I am dropping this into all the documents I have

2/25/15: 4:57 pm

Dear Writers:

Thursday is an important day. There is much to be decided and figured out, and some early writing to be done.  A first (ugly) draft is DUE IN CLASS ON FRIDAY, which gives you just today and tonight to knock out a preliminary idea.

ON FRIDAY, EVERYONE in the group brings in their own paper copy of the ugly first draft:  3 people, 3 drafts.  Take ownership of the work, and be prepared to cut, paste, and change that draft.   DO NOT WALK INTO CLASS AND ASK TO USE THE PRINTER.  There is no time for that.

Collaborating is not simply a matter of throwing separate ingredients together in a pot, shaking, and seeing what comes up.  Collaboration requires communicating, negotiating, struggling together until eventually a shared product emerges.

First, decide on a topic that is relevant to our unit, Language, Gender, and Culture.  There are many tyrannies in the world.  There are those legitimate oppressors that have a face and are keeping people down.  But we are not talking about Big Brother here.  The tyrannies we would like you to address are those that require thoughtful introspection.

Let us share some examples of some topics proposed last year that missed the mark:

1. The tyranny of college tuition and the subsequent debt
2. The tyranny of marijuana laws
3. The tyranny of being expected to go to college

While these topics may be worth writing about, they fail to engage the premise of our unit’s primary focus, which are the “tyrannies [we] swallow day by day and attempt to make [our] own.” These topics may either be too vague or unrelated to the unit or both.

IF I HAD TO DO THIS PROJECT with other people -- whether familiar working partners or relative strangers -- here are the steps I would take:

• I would come to the group on Thursday with 3-4 ideas
• I would explain my ideas to the best of my ability, and I would listen to the ideas of my partners
• As they were speaking, I would be taking notes, seeking common ground
• After everyone had contributed their ideas, I would start asking my partners for ways they think we could move forward
• I would clarify which paragraphs I think I could write, and I would commit to them
• I would begin writing during class on Thursday:  “censor off” (Peter Elbow), Chromebook on
• On Thursday night, I would continue to write furiously and before bed, I’d print the whole thing for class on Friday
• Taking these steps are the only way to earn a good grade on this part of the group essay.