Category: Editing

Student Engagement is Simple

It baffles my brain when meetings are held, books are written, and discussions are had on how to engage students. Student engagement is easier than it is made out to be. It is quite simple – well, it should and can be. This will be a short post because I have straightforward and uncomplicated things to say.

How to Engage Students:

  • Be passionate about your subject.
  • Relate your subject to their lives.
  • Tell them HOW your subject has impacted your own life.

Be passionate about your subject – I have been a student and am now a Professor, and it has been my experience that many who teach are not passionate about their subjects. I have never understood this, and I sit in meetings and listen to the topic expounded upon, and internally I scream, “Be passionate about what you teach! Students will listen if you care about what you’re telling them!” I know this because I teach (of all things – English), and my students are eyes forward and engaged through entire class periods. Semester after semester. Year after year. This is not bragging – this is stating the truth. I am passionate about what I teach – and the students know it – and they respond to it. Now, I did “cut my teeth” teaching at a trade school – an environment where just about every student said, “Why do I need an English class? I’m an HVAC (or welding, plumbing, building maintenance, electrical, medical assistant, etc…) student. I don’t need this.” They had their minds set on hating my class. Our classes in trade school environments were capped at 30, and most semesters, I had 30 students in each class (sometimes seven classes per term) who despised taking an “English” class. Quickly I discovered that if I was passionate about the subject (and the next three things I’m going to discuss), my students listened, and they not only listened, they learned and they changed.

Relate your subject to their lives – #RealityPedagogy (Thank you to my education guru, Christopher Emdin). Every semester one of the first things I tell Comp students is that my class has the potential to teach them how to make money and keep that money – no matter who they are or where they come from. My class has the potential to change their lives. With confidence, I say this because I see what we do (Literary Analysis, Rhetorical Analysis, Learning Critical Thinking Skills, and Persuasive Argument) as soft skills training. Recently I watched a video that complained about soft skills being called “Soft Skills” – it was stated they should be “Human Skills.” Whatever they are called so as to not ‘offend’ by a title, the truth remains that communication skills showcase emotional intelligence, and emotional intelligence is vital to success in life. I share the article “Hire for Attitude” by Dan Schwabel – published in Forbes – with my students. It shares the statistic (with evidence to back up the claim) that 80% of the time, people are fired or quit because of a lack of emotional intelligence/soft skills. Comp classes teach (SHOULD teach) people how to think critically, be persuasive, and communicate – all part of the soft skills arena. I make this very clear to students on day 1. They want to learn when it relates to money and their success …

Tell them HOW your subject has impacted your own life. Use personal experience to back up your claims! This is argumentation skills 101. There is no need to tell whole life stories, but use examples of how impactful your subject has been on your own life as well as the lives of others. I do not need to expound on this. Stories sell.

These are not complicated ideas, nor are they difficult to enact IF you are passionate about your subject. Which brings me to wonder, why do you teach if you have no passion for your subject? If you are reading books and attending seminars on engaging students, the best course of action for you is to take a deep look at yourself. Are you passionate about what you teach? Do you truly believe in the power and necessity of your subject? If not … you should do something else with your life.

There is another thing that baffles my brain while sitting in meetings and listening to faculty talk … plagiarism. This is not something that comes to my classes as an issue – because I create unique assignments, specific assignments, and assignments that require each student’s perspective. The only time I come across plagiarism (running Safe Assign on all final drafts) in the classroom is because commas are in wrong places, quotation marks are used inappropriately, or parenthetical citations need adjusting.

With this, and the above commentary on student engagement, what I know to be true is that both of these ideas require WORK and intentionality on the part of the Professor. There are days after teaching that I go home exhausted because I gave so much of myself to the subject at hand. It is worth it. Every damn time. This WORK (teaching students how to think for themselves and not be persuaded by pathos-laden arguments) is something I am passionate about. This WORK, which I see as a service to humanity, brings me joy, growth, and power in the form of confidence for myself and others! I hear Charlotte Perkins Gilman in my head when I think about what I do … regarding why she wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” after she struggled with post-partum depression, Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote, “Then, using the remnants of intelligence that remained, and helped by a wise friend, I cast the noted specialist’s advice to the winds and went to work again – work, the normal life of every human being; work, in which is joy and growth and service, without which one is a pauper and a parasite; ultimately recovering some measure of power” – (Why I Wrote “The Yellow Wallpaper” – Gilman).

