Saturday---Feb 27: Forest Hills College Writing 1 ought to continue working on the first assigned essay. Also, please read "Winning in City Schools" at the tab to the right and be prepared to discuss the elements of the approach to teaching which seemed to created the possibility for success. Please drop me an email if you have the chance, just to be in touch. See you next week, hopefully.

 Thursday---Feb 25: Hello, Ave J College Writing 1---Some very good writing is beginning to happen in class. Congratulations to us all! Along those lines, I felt that the next writing topic surfaced during yesterday's discussion of "The Necklace." It had to do with authenticity---being authentic or "real"...do you think there are advantages to being authentic....disadvantages to being inauthentic or fake/false?.....How is authenticity or the lack of it revealed in Mme. Loisel and M. Loisel's character and personality? How do you relate personally to topic within your own experience, or the experience of others you have known? As always, I welcome your feedback emails at wjoreilly@live.com. See you soon.

Sunday---Feb 21: A note to all students---well, we're off and running, and I'm hopeful for a meaningful semester. We're writing formally and informally, as well as using the spoken word to discuss literature, media stories and various controversial topics. As I've tried to get across, please try to keep your agreements in class--or--make new agreements that you can keep. Please be sure to have the telephone and email of at least one other student in class so that you can be brought up to date of any changes in direction in class work. The syllabus may be found in one of the tabs--but, as mentioned, things change, and often, rapidly. Stay in communication with me by email or by conversation either before or after class--as you should all your teachers (it can't hurt!). See you all very soon!

  Wednesday---Feb 17: Ave J. College Writing I----enjoyed today's class very much and look forward to your feedback; please use:  wjoreilly@live.com for your emails; by the way, "The Necklace" may be found here:  http://www.enotes.com/necklace-text

 Monday--Feb 8, 2010: Machon Intro to College Writing, great start, and I'm looking forward to continuing our discussion of "House on Mango Street"; we will be getting more into the mechanics of essay writing, including strategies for success on the qualifying final exam.

Thursday night Forest Hills College Writing 1, glad we've ironed out the class roster; please contact me with any clarifications about the assignment for this Thursday evening.

Feb 3, 2010: Greetings College Writing 1 students, Avenue J Touro Campus....I enjoyed our class today and thought we 'built the foundation' for the term....please refer any questions or considerations to my email address....as for the first reading selection, let's read "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant which can be found here: http://www.bartleby.com/195/20.html 

Please print up a copy and bring to class along with your "What Goes Around...." essay. Don't forget to email me by the weekend with feedback on today's class and also please increase your awareness of things happening in the world media. Be well!

 Make up Midterm:

Some say that we must find out our unique vision in this world and express it, despite how others would have us live our lives. Using the two stories we have read as well as your own personal experience in life and write a complete and balanced essay by our next class meeting.

If you have questions, please email me at:  wjoreilly@live.com

Enjoy.

Mr. O'Reilly

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Coll Writing 1 classes will be reading 

The Cask of Amontillado

 Please search and download a copy online and be prepared to discuss 

revenge, forgiveness and irony: unexpected twists and turns.

See you in class.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

See six of my Touro, Stillwell Ave Students speaking about Obama's first term in office at:

 http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-139886

 Thursday, October 30, 2008

Please Register at iReport.com and Follow My Media Stories, Some of Which Are Appearing on CNN

I want to invite you to read and respond to the stories I have been submitting to ireport.com, some of which have been appearing on CNN. I am focusing mainly on the presidential election, but also am commenting on other issues that are interesting or important in the spheres of argument and idea today.

Just go to   http://www.ireport.com/people/wjoreilly and select a story to read or a video to watch. Register with ireport, select a user name and then make an interactive comment below the story.

As always, your feedback, ideas and energy are extremely important to me--and to the world.

See you soon.

Mr. O'Reilly

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Please continue writing assignments, including rewrites and oral presentations that will commence when classes are  back in session. Please email me with any questions. Enjoy the holidays.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Forest Hills Intro Class--I enjoyed last night's class and I think it had to do with finding the correct balance between discussion and writing in class. I found the interactions productive and the tone of the class one of "team" which, to me, is why I do this--for the experience of class as team. You have now three essays to pull together for week after next. Please email me with any questions.  Best wishes during the holidays.

Monday,September 29, 2008 

CollWritingII students, please note (thanks to Kelly Ng) the link for the story "Sonny's Blues"  

www.wright.edu/~alex.macleod/winter06/blues.pdf

 Intro (Forest Hills) please note that we will write an in class essay, fyi, this Thursday.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Thursday night, Forest Hills Intro to Coll Writing class--just to restate  the assignment for next week: work on the rewrite of the "Contribution" essay and/or the first draft of the "Characterization" essay.

Here's a useful definition of characterization

Characterization is the process of conveying information about characters in fiction or conversation. Characters are usually presented by description and through their actions, speech, and thoughts.

