full-time non-tenure-track Writing Consultant (aka a mini director?)

On the PNWCA listserv, I just came across Teresa Kramer’s announcement of a Writing Consultant position at CWU Des Moines (I didn’t even know there was a Des Moines in Washington state!).  It’s a full-time (9-month) non-tenure-track faculty position.  I decided to make note of it here because 1) I want to build up a better [...]

one situation in which we’d need a dress code for writing consultants

Josetta came in today with a nice black t-shirt with bright green lettering.  I didn’t notice at first what it said until we sat down for our consultation.   It said, “This is the part where I nod and act like I’m listening.”  I laughed.  But then I thought, that would definitely be one case in which we [...]

Congratulations to Chanel!

Congratulations to Chanel (a.k.a. twentysomethingbore and one of our YVCC Writing Consultants) for being accepted into the University of Washington! (Not that it’s surprising, mind you.) That’s so cool, though. Congratulations!
And it looks as if I’m headed off to OSU to start on an M.A. in Writing and Rhetoric (and working in the Center for [...]

Montaigne-esque essays, movies of the mind

I was explaining to Josetta this morning what Jill Widner was looking for in an essay (and Jill meant a Montaigne-esque essay, a “movie of the mind” kind of essay).  The first three papers Jill has had them do have been collages.  This is the first essay, so Josetta wasn’t sure how to do it.
 
Anyway, I used [...]

teaching writing AFFECTively

Two English 101 students today reminded me of the importance of writing instructors encouraging their students.  Both students complained about the same instructor.  Both felt the instructor made them feel like they’ll never learn to write well.  One came to tears over it.  One regretted not taking something else (which she had the option to [...]

“bibme” bibliography generator

Here’s what looks like a great citation generator: BibMe.  It auto-fills information from source (using amazon.com and other databases), and creates a bibliography which you can download in rtf format (including hanging indent).   And I checked it; it does the citations correctly (always a good thing!).  Even once you’ve recreated your bibliography, you can still morph them [...]

YVCC student stats

Got a copy of YVCC’s “Campus Update” magazine today, and I want to note its stats on YVCC students.
Division breakdown: The “Report to the Community” indicates that of the total headcount of 10,626 students, 34% are in transfer students, 44% are workforce education students, and 23% are ABE, ESL, or Continuing Education students.
I didn’t realize that [...]

EMPATHY and POETRY: how to be a good religious historian (and a good writer/thinker in general)

Here are some notes I took on October 26, 2005 while listening to Karen Armstrong being interviewed on “Speaking of Faith” (recorded November 25, 2004), along with some current comments.
As a “religious historian,” you must enter the minds of these mystics and sages and poets and keep on asking, “Buy why? But why?” You must [...]

ordo salutis

What if Jesus meant to save us by telling us we’d be resurrected (and thus freeing us from having to fight for survival, freeing us from getting caught up in “us versus them,” freeing us to love — giving up one’s life for one’s friends — without fear of death)? while we Christians have [...]

do not demonize anyone, but “angelize” everyone

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).
So! We should be angelizing everyone we meet, never demonizing them!