I think I should get an A because I came prepared for class each day and participated. My group stimulated a tense, but useful discussion around the politics of inclusion in classrooms and we fostered some deep reflection in the group. I think everyone in my book club did the reading and was invested in thinking about what information needed to be covered before bringing Persepolis into the classroom.
I've been thinking a lot about how to present white privilege to suburban teens who are struggling with issues like drug and alcohol abuse as well as others. I think the struggles of the students might make them more reluctant to hear about privilege. I also have been thinking about how bringing dark texts into the classroom will effect those students. I am hearing extremely mixed opinions about whether or not it is a good or bad idea to present really dark, nihilistic texts to students who might already have nihilistic thought structures about the world.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
8-4-11
I remember reading House on Mango Street my freshman year and finding it incredibly effective. Although the characters described in Sandra Cisneros's novel come from different neighborhoods, families, and cultures than I do, I still found myself compelled and invested in the literature because I could relate to it despite my lack of certain cultural capital. Similarly, in college, I read Morrison's Beloved in my Black Women Writer's class and fell in love with her wisdom and writing despite having incredibly different experiences as a person.
What struck me about both texts was the poeticism in the writing; how the feelings of the novel bled through the typeface and onto my hands holding the book and stuck to me, even after I put them down. It does not matter that I am not Latina or Black. I am a woman, I come from communities, I've suffered loss, and I have grown up. These are the things that connected me to the texts. What does matter is that I recognized that these authors and characters were Latina and Black. It created a sense of global understanding for me. As a high schooler, it made me realize how, essentially, everyone has difficulty with their home communities. The differences in my difficulties from the protagonist provided me with an insight into how familial and community relationships can function (or not) outside of my own experience and understanding.
What struck me about both texts was the poeticism in the writing; how the feelings of the novel bled through the typeface and onto my hands holding the book and stuck to me, even after I put them down. It does not matter that I am not Latina or Black. I am a woman, I come from communities, I've suffered loss, and I have grown up. These are the things that connected me to the texts. What does matter is that I recognized that these authors and characters were Latina and Black. It created a sense of global understanding for me. As a high schooler, it made me realize how, essentially, everyone has difficulty with their home communities. The differences in my difficulties from the protagonist provided me with an insight into how familial and community relationships can function (or not) outside of my own experience and understanding.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
8-3-11
The thing that struck me most about Morrison's introduction is the feeling she captures of seeing yourself represented through art. The feeling I get to Rufus Wainwright croon about his queer understanding of love, heartbreak, and home is similar to the novel's description of what the Black character experiences listening to Louie Armstrong. The representational practices of identity and the politics of the self are complicated and it takes a long time for individuals to cope with this idea. Am I compelled towards Queer literature, film, and theory because I think its fascinating, well yes. But I am more so compelled because I am Queer. I also love and am fascinated by other cultures' canons, but there is inherently less at stake for me as an individual reading those texts. I don't just mean obvious differences, I mean Southern texts, or war narrative texts, etc.
The implied literary Blackness and Whiteness that Morrison describes is also incredibly interesting to me and something that I view through my lens as well. It is obvious to me reading Dorian Gray that Basil is a gay man. It is not explicitly stated in the text, but I just know. I have a cultural currency in this text that other readers might not have. Just like, I just know that Martha in Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe is really a gay man bickering with his partner.
When texts through us for a loop- the Giovanni's Room, or Dumbledore effect- it can be shocking as a reader to encounter.
The implied literary Blackness and Whiteness that Morrison describes is also incredibly interesting to me and something that I view through my lens as well. It is obvious to me reading Dorian Gray that Basil is a gay man. It is not explicitly stated in the text, but I just know. I have a cultural currency in this text that other readers might not have. Just like, I just know that Martha in Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe is really a gay man bickering with his partner.
When texts through us for a loop- the Giovanni's Room, or Dumbledore effect- it can be shocking as a reader to encounter.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
8-2-11
I was born in America and am an American citizen. Growing up, I had a lot of pride for America in elementary school whenever we would discuss events like the Civil War (being from the Land of Lincoln, this was a very proud point), World War I, and World War II. I grew up in the nineties and thought that America was the best country in the world for a long time. But, then I got to high school. I started learning about our darker past that had been hidden from me as an elementary student. I learned about how America actually knew about Concentration Camps in Germany and chose not to enter the war at the point, institutionalized racism, became politicized, realized how corrupt many of our systems as a country were, and realized that I was gay- and, therefore, a kind of outsider in my own country.
I was, to say the least, a little disenfranchized. I resented my country a little bit. But, as I ventured into college, I decided that this was a healthy response. I spent a great deal of time researching Weimar, Germany, Berlin, Christopher Isherwood, the politics of adaptation, the Holocaust, the history of the pink triangle, and the rise of Nazism. I came away with the conclusion that blind nationalism is one of the singularly most terrifying things in the world. When I see people waving the Confederate flag, feel bad for them.
