Go to The Impossibility Of Knowing
- Add a comment
- Go to Is It Gonzo Journalism/Blogging Or A Rant?
When it all comes down
He was given an assignment with specifics. Either he met the challenge or he didn't. I feel THAT is what he should be graded on, disregarding whether you enjoyed his piece or not.
posted by
Joe_Love
on September 2, 2005 at 6:24 AM
| link to this | reply
define "gonzo."
I thought it meant on-your-own-initiative newsgathering, writing the truth without regard to personal consequences, with a goal of maybe shocking someone in power out of their lethargy and get them to do something to correct a problem.
posted by
Pat_B
on August 31, 2005 at 9:02 AM
| link to this | reply
Offbeats, you are correct. It was a dilemma
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:49 PM
| link to this | reply
Mind you CIel, I don't like to think back to how I wrote at that age. I still have the clips but I can't bear to see them. I should burn them as they are etched in my memory.
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:48 PM
| link to this | reply
Ciel, thank you for that pointer to that post. It's on my list. I hope that I have done what you said and yes it was adolescent particularly if one thinks of the young reporters I have known or heard about who were out covering big issues at the same age.
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:47 PM
| link to this | reply
caelia, sadly the student is at a distance from me so I may never know his reaction although I will ask my colleague. Yes the college needs me to stick with the criteria
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:44 PM
| link to this | reply
Timmytales, there is always a mixture. thanks
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:43 PM
| link to this | reply
mama.dragonfly, good to see you back. I'll pop over and check out your "rant"
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:42 PM
| link to this | reply
Terpgirl30, the "gonzo" test is ahead for him. I think if someone sticks too closely to what they know that it suggests not. It is a bit like someone saying they are an Impressionist after the event...
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:41 PM
| link to this | reply
dog1net, I hadn't thought of it like that before but I think you are onto something. It is easy for those of us who have a strong sense of our literary self to forget what a leap that is
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:39 PM
| link to this | reply
word.smith, I think I did that
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:37 PM
| link to this | reply
Renigade3, I think a B is too generous. You see I think if you give a good grade and a stern warning they don't heed the warning
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:27 PM
| link to this | reply
Majroj, you could be right. The brain becomes addled after too much grading
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 9:26 PM
| link to this | reply
I remember everyone trying to emulate e e cumings...in 7th grade
Sounds like he has style over learning experience.
posted by
majroj
on August 30, 2005 at 8:49 PM
| link to this | reply
"A" for effort. "C" for actually sticking to the directions. "B-"
overall--and stern warning to follow directions next time.
posted by
Renigade
on August 30, 2005 at 6:55 PM
| link to this | reply
I would have graded him on the merit of what he wrote
and then I probably would have given him a minus for generalizing as well as not doing enough.
posted by
word.smith
on August 30, 2005 at 6:51 PM
| link to this | reply
We should encourage our students to become more fluent, more cogent with their writing by helping them understand what it means to write not only in an appropropriate voice, but also for a specific audience. The reason why most students fail with their writing is not because they are unable to understand the nature of the assignment, but because they are unable "to create a literary self on paper." Whenever I read a student's paper, I read it first as a reader, and responded as such. My second reading was as an editor.
Scot
posted by
dog1net
on August 30, 2005 at 4:09 PM
| link to this | reply
FactorFiction, yes ethics do count. Is the story publishable? This is exactly what I look at. It is funny too because some students try to emulate a particular style of journalism and yet what they hand in is nothing like that. Many don't read papers closely if at all
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 3:57 PM
| link to this | reply
Gonzo is thrown around easily
You know it when you see it, I think. Just by what you're saying, I think you're gut is telling you the kid is a slacker who just felt uneasy about approaching people. THAT was the assignment. Now if he had done it as a "free" assignment, anything goes, then you view it in that light. You're the teacher here, and you're trying to give these people a look at different styles and how those styles can impact the telling and viewing of a story. Even if it is well written, it's not what you asked for. I'd give him another shot at it, however. If he doesn't want to do the same place, then he can hold that one for another assignment. I'd say his reaction on that would also tell you a lot about the motives (art versus slacker).
posted by
terpgirl30
on August 30, 2005 at 3:54 PM
| link to this | reply
MayB, that was a rant. I love Hunter Thompson, and have read several of his book...in fact, my next blog is about Hunter Thompson, who I am sure you know, invented 'Gonzo Journalism.' Just my opinion, though, what the heck do I know anyway? LOL!!
~Mama.Dragonfly487
posted by
Mama.Dragonfly
on August 30, 2005 at 3:53 PM
| link to this | reply
MayB
I know nothing about how journalism is graded. But does it count whether the piece would be publishable? Does ethics count for anything in grading?
posted by
FactorFiction
on August 30, 2005 at 3:43 PM
| link to this | reply
Haha Strat. I was not exactly a straight A student myself.
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 1:58 PM
| link to this | reply
That was probably one of the highest grades in my life...
posted by
strat
on August 30, 2005 at 1:55 PM
| link to this | reply
Strat, thanks. Yes, sometimes we have to write something we want to write and just live with the risk of the low grade. I think we can all afford a D or two in our lives.
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 1:53 PM
| link to this | reply
I'd say it was a rant, however well-written.
As such, you have to weigh the failure to follow the directions of the assignment with the writing style and ability. But remember, Jayson Blair had style and ability...
