Blog #20: Fishbowl Responses

Group 1 - Thursday
Austin Woodruff - http://woodruffaustinapenglishlit2016.blogspot.com/

Hi Austin! I think you had a very beautifully designed poster with the use of font and color. I think you really showed what Hagelslag meant to you. I think you did a good job during the Fishbowl considering you guys had way less time than anticipated. I liked how you talked a lot and had very interesting analysis of Their Eyes Were Watching God. The part about freedom being free from culture was quite interesting, I had never considered that culture itself might be a constricting factor on a person. I think you can improve on citing more outside sources. You were the only one to bring up a poem, but I think you could have demonstrated better synthesis with more outside connections. Also, your discussion could have benefited from more questions. It's good that the group can take a topic and run with it, but it may be better to switch gears every now and then. Overall, a good job in strict time constraints.

Group 2 - Friday

Grace Huang - http://huanggraceapenglish2015.blogspot.com/

Hi Grace! I really liked your memoir, as Chinese American myself, it really struck a cord. I think you did a great job during the discussion, you had a strong presence and helped lead the discussion. I liked how you referenced the poems and synthesized from several sources about identity. The part about how hair could mean different things was an interesting idea. Citing "Medusa" and "Rapunzel" in the discussion added a new layer of complexity on what symbols can mean. Though at times I feel you may have started to drift too far from Their Eyes Were Watching God. But overall, I think you did a very good job in the discussion and helped contribute to the class’s complex understanding of Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Group 3 - Monday

Akane Ohara - http://oharaakaneapenglish2015.blogspot.com/

Hi Akane! I liked your video a lot. I think you made a really strong connection to your heritage. It's also really well made, the camera work and editing are very well refined. Your food was also very tasty and visually appealing. I also liked the design of your poster, simple but well made design, all the colors complemented each other. I think the fishbowl was quite good too. The "Rapunzel "discussion was quite interesting, looking at how Rapunzel's relationship to her grandmother helped illustrate the same idea in Their Eyes Were Watching God. I think, however, you could have talked more, I feel that other people dominated the conversation and you fell a bit more into the background. Overall, I liked your food presentation and your discussion, I just think there should have been more of it.

Group 4 - Tuesday
Kelly Wu - http://wukellyapenglish2015.blogspot.com/

Hi Kelly! I think you had a great video. Your sister was very cute and having your family around to help make Tang Yuan helped reinforce the theme of your connection to your family and China. I felt that red on black was a bad choice for the poster. It made it very hard to read the text on it. I felt you should have talked more in the fishbowl, it felt like you were following others’ lead rather than leading the discussion. The discussion on foreshadowing how the marriages turned out was good discussion; I'd never considered that element and it helped me think about Their Eyes were Watching God a bit more complexly. Noting the strong parallels to both "Helen" poems also added to the complexity. Overall, great video but I didn't really like your poster. I think what you said for the discussion was good, but I wanted more.