I was, to say the least, a little disenfranchized. I resented my country a little bit. But, as I ventured into college, I decided that this was a healthy response. I spent a great deal of time researching Weimar, Germany, Berlin, Christopher Isherwood, the politics of adaptation, the Holocaust, the history of the pink triangle, and the rise of Nazism. I came away with the conclusion that blind nationalism is one of the singularly most terrifying things in the world. When I see people waving the Confederate flag, feel bad for them.
Monday, August 1, 2011
back post: post #2
I was born and raised outside of Chicago, so I don't identify with traditional MN culture. I'm not Swedish, I've not eaten lye soaked fish, nor have I ever seen a moose. I had a Chicago accent which is now fading into non-descript Midwestern. I was raised Catholic, so I can recognize most biblical references in texts, but like REM, I've lost my religion.
I am a white person and my students identify me as German because of what I say when they sneeze. "Gesundheit" means "good health" and I think it is a nice sentiment. Also, I don't really like saying "bless you" because of the religious connotations. Once I was telling my students a story about a good friend of mine, a devout Jew, and one of my students interrupted me asking if I was "German, right?"
Apparently, the student thought that Germans and Jews still could not be friends because of the Nazi persecution of Jews from the 20's, 30's, 40's, and beyond. I had to explain to him that not all Germans were Nazis and not all Nazis are Germans and how there were even German Jews. This was mind blowing to him.
Because I deal with "marginalized" or "alternative" populations, I have to be transparent. My students can smell a phony from a mile away and I want to be genuine with them. In this exchange, we find mutual respect.
I am a white person and my students identify me as German because of what I say when they sneeze. "Gesundheit" means "good health" and I think it is a nice sentiment. Also, I don't really like saying "bless you" because of the religious connotations. Once I was telling my students a story about a good friend of mine, a devout Jew, and one of my students interrupted me asking if I was "German, right?"
Apparently, the student thought that Germans and Jews still could not be friends because of the Nazi persecution of Jews from the 20's, 30's, 40's, and beyond. I had to explain to him that not all Germans were Nazis and not all Nazis are Germans and how there were even German Jews. This was mind blowing to him.
Because I deal with "marginalized" or "alternative" populations, I have to be transparent. My students can smell a phony from a mile away and I want to be genuine with them. In this exchange, we find mutual respect.
August 1st
I accidentally deleted my Marigolds writing. But, process is more important than product as great men have said.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
7-28-11
Think of an instance where a student's cultural background and belief structure informed how they interacted with your classroom or a piece of literature you were teaching.
Oh, there are so many fun examples of this. Where to begin? I found that when I was teaching Frankenstein, students pulled religion and personal ethics into the text quite a bit. Students would say things like, "But, that's just the way God made him, God has a plan for everyone, etc." Students also felt strongly on either end of the "is it right for Victor to kill him" spectrum. Some students said yes, that he wasn't human and wanted to know if they could use the death penalty as a form of sentencing in their mock trial of The Creature v. V. Frankenstein (I said, "no"). Others said that it wasn't right to take somebody's life just because they didn't come out they way you had planned. These students often used God as an example. I found this really interesting because the Creature uses the analogy of being "an abortion," but none of my students ever delved into that topic. I did not press it on them, because I did not find it to be a beneficial discussion for our educational objectives in the unit.
After watching clips of the Brannagh Frankenstein, I had my classes vote on which actors they would cast to play the various characters in Frankenstein. When one student suggested Denzel Washington as the Monster, the students broke out in an uproar saying that Frankenstein couldn't be Black, and asking me if they could cast Black people in the roles. I said of course and asked them how casting a Black man as Frankenstein's monster with a white Victor would change the meaning of the story. What if it was a Black cast with the exception of the Monster? The students got really interested in how the actor changed the meaning of the text.
When I showed the film, Jurassic Park, my students commented on how the only two black actors on screen (one for only a few moments at the beginning) were doomed to die. They commented on the Hollywood trend of killing off black characters. Instead of dismissing this observation, I opened the topic up for discussion. I think this surprised a number of my students, because they didn't have much to say afterwards. I pushed by asking of examples of satire they had observed in other films and they talked about scenes from Scary Movie and Scream 4. The students seemed, not surprisingly, engaged that the classroom forum could be open to matters of import they experienced in their own lives.
Oh, there are so many fun examples of this. Where to begin? I found that when I was teaching Frankenstein, students pulled religion and personal ethics into the text quite a bit. Students would say things like, "But, that's just the way God made him, God has a plan for everyone, etc." Students also felt strongly on either end of the "is it right for Victor to kill him" spectrum. Some students said yes, that he wasn't human and wanted to know if they could use the death penalty as a form of sentencing in their mock trial of The Creature v. V. Frankenstein (I said, "no"). Others said that it wasn't right to take somebody's life just because they didn't come out they way you had planned. These students often used God as an example. I found this really interesting because the Creature uses the analogy of being "an abortion," but none of my students ever delved into that topic. I did not press it on them, because I did not find it to be a beneficial discussion for our educational objectives in the unit.
