Meta tags:
description=A US academic goes to Russia;

Headings (most frequently used words):

the, in, russia, us, posts, and, what, my, students, of, email, recent, shitty, first, drafts, national, heroism, new, cold, war, learned, on, winter, vacation, student, has, become, master, flipped, classrooms, for, advanced, matters, statement, purpose, why, english, rhet, comp, graduate, should, consider, career, choices, abroad, best, money, ve, spent, before, soggy, september, edition, past, is, with, model, writing, center, few, favorite, things, navigation, academic, goes, to, follow, blog, via, archives, top, comments, goodreads, categories, blogroll, resources, subscription, creative, commons, license, contact,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (602), and (344), that (246), you (158), for (142), are (100), have (96), this (93), but (82), with (81), was (60), your (59), what (58), about (57), russia (55), they (55), not (53), writing (47), more (47), from (46), one (46), #students (45), there (40), here (39), like (38), out (38), their (37), has (36), when (35), all (35), moscow (34), had (34), where (33), get (32), can (32), who (32), which (29), also (28), time (28), some (28), than (28), work (27), people (27), very (27), russian (26), will (26), because (26), just (25), been (25), our (25), center (24), even (24), english (24), most (24), them (24), new (23), would (23), class (23), first (22), student (21), why (21), going (21), make (21), other (20), day (20), school (19), were (18), good (18), want (18), many (18), while (18), few (17), much (17), different (17), way (17), two (17), american (17), how (16), think (16), fact (16), only (16), need (16), job (15), 2013 (15), into (15), kind (15), research (15), office (15), take (15), country (15), graduate (14), things (14), apartment (14), means (14), pretty (14), really (14), being (14), life (14), could (14), experience (13), working (13), don (13), ashley (13), squires (13), place (13), well (13), now (12), then (12), questions (12), better (12), best (12), before (12), september (12), abroad (12), far (12), metro (12), those (12), soviet (12), still (12), back (12), though (12), little (12), rather (12), any (12), through (12), field (12), model (11), over (11), russians (11), faculty (11), set (11), isn (11), specific (11), email (10), she (10), travel (10), reasons (10), money (10), cold (10), 2010 (10), trying (10), thing (10), around (10), old (10), space (10), long (10), off (10), got (10), same (10), americans (10), teaching (10), probably (10), program (10), say (10), comment (9), self (9), should (9), statement (9), vacation (9), come (9), outside (9), often (9), weeks (9), couple (9), person (9), sort (9), ways (9), international (9), almost (9), years (9), change (9), tell (9), personal (9), started (8), sign (8), address (8), pedagogy (8), uncategorized (8), film (8), past (8), career (8), war (8), yourself (8), said (8), moment (8), see (8), building (8), talk (8), find (8), every (8), least (8), western (8), union (8), did (8), able (8), something (8), important (8), comes (8), both (8), actually (8), lot (8), tea (8), face (8), discussion (8), gagarin (8), already (7), market (7), become (7), learned (7), anything (7), asked (7), ago (7), hours (7), someone (7), look (7), quite (7), world (7), these (7), found (7), toward (7), coffee (7), service (7), another (7), phone (7), always (7), stuff (7), know (7), particularly (7), each (7), its (7), makes (7), places (7), academic (7), middle (7), having (7), level (7), living (7), name (6), posts (6), language (6), admissions (6), favorite (6), spent (6), comp (6), consider (6), advanced (6), may (6), down (6), colleagues (6), great (6), bit (6), sure (6), during (6), part (6), small (6), daily (6), never (6), america (6), last (6), after (6), either (6), came (6), group (6), give (6), order (6), leave (6), three (6), institution (6), requires (6), own (6), sense (6), opportunities (6), worth (6), programs (6), evidence (6), talking (6), course (6), app (6), does (6), his (6), investment (6), doing (6), literature (6), actual (6), put (6), thought (6), opportunity (6), swinton (6), view (5), content (5), drafts (5), blog (5), resources (5), college (5), rhet (5), matters (5), flipped (5), classrooms (5), winter (5), bring (5), style (5), felt (5), perhaps (5), era (5), times (5), explain (5), tend (5), water (5), read (5), city (5), post (5), right (5), check (5), served (5), minutes (5), next (5), human (5), hour (5), free (5), four (5), enough (5), square (5), move (5), again (5), cash (5), myself (5), end (5), coming (5), needed (5), later (5), taking (5), feeling (5), teach (5), entire (5), between (5), once (5), example (5), left (5), however (5), point (5), phd (5), maybe (5), completely (5), reason (5), economics (5), half (5), economic (5), unique (5), didn (5), return (5), man (5), hand (5), issue (5), letter (5), teacher (5), getting (5), image (5), standing (5), states (5), rest (5), spend (5), family (5), stay (5), took (5), certainly (5), profession (5), show (5), instead (5), experiences (5), classroom (5), agenda (5), groups (5), immigration (5), her (5), leaders (5), ukraine (5), lgbt (5), yuri (5), site (4), com (4), write (4), comments (4), shitty (4), account (4), under (4), grad (4), recent (4), finding (4), purpose (4), master (4), national (4), heroism (4), top (4), october (4), 2014 (4), follow (4), general (4), ever (4), especially (4), paperwork (4), walking (4), culture (4), made (4), standards (4), used (4), department (4), customs (4), floor (4), whatever (4), hard (4), keep (4), sometimes (4), connection (4), parks (4), buildings (4), park (4), starbucks (4), quickly (4), food (4), early (4), public (4), red (4), ones (4), list (4), interesting (4), number (4), went (4), mid (4), credit (4), cut (4), pre (4), nes (4), within (4), involved (4), days (4), bad (4), looked (4), apartments (4), bank (4), everything (4), including (4), wanted (4), anyone (4), decided (4), expensive (4), extremely (4), looking (4), stage (4), happening (4), professor (4), boxes (4), materials (4), putting (4), moving (4), whether (4), watching (4), state (4), centers (4), consultations (4), university (4), consultants (4), certain (4), papers (4), conversation (4), skills (4), addition (4), efl (4), simply (4), becoming (4), given (4), degrees (4), nineteenth (4), century (4), ask (4), areas (4), pay (4), might (4), aside (4), prepared (4), stand (4), without (4), terms (4), expat (4), answer (4), guide (4), together (4), mean (4), friends (4), front (4), argue (4), jobs (4), italy (4), done (4), waco (4), likely (4), story (4), trip (4), excellent (4), finish (4), media (4), several (4), precisely (4), based (4), humanity (4), him (4), type (4), kinds (4), tilda (4), act (4), wordpress (3), log (3), subscribe (3), contact (3), creative (3), enter (3), works (3), asking (3), process (3), reflection (3), literary (3), political (3), learn (3), handouts (3), advice (3), writers (3), grades (3), five (3), employment (3), soggy (3), edition (3), choices (3), april (3), july (3), august (3), november (3), january (3), 2011 (3), december (3), via (3), true (3), week (3), pace (3), sent (3), turned (3), huge (3), doesn (3), whole (3), meal (3), essentially (3), bread (3), typical (3), concept (3), aren (3), friendly (3), strangers (3), avoid (3), helpful (3), tends (3), foreigners (3), green (3), everywhere (3), modern (3), too (3), feels (3), house (3), laura (3), instagram (3), shops (3), full (3), restaurants (3), let (3), sit (3), figured (3), basically (3), hot (3), despite (3), york (3), boston (3), waiting (3), line (3), train (3), arrive (3), seems (3), nearly (3), wound (3), until (3), involves (3), easy (3), told (3), card (3), seeing (3), plan (3), night (3), exact (3), bigger (3), realized (3), rent (3), seemed (3), side (3), location (3), stakes (3), live (3), challenges (3), major (3), buy (3), landlord (3), particular (3), others (3), bunch (3), fully (3), room (3), meant (3), former (3), fit (3), door (3), second (3), encounters (3), classes (3), possible (3), use (3), argument (3), expectations (3), idea (3), lingual (3), help (3), practice (3), oral (3), difference (3), exactly (3), non (3), phds (3), seriously (3), offers (3), subject (3), north (3), similar (3), issues (3), secondary (3), education (3), foreign (3), roughly (3), home (3), esl (3), feel (3), less (3), share (3), internet (3), employees (3), novel (3), worst (3), prove (3), car (3), amount (3), seem (3), turn (3), ability (3), notarized (3), document (3), remaining (3), customer (3), spot (3), whom (3), highly (3), stark (3), away (3), across (3), united (3), beginning (3), freedom (3), putin (3), background (3), normal (3), big (3), believe (3), multi (3), case (3), poor (3), maintain (3), dark (3), everyone (3), track (3), internationally (3), children (3), head (3), considerable (3), making (3), speaking (3), semester (3), search (3), grow (3), radically (3), hoping (3), cultural (3), conversations (3), afraid (3), readers (3), application (3), focus (3), understand (3), goals (3), prepare (3), situation (3), topics (3), covered (3), figure (3), themselves (3), happened (3), today (3), words (3), tourists (3), experienced (3), triumph (3), westerners (3), rights (3), crisis (3), zero (3), sum (3), aggression (3), design (2), website (2), required (2), subscribed (2), join (2), subscribers (2), commons (2), license (2), receive (2), notifications (2), subscription (2), cited (2), thus (2), speaks (2), images (2), austin (2), blogging (2), wrong (2), technology (2), tales (2), logical (2), fallacy (2), friday (2), grade (2), care (2), stop (2), giving (2), mothers (2), february (2), june (2), month (2), archives (2), older (2), straight (2), run (2), watch (2), muscovite (2), regard (2), file (2), setting (2), patient (2), cable (2), expect (2), immediately (2), weather (2), perfectly (2), fitness (2), walked (2), rude (2), game (2), footwear (2), brought (2), points (2), ambivalence (2), novelty (2), government (2), provides (2), lunch (2), workers (2), decent (2), bottom (2), fresh (2), fruit (2), ice (2), cafeteria (2), restaurant (2), chains (2), moo (2), stolovaya (2), eye (2), plus (2), muscovites (2), gorky (2), giant (2), pillows (2), afternoon (2), neighborhood (2), tree (2), love (2), none (2), shared (2), ashsquires (2), bean (2), speak (2), local (2), flag (2), pain (2), comfort (2), blini (2), kasha (2), similarly (2), taken (2), transportation (2), system (2), serves (2), subway (2), systems (2), somehow (2), stuck (2), packed (2), cannot (2), physically (2), onto (2), stations (2), stunning (2), stale (2), haven (2), close (2), hope (2), cell (2), using (2), doubt (2), calls (2), paid (2), count (2), table (2), extended (2), contract (2), keys (2), yet (2), per (2), security (2), difficult (2), weird (2), arriving (2), range (2), jump (2), late (2), landlady (2), gone (2), respond (2), emails (2), waited (2), wasn (2), else (2), tuesday (2), sell (2), text (2), except (2), real (2), fast (2), unusual (2), transaction (2), furnished (2), nice (2), widely (2), removed (2), box (2), rate (2), moved (2), ahead (2), items (2), included (2), large (2), seminar (2), crap (2), decide (2), frame (2), clock (2), knowing (2), along (2), consultant (2), observe (2), finally (2), reports (2), qualified (2), hold (2), otherwise (2), such (2), adopt (2), dramatically (2), roles (2), instructors (2), assigned (2), essay (2), genre (2), appears (2), must (2), taught (2), presentations (2), offering (2), varying (2), assignments (2), offer (2), presentation (2), call (2), communications (2), translation (2), written (2), communication (2), understanding (2), itself (2), indeed (2), humanities (2), adventure (2), attractive (2), discussing (2), naturally (2), reflect (2), trained (2), directive (2), provide (2), support (2), socratic (2), authoritarian (2), educational (2), models (2), start (2), wac (2), followed (2), economist (2), send (2), europe (2), business (2), elite (2), expected (2), 000000 (2), occasionally (2), rapidly (2), changing (2), produced (2), generation (2), lines (2), exciting (2), chance (2), guards (2), key (2), whose (2), wall (2), notice (2), crime (2), elsewhere (2), etc (2), provided (2), sits (2), character (2), needs (2), note (2), apparently (2), bullshit (2), complicated (2), break (2), allow (2), remember (2), belongings (2), power (2), officials (2), understood (2), standard (2), hostile (2), impact (2), white (2), counter (2), walk (2), considered (2), forever (2), surrounded (2), dramatic (2), decades (2), repeatedly (2), age (2), direction (2), eds (2), became (2), contrast (2), serving (2), mccain (2), degree (2), vpn (2), drink (2), fine (2), earth (2), bottled (2), electric (2), kettle (2), genuinely (2), term (2), year (2), invest (2), photos (2), smart (2), scan (2), seen (2), dictionary (2), splash (2), pants (2), grateful (2), insulated (2), path (2), tenure (2), cases (2), inconvenienced (2), deal (2), question (2), airports (2), likes (2), traditional (2), reliable (2), option (2), truth (2), parents (2), study (2), marketability (2), earlier (2), cover (2), among (2), costs (2), tesol (2), neither (2), rhetoric (2), happens (2), universities (2), drawbacks (2), largely (2), rector (2), against (2), interests (2), conditions (2), position (2), current (2), spouse (2), began (2), pick (2), engaged (2), enjoying (2), increasingly (2), workshop (2), handout (2), books (2), material (2), coherent (2), clearly (2), clichés (2), asks (2), choose (2), characteristics (2), tips (2), information (2), indicate (2), harvard (2), gaps (2), gre (2), committee (2), interested (2), successful (2), applicants (2), committees (2), overcome (2), physical (2), adversity (2), special (2), interest (2), following (2), future (2), numbers (2), various (2), sop (2), worked (2), lead (2), resulted (2), noir (2), nolan (2), section (2), rushdie (2), sources (2), california (2), confidential (2), impulse (2), centered (2), names (2), peers (2), session (2), total (2), determined (2), noticed (2), participation (2), complain (2), classmates (2), topic (2), opinions (2), swimmingly (2), dialogue (2), final (2), mundane (2), turns (2), tolerant (2), guides (2), ground (2), cuts (2), episodes (2), italian (2), encountering (2), limitations (2), travelling (2), basis (2), playing (2), months (2), cab (2), driver (2), types (2), facebook (2), anti (2), privilege (2), attempt (2), thinking (2), policy (2), acts (2), sochi (2), olympics (2), yes (2), members (2), unparalleled (2), courage (2), tumblr (2), skeptical (2), framing (2), wars (2), narrative (2), crimea (2), comparisons (2), iraq (2), television (2), young (2), military (2), kept (2), shots (2), actors (2), saying (2), ussr (2), falls (2), goes (2), loading, collapse, bar, manage, subscriptions, reader, report, privacy, 163, sfdrafts, gmail, licensed, attribution, noncommercial, unported, ladysquires, prof, hacker, tiger, beatdown, spake, zuska, tenured, radical, sociological, shapely, prose, praxis, notorious, michael, berube, historiann, fwd, forward, fugitivus, feministe, blogroll, related, news, meta, mad, men, criticism, tad, grammar, categories, goodreads, wells, introtoir, andy, atheists, joseph, 2012, select, 595, navigation, street, drivers, pedestrians, texans, hurry, involving, bureaucracy, lazy, incompetent, priorities, deadlines, pro, active, projector, micromanage, angry, answering, caribbean, lifestyle, coordinated, lululemon, outfit, status, clothes, arrested, development, mistake, wearing, flashing, neon, hasn, caught, rare, workday, impeccably, groomed, wears, flip, flops, running, shoes, nation, crocs, confiscate, dress, owned, communist, workplaces, cafeterias, vegetable, salad, бутерброд, сыром, cheese, cheap, canteen, chips, cream, reinvented, logo, cow, spots, telling, opposite, smiles, encouraged, circle, gregarious, introversion, syllable, stress, sounds, flat, harsh, generally, expressive, sprawling, ancient, kolomenskoye, spaces, cafes, concert, venues, skating, resistant, lounge, chairs, weekday, lined, boulevards, escape, cluster, beautiful, trees, sides, bedroom, definitely, serpukhovskaya, inside, neat, bookstore, seating, baristas, tons, hang, server, favorites, кофе, хаус, transliteration, quotidien, breakfast, carbs, crepes, filled, caviar, sold, porridge, grain, cereal, berries, mint, rainy, chicago, seattle, absolutely, crushes, passengers, nyc, london, combined, manages, incredibly, efficient, correct, upwards, sox, games, wedge, trains, crowded, rush, uncomfortable, bonus, visually, art, brezhnev, ordinary, urine, garbage, smell, permeate, transit, lovely, lively, garden, ring, miles, medical, atm, typing, sticking, slot, super, scrambled, alternatives, talked, boa, tried, declined, discover, wire, shitload, worse, financial, institutions, assure, legit, desperation, emailed, solutions, fix, transferring, 160, 000, rubles, gangster, solution, lease, temporary, arguably, light, appointment, horror, withdraw, equivalent, 900, 5000, deposit, perfect, price, newly, remodeled, convenient, europeans, shown, spur, higher, presents, estate, ludicrously, properties, landlords, tenants, quality, cleanliness, vary, renter, pays, agent, fee, handled, taste, decorated, ultra, include, ornate, persian, rugs, fussy, furniture, gaudy, wallpaper, carpet, walls, paces, geologic, gunfight, runaway, coach, careening, edge, canyon, vacated, director, occupying, behind, sometime, stored, occupants, hallway, bookcase, centimeter, tall, doorway, consultation, scheduled, commandeered, kicked, apart, tzu, shan, chang, taiwanese, impossible, peer, tutors, interns, professors, superficial, dumb, distinctions, distinguishing, role, article, differences, extend, beyond, mere, mechanics, circularity, pyramidal, freshman, incorrect, audiences, structure, tailor, therefore, universal, rules, culturally, linguistically, mediated, practices, starters, ours, assist, levels, proficiency, pronunciation, workshops, ourselves, literal, subtle, consulting, competencies, native, speaker, helps, linguistics, training, basic, morphology, gigantic, obvious, popular, worldwide, ought, exploring, continue, progresses, broad, forefront, begun, resembles, oriented, advocated, foundational, scholars, stephen, providing, integration, curriculum, encounter, misunderstanding, resistance, pedagogical, pronounced, deliberately, sought, carry, cambridge, mit, liberal, arts, importing, equipped, instruction, staffed, overseas, administrators, obviously, created, 