#workshop introductions

[reyescarolina]

An Introduction into “Teaching but Not Believing” written by Jesus Lopez

26 February 2020

Lopez has condensed the complicated situations and heartwarming tales of his first semesters of teaching at Colin County College in his charming 2020 essay, “Teaching but Not Believing”. Despite his title saying otherwise, he has deep belief in the seriousness of the stories he reads that are written by his students. But without spoilers, let’s delve into what makes this essay what it is.

The form or format of the essay is written in first person. The essay is about Lopez’s first year or semesters teaching at a community college. The first couple paragraphs talk about him arriving to Dallas and getting a teaching job at Colin. And then there are about twenty-one paragraphs, and each paragraph describing each of his student’s stories. Then the remaining three paragraphs are sequestered for the author’s concluding statements about teaching and his personal experiences dealing with students.

The intention of the author is to find something interesting in the stories of ordinary people. Even if you think you know someone, you don’t really know until they’re able to tell their story. “She immediately stated: “I want to write about managing a prison”… “I don’t want [to make the prison system] better. I plan to make the prisoners suffer!” The whole class was shocked and wide-eyed as they heard the words come out of her mouth…I was not sure where nor why this writing came from Rhonda, she left me impressed” (12). Every story the author tells in the essay is pretty shocking sometimes and there are stories one would never expect from a student who decides to pursue education despite all of their suffering. “I emailed [my student] and he responded that his parents would rather let him fail the class than give him a flu shot” (10).

The theme of the essay is about stories. “I treated my composition courses as a non-fiction creative writing course as I find in much more interesting to read about the lives of my students rather than a social or political issue essay” (3).

The tone of the essay sounds neutral. Like the author is recalling through memory lane. There aren’t any cynical quips that make me believe it is a cynical worldview he has of teaching. “I look forward to the years of teaching that await me and I can’t wait to do it full-time” (14). The only sting of cynicism I get is from the title, which is confusing in regard to the content of the essay.

The intended audience are probably teachers, as they will resonate more deeply with what is being discussed, but I think moist of anyone who reads the essay will enjoy it.

And there you have it. All of the themes of the essay all wrapped up for you neatly. As you read the essay, reflect on all these aspects, and think to yourself: what is your story?

Carolina Reyes

[reyescarolina]

An Introduction to A Quick Guide for Teaching Mythology in Middle School, written by Sam Rasbury

19 February 2020

What Rasbury has laid out for the audience in his 2020 essay is a blatant sense of resentment with his school board supervisors. However, to maintain a level of detachment, he has structured his justifiable complaints into an instructional essay for any other instructors who butt heads with their local administrator. But without giving away spoilers just in my intro alone, let’s delve into the mechanics of this essay.

The format or form of the essay is based on the “how to” or instructional essay. The essay addresses the audience with “you”, which is the second person. The essay’s title is just what the essay does: it is a quick guide for teaching mythology in public middle schools. The essay is split up into five sections: and Introduction, Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, Native American, African, Egyptian, Celtic, Chinese, Japanese, ect., Mythology, and then a Conclusion.

The intention of the author is to bring awareness of the difficulty of teaching mythology the way it needs to be taught to children. It delves into the administrations barriers into making learning effective for students. “But you shouldn’t explain to the students the importance of keeping one’s promise in case they repeat that information to anyone on the school board” (2). Because of the constant threat of being fired by the administration, teachers are under obligation to teach in a way that does not make learning about real cultures effective.

The theme of this essay is about education and the barriers within the system. “You will never be able to justify to your administrator why you spent an extra month and a half teaching students about the great cultural diversity of the world in which they live” (11).

The tone the author employs is one of great sarcasm and snark. “You will not have the time to provide students cosmologies for each of the non-Greek or Norse mythos. Instead, simply pick your favorite stories from each and frantically attempt to organize them by theme or purpose. This will create a number of problems with explaining chronology, cultural impact and the power of legends, but will provide an excellent opportunity for a writing assignment which will be of the utmost importance to your administrator” (12).

The intended audience are for teachers or educators who teach public school from elementary to high school grade. “If you are uncertain how to successfully incorporate mythology into your curriculum, do not speak to your administrator and figure it out for yourself” (12).

This essay is in talks with Binyavanga Wainaina’s essay, How To Write About Africa. She employs the same kind of sarcasm in her essay about the egregious stereotypes of Africa in western writers.

There you have it, a collection of separate pieces all working together in one snarky essay. I hope you enjoyed the analysis and please, under any circumstance, do not mention this in your PTA meetings.

Carolina Reyes

[reyescarolina]

Introduction to Observations of a Body in Decomposition, written by Shannon Schaffer

12 February 2020

There is much to say about Schaffer’s 2020 essay about power and control over human bodies. First, I will guide you through the form or format of the essay, then I will lead you through her intention, her themes, her tone, her intended audience, and the literary works this piece in in conversation with. Before we doze off to sleep, let us begin.

The form or format written in this essay is from the first person “I” form. There is an introduction, like the essay is part of an experiment (see: essay title and “these are observations of a body in decomposition” (1); “Our form inevitably decompose, leaving our once plump skin as contaminants of dirt or ash” (9).) The author is coming to terms abut what happened to their body when it was no longer in their control at the psychiatric hospital. “The reminder of the scar on my lower back is left on a piece of paper hidden within a stack I purposefully attempt to forget where I’ve left each time it’s found” (9).

The intention of the author is to make the reader aware that the body will decompose without us knowing how or when it started. “Our bodies have been known to rebel against us, leaving us in the service of our brains and organs and making us increasingly vulnerable to the horrors surrounding it” (1). The essay also strives to show how easily manipulated our bodies are to people you thought you could trust. “Humanity exists within an inescapable structure of power that, at times, seeks to take advantage of those most aware of their own rot and decay” (1).

The theme of the essay is trauma and control. “Whenever I look back at this block of writing now, I can only think of all the horrors I left out because the memories were too close, too impactful during such a fragile period of my life” (2). “I remember the nurse in charge of the procedure wondering aloud why they were making a patient who was so young do this test for no clear reason… that was never clarified to me what purpose it served after” (3).

The tone of the essay is somber, like she is mourning what has been done to her. “I know my body is dying. I hope I am the only one to watch it rot” (9).

The intended audience for the essay is for people who enjoy psychological thrillers or even mysteries, because this essay reveals to us one by one clues into her memory. “The memories soon flooded back to me” (3).

This essay is in talks with Between the World and Me, an essay written by Ta-Nehisi Coates. They both talk about the violence their bodies have taken against a pervasive enemy and the trauma that comes with realizing this lack of control over one’s body. “He had already leaned the lesson he would teach me that day: that his body was in constant jeopardy” (18 Coates).

I hope now you have the context to move forward through this intimate essay. Enjoy reader!

Sincerely,

Carolina Reyes