After watching clips of the Brannagh Frankenstein, I had my classes vote on which actors they would cast to play the various characters in Frankenstein. When one student suggested Denzel Washington as the Monster, the students broke out in an uproar saying that Frankenstein couldn't be Black, and asking me if they could cast Black people in the roles. I said of course and asked them how casting a Black man as Frankenstein's monster with a white Victor would change the meaning of the story. What if it was a Black cast with the exception of the Monster? The students got really interested in how the actor changed the meaning of the text.
When I showed the film, Jurassic Park, my students commented on how the only two black actors on screen (one for only a few moments at the beginning) were doomed to die. They commented on the Hollywood trend of killing off black characters. Instead of dismissing this observation, I opened the topic up for discussion. I think this surprised a number of my students, because they didn't have much to say afterwards. I pushed by asking of examples of satire they had observed in other films and they talked about scenes from Scary Movie and Scream 4. The students seemed, not surprisingly, engaged that the classroom forum could be open to matters of import they experienced in their own lives.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Journal number 1 for Sam's class
One thing that really struck me in the Pirie reading was the idea of being an anti-Barney. It seems that this is a growing trend in education. Several instructors have waxed on about the devastating ramifications of the "I'm special" ideology. In my own classroom experiences as an instructor, I too have seen students effected negatively by this me centered approach to learning. Many students cannot find value in lessons if the connection to themselves is not overt or immediate. Students I have worked with also tend to have concrete cultural understandings about others they identify as different from themselves and make value judgments based on those flawed, often stereotypic associations. To say that a better trend in education would be transparency and pursue explorations of differences is refreshing, to say the least. In a strictly business sense, this teaching philosophy provides more real world worth. If I am truly a member of a "global society," I must know that I am intrinsically different than others, AND that does not mean I am any better or worse because of it. Seeing myself as "the other" and understanding how I make different individuals and groups "the other" means that I am one step closer to understanding the politics of my cultural identity.
Additionally, I really liked how the text troubled the waters for traditional literary texts. I think film is an essential weapon in the teacher's pedagogy arsenal. Film is designed to reach as many audiences as possible and how that changes literature, which is very much an intimate, individualized experience, is fascinating to me. When students get into the politics of adaptation, they feel like insiders; they know secrets and truths the rest of humanity flocking to cinema's are not privy to. This can be exciting. Knowledge is a form of privilege, after all.
From the other article, I really loved that the connection was made between inclusivity and politics. As I wrote my response, I used the word "politics" three or four times. That is because I think everything we do as teachers is a political act, whether we know it or not. How we look, how we sound, how we treat certain students, and certainly what texts we chose to include and exclude.
Additionally, I really liked how the text troubled the waters for traditional literary texts. I think film is an essential weapon in the teacher's pedagogy arsenal. Film is designed to reach as many audiences as possible and how that changes literature, which is very much an intimate, individualized experience, is fascinating to me. When students get into the politics of adaptation, they feel like insiders; they know secrets and truths the rest of humanity flocking to cinema's are not privy to. This can be exciting. Knowledge is a form of privilege, after all.
From the other article, I really loved that the connection was made between inclusivity and politics. As I wrote my response, I used the word "politics" three or four times. That is because I think everything we do as teachers is a political act, whether we know it or not. How we look, how we sound, how we treat certain students, and certainly what texts we chose to include and exclude.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Final Reflection!
Allison Witham
Rick Lybeck
CI 5461
8 March 2011
Reflecting on Starting Over
It is currently four thirty in the morning. I have been trying for the last six hours to scan in, import to my blog, and post a series of comics I have been drawing that depict memorable moments thus far in my student teaching. The reason I chose to draw comics instead of keeping a traditional reflection journal is twofold: for one, I enjoy drawing and looking forward to getting to draw helps me be more diligent about reflecting frequently and relaxes me if I am reflecting on something unpleasant, secondly, because comics utilize humor, I feel that this form will help me process and get over a lot of the uncertainty and unfortunate events that happen at school. And, I have to say, this practice has been working. I’ve become very meticulous about the process of sketching, then drawing, then tracing, and finally inking the comics. I have even purchased a light box to help make tracing a much more fluid process.
Unfortunately, in all my preparation for our final project I forgot to take into account the fact that I have never in my life used a scanner. Nor, did I envision how difficult sizing the comics would be in order to upload them to my blog. I have not given up yet, you will eventually get an e-mail in the coming weeks, loaded with exclamation points, alerting you to the fact that I have finally succeeding in getting the comics up online, but for tonight/this morning, this is not the case. So here, in one reflection, is a depiction of a technological failure of epic proportions as well as an example of technology as the knight in shining armor.
Needless to say, as I stood over our printer/scanner combo, who glared back at me with its glassy display mocking my technological inaptitude with every rearrangement of its ink cartridges, I wanted to cry. But then I thought, is this what it has come to? I have spent the last nine months learning more about technological teaching tools than most practicing teachers have heard of in their entire career and I am crying over a battered, 1999 HP printer?
