Welcome students! I know that you're probably looking for the syllabus for our course, but I am still working on it. I will post it soon, both on this site and on my MJC profile page. I have had a few emails so let me answer some questions here:
How Much Work Will I Have To Do?
There are 8 in-class essays planned this semester, including the midterm and the final--which are common, meaning that all 49 classes in the Spring will have the same prompt. The final is graded by a committee, not me, so that means I have no say as to whether your final will pass or not. And you MUST pass the final and have a passing grade in the coursework, to pass 49.
Be prepared to work hard and be prepared to do work beyond what I assign. You are ultimately responsible for your own learning and if you're struggling with grammar or sentence structure, then you're going to have to put in extra time to accomplish your goals. I am here to help you, but I can't do the work for you. That is up to you.
What's Going On With This Blog Page?
I plan to use this blog as a place to keep documents and assignments. You will be able to refer to the tab at the top labeled Modesto Junior College, English 49. When you go to that page, you will find information and handouts (which will eventually include the syllabus).
What Text/Supplies Do We Need?
You will need a 1" binder and a spiral notebook. We will be using the notebook for notes and in-class writings that will help us practice becoming better writers. You can designate a section of your binder as your "notebook" if you don't want to use a spiral. I won't be collecting them, so it's up to you.
As for the text, you will need to get They Say/I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, Third Edition. It will be available in the bookstore and you'll probably be able to find it in MJC's library. I do recommend your own copy. This is a useful book that you can use in other courses as well. Try to get the Third Edition (the newest). I'm fine with electronic copies on tablets or laptops, just know that my English 49 class will be a written paper only class (welllll, maybe there might be one typed paper, but I haven't decided yet). You will need the book by the second night of class.
I'm On The Waitlist, So What Are My Chances Of Getting Into This Class?
There is a long waitlist this time, so how I plan to handle this is to first see if anyone is a no-show for the first night. If that is the case, then they will be dropped immediately and someone from the waitlist will take their place. I can take 5 additional students from the waitlist.
If you are waitlisted, definitely come to class. You will know after we take attendance if you get in or not. You may want to show for the second class as well, just in case someone decides to drop--some people may be intimidated by the amount of work required for this class. Somehow I come off as scary when you first meet me, but as you get to know me, you'll see that I like to joke around a bit while we work. I find that a little bit of fun can make hard work seem not so bad.
Looking forward to seeing all of you next Tuesday night. If you have additional questions, you can email me at silvak@yosemite.edu or katrina.silva@gmail.com.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Monday, June 9, 2014
Modesto Junior College Students...
Hi all! Welcome to summer school.
I won't post EVERYTHING we do every day, but I want to direct you to the menus at the top of the page. The one you want is the MJC ENGL 49 tab.
You will find links to documents and due dates for major assignments as we go from week to week. I would suggest bookmarking the page in your browser (home and on a smartphone).
Also, you may find it useful to open a Google Drive account, if you don't already have one. Just make sure that you are emailing me from an appropriate and professional email address. If you don't have one, make one or use your @mjc.edu email account to open Google Drive...that way you can keep all your schoolwork under a professional email address.
All my contact information will be on the MJC ENGL 49 tab.
Now, go do work!
I won't post EVERYTHING we do every day, but I want to direct you to the menus at the top of the page. The one you want is the MJC ENGL 49 tab.
You will find links to documents and due dates for major assignments as we go from week to week. I would suggest bookmarking the page in your browser (home and on a smartphone).
Also, you may find it useful to open a Google Drive account, if you don't already have one. Just make sure that you are emailing me from an appropriate and professional email address. If you don't have one, make one or use your @mjc.edu email account to open Google Drive...that way you can keep all your schoolwork under a professional email address.
All my contact information will be on the MJC ENGL 49 tab.
Now, go do work!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...
First night of class is tomorrow! And yes, I'm still scrambling to get myself together. As always, there are snafus...books not available, readings not done, copies not made, keys not ready. And yet, somehow, I think it will all work out.
For any of my students who have wandered onto this blog, I've made a page for MJC. You should be able to access materials there until we get Blackboard up and running.
For any of my students who have wandered onto this blog, I've made a page for MJC. You should be able to access materials there until we get Blackboard up and running.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Good things are coming.
The last couple of days have been challenging (I got glutened, so not feeling great), but today I heard back from Modesto Junior College and I have been added to the adjunct pool for Spring 2014. So, hopefully, I will be teaching some college level English classes soon! The extra money will be really helpful...maybe I can actually plan a Europe trip?
Now, I am going to try to enjoy the last week and a half of summer vacation. I'm heading down to SLO next weekend to see some good friends. Figured that a last blowout weekend before school starts won't be THAT bad of an idea. I may have other thoughts on my way back on Sunday. Time will tell.
