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Page 12 The Chronicle March 2, 1987 Teac h e r’ s boo k p u b l i s h e d By ’Linda Cousins Chronicle staff For close to a year there has been a dragon in John Green’s closet. Green, a writing instructor at Durham College, recently had his book there’s a Dragon in my Closet’ published. The story is about Jonathan Longfellow Magee a little boy with a big problem. One day he discovers a "huge green fire-breathing dragon in his closet." "Jonathan takes his problem to his adult world and is confronted with adults who feel it is a fantasy," said Green. ’ "We mustKllow our children to fanta- size," says Green, "but they also need to feel they can receive a great deal of pride by solving a problem on their- own." Jonathan draws up an invitation cor- dially inviting everyone to attend a dragon showing. When everyone see’s the dragon, they immediately panic. Jona- than however, decides that the dragon should find a new place to live, so he opens his storybook and the dragon climbs into the beautiful green forest. "There are many would-be writers who think writing for children is easy. It’s not. Children are a much more dif- ficult audience. When an adult picks up a book he feels obliged to finish it.That OURMISTAKE In the February 9 issue of the Chronicle The Onatario Regi- ment was referred to as The Os- hawa Regiment, when our in- tent was to inform our readers that The Ontario Regiment is located in Oshawa. We regret this error and apologize to any parties involved. w -7 . J^ is not the outlook of a child. If he doesn’t like it, he won’t be a part of it. They are an honest, demanding audience," says Green. Children’s writers today are in con- stant competition with\television. Good children’s literature sends, out positive messages that are "symbollic and mora- listic yet woven into a fantasy." Green said he would like to one day write full time, but for now, "Writing has become for me an avocation as oppo- Writers wanted as creative writing workshop opens By Kim Stewart Chronicle staff Writers Workshop, what is it? Who is it for and where can you sign up? John Stewart, teacher of business communications to both first and second-year students, is trying to put together a writers workshop. When asked what inspired him to start the workshop Stewart explained, "I like to talk about writing. Most imp- ortantly though, when I was at Univer- sity I was in a creative writing course myself and enjoyed it very much." Auth o r’ s myth i ca l m ag i c h as twi st By Margaret MacGregor Chronicle staff Crewel Lye by Piers Anthony is the eight book in a fantasy series set in mythical Xanth. Anthony uses the formula of heroine and hero competing against magic to accomplish a mission but adds twists by using homonyms as puns for a writing stategy. This novel is about Jordan the ghost who had been betrayed and killed by the woman he loved, Therondy, and two evil, magicians, Ying and Yang. Jordan can be brought back to life if Ivy, a stereo-type brat, can find his bo- nes. Since Jordan doesn’t remember what happened hia past is reviewed on a moving picture crewel tapestry, / Party ! Party ! ROA D H O U S E KITCHENER WATERLOO FEATURING: THE WORLDS LONGEST BAR LIVE ENTERTAIN M ENT TRAVEL BY MOTOR COACH F RI DAY , A P RI L 3rd tickets ; .20.00 ^ i -includes cover charge Dress code ,N0 JEANS Deadline March 25 Bus leaves Durham College north lotat 6 :00 Call 430-0279 between 6-8pm or’see Chris in D- 1 1 0. sed to avocation., now it has become part of the work ethic for me." Green started his career as a journa- list,, writing and gathering information for radio news. For 15 years all his jobs were related to writing. He has had a total off 5 books and plays published. The first book was published when he was 18 and still in university. It was called tody’s Place’. It was a story about a boy who has Leuke- mia. The thing that Stewart hopes to accomplish with this workshop is to help the student become accustomed to letting others read their material and provide constructive criticism. Stewart explains that this iFWot a course in which he will be teaching. Xanth’s version of a VCR. Like C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series, Xanth is populated by creatures who hinder or help Jordan. Where Lewis uses run of the mill mythical fantasies, Anthony is likely to create his own. The introduc- tion of these creatures are small stories in themselves. In one battle scene Anthony takes time out to describe the adversaries. He explains the loyalties and creation of an unique army of headstones. They all have a square solid body, a "grave" di- sposition and when they form a phalanx they are, rock, solid and immovable. They never admit defeat. In another chapter Anthony ex- pounds on the differences between a "For as long as I can remember I have been interested in writing. That’s all I ever thought I would be," Green said. there’s a Dragon in my Closet’ by John F. Green, illustrated by Linda Hendry is published by Scholastic -TAB Publi- cations Ltd, and is available in Canada, United States, Great Britain and Aus- tralia in hard and soft cover and French and English. Anyone who enjoys writing, whet- her it be conventionator non-conventio- nal poetry, short or long stories, maga- zine articles, etc., may submit their name to John Stewart in room D210 indicating if you are interested in poetry or prose and when the best time is for you to meet. night mare and a day mare, two popular breeds of horses on Xanth. Everyone knows what a night mare looks like but no one every remembers seeing her. The horse disappears whenever you’re awake and that in itself presents a few problems. The book’s pace is maintained because it is a formula writing that is recognizable and doesn’t take much concentration. Instead the reader conti- nually looks for the next pun, good or bad. After awhile they’re addictive. When the novel ends, happily, but with an unusual twist, the craving has become an unsatisfied habit. Chances are another trip to the library will be made to pick up the next in the series.
