Hello, I am Caitlin Miller, I am a junior in the Secondary
English Education program. Just last semester I got engaged to my fiancé Daniel
and we are currently planning our wedding. I spend most of my free time with
him but between school and working at Nelnet, I have little free time. I do
work with student loans trying to help others pay theirs while also learning
how to pay mine so it is a great job! I also love concerts I have been to;
Miley Cryus, Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry in the last year and am going to be
going to Linkin Park and Florida Georgia line this February.
I write a lot because
of my major, which I guess you can say I signed up for. I pieces I really get
into is when I can right to express myself. Whether that is a belief or just
writing a text about my feelings, that is when I really feel connected to my
writing. I also write because I want to give a voice to those who don’t have a
voice. Many of the writings I have been doing are justifications for books
being added to the curriculum, they are just practice but I feel my students might
encounter that at some point. I love writing poetry, which is my favorite part
because with a lot of poetry there isn’t many restrictions and I am able to
express my feelings in whatever way I want. I do wish that I had more time to
write more for pleasure as I don’t really have time to do that between school,
work, and wedding planning, but maybe during this class there will be some time
for that.
I felt that Harris was describing community as a group of
people working towards a similar goal but that don’t necessarily have the same
views and beliefs. He says “it seems to
me that they might better be encouraged towards a kind of polyphony an
awareness of and pleasure in the various competing discourses that make up
their own,” (17) meaning that even though one might be a part of a community
doesn’t mean they all have to be pointed in the same direction just that they
have a similar goal. He then uses the metaphor as a city, where not everyone
believes or views things in the same way but they are all there to make things
work. I think being in a community is about a mutual respect for those around
you and helping each other to reach their goals even if they aren’t the same
goals as yours, which is what I felt Harris was saying. I feel like I am a part
of the UNL community because we are all trying to work towards a career, no
matter that career. I feel that I am a part of a community in my family and in
Lincoln as we raise up to help each other.
I feel that these communities are naturally formed from a
combination of similar goals and interests that make up a community of
individuals working for the good of others.
Having a community excel in the work they are needing to communicate
with one another, which goes along with Harris’s view that not everyone has to
believe the same thing in a community because communication allows to have
healthy debates. Communication and language play a key role in the community’s
success or failure.
Caitlin, I really hope this class will help you think about the role of writing for your future students. English education and teacher development are the focus of my research. I think you might be able to come up with a cool project idea from this class about how to think about writing in the community of teachers or your English ed cohort, or something. I'm interested in the point you make about writing to express yourself. When do you feel like you are NOT writing to express yourself? Where do you draw this division? What kinds of rhetorical situations do you think make students feel like they're not writing to express themselves? Do we create writing communities in schools that are based on the idea of not expressing oneself? Your post makes me think about all of these things.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that communication plays an important role in a community's success or failure, but what kind of communication? How have you seen this plaid our in your life? Can you be specific? Also, what does it mean for a community to fail? I really wonder about his last question and I think it's something we should definitely consider in class!
P.S. Maybe we'll see each other at the Florida Georgia line concert ;-)