Background, Always
Writing is more important than ever In a hypertextual world where the Internet is part of all academic work and part of the work of most jobs. You should learn how to navigate information online, and you should learn how to interact with that information. You should learn how to think in writing with more clarity and cogency and alacrity than the typical person in the comment section of the typical article.
That is one of the purposes of this course website — the one you are currently reading. It affords you a risk-free opportunity to interact with information and ask questions of the person posting that information. You are familiar with the question, “When am I ever going to have to use this?” When it comes to the way you interact with this website, the answer is, “Pretty much every day for the rest of your life.”
In terms of that Future You we so often discuss, you should learn to think in writing and interact with online writing. In terms of this course, you must think in writing, and you must do so in a public space. You must write in response to instruction. You must write reflectively and metacognitively, and you must know the difference between the two. You must ask questions, when you have them; and when you don’t, you must ask yourself why not. You must share information and insight with peers. You must ask for feedback. You must teach each other.
You can do all of this by returning repeatedly to the instructional posts until you’ve exhausted their ability to teach you something. You can only do this, however, if you take notes on those posts. That is not a new requirement. This was the second assignment of the entire year for all students:
Your second assignment is to learn how we can [upend the traditional feedback model entirely] — how, why, and to what extent. First, though, you should recognize that all of this is intended to teach you slowly and over time. You must interact with these instructional posts and documents like you would if assigned annotations. If you let them teach you, you won’t just learn how to do the next assignment; you’ll learn why this all matters, how to be curious about a great many things, how to write, etc.
You must, therefore, recognize that these instructional posts and documents are written explicitly to teach you. They define new vocabulary, link to related readings, and clarify ideas. They are usually structured as a lecture would be, but they are made difficult enough to require effort to parse and process. They deliberately and explicitly demonstrate style that you can emulate in your own writing. In other words, just interacting with these instructional pieces will help you get better at reading, thinking, and writing.
Did you take notes on that instructional post? More critically, did you read that instructional post?
Scripta Manent, Always
You have seen this before:
Verba volant, scripta manent.
“Spoken words fly away, written words remain.” It was the subject of an instructional post from September 28. You should revisit that post, if it has faded from memory, but it would be more useful to revisit the notes you took on it.
On October 16, you were given feedback on your progress:
You should revisit the appropriate post, if it has faded from memory, but it would be more useful to revisit the notes you took on that post, especially on the section titled “Update #3: Interstitial Learning.”
Of course, many of you will not have notes on these posts, nor on any of the other posts you’ve been given over the past three months. That is the issue in front of you today: You must take notes on what you read, beginning with instructional posts. You should use those notes to populate the comment section of posts with observations, insights, questions, and feedback. This is thinking in writing — using the written word to refine and revisit our thoughts, especially as we consider more difficult subject matter and assignments.
For the rest of this week, through Thanksgiving and into the weekend, you must attempt to use the interstitial classroom more effectively. Your primary focus should be the Q&A posts given to you last week. Take notes on any instruction. Answer all prompts in writing. Then extend your observations, insights, questions, feedback, etc., into the comment sections of the posts.
Before you get those Q&A posts, you should revisit/create your notes on Dürer’s Rhinoceros, especially the idea that “[o]ften the simplest or most straightforward GAP evidence is more important than everything else.” Starting with the triptych panel that ends on December 1, a grade abatement profile of 7 requires notes on all instructional posts. Grade abatement profiles of 8 or 9 require evidence of interstitial impact —e.g., meaningful contributions online, especially in the comment sections of instructional posts.
Before you ask: This does not mean that you must leave comments to get an 8 or 9. Not exactly. The interstitial system was set up months ago, however, to encourage you to think about feedback differently, including the habits and habitats you have for learning. You’ve had enough time.
There should always be more activity online for this course. There should always be questions, comments, discussions, etc., because you all want to do well. Whether you define “well” as a high profile or genuinely collaborative growth, this site should be part of the process.
This week, it’s required. All juniors have been given this post, and it needs to become a hub for discussion and feedback:
AP students have, in addition, this post:
As an individual, you are responsible for your succinct — succinct! — contributions, plus the way you respond to questions and insights shared by your peers. As a group, you are responsible for the shape of the comment sections themselves. It is, again, about herd immunity: Protecting the group by strengthening as many individuals as possible.
