Freedom

I highly recommend that everyone read this because it tells a story while also making a statement about America - good stuff!

The American government is looking for somewhere to house eighty freed fugitives. To do this, they create a new country called, "Freedom." The prisoners are free to live, eat, and breathe as they please. The only condition is that they are never allowed to leave the island. The men have a hard time acclimating to the new society because they are used to a life of solitude. Eventually, the government sends new wives for the men because they have refused to allow their families to become subjected to the land of Freedom. With this comes suicide, pregnancy, divorce, etc. Eventually, Benson (the man in charge of Freedom life), realizes that Freedom has become "as good as America." The story ends with the old men sending six dozen teenagers off to see to find a better life.

This story is awesome. It sends such an intense message about how our country is and the idea of trying to control other people. Some themes that I came up with include: government control, utopias, relationships, and social problems. The idea of relationships could definitely relate to "Midsummer" because the men refused to expose their families to the deception of the whole idea of Freedom. Whereas, in "Midsummer," the couples are unavoidably exposed to deception.

Vanish

I was assigned "Vanish" by Evan Ratliff, chronicling his "disappearance." The idea of his little experiment (paired with Wired Magazine) was to see if anyone could truly vanish in the digital age. They turned the experiment into a contest with a five thousand dollar reward to the first "hunter" to find Ratliff, use the code word (fluke), and snap a picture of him. The search generated a lot of online chatter, via Twitter and Facebook and hunters even formed groups and collaborated on finding Ratliff.

Eventually, Ratliff was found and lost the game, but the real story lies in the middle - his experiences as a man without any real identity, relationships, or connection to the world. The story was extremely interesting and well written (from a few different perspectives.) Themes include: identity, dissociation from society, impact of technology on the modern world, disappearance, and the effect of social media/accessibility of private information . You could easily simulate this activity within a school to demonstrate the point. You could create "moles," "hunters," and one "hider." Although you'd have to make obvious modifications, it could turn into a neat "game" for students to play - employing reason, logic, and common sense.

Freedom

The meaning of imprisonment is cruelly and satirically stretched in Freedom by Amy Waldman.  After eighty two prisoners, thought to be among the world's most barbarous terrorists, are abruptly cleared of their supposed crimes against the globe, the United States devises an innovative plan to assimilate them back into the world as "free" men.  A remote island in the South Pacific, appropriately given the name Freedom, is inaugurated, under the guidance of Richard Benson, as the new permanent home for the ex-prisoners.  These new residents of Freedom, primarily Arabic speaking Muslims, are each given their own house complete with contemporary comforts and accommodations.  They are provided with a library, restaurant, community center, and several other recreational opportunities, to the point where Freedom strongly resembles a retirement community.  Accustomed to years of confinement, solitude, and subordination, the eighty two residents struggle in adapting to their new home and liberties.  Benson assigns them occupations and attempts to organize group games, in an effort to boost the morale of the ex-prisoners and instill them with a sense of allegiance to Freedom.  The residents reject Benson's misguided and culturally biased initiatives, and instead resort to their devotion to Islam, much to the dismay of Benson.  It becomes evident that Freedom is viewed as a more tyrannical and mentally oppressive environment than the prison from which the prisoners came.  When Benson offers to fly their families to Freedom, the prisoners refuse, saying they "don't want their children breathing the air of Freedom."  Following the arrival of mail order brides, families begin to emerge on Freedom.  As suicide, murder, and teenage pregnancy become prevalent on Freedom, Benson, who is eventually reassigned, observes that Freedom has become remarkable similar to America. 

Half Beat

Half beat is the story of a young girl who is trying to find her way in life. She has a bet friend whom she loves very much and she learns about love and life from her piano teacher. The story moved rather slow for me, I felt it lacked the characterization necessary to carry such a small plot. However the piano teachers story is pretty good and I think that's where most of the emotion of the story is. I personally don't see a whole lot of merit to teaching this story especially in the middle school which I am placed now. I suppose like anything if you ask the right questions and dig deep enough you can find all sorts of meaning. However, I don't see kids getting excited about the text and that makes it very hard to engage them in any sort of discussion about it. And as much as I'd love to be an overachiever I can't find any ties to this and Macbeth.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Half Beat

War Dances

So let me just say that for the first few pages I definitely thought the author was a woman. It took me until he started talking about his wife before I questioned it and checked. Secondly, my very first impression was why are there so many f-bombs?! seriously. a ton.

Basically I was sort of confused while reading. The author kept jumping back and forth between his health issues and his father's. He told the story of his struggles from childhood through to adult, specifying in one particular instance in his adult life. He also told of his father's foot amputation and death due to alcoholism. He pulled a lot on his Native American heritage. He showed how it was still very much a part of his life and those around him as well.

Themes/activities I came up with are:
- defining moments
- parent/kid relationships
- life map
- recreate a time when ...
              - you were scared
              - you had a illness

That's all I've got right now. =)

Half Beat

My chapter that I read was called "Half Beat," written by Elizabeth Gonzales. This chapter was interesting, and I think I am still in the middle of processing it. There was a lot to it, and I'm not sure I fully understand it all yet, but I'll give it my best shot. This story follows a little girl's story. It goes back and forth between two settings, and it never gives you a warning when it will switch, except for a quick paragraph change. The first setting is at her Piano teacher's house, and the second is a vivid description of her home town, and her friends at school.

