Writing about Spanish Community Service Learning


by Ann Abbott

Each week I look forward to getting my "Monday Motivator." It's the e-newsletter from Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Associate Professor of African American Studies and Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her website, http://www.newfacultysuccess.com/, is a great resource for anyone (even non-academics) who want to put their writing on the front burner, where it should be.

This week the challenge she sets forth in her newsletter is straightforward: write every day for 30-60 minutes.

I write that much or more most days, but I don't always write on the "right" project. For example, this blog is important to me and I do consider it a "publication" in a way. However, if we want to advance Spanish community service learning (CSL), we need more research-based articles on it. (Click here to see the bibliography I have collected so far, and leave a comment if you know of other books/articles that should be on the list.) Since I am in a non-tenure track position in which publishing is not truly part of my job description, my goal is to produce one scholarly article per year. So, while I am working on that, I need that to count for my 30-60 minutes of writing per day. Blogging, creating curricular materials, textbook writing, and other kinds of writing are all "extra" and need to be done after my 30-60 minutes of article writing.

I also need to limit my writing projects. Right now, for example, I am working on two book projects and external grant writing. Believe it or not, I originally wanted to squeeze in even more writing projects for this semester! (I always want to do more that I actually can do.) When I put it all down on paper, and then mapped it out on my Outlook calendar, I saw that just three writing projects was still stretching it. Now that I have those three projects mapped out on my calendar, my goal is to actually follow the map.
What are your writing goals for this semester? Will you be researching/writing about Spanish CSL? Oh, and I think that writing a comment on this blog counts for your 30-60 minutes of daily writing. :)

Comments

  1. Writing a Research PaperNovember 26, 2009 at 5:01 AM

    Many institutions limit access to their online information. Making this information available will be an asset to all.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vocabulary for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Image
I'm very happy that so many students responded to our community partner's need for help. Our students' language skills will help Central High School's Latino parents better communicate with the teachers during the parent-teacher conferences next week. Central's secretary will contact the students directly to schedule times with them. Here is some vocabulary help for students. Materias. School subjects are "materias" NOT "sujetos." You should remember subjects from your intro Spanish courses, but here are some reminders: historia, matemáticas, inglés, física, química, biología, educación física, etc. General vocabulary. Notas = grades; aprobar = to pass; suspender = to fail; conducta, comportamiento = behavior. Topics. Ms. Citraro offers the following advice: "The topics and vocabulary that would come up are about the subjects at school. For example: no ha entregado las tareas tiene que tomar el examen otra vez habla mucho en clase falta muc...
Read more

How to Correctly File Hispanic Names

Image
I know that community-based learning students don't like it when they are asked to file during their time in the community. However, their learning goals are to improve their Spanish and knowledge of Latino cultures. Filing information on clients with Hispanic names helps them with both. And imagine the impact of mis-filing for the organizations where our students work and and their clients. That's why I was unhappy to learn that many SPAN 232 students did not do well on their exam section asking them to put some Hispanic names in alphabetical order. I can imagine that some students feel that putting names into alphabetical order isn't important. It is! It is especially important in the organizations where they work because they are dealing with clients who may not have "accommodated" to the American system of using only one last name. And it is especially important for clients whose papers are so important for their legal status, medical information and oth...
Read more

Interview with Jessica Horn of ACCIÓN Chicago

Image
By Carolyn Kloecker , Span 232 student This past week I completed an assignment for my Business Communications class (SPCM 211) which was to interview someone in a field that I am interested in working for in the future. I asked her many questions about the organization, and lots of information can be found on their website www.accionchicago.org . This organization is a Community Partner with Spanish & Illinois, and has an extensive connection with the Spanish-speaking community in the Chicagoland area. Here are a few of the questions and answers from Jessica: Is ACCIÓN a fairly new organization? How did it begin? ACCIÓN Chicago started in 1994, but the parent organization, ACCIÓN was started in 1961. It is the largest micro-lending organization, and it began in Venezuela, and took root in the U.S. in 1991. How do loan officers communicate with clients? Mostly by phone, as people call in to the office to get a loan for their small business. The website is also a main form o...
Read more