I had not read Erasmus before this class, but I feel like I am very familiar with his philosophy. The emphasis on the creation of both (quality) words and ideas is the foundation of most composition classes. His development of the idea of copie--"an abundantly varied flow of speech that impresses with its energy and inventiveness" (Bizzell, 583)--seems to be the goal of all composition instructors.
Erasmus reaches back to classical rhetoric in his reference (and deference) to Quintilian suggesting that if Quintilian had had the opportunity to "set out his recommendations in full" (598), he would not need to have written Copia. His suggestions, however, are well-stated. Book I reminds me a bit of Joseph Williams' Style in his call to "compress and abridge" what is being said. The idea of clarity-brevity-sincerity seems to have its foundations here. Also, the expression of the richness of both expression and subject matter are still prevalent in current theory.
What most caught my attention, however, was the pedagogy that he describes. In "Exercises to Develop the Powers of Expression," he explains the need for deliberate practice of expressing ideas in a variety of sentence structures, but what most surprised me was his insightful observation that this activity is best accomplished within a group--peer teaching. It reminded me of the video we watched at the end of class last week, where students were most curious, driven, and successful in learning when left to their own devices. His emphasis on practice has also made its way into today's pedagogy as students are continually reminded that if they do not practice the sentence variety, vocabulary, and word choice they're taught--if they only "learn" it for the lesson--the style will not present itself when they need it. I also like his cautionary note, something we again share with students, that word choice is important, but it must fit the occasion. How many of us had thesaurus-laden papers from students who thought it would be "clever" to choose two or three new words in each sentence from the first entry in the thesaurus? Although a bit overdone, his practical demonstration is one of the "best practices" for almost any classroom. Modeling expectations and examples provides a specific goal for students and helps clearly establish the criteria the instructor is looking for.
Erasmus also expresses the importance of arrangement--reaching back to Aristotle advising to "take care not to throw the proper order of the various parts into confusion by mixing everything up in an indiscriminate chaos of utterances" (610). The advice to "prevent tedium in the reader or hearer by skillful arrangement, appropriate allocation, and elegant disposition" (610) is still to be heeded today.
Excellent post here. Really good analysis of the thought of Erasmus. Nice connection, too, to pedagogy today. There are options when we write. It's not just what comes to the forefront of our heads first. Take the time it takes. You've done that here. Well done.
ReplyDeleteDear Deb,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar sense of déjà vu as you in last week’s video that showed us students who were most curious, driven, and successful in learning when left to their own devices.
I would suggest that perhaps this is a “natural” way to knowledge. Many times , I feel we are over-directed to learning when if left to our own devices (and given the right motivation) all of us will learn what we need.
A case in point: getting your driver’s licence. This is a right of passage for many kids and some get it as soon as they legally can. Others don’t see its value until they are older and get it as adults. But everyone that needs to get somewhere learns that driving a car is faster.
Similarly, the learning we are doing in this class is dependant on us being self-directed learners. Certainly, we have a passion for our subject and this drives us, and Dr. Rice is always available to facilitate discussion and answer questions, but ultimately what we learn depends on us.
Actually, I’m reminded of what’s loosely termed the Montessori method (because there are so many “flavours” of it).
It is interesting that Montessori’s modern approach was also used in the distant past.
Deb,
ReplyDeleteI have thoroughly enjoyed this post and your connection to your own classroom experiences. Your words really triggered me to think back on the various angles that rhetors we've studied this semester have offered on ability and practice. We can apply such to both teachers and students.
While I agreed with your "a bit overdone" comment while reading, I imagine that at one time, this information was much more fresh. And the expanse of it was more needed. Less understood. I felt the same way about the letter writing components and examples in the medieval period. But those extensive examples were highly valued then and might have modeled just what someone wanted to express.
What do we teach today may seem excessive the future? And what comments on ability and practice do we talk to students about? Are we overly reliant on practice today? What do you think?
Emily