For my first linking assignment, I have decided to link to Jamie’s blog as I was inspired by her Potato Printing task.
Jamie’s blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/jamiedimitra
Scrolling through Jamie’s blog, I sense that she is a writer. Her posts are simply organized, but when you click on a post you are instantly exposed to a beautifully written, thoughtfully laid out reflection to a task. I admire that she is always adding additional links and content which encourages the reader to delve deeper into the topics. She takes the time to ensure readers are connected to her thoughts and experiences, connecting us to information that we may not have read otherwise.
This week I was surprised to see her focus on the potato printing task! I enjoyed that she did include a piece on her written work and will admit that I am jealous of her ability to write and create such engaging notes for her MET courses. I think as a function of someone who travels and works remotely, writing is probably something that Jamie spends her time on, while my writing is serves a purpose for work, school or the committees I volunteer with. I just get the words on the paper and am not very good at organizing my thoughts. Writing is not something that comes easily for me, so I think that’s why I connected with her post.
Jamie’s blog differs from mine in theme, but also because she adds many extra elements that I don’t know that I could do as this if my first time using WordPress. I like that she is able to break up her posts with photos, quotes and links to external readings. I find this makes her posts easy to follow and read.
As for the potato stamps, I admire that Jamie persevered when the R was backwards! It’s something that I do a lot in my teaching – when something doesn’t go according to plan in my Foods class while I’m doing a recipe demo, I just embrace it. I point out to the student where I went wrong and explain what I can do to fix it! Luckily with most recipes there’s a solution that doesn’t involve throwing everything out! I think this is a lesson that many need to learn in life – things are not perfect. We all stumble at times, but it’s how we pick ourselves up that shapes us into the people we are today. Embrace your mistakes and move forward!
For this week’s task I had a hard time deciding which to do – the potato stamping intrigued me, but I was having a hard time finding a 5 letter word that I really liked!! And with returning into my school (and having to send my own boys back to school, even though I really don’t want to send them), I thought I could reflect on our first day back, Monday June 1. My reflection is to the point and accurately reflects my feelings about that day.
Do you normally write by hand or type? Did you find this task difficult or easy?
While I still write my lists by hand, most other written work I do is typed. I have never been one to have a journal or regularly record my thoughts on paper. I was surprised how easy it was to write these two pages – probably because it was a reflection of the previous day and it was about events that I feel passionate about. The words flowed easily and I was surprised at the lack of mistakes I made. I was happy with how my thoughts were fairly clear and concise – when reading it back there would really only be a few changes I might make or details I would add.
The cognitive piece of this was easy, but what was hard was the physical part: the writing of two pages of words was PAINFUL! I have dealt with carpel tunnel-like symptoms for years and I find that my arms and hands go numb easily. As someone who doesn’t write regularly I didn’t know the impact it would have. Toward the end of the first page, my hand started tingling just a bit. By the time I started the second page, my hand was completely numb! It was so hard to hold on to the pen and get the words to paper. I had to stop regularly and give my arm a shake, which didn’t really help. I could not even imagine being a monk as described in this week’s podcast from How It Began: A History of the Modern World on “The Printed Book: Opening the Floodgates of Knowledge.” I could not sit by candlelight writing precise lettering all day, every day!
What did you do when you made a mistake or wanted to change your writing? How did you edit your work? Did your choice of media play a part in how you edited your work?
There were only a few times when I made a mistake or wanted to change my thoughts. I have always preferred to use a line or two to strike out the word. The best mistake I made was that I couldn’t remember how to spell luxury, so I just used another word! Spell check and auto-correct are two things that I believe have resulted in us not being able to spell anymore!
I did not edit my work, other than reading it over because I knew that if I was to make a bunch of changes, I would need to re-write it so that it was clear and clean! I chose to use a pen, because I wanted to get the full effect of this task – if I had used a pencil and eraser then others would not have seen the mistakes I made. Pen has always seemed more permanent, used when things are formal and meant to last. I feel like pencils are for fine art like drawing or painting and for applied skills tasks like carpentry – both delicate and used only for a guide to complete the final project.
What do you feel is the most significant difference between writing by hand and using mechanized forms of writing? Which do you prefer and why?
Writing by hand is a beautiful, thoughtful and personalized way to convey our thoughts and ideas. I think there is still great value to writing (and receiving) hand written cards and letters. I know many people who type generic Christmas letters to send to everyone in their cards and even have some relatives who don’t write a thing – Just the card with names signed at the bottom (not addressed to anyone) and then the generic letter. In all honesty, I want to see something personal. That’s why I don’t send a ton of cards, but do take the time to write little personal message in each one I do send. The downfall is writing by hand takes time, of which we often don’t seem to have enough of.
Using a computer or phone to type is absolutely essential to my work as a teacher. I need to be able to quickly and easily communicate with my students and their parents. It needs to be professional, legible and the spelling/grammar flawless to properly convey my thoughts. I find I am able to give all students detailed, personalized, strength-based comments on their work because typing is so much faster. The efficiency is what is key for me.
All of this said, if I had to pick one way, it would be mechanized writing. At work, I just can’t picture going back to the days of handwritten report cards and waiting for the mail. Although, if given the option I may just move to the bush (see my Blogging in the Bush post!) – then I may have the time to perfect my writing and will have the patience to wait for the mail.
