Feedback Focus

Feedback Focus

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(Open Books in a Library)

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Q: How would you rank the three strategies in terms of their usefulness to you?

A: For me, I think the best technique was the third, Use a Timer. I often have so many things going on that I do not realize that I am not 100% focused on the task at hand. The other two techniques are not really my style as I do not like stopping in the middle of the story unless I am absolutely compelled to (I'd rather highlight as I go) and reading aloud kind of takes me out of the story. 

Q:Were you surprised by the way these different strategies affected your reading?
A: The one that was most surprising was the reading aloud technique. I thought because of my background in theatre/public speaking I would immediately get really into it. But instead the opposite happened, I lagged and had to reread more than usual. 

Q: For each strategy, what would you say is its biggest advantage? And its biggest disadvantage?
A: The biggest advantage/disadvantage for Reading Aloud is the higher attention to detail but that's offset by the longer it takes to get through the story.

     The biggest advantage/disadvantage for Copy and Delete is having focused feedback already set but one might lose the flow of story when consistently stopping.  

     The biggest advantage/disadvantage for Use a Timer is the keen attention one pays when only focused on reading but a downfall might be the inevitability of not adhering to the timer thus losing its advantage.  

Q: Would you try any of these strategies in the future?
A: I will definitely have to play around with the Use a Timer technique not just in reading but in all areas of my studies. 

Story: Twenty-Two Goblins

Fourth Time's a Charm

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(Suitors Vying for a Woman)

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A King, so mighty and high

Fell indebted to a Monk just trying to get by

The Monk, you see, had been giving the king hidden jewels

For this grace, the King granted him a pack of mules

"No, dear King, what I desire is not cattle,"

"But rather, for someone to dissolve this problem I tackle!"

"A problem?" said the King quite clearly

"Yes! A problem with a goblin who robs me so dearly!"

And so the King grateful for the Monk's help

Went off to fulfill the Monk's request with a great yelp

"Off I go into the night,"

"To fetch a goblin from a great tree's height!"

Once he fetched the goblin down from the tree

The goblin awoke with a bright glee

"Oh King let me once tell you a riddle,"

"It tells of a boy stuck in the middle..."

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In a charming kingdom, far far away

Lived a beauty as undeniable as the day

This beauty was a boy named Charm

He was the son of the King and Queen to which none would do any harm

Charm was born out of Shiva's grace

Promising that his charm would put Aphrodite out of place

Once asked "what would be deemed as a suitable match?"

"A woman who knows a science front to back, that I would deem quite a catch!"

Soon word travelled all throughout 

And then came four scientific suitors from the south route

Prepared, was each woman with a science none could doubt

"Let me hear of these sciences, and hope a new love will sprout."

The first woman arrived with a beautifully sewn suit

"None could better fill out this piece than a beauty of such absolute."

The first suitor was indeed a seamstress of such refine

Her stitches almost seemed as if they were made from fine wine

The second woman then piped up to say 

"But I know all the calls of any beasts or prey!"

You see, the second woman knew of all and any animal

The father of Charm then responded, "Ah yes, a skill quite valuable!"

"Valuable? Ha! Yet what will you do when a beast attacks?"

Said the third woman waiting, "You could do nothing but see their tracks!"

"Unlike her, I am quite skilled with a sword!"

The third woman indeed could protect the Prince from any hoard

The fourth suitor, quiet up until that point, said "well what of my skill?"

"I can bring any man back from the dead, my hands, they have the magic to heal!"

Elated but puzzled by the fourth man's becoming power

The father cried,"I will make my decision within the hour!"

. . .

Hunched on the shoulder of King

The goblin asked, "So what of part of the story did you cling?"

"Can you answer the riddle of which suitor the father did choose?"

"Remember answer truthfully or your death shall be the end of this ruse!"

The shadowed King, confidently did he speak 

"Oh goblin, this riddle was indeed quite weak!"

