Hello Eugene, et al.,
I appreciate the CH-sig and all of the work you are doing on its (our)
behalf. I've been to the site and looked over the ballot choices for an
AERA focus. Of course some of them appeal to me more than others, yet I
haven't voted. The reason is because I'm not quite sure what it means to
have a SIG focus for the AERA meeting. Perhaps it means different things to
different people? One possible meaning is that scholars are presumed to
have general interests which they can direct toward different themes. In
this interpretation, a theme doesn't serve to delimit the participants at
the conference, only the nature of the presentations -- rather like a pot
luck dinner in which, say, Chinese is identified as the theme for
contributions. In this case, there is not exclusionary cost offsetting the
advantages of thematically related presentations. But if the presumption is
that scholars have definite foci to their work, and that a theme in one
person's favor excludes another, then it seems to me there is a cost to
achieving thematic harmony. It's entirely possible that I missed the note
in which these trade-offs were discussed--I'm not that thorough a reader of
the list mail. But without a sense of consensus around the trade-offs, I'm
reluctant to do something that might result in someone's work not achieving
the audience it otherwise might achieve. As I think about it, of course
there are other levels of organization (e.g., Divisions) to which one might
submit if the SIG focus doesn't mesh with one's interests, so maybe I need
to rethink my cautiousness here. In any case, I wanted to let you know that
at least some of the people "out here" in cyberspace who haven't voted are
nevertheless involved with the SIG and appreciative of those who maintain
and develop it.
Regards.
David Kirshner
Mike Cole <mcole@weber.ucsd.edu> on 06/24/2001 10:47:29 AM
Please respond to xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
cc: (bcc: David H Kirshner/dkirsh/LSU)
Subject: re-sending
I tried sending a note to xmca from a jury-rigged account and it
bounced, so I am re-trying.
I went to the CHAT-sig AERA polling booth and found several interestng
themes proposed. Also noted that relatively few people had voted. I
wrote my note in the context of voicing and exiting and resistence,
since here was a fine chance for people to shape the next general
occasion for face to face discussion but few were voting on what to talk
about and there is even an explicit choice for resisting!
In light of the turn toward discussion of learning and development today,
the fact that a discussion of learning is the lead candidate struck me
as relevant I am reminded to support Eugene's efforts to give people
a voice and agency. Go to the sig site and vote! Or you may be elected
sig president in your absence and then think of all the work you will have
to do!
:-)
mike
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