It takes WORK to be engaging. It takes WORK to be an effective educator. In all things, do it or don’t. It’s really quite simple. What you value comes through loud and clear – students will see, observe, and respond accordingly.

“What I mistook for just communication is writing as well.” – English Teacher Win!

When those moments come that remind you why you do what you do, time stands still and, I don’t know about you, but I have a personal party – complete with grape Koolaid, beef jerky, and some chocolate pudding. I’m having one of those personal parties right now as I grade papers.

A student’s summary of the first two weeks of Comp I lectures said this:

Boom! That’s it exactly. Yes, communication and writing are intertwined. I begin classes by asking how many students have smartphones. They all raise their hands. Then, I say, okay – don’t tell me that you can’t read and write. You are communicating through reading and writing all day. Generally, eyes open wide, and they realize they’re caught. Then, with a smile, I tell them the new idea for moving forward is simply tweaking what they’re reading and writing. “We” (not me, but I include myself just for comfort-sake for them) need to steer away from mostly grammatically incorrect memes and TikTok which … well, I’ll just move on. I tell them to be more intentional with what they read. That’s all. Make sure in the hours they spend on their phones each day that they read some news or articles about things that interest them and that they are intentional with writing professional messages on social media. I remind them that anything can be screenshot and saved forever – and can/will haunt them. So … tweaks. Simple awarenesses and new considerations can alter everything about communication skills. You are already writing and reading every day. So … be more intentional. This student got it, and right now, you are attending my personal party. (Alas, I don’t have enough beef jerky or pudding to go around.)

Folks, Grammarly Premium is good, fantastic, life-saving, awesome, stupendous, more betterer than any other, and it’s screaming at me right now for ‘more betterer.’ Sometimes, though, bad grammar is needed to make a point strong! It blows my mind when colleagues don’t point students toward Grammarly. These are college students with busy lives … they do not have time or the brain space to learn grammar rules now when they can improve their communication toolboxes by simply downloading Grammarly and using it across the board for all of their communications, not just English class essays.

Time to wind down my personal party for the morning. I’m pleased, to say the least, that this student HEARD me in the first two weeks of class; he got it. A lightbulb went off for him and guaranteed the work he produces in my class will now be bar raised and on point. Win!

The Devil’s Promenade

This afternoon I found myself seated among other English professors, student writers and artists, and other staff and faculty from Tulsa Community College. We collected together in an auditorium space for the Tulsa Review Launch Party – TCC’s online Literary Magazine/Journal. Student readers and a colleague of mine read selections from this year’s edition located at http://www.tulsaccreview.com. The majority of the read-aloud pieces were all student submissions to the journal, and it was a thrill to hear their works read out loud and see the visual arts submissions flashing across a screen above where the readings took place.

One young lady sat next to me – and with pride, she pointed to her painting when it was displayed on the screen. It was lovely, and I asked her if it were a self-portrait. She said that she’d seen the photo and wanted to duplicate it as a painting because she’d found it so lovely. This is her piece which is in this years’ Tulsa Review edition:

Chidera Nwachukwu | Lady with a White Scarf
(The woman/student I sat next to)

As I sat there listening once the “party” started – and the introductions were made by my colleague Josh Parish, also an English Professor at TCC, I realized that I had accomplished something big here! Yes, there were student submissions, but the Tulsa Review also accepts and publishes general submissions worldwide. This year, I anonymously submitted – I’d thought about submitting a piece the two previous years, but I second-guessed myself and did not do it. Why? It’s been a “minute” since I submitted a written piece and was published by a magazine or an anthology – the past few years of my life stunted me and kept me from creativity. No longer! My piece, “The Devil’s Promenade,” was chosen for publication by the review board of TCC student editors. How exciting! I am excited and honored to have been chosen – and I’m planning what I might submit for the next edition! For now, though …

“The Devil’s Promenade” is a ghost story mash-up of Joplin Spooklight legends and my own experience visiting Spooklight Road in Seneca, Missouri, with my cousin and two of our friends. After reading the legends surrounding the Spooklight, I had to write a ghost story. Had to. This is one of my favorite pieces that I’ve written – and I’m excited to point you to it.

