As I consider using blogs in my own classroom, I wonder how blogging will change students' preceptions of my role. Sure, I'm in control of my tone in the blog, but I wonder how to control that tone–will I elivate my speech? As you can tell, prefer to use an informal tone in the classroom: silly voices and gestures. Yet in e-mails to my students, I tend to raise my prose. I wonder if they would notice the difference. Either way, my goal is often to make the classroom more approachable while making writing more thoughtful and careful. Any thoughts?
Setting the tone in the blog vs. the classroom
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Because of the informal tone that you use in the classroom, would you say that students have a preconceived notion of you as a teacher? For instance, do they think your laid back personality in class means that you will be laid back in your grading? I certainly think that if you are laid back in your speech, students will assume that your blog will be equally casual.
A good question! I find that although my voice is informal, I have options to modify their expectations. First, have previous papers from other sections saved to Telesis. At the end of the semeseter, I ask students to give me permission to use their work for teaching purposes. Thus, when an assignment is coming due, we can “workshop” previous submissions, noting stratagies, strengths, and weaknesses. Students have a real chance to see how I respond to papers–and they see that I don’t softball them.
Also, since I am a bit of a performer, I switch into a “serious” voice. Usually it involves a lower voice, leaning forward to experss how earnest I am (studied, perhaps, but earnest) when I establish the expectations I have.
Since it’s a process-oriented writing course, the number of steps I include leading up to writing usually gives them a sense of the amount of time and attention I expect. And I do a lot of soap-boxing about the importance of writing clearly.
I agree; students often do expect a relaxed demeanor in the classroom to translate into an acceptance of leisurely perfomance on the part of students. Consequently, behaving in a strict and formal fashion becomes more attractive for the instructor.
As an undergraduate, I would like to refute Carver’s assumption. A relaxed demeanor in class is often very helpful, allowing students to focus on the subject matter at hand without worrying about interacting with the instructor or being too self-conscious about questions. If you know your material and can communicate that, your students will respect you and work for you. Several of my favorite professors have used strategies similar to Courtney’s, and I would suggest “The Politics of the English Language” for all of your sections. Also, if your prose is slightly elevated in the blog, that reinforces the important differences between oral and written communication. So, rock on, Shirey.