'Among the many works of art hanging in the School of the Museum of Fine Arts’ atrium, Nantucket artist and SMFA alum Joan Albaugh’s oil paintings were part of a sea of canvases. [Awkward first sentence Her works were among many; her works were part of a sea... The feel of this is redundant. Circular.]

Touted as the largest public art sale in New England, with 4,000 original works and prints from 800 artists, the 26th annual School of the Museum of Fine Arts December sale kicked off last night with a celebration off Boston’s Fenway. The sale features work from students, faculty, alumni and other artists affiliated with the school. [Transition from first to second paragraph murky.]

Albaugh, a 1981 graduate of the SMFA, is known for painting houses without windows.

“I don’t like getting caught up in the details of a house,” Albaugh said last week. Winter light on the island also contributed to the conception of the windowless dwellings.

“The light’s so bright on a house it obliterates the windows,” she said.

At the SMFA, Albaugh studied with professors Barney Rubenstein and Henry Schwartz, in critique classes. She eventually moved to New York, and was living in Jersey City when she decided to move to the island in 1994, to start her son, now Nantucket High School Junior Jack Muhlkern, in preschool.

Albaugh travels often, she said, and each of her house portraits start [Should be starts.] as a real place. Later, she plays with the composition, taking off dormers and restructuring as she goes. She’s attracted to baron landscapes, she said. [Unless the writer means -- seems unlikely -- she's attracted to baronial spreads, I think he means barren.]

“It kind of goes with the idea of isolation,” she said.

This December sale is Albaugh’s second.


Last week, SMFA curator Joanna Soltan [Same last name as UD!], put final touches on the show, as others gave preview tours of the work to patrons. Soltan, who hung the show over the past month with the help of a team of 20 or so, is in her fifth year as curator.

“I knew the space very well so I know where I want to plan the layout,” Soltan said, in her present but not overbearing Polish accent [Polish accent? Mr. UD's Polish too!] [Present but not overbearing? Perhaps the writer meant to say pleasant but not overbearing...], regarding the positioning of the exhibition walls in the SMFA’s Anderson Hall. Under 30-foot ceilings, the space in between the walls is occupied with bins and bins of unframed work, mostly from SMFA students.

Soltan oversaw the drop-off period in early November, three days in which the students, alumni, school faculty and affiliated artists participating in the show could drop off up to 10 pieces.

Soltan then worked to hang at least one piece from each artist each artist [Typo.]. After the show starts, Soltan and company rotate the work, giving pieces several hours of wall time before taking them down.

“We never get bored,” Soltan said. “For us too, it’s like a new way to see something.” [Curious that like many of the other Soltans UD's related to, this one lives in Boston and works in the arts... Wait a minute! Joanna Soltan is Mr. UD's sister! That makes her UD's sister-in-law.]

Around the school, next to some of the work, were place [placed] these blue and gold medallion-like stickers. These denote the favorite works of this year’s art luminaries – Boston area reporters, personalities and curators – asked to share their opinions.


... The SMFA December Sale is open from 12-8 p.m. Thursday, and from 12-6 p.m. Friday through Monday in the first floor of the school, located at 230 The Fenway in Boston, next to the MFA.'

Labels: SOS

'An accountant with no experience in education, Mr. Mattar had taken over as president of CNEC in 1978, a year after he had been hired as a management consultant to help close Worcester Junior College, which was heavily in debt. Instead of closing the institution, he assumed the top job, soon renamed the school [Got rid of the Junior thing.] and seemed at the time to be turning the situation around.

... While in Worcester, Mr. Mattar was known for the lavish parties he threw at his 5,500-square-foot home on Salisbury Street, which he could afford on his salary that was the highest of any college president in New England.'

'After leaving Worcester and about the same time he purchased the struggling bank in Boulder, Colo., Mr. Mattar took over Nasson Institute in Springvale, Maine, and its branch unit in Pawtucket, R.I. Nasson was a small liberal arts college that was struggling financially and facing declining enrollment. Mr. Mattar succeeded in convincing its trustees to make him president and grant him broad authority.'

'I see why a contribution to, say, the Salvation Army should be eligible for a charitable deduction. It helps the poor. But why, exactly, should a contribution to the already extraordinarily wealthy Guggenheim Museum or to Harvard University (which already has an endowment of more than $30 billion)?

