How Does It Feel?

The way creating a myth differs from actually studying myth is that it is nerve wrecking! I’m sitting here trying to find a million ways to be creative, because my myth is really just an advanced narrative. But I’m like, what if people don’t like what I have to say about this myth? Then what do I do? But it also is my myth. I guess another problem would be making my myth make sense, finding pictures that people actually like. Making myths is sort of hard. Because I know that when I’m reading other myths, I can see the fuel and creative fire that went into making them. Largely, I believe that other myths were created to explain something in the world. But our modern myths are just signifying on them to make something fun. I guess understanding that is a key and integral difference. So when studying my own myth and trying to figure out what to make I have to realize that I need to keep it lighthearted. Now I can at least empathize with the people who made all of those wonderful creation myths. I was constantly thinking and going back like, “Is this all making sense? I don’t want this to become too much of a farce.” Creating my own myth was fun and although I’m not sure I would do it again I still did have a blast. The main reason I was able to get through it is by realizing that for the most part it is a narrative. Then I imagined people orally reciting MY narrative. Trying to figure out what parts they would find funny, and what parts they wouldn’t like at all. 

To Write or To Compose. To Compose is the Answer

Writing poetry and writing about poetry are so different to me, because when you’re writing about poetry, you’re free to say whatever you want, and go on, and on, for as long as you’d like. But when you’re actually writing poetry the beauty is in the short concise lines. They’re so telling, and aside from free verse poems (most of the time) and list poems, most poetry is full of short truncated, yet magnificently flourishing visuals. I can certainly say that I like writing poetry more than I like writing about it. I like talking about poetry in class, or in front of a group, but I’m not too big a fan of composing long essays about poetry. While I do see the important and I kind of enjoy it, I like composing my own poetry more, no matter how awful it is. I used to be mortified in high school when the idea of poetry was first introduced to me, as mortified as waking up and going to school in my boxers in middle school –when even thinking about poetry or writing about it. Now, it doesn’t scare me anymore because I’ve learned a lot poetry, and the subtle nuances that make it so amazing and so beautiful to see and read. I appreciate the greats like Shakespeare that can so candidly and artistically mimic everyday speech, yet evoke such divine images. For my future experiences in teaching I’m definitely going to be using the “putting all of our poems on the wall and having a spoken word jam session in class.” THAT was ridiculously fantastic, and I think it fosters creativity. 

Missing the Scrape of Nails On A Chalkboard

Hola all! I’m Deon Goggins, a 20-year-old English Subject Matter major, dance minor. I’m an aspiring dancer, choreographer, English teacher, and writer extraordinaire. When I graduate in May, I want to pursue a master’s degree in education from Stanford, while simultaneously obtaining credentials to teach Dance and English at the High School level.

I don’t know about you, but I remember the “good ole days,” when we all sat in a classroom. Peering at the teacher, shoulders hunched over, seemingly bored, but we were so drawn into the teacher that we sunk into ourselves, completely surrendering to the fantasy the teachers were creating around us. The teacher would read from a book, or write on the chalkboard, and we had to jot down notes quickly while still remaining engaged. I feel that a complete surrender to media technology in the classroom is more than just making my sense of nostalgia extinct; it promotes a sense of near laziness. When students have to attentively write down notes, rather than just being able to rely on “the teacher putting the notes on the overhead,” or “quickly typing the notes down and then checking their facebooks”, they engage more in the subject matter.

Personally, I feel technology has stripped away my ability to retain knowledge at an accelerated pace. The facts that I remember the most are the ones that I’ve learned using my auditory sense in the classroom, or things that I’ve read from a book, or printout. When I read things on a computer screen my mind strays and wonders, and I constantly think about text messaging, my facebook, or a hilarious gossip blog; most of all, my eyes hurt.