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updated 7/4/11

 

Curriculum innovation to teach writing and ethics flags in Freshman Seminar, Plan II Freshman English, and Upper-Division English.

"Write either a Craigslit adoption ad for an animal on death row at the Town Lake Animal Shelter with only a few hours to live or write a short biograpical adoption ad for one of the animals at Austin Pets Alive who has been rescued from death row, thereby making room for them to rescue another one from death row.Ó This assignment gives students an ethical motivation to write.

Why this assignment? It is not only experiential and service learning, it strengthens the foundation of ethics, the sympathetic imagination, which enhances in turn enhances the ultimate ethical virtue, compassion.

NEWS MEDIA COVERAGE OF THIS ASSIGNMENT TO DATE:

 

ABC News website article by Suyun Hong: ÒHomework That Saves AnimalsÓ Mar. 16. 18 comments by April 1

DAILY TEXAN article by Huma Munir: "Recent report criticizes efficiency of UT faculty"  Jul. 4

Austin Uweekly article by Amanda Chappel. April 27. 5 comments

 

KNOW (U.T. Office of Public Affairs) Jan. 21 College of Liberal Arts  Jan. 28: article by Rose Cahalan: ÒService Learning Course is a Win-Win for Students, Rescued AnimalsÓ

 


TO GET STARTED EXPLORE http://www.austinpetsalive.org

AND, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CAR, http://www.capmetro.org/planner/


 

 

honi soit motto

Dinah, the cat adopted by the instructor.


1. Must incorporate at least one published APA or Craigslist bio (around 300 words) accepted by Judy Racino (cats) or Mary (Craigslist ads for both dogs and cats). This is not a first draft, but your best writing. It should be the result of careful proofreading, for this will be published for all to see and animal's fate depends on your writing. Instructions on how to do this are here.

The project you produce for the class is different from your APA or Craigslist bio. Your APA bio is usually no longer than 300 words. Your project, however, must be at least 1400 words: at least 700 words from the animal's point of view; at least 700 words of your reflection on the experience. Your project must also include all your own original videos and photos of the animal.

honi soit mottohoni soit motto

honi soit mottohoni soit motto

 

1. FIRST, YOU EXPAND THE BIO TO 700 WORDS.

You could use the following approach, though not, of course, in these words:

We know _______'s history after s/he was put in the shelter, but like all (so many) of the dogs and cats who end up in the Town Lake Animal Shelter (Center) ___________'s name was put on the books there with little or no information about his/her past. __________ can not tell us what happened to him/her before the Shelter. So we will speak for him as best we can. We know that he was either homeless or rejected by his family. Let's assume he was homeless and that his story was something like this.

[his or her story as you imagine it up to and including his being put in the shelter]. Then, you tell the animal's story from is point of view, knowing that, like all of the dogs and cats who end up in the shelter, the animal suffered the trauma of the long wait to be adopted, then the short death-row wait to be killed, then ecstasy of escape from death at the last minute, the joy of meeting up with the APA rescuers, then the loving kindness of the APA! drivers, doctors, foster parents, volunteers at the adoption locations, etc. Then he or she experienced the wait with the foster parents, the wait at the Petsmart and other street adoption sites, perhaps picking up a few diseases along the way, like ring worm, Feline Herpes Virus, etc.


2. THEN, HOW DO YOU ADD AT LEAST SEVEN-HUNDRED WORDS OF REFLECTION ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE? FIRST OF ALL, YOU WANT TO HAVE A UNIFIED ESSAY.

To add the reflection, and maintain some unity, you can at least set up a chronology. First I got the assignment. I felt..... I thought..... Then I went to the cattery...... Then I felt.... Then I thought....Then I pretended to be the cat ........Then ........ etc. etc.. That's not the best way but is better than no unity at all, I think.


honi soit mottohoni soit motto

 honi soit motto

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