Realizing how absurd this scene really was, I re-read the final project details and went for a walk to think things over. As the cold, damp air seeped into my nose and down my throat, some of the lines of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milkwood popped into my head. Thomas has a scene in which three drowned sailors come and haunt the blind Captain Cat, and the description of how the sea salted air tastes in their lungs was bouncing around my brain as I trudged through the slushy streets of Seward. Hardly anyone was out, it being three o’clock in the morning on a Thursday, and the opening monologue of the play ran through my mind. I realized that this was the perfect substitute for my comic (no pun intended) catastrophe and headed back home to try out Voicethread. Speaking the lines of the poem I love so much was lovely, and made me forget the frustrations I had been mulling over for the last five hours. I locked myself in our back room, put my face by the computer, and read out loud to myself. The playback feature of Voicethread is also interesting. Hearing your own voice makes you hypercritical of your verbal presentation all of the sudden, which makes me think that this might be a great scaffolding tool for students preparing to give a speech or presentation to the classroom who might be particularly nervous. They can practice go through the speech without stopping and then go back through and listen to where they had difficulty, stumbled, or mumbled.
As I mention in the blog post and in the Voicethread, Dylan Thomas wrote the piece as a “play for voices” and it is most commonly done as a radio play. In thinking about the question of how digital media can best enable a text to be fully realized, I think Voicethread is actually perfect for the play. I would love to bring the text and Voicethread into the classroom and assign scenes to pairs of the students to read as the two voices. I would also like to have the scenes doubled up so different pairs of students could hear how different voices affect the text. The text also has a terrific amount of poetic and language devises such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, long sentences, short sentences, etc. All of these poetic techniques really need to be heard in order to be understood, and I think that Voicethread is a brilliant solution for demonstrating these verbal techniques for students and also allowing them to participate in their usage. Jim Hatten showed us the “This I Believe” project on Voicethread, and I remember being very affected by that. The fact that students can comment on each other’s work with their own voices is also very significant to me as a teacher. Although I was reading Thomas’s text, my delivery was uniquely my own, which gives me an odd sense of ownership over that small piece of digital media. My tone, inflection, pitch, and articulation flavors the text with a reading that no one else will be able to reenact. I think this feature would allow some students who normally do not like speaking in class to voice their thoughts in a safe, secure space where their peers can listen without interrupting or intimidating them.
Ultimately, what this project has reiterated to me is that, when using technology in any form, at any point of a project, ALWAYS have a backup plan. Despite my original idea not working out, I actually had a really great time making this piece. It made me think about a text I am very familiar with in a new light and got me excited about poetic forms again. If projects like this can cause me to find joy in failure, I can only imagine what potential it holds for student learning. I would be happy to welcome Voicethread into my classroom any day.
Rick Lybeck
CI 5461
8 March 2011
Reflecting on Starting Over
It is currently four thirty in the morning. I have been trying for the last six hours to scan in, import to my blog, and post a series of comics I have been drawing that depict memorable moments thus far in my student teaching. The reason I chose to draw comics instead of keeping a traditional reflection journal is twofold: for one, I enjoy drawing and looking forward to getting to draw helps me be more diligent about reflecting frequently and relaxes me if I am reflecting on something unpleasant, secondly, because comics utilize humor, I feel that this form will help me process and get over a lot of the uncertainty and unfortunate events that happen at school. And, I have to say, this practice has been working. I’ve become very meticulous about the process of sketching, then drawing, then tracing, and finally inking the comics. I have even purchased a light box to help make tracing a much more fluid process.
Unfortunately, in all my preparation for our final project I forgot to take into account the fact that I have never in my life used a scanner. Nor, did I envision how difficult sizing the comics would be in order to upload them to my blog. I have not given up yet, you will eventually get an e-mail in the coming weeks, loaded with exclamation points, alerting you to the fact that I have finally succeeding in getting the comics up online, but for tonight/this morning, this is not the case. So here, in one reflection, is a depiction of a technological failure of epic proportions as well as an example of technology as the knight in shining armor.
Needless to say, as I stood over our printer/scanner combo, who glared back at me with its glassy display mocking my technological inaptitude with every rearrangement of its ink cartridges, I wanted to cry. But then I thought, is this what it has come to? I have spent the last nine months learning more about technological teaching tools than most practicing teachers have heard of in their entire career and I am crying over a battered, 1999 HP printer?
Realizing how absurd this scene really was, I re-read the final project details and went for a walk to think things over. As the cold, damp air seeped into my nose and down my throat, some of the lines of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milkwood popped into my head. Thomas has a scene in which three drowned sailors come and haunt the blind Captain Cat, and the description of how the sea salted air tastes in their lungs was bouncing around my brain as I trudged through the slushy streets of Seward. Hardly anyone was out, it being three o’clock in the morning on a Thursday, and the opening monologue of the play ran through my mind. I realized that this was the perfect substitute for my comic (no pun intended) catastrophe and headed back home to try out Voicethread. Speaking the lines of the poem I love so much was lovely, and made me forget the frustrations I had been mulling over for the last five hours. I locked myself in our back room, put my face by the computer, and read out loud to myself. The playback feature of Voicethread is also interesting. Hearing your own voice makes you hypercritical of your verbal presentation all of the sudden, which makes me think that this might be a great scaffolding tool for students preparing to give a speech or presentation to the classroom who might be particularly nervous. They can practice go through the speech without stopping and then go back through and listen to where they had difficulty, stumbled, or mumbled.