Throughout the narrative, the little girl begins to develop a strong curiosity about her piano teacher, Miss Wood's life prior to college. The girl found out that Miss Wood had a suitor at one point before college, but Miss Wood never married. Every lesson, the little girl would ask Miss Wood questions about this man in her life that once was. The little girl became so intrigued about this that she would ask her best friend Genevieve and her sister Ellen all about Miss Wood. The reader eventually finds out through dialogue that Miss Wood told her suitor (Mr. Treski) that she could never marry him because it would be impossible. Miss Wood went to Julliard, and when she came back, Mr. Treski was married.

This news really disappoints the main character, and she continues to ask Miss Wood about the story. Miss Wood continues the story. Eventually, the little girls learns that she will be moving, because her father receives a new job. The little girl never returns back to her home town to visit her friends and family, and in the end, she says, "At my last lesson, over the garbled shuffle and the thump of Hello Dolly!, Miss Wood spent ten minutes writing elaborate notes for m next teacher, who didn't exist and never would. I didn't have the heart to stop her. She wasn't the first person ever to write to people who didn't exist or to play for a ghost. We were not so different, Miss Wood and I." I think that last sentence of that section really says a lot about what this narrative attempts to teach.

Themes to use with this chapter:
Identity
Love
Curiosity
Role Models
Doppelgangers/Foils

Activity:
-Students could find someone in their life that reminds them of Miss Wood and interview them or write about them
-If any of you have any good "identity" activities, I'm definitely up for hearing your ideas! I think this is an important theme in this chapter and in a lot of books/plays

The Tiger's Wife

First let me say that this story has an edge of sadness that definitely lingers with the reader. While I loved the story, it is best suited for upper levels; I would think probably 11th or 12th grade. The story takes place in Germany during WWII, and it is organized in sections that are dedicated to understanding the perspective of each of the main characters. The story is not linear, the setting changes several times during the short story and part of the story is told as a piece of folklore passed down from one generation to the next.

Summary: a lion escapes from his cage at the zoo after the area is bombed. There is much chaos and death in the aftermath of the bomb, and many people see the tiger yet don't really "see" the tiger. The tiger survives by eating dead human remains until it reaches the outskirts of a small village. Once at the village, the tiger begins to steal livestock and meat from a smokehouse. The townspeople are very superstitious, and some of them think the tiger is the devil. The grandfather of the narrator is a small boy living in the town who becomes fascinated with the tiger. The boy has a close encounter with the tiger when he sees a light burning in the smokehouse and intuitively crosses a meadow and enters the butcher's smokehouse. He sees the much younger, foreign wife of the butcher, a "deaf-mute" girl, holding a leg of lamb, and then the light goes out. The tiger passes by the boy, but doesn't harm him or the girl. A group of men form a hunting party and head for the mountains with the only gun the village owns. It doesn't go well and one of the men shoots himself by accident. When the butcher returns to town, he beats his wife because he saw the tiger chewing on a lamb leg that he assumes his wife fed to the tiger.

The butcher ends up disappearing and the young woman starts appearing in town wearing silk and furs. She looks happy and soon starts to appear pregnant. The town is awash with rumors about how she killed her husband and has a special bond with the tiger. She soon becomes known as "the tiger's wife."

Themes/Connections:
-The girl and the tiger are both outsiders trying to survive in a foreign land.
-A different perspective on a war story
-Superstition and folklore
-Interesting story to examine P.O.V.
-Reality vs. fantasy- how much of the story was a real memory? How do memories change over time?
-Innocence of childhood/ wisdom of children
-Destiny
-Secrecy
-mistrust of what is different or foreign

Luke's summary/thoughts on "War Dances" by Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie is hilarious! I loved "Diary of a Part-Time Indian" and "War Dances" is just as entertaining. It's amazing how Alexie can make me feel like laughing and crying all at the same time. He's gone through some incredibly difficult things in his life, and yet he handles telling his story with such lightheartedness and honesty-even self-deprecating honesty-that you can't help but laugh along with him at the insanity of it all. It's tough to give a summary of this excerpt because it really is a collection of stories and moments in Alexie's life. He talks about his relationship with his father a lot, and the excerpt ends with him saying how close he feels to his father. He also talks about his own health problems, and his family, and the self-perception of Native Americans (which was fascinating, even if a bit uncomfortable). Themes that I picked up on were:

-fatherhood

-sickness & death

-racism/race relations

-disappointment with our heroes/role models

-role reversal in the parent child relationship

One activity that comes to mind is a writer's notebook entry where students would write about a difficult, uncomfortable or even tragic (if they feel comfortable exploring it) event in their lives that they later found funny in some way. If the unit is Macbeth, perhaps they could look for humor amongst the tragic happenings in that play, and satirize it.

Anyway, you all should read the Alexie chapter, it was awesome.

Powerful Questions

I want to share this article from our Teaching Writing class, which I think was from Tim's Twitter feed last Spring. It was worth saving!

http://www.theworldcafe.com/pdfs/aopq.pdf

"The Carnival"

“The Carnival” by Lillie Carré (page 104) was an interesting read, and it kind of left a lot to the imagination. Jackie already did a post on this, so I’ll try not to repeat too much on what she already said!

