If you are interested in (writing) composition theory and pedagogy...

[Amoret]

I just finished a book that I think you might like.

As a long-time lurker, but rare poster, I have benefited tremendously from so much of the advice and insight offered here so freely. I have particularly enjoyed the conversations about teaching writing at all levels as my own kids have progressed through them. I taught college composition for many years, but I was really a literature teacher/scholar and never really had the time and energy to dig into pedagogical theories/best practices for teaching composition. As a homeschooler, I have been able to do that and have enjoyed it quite a bit. I know that John Bean's Engaging Ideas has been highly recommended several times here, and for good reason, but if anyone is interested in another book to add to your shelves that likewise delves into pedagogical practices for teaching writing and offers concrete, practical advice, you might check out Nicole Wallack's Crafting Presence. It focuses on the essay form, not the academic/school/5-paragraph essay, but rather the creative nonfiction essay that grew out of Montaigne's work and that you see frequently in periodicals and online. It is denser and more academic than Bean's book, but still accessible and highly relevant for homeschoolers who like to think about the larger issues and implications surrounding the teaching of writing.

I think it was @lewelma who has written about using periodicals like National Geographic and Scientific American to teach composition to her sons -- this book provides a theoretical framework for working with these types of texts and advice for how to use them. I'm still finalizing my plans for next year, but we (DS15 and DD13) have been talking about using one of the volumes of The Best American Essays as our spine and delving into the essay form. I am excited about this project -- I have extensive experience writing and teaching the academic essay, but writing in this way would be new to me, too, and it's something we can all work on together.

Incidentally, does anyone know of an anthology of well-known essays that presents a historical overview of the genre and traces its development over time? I have a bunch of Norton Anthologies and similar books, so I am sure I could pull something together, but it would be easier if I could find that piece already done for me.

Edited March 5, 2023 by Amoret

[Porridge]

@Amoret you could try this anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Personal-Essay-Anthology-Classical/dp/038542339X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=17BAI2K5L8L0X&keywords=essays+anthology&qid=1681677546&sprefix=essays+antholog%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-1

We've been working through Writing With Skill, and I think it helps prepare a student for putting together the types of essays you might find in an anthology like "Best American Science Writing." I appreciate your suggestion for Crafting Presence, and will check it out! How do you plan to use it?

 

[serendipitous journey]

Oooh, what a delicious question!  and: thank you for pointers to the resources you mentioned.  I'm hotlinking them here to make it easier for other folks: John Bean's Engaging Ideas (2nd ed.), Nicole Wallack's Crafting Presence, and Best American Essays (that's the most current collection, these come out annually).

Prompted by your post I found two resources that are intriguing.  At least to me.

1. John D'Agata's Lost Origins of the Essay -- okay, I'm sort of giddy that the first chapter's essay is from 1500 BCE: Ennatum of Akkad's "Dialogue of Pessimism."  Wow.  I want to build next year's writing around spines that include this.
2. Roundtable: The History of the Essay.  Free on JSTOR if you register: the transcript of a roundtable on this topic.  It looks just as annoying to read and as discursive as transcripts usually are, but I like eavesdropping on academics generally so I'm thinking of giving it a more thorough go-over.

[Amoret]

On 4/16/2023 at 3:44 PM, Porridge said:

you could try this anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Personal-Essay-Anthology-Classical/dp/038542339X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=17BAI2K5L8L0X&keywords=essays+anthology&qid=1681677546&sprefix=essays+antholog%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-1

Thank you for the suggestion -- I just requested it from the library and will probably try to find a used copy. I found some very inexpensive copies of some of the Best American Essays from previous years and a couple of others -- I will have plenty of material to choose among, but this looks like a great addition because it includes earlier texts than I have right now.

I have found the Crafting Presence book to be useful first to justify the study of literary nonfiction (not that I needed a justification, but she makes a solid case for it) and as a guide for discussing the essays. The central chapters focus on how she approaches them with her composition students both in terms of the content and in applicability to their own writing. When I was teaching freshman comp, I found that to be a difficult thing to navigate -- we could use student essays that were problematic in various ways and critique them collectively or we could use professional essays that were beyond the scope of their abilities. The student essays were accessible, but not always very helpful, and the professional ones provided great models, but were intimidating.

 

On 4/16/2023 at 5:14 PM, serendipitous journey said:

Oooh, what a delicious question!  and: thank you for pointers to the resources you mentioned.  I'm hotlinking them here to make it easier for other folks: John Bean's Engaging Ideas (2nd ed.), Nicole Wallack's Crafting Presence, and Best American Essays (that's the most current collection, these come out annually).

Prompted by your post I found two resources that are intriguing.  At least to me.

1. John D'Agata's Lost Origins of the Essay -- okay, I'm sort of giddy that the first chapter's essay is from 1500 BCE: Ennatum of Akkad's "Dialogue of Pessimism."  Wow.  I want to build next year's writing around spines that include this.
2. Roundtable: The History of the Essay.  Free on JSTOR if you register: the transcript of a roundtable on this topic.  It looks just as annoying to read and as discursive as transcripts usually are, but I like eavesdropping on academics generally so I'm thinking of giving it a more thorough go-over.

Thank you! I'll check these out too -- I just love this part of the planning process -- I always learn so much and discover such interesting things. I just requested the Lost Origins of the Essay from interlibrary loan because I, too, am intrigued by a "Dialogue of Pessimism"