self~determination -the decision to define ourselves, name ourselves, and speak for ourselves, in~ stead of being defined and spoken for by others.
This author lives by the definition of self-determination. She has had to pave her way through life, which isn't easy to begin with, while also living unapologetically. She speaks for the people that can't speak for themselves and is a great example of what someone can do with their life by living how they want to.
that we were never meant to survive. Not as human beings. And neither were most of you here today, Blac~ or not. And that visibility which makes us most vulnerable 1s that which also is the source of our greatest strength.
She is saying when she states "we were never meant to survive" is that living this life in America as a black woman is not and will not be easy. Living life loudly, as she does, and speaking up for what she believes in is both her biggest threat and greatest strength. Speaking up gives you power, but all that attention also can bring hate and vulnerability.
nto language and action is an act of self~revelation, and that always seems fraught with danger. But my daughter, when I told her of our topic and my difficulty with it, said, "Tell th~m ~bout how you're never really a whole person if you rematn stle,!tt
Even she is afraid at times to speak out through her identity. She calls herself a warrior, yet she is still scared at times. Yet, she believes so strongly about speaking up and saying what you believe, that she will continue to do so, for her daughter and other people's children. You are not reaching your fullest potential when you remain silent, she says "You are never really a whole person if you remain silent".
warrior poet doing my work -come to ask you, are you doing yours
The question she is asking is how are you making a difference through your identity. She is a black woman who is a poet, speaking out for those who look like her and those in her line of work.
Fortunately, I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenge of disproving assumptions madeabout me. I became an English major my first year in college, after being enrolled as pre-med
I think that is awesome that she defied what she was told and went on to do what she wanted to do, even though she was told she was better at other things. Sometimes you have to do what you want to do and block out what is being said or believed about you.
hat Asian students, as a whole, always dosignificantly better on math achievement tests than in English. And this makes me think that there are otherAsian-American students whose English spoken in the home might also be described as "broken" or"limited." And perhaps they also have teachers who are steering them away from writing and into math andscience, which is what happened to me
There could be data supporting this hypothesis that Asian-American children doing worse on English tests than math because of how their parents talked and raised them to talk. Sometimes, when someone is told they are growing up with broken english or doesn't speak the best, they start to believe it and think that they are be better at something else, even though that may not be true.
I think my mother's English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well. Sociologistsand linguists probably will tell you that a person's developing language skills are more influenced by peers.But I do think that the language spoken in the family, especially in immigrant families which are moreinsular, plays a large role in shaping the language of the child
I didn't realize how much of an impact how you speak or how your family speaks has on your life and how people treat you. How "well" you speak definitely determines how people act towards you, as the author shared stories of when she was young and had to speak on the phone for her mother who didn't speak well.
I am a writer.
I think it is interesting that she starts the writing off with "I am not a scholar of English or literature", but then starts the second paragraph off with "I am a writer". Those two statements seem contradictory, but it seems like she is more into the expression of writing than the school way of writing with perfect grammar and so on.
When annotating a text, don’t be timid. Mark up your book as much as you like, or jot down as many responses in your notebook as you think will be helpful. Don’t let an-notating become burdensome. A word or phrase is usually as good as a sentence. One helpful way to focus your annotations is to ask yourself questions as you read the selection a second time
I sometimes find myself not knowing how much or how little to annotate, especially on readings I have a hard time understanding. But the more I annotate, the more I will understand confusing readings. I appreciate the tip of focusing your annotations on the questions you have when you read a text for the second time. The more questions you ask yourself when reading, the more you will start to think about why the author is using those words or what meaning they are trying to achieve. Some readings will be difficult to understand, but using annotations as a positive instead of a chore will help me grow more in my understanding and in my writing.
What to Annotate in a Text• Memorable statements of important points• Key terms or concepts• Central issues or themes• Examples that support a main point• Unfamiliar words• Questions you have about a point or passage• Your responses to a specific point or passage
I only have taken a couple of college writing courses, and annotations have always been something I am not super confident about. With this list, I can refer back to it and it will give me ideas and examples of what and how to annotate. Something I think I can do more of is annotating unfamiliar words or questions I have when reading, instead of just annotating on things I know about.
Use your second reading to test your first impressions against the words on the page, developing and deepening your sense of how the essay is written and how well. Because you now have a general understanding of the essay, you can pay special attention to the author’s purpose and means of achieving that purpose
When rereading a writing, it can be easy to just skim over the words because you have already read them at least a couple of times. When rereading a text, I need to ensure I am not just reading the words, but understanding them and asking myself why the author used the word choice they did and what meaning they want to achieve by using those words.
To g e t t h e m o s t o u t o f y o u r reading, follow the five steps of the reading process. 1. Prepare yourself to read the selection. 2. Read the selection. 3. Reread the selection. 4. Annotate the text with marginal notes. 5. Analyze the text with questions.
I don't read for class or assignments all that much anymore, so when I do have to, I find it daunting and not appealing. Keeping these steps in mind, I can see myself coming into reading for an assignment with a much more positive attitude. Another thing I will implement when reading texts is reading it once, then rereading the text, before annotating. This way, when I am annotating, I am actually understanding what I am reading instead of just writing meaningless comments as annotations.
Course Schedule (Tentative)
I appreciate the clear course schedule on the syllabus. With this being an online course, I can see myself looking back at the schedule to make sure I am doing all assignments on time and what to prepare for the week ahead. Something I was hesitant about when enrolling in an online course was not knowing what is expected of me and when/what assignments are due. With this schedule, I don't need to worry.
Components of Final Grade^Class Work and Low Stakes Writing – 30%Major Writing Project 1 – 20%*Major Writing Project 2 – 25%*Major Writing Project 3 – 25%*
I appreciate the clear outline of what each assignment is worth in the class. Sometimes, in writing courses especially, it can be difficult to know how much a smaller writing vs. a larger writing is worth. Knowing this information helps me understand exactly how much the work is worth within my total grade.
You might have experienced writing as a formulaic process with prescribed steps in the past. In this course the goal is not to give you a perfect equation for writing the perfect essay. The goal is to give you tools to create your own path towards a unique relationship with writing
In the first semester of my freshman year, I took a writing course that I feel is described perfectly here. It was structured and simple writing that didn't use very much creativity. I am excited for this course to open my eyes to a new kind of writing and writing process.