Insight:TheEnglishPerspective

ByFabianMartinBryan

FurtheringmyexplorationintheintricaciesandcomplexitiesofEnglishandwriting,I
interviewedmyEnglishIVteacher,Mrs.ShelleyBailey.AtWakeSTEMEarlyCollegeHigh
SchoolatNCStateUniversity(orNCSUforshort),Mrs.Baileyhelpsherstudentsmake
wholesomeconnectionsamongsuchstoriesas
Frankenstein
,
TheYellowWallpaper
,
Othello
,and
moreinordertocreateanenvironmentinwhichherstudentsbecomemoreawareofwhata
collegeclassmayaskofthem.Forexample,afterreading
Othello
byWilliamShakespeare,Mrs,
Baileyproducedacomparativeanalysisassignmentinwhichherstudentswouldresearchtwo
articlesbasedononeunifyingtheme,motif,character,orgeneraloverarchingideaandcompare
theirtwoarticlesbasedonthingssuchasformat,style,orgrammarandarguingwhicharticle
wasbetterinapaper.

Thewaysinwhichpeopleuselanguageevolveovertime,asdo
theformatsofwriting,anditsessentialtokeepexpandingones

knowledgeorelsebeleftbehindtostagnate
,

ShelleyBailey

BecomingmoreawareofwhatcollegeclassesmayaskofusiseasyforoneShelley
Baileyandtherefore,Idecidedtositdownandtalkaboutherone,truepassionno
our
one,
truepassion:English.

Q:

Inmyattemptstobettermywritingcraft,Ihavelearnedthatwritingtranscendsjustwordson
apaperDoyouhaveadvicethatcanhelpstudentsbetterunderstandthewritingprocessand
givethemabetterideaofhowthismayhelptheminthefuture?

A:

Asfarashelpingstudentsunderstandthewritingprocess,Ithinkthatrealexamples
areinvaluable.Itrytofindexamplesonline,andifIcantfindany,Iwritesome
myself.Ialsolikeusingstudentsexamplesaswell,asthoseareveryrelatable.Being
abletotalkthroughtheexamplesandexplainmythinkingorhavingthestudents
explaintheirownthinkinghelpstoelucidatethewritingprocess,Ibelieve.
Additionally,toanswerthesecondpartofyourquestion,Ialwaystrytoreference
assignmentsthatIknowwillbecomingupinEnglish101togivestudentsanideaof
whyitwillbevaluabletotheminthenearfuture,andnextyearIdliketogetmy
handsondocumentsthatpeopleactuallywriteinabusinesssetting.

Q:
Whenundergoingtheprocessofwritingwithinmyinternshipandwithyourbackgroundin
English,whatdoyouthinkthehardestpartaboutwritingis?Theeasiestpart?

A:
Thehardestpart,tome,whenwritinganessayparticularlyalong,complicated
oneisconnectingideasthatmayseemdisparateatfirstglance.Constructingalogical

argumentandfiguringoutwhichideasnaturallyflowtogetherisessentialbutvery
challenging.OnceIhaveanoutlinecompletedandIknowhowmypointswillbuild
upononeanother,theactualessaycraftingisafairlysimpleprocess.Ialsobelieveyou
alsohavetofeelyourtopicinthatmomenttherearesomerareoccasionswhenIfeel
unfocusedandapathetictowardmytopicandwritingingeneral,andforthosetimes,
itsastruggletogetanyworduponthepage.Nothingflowswellandtheprocessfeels
cumbersomeandheavy.Fortunately,Idontexperiencethistoooften.

Q:

AsmymentorandEnglishteacher,whatadvicewouldyougivetopotentialwriterslikeme
basedontheexperiencesyouhavewitnessedinexperientialcraftcomposition?

A:

AsIstatedinthepreviousquestion,itsessentialtohaveanoutlinethatservesasa
guideofhowtodevelopyourpoints.Ifthewriterdoesntknowwheretheyregoingin
anessay,theycantmakeconnectionsandtransitions,andtheirpapersargumentis
confusingandillogical.

Q:

Whatchallengesdoyouperceivepotentialwriterstowitnessastheysuccumbtocorporate
offices'ideas?Forexample,thepartyaffiliationamongFoxNewsandCNNisthereawayto
avoidthat?

