(You may note that I didn’t use any exclamation points in the title of this post.)
One of the responses to our workshop evaluations that I've always been most proud of is “Peggy’s enthusiasm is infectious.” That’s my goal, to get other teachers excited about using technology in the classroom.
When I first started this blog, my ONE reader, “Brungrrl,” offered (lovingly) some constructive criticism. She said that I use too many exclamation points. When I thought about it, of course she's right. She’s quite an accomplished writer herself – I say that with pride – and she is known to be brutally honest. My writing skills are so rusty though that I need all the help I can get. I also noted that I use too many ellipses (that’s the dot dot dot thing).
Using the exclamation points was, I suppose, an effort to convey the enthusiasm I feel for the new technologies that I'm discovering every day. I can’t promise not to overuse exclamation points in the future, but I’m working on my addiction.
Using the ellipse is a totally different problem. I think it is because I’m lazy. I have a lot more thoughts and information running around in my head, but rather than type it in, I just use the ellipse and assume that my readers (if I have any) have the same thoughts running around in their heads. It saves me the time and effort of typing. I will try to work on this problem as well. I remember when we lived in Vinton county, the local newspaper had a reporter who used ellipses after every sentence. I always wanted to print and cut out a bunch of punctuation and send it to her, but I was nice instead.
The point of this post is some basic self-reflection that was triggered by John Rappold’s blog post yesterday - the section on "The GA Factor." OMG – I’m afraid that I’m a “glad ass” now. Paranoia has set in. Maybe I need to get a grip on my ”infectious enthusiasm” – what do you think? And don’t tell me that I just “need to get a life.” I love the geeky life I have.
(Whew. That was difficult. Not one exclamation point.)
2 comments:
I really had a good laugh with your post. Of course I don't think your are "GA". I meant my explanation more for people who talk as if there is an exclamation mark after each sentence. You certainly aren't like that in the podcasts, so you are safe.. I'll send you a link to a podcast that defines the term.
Oh Peggy, I personally love that you are a "GA". I also practice the overuse of exclamation points mainly because of the danger of being perceived as apathetic in my emails. Although if I start including heart emoticons please feel free to intervene. Great post!
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