Wednesday Word: We Need High School Newspapers

I’ll admit – I am guilty of being an avid Yahoo news reader on my free time. Hey – maybe I’m just keeping up with what everyone else is thinking in popular society, and they do come up with some catchy articles. However, a lot of the material on Yahoo and other popular media tend to spoon feed information in a way where the reader doesn’t get to formulate an opinion. The ideas are simplified and there’s no room for wiggle, which may be why it’s popular news and wide-read; it’s easy to understand and you don’t have to think. No, no one seems to have time anymore to sit down and read critically. We just want to know the facts and fast. So I’ll cut to the chase.

1) We find out about the world through social media nowadays.

“Facebook is the new way of finding out what happened. Nobody wants to actually sit down and read a whole article about it,” which makes a “whole article” sound a little like a long sentence in solitary confinement.

2) We agree too easily, maybe because we’re learning about “the news” from friends or idols, and we trust them and believe they are right.

“Facebook posts and Tweets have become the means by which politicians, celebrities, citizens — and reporters, for that matter — can confirm, deny, pass on stories and register opinion without the press challenging, probing, pre-supposing, slowing or straining the message.”

3) We forget the existence of newspapers. As our time on the internet and social mediums increases, the demand for journalism or news writing has decreased significantly.

“But truly good journalism is a craft, not just a blog post. It requires not only seeing something close-up, but also reporting it with perspective. It uses an eye for detail to help illuminate a larger view. And even journalism that conveys an opinion strives to be fair. If school newspapers begin to disappear, I hope there are other ways for students to learn that.”

From the above quotation, I’d like to emphasize that “journalism is a craft.” There’s not only time, thought, and dedication printed onto paper, but critical minds are forming at a young age. Even if the readership for high school newspapers may be low or people may not see the significance of such a paper, the need is crucial for students who can question the news and critically think about what is happening in the world today. These high school students are the future – the next generation – and if we want real positive change to happen, then we’ve got to stay informed. We have to support the growth and development of young minds, and sustaining a high school newspaper is one of the best ways to project the students’ voices and challenge them to bring the change.

For more on this NPR article, click here.

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Post submitted by: Christina Trieu.

Limitless

*NOTE: For more information about the reading and prompt that inspired this essay, please click here.

I would never typically attribute the label “creative” to myself. I am not bitter because I do not think I am capable of singing a song, am unable to produce a single note with any instrument, and even cannot create a piece of artwork as unregulated as a doodle. I accept that my spectrum of identity labels may be long, dense, or interesting, but creativity does not necessarily make the cut. I do not fault myself for this inadequacy, but rather embrace the notion that I have been gifted with so many other features that when amalgamated make up the person who I am today, an advocate, a quiet leader, and a listener.

But maybe this train of thought is flawed.

It is possible that an entity like the school system stifled my inherent sense of creativity. Or furthermore, devalued any creative skills I may have possessed in favor of cultivating my tendency towards writing, my ability to remember facts almost photographically, or my analytical capabilities. I find myself questioning whether I am inherently “un”-creative or whether that creativity was stripped of me by a strong societal influence to elevate tangible skills to support my future endeavors over abstract creativity.

I am often troubled by the notion that our education system is very future-centric. To divulge; every class taken, assignment completed, relationship formed with a teacher, extracurricular activity committed to, is undertaken with the pressure of college floating in the background. A high school experience is no longer that. It is rather a college preparatory experience where we are encouraged to devote our energy and decisions to bettering one’s resume and creating the foundations for a recommendation letter. In doing so, we, the education system, the society in which we are raised, our teachers, our parents, and ultimately ourselves, neglect the vibrant possibilities of today in order to calculate our futures.

Goals are necessary. I would go one step further to say that planning (yes for the future) is also inevitable and encouraged. However, creativity should be included in our decisions to ensure that we do embrace the present moment of each and every day. On a basic level, that is what the education system strips of its participants. As products of a future-centric education system, we are lacking the confidence to include creativity in our decisions today.