I once had an assignment in an advanced English lit class to write a synopsis of Gibrain's "The Prophet." Instead, I wrote a hilarious satire of it -- put my whole class, including the teacher, on the floor in stitches.
I got an D-minus because I didn't follow the directionls of the assignment. The only reason I passed at all is because apparently it was pretty darn funny, even to the teacher.
posted by
strat
on August 30, 2005 at 11:16 AM
| link to this | reply
mayb
Why not a combination of both? Tell him the good points and then tell him that you know he could do so much better.
posted by
TIMMYTALES
on August 30, 2005 at 11:04 AM
| link to this | reply
ah, left something out
last night in my comment which I meant to include: aside from my point of not grading him down for being controversial, but rather grading him on strength of writing, etc., it's also important that he adhered to the topic/rules you assigned to the class -- which was what you and other commenters pointed out. I'm curious to know what you ultimately grade him, and what his reaction will be. Keep me updated, since (obviously) English classes and instructors always held a special place in my heart :)
C
posted by
caelia
on August 30, 2005 at 9:44 AM
| link to this | reply
Maybe you are caught in a dilemma between writing teacher
and social skills teacher. I'd be very straightforward with him, acknowledge what was good about his writing and give him a grade for it, but also add a side note about the content and attitude: True art reveals a substantial truth, it is not just a trip through the mind or life or opinionscape of someone with an ax to grind. I would tell him what truth I derived from reading his piece, which might be more revealing of him than of his life: that he is filtering the world through the lenses of intolerance, the 'schaden-freude', the arrogance, the callowness of adolescence. I might state it a bit more diplomatically than that, but he might appreciate real candor in response to his own.
By the way, you said in a recent comment that you enjoy posts with substance. You might like this one as a teacher, too:
http://www.blogit.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/ExStud20069777/
posted by
Ciel
on August 30, 2005 at 7:45 AM
| link to this | reply
MayB,
I agree with both Dave C and Ca88sandra. I think if he's really got gonzo, and he's not just being lazy, he should be commended for it. However, you did apply certain standards that everyone was supposed to adhere to. He didn't, so he should be marked down to some extent. But even a lower grade can be surrounded by some praise for certain aspects of the piece.
posted by
NCwriter
on August 30, 2005 at 6:07 AM
| link to this | reply
MayB
Well now, this is difficult to answer. I don't believe I can help you out here. I would suggest you give this young man credit for his grammer, and for being creative. We need more of that in writing, sometimes the norm is out right boring! Good luck MayB, you know better than most, you are the teacher!
posted by
Offy
on August 30, 2005 at 2:50 AM
| link to this | reply
Dave Cryer, thank you. I think you have put your finger on something there. Thank so very much. I think that if he can curb the overbearing narrator that he is on to something but we'll have to see. I have known journalists who had flashes (not undoing their coats;-) of brilliance but not been able to get the measure right.
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 2:15 AM
| link to this | reply
Ca88andra, I am obliged to stay somewhere near the criteria. Some students do but present dull work
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 2:12 AM
| link to this | reply
I'm not going to be any help to you because I've never had to tutor or mark writing before, however if you are marking to one standard, its probably important to the other students to ensure he is marked to the same standard. That might not be fair to someone who is genuinely trying a new or different style, however you can still encourage him in his attempts but explain that the course standards are such, etc.
posted by
Ca88andra
on August 30, 2005 at 1:53 AM
| link to this | reply
I'd have to read it to make a true judgement. If you feel he does really have some gonzo in him, then he should be encouraged. If he wrote in the first person, then one way to do this would be to talk about the narrator he has created, therefore removing any rant-criticism from being directed personally at him and his beliefs. Explain how you think his narrator is in danger of tipping over the edge whilst praising his writing skills that have created this potentially dislikable narrator.
posted by
_dave_says_ack_
on August 30, 2005 at 12:51 AM
| link to this | reply
caelia, it is a dilemma isn't it? The other thing I have to consider is that I am marking against a criteria against which all students are being marked and which all were asked to adhere to. I have to ask myself if each person does this and grade accordingly. The last thing one wants to do is to crush people although I sense this guy really has some gonzo in him. But if it is only rant it won't sustain itself.
Personally, I like people who test the conventions. I would always rather write something or choose a controversial picture that did not play it too safe.
posted by
Azur
on August 30, 2005 at 12:45 AM
| link to this | reply
MayB
interesting question, and since anyone who knows me in real life know I'm a huge fan of HS Thompson I might not be able to answer this question objectively. However, as someone who's always appreciated subversive voices, I'd have to say please don't grade him down simply because his writing contains derogatory views. Certainly, writers from different backgrounds and perspectives should be allowed to write what they truly feel and think (whether it be right or wrong), or otherwise our literary market would be plagued with literature that always ends on a happy note .. but that would be unrealistic. However, I question whether you felt his writing was actually "good," despite the "gonzo" approach and offensive nature. Was he creative? How was his prose? As someone whose writing was constantly censored in high school (but then lauded as " creative" in college -- funny, how perspectives changes), grade his paper on the strength of his writing, as a whole. Good luck with grading papers -- definitely a tough job, and I admire that you posed this question. C
posted by
caelia
on August 30, 2005 at 12:29 AM
| link to this | reply