Theresa's message inspired me to read the latest Inkshed, wherein I found
this quote towards the end of Russ' piece on plagiarism:
"It's often argued that people need "practice" and that that's what school
provides. Batting practice, fielder's choice practice, bunting and
pitching and baserunning practice -- and that school, by definition, can't
provide a real game. So school writing is always and invariably stuck in
the rhetorical situation I've been describing."
The phrase that stopped me was "school, by definition, can't provide a
real game." I know schools often do not provide real games, but "can't"?
I'm teaching a methods
course for secondary education teachers right now, and in the past
these students have developed unit plans that they used when they went on
to student teach at high schools. In the fall I had students writing grant
applications for social service agencies; in the past, some of these have
garnered real money, to the tune of $5000 and over $20,000 in one case. Is
this practice or a game (pre-season even)? Or does the distinction really
rest with each student--they decide how seriously to take it, how real it
is going to be for them?
Roger Graves
Associate Professor
Department of English, DePaul University
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