Awhile ago, New York's Lincoln Center had a gala supported by the charitable contributions of hedge-fund industry leaders, some of whom take home $1 billion a year. I may be missing something, but this doesn't strike me as charity. ...

It turns out that only an estimated 10% of all charitable deductions are directed at the poor. So here's a modest proposal. At a time when the number of needy continues to rise, when government doesn't have the money to do what's necessary for them and when America's very rich are richer than ever, we should revise the tax code: Focus the charitable deduction on real charities.

If the donation goes to an institution or agency set up to help the poor, the donor gets a full deduction. If the donation goes somewhere else -- to an art palace, a university, a symphony or any other nonprofit -- the donor gets to deduct only half of the contribution.'

'The business of philanthropy and the purposes of fund raising — a $200 billion annual marketplace of givers and receivers — are complex. [Beware of people who begin arguing by announcing the immense complexity of their issue... an immensity only insiders can understand. This comes across as hocus-pocus stuff -- I'm not going to argue against my opponents on the merits; I'm going to insist that they -- and you, the reader -- can't hope to understand the mystical intricacies of my field. This approach is a dud on many levels, but mainly it's a dud because it's condescending.] That's why it's easy for casual observers to mistake generosity for self-interest. [Reich says nothing about the motives of the givers. He talks only about definitions of true charity, and about fair distribution.]

Robert B. Reich made that mistake in his recent Outlook column ("Harvard effect/ When charity really isn't ... ," Oct. 21) where he argued that we have entered what might be characterized as an era of Philanthropic Darwinism, a time when big donors give to bigger and bigger arts and education institutions, all designed — in his mind — to promote a wealthy lifestyle and a hefty tax deduction. So, he would cut in half donors' charitable tax deduction for gifts to the arts and universities because they do not meet his definition of worthy, i.e., helping the poor. [It's not only Reich's definition. Giving to universities and concert halls is not direct charitable aid to the poor.]

I know there are arts organizations and patrons who can make an argument for the positive impact they have on society. [positive impact they have on society is dead language. And the deadness, in the context of this argument, is no mere stylistic matter. If this is the best the writer can do by way of describing the charitable value of the arts, the reader's suspicion that Reich's right only grows.] So, I want to concentrate on the darts he threw at the university world, as he has me seething at his fund-raising fumble. [Okay. If you've been reading SOS for any length of time, you know exactly what she's going to throw darts at here. Yes. Seething. I'm seething! I'm at the boiling point! Hold me back! ... Talking about how damn mad you are is an argument-killer. All you're really doing is showing off what you take to be your moral superiority -- I mean, I'm so ethical, my heart bleeds so for the poor, that I can't control my rage when know-nothings like Reich run their mouths... This sort of thing makes the reader distrust and dislike you. You can't control your emotions. You flatter yourself that you're better than other people. Plus -- see dud approach #1 -- you think you know more than other people.]

Education is the best way, bar none, for people to move up the economic and social ladder. In the 1950s, the GI Bill made education possible for the middle class. Today, it is private citizens, corporations and foundations whose generosity supports tens of thousands of first-generation college students and gives them and their families tools and hope for the future. [Cliche-ridden language throughout, and forgets to mention that it's still overwhelmingly the government that helps out universities.]

Let's look at the University of Houston and what increased philanthropy means to Houston's university.

We are definitely not the ivy-covered palace Reich imagines all universities to be. [At no point does Reich say all universities are Harvard.] This university attracts a large percentage of students who are the first in their families to attend college, so we need scholarships by the barrelful.

No young person should have to drop out of college for lack of funds. More than two-thirds of UH students receive some form of financial aid, but primarily in the form of loans that create a huge financial burden that may take years to repay. Private scholarships make the real difference in getting these students through graduation to become part of the educated workforce needed by Houston industry. That doesn't sound elite to me.

UH must pursue philanthropic gifts for endowed chairs and professorships to recruit and retain the intellectual firepower that will attract bright new students, federal grant support and help create economic prosperity for the nation's fourth-largest city.

And we must build this campus anew because UH is full of young scientists, budding artists and students crowded together elbow to elbow. Our research facilities house faculty aching for the tools and space they must have to apply for and fulfill the requirements of federal grants.

The Moores School of Music is bursting at the seams with too many students and not enough rehearsal space. The Bauer College of Business is exploding with students seeking that old fashioned thing called a job. [that old fashioned thing... Hard to get a grip on his tone in this piece. Indignant, yes. But is he being sarcastic here? Not clear.] We simply need more classroom buildings and more labs.