To summarize, “The Carnival” is a graphic novel about, Henry, a car salesman, who feels his job is unfulfilling and he kind of just goes through the motions, both at work and in life (ironically, his own car doesn’t seem to function very well). Henry seems to get so overwhelmed that he just drives aimlessly and ends up stopping at a motel next to a traveling carnival. At the carnival, Henry meets a young woman who is there with a little boy named Sam (son maybe?). The young woman was not given a name, which I found really strange. The young woman and Sam go back to Henry’s motel together, where the young woman and Sam come close to having sex while Sam is in the bathroom taking a bath. When Henry wakes up the next morning, the young woman and Sam are gone, so Henry simply drives back home.

One theme I can kind of see in this story is fantasy. Because the young woman didn’t have a name, I kind of thought she was a spirit or nymph of some sort. If we’re tying this to Macbeth, I would consider her one of the Weird Sisters because the young woman ultimately sets the tone for the last half of the story – locating peace and happiness (which is seen when she has Henry find his happy place while they are stuck on the ferris wheel). Jackie had a GREAT idea to have students draw their peaceful place, so I won’t repeat what she already wrote.

Sticking with the fantasy, I wasn’t really sure what was real and what was a hallucination in “The Carnival.” I got the impression that the young woman was merely a figment of Henry’s imagination, something to remind him that maybe not all is lost or that there is a better life for him if he would simply act on it. Tying to Macbeth, well, the entire play is full of visions and hallucinations that serve as reminders of guilt for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth! One thing you could do is print out the frames of events from the story and have students sort them into two groups: fantasy and reality. Taking it a step further, you could give students a topic (like a football game) and have them come up with a couple realistic things that could happen at a football game and a couple of fantasy things that could happen. Both seem like they could be a little hands-on yet challenging.

Vanish

I was assigned to read the chapter entitled "Vanish" from the Best Nonrequired Reading. The chapter is broken into numbered sections which resemble journal entries. The nonfiction story details the intentionally vanishing of Evan Ratliff, as Ratliff explains, "The premise is simple: I will try to vanish for one month and start over under a new identity. Wired readers, or whoever else happens upon the chase, will try to find me." Each segment of the chapter reveals a new part of his vanishing experiences and chronicles the progress that the "hunters" are making as they attempt to find Ratliff. The reward for finding Ratliff was $5,000, $3,000 of which would be coming from Ratliff's own pocket.

The story of Ratliff's vanishing act was rather interesting. He describes the various ways he tried to alter his appearance and touched on the psychological effects of trying to go a month without loved ones or friends while dealing with the paranoia of being pursued by "hunters." In terms of classroom implications, this story could provide an avenue to explore areas of identity, loneliness, self-preservation, man vs. man dynamics, American culture, investigative strategies, empathy, and role-playing (to name a few).

To explore the topic of identity students could be assigned to create an alternate persona. Their first task would be to either sketch or write out how their physical description would change, would they shave their heads? get contacts? dye their hair? grow facial hair? etc. Next the students will write about what characteristics make them who they are and what changes they would have to make if they were trying to vanish for a month. Would they have to give up a sport? get a new car/bike? listen to different music? hang out with a different group of people? etc. Ideally, then the students could make Facebook pages for their new identities (obviously this may cause issues depending on what school you are in). The students could then develop status updates chronicling the life of their new personas and what measures they are taking to stay hidden. This exercise would help the students to not only write about themselves but think creatively to develop a fictional character.

Man of Steel

Wow! This was a terrific story. I'm still digesting it, but thinking of themes swirling around the intertwined subjects of love and illusion. Love as illusion, love as real, escaping the mundane in favor of illusion. How can one truly know if love is real or illusion? Were father and son opposite sides of that coin, who found each other on a bridge in the middle? Does redemption come with reconciling the illusion and the mundane? Definite links to "Midsummer Night's Dream," with these themes and I will return with lesson ideas when I have stewed over this richness a while longer. Thanks, Tim, for a great story!

Coming of age: Connections with "Catcher in the Rye"?

My co-op suggested that I consider using the text, "Catcher in the Rye," as the basis for designing our unit plan. This is the first year that CV is using the novel as required reading for all 11th grade students, which means that my co-op doesn't have any lesson plans and will be starting from scratch. I am really excited about this opportunity, but a little nervous too. I talked with one of the other eleventh grade teachers, and she said she felt like she didn't have much success engaging the students in the story. I was surprised because this story is about them: struggling to make the transition between childhood and adulthood, feeling jaded by society and trying to figure out how to maintain some sense of individuality seem to be topics that most teens relate too. After further thought I realized that maybe the whole idea of the "prep-school" culture may be alienating for some of our students. While CV has students coming from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds; many of the students in the "tech" section are not economically privileged and may struggle to connect with Holden.

I think students will definitely need to have some prior knowledge about "prep-school" culture to understand this book...any suggestions about how to help facilitate this? Also, I think that maybe "reading" another text with a common "coming of age" theme may help them to connect with "Catcher" on a deeper level. (I say reading in quotes because I am thinking about using an alternative text for the second text; a movie or graphic novel may create more interest with my students.) Can anyone think of any connections for this topic?

Thank you for your help!

Best American Non Required Reading

So I will admit that I had already read the first section of this book before it was assigned to us this weekend. After Tim had told us about the book the first week of class, I went home and devoured the first section in about a half hour. It was fabulous. I wish the whole book was like that. I think that first section is a good tool to get students reading a little, while thinking differently about what "literature" actually is, while having a good laugh along the way.

