I am still working on the HTS essays. The three I have read on-line are majority plot summaries, not much analysis. If students get a No Pass or NP, said student has to revise the essay. You have a week.
Today in the first class, students told me we are moving too fast. I gave students the plan at the beginning of class and we are behind. Pidd is a review. Everything in Pidd was covered in English 201 A/B. Students who have taken English 201 with me or my colleagues here at the College of Alameda have learned these skills. For some, these concepts might be ones covered in high school.
If students are having trouble, he or she should come to my office hours. I was here until 6 PM last Thursday, 5 PM Monday. I am available. Only a few students take advantage of my offer of help.
I suggest students, especially freshman take College Success. It is a three unit class for students new to higher education to learn about the culture of academia. English 1A is a foundation course. It is actually a class that will determine how well one does in his or her career. Success in English 1A equals an easier journey through other disciplines, because one needs to know how to read and write, think critically and apply one's analysis to situations familiar and unfamiliar.
I am not an easy teacher, and my classes are not ones one can slide through. April 24/25, 2011 (check), is the final date to drop with a W. After that, I have to give students a grade. If you have a load which is too heavy, then drop the class until you have time, especially if life is going to get even busier as we head into half time and then the final quarter, where hopefully one will have a touch down.
Teachers have their styles and a good teacher/student relationship is like all relationships--some work and others don't. There are no secret assignments. Everything was laid out at the beginning of the class. I am flexible. The reason we are running Pidd is so that students write passing essays the first time. Students will not be able to revise all essays for a higher grade, because we are behind. The only revisions will be for failing grades.
Pidd is not hard, one just has to keep up. Well, I don't think it is hard. If students have suggestions on how to survive English 1A, Spring 2011, please post suggestions (smile).
Today in the first class, students told me we are moving too fast. I gave students the plan at the beginning of class and we are behind. Pidd is a review. Everything in Pidd was covered in English 201 A/B. Students who have taken English 201 with me or my colleagues here at the College of Alameda have learned these skills. For some, these concepts might be ones covered in high school.
If students are having trouble, he or she should come to my office hours. I was here until 6 PM last Thursday, 5 PM Monday. I am available. Only a few students take advantage of my offer of help.
I suggest students, especially freshman take College Success. It is a three unit class for students new to higher education to learn about the culture of academia. English 1A is a foundation course. It is actually a class that will determine how well one does in his or her career. Success in English 1A equals an easier journey through other disciplines, because one needs to know how to read and write, think critically and apply one's analysis to situations familiar and unfamiliar.
I am not an easy teacher, and my classes are not ones one can slide through. April 24/25, 2011 (check), is the final date to drop with a W. After that, I have to give students a grade. If you have a load which is too heavy, then drop the class until you have time, especially if life is going to get even busier as we head into half time and then the final quarter, where hopefully one will have a touch down.
Teachers have their styles and a good teacher/student relationship is like all relationships--some work and others don't. There are no secret assignments. Everything was laid out at the beginning of the class. I am flexible. The reason we are running Pidd is so that students write passing essays the first time. Students will not be able to revise all essays for a higher grade, because we are behind. The only revisions will be for failing grades.
Pidd is not hard, one just has to keep up. Well, I don't think it is hard. If students have suggestions on how to survive English 1A, Spring 2011, please post suggestions (smile).
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 8:38 AM
23 Comments:
I feel if Pidd is a review, then the students who need it should use it accordingly. The students who do not need it, those with a passing essay for Half the Sky, should be exempt from the essays. For me, the essays are tedious, along with being arbitrary to the other work I enjoy doing in this class (reading books, writing responses to blogs, etc.).
I agree that Pidd is tedious. I think that it is ridiculous altogether. I did not know that we would be doing elementary learning in this class. I was looking forward to being creative in writing, not following formulas and editing synthesized essays.
I couldn't agree more with the last posts. I really feel like Pidd actually hinders my academic abilities because I can write just fine, and though everyone has a few errors after writing a draft or two (nothing that a little proof-reading can't fix), I'm not writing terribly pieced-together essays that are elementary-worthy like Pidd. I am horrified that we have to do these assignments. I can't believe I had to pay for Stewart Pidd. The moment I bought the book, I was literally embarrassed to carry it and be seen on campus with it because it really isn't college material. I've been to two different colleges, one a private college, and the other a community, and neither place forced me into a remedial coursework load such as this. Not to mention, I already passed an English 1 class WITH an A+, but because this school is extremely foolish in the way they do things, they decided that I couldn't transfer that credit. I did way more REAL essay assignments, was reading all sorts of genres, and was seriously engaged in that English class, thus the reason why I passed it. But here I am now, never looking forward to my assignments, putting them off if I can, because they are pathetic, elementary level assignments. I was reading out loud the way the authors worded things, such as their use of some odd slang as a way to relate to people our age, and it just made me angry. How am I supposed to learn from an out-of-touch text such as that? I could see using this in a middle school, but we're in college. Challenge us, please, but don't embarrass us and offend us with Stewart Pidd.