Today UH has the largest space deficit of all universities in the state, and that's just to serve our current students. So we seek philanthropic support for the buildings this campus must have to stand tall for a new generation of Houstonians. We're not building a palace, Mr. Reich; we're building an ark of economic opportunity. [Again, a strange sort of argument that misreads what Reich says and then attacks him frontally like this. The whole Mr. Reich thing is just weird.] And if philanthropy can help us achieve flagship university status in Texas, then it will be money well spent.

This year, the UH System received $54.3 million from generous contributors, a 37 percent increase over the previous year.

That's just the start. We want our philanthropic intent to be clear. The University of Houston is not seeking to raise more and more money just to build a big reserve. We want to make our case to our alumni, friends and donors that we seek to raise the philanthropic resources that will build a truly great University — one that Houston can be proud to call its flagship public university.

And that Mr. Reich, is the true purpose of philanthropy and the impact it will have on the future for all of us — colleges and universities, art museums and ballet companies. We are all 100 percent tax deductible and a bargain indeed for Houston and the nation. [Essentially, this piece comes across to UD as cynical. The writer isn't really engaging Reich. He's using the occasion of Reich having written about giving to universities in order to remind the newspaper's readers that they should give to his university.]'

Labels: SOS

[There's an] abdication of music to sound: to the dominating beat of the percussion, and to such antiharmonic devices as the 'power chord,' produced by electronic distortion. Melodies become brief exhalations, which cannot develop since they are swamped by rhythm, and have no voice-leading role. ... In the soup of amplified overtones, inner voices are drowned out: all the guitarist can do is create an illusion of harmony by playing parallel fifths.

'With the popularity of such sites as facebook.com and myspace.com, it's an increasing trend for colleges and universities to relate to students through blogs and social networking Web sites - mediums widely used among them.

"There's always an effort on both administrators and faculty to relate more to students' general experience in order to get specific points or subject matter across to them," said Mark F. Smith, a higher education coordinator for the National Education Association.

Some professors include blogging in their curriculum, and colleges use similar technology to publicize events or get information out across campus, Mr. Smith said.'

"The blog is actually an excellent way students can get to know their professor and their thoughts outside the subject matter... I'd like to see more professors blog. I think it would be a good idea for students who are taking a class to get a chance to read and get to know what the professor is like."

'[The] Common Reading Experience program ... uses a blog to organize its discussions of what book all incoming students should read during the summer. A committee meets to discuss and ultimately choose the book, but the ...community could see what it already has decided against or is considering at the blog and offer input... '

'At Bluffton University,...[s]everal students and one faculty member blog to give an insight into what campus life is all about, since most students live on campus.

"We want them to be authentic and be real," said Chris Jebsen, director of admissions. "There is no guidance from our office: 'Here's what you need to be writing about this week.'"

The student bloggers are university employees, paid for two hours of work a week to write two blog posts. ... In the changing world of technology, campus visits are becoming less popular and more people are checking out school Web sites, Mr. Jebsen said.

"Sometimes the first time we're learning about them is when they apply online," he said.

The admissions staff likes having the blogs so people who don't visit campus and interact with students still can get a feel for Bluffton.'

'... The fire that killed seven South Carolina college students at Ocean Isle Beach last Sunday morning started on the deck of the house - possibly ignited by "discarded smoking materials."

... A fire at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house that killed five University of North Carolina students in 1996 was blamed on a cigarette tossed into a trash can.

Two East Carolina University students died in 2003 when smoking material, thought to be a cigarette, fell onto a couch and smoldered before setting their second-floor Greenville apartment on fire.

In 2005, two N.C. State University students died in an off-campus duplex rented by their fraternity when a cigarette left behind after a party set a couch on fire...'

'A University of Texas at San Antonio student is in the planning stages of forming a pornography club on campus, station KSAT 12 reported.

The student, Riley Jackson Starr, is posting fliers on campus in hopes of recruiting at least five students to Club X, which would watch and discuss sexually oriented materials.

"We'll look to see if it violates any of our policies here at UTSA," said Vice-President David Gabler said.

He added that Starr has yet to submit the proper paperwork, which would need to be reviewed by attorneys.

Starr would also be required to get a professor to be an official adviser, which hasn't happened yet.

"You know, this is our school and we want to project a good image to other people and other schools," a male student said. "And so, to have kids in Club X would kind of give us that bad impression."