I was assigned to read "The Carnival". I have to admit that when i opened the book to page 104 and saw it was a graphic piece, I was stoked (yes, I'm feeling a little lazy this weekend after the crazy week I've had). However, when I finished reading the piece, the first words that came out of my mouth were "what the f*** was that!?!?!" (just being honest). My general reaction to this piece was that it was....weird. I liken it to indie music (just for myself personally), I know they're trying to say something prophetic and deep to me, but I'm just not getting it at all.

The story is about a car sales man who is clearly unhappy with his living situation, a shared apartment building that is now flooded from a leaky roof. So he takes a long drive to get away and stops at a carnival he sees. He meets a woman and her son there, and love/confusion ensue. It was depressing and uplifting all at the same time. Frankly, the style of the graphics really turned me off. I know that may be hard to understand, but I just wasnt digging it.

Some obvious themes in the piece are love, finding yourself, and finding happiness. A big part of the story is when the female character has the male character imagine a place of happiness and calm when his eyes are closed (they're on a faris wheel that's stuck mid air and he's freaking out a little). I feel like I could have students draw their idea of a peaceful place, what they would imagine in their heads. Also, playing off the graphic story idea, i could have students animate their own short story, or just a part from it. OR I could have students animate a scene from Macbeth and then explore together how their scenes look the same/different from a grahic novel of Macbeth that is already published. The whole graphic story lesson can be taken very far.

Framework for Understanding Poverty

Wow, talk about a late posting…

Anyway, my co-op and I have been talking a lot about parents of students. Several teachers on my team complain about the parents not being involved enough in their child’s education. However, my co-op explained to me that many of the students that are having enough problems to call for a parent-teacher conference are coming from poverty-stricken homes. These parents are used to coming into a school to talk strictly about business and what the child is doing wrong. What parent only wants to hear bad things about their child? What does that say about their parenting? I learned this week that my co-op works hard to find reasons to write letters of recognition that get sent home to the parents of students that are working hard or doing well. She believes that not only does this build the relationship between the student and parents, but it also gives a trusting impression of the teacher, as well. That way, if the parents get called in for a conference, they know that the teacher is focusing on both the positive and the negative – not just the negative (that so many other teachers seek out).

I love this idea. If I were a parent, I would much rather hear difficult news from a teacher that I know is genuinely invested in my child's education. I would really like to hear what everyone else thinks about this idea!

Woah

Payne's Chapter 9 was some pretty heavy stuff. While I was reading it, I was reminded of every time I interact with my wife's colleagues (her colleagues are scientists). They get these ideas and then they all sit there and expand on them, and where does that leave me..... "So, how about that rain, eh?" Ugh, it's so awkward.

Anyway, before I get into Chapter 9, let me briefly cover 2. Like Luke said, a lot of this stuff were things that I have heard in various classes over the past year. For those of us who have had the pleasure of taking a class with Dr. Shields, you know what I mean. This is a topic that has begun to fascinate me. I love the idea of dividing the English language into parts. What I like even more than that is the idea that we can tell our students that there are multiple ways to use our language. The idea of "right vs wrong" drives me nuts. The way our students speak is perfectly fine; they just need to speak differently in certain situations. I really liked the example at the end of Chapter 2, where Payne said to have the students write in their casual register and then show them how to translate it into formal. In relation to poverty, kids shouldn't be ashamed of the way they speak and speech should never take a role in alienating a child if that child has no knowledge of speaking in any other manner.

Back to Chapter 9, I loved how Payne put that students often point to relationships as the key to their elevation from one level to another. This directly relates to what we have all been saying in all of our classes; that standardized tests cannot possibly be the end all, and that relationship-building is something that cannot be rivaled...

Quick random thought here: did anyone watch the GOP debate last night? One of the candidates was saying that the parents are the most important people in education and that they should be the focal point. They argued that teachers need to get out of the way of parents because parents are the ones with the knowledge needed to educate our children. Bananas

.... And back to Chapter 9 (sorry, I am done with the tangents). The deposit and withdrawal charts are fantastic. It just goes to show you how quickly a teacher can lose a student..... but more importantly, how a solid relationship can change a student's life forever.

To Everyone Who Has Replied to Me

Since my laptop is busted, I am using different computers and for whatever reason, I can only make posts now. I can't figure out how to reply to your replies on my posts.

Not saying this for pity.... just don't want you to think that I am being a jerk.

RPG Video #2

After looking at the next RPG video, I'm not really sure where to start. It says "Using Good 'Questioning' Strategies", but I'm stuck for ideas. If anybody can help me out with ideas that would be great!

Ravitch On The Daily Show

Who doesn't love a little John Stewart? In the process of catching up on the Daily Show (which I don't think will ever happen), I found this clip with Diane Ravitch.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-3-2011/diane-ravitch

On another note, does anybody have the book "The Bee Eater" by Michelle Rhee that I could borrow? I thought I'd check my resources before taking the leap and buying it. :)

PBS Masterpiece - teaching film in class

Here's a sweet resource for teaching film in class: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/index.html

Luke's response to Payne and Reinventing English Ch. 1

I read Payne's second and ninth chapters. I found the chapter on sociolinguistics to be helpful, but mostly a review of things that have already been brought to my attention. The ideas that Payne was writing about weren't very new to me. I would like to read the relationship chapter (chapter 9) again to try and get a better grasp of it. I found it a bit hard to draw application from. The part that stuck out to me was when Payne gives the table of "Deposits made to/withdrawals made from individual in poverty," particularly the distinction between using the "parent voice" and the "adult voice". I think I understand what Payne's getting at here. Sometimes as teachers we will have kids in our class that we notice are obviously not having their needs met at home, kids that we will wish we could fill that void for. Without meaning anything bad by it, we might start to talk to that kid like a parent, instead of like a caring adult, because there is a real distinction. Using the parent voice is not only condescending, it is a violation of boundaries in the teacher-student relationship and should be avoided

