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[CCBC-Net] CCBC-Net Digest, Vol 33, Issue 4
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From: James Elliott <libraryjim>
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 14:40:19 -0400 (EDT)
There was an old story (possibly apocryphal) about a class that was critiquing an Arthur Miller (I think!) Play. For the assignment, the professor asked the class to analyze a certain scene, and explain the hidden meanings/messages/social commentary Miller put into the passage.
One of the students decided to try an unorthodox approach to the assignment, and wrote to Arthur Miller asking him about the passage. Miller responded (I paraphrase):
"I merely used that scene for filler, to transition from one view to another. There was no underlying message or hidden meaning contained therein."
So the student included that in the paper, footnoted, and attached a copy of the letter as an appendix. But when the student got the paper back, graded, he'd made an "F" because that couldn't possibly be right since, after all, the professor saw all those messages in the very relevant key passage of the play!
So, I hear ya!
Jim Elliott North Florida, USA
"Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open ... every child in America should have access to a well-stocked school or community library"
--Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States
----- Original Message ----- From: Kristy Dempsey <kdempsey at campusoutreach.org> To: WriterBabe <writerbabe at aol.com> Cc: CCBC Net <ccbc-net at ccbc.ad.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 14:10:19 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] CCBC-Net Digest, Vol 33, Issue 4
But I also think that in the classroom, it's easy to put meaning into authors' mouths that might not have been intended, or at the very least to assume it was purposeful when it might have just been coincidental during the writing process. I think this potentially complicates the creation of their own poetry, too, for children, if they get the impression that all poetry must be full of layers of meaning and devices they don't yet understand, or it's not "good" poetry.
Kristy Dempsey Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Received on Fri 04 Apr 2008 01:40:19 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 14:40:19 -0400 (EDT)
There was an old story (possibly apocryphal) about a class that was critiquing an Arthur Miller (I think!) Play. For the assignment, the professor asked the class to analyze a certain scene, and explain the hidden meanings/messages/social commentary Miller put into the passage.
One of the students decided to try an unorthodox approach to the assignment, and wrote to Arthur Miller asking him about the passage. Miller responded (I paraphrase):
"I merely used that scene for filler, to transition from one view to another. There was no underlying message or hidden meaning contained therein."
So the student included that in the paper, footnoted, and attached a copy of the letter as an appendix. But when the student got the paper back, graded, he'd made an "F" because that couldn't possibly be right since, after all, the professor saw all those messages in the very relevant key passage of the play!
So, I hear ya!
Jim Elliott North Florida, USA
"Libraries allow children to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open ... every child in America should have access to a well-stocked school or community library"
--Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States
----- Original Message ----- From: Kristy Dempsey <kdempsey at campusoutreach.org> To: WriterBabe <writerbabe at aol.com> Cc: CCBC Net <ccbc-net at ccbc.ad.education.wisc.edu> Sent: Fri, 4 Apr 2008 14:10:19 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] CCBC-Net Digest, Vol 33, Issue 4
But I also think that in the classroom, it's easy to put meaning into authors' mouths that might not have been intended, or at the very least to assume it was purposeful when it might have just been coincidental during the writing process. I think this potentially complicates the creation of their own poetry, too, for children, if they get the impression that all poetry must be full of layers of meaning and devices they don't yet understand, or it's not "good" poetry.
Kristy Dempsey Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Received on Fri 04 Apr 2008 01:40:19 PM CDT
