I'll bet Boice's hobbies include 'Jenga'

Yes, that's a balance joke.

It’s funny how often Boice’s advice on mindfulness coincides with good, old-fashioned common sense. He talks about working with balance—and living with that balance—as if the opposite would make any sense. I would like to read a book that says something to the effect of “spend 8 weeks developing your syllabus, but don’t bother to show up to class to teach it.”

But the point isn’t lost on me. Not even a great syllabus and stack of lesson plans will afford me the option of turning on an auto-pilot switch during the classes. I’ll have to be able to think on my feet, I’ll have to be mentally present. This might require me to be even more mentally locked-in than I am when I am sitting in the students’ position in my graduate seminars.

Although, that sentiment seems somewhat at odds to the practical advice we’ve been given so far. Jonas and Rachel strongly suggest making a plan and sticking to it; straying too far from a plan can quickly derail a class. I’m curious about the extent to which I might adapt my approach from week-to-week without threatening my integrity as a young, inexperienced, promising, ridiculously good-looking and undoubtedly intriguing graduate instructor.

Overall, I think Boice’s approach is valuable for teaching. But I don’t think it applies to writing, at least not as much. I’ll be a balanced teacher. But I refuse to stop stumbling around in the dark as a writer.

Boice's Balance and Negative Thoughts

I really actually admire the idea of spending equal time preparing for a project as writing it. I think this is a difficult skill to master, but one that comes more easily the longer you have been in school. I can think back to how I would write large paper at the end of the semester my freshman year of college and it was quite unbalanced, by Boice's definition of the term. I like the idea of prewriting, or just gathering information as a  lengthy part of writing, because too often I think it can be rushed or even overlooked. The fact that this can translate to how teachers prepare for classes is interesting to me, though I can't speak to its validity since i have not yet taught. But I think it's important to keep this sense of balance between preparation and actual teaching or writing that Boice talks about.

I found the chapter on negative thoughts and how they affect thinking particularly interesting. It makes sense, as stress has been seen to have all kinds of effects on the human body and brain. I actually tried one of Boice's exercises in which he invites his readers to notice their thinking when writing. I found that I was often too submerged in the topic I was writing about to notice my positive or negative thoughts. In hindsight, I think I was writing pretty positively, though I don't know if it helped my writing at all. At any rate, the assertion that negative thinking has negative effects on writing makes sense, though I'm not yet sure how I could apply this to teaching.

Thanksgiving Resolution (Boice Style)

Even though I often get frustrated with Boice for telling us to “stop”—I think he must (rightly) anticipate that our tendencies toward impatience will test our abilities to follow his advice, or he wouldn’t keep reminding us to slow down—I’m intrigued by his advice in these chapters, particularly his recommendations about writing with “constancy and moderation” (137-144). This is not something I’m particularly good at; though I’ve never managed to pull one of those (in)famous all-nighters, I rarely start my writing projects far in advance and, as a result, I generally feel paralyzed when the time comes to start writing.

So instead of simply reflecting on Boice’s advice this week, I’m going to test it out. Well, actually I’m going to test it next week; I’m still a bit too skeptical that I’ll have adequate spare time to stick to my resolution when classes are in session. Anyhow here’s the plan: over Thanksgiving break, I’m going to take Boice’s advice and practice writing for my upcoming papers daily. Even if it’s only five, ten, or fifteen minutes, just to keep my ideas fresh. I plan to “prewrite briefly, planfully before moving to prose,” as Boice recommends (147) and, though I’m not sure writing at a regular place at a regular time will be feasible as Aaron and I make the rounds visiting our families, I will chart my progress as I go. Should anyone actually read this post, your job is to keep me accountable: ask me after break whether or not I actually stuck to the plan. I’m a lousy liar, so hopefully the mere prospect that anyone might confront me will force me to stick to the resolution.

Boice Will Be Boice

Here we are again with the stopping and the pausing and the beginning early and the wonderful made up words like planfully. Boice tells me that I have no patience or tolerance for his wisdom, and mostly he’s right.

Except in this bit of the eleventh chapter, in which he writes about daily writing. I’ll admit—and only somewhat begrudgingly—that Boice’s prescribed approach to daily writing resembles my own habits. I’m currently hammering away at a seminar paper by writing two pages here, three pages there. It seems much easier than entering a metaphorical bunker with my notes, too little time and pipe dreams of congratulatory beers.

I don’t believe in the hyper-structured approach Boice advocates. I don’t know that I’ll ever actually chart my progress or recruit a writing buddy. But I do often stop when I’m gaining steam so that I’ll have a good place to pick up the next day. And I rarely rush myself.

For me, everything I do goes on a daily to-do list, except for my writing. Writing—whether fiction or scholarly work—generally stays off these lists. That’s because as soon as I put them on a list, as soon as a I follow Boice’s advice, writing begins to feel like work. It begins to feel like something that needs to be done with. I much prefer it my way, when writing naturally finds its way into my day as a pleasant escape from the screwed-up world in which we live.

Wax on, wax off.

Again, I don't think we've heard anything new from Boice. It seems to me that my own complaints are similar to the complaints that Boice admitted reader's voiced in his own introduction.

I'm starting to feel like the frustrated kid from The Karate Kid. I want to learn some awesome karate moves, and I get told 'wax on, wax off'. 'Stop. Pause.'

I think that Boice's advice is good (though there's too much of it), as I'm starting to see it appear in my daily life.

Now I'm just waiting for the epic moment, the one where I win the tournament with a broken leg.

jds

Stopping for a Cup of Tea

In chapter 12, Boice says that bodily fatigue (ex. eye strains) can help us to pause or stop. I agree with Boice. I usually stop when I feel hungry or when my eyes are aching. However, I do not think that this is the only situation in which I practice Boice’s suggestion. So, I was thinking: do I pause or stop besides the time I feel physically tired?

I usually think of “stop” in a literal sense, that is, I stop doing something and then sit on the sofa to relax. But, in fact, I practice my stopping by doing (other things), so I do not literally stop. For example, I brew a cup of tea as a gesture of pausing or stopping whenever I sit at the desk. And it takes time to choose what kind of tea I would like to have today, and I boil water, and then I wait for tea leaves to expand, and I drain the first brew of tea, and I pour hot water again, and finally I have my tea. I pause during the writing when I sip my tea. Also, I repeat the whole process of brewing tea when it goes bland. I think pausing or stopping is important for me, but I am not the person who can completely stop and do nothing. So, I believe that finding my own way of pausing and stopping is important.

Boice says that what makes stop difficult are the “deficits in patience and tolerance.” This statement reminds me that the way one experiences her writing or working is closely related to her personality. For example, the person who possesses the personality of patience or stableness may be more likely to practice Boice advice. I guess the best way to create my other forms of pausing and stopping is to know what kind of person I am and find what really suits me. 

I like Boice’s concept of writing with moderation and consistency and stop at the right time. When I was working on my novel earlier this year, I was pretty much doing that. It felt good, especially in retrospect, and especially in comparison to this chaotic semester when I have no time to write anything I’d like to write. I hope next semester will work out better and I’ll have some time I can call my own and a schedule more hospitable to writing. I think Boice’s advice will be very useful when I finish all my course requirement and start working on my comprehensive exam. Writing and teaching will be the main tasks then, and being consistent will be definitely important.