Gov School English Studies Syllabus (General) 2015
What is Governor’s School?
GS is a residential program offered in the summer at NDSU to gifted North Dakota high school students. It is funded bi-annually by the state, and affiliated with the National Conference of Governor’s Schools (NGoGS). NGoGS was initiated in 1963, devotes itself to a range of educational and charitable aims, and currently hosts a number of annual conferences, meetings, and retreats around the country. Beginning about 16 years ago, NDSU’s own GS campus-wide program has included Science, Math, Information Technology, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Business, English Studies, and, very recently, Engineering and Architecture. More info is readily available on the web:
http://www.ndsu.edu/govschool/promo_material/2014/GovSchoolbrochure.web.pdf
http://ncogs.org/
What is the program in English Studies?
The North Dakota Governor’s School Program in English Studies is a progressive, five-week, summer residential program for gifted North Dakota high school students. Affiliated with the National Conference of Governor’s Schools, and part of the local, multi-department North Dakota Governor’s School program at NDSU, the English program brings students throughout the state to our campus and introduces them to the many disciplines comprising English Studies: Literature Studies, Rhetoric, Creative Writing, English Education, Linguistics, Composition Studies, New Media Studies, and Technical Writing, as well as a variety of sub-disciplines such as Anime Studies, Shakespeare & Film, Visual Language & Culture, and The Oral Tradition in Poetry. Students work closely with faculty, lecturers, and graduate students, participate in a range of independent and collaborative projects, and produce their own online journal or other multi-media project. The program effectively provides motivated teens an advanced start on their careers in higher education—including possible majors in English—and promotes NDSU English across North Dakota.
Why is our department involved in GS? Dept. aims (as of 2010):
· To provide summer employment to department Graduate Assistants.
· To provide teaching, research, and service experience to Graduate Assistants.
· To recruit majors.
· To enhance other department programs and aims.
· To raise our department profile.
· To demonstrate department outreach and diversity efforts.
Program Aims
· Provide students with a challenging exploration of the umbrella question, allowing for uncertainty, disagreement, and real debate in the field.
· Introduce students to the major disciplines, as well as to specific issues, problems, sub-disciplines, specialties, themes within the major disciplines, based on each instructor’s strengths and interests.
· Assign students a range of products to complete and showcase, mentoring them through the process and, if possible, allowing for individual directions.
· Give students an advance look at possible college study and turn them on to our disciplines (recruit majors).
· Help each student discover a world beyond whatever they are experiencing in their high schools; support interesting, engaged kids who may not be especially appreciated back home for their smarts, quirkiness, or love of learning.
A Few Minor Concerns
Syllabi
Syllabi for our purposes can be quite streamlined. GS is not technically a part of NDSU—it is housed and staffed at NDSU, but the two are separate entities—so there are no clear rules (yet) about syllabi content. So, as much as possible, keep rules and procedures simple, friendly, and accessible. Remember that these are high school students who likely don’t even know what a syllabus is.
We’re used to giving our college students humongous legalistic tomes full of class, department, and university policies—but we really don’t need this for the GS students. You want some ground rules or whatnot, but remember that we have only 4.5 days each. The great majority of our students have never been away from their families before, have never lived with other people, and the program-at-large keeps them quite very busy in the evenings and on weekends. Their heads will be spinning.
A good rule of thumb: start out as simply and as streamlined as you can, then add complexity or additional content according to how things are going.
Cohesion
Also: we’ve had issues nearly every year with cohesion. Each teacher starts to feel cut-off and out of it when the others are teaching, and no one is completely sure how the students are experiencing transitions between disciplines. So, if you can, try to visit the other classes from time to time to get a feel for how your own segment fits into the whole. This way too we can each pick up threads from the previous sessions.
General Schedule
June 8
· 9:30-Morning Session: Get Acquainted and Intro to English Studies
· Electronic SetUp (be sure everyone can get online and begin learning Word Press)
· Start CW in late afternoon
June 9 CW
June 10 CW
June 11 CW
June 12 CW
June 15 Lit
June 16 Lit
June 17 Lit
June 18 Lit
June 19 Lit/Rhet
June 22 Rhet
June 23 Rhet
June 24 Rhet
June 25 Rhet
June 26 Lang & Cult
June 29 Lang & Cult
June 30 Lang & Cult
July 1 Lang & Cult
July 2 Gone for holiday
July 3 Gone for holiday
July 6 Lang & Cult/Davin
July 7 Davin
July 8 Davin
July 9 Davin
July 10 Davin
Other activities for final week:
· Public reading of fiction/poetry?
Weekly Schedule (Sample)
Each instructor will need to give Cindy something like the following for their respective discipline. It is required by the GS director.
2015 Governor’s Schools
English Schedule, Week One
LOCATIONS: we will likely be moving from SE 314 to the West Dining Center cluster throughout each day, depending upon specific activities and how many students arrive with personal laptops. We may also meet at times in the Dept. of English Conference Room or other, more comfortable clusters as they are available.
Monday June 8th
8:15-9:15 AM (Minard 116): Morning Meeting.
9:30 am – 9:45 am (SE 314): Greetings & Ice Breaker.
9:45-9:55 (SE 314): What Is English Studies? Freewrite briefly, then go around room to share perspectives.
9:55-10:30 (SE 314): Each staff member introduce their discipline, including current controversies and challenges. Preview of program aims and products.
10:30-12:00 (SE 314 or West Dining Center Cluster): Davin and Cindy get students set up in WordPress.
1:00-4:30 (SE 314 or West Dining Center Cluster): An English major’s tour of campus? Begin Creative Writing unit. “Skittish Libations” and perspectives wheel. First Word Press entries.
Tuesday June 9th
9:30-12:00 (SE 314): Continue CW unit. Intro to fiction. Discuss assigned reading. Dollar Bill exercise and flash fiction.
1:00-4:30 (SE 314 and West Dining Center): Continue discussion of assigned reading: “reading as a writer.” Intensive writing session in late afternoon.
Wednesday June 10th
9:30-12:00 (SE 314 and West Dining Center): Continue work with CW. MFA-style writer’s workshop. Intro to Poetry. Discuss assigned readings.
1:00-4:30 (SE 314 and West Dining Center): Continue discussion of reading. Intensive writing session in late afternoon.
Thursday June 11th
9:30-12:00 (SE 314 and West Dining Center): Continue work with CW. Workshop.
1:00-4:30 (SE 314 and West Dining Center): Discuss revision process and applying workshop feedback. Work intensively on revisions. Begin discussion of The Oral and Visual Traditions: Spoken-Word poetry.
Friday June 12th
9:30-12:00 (SE 314 and West Dining Center): Continue work with CW, Oral and Visual Traditions: Concrete and New Media Poetry.
1:00-4:30 (SE 314 and West Dining Center): Overview of remaining CW work for Week 5. Intensive writing. Conclude day with workshop.
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