The visual art accompanying my short story is by a TCC student – James/Jaime Cunningham. Not related that I know of … and neither are our works; they are not connected beyond being linked together in the lit magazine. James’ picture is made of small pieces of paper collected to form the larger “painting” of Cain’s Ballroom. Lovely.

I hope you enjoy “The Devil’s Promenade.”

The Devil’s Promenade

Author Conversations Collection!

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that my novel writing course could benefit from insights other than my own and the assigned textbooks – which are “On Writing” by Stephen King, “Structuring Your Novel” by K.M. Weiland, and “No Plot No Problem” by Chris Baty. We have reached the point in the semester where my voice is no longer the new professor’s voice but more akin to the nagging mom who gets half-listened to … I say this tongue-in-cheek, but at the same time, I know it’s true. They get comfortable, and life distracts them from focusing on the course when things become routine. Now, I’m not much for routine, and I was thinking – how do I keep this class moving and spice it up, make it enticing and challenging both … tap your resources, came the reply inside my head.

My thoughts turned to my colleagues and author friends in St. Louis, and I got excited. I reached out to several and scheduled a couple of author interviews, which I am calling “author conversations” because once talk of writing begins between writers, the ‘interviews’ become fluid, unstructured, and wonderful. I have three more St. Louis-based author interviews in the works, but I also decided to see who I could drum up in Tulsa – and I reached out to the Tulsa Nightwriters writing group. The response has been incredible! Thus far, I have collected 7 “author conversations” and have 2 more scheduled to be posted to my Novel Writing course shell and Youtube. There looks to be a total of 10 of these author conversations collected by the end of the semester! How exciting!

Author conversations posted to Youtube thus far include:

Each of these conversations is informative and entertaining. Topics cover a broad range of writing topics from the writing process to publishing ins and outs. Lots of talk about editing and character development, writing groups, and the necessity of critique. Some are Pantsers, and some are Plotters. And all love the craft of writing – all have passion for their stories and for their readers … It is about influencing and engaging the reader and fulfilling a driving need that we, as writers, have to create.

We invite you to give each author’s conversation a listen – there are nuggets of advice for every writer at all stages of writing. I cannot just keep these for my students – writing is for everyone!

Pro-Riot Rally Descends on D.C. … Is that right? Insert a raised eyebrow.

Words have power.

I teach this to my students – because it is true. The media, marketing firms, writers, movie makers – they all KNOW this, and they are gifted at this – what I like to call in the classroom – MANIPULATION. And … the sheeple just go … baaaaa and believe all the pretty, crafted words without digging in past the headlines or one-sided perspectives.

This morning as I looked for a potentially divisive article to use as we work on how to use OUTLINES (the practice is to come to a common agreement on a divisive article – and it WORKS every time. It has for 13 years in my classes), I came across this:

“This Weekend: Pro-Riot Rally Descends on D.C. …”

Certainly, the words “Pro-Riot” and “Descends” are intentional to stir emotion in headline readers who will not dig in deeper – or seek to try to understand other perspectives. The Huffington Post knows this about their readers. So … hence the fear-inducing word choices in the headline, but also in the article – where it seems the writers have forgotten to mention riots, damage, or deaths that have occurred at the hands of the opposition to the Far-Right crowd. I am sitting here shaking my head, but also applauding their ability to manipulate their readers and information.

The Right and the Left. Both do this.

Words have power.

Baaaaaaa.

My First Novel is Out!

