The clock on the wall taunts me
Tick by tock
The lowly chime of every half hour
Passing by
AT THE HANDS NOW
I am subjected by my dancing men
The hands turn round
To tell the tale of my life
Tick tock, tick tock
Dance to the tick
Dance to the tock
They gossip about my daily rituals
As if there is nothing better to talk about
In the hallway I hear their chatter
Tick tock
Tick tock
Goes their voices all around me
They watch as they dance by
With every tick they turn
With every tock they talk
I am alone in my room
But I hear their chatter
Tick tock, tick tock
Friday, March 11, 2022
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Write about Anything––It Still Hurts
It was November 21, 2013.
It still hurts.
It was 11:30pm when I heard the news.
It still hurts.
I had tried twice before, but it never worked out.
My professor was too busy.
I wasn't good enough.
My professor couldn't find the the time.
I need to write more.
I wasn't good enough.
I had scheduled my Master's thesis defense for the third time for November 22, 2013.
On November 21, 2013 at 11:30 pm, I received the following email:
"I'm afraid I have bad news. The response from you committee is that the thesis is not passable. This became very clear only late today, which is why I am writing you now.
I think it would be a mistake to go ahead with your defense tomorrow when we already know the outcome. For this reason, I am canceling the defense.
I will talk to --------, and see what our options are, and then you and I can talk about what to do going forward.
Sincerely,
---------------
English Professor
UT Arlington"
I cried.
For weeks.
A committee member decided, without telling me, s/he no longer wanted to be a part of my committee.
S/He quit. S/He left me with out a full committee.
And s/he never told me why.
S/He told Dr. -------, that s/he did not have the time to deal with students work who are not even at the most basic graduate level.
I was hurt.
I didn't think I was going to make it out––alive.
I was crushed.
My hopes, my dreams, the only life goal I've ever had––to be called Dr. Self after my grandfather––suffocated, obliterated, ruined, turned into a smoldering pile of crap in an instant by three people.
But, I didn't quit.
I wanted to quit.
I couldn't let myself quit.
I persevered.
On May 1, 2014 I submitted the 180 page document to my committee, scared, fearful, feeling like a failure, but hopeful.
On May 9, 2014 I passed my Master's thesis defense, unconditionally.
On May 14, 2014 I graduated with a Master's degree in English Literature.
On June 2, 2014 I asked two of my committee professors to write me letters of recommendation for Texas Tech's PhD program. This is what I received:
From Dr. ----------:
"Agreeing to write a letter of recommendation implicitly means agreeing to write a really strong letter, and I can't promise to give you my highest recommendation for doctoral study. I'm really sorry to be so blunt. You were a valuable student in class and have a fantastic work ethic, but the quality of written work just doesn't hit the mark at which I can give an unreserved and enthusiastic endorsement. I don't want to undercut your chances with a tepid letter. Perhaps there are others who would be better?"
From Dr. ----------:
"I think it's great that you have such a passion for intellectual work. But you really struggled at times through the MA. Successfully completing a PhD will be much more challenging. Based on your work here, and the feedback from your professors, I think you should give more thought to this decision. I'm sorry, but I do not believe that you are doctoral material. You seem to enjoy teaching High School, perhaps that is a better fit for you."
I was crushed.
I cried.
It still hurts.
On February 10, 2015 I received the following letter from Dr. ------:
"I am delighted to offer you admissions to the Ph.D. program in English at Texas Tech University. This offer of admission includes the offer on an assistantship to support you financially during your studies and a partial fee waiver, contingent upon your acceptance and approval by the Graduate School. We hope that you will join the outstanding class of graduate students that will begin study with us in Fall 2015. Congratulations and welcome to the Graduate Program in the Department of English at Texas Tech!"
It still hurts.
It was 11:30pm when I heard the news.
It still hurts.
I had tried twice before, but it never worked out.
My professor was too busy.
I wasn't good enough.
My professor couldn't find the the time.
I need to write more.
I wasn't good enough.
I had scheduled my Master's thesis defense for the third time for November 22, 2013.
On November 21, 2013 at 11:30 pm, I received the following email:
"I'm afraid I have bad news. The response from you committee is that the thesis is not passable. This became very clear only late today, which is why I am writing you now.
I think it would be a mistake to go ahead with your defense tomorrow when we already know the outcome. For this reason, I am canceling the defense.
I will talk to --------, and see what our options are, and then you and I can talk about what to do going forward.
Sincerely,
---------------
English Professor
UT Arlington"
I cried.
For weeks.
A committee member decided, without telling me, s/he no longer wanted to be a part of my committee.
S/He quit. S/He left me with out a full committee.
And s/he never told me why.
S/He told Dr. -------, that s/he did not have the time to deal with students work who are not even at the most basic graduate level.
I was hurt.
I didn't think I was going to make it out––alive.
I was crushed.
My hopes, my dreams, the only life goal I've ever had––to be called Dr. Self after my grandfather––suffocated, obliterated, ruined, turned into a smoldering pile of crap in an instant by three people.
But, I didn't quit.
I wanted to quit.
I couldn't let myself quit.
I persevered.
On May 1, 2014 I submitted the 180 page document to my committee, scared, fearful, feeling like a failure, but hopeful.
