Collaborative Learning...

After reading Kenneth Bruffee's "Collaborative Learning and the Conversation of Mankind" essay I found myself questioning what I have always fought against, classroom group work. I myself have never enjoyed group work or group projects pressed upon me by my former teachers nor do I look forward to it in my college classes. I have always enjoyed my own quiet thoughts and ideas to complete my assignments rather than listen to others and come to some sort of consensus. I find myself distracted and non focused on the task, I don't feel comfortable arguing the point, it won't change my thoughts on my writing, so why the push to work in groups? I said I found myself questioning my past experiences and thoughts because, I thought that maybe this essay may shed some new light on the topic and show me that there is a huge benefit to collaborative learning, that would not happen.

I found this essay to be to long and thus I lost interest and direction. I believe that it is all much more simplier than what was portrayed. Of course you learn more from having contact and conversation with others, it is just one of the many, many ways humans learn. Whether you talk with someone or read a book on something, watch television, listen or just sit and observe, all of what surrounds us helps to give us knowledge and in turn changes our thoughts and ideas. Imagine putting a baby in a room with no contact with anything in the world other than food and water. No conversation, no written word, no language, no communication, how would the baby learn, well it would only learn to survive but not to live or thrive. Humans are dependent on conversation and contact by nature, according to Bruffee and others that were quoted. I agree with those statements and other similiar ones in the essay, however it should be noted that it isn't the only way and isn't always the best for everyone. I believe that not all people learn the best from conversation, some may retain and learn better from written word or visual contexts. I also believe that it depends on the knowledge that you are seeking, when my professor goes through chapters in class from our text book, I find myself that when I go home and read it myself I better understand the ideas. When I read I tend to go back and forth over information until I understand it rather than if I just listened to him speak and keep going.

Yes, collaborative learning has its place in education, I have seen group work among elementary school students work and times not work. It is worth it to try and see if it does, but it should not be the bulk of the way the teacher teaches her class. I found that during group work, louder more dynmatic personalities prevail and the sometimes the quieter ones sat on the outside without ever having any input into the group. In those cases it would have served the student better had they did there own independent research and utlized there time reading at their own pace than the time spent hearing someone elses opinions and ideas. I also feel that the individual will have more to bring to the table if they do their own research and take the opportunity to study independently. The ideas and arguments that Bruffee conveyed in his essay are good and important but not the only way we learn, however it can be a good tool if used at the right time with the right task.

Language is a slippery vehicle...

Both of the poems "The Problem of Describing Trees" and "Hubris at Zunzal" both make meaning by using metaphors and use objects that a reader can relate to, even though you may not completely understand. I found that both poems used language that made a picture in your mind while you were reading them. Language can be slippery vehicle because even though you may understand the meaning of a word, puting them together can be hard to naviagate. You have to make the reader understand what you want to convey and just because you may have words the order and organization can make the difference in the interputation.

Twelfth Night Performance at Hofstra, a review

I attended the stage performance of Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night with my daughter. I have to honestly admit I may have not gone had it not been for my writing Professor giving us extra credit if we went and blogged about it. Sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due and I thank Professor Lay for that chance. I completely enjoyed their production as well as my daughter, who had not read this play before that night. The cast did a wonderful job of interpreting Shakespeare's comedy and giving it their own spin. Firstly the play was set in Southern USA shortly after the civil war, the stage was a simple white porch with a curved staircase and balcony and branches hung with moss draped on them for a simple feeling of being in a southern plantation. The actors southern accents added some additional laughs as Shakespeare's old English words were spoken, you waited for a "y'all" to be said but it would never come. True to the original lines and words the actors instead relied on the speech dynamics, as well as facial, and body language to create characters that were more approachable and comfortable. The characters become a "Dukes of Hazard" sitcom and suddenly you didn't realize that they were talking in the Old English language anymore, you suddenly had a translator next to you. The character Feste strumming on his guitar and wearing tattered overalls reminded me of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and Olivia the Southern Belle. The director did an excellent job with balancing the pomp and prim and proper Victorian comedy play into a play for our time.

Working with data from the Shakespeare Concordance Assignment

1. What thematic strands have you located?

Pure…virtuous…fair…guiltless…honest…transparent…tainted…vulgar…dirty



2. Where is the data you retrieved found? What is happening in context when Shakespeare employs this particular theme or image?

