Well, it has taken me a month to get around to responding. Thanks for the
enthusiastic welcome, Mike. I was actually out of town at the time I
received this note and things have been chaotic since. Sorry.
Rosa and her husband, James, and family were doing very well. My meeting
in Puebla (note the "a" instead of the "o") was actually with physics
teachers, but I try not to pass up visiting with others with whom I share
interests when I can. We had several conversations including a very nice
one over lunch in the Colonial Hotel.
Puebla is a very busy city and is the seat of government of the state of
Puebla. It has a classic central square (Zocalo) and cathedrals. In the
distance when the air is clear there are volcanos visable. A major
Volkwagen factory is at the edge of town which still makes the type one
version, the bug or beetle.
Near Puebla is a village named Cholula (I believe the spelling is correct.)
This little town has been a center of religious significance and practice
for many centuries. Six or seven civilizations, in sequence, built their
temples over the temples of the previous civilizations. In particular
there is a 'mountain' in the middle of the plain at Cholula which is
actually several layers of temples, already a very large ediface, which the
Spanish covered with dirt and topped with their own cathedral. This little
town and the volcanos are 'must see's' when you visit there.
The interest that I share with Rosa and one of her colleagues, Gerrardo del
Rosal, is the nature, origin, and influence of what I am calling,
'scientific voice.' Rosa and Gerrardo are more interested in the nature of
the scientific discourse and how it develops. My major interest is in its
effects in the classroom, these being largely negative for all but those
who aspire to membership in the profession of science, and how to avoid or
ameliorate them. (Since these negative effects influence more than 99+% of
the population, I think the issue is quite significant.) I find that in a
class of 150 or so it takes very few speaking with this scientific "voice
or register" or in this scientifc "genre" for the rest of the students to
just 'clam up' and merely write down what the others say.
It would be interesting to know what termthe members of xmca would use for
this. Is it voice, register, or genre? It would also be interesting to
collaborate with interested members of this list to study the effects of
this 'voice' in the classroom.
Dewey
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Dewey I. Dykstra, Jr. Phone: (208)385-3105
Professor of Physics Dept: (208)385-3775
Department of Physics/SN318 Fax: (208)385-4330
Boise State University dykstrad who-is-at varney.idbsu.edu
1910 University Drive Boise Highlanders
Boise, ID 83725-1570 novice piper
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