Random thoughts

Hi folks,

I really appreciate all your responses to the "sucks... rocks" assignment. It has given me lots of food for thought and lots of ideas in how to make 2nd semester a better experience for you than 1st.

In no particular order, I have gotten the following from your blog entries:

Papers MUST be graded and returned earlier. That will be accomplished or my name isn't Fred Nai-Chung Cheng (trust me, it is).

Most people (though not all) like book discussions. I am thinking up ways to make them more focused and in-depth.

Most people want more structure to the writing assignments, which includes built-in deadlines and grading rubrics. These ideas make sense. Even though I was strongly CS in high school, I think I've gotten more random in my old age. Grading rubrics and schedules feel restrictive to me, but I hear this message loud and clear: they help you. If I am going to ask you to try to go outside your comfort zones, I should be willing to do the same.

You have waaay too much homework. I hear that. I did not have hours and hours of homework every night when I was in high school (back in the late 20th century). I remember having math homework almost daily and reading for English and social studies classes. I sometimes practiced for band (trombone) and usually crammed for science tests. I can't remember what else I took - isn't that sad? Oh yeah, Children's theater and creative writing. Some homework for those, but not a lot. Anyhow, I will try very hard to have mostly classwork. You should know right now that I can't ALWAYS give work time on assignments, so you will likely have some homework. Also, reading will probably still be assigned as homework - though I have some ideas on that, as well. Also, giving you class time requires that you be ON TASK when I give it. Even a couple students who squander this time will ruin it for everybody. Eh, maybe not. Maybe I'll just put them at the loser table and see how that works.

Most of you are very good writers. Many of your papers have not been well written. That tells me something. There has to be a way to transfer your natural ability to express yourselves into your essays. That's one of my big goals for semester two. Essay writing doesn't have to be strenuous or brain-wracking. A first draft should be as easy as writing a blog. Now if blog writing is not easy for you, then it might not be your cup of tea...

Finally, I like the idea of having a dialogue via the blogs. My kids used to do these reader response journals in elementary school where they would write thoughts about what they're reading, and their teachers would write back. I would like to try blogging regularly on various topics - from the literature we read to more open-ended stuff, and maybe even creative stuff like poetry. I can do an overall response like this entry.

Anyway, I'm going to go back and read more "sucks... rocks" entries, and I'll probably touch base with some more random thoughts. Almost all of you are awesome students. And those of you who aren't know who you are. (Just kidding)