The Well-Turned Word

Newsletter of the NC Conference of English Instructors
Carol Marion, Guilford Technical CC - Editor
E-mail: camarion@gtcc.edu

Turning New Pages
October 31, 2008
Volume 26, Number 1

Join These!

·  CEI: Annual dues: $15, full-time faculty; free, part-time faculty. To join, complete and mail the application form.

·  TYCA-Southeast: Annual dues: $25, full-time faculty; $10, adjunct faculty. To join, complete and mail the application form.

·  NC Faculty Association: If any group can succeed in pushing toward higher salaries for us, this is it! Please join and support the Faculty

Association. To join, complete the online application form.

CEI Officers and Reps

President

Vice-President

Secretary/Treasurer

Membership Chair

Newsletter Editor

CEI Webmaster


Eastern Regional Reps

Central Regional Reps

Western Regional Reps

Adjunct Rep

According to the CEI Constitution, the duties of a regional rep are as follows: "Regional Representatives will communicate with faculty within their respective regions; represent faculty within their regions; attend regularly scheduled Executive Board meetings, as well as annual business and regional meetings; work with the Board to nominate representatives when vacancies arise.”

President’s Corner

*This is an intentional repeat.

CEI is energized and needs your help.  Our dependence on each other for professional development and maintaining morale in challenging times continues.  Here’s some information and a request.

First, if you are already a member of CEI, ask at least one or two of your colleagues to become members.  We have community colleges in the state that have NO connection to CEI and that just won’t do.  The regional representatives are attempting to generate a list of all faculty who are eligible to maintain membership in CEI, so there will be a push to contact as many folks as we can and make them aware and part of our organization.  But, if you would personally invite a full-time or adjunct faculty member to the fold, it is even more likely that the person will join us.  The ball (in deference to the basketball season) is in your court.

Second, we have great news!  TYCA-Southeast, the regional two-year college organization affiliated with the National Council of Teachers of English, will hold its regional conference in Greensboro, NC in February 2009.  We will showcase our state, our authors, and our talents.  Be on the lookout for paperwork to submit proposals and to reserve a space at the conference. 

In these trying times of economic woes and high gas prices, it will be wonderful to have both CEI and TYCA so handily available during the 2008-2009 academic year.  Visit the CEI website and join both CEI and TYCA.  You’ll be glad you did.

A Word from the Editor

We’re already half-way through the fall semester—and no one has sent me a word to report!  Back in the dark ages when I was a trainer for a retail chain, I joked with new hires that I got the job because I could talk for 8 hours.  Well, I can write everything in the newsletter, too, but I’m sure that you’d rather see your own contributions published here.  Besides, we want to know what your school is doing to support and nurture faculty.  We want to know what’s happening with your students.  We want to know what new tricks and techniques you’ve learned.  How can we steal your best practices if you won’t share??

Despite the hectic pace that we’re bound to face over the next few weeks, won’t you please take a few minutes to read your newsletter and find out what colleagues across the state are doing.  At a recent board meeting, we discussed what kinds of information you might like to see.  Here are some of our ideas:

·         Teaching tips

·         Favorite recipes, books, restaurants, vacation spots, etc.

·         Student/faculty/administrator bloopers

·         Student/faculty/administrator accomplishments

What other ideas do you have?  Send me suggestions for what you want to see.

NEWSFLASH:  TYCA CONFERENCE TO BE HOSTED IN GREENSBORO, NC, IN FEBRUARY 2009.

Great news for North Carolina’s Piedmont—our regional organization, Two Year College Association-Southeast, will hold its annual conference in Greensboro next year.  This will be a tremendous opportunity for all of us.  Although travel reimbursements are limited these days, the Piedmont is conveniently located for many of our members, so we hope to see lots of our members attend.  This will also be a great opportunity to see first-hand what TYCA is all about.  New CEI President, JoAnn Buck, assisted by Vice-President Anne Helms, has been busily spearheading arrangements for lodging, dining, and entertainment, as well as business, seminars, and workshops, of course.  Check our website for more information, or contact jabuck@gtcc.edu.  The registration form is already available.  Register early for the best price and the greatest availability.  If you want local information, feel free to contact camarion@gtcc.edu. 

Come Fly with Us

Melissa Byrd @ Lenoir Community College

Come fly with us to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Czech Republic in May 2009.  Groups are being organized through your schools to have an all North Carolina, all community college tour.  Students, faculty, staff, and townspeople may travel.  We are traveling through EF Tours, and the cost for students is approximately $2,500.  Adults pay approximately $2, 900.  This fee includes a membership fee, all air travel, all hotel stays, two meals a day, and entry into sites of interest during the entire 10-day trip. 

Most schools offer classes for students during the trip.  Humanities 120, Western Civilization II, art, sociology, theater, and music classes are among the most popular.  Students meet a few times before the trip, keep journals and complete assignments during the trip, and meet again to turn in final assignments after their return.  Instructors at most schools can count the trip/class as part of their summer load.

