I’m responding in this post to a conversation on WPA-l concerning my advocating the pleasure principle: the writing (and learning) should be fun, the consequence of which is a life-long habit of writing and learning (fun includes being challenged–this for my hard-work readers).
Here’s a link to the long post (writing as fun).
In the post, I said I would let students speak–so the rest of this post will simply be some quick blurbs from students and links to their longer discussions or essays.
Here’s the beginning of Shelby’s (see post below) recount of how she wrote about the Midsummer Night’s Dream essay:
“I put off writing this paper until the last night possible. I told myself I wouldn’t, and I really didn’t mean to, but it was like a big black rain cloud looming above my head for weeks . . .”
Link to her full statement.
Here’s the beginning of Shelby’s (again, see post below) reflection on “In the Middle.”
“One of my favorite pieces I wrote this semester is my personal essay, written when given the opportunity to write about anything. That’s right…anything. When Professor Peckham gave us the assignment, I was really rather annoyed.”
Her full statement.
Leanne was one of my serious challenges. I generally start my courses off by saying that one of my primary goals here is to get you to like writing. Leanne, said, NO F****ing way. Here’s what she said about herself as a writer (in her portfolio):
Coming into English 2000, I hated writing, and by hate I mean completely despise. Writing has been a struggle for me ever since I had to write my first “essay” in elementary school, and it is something I still struggle with today, though not to the same extent.
Link to Rachel