Now, I am going to try to enjoy the last week and a half of summer vacation. I'm heading down to SLO next weekend to see some good friends. Figured that a last blowout weekend before school starts won't be THAT bad of an idea. I may have other thoughts on my way back on Sunday. Time will tell.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Currently reading...
I had an email from the county library (their online request service is the best!) and I apparently had six books waiting for me. I hate it when I get all the books I'm in queue for at the same time. I already had A Feast for Crows at home...I was finishing up A Clash of Kings. For some reason, it takes me a really long time to read those books...not so with others. I read Don't Breathe A Word in two days. I really liked that one.
So what am I reading now?
I have A Darcy Connection, which is the book I need to read to keep up with the Pride and Prejudice reading extravaganza.
Also sitting on the floor next to my bed: A Feast For Crows, Legend, Daring Greatly (by Brene Brown), and another, I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to get up and go look. I have three weeks to read five books. I'm thinking that Legend and A Darcy Connection will be quick reads for me. The other two are going to require pondering. They're books made to be "chewed and digested" rather than "swallowed", to quote Sir Francis Bacon.
And, I am starting Frankenstein with my seniors this week, and that means I need to reread it in order to teach it. Shouldn't be too much of a problem seeing as how I've been teaching it since 2008. No worries there. I like how every time I read it, I see something different, or at least my perspective shifts, if that makes sense. I love to go back and read books that were on my reading lists in high school and college (undergrad anyway). It's always amazing to me how different a book is when you read it again ten years later. Life experience flavors your reading. Like when I read The Awakening by Kate Chopin for the third time (as a grad student); I understood Edna Pontellier much better than I had when I was in my early twenties. It's easier to understand her boredom with her life. It's too easy to get bogged down in the labels we put on ourselves. I recently had a chance to comment on Facebook about how what you want to be when you grow up is different from what you want to do. We should want to be good humans: thoughtful, kind, caring. What we do can change. That's reassuring somehow.
So what am I reading now?
I have A Darcy Connection, which is the book I need to read to keep up with the Pride and Prejudice reading extravaganza.
Also sitting on the floor next to my bed: A Feast For Crows, Legend, Daring Greatly (by Brene Brown), and another, I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to get up and go look. I have three weeks to read five books. I'm thinking that Legend and A Darcy Connection will be quick reads for me. The other two are going to require pondering. They're books made to be "chewed and digested" rather than "swallowed", to quote Sir Francis Bacon.
And, I am starting Frankenstein with my seniors this week, and that means I need to reread it in order to teach it. Shouldn't be too much of a problem seeing as how I've been teaching it since 2008. No worries there. I like how every time I read it, I see something different, or at least my perspective shifts, if that makes sense. I love to go back and read books that were on my reading lists in high school and college (undergrad anyway). It's always amazing to me how different a book is when you read it again ten years later. Life experience flavors your reading. Like when I read The Awakening by Kate Chopin for the third time (as a grad student); I understood Edna Pontellier much better than I had when I was in my early twenties. It's easier to understand her boredom with her life. It's too easy to get bogged down in the labels we put on ourselves. I recently had a chance to comment on Facebook about how what you want to be when you grow up is different from what you want to do. We should want to be good humans: thoughtful, kind, caring. What we do can change. That's reassuring somehow.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
It is that time of year again! I'm participating in the Pride and Prejudice Challenge (see the link below). I've decided to take on the Aficionada challenge: 12-14 texts!
I'm starting with a re-read of Pride and Prejudice for the month of January.
Other books I'm considering:
Lost in Austen- Emma Campbell Webster
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen- Syrie James
Becoming Jane Austen- Jon Spence
Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen- Sybil G. Brinton
Jane Austen: A Life- Claire Tomalin
An Unequal Marriage: Pride and Prejudice Continued- Emma Tennant
Pemberley: Or Pride and Prejudice Continued- Emma Tennant
Mrs. Darcy's Dilemma- Diana Birchall
The Bar Sinister: Pride and Prejudice Continues...- Linda Berdoll
Letters from Pemberley: The First Year- Jane Dawkins
Young Master Darcy: A Lesson in Honour- Pamela Aidan
An Assembly Such as This (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman #1)- Pamela Aidan
Duty and Desire (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman #2)- Pamela Aidan
These Three Remain (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman #3)-Pamela Aidan
More Letters from Pemberley: 1814-1819: A Further Continuation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice- Jane Dawkins
Desire and Duty: A Sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice- Ted Bader
The Diary of Henry Fitzwilliam Darcy- Marjorie Fasman
Darcy's Story- Janet Aylmer
The following is a link to the challenge!
The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013
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