A:

IhonestlydonthaveanyexperiencewiththisasIveneverworkedinjournalism,
butIwouldimaginethatonewouldhavetojoininthecultureofonesworkplace.If
itsunderstoodeitherimplicitlyorexplicitlythatawriterneedstotakeaconservative
toneandthewriterisntcomfortablewiththatangle,forexample,itstimetofinda
newsoutletthatsabetterfit.

Q:

Whatwouldyouradvicebetothosewhodon'thaveamuse?Howdoyouinspireyour
studentsdayinanddayouttobecomewhattheyaretoday?Thatis,moving,inspirational,deep
thinkers,andloversofthecraftofwriting.

A:
Iamnotsurethatanyoneneedstohaveamuseperse,butitsimportanttomethat
studentsunderstandwhytheyarewritingsomethingandwanttodowellonan
assignment.Ihavetobelieveintheworthofmyownassignmentandcareaboutthe
studentswritingbeforemoststudentscareaboutitthemselves.Overtime,students
internalizetheirsuccesseswithwritingandtakethemwiththemastheymovethrough
collegeandlife.
Q:

AsanEnglishteacher,whatdoyoufindmostalluringandthemostscarypartofputting
yourselfoutthereasfarasbecomingawriter?

A:
Thescariestpartformeisgivingawaysomethingthatspersonalormovingabout
myselfandmylife.Iamprettyreservedanddontlikesharingmuchofmyprivatelife.I
havesharedpersonalblogpostsonoccasion,anditalwaysmakesmefeelvulnerable
whenIdo.

Q:
So,you'reanEnglishteacher.WhataboutEnglishdoyoufindtobethemostfun?

A:
Iloveitwhenstudentscomeupwithdeep,meaningful,originalideasaboutliterature.
Ienjoyseeingthatsparkhappen,whenstudentsmakeanamazingconnectionandare
proudofthemselves.Olderstudentsusuallyarentasoutwardlyexcitedaboutlearningas
youngerstudentsare,sowheneverIseeenthusiasmandjoytowardslearning,thatmakes
mehappy.Ialsoreallyloveitwhenstudentsimprovetheirwriting.Itsveryrewardingto
seestudentsgetbetteroverthecourseofthesemester,whetheritswiththeirstyle,
organization,argumentdevelopment,orsomeotheraspect.

Q:

Whataresomesuggestionstopotentialwritersyou'drelaytothemonhowtostay
contemporaryintheirresearchandwriting,
but
gobeyondtropes?

A:
Itsthepathofleastresistancetoturntowardstropesandconceptsthatareway
overdone,butreadingextensivelyandkeepingupwiththenewshelpstomitigatethis
tendencysomewhatandgiveabroaderperspective.Considerit:ifastudentreads
vampirenovelsexclusively,howaretheygoingtobeabletomovepastthatintheir
writing?

Q:
AnyclosingremarksyouwanttorelaytothereaderbeyondthequestionsIaskedyou?

A:
Ithinkanyonecanbeagoodwriter.Perhapsoneneedstobegiftedinordertobean
excellent,
standout
writer,butanyonecanputfortheffortandlearnhowtoconstruct
wellorganizedandclearlywrittenpieces.Itdoesrequirepracticeandanalysisof
exemplars,butitiswellwithintheaveragestudentsgrasp.Iamaverybigbelieverin
thetransformativepowerofeffort,analysisandselfreflection.Additionally,Idontthink
anyoneisevercompleteasawriter.Noonesitsbackandgoes,well,Iamagood
writernowitstimetostoplearningandimproving.Therearealwaysnewwaysto
organizeoneswork,newperspectivestotryout,andnewstyleswithwhichto
experiment.Thewaysinwhichpeopleuselanguageevolveovertime,asdotheformats
ofwriting,anditsessentialtokeepexpandingonesknowledgeorelsebeleftbehindto
stagnate.

Intheeventthatyouhavereadthisinterviewandthoughttoyourself,Iwanttobea
writer,tooItellyoutoreviewMrs.Baileysadviceandanswersonthesubjectbeingawriter
inthisdayandageisnteasy,butitsdoableandyoucansucceedatitwhetheryoumakeit
succeedornotasin,youcanwriteforyouoryoucanwriteforothersandsometimes,itsa
mixofboth.Inmyexperiences,IhavefoundthatIamwritingforme
and
thereaderbecause
peopleneedtohearwhatyouhavetosaynomattertherawnessandhonestyyoupaintinthe
undertonesofyourwrittenword.ItssomethingIhavefoundtobesomewhatofamotivationto
meandhonestly,youshouldtooforyouweregivenavoice.Now,useit!