I think the concept of a "multigenre paper" is fascinating. It certainly caters to more diverse student knowledge than confining student assignments to create one singular type of paper. I reflect back on many (if not all) of the papers I wrote in high-school - they were all informational/research papers. The thought of writing anything resembling a creative piece, especially in my college credit courses, was a foregone conclusion. We were taught to write in one kind of way - this one style of writing would provide "all we need" in our academic careers moving forward. Somehow I wound up specializing in creative writing during my undergrad. I remember taking my first poetry course during my freshman year and falling in love with it. I had never done any form of creative writing before, save for trying to write lyrics for my pseudo-christian metalcore band at the time (don't ask). I had never learned these skills, so I was far behind my fellow classmates, but ...
I do not remember the last time I have read something as moving and as powerful as the introduction to Tom Rademacher's book. If you think I'm being dramatic, I'm not. Day after day we have slogged through countless theoretical readings from the aforementioned "white-haired dudes with PhDs" with seemingly no end in sight. These readings, while informative and certainly telling of a dedication to betterment of the educational environment, have oftentimes seemed disconnected from any practical application. I have written about this phenomenon before, specifically in my final for CI 5441 (which I incidentally did not do too well on) - I can have all the theory I want shoved down my gullet, but at the end of the day it is my lived experiences and my human to human interactions that are going to define me in the classroom. Tom is right here - students aren't gonna care if I'm super articulate and effective teaching them about the intricacies of Shakespearian ...
If I were an impartial spectator to the development of my opinions regarding teaching and I were asked what I thought my opinion would be regarding whether or not the Five Paragraph Essay, I would have laughed in my own face and walked out of the room, leaving myself alone behind. ...that doesn't make any sense. Anyway, contrary to what you may think that I think, I like the idea of the five paragraph essay. Here's why. While I do tend to lean towards going against the grain of traditional teaching measures, I think there are plenty of merits in teaching the traditional structure of the five paragraph essay. At its core, I think teaching this structure allows students the opportunity to construct their arguments in a concise manner that follows a logical progression, as opposed to letting students essentially vomit each and every thought that runs through their heads onto a page and call it writing. Writing is a bit more refined and eloquent than word vomit, and I do wish...
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