Re: Best practices (and Classroom community)

Angel Lin (ENANGEL who-is-at cityu.edu.hk)
Sun, 04 Jan 1998 19:34:50 +0800

At 09:26 AM 1/2/98 -0800, you wrote:
>Which reminds me! Happy New Year! :-)

Dear Mike and xmca-ers,

Happy New Year! (and Happy Year of the Tiger--which begins on Jan 28, 1998!)

>
>I find myself wondering, what other key questions to members have as we
>think forward toward another year of joint activity. A LOT of graduate
>students have signed onto the list, but my impression is that by and
>large they are present, so to speak, "to listen." I am wondering,
>what kind of key questions do graduate students have that might find
>their answers in our musings?
>
>What's worth getting a Ph.D. to do this kind of talk for?
>
>I look forward to seeing you all here, wherever that is.
>mike

I signed on this list 4 years ago as a doctoral student in Gordon (Wells)'s
class at OISE. So, this question of Mike brought back some memories of
what questions a graduate student asked (4 years ago!). Anyway, if you're
a graduate student I do want to tell you that this is one of the rare lists
(that I've known) that warmly welcome and support the questioning practices
of graduate students! And that through joining in the discussions (as a
LPP--legitimate peripheral participant) I have both transformed myself and
my own sense of identity.

I don't remember exactly what I asked in those days, but vaguely I remember
I was insterested in finding out whether and how the xmca community (on
this we did debate a bit: i.e., is xmca a community or just a forum?)
responded to graduate students' questions, especially graduate students
with a non-American, non-European background, and not using English as a
first language).

I do have a lot of questions now having passed my graduate school years but
unfortunately find myself too overworked (as most
recent-doctoral-graduate-turned-faculty-members are) to have any time to
sort them out clearly enough to post it or the luxury of the time to
seriously join in any xmca discussions (except perhaps during the New Year
break!).

However, I do want to say that (after 4 years) I owe the xmca discussions
a lot for both the intellectual stimulation I get from it and its high
level of scholarly support for graduate students! (And I must thank Gordon
for introducing me to the list 4 years ago!)

Angel
--------------
Angel Lin, Assistant Professor, Dept of English, City University of Hong
Kong, Tat Chee Ave., Kowloon, Hong Kong. E-mail: enangel who-is-at cityu.edu.hk