1991, technocrat, israeli, george, soros, ideals, fundamentally, internationalist, designed, brightest, cis, nations, theory, fluent, acculturated, norms, west, elf, backwardness, litany, procedures, personnel, expired, tradition, earnest, pushkin, generations, tolstoy, frustrating, frightening, rich, dynamic, stability, samey, ness, boring, truthfulness, historical, dynamism, pursuit, breakneck, messiness, exists, incidentally, hook, handing, watches, videos, workplace, custom, dates, dostoevskiy, guard, fails, raskolnikov, murdering, punishment, lingering, puzzling, amusing, delightfully, structures, built, fallen, disrepair, lobbies, hallways, dilapidated, offices, renovated, inexpensive, entrance, woman, ostensible, passes, bothers, anymore, empty, visitor, notebook, pynchon, secret, kafkaesque, nightmare, merely, unlikely, attention, correctly, consequences, bureaucratic, nonsense, alive, appear, irrational, judging, step, essential, sale, texas, puts, unbelievable, complaint, corner, cope, humor, pray, besides, blood, sample, visa, simple, vice, versa, tax, requirement, assume, thumbs, forms, passport, verification, employer, employed, attorney, company, notary, passed, translator, signing, transactions, cashiers, irritated, attitude, currency, scarce, quibbles, court, mega, mall, vestiges, exist, statues, lenin, utilitarian, remnants, directly, everyday, absence, aggressive, presence, vacillate, overwhelming, enthusiasm, japanese, aloofness, french, grocery, store, chain, wear, crisp, uniforms, fruits, vegetables, weigh, checkout, gas, browse, selection, mugs, chances, cheerful, employee, seconds, grab, representative, finishing, watched, waitress, nod, smoke, waitstaff, tip, generous, routinely, ignore, socialize, stalin, viewed, window, typically, conjure, 90s, south, midwest, picture, 80s, shake, imagery, manichean, drama, defined, swiping, iphones, ads, audi, dealerships, reminds, cyrillic, stunned, toilet, paper, beset, inefficiency, corruption, stunningly, rapid, strides, progress, adopting, consumer, summer, mary, baker, eddy, goings, foil, rise, rivals, incarnation, tyranny, beacon, recently, condition, persists, ceiling, taganskaya, station, depicting, blue, vladimir, modernity, john, netflix, hma, hide, ass, tap, safe, googling, substances, cancer, repaving, parking, area, centrally, heated, boiler, brown, sediment, spooked, germaphobe, roll, eyes, panic, contamination, phobias, shock, filter, eco, anyway, brita, pitcher, lucky, hater, fanatics, gourmet, appliance, whereas, toasters, microwaves, bought, loud, crazy, sanctuary, investing, consecutive, mattress, pad, comforter, available, ikea, delivers, anywhere, nominal, charge, aspect, assimilation, semi, sheets, cooking, supplies, frames, psychologically, reinforce, bedding, mention, afford, asset, unlock, iphone, tutorial, asstons, uses, camera, pdf, page, scans, compression, scanners, bucks, turbo, searchable, pocket, lists, endings, verb, conjugations, brainer, oxford, drainage, streets, puddles, caring, understatement, ridiculously, fun, hems, heels, glad, sprung, liners, unfortunately, germany, shipped, rubber, wellington, boots, according, rainiest, since, keeping, records, temperatures, 40s, 50s, outerwear, aim, utility, looks, single, regret, gotten, color, waterproof, jacket, hood, benefit, planning, funtimes, survival, takeaway, glorious, 100, considering, alternative, stringing, adjunct, lectureship, advancement, gasp, shun, hassles, shipping, undertaking, grueling, effing, hassle, seeking, reach, steady, granted, uprooted, potentially, periods, siblings, wrap, doubts, grapple, caveats, warned, hurt, heard, anecdotal, replaced, discussed, marketable, expertise, openings, aware, articulate, interview, specifically, turnover, high, homesick, circumstances, schools, association, stimulation, hall, belarus, palestine, turkey, careers, interacting, americanness, default, nor, goal, brings, universe, hermetically, sealed, composition, studies, exchange, ideas, noise, import, european, asian, eastern

Text of the page (random words):
english they are excellent readers and solid writers the range of abilities is roughly equal to that of the american students i have taught but with different areas of difficulty students who didn t talk very much said that they had things they wanted to say but that it took so long for them to put a coherent sentence together in their head that inevitably a more proficient student would beat them to it or the discussion would wander away from the topic several said they wished they had more opportunities to prepare what they were going to say in class outside of their daily journaling and others said that they simply had a hard time understanding what was being said either by me or by their classmates if voices started overlapping or if we started speaking fast because we were especially engaged in that topic i had also