Also, please read "A Worn Path" in its entirety. It may be found and downloaded at this link. Just copy and paste in your browser address window.

 http://www.moonstar.com/~acpjr/Blackboard/Common/Stories/WornPath.html

Once again,  best wishes to those celebrating the holidays and to their families, as well.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

 College Writing II:  Here is the wording for the "Parent Child Relationship" essay:

The parent-child relationship relationship is complex and, at times, conflicted. No one can deny the love that exists between the two, however, communications and control issues can sometimes make it difficult for the two to see eye to eye and empower one another to win in their lives. Explore the parent child relationship using your own life and the story "A Conversation with My Father" as examples of the complexity and conflict that are real and to be dealt with.

 With no classes next M, T and W, it means that we will not be meeting for two weeks. Please use any and all vehicles to try to stay in communication with me and your fellow students. I will respond as quickly as possible to emails. Also, I recommend using the Twitter account to post questions that your fellow students may be able to help answer for you. As I always say, we are not looking for perfection in my classes, we are looking for great communication. This coming may be challenging from that perspective, but with effort and care, I am confident that we will find the value and move ever closer to achieving our individual goals both in and out of the classroom.

Note for Monday night Neptune Campus CWI class and Tuesday afternoon Kings Highway class:

For our next meeting, please produce finished drafts of two essays: 1.Where do you intend to make your professional contribution and why? and 2. Describe how the author characterizes Mme. Loisel in "The Necklace." Please organize your essay using some system, such as "mind, body, spirit," or physical, psychological and spiritual, or some other way.

Also, please email me about your choice of topic for the oral presentation in class entitled "Something I know a lot About," which will also have a written essay component. Please be prepared to give your oral presentation of from 2-3 minutes by next class meeting, although the written essay will be due the following week.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Forest Hills Intro Class: Just to clarify the assignment for next week. Re-write your "contribution" essay if you elected to keep your essay last night. You may begin work on the following essay topic:

In today's demanding world, some families elect to have both parents working, while other families subscribe to the idea that "the man works and the wife stays at home." What are your views on these differing interpretations of the spousal relationship?

Also, Thursday students should re-read "A Worn Path" and we will continue our analysis and discussion next week. The story may be found online at the following address:  http://www.moonstar.com/~acpjr/Blackboard/Common/Stories/WornPath.html

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Please note that account you will "follow" on twitter is now called "touro" instead of "tourocollege."

Thank you for those who have created accounts; we look forward to others of you creating yours as soon as possible. This micro-blogging technology will permit us to maintain during the October break, and also to enhance our learning experience during the term.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Yahoo informed me that this site was down for a time, but is now back up and running. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

I'd like to welcome my new Tuesday afternoon section of CWI at Kings Highway Campus. All of my students at Neptune, KH, Stillwell and Forest Hills are encouraged to open a personal account at twitter.com and then select "follow" tourocollege. This will permit us to explore the "micro-blogging" experience that Twitter has to offer, just as the major news agencies are doing in their daily reporting. The intent is to have our Twitter accounts up and running for the extended October break. Of course students who are observing religious holidays and who are not permitted to use this technology are exempt from this assignment. Please notify me of such matters as soon as possible by email: wjoreilly@live.com or in person in class.

See you soon!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Thank you for your cooperation in the transitional first week of our classes.  Students have demonstrated supportiveness in building an interactive and language-rich context for our meetings thus far. I thank you. Please note that recent changes have been made to the syllabus for your class, but I can predict that there will be further changes as I adapt the course to suit the needs and strengths of  each student cohort. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at any time. 

 Thursday, September 11, 2008

All students should be pleased to know that there has been a Twitter account created for our class. It will require that you go to  www.twitter.com

and register for your own free account. Then search for tourocollege and choose to "follow" it. This will allow us to be able to leave short "micro-blogs" of 140 characters and share about literature, class, life, existence...it may take a little while to get used to, but it should be a great tool during the extended October break, just to keep all of us "in the loop." More on this in class.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Just to clarify, all College Writing I classes will start with the reading of "The Necklace." If you read "Cask...." that's ok, since we will get to it later. The first writing assignment will be "Where Do You Intend to Make Your Professional Contribution---and Why?" For our next meeting, you need only have a draft of this. We will work on it in class and it will be due as a 5 paragraph essay next week.Thank you to all who emailed me this week. It is not "too late" for those who have not done so yet.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Please note that the Thursday evening class in Forest Hills will be reading "A Worn Path" for next week's class. I enjoyed meeting both last night's class in Queens, and Wednesday's class at the Stillwell Avenue Campus in Brooklyn. Some students have already sent me brief feedback emails--much appreciated--and I look forward to hearing from each student by the designated deadline. I look forward to a productive, dynamic, communicative and successful term--I invite you to occupy the same outlook.

Touro College Students: Please use the syllabus corresponding to your course (although probably not your section) found in one of the tabs to the left. The course content will not be substantially different from what appears there, although there may be some variation from time to time. The reading selections and most writing assignments will probably remain the same, although the best policy in this class is "sustained ongoing dialogue," which is to say, ask me.

Just wrapped pilot "Troubleshooters" for possible bi-coastal distribution. As host/anchor, I am focusing on improvements to service institutions, using my image/media associates to complete the "transformation." I'll be sure to update as production/release info becomes available.