In all the hub-bub, I neglected to announce this fantastic news in my blog space! Good grief! 😁

“A Kiss in the Rain” is now available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. And, I said “First Novel,” which is true. However, this is its third time in publication. Twice it has been with small publishers, and I value those experiences. When the second one closed its doors, I found myself having to start from square one with an original manuscript. What an experience for me! A little over a year passed while I edited and added, edited and removed. The story is not changed, but many scenes are altered. In the years since I initially wrote “A Kiss in the Rain” much has happened in my own life that now shapes and colors my writing from new perspectives. So, for those who have read it before, you will find the story refreshed and, hopefully, more mature.

Friendship is the building block of this story which follows two women who meet in a grocery store line. Each woman is confronted with ‘life’ in its ugly and joyful forms, and it is their friendship which sees them through. For me, it was a digging into the possibility of a friendship with a checker I knew in St. Louis named Joan – every time I went, I chose her line no matter how long it was, just so I could talk to her. That, combined with a photo I found on the internet of this old lady sitting in a windowsill; she was dressed in brilliant, obnoxious colors, and a giant cigar hung from her mouth. Instantly, I knew I wanted to be her when I grew up. Minus the cigar. So, my mind wandered and combined these two women. Joan and the old woman with the cigar. She became Adeline. And I, in some ways, was/am Danielle.

In some sense, this is a romance novel, but it is more an inspirational fiction story. These two women struggle, laugh, dance, and cry through the events that unfold, one holding firm to faith, and the other learning to lean on faith as her roller coaster journey sweeps her along. Both women experience romance and lack of romance in relationship. For instance, Danielle’s love is lost to her at a young age, and she endeavors to create a life for herself without him; she discovers that God has other things in store. Adeline’s story is much more colorful, attributed to the fact that she is much older, and she has lived an incredibly full life, though keeping herself from happiness because of what she perceives as unworthiness.

Readers have expressed to me that they want stories now about the lives of more of the characters from this novel. I’m toying with that idea, though for me, the central characters are Adeline and Danielle. Writers will understand this. Readers too. These women are my friends, and I know them. The other characters are not engrained in my heart in the same way as these women are. I’m not saying I’ll not consider the possibilities of stories evolving from Victoria Clark or George or Lynne Gunnison, but I will wait for them to tell me their full stories over a tall glass of Diet Soda, since I don’t drink coffee. Insert a smirk here.

All of this to say – if you are an empathetic person, grab some Kleenex. Even I, the author, cried when I read this story back through. Several times. No, truthfully, it was multiple times that tears flowed down my cheeks as I edited and rewrote and flushed out scenes through the nearly 300 page novel. The overarching idea that friendship can come to us in many forms touched me deeply, and even I, as I made my way through the manuscript, was reminded to embrace friendship and care for it, to let people love me and enrich my life. I am grateful for “A Kiss in the Rain,” and it is my hope that it can be a blessing to you.

https://www.facebook.com/thecunninghamcollection

Peer Review is Essential

Recently, I was tasked with writing a 1-page Pedagogical paper regarding one practice I use in my classroom. My mind went immediately to how I teach Peer Review, which was an essential function of the courses in the Master’s Degree I received from Lindenwood University. The process held such value for me in my educational journey, that I include it in the curriculum of the courses I teach.   What follows is the paper I wrote.  I’m sharing it because, perhaps, this idea might find its way into the hands of another professor out there who struggles to explain the concept of Peer Review … perhaps.  

My Master’s degree program was significantly based in Workshopping/Peer Review. The ‘magic’ of Peer Review forever emblazoned itself on me, and it is something I value and know is a skill I must pass on to students in my classes.  In Peer Review, I developed the ability to “take a punch” and to have thicker skin as I developed my communication skills, and thus, I teach it in the following manner:

In Composition 1 class, as we prepare for Peer Review sessions, I present a lesson on how to conduct a Peer Review and explain the potential outcomes of Peer Review. Sharing with them my own experience with Peer Review, I tell them I know how they feel as they consider the thought of someone else critiquing their papers. To address their anxieties and fears as we head into the overwhelming, fearful exercise, I hold a practice session.  After the lecture/lesson on how-to Peer Review, I tell the class that it is time to practice and that they are going to practice on something I wrote. Usually, they look stricken at this idea.  That sounds worse to them – to critique the teacher instead of themselves.  They take the short story in hand when I pass it around and keep their eyes on me – disbelieving what is about to take place.