noticed that my students seemed not completely comfortable with the kind of free flowing discussion i was trying to foster they still raised their hands to speak they felt like they needed to have perfectly formed thoughts in order to participate some of this is a cultural issue russian secondary education has a reputation for being pretty authoritarian but it was also clearly a confidence issue so i decided to try and maintain the discussion format while giving students more opportunities to engage in a more structured prepared way i started having them do quick presentations on the subjects of their papers two students per class session for a total of 10 15 minutes of class time and for each session i assign four student leaders who prepare topics and questions ahead of time for class discussion they are then broken down into four small groups which the student leaders guide through the subject matter they have prepared at the halfway point the groups have to produce some kind of deliverable a presentation to the rest of the class a visual map of the chapter a set of unresolved questions etc and what we do for the rest of class is determined by what they deliver after about a week of this i was doing very little in class aside from observing groups synthesizing their conversations and filling in gaps no more lecturing no more coming into the classroom with a pre determined agenda flipped classrooms are certainly not a new concept but it s something i deployed reluctantly for two reasons 1 i was afraid that they would not arrive at the discussion topics that i thought were most important this turned out to be unfounded largely because my students are well trained readers russian education is also highly literary a class with a much lower level of ability probably could not handle this level of freedom my students wound up covering almost precisely what i would have covered the leaders asked good questions and they weren t afraid to return to topics previously covered in order to figure out if peoples views had changed in cases where i thought they had missed or glossed over something i could use the second half of class to insist they delve into it deeper during one discussion of a middle section of salman rushdie s the satanic verses the groups were consistently noticing the fact that character names get re used but they didn t make anything of it other than huh that s weird so i had the group leaders go up to the blackboard and take direction from their peers in mapping the way names were used across storylines to figure out what was going on 2 my good student impulse sometimes supersedes my good teacher impulse what i mean by this is that i as a teacher at the beginning of her career frequently feel the need to prove my mastery of the content to my students when it s supposed to be the other way around thus class becomes a performance centered on the teacher rather than a collaboration facilitated by the teacher so what began as an exercise to give every student an opportunity to talk to lead and to prepare what they want to say each student leads twice has resulted in class sessions where i do almost no talking which is a kind of platonic ideal for some instructors and it s resulted in a situation in which my students have set the agenda for the remaining three weeks and i am taking my lead from them approaching la confidential i would have started by talking about noir genre tropes but these kids are already past that our last text was christopher nolan s the dark knight where they had plenty of opportunity to reflect on and discuss nolan s and the batman franchise s indebtedness to noir instead two of the three groups spent the majority of class time discussing immigration crime and racism in the novel s first section this makes sense coming off of rushdie earlier in the semester immigration and cities as cites of multi cultural interaction are already very much on our minds immigration is also a very raw political issue in moscow at the moment but it meant that instead of feeling the need to explain things they already understood i instead started putting together a list of sources to help fill in background knowledge on immigration from mexico to california in the 1950s in conclusion this is a classroom model that has worked well for the past several weeks and one that i would likely deploy again with necessary adjustments for students level of ability but if you have a class that is capable of setting a substantive agenda and independently performing good critical analysis then sometimes its just best to get out of their way image source leave a comment what matters in a statement of purpose december 3 2013 advice for student