Whether that sense of creativity manifests itself as your tendency to start and encourage spontaneous dance parties or simply to think beyond the boundaries the classroom inspires us to stay confined to, permission for creativity to enter the thought process has been denied by our concern for the future. The multiplicity of creative output is unparalleled, it is unpredictable, and is widely immeasurable. I strive for the confidence to be creative in my daily decisions. For me, letting my decisions reflect my creative, out of the box thoughts that are most often suppressed, translates itself into creative action. In a standardized world of education, we can only hope to push our boundaries and internalize the notion that creative decisions are limitless. Human beings, when permitted, can be the ultimate manifestation of a world without limits. Together, let’s strive to be limitless.

Post Submitted by Ashton 

WSP Staff Explore the Importance of Creativity in Education

Hello our amazing readers!

What does creativity mean to you? Do you feel that it’s important to foster creativity in children’s lives? In Sir Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk, “Schools Kill Creativity,” he explains that school curriculum is structured based on a hierarchy that either places the arts at the bottom or cuts them completely from public schools. He emphasizes the importance of fostering and encouraging creativity in schools, and challenges his audience to promote change in order to provide a better future for our children.

This week the Writing Success Program staff asked and explored these questions after watching Sir Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk. They used the following questions to guide their response and thoughts for this reflection:

• What is your opinion of your own educational experience in creativity?
• Do you feel that your own creativity was fostered and encouraged?
• What is your definition of creativity?
• Do you think that creativity is needed?
• Describe how creativity has hindered or encouraged you to become the person you are today.
• What do you think needs to happen and/or change for creativity to be fostered and developed in education/life?

We challenge our readers to also consider these questions and to explore what it means to be creative. Here at WSP, we strive to cultivate confidence and student voice through writing, and we hope that our readers will also challenge themselves to think critically of their own experiences. Enjoy!

Post Submitted by Lauren

Wednesday Word: The University Writing Disparity

UCLA student, Alexandra Tashman, recently published an article in the Daily Bruin in the hopes of encouraging a shift in UCLA policy to reflect what she believes are insufficient writing standards within the General Education (GE) curriculum here at UCLA. Her article entitled, “UCLA should enforce upper-division requirement to improve students’ writing skills”, argues that the lack of emphasis on writing has resulted in the inadequate writing skills of many of our graduates.

Tashman asserts that, “our general education curriculum should include an upper-division writing requirement to ensure every Bruin leaves campus with a writing proficiency applicable to their future discipline”. Although UCLA’s writing requirements have been progressing, “there is still room for growth”. She suggests that all future career paths, no matter what field, would benefit from an upper division writing course offered by the department and tailored to the needs of the students graduating in that specific field.

The ability to observe the world through an analytical lens and clearly express one’s self through the medium of writing is under-appreciated in our society. Writing capabilities have practical implications for all graduates, whether north or south campus, for personal statements, resume writing, and even research or grant proposals. Tashman notes that, “good writing is a multidisciplinary advantage. True, English students should and must write more than engineers, but writing skills are essential for strengthening argumentation and organization.”

Tashman strikes up an important conversation about what we as students hope to take away from our experience at UCLA and what the greater society expects of a college graduate, especially coming from such a prestigious university. In theory, GE requirements intend to shape UCLA graduates into holistic learners, capable of understanding and addressing issues outside of their field of study. Should writing then be an expectation of a graduated holistic learner or would it merely become another requirement to fill?

As a writing counselor I have come to understand the underlying anxieties associated with writing a paper to meet a deadline or answering a prompt that contains various subliminal questions. An upper division writing requirement should be tailored in such a way that it demonstrates to students the power and possibilities of writing as a tool of empowerment. Beyond the necessity for communicative and analytical skills, uncovering the personal prowess of writing will do a superior job of creating holistic learners and will better prepare graduates to write an honest personal statement for graduate school, internships and job applications. With this in mind, shifting the focus of the potential writing requirement from a dreaded deadline to a powerful form of self expression, will better achieve the goals and aspirations we have for ourselves as college writers and future members of the workforce.

Post Submitted by: Ashton Rosin 

The Writing on the Walls of the Closet with the Skeletons

*NOTE: For more information on the readings and prompt that inspired this essay, please click here.

Brushing lightly at layers of dust on long forgotten photographs and looking at letters that have piled up in old shoe boxes and locked drawers, I remember. Memories that I can recall are ones that I wish to forget, ones I wish I could replace with happier ones of how my life is now without them. Bell hooks, in her text Remembered Rapture, recounts the darkness of her past, and the anguish that the power of writing helped to relieve.

