Weblog 4
In the article “Devoid of Content,” Stanley Fish makes the argument that most students in American colleges are bad writers because they aren’t being taught the importance of form, or sentence structure, in the classroom. He then goes on to explain what he is doing to remedy the situation in his own college. He divides his students into groups, and assigns each to create its own language, “complete with a syntax, a lexicon, a text, rules for translating the text and strategies for teaching (the) language to fellow students.” By being forced to create their own language, the students are forced by proxy to think about how language works. They gradually begin to understand the structural relationships between words in a sentence, and how languages are constructed in general. This inevitably leads them to understand this one important revelation: “(the forms of language), while they are themselves without content, are necessary to the conveying of any content whatsoever…”
Assistant Professor of Writing at Syracuse University, Collin Brooke, seems to take offense to Distinguished Professor Fish’s article. In Brooke’s article, “Fish in a Barrel,” he says that Fish’s claim that most students graduating from high school or college in this country are “utterly unable to write a clear and coherent English sentence” is a “load of crap.” Brooke thinks Fish’s article is demeaning to professors and teachers, implying that they haven’t done their job properly. “It’s colossally insulting to every one of us who teaches writing to imply that we’re incapable of teaching form in the context of actual writing.”
I don’t think Fish is bashing teachers, or trying to claim that his is the only method to teach form. He’s simply expressing his frustrations about the condition he continually finds his students in. I don’t believe that Fish truly believes content has no value. He just wants to get “back to basics” in order to give his students a solid foundation in structure so that they will be able to communicate content clearly. Although Fish’s may not be the only method to teach form, at least he has one. Brooke, on the other hand, doesn’t even provide a viable alternative.
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Weblog 3
In the article “Dumbing down American Readers,” Harold Bloom argues that Stephen King does not deserve the National Book Foundation’s award for “distinguished contribution.” He states that King is only receiving the award because he sells a lot of books. He then compares King with J.K. Rowling, who also enjoys a high degree of commercial success, but whose books are garbage. Rowling doesn’t deserve the award; therefore, neither does King. Bloom feels that children reading Rowling will eventually grow up to read King. He also says that King is nothing like Edgar Allen Poe. I find this quite ironic seeing as I’ve never laid a finger on Harry Potter, I grew up reading Poe, and I love King’s writing. I think King has contributed greatly to literature. He’s produced such great works as The Shining, The Stand, Carrie, Dolores Claiborne, and Needful Things. Also my top two favorite movies of all time are adapted from two of King’s works, 1. The Shawshank Redemption, 2. The Green Mile. But besides these awesome stories, King has also done something amazing in his magnum opus, The Dark Tower series, which tells the tale of Roland, the last of a long line of samurai-like gunslingers, as he makes his way to the “Dark Tower”, the linch-pin of all existence, before the world falls apart. In this incredibly deep saga, King begins to incorporate characters, times, events, and locations from many of his previous novels and stories. The reader begins to feel that Roland’s world is just one realm of a larger, more grandiose universe that may in fact, include our own. I, for one, feel that this is a remarkable literary feat, one yet to be accomplished by any previous writer (as far as this author knows), and one worthy of the award for distinguished contribution. But I don’t believe that Stephen King won the award based soley on his illustrious writing career. He also has contributed a great deal financially to the National Book Founation. If it weren’t for King’s high grossing sales, and his philanthropic nature, there may not even be an award, and no one would be recognized at all. So suck on that, Dr. Bloom.
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Reflection 1
I learn from books. I learn from music. I learn from the Dicovery channel. I learn from my mistakes. I learn from my past. I learn from my cancer. I learn from my scars. I learn to feel wiser. I learn to answer questions. I learn to find out where I came from. I learn to understand why I am here. I learn to discover where I am going. I learn because understanding is better than sex. I learn because I can. I learn because I can’t. I learn because the more I do, the more I realize how truly ignorant I am. I learn to make myself happy, but then realize it only makes me sadder (Ecclesiastes 1:18). I learn to distract myself from the superficial cares of this world. I learn because the more I do, the more I appreciate the sublte beauty of the universe. I learn because it makes me feel closer to my Creator. I learn because even if I can’t change the world, perhaps I can spark the mind who can.