Simulating Rock Bottom, Always
You should take notes on this instructional post, just as you would on any others. What kind of comments can you leave, though? Well, they could be clarifying questions, or observations about the course, or details from your own experience with interstitial learning. But I’ll make it simpler:
https://betterhumans.coach.me/how-to-break-bad-habits-by-simulating-rock-bottom-8e46b5acb027
Respond to that article by connecting it to the universal skills and traits of this course, especially the lifelong need for self-control. Talk about it here, in the comments. Notice that the skills you are practicing — thinking in writing, responding to what’s written online, responding to essays, collaborating, thinking critically, being self-aware, and on and on — are on display here.
(Notice, too, that to see the responses to this article, or to respond yourself, you would need to join Medium, which means a literal premium has been placed on the ability to interact with writers in the real world. It costs money to join the conversation. That, too, is interesting.)
I have a few thoughts I’d like to share on “How to Break Bad Habits by Simulating Rock Bottom”:
1) I related to the idea of being more motivated by failures than successes, which is exhibited in the section with the gambling example. One case of this for me is in swimming: when I step up to the blocks before a race, I’m usually excited and hope that I will swim well but I’m not completely invested on the race, I’m thinking about homework I’ll have to do later or what the race after that is, etc. If I finish my race and look up to see a time that makes me disappointed, I’ll become furious, start doubting myself, hate that I didn’t take every step imaginable to avoid that failure. I feel so much stronger about that failure after the race than the opportunity I had to be successful before I started the race. The next time I get back in the pool to resume practicing for the next meet, I focus on that failure to motivate myself, not a successful race.
2) I noticed that the idea of playing out the tape is pretty closely related to the transparency of our AP Lang course. Mr.Eure makes the consequences very clear, which I now figure to be the result of a desire that when we see those consequences, we’ll find the motivation and self-control to change our actions. Once again, it’s about fighting akrasia through manipulating our state of mind, not just writing off procrastination as laziness.
I most definitely related to the ideas expressed in the first section about becoming more capable of writing and thinking well when we do it constantly. When we started this course, I put off writing the long reflections that I thought were required for an upper tier profile. Of course, I was wrong to ignore the benefits of doing those reflections, but the main thing I want to point out is that now I see writing as a very useful mechanism, one by which we can figure things out and internalize/solidify those things later on. My experience with regard to this change in attitude about writing ties in really well with Mr. Eure’s use of the word “alacrity” (which I had to look up, actually). I discovered that it meant “brisk and cheerful readiness” (which is a really descriptive and useful word in my opinion) and I think it certainly applies to my growth so far. I feel much more eager and much less intimidated by substantially lengthy texts since I’ve been engaging with the comments thread and constantly, constantly writing in order to arrive at meaning. Now I can write quickly and clearly (hopefully my self-awareness has progressed far enough that I’m not flattering myself here) with a curiosity and a level of engagement that I didn’t have at the beginning of this year when I was used to conversations instead of writing as a way to find meaning.
I agree with Jane about relating to being more capable of writing and thinking well since we do do it constantly. I think its important, even outside this class and curriculum, to be able to be a strong writer and be capable of expressing your thoughts. This allows us to become stronger students for we will be able to reflect and create strong metacognition. In the beginning of the year I didnt care much for reading or writing, however as more and more posts were continued to be uploaded to classroom I realized the significance it had on being a strong student. I now find myself more engaged and curious about each post and their meanings. I think its important for students to realize this significance and the roles that these posts can play in our lives.
Sorry to be bombarding the comments section here, but I realized that I’m not quite sure about the difference between metacognition and reflection. I think it has to do with reflection being about a closer analysis of the subject and one’s relationship to it whereas metacognition is about the processes by which one reaches those conclusions, but I’d appreciate any clarification any of you could provide about the difference between the two.
I’m actually not too positive myself about it myself – so don’t quote me on this. But the way I look at the two is this..reflection is like taking a general look back at something or the process of something and making observations. Metacognition is like asking yourself why the process went that way, and explaining the observations.
I definitely think that both of you are correct, but since it is such an important question I wanted to look into it more in depth. The two processes are interrelated, with metacognition being a particular form of reflection. Generally, metacognition is writing about how we do something, or at how something came about, and we reflect on the subject or outcome. One example of the difference between these two, was the Practicing Empathy assignment that where we had to complete the attached template. For each way on how to practice to develop your empathy, there were two boxes. One was a reflective box, specific to the topic, while the other box was provided for metacognition. In the first box, I would talk about how using that skill benefited me and what happened as a result of it. I also broke down what Chad Fowler said in his piece “Your Most Important Skill: Empathy” and what I thought of it. However, in the metacognition box I talked about how I went about practicing that skill, and the ways I achieved my goal. If you use that sort of template when reflecting on your writing, I am sure that it will help you differentiate reflective and metacognitive writing from each other.
