Hopefully This Will Make Conversation
Kimberly Ayres
Writ 1301
Jeff Ward
Position Statement-ish?
One of the things that I have learned in this class is that you cannot make a reaction out of something you do not feel strongly about. A person needs to have some personal reference to a story to be able to make a true, genuine response. I feel like I have responded to some weblogs because I have to force myself to have a reaction. Is it possible to be completely apathetic about something? Possibly not, but one can get disoriented in trying to make a reaction out of nothing.
On the other hand, I cannot persecute all stories that have been posted on the weblog because I have had a legitimate reaction to them and I have formed an opinion of my own. For example, Margaret Bourke-White is someone I had a reaction to possibly because she is a woman, because she was famous for being a talented photojournalist, and because the media loved her. I can relate to that even enough to write 750 words about. The essays from my classmates are well-done and deserve to have comments posted to compliment for their hard work, but it is difficult to conjure up an opinion on someone-else’s judgment that may not be a sincere reaction to material given, and I do not expect you to do the same to mine. Another example is, at this time, the most recent example of a visual personality test makes me wonder about how these tests are constructed, what are the reactions of the participants in the tests, or can one really agree with the answer? I could respond easily to something from the Minnesota Daily or the bomb threats on the West Bank. I realize the challenge that is being presented by having us respond to some difficult texts, but I cannot take a standpoint if I cannot connect.
The solution? I would love to surf the internet and post up random blogs that may actually ignite an opinion and begin a conversation as long as my classmates and teacher are willing to do the same. Reading such confusing articles regarding documentaries makes it difficult to congregate a reaction for me. If the material was more on my level of interest, the content and the sincerity of my position statements may improve and hopefully may conjure more comments.
Now that was easy to react.
Thank you for reading this – please comment truthfully!
Comments
As I have explained before, people are free to post or react, to take positions or not to anything they want to. I've never stifled that. But in order to get credit for the class, I have to have certain standards for the matter under consideration. It's that simple. You can write or take a position on whatever you like; I cannot give you credit for just anything.
Period. I also mentioned starting last week that you can bring material for class consideration for the remainder of the semester. I have to see it to know if it is complex enough to work for the needs of the classwork. If it is (in my opinion), then it will be fair game too.
I'm not trying to be difficult here, it's just that I cannot take an "anything goes" stance given the vast amounts of crap printed on the internet or in newspapers each day. If you go out on a limb and try to write a position statement on something that is worthwhile, I might be able to give you credit for it-- but that will not guarantee that what you think is interesting or conversation-starting will be considered worthy by the rest of the class. Welcome to my world. People have diverse interests, and it is impossible to please all the people all the time.
I have provided around 50 or so articles or movies for people to write four position statements about. Sorry if they haven't been to your liking. Propose alternatives if you like, but I can't make promises until I see what those alternatives are.
Posted by: Jeff Ward | October 23, 2007 9:23 PM
yeah i agree and i understand your method and thank you for providing all of those articles -- i appreciate that. i am drawing a blank right now on what to write.
Posted by: Kimberly Ayres | October 23, 2007 10:14 PM
I just posted about four more article links in the WebVista shell. I know the pickings were thinner while I was on the road, but I'm trying to improve that now. I really do mean it about making suggestions though-- it's hard to figure out what people will connect with.
As far as the weekly responses, that's a tougher problem-- if people don't write things that are interesting, it is hard to respond. I think people have been doing a pretty good job so far, but it gets tougher this time of the semester.
Posted by: Jeff Ward | October 23, 2007 11:18 PM