Farewell, Mindful Writing!

Author

Kelsey Smith
September 22, 2023

I’m still mourning the loss of Mindful Writing—and today’s gloomy weather is bringing on all the feels. I’d like to dedicate Taylor Swift’s “Bigger than the Whole Sky” to Mindful Writing. You were good to us. RIP.

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
You were bigger than the whole sky
You were more than just a short time
And I've got a lot to pine about
I've got a lot to live without

More words about the new textbook

It’s not easy integrating a new textbook into our classes. But Brian Jackson has words of comfort for all of us in his excellent, practical book, Teaching Mindful Writers (add it to your book order today!):

  • Don’t let the textbook drive the class. It’s a reference book, not the keystone of your class (158).

  • Assign less reading: “If we want students to read slowly or closely, we should assign less of it” (160).

  • Introduce the reading—sell the reading! (still looking for the citation!)

  • Refer to the reading, not just once but throughout the semester (159).

  • Help students personally connect with the text—to engage in a conversation with it: “respond, react, connect,” and maybe even enjoy a text (159).

Remember to donate to the Adjunct Faculty Sunshine Club!

It’s the inaugural year of our own Adjunct Faculty Fund—and we need to fill the fund’s coffers! If you could donate $10 for the 2023-24 school year, I would be mighty grateful. You can donate to it by

  • giving cash or check to Heather Hammond or Juli Todd to deposit into the account, or

  • sending money with the note “Adjunct Sunshine Fund” via Venmo to Heather: @Heather-Hammond-2—all Venmo donations are documented on a spreadsheet and are deposited into the account by a check from Heather.

Click here to find out more about how the funds will be used to spread sunshine.

A note about the future (i.e., our adjunct faculty review letters)

When I opened my official adjunct faculty review letter last April, I was not impressed. Where was the BYU official letterhead? Where were the signatures? Who even wrote the letter?

Well, after voicing my concern to those in charge that the letters did not look professional or even official, I learned that plain, unsigned letters are the norm in academia.

While I disagree with this norm, I respect it: it’s the academic way. The plain, nondescript, easy-to-forge way.

But the good news is that the department is happy to put the letter on BYU official letterhead and get Chair Debbie Dean to sign it so you can add it to your portfolio (or in my case, file cabinet).

Our makeshift website

As I’ve noted before, Ansalee Greenwood, Greyson Gurley, Kelsey Smith, and I are hard at work writing content for our Adjunct Faculty Website (and we are continually surprised at how much stuff we need to cover!). Until this website is up and running, here are links to some helpful Google docs (which you can also find in your “swag” folder that’s sitting in your mailbox right now):

Observation Opportunities—sign up to be observed or find someone to observe!

Syllabus Requirements: I just added another option—the RWC’s official syllabus statement that you’re welcome to customize!

Write NOW!—want to get some of your own writing done? Write NOW! can help!

Stuff for your calendar

Calendars are starting to percolate! Take a few minutes to check out The English Department Calendar. 

SEPTEMBER

September 22: English Department Dinner in the Park (Lion’s Park in Provo)! Come! And look for me—I’ll be the one bundled up in all my winter gear!

September 28: MANDATORY University Writing Training @ 11 am in 4186 JFSB. University Writing Coordinator Amy Williams will be sharing with us the reflection model that the new course UNIV 101 will be using and that we need to start using so our students can get the most from reflection, one of the most helpful skills they can gain while at BYU.

OCTOBER

October 11: Schedule requests are due! You should have received an email earlier this week. Complete it today!

October 31: Last day to spend your $200 stipend! You can spend it two ways: (1) checking out a credit card from the department for an in-person purchase, or (2) sending an email to [email protected] with a link to the item you’d like (might I suggest Teaching Mindful Writers!) and a one-sentence explanation of why the item will help you professionally (then just watch for an email announcing its arrival—voila!).

NOVEMBER

November 24: Student Ratings Start!

DECEMBER

December 1: Withdraw Deadline

December 1: The English Reading Series—featuring Darlene Young, a Fellow Adjunct!—@ 12 pm in the HBLL Auditorium.

December 15: Student Ratings End

December 15: English Department Christmas Lunch (aka You Survived the Semester!) @ 12-1:30 pm in 4088 JFSB. Fa la la la!

December 29: Grades DUE by noon

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