Payne's Chapter 2

Payne's chapter two really reminded me of the research I conducted this summer for a paper I wrote for a dialects class with Dr. Shields. I conducted a case study focusing on English teachers in the area to find out exactly how they were addressing language variations in the classroom. I only focused on teachers that had daily interaction with nonstandard speakers of American English. Teaching bidialectalism, or the ability to speak two dialects, is the best way to help students gain a useful understanding of standard American English. This chapter really emphasized a lot of what I found in my research and case study; mainly that students in poverty, who are often learning English as a second dialect (ESD), do not have enough contact with standard speakers. In order for students living in poverty to learn a formal register of English, they need to have relationships and contact with people speaking that register.

The Cinderella story reminded me of something else I learned in my research from the summer. Linguistic studies prove that "dialect texts" are excellent ways to help students acquire the standard dialect. But these dialect texts are no where to be found in schools today. Of the six teachers I interviewed, only one had heard of these dialect texts. But, they are out there and they work! The one I found was called "Shirley and the Valentine Card" and it was written in 6 different versions, one in the standard and the others in different dialects of American English. The idea is that students can gain an understanding of the standard dialect if they are exposed to the standard as well as a text written in their native dialect. Contrastive analysis between the two texts help to break down structural barriers that would otherwise be extremely difficult to understand. Back to the Cinderella story, it proves that it is crucial for teachers to understand the different discourse patterns, like the patterns for storytelling, and how they are associated with different registers of speech, and that discourse patterns are associated with the way the brain stores memory. The article points out that teachers should incorporate different patterns for storytelling in the classroom and I completely agree.

The last sentence of the article states, "Students should be told how much the formal register affects their ability to get a well-paying job." Of the teachers I interviewed this summer, only two of the six admitted to discussing the social implications of language variations in the classroom. This really needs to change! Teachers need to share this information with their students, especially those students living in poverty and speaking ESD, so that they may advance socially without abandoning the language of their home. Also, schools, especially those in urban areas, need to purchase dialect texts for the classroom.

Framework for Understanding Poverty

I found Payne's writing on poverty to be a relatively fresh and helpful approach. He had me hooked right away because he recognized that poverty means more than just a lack of financial needs. I found the scenarios be a little bit stereotypical and redundant; however, it was really helpful to see the importance that spiritual, emotional and family health play in a students life. What I really found interesting was chapter 2 where he talks about language. The examples he uses about talking around a topic, both from the student and the parents was very eye opening to me. As teachers it is important to recognize the cultural and socioeconomic gaps that exist among our students. I could just hear a teacher complaining during a free period about how they hate calling on "Mike" because it takes him forever to get to the point. So perhaps the teacher avoids calling on him. Now Mike has suffered yet another blow to the emotional support necessary to succeed in school. I was also able to draw some insightful connections to this issue because of the Ravitch article. You can see where achievement is directly related to poverty. Education only exists through personal connections. How can we expect students to care about anything we teach when they are struggling to fulfill one or more of the categories in that poverty survey?

Reinventing English

So, my co-op and I have this 19 minute class called "advisory". It's basically our homeroom kids coming back to us before lunch. A lot of other faculty members think it is pointless because there isn't really much you can do in that time period. It's purpose is "supposed" to be "advising" students on areas where they need help. The problem is, when they come for advisory, all they have on their brains is food and social time. So, he and I have been brainstorming ways of making advisory period more fun. The other day I said to him that maybe we can expand the advisory concept from school-focused to all inclusive. He seemed to agree.

Sorry for the random tangent there, but it was for a purpose. I just read the Reinventing chapter and thought to myself that this is kind of what we had in mind. For the past six months or so in our classes, we keep bringing up the terms "critical thinkers" and "media literacy". The only problem here is that 19 minutes isn't a lot of time and we can't do this in CA because time is already strapped as it is trying to cover all of the mandated material. Also, the administration has been very clear that advisory isn't supposed to be used for other subjects (as in, we can't have them write every single time because that is too much like CA class).

I have been thinking that our advisory class is the perfect way to bring up the events of the world and have our students begin to analyze and form their own opinions. This first chapter really reinforced my idea

Payne's Framework for Understanding Poverty (ch. 2 and 9)

I found chapters 2 and 9 of Payne's Framework for Understanding Poverty interesting. Because I worked with people and children who were in poverty all summer, I think what is really important to people in this situation that Payne pointed out is relationship building. However, the relationships aren't just important to build with our students, but also with the parents. I found these chapters very similar to something that we talk about during Resident Assistant training. During RA training we talk about the emotional bank account. It is defined as, "a metaphor that describes the amount of trust that's been built up in a relationship. It's the feeling of safeness you have with another human being. If deposits into an Emotional Bank Account are made through courtesy, praise, kindness, honesty, and keeping commitments, reserves accrue." The definition goes on to talk about how this emotional bank account helps to build a relationship, and if something ever goes wrong in the relationship, the account will never drain completely if the relationship is built correctly. It's all about trust, and I believe that is something that students who are living in poverty take a long time to build up. Trust is something that isn't just given out right away from students in poverty, you have to earn it. I think this is important for us to realize as teachers.

