Tangents and Readjusting Focus on My Research

I’m a bit embarrassed to say how much time I’ve spent on my research so far, but it’s certainly been more than a full workday. And it seems that even as I make progress, there are more questions that need answering. Karen is right, all the information within Jane Maher’s biography could easily spread over the course of a semester.

I think time management is where I’ve really honed my skills. On principle, I can’t do mediocre work without feeling guilt and disappointment. Take this for example: for me, most of last week was spent exploring the 1960’s and the important political (both national and international) figures, movements, and catastrophes. It wasn't enough to just get some dates and statistics and move on. Eventually my decision came down to only using the essential facts required to give a background on the political tension that led to the City College takeover and eventually the implementation of the Open Admissions policy. Still, I found myself getting carried away, reading newspaper archives, searching for protest photos of various movements, and even watching a presidential address by President Nixon. In fact, I listened to Creedence Clearwater Revival! I said this to Karen last week but it’s worth reiterating, I'm immersed in the period and find myself being ripped apart from the tragedies and consequences of the Vietnam War while also being inspired by the energy of the Black, Latino, and Women's movements.

However, I see the importance of letting certain things go in my research. I'm back to focusing  on Open Admissions with relation to Mina Shaughnessy and I can say, pretty confidently, that her innovation in the field of Basic Writing is directly correlated to Open Admissions. And this is part of what I will spend the next couple of days focusing on in my part of the presentation