If you are a first-time tour leader, your trip will be free if you sign up 5 travelers.  Then for every additional 6 travelers you sign up, another person from your school can travel free

If you are interested, you can contact Melissa Byrd at Lenoir Community College for more information:  mbyrd@lenoircc.edu , or you can contact EF and our tour director directly by emailing Matt Green:  Matt.Green@eftours.com

Tommy Hays reads from The Pleasure Was Mine

GTCC—Jamestown Campus

Every year, GTCC’s English Department selects a book for an “all-college read,” an event that targets English 111 students, but draws participants from all areas of the college.   Through this event, we have hosted numerous distinguished authors.  This fall, in collaboration with the Greensboro Public Library’s event, One City, One Book, we had the pleasure of hosting Tommy Hays, a native of Greenville, SC.  Mr. Hays, who is currently the Director of the Great Smokies Writing Program and a lecturer in the Master of Liberal Arts Program at UNC-Asheville, took time to visit our campus on Monday, October 20.  He read at noon to an audience of over 400, and again that evening, to an audience of nearly 100.  Both readings were followed by a Q&A session, where our students asked thoughtful questions.  We were pleased with the attendance, but what really surprised us was the impact that the book had on those who read it.  Young and old alike found it charming and engaging.  Hays writes with an authentic perspective, creating characters that are totally believable, and his honesty in dealing with the subject of Alzheimer’s is sure to connect with the reader.  To emphasize their engagement with the text, almost every member of the audience held a copy of the book and read along with Mr. Hays.  Most of those who spoke with him at the book signing admitted having similar experience in their own family; perhaps this is why the book was such a resounding hit. 

Moreover, the interest in this book led GTCC to orchestrate a half-day conference on “Aging with Dignity.”  Jo Ann Buck, with the assistance of colleagues in a range of departments and professionals from the community, has set up hour-long sessions on a range of topics from how to choose a retirement facility to planning a second career after retirement.  We look forward to a successful conference and will report next time on its outcomes.

News from the Front

Guilford Technical Community College:  Deana St. Peter, one of our own CEI members, won the President’s Award this year as well as an Excellence in Teaching award.  Deana is a force for technology and innovation, and the college has benefited immensely from her talents and energy.  We are proud of her accomplishments and wish her continued success.

Other College News:  None was reported!  Send me your news so everyone can keep up with what’s going on across our state.

Your College News Could Be Here

Just look at this big space, starving for news of what’s happening on your campus!  We need regional reps to collect and send info so we can report.  Heck, if your rep doesn’t ask you for news, send it to me directly:  camarion@gtcc.edu.  We know that great things happen at our community colleges.  Be

the first to cast a stone and just see where the ripples land.

Teaching Tip #1

I’ll be the first to offer a teaching tip.  I hope that others will join in.

I call this activity “The End of the World.”  I have successfully used it as an ice-breaker during the first week of class, and I regularly use it in ENG 112.  Put students in small groups—your selection or theirs, either way works fine.  Allowing 15-20 minutes is sufficient because short time promotes a better focus.  In discussing each group’s choices, we talk about assumptions and biases, how and whether to fill in missing information, how to weigh relative merit against relative risk, and so on.  We also discuss how to interpret assignment instructions (when they ask me questions during the group talk, I refer them back to the handout).  This activity generates good discussion.  Of course, you can reconfigure the characters to suit your own needs or course.  If you have questions, please ask!  I’d be happy to talk with any of you about this.

THE END OF THE WORLD

The world will end tomorrow.  However, you and the other members of your group have sufficient supplies to survive until you are able to rebuild a life for yourselves.  Your group also has the ability to save three others (from the following list).  Consider skills, genetics, character, anything you think might be useful or essential for survival.  Prepare one group paragraph defending each of your decisions, whether selection or omission.  You have 20 minutes to complete your discussion and prepare your position.  DO NOT COLLABORATE WITH OTHER GROUPS.

CEO—powerful business leader.  Once headed a top-rated Fortune 500 company specializing in software.  30-year veteran of the business world.  Domineering personality, “cut-throat” politics, but brilliant mind.

NURSE—spent 15 years working in the emergency room.  Highly competent, but exposed to a variety of potentially communicable ailments including HIV.  Good at triage and teamwork.

PARENT—comes with two children, aged 5 and 9.  Has abandoned public work in order to raise a family.  Obviously good with children; both seem well grounded and bright.  Accusations of abuse were never substantiated.

MUSICIAN—brilliant young prodigy of a conductor.  Energetic and vivacious, this person is accustomed to pulling people together for an effective end result.  Accomplished also in composition and adept at playing a variety of instruments.

MECHANIC—specializes in small engine repair, but has some training on larger engines, such as that for a diesel truck.  Learned most skills during military service in Desert Storm.  Not bothered much any more by flashbacks.

STUDENT—first year college, genius in math and science.  Limited mobility due to paraplegia caused by car wreck two years ago.  Sometimes bitter about disability.