Shame On You

As some readers are already aware, this blog was selected as a subject for analysis by a writing class at a southern university. I had not planned to acknowledge the class project in the content of my writing here, but I feel it appropriate to address it today.

I read the initial pieces that the students wrote about my blog and the other blogs that they reviewed, and with the permission of the instructor, commented on some of them. I tried to be at least polite and constructive in my comments. These young people are students, working on improving themselves and their lot in life, and they deserve no less.

I was saddened to see today that several of the students' blogs had quite nasty comments from others who have found them. Those of you who left those comments should be ashamed. Did you seriously think that it would be productive for you to ridicule these young people? What exactly were you thinking?

And for the students, who as far as I know are still reading this blog, at least based on Sitemeter's statistics, don't let the bastards grind you down.

Comments

[Mithras]

Those of you who left those comments should be ashamed. Did you seriously think that it would be productive for you to ridicule these young people?

I assume they were not left by regular Fair Shot readers, but by those who otherwise found the students' blogs. Is that right?

[paperwight]

That is my hope, but I'm linked (more than once) on the main class blog from which one finds the student blogs, so I have to assume that I'm getting some non-student traffic from there, particularly given the Sitemeter traces.

[G. D. Frogsdong]

Baby, it's a wild world. If you blog, especially if you blog on politics these days, you may find yourself with some very nasty remarks indeed. I am hopeful that the students to whom you refer are old enough and savvy enough to know that it is part of the territory, so you have to have a thick enough skin to take it. If not, take it from me, it can get pretty ugly when you talk politics. Or frogs (although frogs are actually awfully damned cute). If you find it too upsetting to get the nasty comments, you have to find a way to cope, even if it means leaving, because the nasty comments come are going to be there when you run an open forum.

I know it is considered poor form or something, but I delete any comments that are nasty and have no real argument to them. If someone does it twice, I ban them from the blog. I find it is the best solution to maintaining some bottom line of civility. Nastiness prevents discourse from bein reasoned.

[paperwight]

They are 18 or 19, mostly, and this was part of a class project that found its way into the world. And the comments had nothing to do with their politics.

[Karl Fornes]

Okeedokee. As the instructor in question, I have to come out of hiding/lurking eh?

I was out of town over the weekend and had no idea what was going on. Ouch!

I will admit to some shock this morning when I read some of the comments. As we discussed the situation as a class, though, I'm pretty excited. I suspect the students will remember some of those comments long after they have forgotten anything I have said. Heck! They've learned that writing isn't done in a vacuum, as is too often the case in the classroom.

Then again, the students are free to delete or turn off comments whenever they want. I hope they don't, and, in fact, one student turned her comments back on after our discussion this morning.

FWIW, I think most of the comments came from readers of Poor Man. They came not long after he mentioned that the students were completing the assignment.

[paperwight]

Well, I'm glad there's no harm done. I didn't link to you simply because it didn't seem appropriate, not because I thought it was a secret or anything.

[Shaula]

First Abby and I fighting over you, paperwight, and now this! How will we ever live with you now... ;)

Seriously, my hat goes off to Professor Fornes. What a tremendous way to teach students composition, critical thinking, analysis--in a way that also makes students familiar with the tools of the day. Too, too brilliant. (My husband, who is from South Carolina, is also pleased to see someone broadening students' horizons in Aiken!)

I am working with a group of high school and college students in Virginia, and I have been encouraging them to blog (http://c101.blogspot.com)...with slow, but gradual success. I should be sleeping right now, but later in the week I'll write up something about Prof. Fornes' class in the hopes that it inspires my students--I'm confident it will.

Incidentally, Karl, I had a similar experience with my group last spring. I was working with an organizing committee of high school students to put on a grassroots campaign training for high school and college students in Virginia. A month before the workshop was scheduled to take place--the PAC that we had parterned with pulled out and stranded the kids (along with our fundraising, website, contacts, facilities contract...it was a disaster). I was very worried about how the students would react to the adversity, and I didn't want the negative experience to alienate them from grassroots politics. Instead, they all rallied, and decided that we should proceed solo without the partner...and by working together around the clock, brainstorming up some really innovative solutions, plus the generosity of some truly amazing political people in DC and Virginia, we managed to pull it off. I think the students learned more and had a greater sense of accomplishment due to the setback than if the project had proceeded on the original plan. I'm *very* happy to hear that you've guided your students likewise to seeing the positive in their blogging experience.

I've taken a look through a few of the student blogs tonight, and I am impressed. I'll be wandering over again when I have more time to add some (civil, supportive) comments to the blogs. How did you come to choose paperwight's blog for the exercise?

And I'm with G.D.: I don't tolerate rude behavior in my own blog visitors (or my threads on C101 or BOP any more than I would if the people were standing in my place of business or my grandmother's living room. I am very happy to judiciously wield my Delete and Ban options.

Again, kudos, and warmest wishes on the project.

[Karl]

Thanks for the kind words.

I'm always a little baffled by the "we-coddle-the-kids" argument we hear a lot these days. I s'pose I shouldn't be; the same argument has been going on for generations. Of course, I walked ten miles uphill, into the wind (both ways), in five-foot snow with plastic bread bags for shoes just for the opportunity to get to a school with dusty chalk, no computers, and teachers who would beat you like a dirty rug for looking at them the wrong way.

I chose Paperwight and Poorman for the analysis assignment after a quick perusal of blogs (from BOP if memory serves). I look for one-person, politically-oriented blogs so that students can look specifically at the bloggers ethos. Otherwise, I don't look at the blogs too closely when I choose them and try to avoid reading them in too much depth as the students are working on the assignment. That way, the students are forced to accurately describe where their reader (me) can find the examples they chose to support the claims they make in their paper. That's the theory, anyway. I'm not too worried about the political orientation of the blogs because the students are asked to analyze how the blogger presents the argument rather than the content of the argument. Just in case, I allow students to choose another blog if they want.