As I mention in the blog post and in the Voicethread, Dylan Thomas wrote the piece as a “play for voices” and it is most commonly done as a radio play. In thinking about the question of how digital media can best enable a text to be fully realized, I think Voicethread is actually perfect for the play. I would love to bring the text and Voicethread into the classroom and assign scenes to pairs of the students to read as the two voices. I would also like to have the scenes doubled up so different pairs of students could hear how different voices affect the text. The text also has a terrific amount of poetic and language devises such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, long sentences, short sentences, etc. All of these poetic techniques really need to be heard in order to be understood, and I think that Voicethread is a brilliant solution for demonstrating these verbal techniques for students and also allowing them to participate in their usage. Jim Hatten showed us the “This I Believe” project on Voicethread, and I remember being very affected by that. The fact that students can comment on each other’s work with their own voices is also very significant to me as a teacher. Although I was reading Thomas’s text, my delivery was uniquely my own, which gives me an odd sense of ownership over that small piece of digital media. My tone, inflection, pitch, and articulation flavors the text with a reading that no one else will be able to reenact. I think this feature would allow some students who normally do not like speaking in class to voice their thoughts in a safe, secure space where their peers can listen without interrupting or intimidating them.
Ultimately, what this project has reiterated to me is that, when using technology in any form, at any point of a project, ALWAYS have a backup plan. Despite my original idea not working out, I actually had a really great time making this piece. It made me think about a text I am very familiar with in a new light and got me excited about poetic forms again. If projects like this can cause me to find joy in failure, I can only imagine what potential it holds for student learning. I would be happy to welcome Voicethread into my classroom any day.
Voicethread- Just in Case...
I have drawn some comics of some highlights of student teaching thus far, but I am having trouble scanning them to my blog. So, just in case the library scanner does not work tomorrow, here is a Voicethread I made reading my favorite opening sequence in my favorite play, Under Milkwood by Dylan Thomas. The play is a play for voices (it is done often as a radio play), so I though Voicethread would be a nice modern homage to what Dylan Thomas originally intended the work to be.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Poetry in Practice
I read both 5 and 6 because I am really interested in hearing what experts have to say about blogging and I am also terrified of the magnitude of a video production project in the classroom. I just feel like it is so time consuming, and I am so new to the form, that I would be unprepared and uncomfortable doing a video project in my class. But, I love the metaphor of video production as composition. I mean, it makes perfect sense once you think about it and would probably do a greater justice to visual learners than any graphic organizer could ever offer. Really allowing students to create, edit, and produce provides both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation because it is a real product (snazzier than a piece of paper) that they get to make. I also prefer the educational possibilities of teaching metaphor through film rather than paper. There is more subtlety and finesse needed in visual metaphors as opposed the more straightforward paper form. Video also allows for instant transfer of knowledge culled in class to practical applications. "Why are we doing this?" Because you need to know this in order to make your video.
I have some questions about the rubric: 1. How can I as a teacher truly tell how "collaborative" the group effort was, 2. To what extent can I glean how much the students actually learned about the poem, and 3. How do I assess how "fun" the project was. I think being more direct with expectations would help foster a stronger rubric for video projects. I do, however, like that a large portion of the assessment is centered around reflection- for many reasons- but particularly because it allows students who struggle with the actual filming can still do well, and comment on or vent their frustrations and what they've learned.
Here is a great site that has all sorts of jumping off points for education based video projects: http://edtech.guhsd.net/video/videoideas.html
I have some questions about the rubric: 1. How can I as a teacher truly tell how "collaborative" the group effort was, 2. To what extent can I glean how much the students actually learned about the poem, and 3. How do I assess how "fun" the project was. I think being more direct with expectations would help foster a stronger rubric for video projects. I do, however, like that a large portion of the assessment is centered around reflection- for many reasons- but particularly because it allows students who struggle with the actual filming can still do well, and comment on or vent their frustrations and what they've learned.
Here is a great site that has all sorts of jumping off points for education based video projects: http://edtech.guhsd.net/video/videoideas.html
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Trials and Tribulations of Blogger Blog
First, I just want to talk about the Jenkins piece, because there were some sections that really got my synapses firing. First off, I LOVE that the article sighted play as a key access point in a student's education. I feel like I have been screaming this from the rooftop of Peik Hall, throwing pots and pans at anyone within range to listen to me, so it was really nice to see it, in print, in a non behavior related article (about technology no less!). That was really nice.
Secondly, I really dig the section on appropriation (which is a more weighted way of saying adaptation). How cool would it be to have a class discussion on whether or not Girl Talk is a musician, a collage artist, or a phony? I am a big geek when it comes to discussion the politics of adaptation, and (if anyone ever approves this) I would love to teach a class that focuses on original texts and adaptations. I think understanding what makes a good adaptation vs. a blatant copy will help give students understand vague concepts such as "intellectual property." Additionally, I think having insight into the creative process- how things are actually made, and the energy and effort it takes to make them- will give students pause before illegally downloading someone else's work. Plus, as an English teacher, I think origin stories are incredibly important. The what might be done's for the appropriation section are really cool, also.
