Mindful Reading: Boice pp 83-90

Spending time one the Block:

This section is important to me (I actually think I've said that about all the sections thus far) because I've been questioning (in my mind) the disconnect between the prewriting stage and the writing stage. The way Boice described it, prewriting was a natural predecessor to the writing-writing, but I've been having trouble seeing how the two are connected. In a word, I'm blocked. I like the predictability in Boice, and I like how he approaches this topic and this chapter with the same measured approach he brings to the rest of his program. 

Donna asked us to take the BQ, but I'm not sure what she meant. I did a little bit of monologue-ing in my mind in response to some of the prompts. To spare the details, I had the most to say about 1. Aversion, 2. Procrastination, and 6. Perfectionism, so I certainly think this chapter will be interesting and enlightening for me. 

The section in this reading that stood out to me came on pg87 in the part where Boice is describing some of the most common sources of writing blocking. He gets out on a bit of a tangent and starts talking about how teachers of writing themselves are responsible for the blocking of writers. Without saying as much, Boice implies that teachers (yes, that's all teachers. Unhedged, unqualified), if they could just be more aware of their own writing and teaching practice, writers would be much better off. At first I wanted to get mad at Boice, but then I realized that his points were right on (to varying degrees) especially when he said that teachers could use better 'habits of planning and studying their own performance in ways that encourage mindfulness and improvement" (87). 

Some might call this assessment, but I would rather call it a mindful pedagogical approach that depends on careful reflection and the comfort to be willing to alter practices without judgment. 

****Listening Note****

I met one of my neighbors by the pool today. His name is Jeff and he DJs a radio show on KOPN (89.5 in Columbia). It's a community radio station and his show just happens to be on RIGHT NOW. UnCommon Light has been good so far. If you're interested, it's Monday night from 11pm to 2am and features the best in progressive, ambient, tribal, downtempo, and trance music from the past present and future. 

Here's the webpage for UnCommon Light: http://www.kopn.org/progdesc1&u=/pp/jeff-wi.php

Here's the page to stream KOPN: http://www.kopn.org/listen

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