The Syllabus Genre

Really, I just want to to use the word syllabi, again and again.
Soft like lullaby
(shhhh... syllabi).
Or strong like you might shout it over the top of cymbals:
syllabi! syllabi! syllabi!
Love the sound of that word...

But what I'm working toward is a syllabus (which sounds slightly more serious, don't you think?). About that, seriously...

I've never written a syllabus for a course. Makes me thing that I'll need to undertake my own sort of "genre study" (something my preservice LA teachers are learning about this week, too!). Of course, studying the syllabus genre isn't studying mysteries, or pictures books, or feature articles with my kiddoes in discussion on the carpet in front of a language chart (oh, the memories...). But the basic idea of genre study is the same: the need to read examples, to discuss and notice features, and to try one's hand at writing in the genre.

Starting with reading within the genre then:

So far, I've seen Smagorinsky and Whiting's examples in How English Teachers get Taught. It's helpful that they've compared syllabi from across a variety of English classrooms and suggested important considerations for teachers (including the structure of the class, activities, assessments, theoretical issues, etc.). I'm excited (if slightly daunted) by the endless possibilities...

I find myself attracted to features from a variety of approaches. For example, in my 2nd/3rd grade classroom, I used Writer's Workshop (primary focus on individual language, language as expression, natural development) as well as lots of discussion and group work (primary focus on language as socially-constructed, language use in context). I also used instructional scaffolding at times (focus on language as development). I'm still wrestling with the new understanding that these are based on different (and often competing) theoretical positions. But, as the S & W suggest, these can also be complimentary. As a teacher, I find myself pulling from multiple approaches, making room for complimentary ideas that all make sense within our particular learning community. Sort of a principled eclectic approach, but with a primary emphasis on learning as a sociocultural endeavor.

Getting back to our examples of model syllabi:

* We get 5 in the back of the S & W book. (Who else found #3 and its volume of "Petulant Notes on Prose Style" a little bit (okay, a lot bit) ridiculous?)

* Given that these syllabi are also from 1992, I think it might be important for my "genre study" to explore more recent examples to help me envision how technology has changed the face of the syllabus...

* Where might we find more examples? Thoughts? Thanks!

P.S. I see the 12 NCTE standards but I can't find any guidelines for teacher education like the ones the S & W cite. Thoughts? Thanks again!