"I don't think sexual activity should be brought to our school other than for informational purposes," a female student said.

In her MySpace.com page, Starr claims to be [a] strip club dancer.'

“Thank you for the opportunity to respond. We are limited by federal privacy laws as to how much we can say about a personnel matter, but what I can tell you is that Anne Grinols is employed as a staff member, not as a faculty member at Baylor.”

'Deanna Sutton’s academic accomplishments, promotion and salary increases reflect her expertise in her area of fungus identification and medical mycology--and have not been based on the degrees she earned from the California Coast University. Her masters and her PhD are in the area of management and not in her teaching or research field. However, now that we are aware that her degrees are not recognized by the THECB, she will be asked to remove these degrees from her official university CV.'

... 'Collins said the attention is flattering but that his job is to teach, not to look great every day. He said he doesn't have a particular beauty regiment [That'd be regimen.... Although... UD just Googled beauty regiment, and everyone seems to use that, too.] or celebrity icon and that looking glamorous isn't one of his priorities.'

'Brooke Aldrich considers herself open-minded and accepting of all kinds of people.

But the University of Delaware freshman said statements made in a recent diversity training session on her floor of Russell Hall tried to make her believe she was a racist.

"I personally have no problem with anyone of any background, race, sexual identity, or any religion," said the 18-year-old Hockessin resident, who is majoring in animal science. "I accept people for who they are as people. But coming out of the group sessions makes you feel as if I was in some way a racist, just by the color of my skin. It was like, 'Because you've never been oppressed, you're part of the problem.' "

UD's residence-hall educational program came under fire this week ... The program, which is about 4 years old, includes one-on-one meetings between students and resident assistants as well as group sessions, where a wide range of topics including race relations and sexual identity are discussed.

The training is important to help students understand those who are different from them, said Justin Blair, an 18-year-old sophomore from New Castle.

... Greg Lukianoff, an attorney and president of FIRE, says the programs are an unconstitutional attempt to change student beliefs and actions with psychological "treatment."

"The University of Delaware's residence life education program is a grave intrusion into students' private beliefs," Lukianoff said. "The university has decided that it is not enough to expose its students to the values it considers important. Instead, it must coerce its students into accepting those values as their own."

Lukianoff and others objected to mandatory attendance at the sessions, to the way students felt coerced to agree with certain viewpoints, and to the rejection of debate on the issues.



... Michael Gilbert, vice president for student life, said the program was misrepresented by FIRE and that some objections were based on statements taken out of context from an August training session for resident assistants. But Gilbert also acknowledged that some approaches used by staff members were "missteps" and some language -- including references to student response to "treatment" -- could be misunderstood. [Student response to treatment. Quelle 1984.]



...Students were applauded whenever they identified with a certain group...


[O]ther exercises made many students feel uncomfortable. In one ...students were asked if they approved of such things as affirmative action or gay marriage. If they did, they would join students on one side of the room. If they didn't, they would join students on the other side of the room. They were not permitted to explain their reasons or to answer "I don't know," she said.

"We had a strong urge to debate back and forth, tell each other why we chose this and sort out each other's views," [one student] said. "But at the end, we were told the exercise was designed so that we could not have debate, that a lot of times in life you don't have the opportunity to express your opinion. There was a lot of pent-up tension from that."

[Students interviewed] said they were told the meetings were mandatory....


[Critics] pointed to written materials for the staff training session, including a definition of "racist" as applying to "all white people ... living in the United States."'

'Brian R. Leiter tracks the comings and goings of high-profile scholars in philosophy and law, writing a couple of popular academic blogs that offer details on who is taking a job where.

But this time it is Mr. Leiter who is moving on, leaving his post as a professor of law and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin after 13 years to be a professor at the University of Chicago’s law school.

...Chicago is creating a Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values, which he’ll direct and which he says will make philosophical work “a more central part of the law school.” Chicago’s primary focus is law and economics...

[Chicago's dean says Leiter] “is a great intellectual entrepreneur, and we like the energy he brings. He’s a most valuable player at Texas, and where he goes, students get very interested in his subject matter.”'

'Former Mexia Superintendent Dean Andrews is under investigation and has been accused of obtaining a doctorate degree from a school in California not accredited to award doctorate degrees.