writers grad student resources the writing process uncategorized admissions applications graduate school handouts personal statement statement of purpose writing ashley squires i m seeing an awful lot of sop grad school flailing going on on my various social media platforms so here are some highlights from the workshop i ran for our students a couple of weeks ago along with the handout i distributed all materials are the property of the new economic school writing and communications center first a few statistics of all of the students who enter any kind of phd program in the united states only 50 actually finish cassuto in 2010 a study followed 583 students entering various university phd programs in economics beginning in 2002 after 8 years 59 had earned the phd 37 had dropped out and 4 were still writing their dissertations stock 176 of the 59 who finished 45 took 5 years the remaining 55 took 6 to 8 years what does this mean graduate school is a long term investment that requires considerable self discipline focus and internal motivation as well as intelligence even very very smart people do not finish indeed many finish their coursework only to stall at the dissertation stage admitting a phd student also represents a significant investment of resources in terms of stipend money and advising and mentorship the return graduate programs want from that investment is that you will finish and get a good job thereby boosting their completion and placement numbers and conferring additional prestige those who make admissions decisions for graduate programs are looking for evidence that you will do this which isn t always easy to tell from your grades and gre scores your personal statement is the document where you make the argument for why you will be a good investment demonstrating that you understand what advanced academic work in your field entails and that you have at least a general plan for getting through it that you have thought about your areas of interest and are able to describe the shape that your future research might take that you have done research on this specific program and understand how their specific strengths fit your goals that you have some idea of what you want to do with your degree even though that may be a decade in the future brainstorming start writing early your personal statement will likely go through many drafts before you are ready to submit it if a school asks you to answer specific questions be sure to do that it s crucial to show that you re individualizing your application for each school and that you have thought seriously about their questions and even with a specific set of questions you still must work to make your answers meaningful and unique ask yourself the following sets of questions as you brainstorm the field why do you want to be a _____ don t think about why other people may choose this profession why do you want that as your profession what are the benefits and drawbacks of the profession how and when did you learn about the field was it through a class reading work experience or a professor is that story important to your story what have you learned about it that has further stimulated your interest what particular path in the field interests you now what are your career goals the program why do you want to get into this program don t talk about economics programs in general but harvard s economics program or stanford s economics program maybe there s a particular professor with whom you want to work maybe the school offers excellent research opportunities or teaching experience to graduate students if you re not sure do more research about the school or talk with a professor or student yourself what s special unique distinctive and or impressive about you and your story are there details about your life that can help the committee understand you or that will make you stand out from other applicants have you had to overcome any unusual obstacles or hardships i e economic familial physical admissions committees are interested in unique personal narratives and evidence of having overcome adversity what personal skills or characteristics do you possess that would make you successful in the field how can you show admissions committees that you have those why might you be a stronger candidate for graduate school and or more successful in the field than other applicants what are the most important reasons the admissions committee should be interested in you does your academic record have gaps or discrepancies you need to explain i e excellent grades but poor gre what makes a poor personal statement isn t specific or unique relies on clichés i have always wanted to be an economist or i have always