Learning Letter

This quarter has been pretty rough on me as far as work load goes. Despite the larger-than-normal work load for this quarter, I can look back and be proud of what I have accomplished. The book talks were one of my favorite things I found in this class, merely because it is interesting to hear about all these books that I could read in the future, use in my classroom, or recommend a student to read one. I also found it valuable to take one of my favorite books (Redwall) and use it for a book talk along with exploring the options for using it in teaching.

                I found the mini-lesson to be a great boost to my confidence in myself as a future educator. Every once in a while I get bogged down with school and wonder whether or not I would be a good teacher. However, standing up in front of my peers, taking on the role of teacher felt more natural and I feel as though that mini-lesson was the strongest part of this quarter.

                The unit plan, on the other hand, kicked my butt. It is these sorts of projects that make me question whether or not I would like to be a teacher. I know that I, along with everyone else, felt like it was the most tough, yet rewarding project I’ve ever had to complete. I know that my planning skills are not quite up to par, but in doing this activity, I was able to see where my weaknesses are and explore ways in which to improve them.

                I really enjoyed getting into a big circle and having discussions in this class. I found the reading about the “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and the “discussion in a Democratic Society” to be the most helpful in my development as a teacher. I want to be able to recognize when I am employing the “banking” system and to involve my students more in their learning, rather than me just giving them facts to memorize. I also would like to incorporate more group discussions into my future classroom after reading the previous article and the model that ENGL 493 set for how discussions should look.

                My participation in this course was less than what I could have done. This has influenced me in how I think about myself as a teacher because I know that I will need to stay on top of things when my students are relying on me. This quarter has been quite the wakeup call for the procrastinator inside me and I will use this experience as a reminder to further improve my time management skills.

"In The Name Of God" By Paula Jolin Response

This book was both fascinating to me and also difficult to read. I was and still really am not too familiar with how culture works in the Middle East, specifically for this book, in Syria. It was enlightening to see the daily interactions of Nadia and her cousins with their different perspectives. Growing up in the United States, it is very foreign for me to envision a female needing a male to go with them in order to be safe. And even when a women has a male figure to go with them, there is the possibility of danger wherever you go. It is hard to fathom these things and the long standing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians because I did not grow up in that culture and haven't been thoroughly educated about the conflict. While there are many difficulties and administrative problems with teaching this book, due to its content, I think it would be an enlightening read for students. So often we are taught one side of a story without knowing the experiences and feelings of another group. I feel that this book is able to capture the sorts of feelings of resentment towards Israel and the United States' involvement with the situation. However, I'm not sure how I would necessarily teach this book in an English class. As a social studies major, I feel that this book may be better served and utilized in a social studies class, or more specifically, a current world affairs class. If the school would allow the reading of this book, I think it could be a unique opportunity for a social studies teacher and English teacher to collaborate and create a unit together that uses this book. That way the students can analyze the text in the English class but be able to have an insight into the culture for their social studies/ current world affairs class.

William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet

I am one of the few students who was taught Romeo and Juliet in high school English class (the sarcasm is strong with this one). While nearly every student is taught Romeo and Juliet in high school, the question becomes "Is this something I will teach my students?". If the school I'm working in already has it in the curriculum that i'm required to follow then yes, of course, I will teach it. But, if I wasn't necessarily required to teach it, I believe I would still do so. I feel like this text is one that if my students went on in their education without it, they would be those strange individuals that people would exclaim at them, "You haven't read Romeo and Juliet?!?". I believe that this play is one that many high school students can easily relate to because Romeo and Juliet are adolescents who go against their family's wishes and pursue their love for each other. However, I think the key for teaching this play is to make it interesting for the students. One thing that comes to my mind is drawing a comparison to the newer popular song "Rude" by Magic! in which a man attempts to ask a girl's father for her hand in marriage but the father refuses and the man states that he will marry her anyways. I think connecting modern examples that the students can relate to more will help them to be more invested in the story of Romeo and Juliet. I think also making the lessons interactive would be a great idea and possibly re-enact some scenes for those who are more kinesthetic learners.