The idea of collective intelligence is interesting, and I absolutely see the benefit, but I am concerned about students only being surrounded by other like minded students. At the middle school and high school levels, I believe students coming up against constructive descent marks a critical life skill for students to learn to deal with. Not everyone is always going to agree with the, and vice versa. Instead, providing students with the tools for healthy argumentation and analytic skills for disecting the arguments of others could only benefit our students, and probably make them better reader/writers.
For the Kajder (am I nuts, or did we read this with Kristen), yes, I totally agree to basically everything she is saying, but, oh man, when technology fails, you have just killed fifty minutes of your students time and learning. Blogger has apparently partnered with Google, as I have told many of you in my sob story, and now requires that the students have an e-mail AND a phone number so they can text you a confirmation code to mark that you are a human and not a spam machine. Obviously, for socio-economic reasons, and school phone policy reasons, I could not make this happen. So now we are using Edublogs, which is buggy and slow, and does not work 50% of the time. I found myself begging my Co-op to just let us journal the assignments instead. My question is- if it eats up this much class time, is it really worth it?
Finally, here is the amazing trail role play on Frankenstein that Jake found last semester. I am seriously thinking of using this as my sum. assessment. But, how do you decide who to assign what roles?
Secondly, I really dig the section on appropriation (which is a more weighted way of saying adaptation). How cool would it be to have a class discussion on whether or not Girl Talk is a musician, a collage artist, or a phony? I am a big geek when it comes to discussion the politics of adaptation, and (if anyone ever approves this) I would love to teach a class that focuses on original texts and adaptations. I think understanding what makes a good adaptation vs. a blatant copy will help give students understand vague concepts such as "intellectual property." Additionally, I think having insight into the creative process- how things are actually made, and the energy and effort it takes to make them- will give students pause before illegally downloading someone else's work. Plus, as an English teacher, I think origin stories are incredibly important. The what might be done's for the appropriation section are really cool, also.
The idea of collective intelligence is interesting, and I absolutely see the benefit, but I am concerned about students only being surrounded by other like minded students. At the middle school and high school levels, I believe students coming up against constructive descent marks a critical life skill for students to learn to deal with. Not everyone is always going to agree with the, and vice versa. Instead, providing students with the tools for healthy argumentation and analytic skills for disecting the arguments of others could only benefit our students, and probably make them better reader/writers.
For the Kajder (am I nuts, or did we read this with Kristen), yes, I totally agree to basically everything she is saying, but, oh man, when technology fails, you have just killed fifty minutes of your students time and learning. Blogger has apparently partnered with Google, as I have told many of you in my sob story, and now requires that the students have an e-mail AND a phone number so they can text you a confirmation code to mark that you are a human and not a spam machine. Obviously, for socio-economic reasons, and school phone policy reasons, I could not make this happen. So now we are using Edublogs, which is buggy and slow, and does not work 50% of the time. I found myself begging my Co-op to just let us journal the assignments instead. My question is- if it eats up this much class time, is it really worth it?
Finally, here is the amazing trail role play on Frankenstein that Jake found last semester. I am seriously thinking of using this as my sum. assessment. But, how do you decide who to assign what roles?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Conferences and consultation
I really appreciated the two articles in this weeks reading. They answered a lot of questions I have been pondering over the last few weeks about how to talk to students about their writing. Atwell's article on classroom conferences basically just laid out exactly how to verbally address questions or concerns you have about a student's writing. I love that she gives several different approaches to each issue, so the teacher doesn't sound like a robot spewing out a script every time someone has an unclear conclusion. It is also nice to have a range of approaches to talk to different students, because they're different! I am already finding that half the task of motivating my students is to build the language bridge between the two of us, kill the awkward troll underneath, and pay the comfort toll. Taking a knee, as so many classes as well as Atwell have brought up, is so effective. I just cannot emphasize it enough, even with bolded, italicized text. I find that taking a knee with students helps keep the conversation volume low because you are getting close to the student, and it is an intimate space, so the volume does not go above a loud whisper. What Atwell says about f(conference volume)=orclassroom volume is absolutely true. I printed this article off and plan on taping the discussion prompt chart on the inside of my desk drawer when I have my own classroom (my desk now doesn't have a drawer).
I also really appreciated the Van De Weghe article. I have to admit, I am very skeptical of peer editing groups. It seems like a quick time killing exercise, and this is probably due to the fact that I have never experienced a successful classroom peer edit where I walked away thinking, "Yeah, that really helped." Instead I usually walked away thinking, "Clearly he did not read the book and plans on committing most of what I wrote to memory for the quiz. This was a waste of my time." I understand now that my class was having trouble due to the same assumptions the teachers at the beginning of the article were having trouble. We never spoke about how to proof read for content. So, unless I got a grammar whiz as a reading partner, I usually checked out for those classes. Another piece I would add for those who are interested is giving students a chance, before turning in a draft, to read through their draft and pencil correct any mistakes they catch. These mistakes would not be marked, and it taught us how frustrating and kind of embarrassing it is to not proofread before handing something in to be graded.