I personally think that is is very important to use metacognition to succeed in this course (and sometimes in life). I keep a “metacognition” notebook in which I reflect on each week in. I reflect on what I accomplished during that timespan but most importantly I discuss, in depth, how I achieved these goals (the methods I used, like asking for help from my peers/teacher, looking things up online, and etc.). This metacognition part of it helps me grow as a student because I am able to pinpoint what methods do and do not work for me so I can perfect myself as a student throughout the school year. I also use what I learn from my own metacognition to teach my peers by suggesting methods that worked for me, to them, online or in person. So, I hope that I helped more easily differentiate reflective and metacognitive writing from each other, and show how important metacognition is.
I agree with sasha, if we were using the example of reading a book, reflection is more of a breakdown of what the text has informed you specifically, where as metacognition is more of an expansion of that reflection, only specific to what you have taken in from it. Reflections on things can often be quite similar, because you are taking from the text, video, etc. what you HEARD, metacognition differs based on the person because it is more specifically focusing on ones own thoughts and what they internalize and feel is important to expand on.
I’m not 100% sure on this either, but I think metacognition is just a subform of reflection, and they don’t necessarily have to be on separate documents. I think reflection is very general and can be any thoughts or observations you have on a particular topic, like “I thought the author’s point about roller coasters was very interesting” or “I noticed that the author used a lot of metaphors.” But metacognition is more in-depth and analytical, breaking down your thought process and asking why. Why do you think the author’s point was interesting? What about it makes it interesting? Why do you think the author used a lot of metaphors?
I agree with Victor, I believe they are not necessarily two different things, but that metacognition is a category in the broad topic of reflection. I see his point that reflections can be thoughts and observations, but I also think they can be a brief summary of what you have just read. You are reflecting on what you just read, asking any questions you may have, giving your opinion on the piece, and overall just putting your feelings down on paper. Whereas metacognition is a much more in depth part of reflection, it is where you answer your questions, and dig deeper into why the author made certain choices and why not. I think they go hand and hand, every good reflection has some metacognition in it, and visa versa.
I am in agreement with Jane regarding the differences between reflective and metacognitive writing. The definitions of the two words are below.
Reflective: relating to or characterized by deep thought; thoughtful.
Metacognitive: awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes.
Based off of these definitions, I think reflective writing is a subgroup of metacognitive writing. While some students try to create metacognitive work, their responses may not be very reflective.
I think metacognition branches off of reflections. When we reflect we are thinking about what we read or wrote and basically summarizing it. Metacognition however, works off of these thoughts and towards creating an understanding of the thought process you went through during these reflections in order to see what you’re doing right, what you’re doing wrong, and what direction you should continue in.
I have trouble differentiating reflection and metacognition, as well. But I really like the way that Haile said that metacognition branches off of reflections. In my opinion, while reflecting we use metacognition. When reflecting, we are looking back at the choices we made in our writing. We discuss what we were thinking at the time and how it affected the rest of the piece. But then, using metacognition, we discuss why we decided to make that choice, and wht the thought process was, as Haile put it, behind that choice.
I also agree with Haile’s idea that metacognition branches off of reflections. If you are personally reflecting on something through writing, you are practicing metacognition (thinking about your thinking). I think that if you write a well thought out and conscious reflection, metacognition will just be a byproduct.
When reading the article “How to Break Bad Habits by Simulating Rock Bottom – Better Humans”, by Ryan Engelstad, I started to think about whether I need to hit rock bottom for me to change my writing style. Sometimes I believe that writers can only learn from their own mistakes. When writers learn from their mistakes, writers become better than they already were. On the other hand, though many writers will say that mistakes are mistakes, Paul Graham believes that the process of writing is supposed to meander like a river would. Paul Graham would not call mistakes mistakes. Exploring a different Terra Incognita (Uncharted Territory) can help you become a better writer.
I interpreted the need of hitting rock bottom to change behavior in the context of changing habits, if not in the context of changing writing styles. I felt that this is the case because changing our writing styles is a matter of skill and new knowledge while changing a habit relates more closely to a set of behaviors that can be altered when a person’s perspective changes. However, I do see the connection between changing behaviors and changing writing skills: the former enables the latter.
If self control is all about thinking about the Future You, then we could ask whether people need to hit rock bottom to be aware of their Future You? I think that people do not need to hit rock bottom to be aware of that Future You. Sometimes awareness comes from remembering what you really want in life. Last summer, when I climbed Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks my body ached I wanted to give up. But then I remembered why I wanted to climb the mountain in the first place. I wanted to see the surrounding vistas of New York and Canada on top of the mountain. It wasn’t the aching muscles, it was the beautiful vistas that got me to the top of that peak. Self control was more about being aware of my Future Mountain View.