“Writing, and the hope of writing pulls me back from the edges of despair. I believe insanity and despair are at times one and the same. And I hear the voices of my past telling me that I will go crazy, that I will end up in a mental institution–alone… Writing eases the anguish. It is my connection. Through it and with it I transcend despair.”

Reading these words connected me instantly, and intimately to hooks. My past, one littered with dirty and untouchable experiences–homelessness, abuse, heartbreak, and my own near death–has been and always will be one more easily accepted in the form of written word.

It is not easy to remember the cold feeling of metal against my jaw. It is not easy to remember a paternal voice telling me Exactly how I should die. I want to forget the icy fingertips that traced fresh wounds, want to erase the frightening days and the believable lies. At times I want to scratch away at the scars until I can’t see them or at least find a way of making myself forget everything.

But my present, filled with positivity and brightness, stemmed from this negativity. I found my escape in the power of words, and the words that brought me to the present are a testament of just how much there is to hope for in the future.

“There is light in darkness, you just have to find it.”

PART 2

Discovering oneself, determining true identity, is easily one of the most difficult tasks in this life. Realizing who you truly are at the core of your being is one of the purest forms of honesty that can ever be experienced. In Cherrie Moraga’s text Loving in the War Years, Moraga recounts personal struggles related to race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and  gender. She ultimately reveals how her struggles led her to come to terms with who she really is.

She states “The real battle with such oppression, for all of us, begins under the skin.” No matter what the specific trials and tribulations a person goes through on the road to self discovery, there is always a starting point that deals with an inner perception of oneself; the emotions we truly feel in regards to the different aspects that make up our person. Negative stereotypes, difficult experiences, and fear of not being accepted by society are all things that can cause us to repress true parts of ourselves. This is something that we need to realize, and fight to avoid.

What is my identity? I am a perfectionist by nature, a hopeless romantic, and an excitingly adventurous soul. I don’t always have everything put together, and honestly I am probably the messiest neat freak you will ever meet. I am a lover of knowledge, and a lover of people. My race, half Egyptian, half Caucasian, is something I am proud of and says much about where I come from. As I grow and learn, I realize more about myself each and every day. My true self, as I have discovered thus far, is a person I am content with.

Post submitted by Ashley

Words to Action: Defying Social Norms

*NOTE: For more information on the readings and prompt that inspired this essay, please click here.

Writing out your thoughts can be healing, empowering, and transcendental. In Remembered Rapture, bell hooks discusses the power of reflective writing, revealing that “only in fully knowing the wound could I discover ways to attend to it. Writing was a way of knowing.” I like this quotation because it describes the first step to recovery; if I don’t know where I’m afflicted  and to what extent, then I cannot properly address the issue at hand; I cannot possibly treat it with justice. Reflective writing allows one to make connections and reflect on the here and now; it can be therapeutic, helping release the tension of the fists and gritted teeth, soothing the shattered lashes, those in grief.

Writing is a way for me concretize my reflections. By piecing it together on paper, I reach a self-taught lesson. Writing allows me to say what I feel, explicitly or implicitly, and I never have to hold back. Empowered with my pencil, I write out the thoughts I’ve collected throughout the day and then try to make sense of them. By writing reflectively, I am not only analyzing others and their social interactions, I am also analyzing my own actions and reactions. How do I respond to certain situations, and why do I choose to go about it this way instead of another? Could I have handled the situation better? How? Through reflective writing, I discover my strengths, my passion, and also my inabilities, my inaction. I gain a sense of self-awareness, an ability to track my personal growth – where I stand, my need for improvement, and what progress I’ve made. Reflective writing requires integrity, to be honest with yourself and to challenge yourself to be uncomfortable at times. This type of writing is a way of knowing our true selves instead of having to always put up a front. I am not writing an essay or a fiction; I am writing what I know, and I am writing for myself. Whatever we write can remain personal or private, and the day we choose to share a bit of our writing is the day we grow another inch.