Andrews “obtained” his doctorate degree [Why the quotation marks around obtained? Because the reporter means to say Andrews didn't actually obtain it. Yet the word obtaining occurs in the first paragraph without quotation marks, which is confusing. The writer should drop the quotation marks.] from California Coast University in 1999...

A heated debate concerning Andrews’ credentials ensued at a recent meeting of the Liberty Hill School Board, with some parents upset with the Superintendent.

...[The] Texas Higher Education Coordination Board waded into the fray [Not sure you can wade into a fray, unless the fight's taking place under water.] and issued a statement that “it’s illegal to use such degrees in the State of Texas” in the first place.

According to a recent story released by Nanci Wilson on CBS Channel 42 (a television station in the Liberty Hill area), “the superintendent’s questionable credentials” led to the debate at the school board. The board’s president says trustees are investigating through their law firm. Presumably, this would be the well-known Walsh Anderson firm out of Austin. That law firm does much work throughout school districts in the state, including work for the Mexia Independent School District.

Although the State of Texas calls the degree fraudulent, Andrews was asked about statements that his degree is “fake,” and he replied, “I don’t worry about what people say about Dean Andrews..." He also chastised the reporter by saying, “...and what you say about me...that’s your problem.”

A parent appeared before the last meeting, calling for the school board to “do the right thing,” then adding, “Dean Andrews must be removed from his positon as superintendent of this school district.” The parent continued, “It’s easy to check up that fraud has been committed here.”

The Liberty Hill librarian took the parent to task, backing Andrews and saying the district should thank him for his leadership. However, this drew a retort from the unhappy parent, who agrees that “education is the primary concern,” but reiterated what could be a fraudulent “kind of message being sent; namely, you’re saying don’t work hard, take the easy way, get a fraudulent degree, and get a big salary without doing the work to earn it, and that disgusts me.”

Federal investigators have referred to the California institution as a “diploma mill” in testimony before a congressional committee. However, the CBS 42 report says Andrews calls himself “Doctor,” and he said, “I’m pretty proud of it.” [I call myself Doctor and I'm pretty proud of it. That's what I mean. That's a keeper.]

The report says Andrews, in sworn testimony, spent only three days on the California campus, defending his dissertation. But, according to his deposition, “he had difficulty remembering the title of his dissertation,” the televised report says.

The report further stated, “Andrews had diffculty remembering exactly when he got the degree, telling Channel 42 he had received it ‘in 2003 or 2001 I believe’. Asked about 1997,” Andrews said, “Correct.” But a copy of Andrews transcript filed as an exhibit in a lawsuit...shows a graduation date of Sept. 29, 1999.”

Another parent said of this “...makes me really question all of his ethics, integrity and scruples.”

State Senator Florence Shapiro, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, told Nanci Wilson of Channel 42, she was surprised to learn that Andrews and Hutto Superintendent David Borrer [Another one. No surprise. Tons of them out there, especially in education administration.] had doctorates from such schools, and added, “I think this is fraudulent and there is a criminal penalty. I think it’s a class B misdemeanor...and should be looked at.”'

'Just weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into World War II, Utah State made its own kind of history.

The Aggies lost their final game of the 1941 season and finished 0-8.

It was Utah State's first winless season of more than four games and it was the last time the Aggies ended a season without a victory. Sixty-six years later, the Aggies find themselves in a down-to-the-wire struggle to avoid making the wrong kind of history.

Heading into Saturday's game at heavily favored Fresno State, Utah State is 0-8. With four games remaining - three on the road and one at home against nationally ranked Boise State - the Aggies' prospects for victory are grim. [As grim as Pearl Harbor.]



"Life is hard. This is hard, and why we're being tested like this, I wish I had the answer for you," said coach Brent Guy said [Typo there. Extra "said."], trying to remain optimistic. "But we've had a lot of opportunities to win games this season. We've been close. Now, we've got to complete one and we have to do it fast."

This season, Utah State has led four times in the fourth quarter, only to lose in the closing minutes to UNLV (23-16), Wyoming (32-18), San Jose State (23-20) and Nevada (31-28).

Still, the Aggies have lost 14 straight games, going back to 2006. They have lost 25 of their past 27 games, including 12 straight on the road and 10 straight within the Western Athletic Conference.

It's been a grinding stretch that has tested every player and coach who has been part of each defeat - close or otherwise.

"I'm generally an upbeat kind of guy - not much brings me down," said senior fullback-tight end Jimmy Bohm. "[So] keeping guys mentally excited about the game, that's what [the] seniors and leaders of the team are trying to do."

