Day 48: Writing a Book Review without the Book

Source:
Anderson, S. (2017, September 28). The mind of John McPhee. The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/magazine/the-mind-of-john-mcphee.html?_r=0

What is Sacred:
I am not as familiar with John McPhee's writing, but based on this article, I need to be. I think what sold me on reading his new book Draft No. 4 is the description by Anderson that in McPhee is writer as craftsman rather than writer as artist. I think the more scientific I can get about teaching writing, the more I will get pieces with intentional voice and craft.

I also appreciate writers that are able to take their research and create intimacy through a complex organizational structure that reveals the workings of a complex mind. Anderson describes it best with his sentence: "McPhee has built his career on such small detonations of knowledge."

I guess what is sacred, then, is the ability to talk about craft and the ability to know about small topics in very deep and layered ways and write about those layers through organization that works as both metaphor and theme.

Connection:
I have this listed under aesthetics on my Excel spreadsheet which basically means I like the topic and I like the way the writer wrote about the topic. It could possibly be used for a mentor text but it is a little nebulous in my mind except for the fact that I liked reading it.

Comments

Professional Practice Dissertation Pre-Proposal, Part 1 of 4

My dissertation proposal as a culture-based education (CBE) version of Chopped All-Stars Please indulge my need for metaphors and analogies to make sense of my world. This is Part 1 of 4 blog posts to clarify my thinking on my proposed dissertation topic. How will this study work? Gather strong chefs, leaders and innovators in their own right and challenge them to create synergistic culinary masterpieces in the CBE Project, a professional development program. change chef to teacher; change culinary masterpieces to culture-based education-infused practices and curriculum ) The parameters: time (Kamehameha Hawaiʻi 4-week course with deadlines for teachers' own action research and learning portfolio to follow) key ingredients ( CBE practices , moenahā framework, makawalu , and the National Writing Project program model) the course (teachers' own content area and current curriculum) The question: How doe...

Dissertation Proposal 4 of 4: Timeline

Timeline Summer 12 - pre-proposal, lit reviews, submission for B-credit, negotiations for a course (place, time) Fall 12 - build the course using the village, build in indigenous, developmental evaluation and sustainability Spring 13 - submit IRB approvals, pa ʻa the logic model, recruit teacher leaders Summer 13 - Alana Summer Institute Fall 13 - teacher action research and gathering of data Spring 14 - analyze data, write Summer 14 - write, collaborate, present This is a "in an ideal world" timeline that does not take into account the village, the permissions from higher ups, the ability to exist on a non-budget, the recruitment of teachers willing to participate in this work with me, the full time job duties that I already have AND the fact that Iʻm supposed to be in 6 or 9 credits worth of my own courses in the Summer of 13 on Oahu when I want to serve my Big Island teachers. Any suggestions?

Dissertation 3 of 4: Research Methods

"From the vantage point of the colonized, a position from which I write, and choose to privilege, the term 'research' is inextricably linked to European imperialism and colonialism. The word itself, 'research,' is probably one of the dirtiest words in the indigenous world's vocabulary." ( Tuhiwai Smith , 1999) Paula Moya, a Chicana researcher says, "identities are fundamental to the process of all knowledge production" ( p. 102 ). Like Tuhiwai Smith, I must also embrace my identity as a colonized researcher. Moya goes on to say that education, "should not be about merely inculcating status quo values," but to reject the status quo as a way to inculcate a "transformative multicultural education" that will educate all learners for democracy and social justice (p. 109). The Alana Project, starting with this professional development course, which becomes my dissertation action research, sees transformative multicu...

Pure Manaʻo

Search This Blog