So in another post over on The Crafting English Prof., I mentioned going to see a friend of mine speak at a conference in the last week of May. Actually, I went to see my good friend LaRita Jacobs and her sister Mari Yentzer Raines. LaRita spoke about proofreading, meeting management, and networking, while Mari covered Age Diversity and The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus. They both spoke on other topics as well, but I wasn't able to sit in on those because of scheduling conflicts. I found all the sessions interesting, not only because I know and really like these two vibrant women, but because they were just interesting! They were everything that all the other corporate training sessions I've ever attended weren't: fun, interactive, engaging. And what really surprised me, is that even the sessions that theoretically have nothing do to with my job description (after all, I'm a teacher, not a corporate anything...) I really got a lot out of!
Oh yeah--you read that right--The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus. I was amused when I first heard the topic. I mean, you just don't think about Santa and leadership. I mentioned my musings to Amy, who pondered it for a minute, and said "but really, he does a lot in that one night... that takes some plannin'." So I decided if I could, I would sit in on that session.
Mari made a lot of interesting points--about how Santa keeps the elves happy, and how to effectively make changes to procedure and policy, etc. But the thing that really stood out to me was Santa's list. You know the drill: he makes his list and he checks it twice. And that got me to thinkin'... How can we apply that idea to writing? Well, turns out it's really easy, especially when Mari mentioned "planning your work" and "working your plan." Check it out:
Plan your work: Okay, this begins with brainstorming, but can move all the way into the outlining phase of an essay. And really, beyond. One thing I try to tell every class is to try outlining "after the fact."It's not something that will take the place of the pre-outline, but it can certainly serve to keep you on track after the draft is written.
Now, working your plan: if you've written the outline, why not use it? I mean, really, it just makes good sense.
And Mari mentioned one other thing: Make the most of what you have. So, if you're reading this and you're one of my students, you either attend St. Petersburg College or Hillsborough Community College, and as such, you have access to a wealth of diverse resources, not the least of which are campus tutors and the entire Florida Academic Library System... Make use of these resources! Your tuition pays for them!
So there's a little tidbit of my fun week. I'll probably post more later!
Prof. Wilson
(Oh--Mari's workshop is based on a book by Eric Harvey and David Cottrell. Just in case you're interested!)
