Strictly Personal

Feedback is a necessary part of any writing and rhetoric course, both for the students and the instructor.  Therefore, I'd like to hear your concerns and comments.  For those of you who have taken previous writing courses at FIU, I'd like to see your perspective.  How have the ENC courses met your expectations or fueled your progress as a writer?  Or, conversely, how have the ENC courses not met your expectations?  Perhaps any negative feeling you may have is more a teacher-related issue than  course-related issue.  If so, please give me some feedback: how have your previous teachers hurt (or helped) you? 

An ancient proverb reads, "A flattering mouth worketh ruin."  I'm not looking for flattery certainly.  To be sure, I'm looking to see or hear what everyone has to say about her/his writing experience at FIU.

If ENC 1102 is your first writing and rhetoric course, then I'd like to hear what has helped or hurt your development as a college-level writer.  How has reading literature played a part?  How has your high school teacher played a part (or not played a part)?  Do you think that you were previously a blank canvas, so to speak, or did you come into ENC 1102 with a set of skills that needed to be honed or improved upon?

Has ENC 1102 or 1101 surprised you in any way?  Bored you to tears?  Angered you?

Please write freely.  No one is being judged certainly.  I'm hoping to learn from these responses.

What to Do?

This article is about a recent tragedy, a high-school shooting: Accused Dillard High shooter seeks transfer to mental institution - Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com

If you can recall the events from a few weeks ago, the "accused shooter" professed her love for the victim before and even after the shooting.   There are sanity issues to be sure, and this is part of the dilemma as the court faces the problem of what to do.  What needs to be stated straightforwardly (I think) is that the alleged shooter does still have rights as an American citizen.   Whether she is guilty or not, these rights still exist.   Specifically, though, what should the court do?   Should the court honor her wishes by transferring the teenager to a mental health facility or should she remain in county jail (where she is receiving psychological treatment to some degree)?   What are your comments and concerns?