I could also not agree more with all these previous comments. Thank you for letting me know that I am not the only one who feels this way. Stewart Pidd is absolutely unnecessary and a pure waste of time when we could be focusing on other activities such as reading our books and preparing for our real essays. I have never dreaded doing something more than Pidd in an English class. Both of my AP English classes during high school never did anything below the standard of Pidd. Do you know why? Because there would be no point.
Let's discuss this in class. The few students who get an A on the Half the Sky essay will be excused from Pidd. If the essays have errors, said students will have to write a correction essay, similar to the essays written in Pidd. I am okay with this.
The book was written by professors at Fullerton University because students were not prepared for college writing.
Last semester, I did not use Pidd in English 1A and student writing suffered. Those students who are competent writers are the exception here, not the rule. However, those students who are competent writers, need not continue except on exams.
Again, let's talk about it in the morning. I have had excellent students who did not object to Pidd, and even learned something from the work. Pidd gives writers the language to talk about what it is one is doing right and how to correct errors.
WS
I think i speak for all of my class when i say that Pidd is the dumbest excuse for a book...It might have worked for you're other class, but obviously isn't going to work for us. every student learns his/her own way. if you see that we do not want to engage in anything pidd related...why torture us? Really if you think about it...Who wants to waste precious class time by correcting Stewart Pidds essays. I have an idea! How about we actually write our OWN ESSAY..with our OWN WORDS, Not correct someone else's words. And how about we show our creative side and get to write our own thoughts and idea's that which we will actually gain a sense of knowledge. I don't know about you, But I hate pidd to the depth of my soul...To the pit of my freaking stomach!! BUT HONESTLY OTHER THAN THAT, I LOVE THE IDEA OF WRITING ABOUT A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR AND ONE OF THE THREE BOOKS ASSIGNED.
P.S.*NOW WHENEVER I HEAR THE NAME STEWART...MY HEART SHUDDERS FOR A MOMENT.*
People are behind because you keep making up assignments! No one can follow your vague instructions! And we don't have time to keep asking you what we need to do! It should be clear. Good students are suffering in your class.
Ummm... well... I think that Stewart Pidd is a waste of time. It is one of my biggest pet peeve when a teacher assigns something like Stewart Pidd just to keep us busy. Now I understand teaching us this material because, yes, it is very important to our writing clarity and capabilities to now this. However I do not believe that wasting time on a textbook is the right way to go about teaching us this material. The correct way to teach us this material effectively would be to teach us this material yourself. Make handouts or whatever you need to do. But because of the fact that Stewart Pidd is a horridly boring textbook, and you require us to spend a lot of time on it, we do not do the work for learning but for the grade.
Another names for Stewart Pidd would be busy work.
I think people misunderstand the point of Stewart Pidd Hates English. It is supposed to teach students the correct way to structure a formal sentence.
Sure, it is so elementary, but how many people in the class know the correct way to speak English? Like, seriously? Not everyone knows when to use Me and I and makes me cringe every time I hear people use the wrong one. I sometimes wonder how people graduated high school or even got into high school. It's a shame, sometimes, hearing people who supposedly say they're native speakers of the English language and not know the difference between "and" and "an" or when "they're," "there," or "their" are supposed to be used.
We are lucky that someone is teaching us SPHE because it would be a damn big embarrassment to read someone's work with so many errors and claim that they have graduated from college.
I know some may argue that writing a formulated sentence hinders one's creativity. But creativity is not always for all types of writing. If it's a story you're writing, then by all means you can go crazy with the errors because your style of writing adds on to the character of your piece of work. It can emphasize the tone, imagery and etc. of your story. On the hand, if you're writing a scholarly piece, you have to drop all the shenanigans and be professional about it.
I think that people will learn more from the SPHE if Ms. Sabir teaches it more professionally. Meaning, do it step by step and teach it properly not just going by the book; but then again, English 1A isn't about grammar and punctuation.
You people complain so much!
Also, if I may add, this is not a creative writing class. There is a separate class for that. You have to actually read what the class is about not assume what it's going to be about. Now, I do not disagree to the fact that we don't do as much reading as we're supposed to be doing. Honestly, my AP English classes were more in depth about literature and serious essays, but we shouldn't slam SPHE down as if it is so unnecessary. Yes, rough drafts are prone to mistakes, but there are grammar mistakes that should not be made by people of higher level. That is why she wanted us to do SPHE.
There should be a balanced amount of time allotted to improve our writing (by writing, I mean punctuation and such) and grammar skills, and analyzing literary works.
Here is the legal course description of English 1A:
Course Description:
English 1A provides students the opportunity to learn and develop academic writing at
the university level. > This course in particular is a reading, writing and language course.
During the next 15 weeks you will be examining personal and public uses of language.
Since all good writers are first good readers, we’ll spend time closely reading essays and
speeches from a variety of authors-from classic to contemporary-who represent a variety
of cultural backgrounds and exhibit diverse writing styles.