Payne talks about parent-teacher conferences and how parents who are in poverty feel as though a teacher is being rude when a teacher jumps right to business. Instead, a teacher needs to build a relationship. In this instance, small talk and conversation is good for parents who are in poverty because it helps to build the trust that the parent is looking for. It is super important that the parents trust the teachers who are taking care of their children on a day to day basis. Finally, the quote that I found the most important in Chapter 2 of Payne's book was as follows: "To honor students as human beings worthy of respect and care is to establish a relationship that will provide for enhanced learning." I found this to be a good summary of what should be happening throughout the school year. Students need to be treated as human beings. Just because they are in poverty, does not mean they shouldn't be treated like other students: with respect.

These two chapters really reminded me of a student in my class who I've been struggling with knowing what to do in certain situations. On Friday, my co-op was absent, so we had a substitute. Naturally, the students felt more comfortable around me because they had never met the substitute teacher. One of my students came up to me before class saying that he needed to keep working on his essay that day even though his group was supposed to be working on learning the rules of dialogue. I asked him why this was, and he told me that he only had finished his introduction the day before. I told him that he should have been working on it at home and he had his chance on the computers already the day before. He then informed me that he didn't have a computer at home. I told him that it would be okay for him to use a computer that day, but then I came to another dilemma: Many of the other students then were asking why he was allowed to use the computer and they weren't. It also was hard for me to accept this because he did not complete any work the day before because he was distracting his classmates. I had another conversation with him later on in the period and he informed me that he was having a rough time in his other classes because his group partners in other group projects weren't helping him, and he had other things to worry about like what/if he was going to eat that night and if he would get enough sleep. As a student teacher this was difficult for me to handle. It was especially difficult because this was not my classroom, and my co-op wasn't there to help with the situation.

So I want to know, what would you guys have done in that situation? What would you have told the classmates that were asking questions?

Failing grade

So I'm not going to lie, when I start reading about testing and no child left behind blah blah blah ... I just want to rip my hair out and burn whatever it is I'm reading. Considering I read this articl on my iPad that probably is not a very good thing. I u derstand that our students need to be brought up to proficient levels in reading and math, but the focus of the government on the issue seems to be going too far. There are non education specialists dictating what education professionals should be doing. Is there any other industry where the non knowing gives advice and direction to the pro? I don't know of any.

There was a quote in the beginning of the article that caught my attention.
"Some people do terrible things when faced with unreasonable targets and draconian punishment."
I'm taking it out of context, but I have a point, I promise. Being in a school where almost all of the students in one of my classes are below proficient, I've seen first hand how the pressures of the government standards have not only affected the teachers, but the students as well. My co-op gave the class a practice test and they literally shut down. There was crying, threats of self hurting, and overall misbehavior and panic due to the mere practice. These kids know that they are not meeting the standards before them and it's hurting them rather than helping them as most would hope. I can't see how the rigorous expectations should go on if they are producing opposite results than planned.

Framework for Understanding Poverty

I understand what you're saying, Marybeth, but I think that the author was placing us, as the reader, inside the mind of the person in the scenario each time. Based on the school I'm in, these scenarios are very real. I see the sad faces of students and hear the stories from teachers and guidance counselors. It's amazing that some of them get to school each day. Might I add that they are some of the most engaging, albeit shy, children I've ever met. They are so open to the kindness of a caring adult after they are able to register it as such. One thing these chapters did for me is understand why my co-op teacher says she can't make time for the cool lessons I want to do, as she says she's behind schedule with scaffolded, mandated lessons on basic thinking skills, such as: connections, schema and inference. These kids don't have what we take for granted in most middle schools. The downside is that there is too much of that kind of spirit numbing lesson. The students all seem to read well, so I wish they could have some pure, free reading time. They never get to read for the sheer pleasure of getting lost in a story, which I feel would go a long way in building cognitive skills. Also, they have no technological experiences with their learning and will be behind their peers in the wider community, within that context.
The point about relationships was key for me as a teacher. We have the responsibility to be that person who lifts a child out of poverty and shows them the path to opportunity.

Wait, really?

I just want to throw out there that I am not an easily offended person. At all. So, I was trying very hard to find the two chapters (1 &9) of "Framework" laughable in their ridiculous stereotyping, but it was just... not funny. I'm not all about being politically correct (and yes, I do realize the point of this chapter was about poverty and identifying resources available to those in poverty) but come on... it was so obscene.

"(5) you could slap the fool out of the handicapped son ... (7) you could go partying together..."
"One of her pimps or boyfriends usually gets her out of jail."
"Juan is your godchild, and you will defend him with your blood. Juan's mother was a piece of white trash... Juan comes home with a notice about a parent-teacher conference. You are away, hiding from the police."

... seriously? Sorry, just had to rant that.

Otherwise, the parts of the chapters that did not have to do with identifying resources in poverty stricken situations provided some insight into the multi-faceted nature of poverty. I had never put much thought into the fact that the definition of poverty extends beyond the rhealm of financial constraints into emotional, spiritual, mental, etc. That much of the chapter was enlightening and broken down in a way that easily spelled out for the reader the cyclical nature of poverty.

Here we go again!

The New York Book Review, where Diane Ravitch’s review of Steven Brill’s Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools, doesn’t have a space for reader comments (so far as I can see) so I decided to just post my response on our blog.