While reading “How to Break Bad Habits by Simulating Rock Bottom,” I found that it connected with the Fatal Flying Guillotines. I think that “simulating rock bottom” is much easier said than done, just like you can say that you really need to finish an assignment, but won’t do it until you absolutely can’t put it off any longer. A lot of self control is needed to visualize the “future you” and break bad habits, just like the Fatal Flying Guillotines article discusses. An analogy I think fits here is alarms in the morning. You can “trick” yourself into waking up earlier by setting multiple earlier alarms, but if you’re not fully invested into it, then you can easily just hit the snooze button. If you simulate rock bottom but don’t want to believe it or do it halfheartedly, then you’re just hitting the snooze button and not accomplishing anything.
I agree with you on the fact that it is difficult to simulate rock bottom because even when going through the motions of believing something is rock bottom and changing one’s behavior, one realizes that it really isn’t rock bottom and can act the same as they always have. Those are the moments when we have to continually remind ourselves of how Future You will turn out if there isn’t any sort of change. That’s why I think the situation has to be serious enough that Future You is truly motivating: if the Future You is not going to be much different no matter what you do, it would be nearly impossible to motivate oneself using this approach.
This article taught me a couple of things in particular. It taught that you do not need to hit rock bottom to make a change within yourself for the better. Hitting rock bottom may make changing easier but changing is not impossible. If you genuinely understand why you need to change your habits you don’t need to hit rock bottom. With your journey of not avoiding your habits and changing your ways you can inspire others. If you think about the consequences and imagine your life without that habit that could be a motivation to change for yourself or others.
Reading the post about rock bottom, I could definitely relate about how simulating rock bottom is necessary to avoid hitting the actual rock bottom. I found that simulating it relates quite a lot to self control, a skill Mr. Eure posted about a bit back. Fortunately, I never really had a problem with having to simulate rock bottom due to the way my parents raised me. Rock bottom was always placed at the point I was at, thus forcing me to do better and better. I realize that may not be appealing to us, but it did work. If you always place rock bottom below where you are, you will never improve. I think that the best and more appealing way of determining whether or not you have hit rock bottom is by picturing your future self based on how you have currently been doing like the article said. If that appeals to you, then you have not hit rock bottom. If it doesn’t, then you have hit rock bottom.
In this day and and age, many kids our age are held to such high expectations that most do not know what rock bottom actually is. Many kids cringe at the idea of getting a B on a test, when in reality that is no where near the bottom. Some people are so worried about being even one step down from the top, that rock bottom for them, isn’t actually rock bottom at all. So even if you aren’t fully content with what you see “picturing your future self” I can pretty much guarantee it is not rock bottom. So this is when we can start to question why this pressure exists, keeping everyone at such high altitude of expectations.
I agree with Katie on this one. While simulating rock bottom might help us “improve ourselves”, it won’t work for long. The frantic race to keep moving upward in life becomes a stress filled competition that will only end with you feeling like you have no direction. When you are constantly trying to beat out peers, you forget where you want to go and why you want to be there. It is much more important to take your time figuring out where you want to be in life rather than racing to get to a place you don’t even know.
Although students cringe at the very thought of even coming close to rock bottom; getting a B, or not living up to the unreasonably high expectations of their parents, I believe people practice this everyday. So many people have to hit their absolute lowest point in order to bring themselves back up. For example, most adults won’t quit smoking until it has diagnosed them with lung cancer, and only then will they have realized that they should’ve listened to the annoying commercials seen everyday. Knowing you have to do the right thing verse actually doing it is what challenges people in our society today. It relates back to self control and the post on “The Fatal Flying Guillotine” we analyzed in October. Most of the work given in this class relates back to self control and possessing that trait will benefit you later in life. Having a deadline will spark motivation whereas creating walking deadlines will teach self control. One of the skills many students should work on, including myself, is possessing enough self control to hold themselves back from hitting that rock bottom.
Your thought that “Knowing you have to do the right thing verse actually doing it is what challenges people in our society today.” reminded me of “video meliora proboque deteriora sequor” (the phrase posted in our anti-distraction corner that roughly means “I see the better way and approve it, but I follow the worse way”. I think you’re right that the problem isn’t a lack of knowledge about what to do, but rather lacking the self-control to follow through on it, which is why self-control is one of the most heavily emphasized skills of our course.