The short story is one I wrote several years ago called “The Echo of Alone,” and I have enjoyably destroyed it with punctuation errors, misspellings, and stylistic errors.  The formatting is wonky.  The paper is a mess – and is ripe for editing in Peer Review.  I have them follow along as I read it aloud to them, instructing them to listen with a pen in hand.  “Mark errors as we go,” I say, reminding them that their ears will hear mistakes that their eyes will not see.

Once I have read the short story aloud, I have them spend a half-hour silently going through the story on an individual basis, marking mistakes, making suggestions, proposing ideas.  They use editing checklists and the course rubric to assist in their review/suggestions as they individually go through the story.

At the buzzer, I tell them they will now discuss their findings as a class – out loud and amongst each other, while I stand and listen – that I will not speak. I direct them not to look at me, not to acknowledge me, to refer to me only in the sense that I am the ‘author’ of the piece under discussion. I state, “I am not here.”  Eyes widen – and the brief courage they found while writing on my short story fades until the first brave student chooses to speak up.

At that point, the dam tends to break, and the conversation picks up.  They find their ideas are not foolish and that other students agree or disagree with them, and that it is all okay.  This Peer Review session goes as long as I allow (generally another half-hour) – and depending on the strength of their review and/or our time constraints, I step in and open up a discussion of the Peer Review session.

Typically, they have questions about my short story, so I address those, but I steer the conversation to the Peer Review, their emotions, their thoughts. The consensus tends to be that the class – as a whole – feels better prepared to step into a Peer Review session of each other’s work in the next class session. They understand, from my example, that they must work on having thicker skin and that accepting critique is essential for growth and improvement.

I find having them practice on me to be the greatest tool at not only explaining how to conduct the Peer Review process but also to address their fears and anxieties and build confidence before beginning the Peer Review sessions of their first essays.  This process has worked successfully for several years in my Composition 1 classes.  My goal is to always have Peer Review as a central function of the coursework.

Application for other disciplines – we, as faculty, make ourselves more human to our students if we allow students to see our educational journeys and struggles in some way – letting them know that we grew through struggles/critique and how/what we learned.  Do what I do/what I did, not just what I say.

That is the value. It works.

Resume Writing & Editing – A Challenge and a Thrill

Spent my morning involved in a favorite activity – editing resumes.  Taking a person’s professional information and making it not only visually pleasing but precise and easy to read is something that thrills me. Each time it is a challenge, and it provides a rush to my spirit – an adrenaline kick that what I can do may indeed help the individual achieve their professional goal is AWESOME.

Over the years of my teaching career, I have written and edited hundreds of resumes.  It started at Vatterott College around 2011 when I taught Composition II.  Without all the detail as to the why it began, I started teaching my Comp II students how to edit their own resumes after conducting extensive research into resumes and their production, what the business world needed, and what it wanted.  I desired for MY students to find success after completing their educational journey.  Their resumes needed to look professional and like they were worth talking to/consideration for the jobs they trained for.  So … it began – soft skills training – resume writing and interview skills preparation.

Resumes are a living document.  Therefore, it is best to create one from scratch sans the templates inundating the internet.  To be able to edit – manipulate – per job and add information over time is essential, and a crisp, clean Word document provides that means.

Each job an applicant applies for should have a revised copy of a resume – one that is tailored specifically to the job desired – containing work experience, terminology, and educational experience directly relating to the position the person is applying for.   A template makes this … let’s use the word ‘difficult’ at best.