Notice that it says language, meaning the correct way of writing. If you do not know the proper way then you would not be able to distinguish the different styles of writing of authors. Toni Morrison's Beloved, The Scarlett Letter, As I Lay Dying, Lolita, and other literary works that have contorted way of writing are difficult to read and require good language skills. So, if you do not have that, you'll be lost when reading and analyzing them.
Ms. Sabir, this class should be challenge us, not through deadlines and piles of work, but challenge us intellectually. If the theme of your class is women and friendship, then you should find better books --- more challenging books--- such as The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Here is a link that has good and challenging reads that go with your theme:
http://www.downersgrovelibrary.org/books/good_reads_fiction/women_authors.php
*this class should challenge us...
*this class should challenge us...
To prove my point... that person who wrote a response about SPHE posted on 4:22 pm DID NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR and YOU'RE (meaning you are).
You need to read and do SPHE exercises. YOUR argument is invalid!
Hey! Person who wrote on 4:22 pm!
I found another reason why YOU SHOULD BE DOING PIDD EXERCISES.
You incorrectly used the apostrophe.
IDEA'S? Really?
YOUR sentences aren't even complex and YOU'RE making punctuational errors.
What a shame.
**on the other hand...
How do you people have time to fight on a blog about Pidd and too much work? For me, Pidd is over. JUST DO IT!!! You should be working on your essays. Quit whining; grow up; we're adults... Ms. Sabir, I personally thank you for Pidd. I learned details about writing a scholarly essay. Nevertheless, we have too many random assignments, like the war poems. Let's focus on what's important and spend quality class time working on the essays instead of requiring us to do everything on our own time. In this way, things are less stressful for both you and us.
I think it is very necessary for us not only to only read material that fits in with the criteria of this class, but also how to properly write. To me, reading and writing go hand in hand, especially in an English class. I really enjoy Ms. Sabir's class a lot. We read very interesting books that awaken us to many horrendous problems that people on a global scale face. I also feel the extra assignments that we are given are directly related to the themes that we are exploring at that time. I feel she teaches in a balanced way. We analytical critique social issues, write about them, and also learn the basic principles to writing. Being in Ms. Sabir's class has greatly enriched my experience as not only a college student, but also a person living in today's world.
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I LOVE Ms. Sabir's class. The comment asked for suggestions on how to get through English 1A, not to beat up the class and complain. If you cannot survive the class, drop the class and take an easier class. Pidd is great practice and a good refresher. If you are having problems with something, go to Ms. Sabir and talk to her; she will listen and help you. She cares about her students and their success in the class. If you commit yourself to being invisible in the class, you will not do well. If you are not clear on the instructions that she has given, call her and ask her to clarify the instructions; she will clarify them for you with no hesitation. The key to getting through Ms. Sabir's class is to do the work, pay attention, stay ahead in Pidd because we will be finishing the book, stay ahead in the reading and reading logs, and ask questions. You must pay attention to the blog to keep up with assignments and stay on track. Everyone who has posted has decided to post anonymously so that they can make negative comments and remarks. Such comments and remarks are not going to change anything. It is the same structure that has been used and proven to be effective. Those complaining about hard work are lazy and not committed. I am a single parent that works part-time and goes to school full-time while taking care of my ill grandmother, mother, my infant child and I complete ALL of my work on time with excellent quality. No one has an excuse for anything. Organize. Commit. Complete. You will be fine.
Ashante Washington
English 1A, 9-950a
25 March 2011
The people defending need to realize that this is a COLLEGE COURSE CLASS. What we are doing in Pidd are basically prerequisites which prepares us for a COLLEGE course English class. Most of us have already gone through something similar with Pidd in High School. Taking this class now is just to extend our knowledge on writing and so on. I am not saying that Pidd is bad, but if you would like to do something similar to that, take the lower English classes. Then when you believe that your writing skills are proficient enough, take the COLLEGE English course.
PS. With all the assignments being dumped on us as of now, Pidd would only make one fall behind, thus making truly good students, bad.
Continued...
There is a reason why this particular class award credits that are transferable to Universities and so on.
Yes and until a student experiences a college English class I do not think that a student can say whether or not this class is preparing them for the a college class or not. I attended UC Davis fresh out of high school and tested out of the remedial English class, but though I tested out of it, the English class was so advanced and the work load was heavy, I was not prepared. Therefore, if students cannot take the workload in this particular class and students have admitted to the work being easy, I do not think that those particular students would be good students at all. All students need to do in the class is stay organized, keep ahead in Pidd (since it's so easy), commit to their work, and stop complaining. I did not do well in my English class at Davis because I was not prepared for the workload. I was not committed to my work enough and did not realize at the time that the key to success was organization and commitment. Students should try it and see if that works for them opposed to fighting hard work so much; they are only hurting themselves.
OH SHUT UP EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STOP WHINNING!!! GROW UP!! PIDD IS ONLY 20% OF OUR GRADE SHEESH!
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