Poe Response

I think the short story that I enjoyed the most out of all the selections picked by the groups would have to be "The Tell Tale Heart". I almost found it comical how the narrator is trying to convince the reader that he is not mad because he has thought through everything in order to kill the old man. However, by him telling the reader all these things, it just further reinforces how mad he really is. I believe I also like it because it is very suspenseful to me. When the old man wakes and asks who is there while the narrator waits patiently and quietly is very suspenseful to me because I didn't know what was going to happen. Also I found the ending suspenseful as well because as the police are carrying on with their conversations about where the old man went, we see the decent into madness of the narrator as he believes that the police will hear the beating of the dead man's heart from under the floor boards. I also found it interesting that he could not kill the old man when his eyes were closed because as he said "it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye". I think this would be a good little short story to use in the classroom as a part of a short story unit. I believe it is short enough and interesting enough to keep kids engaged and offers material for students to have discussions about the nature of the narrator's actions. One theme that could be discussed is that of paranoia and the students could look for contextual evidence in order to support whether or not they believe the narrator to be mad or paranoid. I think that this piece also offers a cool opportunity for the teacher to do an expressive reading of the piece by taking on the tone and personality of the narrator.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Response

I think that this is one of the few books I have read that kept me engaged and wanting to keep reading non-stop. I loved the very real conversation-like writing of Sherman Alexie that offers a glimpse into the life of "Junior" or Arnold. I believe that this book will definitely be one that is on my book shelf in my classroom to offer my students to read in their free time. I do believe that this book would be a great one for reluctant readers because it is a pretty easy, entertaining read that still has a great message to it. It also was entertaining to see the cartoons throughout the book that related to what the narrator was talking about and offered a deeper look into the attitude and character of Arnold. I think that this book would be good for those students who feel a little different compared to everyone else. I found myself relating to Arnold several times throughout the book and understanding how he felt at times. I believe that this also provides a look into the Native American culture and struggles that they face on a daily basis. I can't even imagine having to hitch rides or walk 22 miles to school everyday.

Some obstacles that I could see with having students read this book is some of the inappropriate content like the use of the slang term for a homosexual and also the topic of masturbation. Another obstacle might be that the subject of alcoholism is uncomfortable for some students who may have relatives struggling with this issue. Despite these obstacles, I would definitely recommend it to my students to read in their free time. I'm not sure yet whether or not I would use it in the classroom but it is a possibility.

Book Talk Selection: Redwall by Brian Jacques

Redwall

By Brian Jacques

Presented by Ryan Pearson

Description of Text:

A young mouse named Matthias lives in the peaceful Abbey of Redwall, inhabited by several other creatures ranging from squirrels to badgers. The Abbey is a place of peace for any creature seeking refuge. However, peace doesn’t last forever when the rat known as Cluny the Scourge arrives seeking to take Redwall Abbey as his own personal castle. Matthias, determined to fend off Cluny from taking Redwall, takes it upon himself to search out the mythical sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. Matthias must follow a trail of clues left behind by Martin in order to find the sword. His adventure leads him to meet new friends outside of Redwall including a hare, a tribe of war shrews, and an owl. After consulting the owl (a friend of the hare) of the whereabouts of the adder Asmodeus (who stole the sword of Martin), Matthias seeks out the adder. Matthias finds the sword, which he then uses to slay the adder and rushes back to Redwall with his shrew friends. The books ends in a final battle and Matthias defeats Cluny by cutting the ropes of the giant tower bell which then falls onto the rat.

Rationale:

I chose this book because it was one of the first books I actually enjoyed reading as a kid. The first time I read this book was in elementary school around 5-6^th grade but it was difficult for me. The reason why I liked this book is it is full of adventure and mystery in finding the sword of Martin. The text is more appropriate for Middle school kids as the grade level equivalent of it is 7.8 and the Lexile measure is 800. While the writing of the book is pretty straight forward there are some more graphic parts that include violence and death. The book is also  over 300 pages long of fairly small text so I would see this used more in the 8^th grade level.

Teaching Ideas:

1.      Analyzing which creatures are depicted as being good and which are depicted as being bad. How do the qualities of the animals carry over into their character?

2.      The book also has grand feasts in it and descriptions of some pretty delicious food. There is also a Redwall Cookbook that can be purchased online. I think it would be cool to do a “Redwall Feast” to end the book with the class in which they could take on the role of a species or character and eat the food that is described in the book.

3.      There are also instances of riddles in poem form in the book written by creatures. The students could write their own riddles to be shared at the “Redwall Feast”. They could even turn their poetry into a song to be sung.

