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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
the 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.
President
Vice-President
Secretary/Treasurer
Membership Co-Chairs
Newsletter Editor
CEI Webmaster
Central Regional Reps
Western Regional Reps
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. " If you would like to fill one of
the open positions, please contact B. J. Zamora. President’s
Corner 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 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.
Look for more information at the NC System Conference. Visit the CEI information table and join
both CEI and TYCA. You’ll be glad you
did. A
Word from the Editor We’re already half-way through the spring
semester—graduation will be here before you know it. Despite the hectic pace that we’re bound to
face over the next few weeks, take a few minutes to read your newsletter and
find out what colleagues across the state are doing. At our last 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
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NEWSFLASH: TYCA CONFERENCE TO BE HOSTED IN Great news for Come
Fly with Us Melissa Byrd @ Lenoir Community College Come fly with us to 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 Michael
Parker Reads from Don’t Make Me Stop Now at GTCC Golda Fried @ 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
distinguished authors including Lee Smith, Clyde Edgerton, Fred Chappell,
Orson Scott Card, Ernest J. Gaines, Kaye Gibbons, and holocaust scholar
Allison Gold, all of whom have read on the Michael Parker, an MFA instructor in
Creative Writing at UNC Greensboro, has received numerous awards for his
writing including a Pushcart Prize for the story “Off Island” and an O’ Henry
Award for the story “The Golden Era of Heartbreak” from his newest short
story collection, Don’t Make Me Stop Now. This collection is his sixth published
book, and his second short story collection. Instructors prepared for Parker’s visit
by attending “Lunch ‘N Learn” sessions and by discussing his stories in
class. Some assigned their students to
present a story’s plot and significance; some gave writing assignments that
compared characters or explored themes.
Parker’s prevailing interest in the complexity of love generated
robust essays that discussed “dysfunctional relationships” or “communication
breakdowns.” These themes also led to
spirited class discussions and lots of questions: Why are the stories so
open-ended? What happens after the
story’s conclusion? Why are some of
the characters so unlikable? Why
doesn’t he write happy stories about happy people with happy endings? Instead of trying to field their questions,
or frustrate them by repeating “I don’t know,” I told my students to ask the
author. Parker was warmly welcomed, and read
the second story from the collection:
“Hidden Meanings, Treatment of Time, Supreme Irony, and Life
Experiences in the Song ‘Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)’,”
a story written from a female student’s point of view as an essay to her
teacher. The fictional assignment was
to write an analysis of a song. The
student chooses this song by Joe Tex, but uses the opportunity of the paper
to complain about the assignment, the teacher, and everything about the
class. Isn’t this the fantasy of every
student? The author’s deadpan delivery of
hilarious lines and Southern accent held the audience’s attention as he
read. So did the references to local
tastes and places, such as Cheerwine, Evergreen Nursing Home, hip hop radio
station 102 JAMZ, and Cookout. Parker
also answered many questions and students learned that he found immoral
characters and unhappy endings much more real than happy characters. He also explained that it was his job to
write what he observes and that meant having characters that sometimes use
profanity. After the reading, many people told me
that they understood the story much better after hearing Parker read it
aloud. It was also apparent that
students appreciated the opportunity to put their questions to the author
directly, and they were enthusiastic interlocutors. We knew that the event was a huge success
not only from our students’ reactions, but also because of Parker’s
comments: “I really learned a lot more
about my stories than anywhere else I’ve read, and I’ve read at Harvard.” This annual event has generated
increasing student interest, a fact that surprised us at first. After all, students don’t read in this
technological age, do they? Yet, they
continue to attend and question and talk about the book among themselves long
after the author has gone. And they
continue to challenge the authors with insightful questions. Our challenge has now become finding more
authors! If you would like to organize similar
events at your school, we can help you get started. Contact Golda Fried at GTCC, ext. 2490, or
write gtfried@gtcc.edu. News
from the Front
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. |
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