So, you ask me, why did you build this
blog? If you flip through these pages, it’s clear
that I don’t spend a lot of time writing much on this site, but I
do spend a lot of time linking to articles. Now, the most
proficient bloggers probably do both all of the time, and at one
point I had such aspirations, but I’m not prolific enough nor
enough of an exhibitionist to speak to every topic and issue that
comes across my mind. Those types of bloggers are really smart,
incredibly fast writers, and, I assume, they must have this burning
desire to get their word out in public all of the time. I am a
writer, too, but just not that type of writer. I am slow and
deliberate. I procrastinate. I am sometimes like my worst
students.
It took me some time to craft this simple introduction,
and I am quite certain I have dangling modifiers or just misspelled
words everywhere. I cringe, I hesitate, and then I just say screw
it and hit return. Obviously, I am not currently built to write at
the breakneck speed required of this information era (and don’t
even get me started on the Facebook or Twitter updates!). I am
teacher, however. [I don't take that title lightly, not nearly as
lightly as people who'd like to scapegoat teachers for the problems
of education in the United States, but that's another issue.] As a
teacher, I always look for ways to bring the issues of the
world–the crazy, mind-bending experiences and thoughts of the day
(and of the past)–into my classroom, and this, I hope, is one
vehicle to do it.
Basically what you have before you is a small
compendium of articles that I find interesting and consider
relevant to my classes and students. Some I’ve just linked to through
Twitter, so you can look through those quickly in the side bar on the right. Others I’ve
commented on and posted here. They are not the sum of what I read,
nor even the bulk of what I read, but if you are my student, you’ll
get a sense of the types of articles that I find interesting, or
better yet, that I think YOU might find interesting.
So, poke around, see what I think of you and your interests, and let me know
what you think. In addition to these links, I have a few pages in
the drop down menu bar above that links to specific composition,
writing, and grammar issues that I think might be useful for many
of my students [I'm still trying to put this together]. But really, this is my smorgasbord of issues, ideas,
and things that just tickle me so.
Enjoy!
Scott Hoshida
(1/2011)