After reading Ravitch’s scathing article concerning Steven Brill’s book on education reform, there was no question as to where she stood on the major issues facing American education today. Ravitch criticized Brill for his stance on education reform, which defames teachers unions and suggests that poor teachers are responsible for the current education crisis facing America. He suggests (much to Ravitch’s chagrin) that standardized test scores are a valid marker of the success of public school education.

There is no doubt that greater accountability is necessary for schools and teachers, however, basing the success of schools/teachers off of standardized test scores is misleading and detrimental. The policy changes Brill suggests for improving American education are not based on reality and ignore some serious problems in the American education system today, such as poverty and underfunded schools in depressed areas. Essentially, the difference in opinion between Brill and Ravitch seems to be related to experience and idealism/realism. In Brill’s perfect, ideal world, basing funding and accountability off standardized test scores would lead to stronger teachers and stronger schools. However, Ravitch has spent time and research in the schools and sees the reality that using test scores for accountability purposes only contributes to a vicious cycle, which proves to widen the gab between the upper and lower class – the successful and unsuccessful.

Ultimately, I felt Ravitch made several strong points and criticisms of Brill’s (and the removed, governmental system he represents) ideology. However, at times she was so vehement it almost read as more of a hysterical rant than a well-written review. Despite this, Ravitch made her points loud and clear and quite honestly drove her “opponent” into the ground.

*a side note: I must've created a blog with this site a while ago and picked this slightly embarassing screen name type thing.... is there a way I can change that? haha ehhh

Diane Ravitch

Ditto, Steve. She hits the nail squarely on the head with her observations about the "real" problems. I like to reference a quote from her book The Death and Life of the Great American School System regarding NCLB and the testing craze: "The strategy produced fear and obedience among educators...". (p16). As in the article "American Schools in Crisis," she reminds us that teachers should be leading the charge of defining reform, not being demonized as the problem. I was tickled by her reference to the origin of this craze when she reminded her reader that we are still here and the Soviet Union is not! She rightly cites points throughout history in which U.S. test scores were not the highest because we lead in innovation. Standardization produces the awe inspiring performances of lock-step that we see in North Korea and China, an unquestioning allegiance to authority. It negates innovation and creative problem solving and Ravitch is bold and courageous to say the emperor has no clothes. She is also right on the money when she addresses the role that poverty plays in our public school failures. How can children who live in homes with no books, little food, violence and trauma be expected to focus in a state of wonder at school? They are often in survival mode and barely getting through the day. Ravitch also points out that public schools a re mandated to accept and teach anyone who shows up on the doorstep, while private and charter schools can turn undesirable students away. I have a close friend who runs an urban Latino charter school and she described to me her admission policy. Parents are interviewed and judged by their willingness to enforce homework schedules and rigor in academics. Ravitch is correct to see this as an unlevel playing field when choosing which schools to penalize. And we should be suspicious of motive when corporate heads are leading the charge. Look at Pearson's profit margins!
I cannot close without bringing this issue home to my PDS experience. As I am in school that is obsessed with an attempt to raise test scores, it has a negative impact on what I am able to do in the classroom. The sad thing is that the test prep lessons are causing the kids to check out in boredom and then get scolded for what is a natural response to busy work for bureaucrats. Rejoice, those of you for whom it is not so. (Sorry for editorializing, Tim, but you did have us read Diane....)

More Problems

This has been a blast. Anyway, only one of the Diane Ravich articles is opening for me.. and it is not showing me anywhere to add a comment. Not sure if I am supposed to start up an account with nybooks, but I would really rather not. These types of sites often cause security risks for computers and with mine broken, I don't want to risk my wife's work computer. So, that being said, here are my two cents:

I have read many Ravich articles before. I tend to agree with her onj mostly everything, though sometimes she comes across as overly argumentative. As for this article, I think a lot of people should read this particular one because it provides a great example of how educational discussions have become predominantly geared around money, politics, and test scores. Hardly any of it talks about the kids and what they are learning or about how many solid teachers there are. That's sad.

Contact Zones

I agree that as educators we need to be willing to teach within contact zones. We need to deal with tough issues and push students to think beyond their class and social structures. It can be scary to branch out and it can be tempting to settle back into comfortable zones that just skim along the surface of subjects in an attempt to produce satisfactory grades, but it is imperative that we take the risk because the reward is priceless. I want to create a classroom environment that encourages students to openly share their struggles and thoughts even if they are complicated and perhaps off-task.

Problems

1 - I cannot find a way to click thru to the original Ravich article, as the article is opening up in Microsoft Word and it will not let me do anything else.

2 - I am also having problems opening up several of the attachments on the main page on D2L

3 - My laptop is broken and will be out of commission for several weeks. So, I will be jumping around on computers for the time being.

ReinvetingEnglish

The contact zone is exactly what the seventh graders I work with might need to be inspired to write. I hope I someday get the opportunity to find out. The reading of fiction and nonfiction texts which address social issues would have meaning for them that reaches beyond the classroom. The notion of schools being a place for human development, beyond rote academic tasks has been around for centuries, but the new obsession with standardized testing has squashed these noble goals for many teachers. In my future classroom, I will aspire to create units that have contact zone themes while adhering to core standards in the process. They do not have to be mutually exclusive.
The quote that we are all hyphenated Americans might be my opening line for such a unit. It makes the point succinctly and dramatically. Also, the note written by the Columbine shooters would be an excellent piece to discuss and write about a utopian school culture in which those boys would have been healed by their community. A question of what kind of school communities we can build in order to prevent the emotional pain of future school shooters. These kinds of units allow students to take ownership of their thinking and writing. Rather than scold Cliff for his headphones, I would say, "let's study the lyrics of Cliff's song as poetry and explore the merit of them as a piece of writing.". Rather than constant scolding and repression, I want to fold my students' social realities into the curriculum. We can still demand rigor in writing and reading skills while opening the hearts and minds of the generation that will someday lead us.