Obstacles:

There are some gruesome parts in the book such as someone being stabbed multiple times and being left in the ditch to die. Another is Cluny’s soldiers being scalded to death with boiling water when Redwall pours it into a tunnel Cluny’s men created trying to dig their way into the Abbey. Also some creatures’ speech is spelled phonetically to capture their dialect and some creatures speech isn’t proper English, which may be sometimes hard to read for some.

Readicide Response

I enjoyed this book and will most likely look to it more as I teach my students in order to bring interest back into reading. I had always felt the mood and effects of this phenomena Gallagher calls "Readicide" but I never could figure out why this was happening to my fellow students and I. It was nice to have Gallagher point out some factors that have caused this "Readicide" such as valuing test takers over development of readers, limiting authentic reading experiences, overteaching books, and underteaching books. In my experience I have had had both ends of the spectrum from under to overteaching of literature. One memory I have is from ninth grade learning about To Kill a Mockingbird. My teacher loved this book so much and as a result we spent about two months on the book analyzing everything about it. When Gallagher said the quote "Would you stay in a movie theater if the projectionist stopped the film 22 times", I could definitely relate (61). Despite spending so much time on the book, I now remember very little about the book except for the terrible memories of the unit never ending.
I found it intriguing, yet not too surprising, that students who read the most for fun scored highest on standardized tests (35). When I was in high school, reading for fun never seemed to be emphasized and we never had any sort of SSR reading time in place in any of the classes. I believe that as a English teacher, I will try my best to incorporate time into my classes to allow students to read their own selected books that are interesting to them. I also hope to over time accumulate many books to have in my class for my students so that I can, as Gallagher put it, "bring the library to the students" (52).
I also enjoyed the idea of augmenting books with authentic, real world text (46). As a Social Studies major, I found this to be an awesome idea because not only can students improve their reading but they can become more informed about events happening in their town, country, and world.Another helpful tip from the book was the idea of "framing" the text by providing a purpose for the reading and providing students with the necessary information to be able to understand the reading (96).

Tovani's "I Read It, But I Don't Get It" Response

The first concept that stuck out to me in this book was the idea of "fake reading". From what I gathered, the meaning of fake reading seemed to be when a student could succeed in classes while reading as little as possible and fooling the teacher into thinking they have read the whole book all the while not really comprehending the depth of the text. This is how I succeeded and made it through much of my educational career thus far was by figuring out how to do the least amount of reading while still passing English classes. However, this book has highlighted this point and made me look back on my own reading experiences and I realize that I don't remember much of what I've read in the past. I know now that I was never really taught comprehension strategies in order to help me actually understand what I've read.

The next concept that I found was that of "decoding" and "word callers" (15). I myself believe that I fall into this category when it comes to reading. I simply think that if I read the words, meaning should come with it but "when reading the words alone doesn't produce meaning, word callers assume the material is too difficult and not worth the time it takes to master it" (16). I have fallen into this rut even in my higher education. If I didn't understand the reading, I tried to read it again. However, when that strategy failed I often would just give up and choose to take a hit on my grade simply because in my thinking, it wasn't worth the effort to attempt to understand it for a few grade points.

As a "fake reader" myself, I enjoyed reading about the different access tools such as thinking aloud, marking the text, the double-entry diaries, and comprehension constructors. I feel like in my education, the only thing that was emphasized was marking the text. Even then I don't remember my teachers necessarily showing us how to do it. As the book brings up, modeling for students how to use each of these strategies is important. I also like that the book included actual examples of these access tools in the appendix for reference.

While these access tools are useful for engaging with the text, I, like the students in the book, would still become confused while reading. One quote stuck out to me because it embodies the thinking I had when I ran into this problem: "They rarely stopped while reading a piece to try and repair their confusion. They kept doggedly on until they finished the 'assignment', even though they had no idea what they were reading" (36). I believed that once my eyes finished reading the last words of the assigned reading, I was thus finished and had completed my assignment.

While I had earned decent grades in most all of my English classes, I wish now that teachers would have been able to notice what I ,along with everyone other student, was doing and teach us strategies for comprehension. I think though as a teacher, it can be difficult to identify such students because we can falsely assume that since the student is earning decent grades, they are comprehending what they are reading.

For me as a future educator, I will utilize this book and model for students how to effectively read a piece of text. I will also strive to create assignments in which they must utilize their new-found comprehension of the text, rather than having them complete monotonous "book reports" that can easily be done without actually reading the book.