Keeping each resume labeled with specifics and saved to the computer and an internet drive is important.  In my own personal files, I have multiple copies of my resume, each edited according to the position applied for and labeled according to each opportunity/company name with dates of application/edit.  This is the same for each cover letter, letter of recommendation, and reference sheet.  Having these saved nice and neat in my Google Drive provides the opportunity to work further on my information at any time or place necessary.

So, it’s been an invigorating morning – enjoyable for the simple fact that my ability to edit and write may be the catalyst each of these two wonderful people needed to get the attention/interviews for the jobs they desire.  THAT is cool.  I am grateful to play this part. In lieu of that, I feel compelled to jot down a few (not all naturally – for that would take away the need for my eye and services) items for job seekers to bear in mind as they approach resume writing.

  • Do not put the year of high school graduation on the resume.  Avoid age discrimination.  It is no one’s business how old the candidate is before an interview is scheduled.
  • Do not take that personally.  If you had job-applicable activities/coursework in high school years, then those can be used, just no dates attached.  Bear in mind that the name of the high school attended can also help and/or detract from job seeking.
  • A street address in the header is not necessary.  It is, again, no one’s business where the applicant lives, whether it is rented or owned, etc.
  • Make sure the email address provided is professional.  Don’t use something like … axlrosefan88@whatever.net.  Now, I made that one up.  It would describe me, for sure, and it would give an employer insight into who I might be, but it is not professional.  Stick to the candidate’s name as the meat of the email address.
  • Bullet points are essential.  They make a document easy to read.  Remember that an employer spends an average of 6 seconds scanning a resume for pertinent information before deciding whether to look at the document deeper.  6 seconds.
  • Put all dates on the far-right side of the resume page and in bold print.  Research shows that an employer will look across the top 1/3 of the page and down the right side of the resume before looking into the center or left side.  Have those dates of employment and education stand out!
  • Read the ad well and research the company you are applying for.  Use their terminology and keywords in your resume.  Make the resume ‘match’ their needs.
  • Understand the majority of resumes should be no more than 1 page.  There are instances where a longer resume is required.  Education and ministry are in this category.  But, on the whole, a resume is to be 1 page.  It should contain only the information regarding the candidate that is pertinent to the job being applied for.
  • How can you accomplish that?  Create a LinkedIn page online.  On your LinkedIn profile, house all of your work history, recommendation letters, and important contacts.  At the top of your 1-page resume, post your LinkedIn ID so that an employer will know there is further information to be read concerning your professionalism and abilities.
  • Use crafted verbs.  Each bullet point under job achievements/duties should begin with a new verb.  Do not over-use verbs.  Active verbs are necessary and must be in the proper tense for the job’s dates.  If it is a present position, then verbs should be in present tense.  If it is a past position, ensure that verbs are in past tense.  There are abundant lists of Active Resume Verbs on the internet.  Google one.  Use a thesaurus.  Get crafty.

These are a few suggestions for resume editing and writing.  I cannot give away all of my thoughts.  No, it’s more that I won’t give away more at this time.  When I teach resume writing and cover letter preparation to students, the actual lesson can last 2 hours or longer.  There is a vast amount of information to share and for folks to add to their job readiness arsenals. What a thrill!

Some of my favorite resume editing challenges are when I am presented with a two or three-page (a couple of them have been longer) resume and the candidate says there’s no way I can get it to one page.  Watch me – it will happen.  There is a learned skill involved in manipulating Word and making text comply with what I need it to do.  I have not been bested by a resume yet in this challenge, and the competitor in me will work to ensure that I win.  It’s me against the information, and I am armed with manipulation and word skills.  Bring it on.

It is noon now, and I am charged up, ready to work on another resume.  At the close of each semester, I tell my students I will be available to them for the rest of my life as their own personal resume editor.  Friends, family, folks … come one, come all.  Alas, I don’t have one to work on.  They will come, just not at this moment.  So, I will settle for opening one of my manuscripts and jumping into that sort of editing.  Grammarly Premium and I have work to do on “A Kiss in the Rain.”  Ah … that’s a whole nother blog post.