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Weblog 2
Brian and I met on the USS Theodore Roosevelt. I had just bought a new vehicle and didn’t have a license. I needed a ride to the DMV to take my driving test. I found the person closest to my bunk on the ship, which was Brian, and asked him to take me. I failed the test a couple of times, so he kept taking me back after work. During that time, we hung out a a lot and eventually became close friends. We played chess together. He taught me about cars, women, and relationships, which I knew very little about. And I taught him about broader topics like the meaning of life and God. He was an atheist at the time, but after we talked for a while, he gradually started to realize the inevitability of God’s existence. That’s probably what made us so close-that we both had significant positive impacts on each other’s lives.
After spending a year on the Theodore Roosevelt together, I finally got my orders for sonar technician “A” school in San Diego. I left the the TR, and my best friend. I spent six months in school and graduated at the top of my class. One of the perks of being Honorman was that I got first pick for order to my next command. I chose the USS Cole (DDG-67) stationed back in Norfolk so I could see my friend again. Shortly after I got back to Norfolk, Brian got a DUI, his second ARI (alcohol related incident), and was promptly seperated from the Navy. Luckily for me, he didn’t want to go back home to New Jersey in shame, so he got a job in Virginia Beach as a “handy man” for some lady he had met. This was good for me because I had just given up orders to Hawaii, Washinton state, and Florida, just so I could hang out with him again.
About a year after that, I was diagnosed with leukemia and had to go back home to Arkansas for treatment. I had to leave him again. After completing my treatments in January of 2008, it was time for me to come back to Norfolk, but, shortly before returning, Brian had to go back to New Jersey to be with his father in the hospital. His dad had had cancer for about 8 years, and the treatments had prolonged his life. By this time, he was extremely ill. A few days before I left Arkansas to drive back to Virginia, I received a call from Brian. His father had passed away. Brian decided to stay at home with his mother and sister. We still talk on the phone, and I’m planning on visiting him soon.
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MyTyeSpace
I tend to be overly self-critical, so I know if I don’t just start writing now, I never will. So here goes…
My name is Tye Warren, and I’m a weblog virgin so, readers, be gentle. I’m 22 years old, and I’m a sonar technician second class in the U.S. Navy. At least I used to be. Now I’m on limited duty status and work in the Medical Records department at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Virginia— the same hospital where, on August 6, 2007, I was diagnosed with leukemia. I spent a month in the cancer ward undergoing my first 2 rounds of intense chemotherapy. In September, I went home to Arkansas to be with my family where I completed the last 6 rounds; now I’m back. I have two more years of “maintenance” therapy, which includes 3 of the same chemo drugs, just in lower doses. Since I have to have access to a hospital at all times, I’m not allowed on a ship. So I’m stuck working at the hospital for now. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll explore that topic in greater detail in the not-so-distant future. As for now, I have a writing assignment to complete.
The assignment is to name my blog page, and then explain why I chose that name. As a promt to help us in the writing process, the class was asked what kind of identity we wanted to project to our readers. I thought about this for quite a while (as I usually do), and I came to the following conlusion: I just want to be me. I don’t want to be pretentious, or convey some false persona. I want my audience to see me. I also thought about my interests, which include science, math, God— things of an astronomical and cosmological nature. I can also BE a bit spacey sometimes; so I settled on MyTyeSpace. At first it sounded cheesey (and still does), but it actually works quite well. It’s personal, yet ambiguous enough that I can write about any topic. It also rhymes with a certain other popular website that will remain nameless, and it combines words within itself that rhyme (MyTye-also a popular alcoholic beverage, which I haven’t tried yet, but I’ve heard they’re delicious). All in all, I think it has a nice ring to it, and it’s multifaceted, like its author. Besides, this is MY weblog, so if I ever get tired of the title, or think of a better one, I can just change it. Right?
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MyTyeSpace 