What is Social Justice? Response

I found this article through a series of Google searches and found it to be informative for giving me ideas about what exactly social justice is and how it can be used in the classroom. While there are probably dozens of different definitions for the term "social justice", the article defines it as "recognizing and acting upon the power that we have for making positive change". I find social justice is an important aspect to be considered when teaching any subject. I believe that the issues of social justice taught in classes give a deeper meaning to what the students are learning. They are no longer learning something just for the sake of knowledge but rather are learning something that may motivate them to change our society for the better. The article suggests that we as teachers can "give students opportunities for seeing how positive change happens and how they can be both actors and leaders in creating change". However, with such topics being brought up in a classroom, the conversations may turn to heated debates between students. As the article states "it is important to choose topics about which you feel you can be pedagogically neutral as you support students' own journey of learning how to be critical thinkers and forming their own opinions". The last thing I would want to happen is to have a student get into a pissing match with me over a topic they are motivated about. However, this also may be a golden opportunity for another teacher to join the class in a team teaching method to display to students how to conduct an informed well mannered discussion about issues with someone who has a differing opinion. I also enjoyed the section about creating authentic assessments. I think especially if we are incorporating social justice in our teaching, why not have the students actually get involved? For example, if there is a social justice issue in the school, make it an assignment to have the students write a letter to the principal. I think this shows students that they have a voice in their world and they may be more motivated in doing the work because they are invested in the work.

Here is a link to the article I found:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/creating-classrooms-for-social-justice-tabitha-dellangelo

Pedagogy of the Oppressed Response

This section from the book was very intriguing for me because I believe that this situation of the "banking" method of education is a huge problem. I know for me as a student, this idea of the teacher being the wealth of knowledge that transmits information for me to memorize is the reason I did not enjoy my K-12 education as much as I could have. Majoring in social studies, I know that this "banking" method is used widely by history teachers who simply spit out facts for students to memorize and regurgitate on a quiz or test (only to have the facts dumped from memory immediately after the test because they are no longer needed). A fear of mine is that I'll fall into this mode of teaching in my history or English classes. One quote that stuck out to me in the chapter was "Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other". I believe I will keep this quote in mind and possibly even have it displayed in my classroom as a reminder that my students are not merely "receptacles" in which I pour information into, but rather are intelligent beings who are capable of making new discoveries in their fields. By moving towards "problem posing" education in my teaching, I can humble myself by learning new things from students who research and answer the questions they have about the subject. I think that by using this model instead, students will feel more empowered because they are the ones who are bringing value to the classroom and are not there to simply be receptacles for my vomit of knowledge.

Assessing and Evaluating Student Learning

I found this reading to be very useful in thinking about how I am going to assess students in my future classroom. I have experienced classes in the past in which some teachers focused on the "knowing that" portion of literature (225). The reading describes the "knowing that" as knowing "names of certain characters or authors, settings for texts, or definitions for certain concepts" (225). While I enjoyed these sorts of classes because memorizing such things was easier for me, I did not do as much critical thinking about the texts. Also, because I knew there was a certain correct answer for a question, I would write what I believed the teacher wanted to see rather than what I actually thought about the text. With my numerous experiences with "correct answer" tests, I found the alternatives to be intriguing and potentially useful for my teaching practice. I like the idea of the Journal/Blog entry because I think this is one way to get students writing, whether or not it is necessarily academic. Being able to express their feelings and struggles of life in a safe, private manner (they have the option of whether or not I read it) I believe will help students with identifying their emotions and by doing so, be able to relate to characters in the literature we are reading. Another idea I like is that of "teaching peers to give feedback". While at times this may be more stressful for students because they do not want their peers to judge them, I believe that with guidance from me, this is an opportunity for students to build upon their cooperative skills that they can use later on in life. While it may not be the most fun thing for students to give feedback on each others work, working together and reviewing someones work is a common practice in most work situations. One thing that I noticed with all of the different ideas of assessment was including criterion for how you are going to assess the students. I find this especially important because I remember the frustration of having a teacher grade me on something that I was unaware of or unprepared for. My goal is for all of my assessments to be fair and valid.

