Where Your Adventures Begin!

Welcome

From cliffs to caverns

Sunray’s quest for tiny dewdrops

aspires tears into Prisms

I wrote this haiku in 2008 just after losing my job and finding out that my wife would never be able to work again. At the time it helped me express what I felt emotionally, it had profound personal meaning. This was but one way I chose to communicate. I could have easily tried a blank verse, wrote a dairy (I did not know about blogging until about a year later), screenplay, or any other of thousands of other methods to share my experiences. So, why did I make this choice? Well, at the time it was something that I can write quickly because of the whirl of quick decisions that I had to make. I also knew the guidelines, structure, my audience (myself), and the application of use. Of course, I was actually wrong! Two of my lady friends understood its meaning perhaps better than myself and I never thought of applying the haiku in a website article of all places. I invite you to think, did I make the right choice?

This is what I mean about the subtle art of using our language at any given moment in our lives. However, we also have broader reality considerations such as the importance of writing business plans, advertising copy, reviews of products and more. Even on this website we plan to share examples of language in our daily lives to learn, be entertained and to apply. We even from time to time give real time information as current events happen or progressions of projects (alliteration) by using step by step ways you can manipulate language to your own benefit. Think of language arts as just another tool for survival. Do you comprehend any of this?

I am sure you do, I prefer not to dwell long here…A recent event easily illustrates some of my point. A former college football coach has been accused of alleged sexual abuse of boys. He made a (strategically uneducated) decision to speak out on national television. When he was asked a question about his attraction to boys he paused, then gave a roundabout explanation until he finally got to the word “no”. He hurt his image with that pause. The pause in our language is represented by a coma. Comas or pauses allow a time for others to either catch up or go ahead and imagine what will be next. Well, I think the public has imagined enough about this man’s character. His use of language at this moment may have changed his life.

Really, let’s do some brief time traveling! I graduated college with a major in English Education. I was taught how to interpret and write many forms of literature. Yet I remembered my first full time job as a library clerk. The librarian asked me if I know how to do an inventory report. She waited for my professional reply but I never got to the point. In my mind the answer was no, was it like doing a book report! Of course this was totally ridiculous. I learned that it was a simple listing of supplies that the library uses. Yet it was vital to the function of the branch and often the items listed had to be quantified described in order for the head librarian can make certain decisions.

When I taught seventh grade language arts I was often asked by my students why should they learn the term and the various uses of a metaphor. Here is a simple answer. We are human! We are social, emotional, and curious about ourselves and the world we live in. Even with the economic and political issues of today we make comparisons of everything from purchasing choices to who may have our vote. Language Arts is not just for enrichment of self or boring rules that you memorized just to get an “A” on a long forgotten essay in High School but is important to our ongoing survival.The art of using our language never stops! This is the website that will help you use the skills of language arts for the rest of your life.

From 12.2011

Language Arts for Life!

The Word

Creative Writing From Old News

Writing Assesment

Steps'