Contact Zone In The Classroom

Reinventing English was a pretty interesting, but at the same time some of the information kinda of shocked me. This was especially true when they talked about how racism, sexual orientation, religion, and the like dominate headlines in the news. Why do we feel the need to emphasize that (for example) "23 WOMEN Killed in the Name of Love"? It does make it harder for students to develop their own thoughts about this type of violence. I also think it makes it a lot harder for them to develop their own thoughts and opinions about other cultures, genders, religious beliefs, and so on.

After reading this idea of this contact zone, I found myself browsing books I could implement into my lessons that would challenge students to really take a look at the world they live in. after reading exerts from these books, it would be great to have them write in their journals how they feel after reading, what they would change, how their thoughts have changed about the subject at hand.

Another thing I envision in my classroom is the motto, "Leave It At The Door." By this, I simply mean that I don't care what your race is, what religion you practice (or don't), who your best friend is, who your enemy is, or even what gang you are affiliated with (as sad as this is, there are kids in the city schools affiliated with gangs as early as sixth grade). I want the students to walk into the classroom not worrying about others judging them because of the practices listed above. If a problem arises, I will address it, by why ignore what may or may not exist?

I have a lot more about this article that I've written down, but I guess it can wait until class! Any thoughts?

?

What do you do when you have seventh graders who can barely read at a kindergarten level?
What do you do when your students are so low level, they can't even copy letters off a board?
What do you do when you have a student who writes about the memory of his mother beating him with a stick after he skipped school one day?

...I'm not really sure this is what I thought I was signing up for...

The Medium is the Message

This section was a really good one to think about. Postman talks about the students sitting there and listening to the teacher and how they don't have any real opportunity to help decide which problems are worth studying and they never have any opportunities to make observations or perform any intellectual operations (Postman 19). I'm thinking that I want my kids to make at least one test or quiz per semester when I'm a teacher. Why not? Individual students could make up a question or something and if they complain-hey, your friends made it, not me. That sound more engaging to me. Or what if we even let one of the students (kind of) teach part of a lesson or something? That would certainly mean something different for sixth grade than it would for twelfth grade, but wouldn't that be cool? When the students go to do their homework they don't necessarily have someone to keep them accountable or often they don't even see a purpose in it. Some do it just to get a grade and others just because they know the teachers wants them to. But talk about accountability and purpose-if you don't prepare well then you will be in front of the whole class and not know what to say. I mean it probably couldn't be anything elaborate, but why not get students that feel comfortable in front of the class up there doing something that might seem more worth while. Even just explaining what a part of speech is or something. I really want to do that with my students.

9/13/2011

As I was reading Teaching as a Subversive Activity, I found myself saying "wow, that's so true!". I found the chapter on crap-detecting particularly interesting because it made several valid points. I like the idea of "change revolution" because we often fear change, but change plays an integral role in the process of living. However, the degree of change is what has such a drastic effect on the world, and education in particular. I was in a team meeting last week and a history teacher was amazed that her students had never read a map before. When I was in middle school, we used an atlas to locate areas of the world and learn more about geography. However, that same history teacher was explaining that most of her students did not even know what an atlas was. The technology has changed so much since even 10 years ago. Today, students learn from the internet and television. But even looking at that, will we still have computers 10 years from now considering we have phones and tablets that carry the internet? This same idea applies to theory and relevance. The material that students were learning 40-50 years ago is similar but also very different from the information taught in schools today. We're taught about technology because it is essential to life. Students should still learn about classic literature, but added to that need to be lessons pertaining to the lives they face outside of class. My school does a 6-week unit on discrimination and tolerance because the students need to know the issues. To me, something is relevant if it relates to the factors that affect students in their every day lives, both in the present and the future.

Flipping the Classroom with Shakespeare

As I read Ollie's Blog 8 post about "flipping the classroom," it occurred to me that this could be a fun way to share an animated "Play Map" with students the night before we begin Lesson 1 of Shakespeare Set Free. Much of the background info could be learned in the comfort of home and p.j.s for those students who have Internet access at home. The solution for those who don't: I'm thinking I would create a lunch club in my classroom for those students to watch the video lesson. Also, I could remind them of library Internet access on North Duke Street. I'll let you know how it works out!

Rapid Rate Of Change

After reading Teaching is a Subversive Activity, I have to say that the one thing that really stood out to me is the same thing that proves I'm in the 25+ age group! In the "Crap Detecting" chapter, the author talked about how change occurs so fast that by the time we catch up with it, it becomes irrelevant because society has already moved on to something else. I believe the reason for all of this is technology and I guess I can point to our 330/530 reading regarding the digital natives versus digital immigrants as an example. Today's generation grew up on technology and while I am a mix of digital native and digital immigrant, I find myself finally catching up, only to find out I should be learning about something else.

I had to giggle at the quote about if you are 25-years-old or older, "you are a walking encyclopedia of outdated information." To that I have just one thing to say: I may be a walking book of useless information, but I'm pretty good at trivia!

On another note, does anybody else have a page 60 with this book/article? I only seem to have the Introduction and Chapters 1-4, which stops at page 58. Am I missing something?