Friday, September 3, 2010
Parker & Horner
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the readings this week! I learned a lot of interesting things about the history of teaching English composition that I would have never thought of otherwise. For example, I found Parker's metaphor of oratory and linguistics being the mother and father of English to be intriguing. The connection between linguistics and English seems obvious; however, I had never really thought about the link between written and spoken word. I assume the reason why I never considered it is because they value different characteristics. For example, elocution seems to be of a different field than the act of writing in a formal manner. In addition, I knew about the long history of learning to read and write Latin in English universities; but I guess I always assumed that they were studying English as well. To me, it seems crazy that they would value a degree in a dead language so much, but not study the literature of the language they spoke everyday. Finally, I thought it was fascinating that American universities structured their education, specifically the study of English, based on the Scottish model. The Scottish were quite modern and progressive in their idea that everyone deserved an education, despite their social class, and I am quite surprised that they do not receive more credit for being the foundation of our education system.
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Enjoyed reading your post, Hannah. Nice to hear that you liked the readings. They are indeed intriguing. Gertrude Buck said it best--good writing is getting an idea from the head of the writer to that of the reader. Doing so is the process of thinking, in many ways, from an oral background through writing on the page meant to be oral and then back again.
ReplyDeleteLatin, of course, teaches structure and grammar. To know Latin is often to know good grammar in many languages.
I liked the "mother and father" metaphor, too. The readings and discussions from this week and last have really gotten me to think about the importance and place of oral presentations and public speaking in the realm of composition. Over the last few years, every time I would read "Mini-Conference" or "Oral Presentation of Seminar Paper" on a syllabus I wanted to cry. I was absolutely NOT a fan of public speaking. But the more I've done it the more comfortable I've become, the better my papers have become, the more aware of my audience I've become, the list could go on and on. Even now, I wonder how people have managed to become convinced that the two have nothing to do with each other.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts, Hannah. Thank you for sharing!