Here is my link to UW Madison's student writing conference handbook:
I also really appreciated the Van De Weghe article. I have to admit, I am very skeptical of peer editing groups. It seems like a quick time killing exercise, and this is probably due to the fact that I have never experienced a successful classroom peer edit where I walked away thinking, "Yeah, that really helped." Instead I usually walked away thinking, "Clearly he did not read the book and plans on committing most of what I wrote to memory for the quiz. This was a waste of my time." I understand now that my class was having trouble due to the same assumptions the teachers at the beginning of the article were having trouble. We never spoke about how to proof read for content. So, unless I got a grammar whiz as a reading partner, I usually checked out for those classes. Another piece I would add for those who are interested is giving students a chance, before turning in a draft, to read through their draft and pencil correct any mistakes they catch. These mistakes would not be marked, and it taught us how frustrating and kind of embarrassing it is to not proofread before handing something in to be graded.
Here is my link to UW Madison's student writing conference handbook:
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Good Grammar, Charlie Brown
As I dashed across the room to seize the Mechanically Speaking text, it was not for my undying love of grammar that I stiff armed my colleagues aside and dove to ensure the text was mine. Oh no. I HATE grammar. Not really, I am just not very well versed or practiced in correct usage, but since in high school world these are signifiers of an hatred that burns brighter and deeper than a thousand suns, I guess I HATE grammar.
But, there is hope. I really loved our readings this week. The Bush article, in particular, gave me respite in understanding that grammar is a two way street composed of correct and incorrect usage. But, as noted, we often focus on the incorrect. This is probably why I had to restrain myself from bursting into tears at Crosswinds, while having flashbacks of Catholic nuns screaming at me what a hyperbole was and when to use an exclamation point! <---not correct. I am definitely a visual learner, and I think Bush also hits on one of my main developmental problems a young gramusketeer- we would drill and drill, but then leave what we had learned behind. I think one of the most valuable lessons I learned at Crosswinds was the benefit of having a word wall. Why not a grammar wall? The more we discuss language, the more I am finding that immersion is the key. I think being in the same room with large visual grammar definitions would be a big help for most students. And when they enter the revision process Harper discusses, they have both vocabulary and grammar resources starring them in the face, beginning for inclusion. And why not make it fun? These are a few of my all time favorite grammar cartoons. I am a huge nerd, I know. NOTE: These are probably not appropriate (use your teacher discretion) for middle school. The ALOT
How to use i.e. in a sentence
how to use an apostrophe
How to use a semicolon
But, there is hope. I really loved our readings this week. The Bush article, in particular, gave me respite in understanding that grammar is a two way street composed of correct and incorrect usage. But, as noted, we often focus on the incorrect. This is probably why I had to restrain myself from bursting into tears at Crosswinds, while having flashbacks of Catholic nuns screaming at me what a hyperbole was and when to use an exclamation point! <---not correct. I am definitely a visual learner, and I think Bush also hits on one of my main developmental problems a young gramusketeer- we would drill and drill, but then leave what we had learned behind. I think one of the most valuable lessons I learned at Crosswinds was the benefit of having a word wall. Why not a grammar wall? The more we discuss language, the more I am finding that immersion is the key. I think being in the same room with large visual grammar definitions would be a big help for most students. And when they enter the revision process Harper discusses, they have both vocabulary and grammar resources starring them in the face, beginning for inclusion. And why not make it fun? These are a few of my all time favorite grammar cartoons. I am a huge nerd, I know. NOTE: These are probably not appropriate (use your teacher discretion) for middle school. The ALOT
How to use i.e. in a sentence
how to use an apostrophe
How to use a semicolon
Thursday, February 3, 2011
So many ideas bulbs flashing.
I got really fired up while reading Ch. 5 in our Writing Process book. There were definitely potential summative assessments lurking behind every page. I have become slightly discouraged in Tracey's class this week becuase so much of what I am being told in her class is being trimmed down to only the most essential pieces in my cooperating teacher's class. Marcia is soley focused on getting our students to get their work done, understand the critical approach system they use in class, and, most importantly, pass her class. I don't blame her; ten percent of our in class time is spent getting the students to work on their assignments and get them turned in. This is not to say my student are lazy, or don't care (of course there are a few who have significant motivation problems despite intelligence), but 1/4 to 1/3 do have IEPs and need extra time and help on their assignments.
Because of the issue of completion and attendance I face (I have about 35% attendance first hour, generally), I really loved the various options Ch. 5 gave for research oriented, formal paper writing assignments. I think small assignments such as the listing assignments of main ideas would serve as excellent scaffolding assignments for my students who struggle with writing. I have been given the task of starting up a blog based assignment core for Frankenstein, and am wondering what I can steal, I mean use, from both chapter 5, AND elements of multi genre papers. I am starting to think that, perhaps, I could view the blog as a whole as a multigenre piece that will encompass different assignments I would again be adapting and stealing from our Blending Genre's text. I will do some work planning this weekend and post next week, so you guys (including Rick!) could give me some feedback. I started drafting some things out last night, and actually had a dream about it.