Said Guy: "I'm really, really proud of this group of seniors. These are the guys I inherited - that were here when I got here, guys that could have gone somewhere else. One left, but the rest stayed. I think that's a credit to them and why this team is still really fun to coach."



Fun?

"You can tell by the way they practice that they are still trying very hard," Guy said. "They chirp around and they laugh with each other, Not that that's the way you want to actually practice [N of Not shouldn't be capitalized.]. But they don't come out with 0-8 hanging over their head. They come out with, 'OK, how can we win the next game? What do we have to do?' That's encouraging to me."

This season to forget continues a long stretch of futility for Utah State, which hasn't won as many as four games since 2002 and hasn't enjoyed a .500 season since 1997. [The team's graduation rate is 54%.]



"To break a losing tradition is tough," said Keith Henschen, a University of Utah sports psychologist. "You almost have to start over because people actually start believing they are going to lose. Not consciously, but subconsciously." [Henschen elsewhere argues that "many teams go through four identifiable stages of performance development – forming, storming, norming and performing."]



Utah State started over by hiring Guy in 2004. He was the Aggies' fifth head coach since 1992.

"A problem at Utah State is that it has been a stepping stone for coaches," Henschen said. "There has been very little continuity and, as a result, very little accountability regarding what is expected." [Bet grabbing and tossing all those coaches has cost the university quite a lot of money. In university football, long stretches of futility tend to be expensive.]

Besides the coaching turnover, Henschen blames the losing environment on the Aggies' tradition of playing two or three "money" games every season - games they have little chance of winning but results in a huge payday for the athletic program.

"By overscheduling, they keep beating their kids down - physically and mentally," he said. "I feel sorry for them. Why do they keep doing that? . . . It just feeds into a situation where everybody involved starts thinking, 'We can't win.' It definitely becomes a psychological situation." [Keith, you have a PED degree, which SOS takes to be a Physical Education Doctorate. Surely you understand the money game.]



Guy seems to understand, saying the hardest thing about the ongoing losing streak is "the emotional toll - the toll you try to keep off the kids. It's a tremendous burden for them because they continually get asked about it and continually have to answer for it."

Of course, it happens at other schools. [Of course. We're not the only ones, you know...]

Three years ago, New Mexico State went 0-12 under coach Hal Mumme.

"The toughest thing is getting the players to believe in what you're doing," he said."It's almost a player-by-player thing and it's very difficult to do."

This season, Idaho is 1-8 under first-year coach Robb Akey.

"When the losses start mounting up, it gets a little heavy," he said. "That's a battle we fight every week. What I'm trying to do is point out the positive things and show them, when we do it together, it works."

At this point, Guy believes his players might be too aware of the losing streak and are not focused on enjoying the game.'

Labels: SOS

Thou shalt not do as the dean pleases,
Thou shalt not write thy doctor’s thesis
On education,
Thou shalt not worship projects nor
Shalt thou or thine bow down before
Administration.

'...[T]he development of a written voice is essential to blogging. Those of us who blog regularly know this aspect of the medium, and are drawn to it, I would suppose, because of the expositional and narrative possibilities. Some of my students have taken to the genre like fish to water, and are, as they say, natural bloggers. In fact, when I designed the assignment, I thought this would be true of most of my students, imbued in social networking and online chat and Instant Messaging. This, however, was a misapprehension. Aside from those natural bloggers, who typically are also either gabby or strongly opinionated students in real life (IRL), some of my student bloggers have had trouble crafting themselves in the genre. On Friday, I had an early morning appointment with a student, a smart dedicated young woman, who admitted she was having trouble figuring out how to blog and what to blog about.

We had a long conversation on models, ideas, generating thinking. But the simple fact of the matter is that it is hard, if one is not naturally drawn to electronic media, to sustain something like a blog. When I was writing the guidelines for the assignment, in late summer, I knew there would be an adjustment period for some students, but in fact this adjustment period is, for some, not temporary. The simple fact of the matter is that some of these students are not bloggers, and would have been better served by the traditional writing option (you know, papers and stuff).

The rules for course blogging are in the end very similar to something I have begun to think about the blogosphere: One must start with voice to become fluent in developing voice. In other words, and for the most part, voice cannot develop in electronic media unless it already exists on some level elsewhere, verbally or politically or socially or on the written page....'