Reflections.... From a Daybook

I feel the first few day book entries, for me, set the pace for the entire class and thus they are highly significant.

Original Day Book Post is in Black, while the Writer's Reflections are colored in Maroon.

1/19/11
Daybook Entry 1: Prompt - Two things; 1) Take a few minutes to land here. What's it like to be here in this moment? Let go of where else you've been or what else you've done or what's yet to come. What's it feel like to be here right now?

Annoyed. I feel like I am playing catch-up considering how the semester began. Now I feel like I am a week behind in some cases, my book arrivals were late and I am just getting started. Now that I think of it, it's not so bad, just beginning my second semester here at UNCC, trying to get back into my routine and how everything just works. I finally got use to my last semester schedule, now I have to get use to another. Perhaps, one of the hallmarks of University life is: adaption. Trying to figure out how things works, adapt, overcome, and excel at your studies and other duties.

This one I remember quite well. I felt quite overwhelmed that week, with how the winter break seemed to go on forever and I was felt I was unable to catch up. I was making the transition as a this was the beginning of my second semester and was accurate in my frustration at the time.


1/24/11
Daybook Entry 2: Prompt - You re-read "Sponsors of Literacy" for today and wrote a reading blog for it. What did you do differently in your reading of it today than the first time: Where did you read it? What time of day? All at once or on sections? How did you take notes?

What did you still need to know about her argument that still feels unclear to you?
What would you like to discuss about it in class today?

It was just before midnight when I cracked open my Writing about Writing textbook and was able to finally sit down and truly read in silence (however, with some music playing nearby) the entire article and trying to understand it all. It took me about 2 hours, give or take minute breaks every few pages, to finally read and comprehend the basics of the article. However, this was quite an article to read if tired. I read this article all at once & I took a lot of notes.

Nothing comes to mind so far about questions and so far I have nothing to discuss in class about this particular as I want to hear other people's thoughts and slants on how they read and understood the article in question.


Trying to read that first assignment. It was a pain. As I tried first a linear approach, I felt bored, uninterested in how it was presented. I was simply not use to that type of reading. Even while minimizing the distractions it was hard to read anymore than 20 minutes at a time with either getting up and doing something else to bring the necessary focus back to me.


1/31/11
Daybook Entry 4: Prompt - Consider in what ways the community you grew up in was "oral" and in what ways it relied on texts. Makes a list of the different ways that people used talk and the ways they used print texts. Was one generally preferred over another? If so, how? Why?

I recall in the Old Trinity neighborhood of Durham I grew up in socially relied on oral communication. Neighbors and family especially, concentrated on speaking. I do not ever recalling receiving a punishment by written decree, but I do recall a lot of orders and commands by voice. However, when dealing with the world print, texts, etc. were the preferred method. Mail, government forms, applications for X, were always written tasks. This seemed to defer my older familial members who were not as educated or versed in the written disciplines. Depending on the situation, it just depended. Schools were more rigid with forms to fill out, I recall bubbling in the California Achievement Test in the late 1980s before North Carolina came up with their own test. I do not recall if one took more precedent than the other. However, my memory could just be hazy.

Until now, I had never considering how messages were transmitted. The Sponsors of Literacy really did open my eyes to the nuances of life that can often be missed just because we don't think about them. I enjoyed this post because it allowed me to wax and reminisce about the good old days, the 1980s. It was a good time to grow up and experience the times, which were kinda carefree if I recall correctly, before the 1990s were thrust upon us all.

2/2/11
Daybook Entry 5:
What kind of help are you seeking for your draft today during peer workshop? Think about what kind of advice you need, what questions you have for your readers need to know about where you are with your papering order to help you.

I have no idea really. I have never submitted my paper for any sort of "peer review" before. Perhaps, I am seeking some insight to how other people view my writing and how it is judged with their own eyes.

The first peer review. I was kinda rattled. I had no idea what to expect, could fellow students be far more cruel and honest than perhaps a teacher would be? And this was the first time anyone who was not in direct judgment of my work would be pouring over my work and actually examining it. I recall walking into the class that day, wondering if my work would stack up to people who came straight from high school. As a non-traditional student I wonder are my efforts are of a lesser quality than someone who came straight from high school into college.

2/7/11
Daybook Entry 6:
What was it like to recap the class information? And recount it to a "student".

Well, to be honest and candid. I had no idea that's what we were doing. Upon entering class (okay I was late), I was given no prompt from any classmate that this is what we were doing for this period. My sole question of "what are we doing?" was met with a deafening silence and/or indifference to apparently more pertinent, socially-oriented conversations, which I had little interest in. From there I simply went to my syllabus on my IPad (bless you little pad) to get some insight on what was going on. The syllabus, was not my crystal ball able to tell me what happening. However, I did manage to begin reading some more of the Writing about Writing text, which delving into is always helpful whenever I have the time to do so.

I felt rather lost on this one. Strike that, completely lost. Was I recapping the class information for that period? Or for the entire class thus far? Would I be giving misinformation or leave out something important? I recall asking what we were doing that day (I had a flat tire to change, which is why I was late) and I was just trying to catch up like anyone else. This post was important to me because I felt like I lost something for that day and I wasn't sure exactly what that was.