Because of the issue of completion and attendance I face (I have about 35% attendance first hour, generally), I really loved the various options Ch. 5 gave for research oriented, formal paper writing assignments. I think small assignments such as the listing assignments of main ideas would serve as excellent scaffolding assignments for my students who struggle with writing. I have been given the task of starting up a blog based assignment core for Frankenstein, and am wondering what I can steal, I mean use, from both chapter 5, AND elements of multi genre papers. I am starting to think that, perhaps, I could view the blog as a whole as a multigenre piece that will encompass different assignments I would again be adapting and stealing from our Blending Genre's text. I will do some work planning this weekend and post next week, so you guys (including Rick!) could give me some feedback. I started drafting some things out last night, and actually had a dream about it.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
First Post for Rick's class!
Ugh, I am sorry all. I must have moved on from this page before my browser had saved all of my response because when I came back to review, it was gone :-( frustrating. Anyway, I will do my best to recall most of what I commented on.
First, I totally agree with both Tara and Rebecca about how much I enjoyed both the Atwell article and the Within and Beyond the Writing Process in the Secondary English Classroom. I particularly enjoyed reading Writing Process, first because chapter one has all of those amazing examples about students digging deep within themselves to produce astounding work. I started getting weepy when reading about Michael and his many writing assignments resulting in him making peace with his father abandoning him as a baby and then returning during his high school years. That is such a powerful story, and it brought up so many questions and conversations from last semester that we spoke about with regards to student sharing and how to deal with students who pour their heart out like that. It is definitely uncomfortable at first, but as we are being constantly reminded: Discomfort is good in education.
Secondly, I really enjoyed the Write/Think breaks that the book places throughout the reading. I admit, that sometimes when I read huge amounts of texts in the evening, my brain is not its sharpest, and sometimes it starts to skim. But, the Write/Thinks served as a mental stretch. It focused me on key points that had just been discussed and asked me to be reflective about my own experiences with a given topic. This is something I would very much like to steal for difficult or lengthy novels.
And of course, it was really great having chapter three give us a crash course in teaching writing as a process. I realized how long it had been since an instructor really laid out how to construct a paper in this kind of detail for me. It probably has not been done since high school, actually. So it was nice to be reminded of successful ways to frame what I (hopefully) do naturally at this point.
Lastly, I am enjoying the Romano text a great deal and really appreciate his humor and humility as a writer. Multigenre papers are extremely intriguing to me and I am excited at the prospect of assigning one to a class, but Jack's comment about state tests and the value of focusing on "traditional" papers has been nagging me the whole time I read Romano. I feel as though we may be in a time of flux on this issue and am interested in how this format develops over the next few years. My one issue with multigenre papers that I feel Romano is addressing to a certain extent is teaching students how to order the flow of items in a paper and creating successful transitions from piece to piece, otherwise the paper could seem like a disorganized portfolio.
First, I totally agree with both Tara and Rebecca about how much I enjoyed both the Atwell article and the Within and Beyond the Writing Process in the Secondary English Classroom. I particularly enjoyed reading Writing Process, first because chapter one has all of those amazing examples about students digging deep within themselves to produce astounding work. I started getting weepy when reading about Michael and his many writing assignments resulting in him making peace with his father abandoning him as a baby and then returning during his high school years. That is such a powerful story, and it brought up so many questions and conversations from last semester that we spoke about with regards to student sharing and how to deal with students who pour their heart out like that. It is definitely uncomfortable at first, but as we are being constantly reminded: Discomfort is good in education.
Secondly, I really enjoyed the Write/Think breaks that the book places throughout the reading. I admit, that sometimes when I read huge amounts of texts in the evening, my brain is not its sharpest, and sometimes it starts to skim. But, the Write/Thinks served as a mental stretch. It focused me on key points that had just been discussed and asked me to be reflective about my own experiences with a given topic. This is something I would very much like to steal for difficult or lengthy novels.
And of course, it was really great having chapter three give us a crash course in teaching writing as a process. I realized how long it had been since an instructor really laid out how to construct a paper in this kind of detail for me. It probably has not been done since high school, actually. So it was nice to be reminded of successful ways to frame what I (hopefully) do naturally at this point.
Lastly, I am enjoying the Romano text a great deal and really appreciate his humor and humility as a writer. Multigenre papers are extremely intriguing to me and I am excited at the prospect of assigning one to a class, but Jack's comment about state tests and the value of focusing on "traditional" papers has been nagging me the whole time I read Romano. I feel as though we may be in a time of flux on this issue and am interested in how this format develops over the next few years. My one issue with multigenre papers that I feel Romano is addressing to a certain extent is teaching students how to order the flow of items in a paper and creating successful transitions from piece to piece, otherwise the paper could seem like a disorganized portfolio.
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