This blog is dedicated to helping veterans, active duty service members and future service members succeed in academia. While we initially organized out of"Writing with Current, Former, and Future Members of the Military" Special Interest Group at the 2011Conference on College Composition and Communication, we welcome instructors and allies in all disciplines. This is an open group, and all are welcome.
"Many people put veterans in a box, labeling them with terms that do not fit; "they've got issues", "uptight", "a little off", it's not fair and I wish people would take the time to see past these stereotypes, and peal the labels off. Most of the veterans I know are highly motivated, smart, dedicated men and women that are much more focused on school and real life issues. I wish you the best in learning how to teach and write with veterans. We need professors like you, who are willing to challenge and encourage us as regular college students just like everyone else"
Sarah, Community College Student/3rd US Infantry Regiment - The Old Guard
If you are interested in forming a workshop at the 2012 C's, post your ideas for presentations as a comment to this post. Does anyone know the process for submitting a workshop? Is the date the same as the May 6th proposal deadline?
Hi! I believe the process for submitting a workshop is pretty much the same as submitting a panel w/ the same May 6 deadline. Would people like to do a half day or full day workshop?
So what kind of audience do you think we would like to draw to the workshops, and what do you think the goals of the workshop might be?
maybe a workshop called Veterans Voices that features readings and activities led by vets?
or maybe a workshop for administrators/teachers that helps address a central question like "how can college faculty best support students who are veterans"??
I'd been interested in participating in the workshop. Half-day I think is good. What about doing some aspects of both the ideas Karen suggests? Include Veterens Voices as well as suggestions of pedagogy. I did attend the special session on making proposals for newcomers. They really emphasized that workshops needed to be full of interaction and activity, not an extended chance to deliver papers. To keep "presentations" as panels or independent proposals instead.
Thanks for getting this started! Check out a VERY ROUGH Draft and please add/tweak as you see fit! I also agree that a half day workshop is good and I also hope people submit individually!
I really like the idea of "Veteran's Voices." Do you have suggestions for ways we can collect/recruit/highlight these voices at our workshop?
Like Thryn said, our workshop should be as interactive as possible, so I agree there a way to have breakout sessions that allow for multiple areas of inquiry.
We could do a super quick introduction of several facilitators who "present" the topics to be discussed and then attendees self select the groups they want to join for activity/discussion. There are a variety of ways to do this, so it will be interesting to see what major themes/areas of focus come out of the proposal.
That sounds cool. Several facilitators "present" topics to be discussed and then people sort out and join up with what they feel the need for. Maybe quick stories or scenarios to prompt discussion.
When I looked at the bulleted list on the proposal, there were two things I feel I could speak to...
Supporting Vets: Can/should civilian teachers be liaisons? Separating Anti-war and Anti-military
For veterans' voices, I think simple reading and writing could work...for the workshops up here we just do quiet, contemplative activity (writing, drawing) and then share (read aloud, discuss). Not so say this would be right at a national conference, though. Yet, sometimes there could be vets in the room but nobody notices or listens...so some space to recognize...
I worked some on the draft proposal. I'd be most interested in facilitating: "Busting Stereotypes: Strengths and Challenges of Vets in the Classroom" AND "Online Learning: Deployed students/military families taking classes online while loved one(s) deployed." These are perhaps a subset of the arm Alexis lists above?
There's going to be a lot of overlap, especially in the areas about faculty/campus support and discussing strengths and challenges of this student population. It's going to be interesting to see the different ways we approach these topics. I'm stuck between two possibilities myself.
Thryn, when you say, "strengths and challenges," do you see overlaps between your ideas and what I list below? Perhaps we could collaborate?
“What do veterans bring with them (or leave behind) as they pass through discursive and rhetorical gateways defined by multiple contexts for writing?”
Transitional Literacies: Veterans bring a variety of discourses with them from military service that could be employed or adapted in the classroom. What are these literacies and how can they enable/disable veteran students? Since many veterans are first-generation students, how can teachers incorporate these literacies to help the transition between military service to college writing?
Gender, Race, Class, Sexuality: How can teachers serve women veterans? What happens when women move from a minority (in the military) to a majority (in academia)? How to issues of race/class impact educational experience? How can veterans speak to the repeal of DADT to inform a larger conversation about queerness?
Carla, I think the first two ideas you elaborate on are definitely overlap of what I had in mind in terms of "strengths and challenges." I was really thinking on the fundamental level of the writer in the classroom. Who are these men and women warriors? Just taking the time to understand them descriptively as well as to explore the cultural texts and subtexts of military life is, I think, important for shifting the frame for academics who perhaps, before now, have had a very limited view of the vets as "soldiers" or even as "war mongers" not realizing the motivations, complexities and strengths those students bring not only to class, but to their daily lives. And also, the most current research on the wounded warriors as information to be taken into account as well when shaping pedagogies of any sort, but particularly those of the writing classroom. Definitely discursive and rhetorical gateways....