Pure found only in Act 5, scene 1 Antonio is speaking to Orsino he is telling Orsino about how much he looks up to him and loves him Antonio says…”Did I expose myself, pure for his love, into danger of this adverse town…” Antonio uses pure to describe that his feelings are not tainted but are true.

Virtuous first found in Act 1, Scene 2 and the Captain describes Olivia as “…a virtuous maid, a daughter of a count…” a flattering description and also found in Act 1, Scene 5 line 260 Olivia is talking to Viola who has come on behalf of Orsino to woo her. She says that “Your lord does know my mind; I cannot love him: Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble, of great estate, of fresh and stainless,…” Olivia sees him as good person, of good stature a good man to be acquainted with. And lastly Act 2 Scene 3 Sir Toby Belch says to Malvolio “Out o’ tune, sir: ye lie. Art any more a steward? Dost thou thin, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes ale? Sir Toby is telling Malvolio that he is out of tune he lie and he is only a servant here and that no one can have a good time because he is so stuck up and high and mighty for that kind of behavior?

Fair The captain first uses the fair to describe Olivia in Act 1, Scene 2. Later in the same act and scene Viola says to the Captain that there is “…a fair behavior in thee” and in the same set of lines says “…With this thy fair and outward character...” Viola is truly thinking that the Captain is a honest and trustworthy person so she can trust him with her plan. Act 1 Scene 3, Sir Andrew says “Bless you, fair shrew” and again calling Olivia a “Fair lady…” Act 1 Scene 5 the word fair is used as Maria says to Olivia describing Caesario “I know not, madam: ‘tis a fair young and well attended.” And Viola uses to describe Olivia “But, if you were the devil, you are fair”. Viola is trying to woo Olivia for her master Orsino so that by saying that she would be a fair devil is really funny because Viola actually loves Orsino and doesn’t truly want Olivia to marry him, Viola sort of mocks her with that line. Also in the same scene Viola says to Olivia again while she is leaving and not having won her over for her master “…be placed, in contempt! Farewell, fair cruelty.” Act 2 scene 1, Sebastian describes his long lost sister Viola by saying “…she bore a mind that envy could not but call fair.” Act 2, Scene 4 Orsino describes women “For women are as roses, whose fair flower being once display’d, doth fall that very hour.

Transparent Act 4, Scene 2 The fool digused as Sir Topas says to the imprisoned Malvolio ”Why it hath bay windows transparent as barricades,…” The fool is making fun of him that it isn’t dark at all

Guiltless Act 1, Scene 5 Olivia talking to Malvolio say to him “To be generous, guiltless and of free disposition… Olivia is telling Malvolio that he would be getting bothered by what the fool was saying if he weren’t so full of himself.

Honest Act 4, Scene 2 the fool is talking to Maria about that he is going to pretend and dress up like a priest to fool Malvolio “…but to be said an honest man and a good housekeeper…” meaning that if he is honest and a good host you can have good morals and can be taken seriously.

Tainted Act 3, Scene 4 “…if he come; for, sure, the man is tainted in’s wits.” Maria is talking to Olivia about Malvolio’s behavior and by using tainted to mean that he out of his mind, I find that by using the word tainted funny because is actually Maria who taints Malvolios mind with the letter and fooling him into believing that Olivia loves him.

Vulgar Act 3, Scene 1 Viola speaking with Olivia says “No, not a grize; for ‘tis a vulgar proof, that very oft we pity enemies.” Viola sort of jabs Olivia because Olivia is sort an enemy of hers because she loves Orsino and doesn’t want her to get together with him. Viola saying to Olivia, is it harsh proof that we feel sorry for our enemies.

Dirty Act 2, Scene 4 Orsino is telling Cesario to go and talk to Olivia on his behalf and that it isn’t the land that she inherited or her riches that he wants from her. “…Prizes not quantity of dirty lands;” meaning that her property is dirty because she inherited it.

3. How does the data you retrieved support your first thoughts on Shakespeare’s obsessive use of a particular image? What can you argue about Shakespeare’s figuration?

The data I retrieved does support my first thoughts on Shakespeare’s obsessive use of a particular image because Shakepeare tends to use an image but then in the backround or behind the scenes or theme he really means the opposite he enjoys keeping the reader guessing. My argument about Shakepeare’s use of figuration is that he tends to create the sense of pure and virtue but the characters evolve into the opposite of what you believe by having the characters play on each other and their true colors come out. Shakespeare likes the reader to see the characters in a certain light only to then add the other side into the picture using humor and visual ways.

Twelfth Night Thematic Strand Project