C o l l e g e po l i c i es ne ed c h a n g i n g Community colleges need to change their entrance standards, funding practices and attendance policies to become excellent, advises Dr. John Roueche. As Professor and Director, Community College Leader- ship Program, University of Texas at Austin, Roue- che was brought to Durham College by the Professio- nal Development Council. Roueche told two packed audiences in Durham Col- lege’s Lecture Theatre that open access educational institutions, such as Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT), face a far greater challenge than universities because of the diverse ability levels of their students. The 50% attrition rate from first year CAATs shows many students do not have the basic skills to cope with College courses. As well, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) has a narrow funding policy which forces students to spend too many hours working at jobs outside class to succeed with their programs. The award-winning teacher, writer and researcher has visited and consulted at 1100 community colleges, including 60 in Canada. Roueche says part-time students must be funded by MCU. Course loads for students who hold fulltimejobs should be limited to improve their chances of success. Students are trying to do too much at once, he concludes. The result is failure or dropout. He advocates partial loads and flexible course hours for working or single parent students. Entry level testing is crucial to lowering attrition. "No one should get in until he or she is qualified." Roueche says this means pre-testing and increased remedial Courses in basic communication and math courses, such as those offered by Durham’s General Studies program. His "right to succeed" policy has shown dramatic success at Florida’s Miami Dade Col- lege where these policy changes doubled the number of graduates in five years. Roueche told teachers and administration at Dur- ham that a lax attendance policy is counter-produc- tive to student success. Open door access should not mean come-to-class-if-you-want attendance. "The only ways students learn from teachers is to be in the classroom so teachers can teach them." Too many students in a "right to fail" school do just that fail, his research shows. Attendance is the most powerful predictor of success, confirms Roueche. At Miami Dade, student attendance is closely monitored. Through that college’s ’ student intervention model, students who miss one class are phoned immediately by their teachers. A follow-up phone call by college counsellors the same day asks why and volunteers help or course modifi- cation if necessary. A similar follow-up desk has been established by Durham’s student services depart- ment. At Miami Dade, however, students are suspen- ded after four missed classes. Word soon gets around that attendance is crucial to student success. The "we care about your success" mission at Miami Dade has shown positive results, with absenteeism elimi- nated. Dr. Roueche also addressed the need for excellence in teaching to make a college successful. His book with George Baker, Access with Excellence reviews the qualities of excellent teachers first outlined in Plato’s The Republic 2000 years ago. High expectations, demanding standards, unbridled enthusiasm -and deep interest in students top the list of valued qualities. Genius in teaching lies in relating to people - mo- tivating and developing values, attitudes and beliefs in others. Excellent teachers have commitment to do the things that all teachers know create excellence. Excellent teachers have high expectations of themselves and their students. They demand attendance and also stress the importance of teaching students to think for themselves. Frequent writing assignments teach students to think. Writing assignments as opposed to solely objective tests such as multiple guess, true or fake and short answers, teaches communication, analytic and problem solving skills. Roueche believes students now are expected to prac- tice regurgitation: memorizing meaningless answers to meaningless questions. "Students learn to think by being required to write." The final themes of excellence Roueche addressed for his Durham audience are the need for leadership and a partnership of all college staff- support, fac- ulty and administrative - to fulfill the college mission of service in education. He stresses training in human relations skills for all personnel,, from secu- rity guards to presidents. All must work together to achieve college goals. The excellent college sends a strong, steady message to staff and students the college cares about their success. "Colleges need staff who like themselves first; they are the ones who can like and serve others." * Caring about others contributes to pride in serving others and therefore- to excellence. Roueche recommends careful hiring-practices to ensure new hires match the values and attitudes of Durham College. "Emergence of pride in the organization is the first manifestation of the emergence of excellence." The accomplishment of this goal begins with college leadership. Just as the teachers’ leadership in the classroom is causal to student success, the administration’s leadership is causal to the college’s success. Concludes Roueche, leaving Durham with this challenge: "Excellent colleges don’t just happen! It is up to college administration to set the climate for the growth of excellence." Video tapes of Dr. John Roueche’s lecture are available for viewing in the Audio Visual Centre, second ’floor, B wing south. PARTICIPACTION MAKES PERFECT A pamiciPSCTion^^. KENT or BUY Reconditioned IBM’s from a35/month with option to purchase , \ New & Used Monthly Rates Office Furniture Typewriters Adding Machines Standard 915 Typewriters Electric 885 Oshawa Office Equipment 543 Riteon Rd. S. -,, .TO. QWM Phone 576-8834-
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