The answer can easily be found in the crafts

To not see the answer, was to be quite daft

"The answer is neither the zoologist or seamstress,"

"For no father has a need for lessons or neatness."

"Neither is the answer the witch who can bring back lives,"

"For messing with such a fate can induced deadly hives."

"Alas, I believe the answer is the woman as fierce a man,"

"To be a swordsman of great caliber, is to be higher than those cavemen."

Rejoiced, the goblin did leap off the King

"Do catch up as I go back to my tree, for the Monk still needs you to bring!"

Off the goblin went to hang from the tree once again

And the King does follow as fast as he can

Thus the cycle does continue on

The King being played as tiny pawn

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This story is based off of "The Four Scientific Suitors. To which should the girl be given?", an excerpt of Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).

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Author's Note

The tale of "The Four Scientific Suitors. To which should the girl be given?" is one of the many riddles a goblin gives to a king. This king, who is indebted to a monk, is forced to give an answer to each of the goblin's riddles. For if he does not know the answer, he is allowed to keep on his journey to deliver the goblin to the monk. Yet if he knows the answer but does not say, his head will explode. But even worse, if he correctly guesses the answer the goblin leaps out of his reach and returns to the tree, forcing the king to trek all the back to get the goblin again. The reason I chose this riddle in particular is the fun challenge I might have retelling this one more than the others. 

For this story I challenged myself to retell the tale using two different techniques, a poem and gender-swapping.  While already familiar with the poem writing style, I wanted to try my hand at it again to see if I could do better at getting the point across with a shorter story. Yet I also wanted to try out an element I am thinking of using for my project: gender-swapping. Only changing the genders of the main girl and her four suitors, I tried to focus in on what were the consequences of doing such. For instance, if the first suitor is a tailor, does that make the female mirror a seamstress? Working out the kinks of what each gender change meant for the characters was an fun task to take on. Hopefully you enjoyed the piece! 

Reading Notes: Twenty-Two Goblins Part A

Reading Notes
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Twenty-Two Goblins Part A

(the goblin in the tree)

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The Three Lovers

    This story/riddle was interesting because it, much like its title, kept with the rule of threes. There were three men, who did three different tasks, and ultimately fought over the tasks to reclaim their beloved Coral. Maybe I could retell this story using a different writing style rule? Also it might be interesting to explore the king's answer to a greater extent.

Brave, Wise, Clever

    What I would want to elaborate more on the most in this story is the meeting of son and the brave man as well as the mother and the wise man. I feel as though the clever man's first meeting with the father was the only one that properly described why he could be seen as a clever man. While with the other two men it was a short sentence and that's it. 

The Girl, Her Husband and Her Brother

   Maybe if I were to further explore the reasoning behind her husband's and brother's willingness to take their own lives I could find a different motivation in the story? The idea that the head is the most important member of the body is a good life lesson that could be spun into a childhood fable.

Food, Women, Cotton

   The specialist in cotton was the most intriguing character in this story by far. As noticed by the king, it is only the specialist in cotton that could have not known beforehand and thus is the most clever. More than that though, it is baffling on how a singular piece of hair could make a mark on his skin. For some unknown reason, this reminded me of a jinni, an arab deity (probably because of the burning of the mark into the skin). Maybe I could work in a way to combine the two?

The Four Scientific Suitors

   I feel like this story in particular would benefit the most from a gender-swap. Especially when you consider the king's answer being one of hyper-masculinity, that only the science that had a decent amount of manhood in it could be considered worthy of Grace. 

The Three Delicate Wives

    One thing I found interesting throughout all of these riddles is the obvious names each of the characters is given. If the son is meant to be braver than the rest, his name is Brave. If the daughter was born beneath the moon, her name is Crescent. I am unsure of how to shape this into a writing style that I could form a whole story about but it is at least an fun idea to play with when retelling each story. 

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All reading notes based off of Twenty-Two Goblins, translated by Arthur W. Ryder, with illustrations by Perham W. Nahl (1917).