dreamed of attending harvard doesn t indicate that you ve researched the institution doesn t indicate your past work that serves as evidence of your potential as a student rambles or includes irrelevant information general tips tell a story show what you want to say through concrete experience rather than i have an adventurous spirit tell us about the service trip you went on with a group of strangers to india find an angle most people have normal stories so a focus that makes yours interesting be focused if the application asks you to answer specific questions answer them if there are no specific questions still maintain focus choose important qualities characteristics and write only about those be specific do not make claims you cannot back up with experience avoid clichés be coherent the way you write indicates the kind of person you are someone who writes clearly is likely a sensible person interpret material for your readers don t repeat the material in your application instead explain how those experiences relate to the program for which you re applying don t be afraid to be personal as long as it s appropriate tell what you know about the field or profession share what you ve already learned refer to experience work research classes conversations you ve had with people who work in the field books you ve read seminars you ve attended and then show why you re well suited to the profession research the school if the school s location provides a major geographical or cultural change consider writing about that if there is a word limit stay within it more including samples here personal statement workshop handout leave a comment why english and rhet comp graduate students should consider career choices abroad october 31 2013 job market the college graduate school experience travel uncategorized academia advice efl esl ewca faculty graduate school graduate students iwca job market job search mla research russia teaching tesol travel wac writing center writing pedagogy writing program ashley squires if you d told me a year ago that i d be able to walk here from my apartment i d have done something november starts tomorrow which means that job hunting season for new and expectant phds is about to really get going and i am having bad acid flashbacks of weekends spend queuing up interfolio dossiers and hoping i remembered to change the receiver s address on each cover letter i am hoping to stay put in my current job for a good while and not only because i m hoping to avoid crying in restaurants for a few years but because i can honestly say that i am enjoying my job really really enjoying it and even though it wasn t plan a and even though i wound up here through a bizarre series of coincidences and chance encounters i couldn t be more grateful that i ended up here rather than at one of the other places that offered me interviews but didn t offer me jobs now i certainly can t say that my experience is typical but it s enough for me to recommend that english and rhet comp students and all fields really facing increasingly dire prospects on the us market look at an international career as a viable option some reasons travel duh some of my current satisfaction has to do with location and the thrill of travel i made a pact with my spouse when i began my job search that and this is the exact wording we would not die in waco i m not going to go into all the reasons why but you can guess some of them cut to three years later and i am at interviewing for a position for a university in waco and i interviewed for two more jobs that were in places very much like waco but with different weather for many no doubt waco is a brighter prospect than moscow where the sun currently comes up around 8 45 am but a couple of weeks ago we walked from our 600 square foot apartment to red square on a chilly day in the rain and i was overwhelmed with disbelief that this is my actual life different isn t always better but when you ve felt yourself grow stale in a place going somewhere completely different feels like a rebirth you aren t better but just by virtue of changing your life so radically you lose a lot of bad habits and pick up a few new ones you find yourself challenged and engaged in ways that are completely unexpected and you learn a little bit about surrender working conditions speaking in more practical terms the set of conditions under which i m working are quite a bit better than what i could have expected in the us though this isn t a tenure track position it s a renewable contract with an institution that was willing to make a pretty considerable investment in getting me over here i am getting paid at near the top end of what assistant profs...