Blogs

In my workshops on building effective blended courses, I talk about the importance of metacognitive skills for learning, and how faculty can use blended learning to help students develop and exercise those skills.

Maryellen Weimer posted a great article on Faculty Focus, describing quick exercises you can use to start a course off with a metacognitive reflection. I think they could also work as mid-semester reflections, as a chance to reflect on a course experience thus far and make adjustments as needed. You could introduce the exercise the same way, but follow with a debrief discussion or writing exercise that prompts students to compare their best experience with their experience in the current course so far and think about ways to incorporate elements of the former into the latter.

Lilly Allen’s new music video Hard Out Here has gotten a lot of buzz in the media. After watching the video very closely and then reading the lyrics I’ve been debating with myself whether or not this video is feminist or not. The message that Lilly is trying to give off in the video is extremely powerful. She is encouraging women to be independent and get through barriers that are set in front of them solely because of their gender. She’s also touching on the double standard presented to in society.   All those points she’s tying to touch on are powerful but who is she speaking for? As she states in the beginning of the video “Don't need to shake my ass for you/cause I’ve got a brain” but she has 5-8 other women shaking their ass and touching their crotch. They’re all half naked while she’s fully clothed. She’s continually referring to women as “bitchs” in her video. We can’t possibly expect men to treat us any differently if we are treating ourselves this way. How can one combat this negative stereotype about women being objects if in the video women are objects. Did she really need to zoom into the butts and show women hyper sexualized to prove a point? Have we gotten this bad in society that we now need to have women half naked to listen? This video doesn't just make me question the white supremacy but feminism it self. Who is feminism fighting for? White women? Women of color? Both? 

I wanted every one to know that the full text of the whole issue of
Radical Teacher on teaching in carceral institutions is now available on-line through Pro-Quest,
and I'd like to recommend that we read (@ least!)
Artif Rafay, "An 'Impossible Profession'? the Radical University in Prison" and
Robert Scott, "Distinguishing Radical Teaching from Merely Having Intense Experiences While Teaching in Prison."

I really enjoyed our conversation last Wednesday; coupla other things i want to remember:
* if we go in talking, we're not attending to the "series of lock boxes "we have to go through
--what about the possibility of our "going in silently," the better to attend to what's happening around us?
--the danger/vulnerability of doing so-->"the more casual we are, the more protected we are"
--sara s's project has got us "sensing" the environment there, attending to what it looks like-->
--but flip this: what does the environment think of us?

Preparation:
Anne will print off/bring in the memos to get us/materials into Riverside
each of us will send to Hayley a paragraph we've selected for discussion
Hayley will select one of these and make 15 copies (for the black out poetry exercise)
everyone will bring the sharpies they have (also black crayons?)
Sara will bring multiple copies of the code-switching article;
Hayley will bring all remaining copies of Life on the Outside, along with extra paper and pencils

Lesson Plan:
I. Sasha: welcoming everyone, getting them to put on nametags,
finding out who read how much of the book, and inviting a
general sharing of what folks liked/didn't like/noticed/want to talk about...

In response to Celeste's good questions about what the trouble is with power feminism--is it about representation? (or is it about achieving power @ the expense of others?)--and in furtherance of EmmaBE's observation that power feminism is about getting power for yourself, rather than trying to redistribute/break down the structures of power, I promised to share w/ y'all a passage we read and pondered in my prison book group: Elaine Brown's A Taste of Power, her very compelling memoir about growing up in North Philly, having her consciousness raised about class and race issues, becoming a Black Panther, becoming the head of the Black Panthers, and then leaving the party:

so there has been this new video by Lily Allen circulating the mass media. When i fist saw it i thought "what in the world did i just watch", then after listening to the lyrics i was like "oh wow, you go girl! being all feminist", then i watched it again and read some articles and i am have to say, why doesnt her feminism include black women? is she a power feminist??

Here was an interesting perspective on her performance and song that I really like: 

http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/11/13/easy-white-bitch-words-lily-allens-new-video/

I enjoyed today's class discussion on feminism through the eyes of bell hooks. Some of the quotes really got discussion flowing. Feminism is for everyone. I agree with this statement; however, our discussion today made me question it. I tend to think of feminism as the coming together of individual feminism towards a greater movement to empower women. But this quote by bell hooks made me stop and think "Advancing the notion that there can be many "feminisms" has served the conservative and liberal political interest of women seeking status and priviledged class power ...to suggest that one could be feminist and be anti-abortion...is another misguided notion...it is a feminist principle that women should have the right to choose."

Feminism is about choice. But what if one person's view of feminism has a negative effect on someone else? Is that still feminism? Is feminism really about individuals or is it just a collective movement? I thought I was understanding feminism more, now I'm not really sure. But I love questioning!

Near the end of class today when Anne asked us to discuss whether feminism was for everybody, my immediate response was, "YES. ABSOLUTELY." Sexism and patriarchy affects everyone of all different genders in our society, and sometimes people who are unaware of the issues don't realize that. I remember in high school when I was still a budding feminist without much background, I often would get into arguments with classmates about feminism, but when people began to talk about issues men faced and how sexism against men exists, I really didn't know how to intelligently counter the argument, though I knew it was wrong. Unfortunately, the way I felt then is probably the way most people in today's society feel because they are not exposed to the idea that patriarchy affects everyone, including men. That's why I loved bell hooks' definition of feminism: "feminism is the movement to end sexism." Plain and simple. Sexism can rear its ugly head in so many different ways, and it's often not recognized as such. The idea that only men must sign up for the U.S. military draft? Patriarchy teaches us that women are weak and fragile and must be protected. Sexism. The fact that men are more likely to lose custody of children in divorce cases? Patriarchy teaches us that women are better nurturers and care-givers than men and child-rearing is women's work. Sexism. The idea that men cannot show emotions or dress in feminine styles? Patriarchy teaches us that feelings and feminine clothing are women's things, and god forbid men degrade themselves by expressing feminine qualities. Sexism.

I often feel like I experience deep play while I'm writing (even while I'm writing analytical papers). Although I don't actually know if Nightowl felt deep play, I see it in her argument. Whenever I write, I am so absorbed yet malleable. Often, I end up convincing myself of my arguments after I wrote them down. Since Nightowl observes an opinion and then comes to agree with it, it seems as if the process of writing led nightowl into a state of deep play. But, I may just be projecting.

(both via Mark)-->

one on the "play of bodies" (playgrounds, over graves....?):
Historic African American cemetery in Queen Village larger than was thought
(Philadelphia Inquirer, November 11, 2013),

and one about "how Einstein thought," or 
Why "Combinatory Play" is the Secret of Genius
(Brain Pickings, August 14, 2013).