Thoughts From A Young Mind

After 2 failed attempts at posting a comment on Rachel's blog I'm just going to post this darn thing under my blog!

ok third times a charm!




Dear Rachel,

I would like to second your opinion on the idea of replacing the standard research essay with the multigenre paper. Like you, I was completely unfamiliar with the concept of multigenre writing. Sure I have written my share of poems, short stories, and dialogues back in my high school days, but never have I had to combine these papers into one project focused on a central theme. As you said to replace the standard essay with the multigenre paper is absurd. Colleges count out their students to be skilled in writing standard essays and considering this is the first time I have experienced multigenre writing I know that it is a fairly new idea, one that was not introduced to us in rural Northern Michigan. I feel that the best approach to this issue is to have students write one of each. The first semester can be reserved for the standard research paper, while the second semester can focus on writing a multigenre paper, or vise versa. I think it is important that future educators like you and me who are looking into teaching in Northern Michigan should think about introducing the students to what multigenre writing is and its purpose because as we have experienced through this second half of the semester, Northern Michigan students, especially those from rural schools are completely oblivious to this style of writing. With the help of Romano’s text we can succeed in expanding the minds of our future students so that they may be better prepared for college and the constant writing assignments it forces down our throats. The gap between students skills in writing from rural areas compared to urban areas is far too large. I found a website created by NCTE that may be of interest and help to you. It deals with teaching writing to students and there is a link that discusses the differences between teaching writing to rural students compared to suburban and urban students. I hope some of this info may be helpful!

http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/write/118876.htm

Good luck in all your future endeavors. I know you will do great things!

Main Entry: wall•flow•er
Pronunciation: 'wol-"flau(-&)r
Function: noun
1 a : any of several Old World herbaceous or somewhat woody perennial plants (genus Cheiranthus) of the mustard family; especially : a hardy erect herb (C. cheiri) widely cultivated for its showy fragrant flowers b : any of a related genus (Erysimum) of plants with showy flowers
2 : a person who from shyness or unpopularity remains on the sidelines of a social activity (as a dance)


The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives the definition of a wallflower in terms of a person as "a person who from shyness or unpopularity remain on the sideline of a social activity", however when you look at the definition of a wallflower in reference to the flower it describes the plants as a plant with showy flowers. I think it is interesting how one definition describes something as being showy and bright colored and attracts attention for these characteristics. However, the second description is the complete opposite stating characteristics of shyness, unpopular, and an outcast. I find it very ironic that each reference to a wallflower is completely different from the other. Usually when a term has two definitions they share similar meanings, but in this case they are completely different.

Was Charlie really a wallflower? Was he a social outcast? Was he viewed as a freak? In my opinion I would have to say no. Every person has a bit of shyness in them, but that doesn't make them a wallflower. Charlie had friends, he attempted many conversations with people in his school and at parties, he even danced at the Sattie Hawkins Dance. Did kissing another boy make him a freak? No! Gay and lesbian relationships don't make the people in them freaks, and Charlie was not gay. He did the same things many of the kids in his school did, but yet he is considered the wallflower. I feel bad for Charlie because for a freshman as he was to be doing the things he did and hang out with the older kids was not something that a wallflower kid would do. Charlie really isn't any different than many of the kids in any school. True he is more honest about himself and what he does, but that doesn't make him a freak!

Dear Charlie,

I was thinking about you last night while sitting in Big Boy with a few of my hall-mates. We went to Penn’s first home football game last night. I saw your brother play, he did really well, but I’m sure you already knew that from watching the game on TV. Boy those cheerleaders really have a thing for him. I guess he’s become one of campus’ big celebrities now that his name is always being mentioned on the news. Anyways, sitting in the bleachers with everyone yelling and cheering made me miss those good times the three of us had last year. One kid reminded me of Patrick the way he was yelling and screaming at the players. I never thought I’d another person as into a football game as Patrick. You should come visit sometime soon, maybe on a weekend when there’s another home game. Then you can watch your brother with me.

I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird the other day and I’m about half way done with it. It’s actually pretty good. I’m going to try to read all 6 of the books you gave me by the end of this semester. Hopefully I have enough time to finish. Reading makes me think of you. I really do miss you. The other day my advisor asked me what I want to major in since I haven’t declared a major yet. That night I remembered you saying that you used to listen to that Beatles song “Something” when you thought about grownup things. I found the record you gave me and listened to it all night hoping it would help me figure out what I want to go into. No luck yet, but I’ll let you know when I do decide. I hope you’re doing okay and that 10th grade isn’t treating you too bad. Put that typewriter to use and write me again soon. I Love You Charlie!

Your Best Friend Always,

Sam