill. Most of these "holidays" are far from the idea of "holy days" once on the calendar, and have been mutated into something of a masquerade. When children have little idea of the original intention of a holiday, or when adults have no idea of the same, then we might have a problem. I've spoken with adults who have no idea what Memorial Day is about, never have heard of Armistice Day, never think of veterans on Veterans Day, go into significant debt for the Feast of Saturnalia (or Festivus , if you prefer), who conflate chocolate bunnies for Easter (even for Passover), and ultimately see the Fourth of July as an opportunity to leave work, eat, complain that the Postal Servic
Read more