I was thinking about exploring the specific "rhetorical modes" of military life (calling drill, rote memorization, promotion boards, periods of instruction, corporals/course, etc..) that most veterans have experience with to make the case that veterans are often quite literate in these forms. Does this overlap with your ideas about "cultural texts and subtexts of military life"? I'm really interested in the specifics you mention about "the writer in the classroom." I also agree with you that busting the war monger stereotype is important work!
Hi! I believe the process for submitting a workshop is pretty much the same as submitting a panel w/ the same May 6 deadline. Would people like to do a half day or full day workshop?
ReplyDeleteSo what kind of audience do you think we would like to draw to the workshops, and what do you think the goals of the workshop might be?
maybe a workshop called Veterans Voices that features readings and activities led by vets?
or maybe a workshop for administrators/teachers that helps address a central question like "how can college faculty best support students who are veterans"??
I'd been interested in participating in the workshop. Half-day I think is good. What about doing some aspects of both the ideas Karen suggests? Include Veterens Voices as well as suggestions of pedagogy. I did attend the special session on making proposals for newcomers. They really emphasized that workshops needed to be full of interaction and activity, not an extended chance to deliver papers. To keep "presentations" as panels or independent proposals instead.
ReplyDeleteThanks for getting this started! Check out a VERY ROUGH Draft and please add/tweak as you see fit! I also agree that a half day workshop is good and I also hope people submit individually!
ReplyDeletehttp://ietherpad.com/ewY7cikwJI
Karen and Thryn,
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of "Veteran's Voices." Do you have suggestions for ways we can collect/recruit/highlight these voices at our workshop?
Like Thryn said, our workshop should be as interactive as possible, so I agree there a way to have breakout sessions that allow for multiple areas of inquiry.
We could do a super quick introduction of several facilitators who "present" the topics to be discussed and then attendees self select the groups they want to join for activity/discussion. There are a variety of ways to do this, so it will be interesting to see what major themes/areas of focus come out of the proposal.
That sounds cool. Several facilitators "present" topics to be discussed and then people sort out and join up with what they feel the need for. Maybe quick stories or scenarios to prompt discussion.
ReplyDeleteWhen I looked at the bulleted list on the proposal, there were two things I feel I could speak to...
Supporting Vets: Can/should civilian teachers be liaisons?
Separating Anti-war and Anti-military
For veterans' voices, I think simple reading and writing could work...for the workshops up here we just do quiet, contemplative activity (writing, drawing) and then share (read aloud, discuss). Not so say this would be right at a national conference, though. Yet, sometimes there could be vets in the room but nobody notices or listens...so some space to recognize...
I'd be most interested in facilitating the "how can college faculty best support students who are veterans" arm of the workshop.
ReplyDelete--Alexis
I worked some on the draft proposal. I'd be most interested in facilitating:
ReplyDelete"Busting Stereotypes: Strengths and Challenges of Vets in the Classroom" AND
"Online Learning: Deployed students/military families taking classes online while loved one(s) deployed." These are perhaps a subset of the arm Alexis lists above?
There's going to be a lot of overlap, especially in the areas about faculty/campus support and discussing strengths and challenges of this student population. It's going to be interesting to see the different ways we approach these topics. I'm stuck between two possibilities myself.
ReplyDeleteThryn, when you say, "strengths and challenges," do you see overlaps between your ideas and what I list below? Perhaps we could collaborate?
“What do veterans bring with them (or leave behind) as they pass through discursive and rhetorical gateways defined by multiple contexts for writing?”
Transitional Literacies: Veterans bring a variety of discourses with them from military service that could be employed or adapted in the classroom. What are these literacies and how can they enable/disable veteran students? Since many veterans are first-generation students, how can teachers incorporate these literacies to help the transition between military service to college writing?
Gender, Race, Class, Sexuality: How can teachers serve women veterans? What happens when women move from a minority (in the military) to a majority (in academia)? How to issues of race/class impact educational experience? How can veterans speak to the repeal of DADT to inform a larger conversation about queerness?
Carla,
ReplyDeleteI think the first two ideas you elaborate on are definitely overlap of what I had in mind in terms of "strengths and challenges." I was really thinking on the fundamental level of the writer in the classroom. Who are these men and women warriors? Just taking the time to understand them descriptively as well as to explore the cultural texts and subtexts of military life is, I think, important for shifting the frame for academics who perhaps, before now, have had a very limited view of the vets as "soldiers" or even as "war mongers" not realizing the motivations, complexities and strengths those students bring not only to class, but to their daily lives. And also, the most current research on the wounded warriors as information to be taken into account as well when shaping pedagogies of any sort, but particularly those of the writing classroom. Definitely discursive and rhetorical gateways....
Thryn,
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about exploring the specific "rhetorical modes" of military life (calling drill, rote memorization, promotion boards, periods of instruction, corporals/course, etc..) that most veterans have experience with to make the case that veterans are often quite literate in these forms. Does this overlap with your ideas about "cultural texts and subtexts of military life"? I'm really interested in the specifics you mention about "the writer in the classroom." I also agree with you that busting the war monger stereotype is important work!