Team Teaching Response

Whenever I have heard the term "team teaching" or "co-teaching", I have always thought of what I have seen in my past experiences. These past experiences were primarily that of a student teacher working alongside of a head teacher; this was named "One Teach, One Support" in the text. The candidate teacher or student teacher would walk around and offer help to students and every once in a while they would teach a lesson. While we as students would accept help from the student or teacher candidate, we always looked upon the main teacher with more respect. After reading the two readings, I now know of the several options available to teachers wanting to team teach and how to properly incorporate team teaching that bests suits the class. One approach that I found interesting was that of "Station Teaching". I think this would be a neat way of teaching a subject that has many components. I envisioned this taking the form of teachers in several different classrooms teaching about one subject and every 15-20 minutes, the students would rotate classrooms to learn about a different aspect of that subject. However, with any team teaching model, there are potential obstacles that teachers should be aware of. One obstacle that seemed to show up several times is that co-teaching requires lots of pre-planning and communication. If two teachers are expecting to be teaching together, they must know where the lesson is going to go and who is responsible for what portions of the lesson. However, what I do find valuable about team teaching is that when there are conflicting views between teachers, it can become an opportunity for the teachers to respectfully debate the topic with the students observing. This shows the students that it is okay to have differing opinions from other people and how to properly discuss the issue through debate. I am not sure whether or not I will use team teaching in my practice. While it has its clear advantages, I think the difficulty would be finding a teacher who is willing to put forth more effort and time into planning lessons together. I also think it is pretty dependent upon whether or not the school can afford to have 2 paid teachers for one classroom. If I do use this model, I believe it will be more realistic to do it once a month.

Common Core State Standards Response

I found this article to be engaging and insightful as I have not really looked at the good and bad sides of Common Core State Standards. Whether or not a teacher likes Common Core or not, the reality is that as teachers we will have to adhere to these standards in our teaching. If we have to deal with it, why not try and make the best of the situation? That is why I enjoyed the statement from the text that teachers can "view the adoption of Common Core State Standards as an opportunity to generate an innovative, engaging curriculum that will enhance instruction in our discipline, raise intellectual aspirations for all students, and, to the extent possible, improve the public's regard for schools". I found that as a student, I did not like to work on projects or write about subjects that I was not interested in; there was no motivation for me to write. For this reason, I enjoyed the section about "Literary Practices Approach" which "builds on the knowledge and experiences of your students, draws on the worlds they live in, and connects those worlds to texts, language practices, and critical issues". This shows me that as a teacher, I should make my students feel like important members of the classroom and that their insight is important for the development of everyone's knowledge. This also may mean that I might have to do some research or survey students at the beginning of the year to find out what their interests are, and then be flexible in changing my teaching to best accommodate my students. Even if I am not really interested in the material that the students are interested in, I must keep in mind that "if your students perceive you as knowledgeable and excited about learning, then they may be more likely to be excited". After reading the downsides of standardization, I know to avoid such hazards as "fragmented curricula", "teaching to the test", and "failure to acknowledge cultural diversity". In summation, if there was one thing i could take away from this text it would be that I must be aware of the differences and interests of students and to be mindful of those differences in planning my curriculum, all while adhering to the standards set before me by Common Core.

Response to "Discussion in a Democratic Society"

As a future teacher of English and/or Social Studies, discussions are an essential component of these subjects. As a student I never fully appreciated the value of discussions because I thought of it as a period of time in which people voiced their opinions while I sat silently listening to everyone. I was never one to voice my own opinion or join in on the discussion. I know now that discussions are a great way to test your beliefs and to hear others' beliefs and to grow as a person. If a person does not agree with a statement, they can express why they do not agree and offer another view on the situation. I know that discussions are vital but I have always feared conducting one because I imagine it ending in students brawling and fighting with one another. After reading this chapter, I see the ways in which I can successfully incorporate meaningful discussions into my class. The part I found most helpful was that of the section labeled "Practicing the Dispositions of Democratic Discussion" (8). I will plan towards the beginning of a year or term to go over the aspects of "hospitality, participation, mindfulness, humility, mutuality, deliberation, appreciation, hope, and autonomy" in order to allow the students to see the importance of them (8). I also think it is important to emphasize humility not only for the students to practice but for me as a teacher as well. Being able to show that the discussion is also a learning experience for me and being able to admit that I do not know everything may put them at ease and feel more comfortable in sharing. One thing I will also emphasize in my classroom discussions is that my class is a safe environment in which students can share their values and opinions openly without fear of open discrimination.