I am able to grow as a person because I realize through reflective writing that I have internalized a few social norms that influence the way I see myself and others. In Loving in the War Years, Cherrie Moraga claims that “the real battle with such oppression, for all of us, begins under the skin.” I find this passage powerful because we often do not associate oppression with what we internalize—stereotypes or doubts about ourselves that we believe and thus unknowingly accept. As a woman, I know I deal with gender stereotypes all the time, especially since I started B-Girling, a sport also known as break dancing. Not that many girls break dance, and those who do rarely attempt power moves because girls are viewed as weak. Perhaps they do not push themselves because they begin to doubt themselves after repeatedly hearing and witnessing that men are stronger. However, as women we are a lot stronger than we or they think; it’s all a matter of mentality and how deeply we believe and how much we push ourselves past societal limitations. Sometimes I find myself thinking I’m not as strong. Yet, through reflective writing, I uncover the root of my doubt and begin to take action to resist how others define me and to actively define myself through effort and persistence. Though progress seems slow and doesn’t always show immediately, I can still track my progress, which keeps me motivated to continue stretching myself and the limits of social norms.

Post submitted by Christina

Daily Word: Expatiate

Expatiate

Pronunciation: [ik-spey-shee-eyt]

verb (used without object)

1. to enlarge in discourse or writing; be copious in description or discussion: to expatiate
upon a theme.

2. Archaic . to move or wander about intellectually, imaginatively, etc., without restraint.

The lesson overran by forty minutes as the lecturer expatiated on his subject too enthusiastically.

Thursday Take-Off: What’s your relationship to writing?

Are you two the late-in-the-night can’t-sleep-without-writing-in-my-journal type? Is it a  casual relationship where you write whenever you please? Or, is it strictly a professional relationship, where you only approach each other for school business?

Whatever your relationship to writing, the more important question is: In what ways do you utilize the writing process in your life? Is it only during school that you even think about writing, or is it something personal to you?

Reflect on the role of writing in your life, and share your thoughts!

Post submitted by: Miqi Cos

Lee’s Notes for the Future

Dear future staff member,

Congratulations on entering into an experience that will very much leave a remarkable impression on your college career. Over this year, I have developed an incredible amount, in more trivial ways (better time management and communications skills) to ways that touch upon one’s cores (the real way in which writing facilitates empowerment and serves to liberate the individual). You are entering into one of the best positions within CPO to make a difference on students’ lives — a position removed from sectarian restraints and much of the drama student leaders sometimes become embroiled in. You are giving students the potential to think through complicated skeins of issues, to enunciate that thought process, and to articulate their views.

While this is a paid job, it is therefore also a form of cultural activism. My advise is to never forget this. In a campus, in a society, where fractionation between races, religions, and sexualities creates what playwright Tony Kushner has called “the melting pot that never melted,” voice — the basic, individual unit of narrative — can allow us, as DuBois put it, “across the color line,” to dissolve division. Take this to heart. Live it out. Be involved in the rest of SRC and CPO. Be vocal. Make connections & cross bridges. These words I leave unto you.

Warm regards,

Lee Jasperse

Monday Money: — / : / ,

We often get questions from students about the difference between dashes, colons, and commas.  Although each has its own distinct place, they all have a decent amount of overlap, and your usage choice can alter the flow and tone of your sentence.  Thus, grammar, rather than being purely technical, can be creative and expressive.  Syntax matters in so many ways.

Check out this cool guide to dashes, colons, and commas for an analysis of the implications of each’s usage!

Posted by Lee.

Monday Money: 34 Writing Tips to Make You Write Better

Here‘s a great resource for improving your writing skills, including 34 tips on how to improve your writing, which vary from theoretical to very technical.  Check them out!

Posted by Lee.

Monday Money: Don’t Let Other People’s Opinions Discourage You

Working at WSP, I encounter a lot of students who are discouraged and think that they are the worst writers in the world because their TA, professor, or friend gave them feedback on their papers that wasn’t exactly constructive. But I’m here to tell you that large doses of criticism (whether constructive or no) should always be taken with a grain of salt when it comes to essay writing.

Everybody has their own opinions about how an essay should be written, what you should and should not include,  and how you should organize your paper.  The opinions are always going to vary.  While it is good to seek out feedback on your papers in order to improve, don’t rely on everybody else for input.  Consider others’ feedback, but don’t overwhelm yourself with it.

Most of the time, TAs and professors want to help you and challenge you; they aren’t intending on discouraging you. However, if the way that they give you feedback overwhelms you, or it seems like they are being overly-critical, don’t let it get to your head.

BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING ABILITIES, AND KNOW THAT YOU ARE MORE THAN CAPABLE OF WRITING A POWERFUL ESSAY!
Post submitted by Casey O’Neill

Monday Money: Be Creatively Inspired

Dread is seemingly a natural emotion when it comes to essay writing — but it’s not inevitable.  The best essays are those which you’re actually excited to write, where you feel that what you’re saying has merit and is original.  But how do you summon the muses when they aren’t already gracing your presence?  This is an eternal question in art.

The Guardian has a list of general and specific things that established artists use to promote creativity.  Try doing some of these before you start writing!

Click here for the list.

Post by Lee.

Monday Money: Make Use of Your Weekly/Monthly Planners!

Welcome back readers! I hope you had a restful, enjoyable Winter Break and that your transition into Winter Quarter is smooth.

This quarter (in my experience) is the quarter that goes fastest. Since there is no Zero Week, we have to jump into the quarter ready to go, no transition.  That’s why it’s important to have a Plan of Action.  Thus, that’s why I suggest making use of a weekly or monthly planner.

First, weekly planners help students stay organized.  When a student is organized in all (or most) aspects of his/her college career, that makes it a lot easier to be organized when it comes to writing. If you write down when all of your assignments are due, when you have extra-curricular time commitments, when you have doctor’s appointments, etc., you are making the habit of keeping yourself accountable and staying on top of your work.

Same goes with writing. If we are organized, it is easier to tackle an essay, report, assignment, personal statement–you name it! Planning ahead, outlining, brainstorming, and even using weekly planners are just simple steps to stay organized. Start practicing today

Post submitted by Casey O’Neill

Monday Money: Consider Word Origins

When analyzing a text, word choice/diction is always an important consideration for understanding the author’s intentions and meanings.  Authors will often play off of one word’s many meanings.  Although we often believe we know all that is denoted by a specific word, this is rarely the case.  Second, third, or fourth meanings can be hidden in the word’s etymology — or origins.  For example, take the word happiness, which we think of as meaning ‘feeling pleasure or contentedness.’  However, a more specific meaning emerges when we examine the word’s etymology. ‘Happiness’ derives from ‘happy,’ which derives from ‘hap,’ which derives from the Old Norse meaning ‘fortune’ and ‘luck.’ Thus, happiness more precisely relates to the condition of pleasure resulting from happenstance, chance, and fortune.

Such considerations will help you understand an author’s meaning/wordplay better, as well as develop a more precise style of writing.  When you write, try to consider the exact/additional meanings of words that you use.  Is there a word that better fits the topic about which you are writing?  Can you use diction to reflect your theme, or create wordplay?  This is what transforms essay writing into an art.

Posted by Lee.

Monday Money: Write Out Loud!

Have you ever stared in mutual awe and confusion at a long, eloquent, and wordy sentence in the middle of your reading? Have you ever wondered how such beautiful and intelligent words put together can make absolutely no sense? During the writing process, it is easy to busy ourselves with writing as fast as possible that we neglect reading the finished product. Compare it to the way we cook our food: Would you cook and serve something you have never even tasted?

When writing papers, it is always important to remember your purpose. Remind yourself that you are writing something that someone else will read. Make sure that each sentence flows, that every word makes sense, and that your idea is conveyed the way you would want it to by writing out loud.

Read each sentence aloud as you finish writing it. It’s the best and easiest way to proofread any essay. You will avoid writing in bulk and proofreading in bulk. Remember that writing is a process, a work in progress–not a means to an end.

Write papers in the same way that you would read them: out loud.

Post by: Miqi Cos

Spring Qtr Workshop Series: Writing & Publishing in the Digital Age!!

De-Stresser Tip: Self-Reflection

The following is an activity that I thought of in order to alleviate stress.  We tried it out here at WSP, and it was effective for me Hopefully it works for y’all:

Write a letter to yourself that reminisces on a memory you have of the past,  a happy, cheerful memory (Going to Disneyland, your first memorable Christmas, graduation, whatever).  Think back on that memory and describe the emotions that you felt.  Next, briefly describe the way you feel now (assuming that you’re stressed, talk about why you’re stressed, emotions, etc.) Lastly, write down your goals for returning back to that state of happiness, how you plan to de-stress.  Sign it, seal it, and open it up after you’re done being stressed to see if it worked

Post submitted by Casey O’Neill