On May 9, 2014 I passed my Master's thesis defense, unconditionally.
On May 14, 2014 I graduated with a Master's degree in English Literature.
On June 2, 2014 I asked two of my committee professors to write me letters of recommendation for Texas Tech's PhD program. This is what I received:
From Dr. ----------:
"Agreeing to write a letter of recommendation implicitly means agreeing to write a really strong letter, and I can't promise to give you my highest recommendation for doctoral study. I'm really sorry to be so blunt. You were a valuable student in class and have a fantastic work ethic, but the quality of written work just doesn't hit the mark at which I can give an unreserved and enthusiastic endorsement. I don't want to undercut your chances with a tepid letter. Perhaps there are others who would be better?"
From Dr. ----------:
"I think it's great that you have such a passion for intellectual work. But you really struggled at times through the MA. Successfully completing a PhD will be much more challenging. Based on your work here, and the feedback from your professors, I think you should give more thought to this decision. I'm sorry, but I do not believe that you are doctoral material. You seem to enjoy teaching High School, perhaps that is a better fit for you."
I was crushed.
I cried.
It still hurts.
On February 10, 2015 I received the following letter from Dr. ------:
"I am delighted to offer you admissions to the Ph.D. program in English at Texas Tech University. This offer of admission includes the offer on an assistantship to support you financially during your studies and a partial fee waiver, contingent upon your acceptance and approval by the Graduate School. We hope that you will join the outstanding class of graduate students that will begin study with us in Fall 2015. Congratulations and welcome to the Graduate Program in the Department of English at Texas Tech!"
To whomever was on the Texas Tech PhD admissions committee:
Thank you.
From the deepest, most sincere place in my heart, Thank You.
When I look back at where I came from, it still hurts.
When I think about the professors who did not have faith in me, it still hurts.
When I remember the struggle, the pain, the anguish, and the severe depression, it still hurts.
But when I think about where I am right now at TTU, it hurts a little less each day.
Thank You Texas Tech English faculty for believing in me, for giving me a chance, for seeing something in me that others did not, Thank You.
Friday, November 13, 2015
What is the thesis to your article for this course? What support will you cite to help you make your case?
What is the thesis to your article for this course? What support will you cite to help you make your case?
'Every Day is [Not] Exactly the Same': Using Popular Music in
the Classroom to Encourage Resistant Readers
Using music in the high school English classroom seems like
it might lead to some disgruntled students, or might cause a serious
distraction. As a ninth grade English teacher, I have met quite a few resistant
readers. During a unit on the Dystopian novel, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, I used popular music to compare
and contrast themes and motifs between songs and the novel. I used Nine Inch
Nails' song "Every day is exactly the same," and Imagine Dragons'
"Radioactive" to encourage my students to engage with The Maze Runner novel. While all of my
students responded quite positively to this assignment, my resistant readers
responded more positively and engage more with the reading after doing this
analysis than my regular readers.
Using multimodality in the classroom often encourages
students to engage more fully with the tasks they are presented. I will explore
how the use of popular music encourages resistant readers to engage more fully
with a novel. Integrating multimodality mediums in the classroom can and will
change how our 21st century students learn.
Bibliography
Archer, A. “Multimodal Pedagogies and Access to Higher
Education.” South African Journal of
Higher Education 28.3 (2014): 1123-1131.
Archer, Arlene. “Multimodal texts in Higher Education and
the Implications for Writing Pedagogy.” English
in Education 44.3 (2010): 201-213.
Baur, John, Jeffrey Kenton. “Toward Technology Integration
in the Schools: Why It Isn’t Happening.” Journal
of Technology and Teacher Education 13.4 (2005): 519-546.
Bourelle, Andrew, Tiffany Bourelle, and Natasha Jones.
“Multimodality in the Technical Communications Classroom: Viewing Classical
Rhetoric Through a 21st Century Lens.” Technical Communications Quarterly 24.4 (2015): 306-327.
Durant, Cal, Alyson Simpson, and Maureen Walsh. “Moving into
a Multimodal Landscape: Examining 21st Century Pedagogy for
Multicultural and Multilingual Students.” English
in Australia 50.1 (2015): 67-76.
Epelde, Maria, Julia Bernel, Miguel Gallardo-Vigil, and
Africa Rodriguez. “Music in the Teaching and Learning of English.” The International Journal of the Humanities
9.11 (2012): 143-152.
Koutsoupidou, Theano. “Improvisations in the English Primary
Music Classroom: Teachers’ Perceptions and Practices.” Music Education Research 7.3 (2005): 363-381.
Lems, Kristin. “Music Works: Music for Adult English
Language Learners.” New Directions for
Adults and Continuing Education 107 (2005): 13-21.
Moore, David Cooper. “Learning Tunes: Pop Music in the
Classroom.” Library Media Connection (2011):
13- 14.
Palmeri, Jason. Remixing
Composition: A History of Multi-Modal
Writing Pedagogy. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2012. Print.
Paquette, Kelli, Sue Reig. “Using Music to Support the
Literacy Development of Young English Language Learners.” Early Childhood Education Journal 36 (2008): 227-232.
Reid, Alex. “Portable Composition: ITunes University and
Networked Pedagogies.” Computers and
Composition 25 (2008): 61-78.
Scanlon, Molly. “The Works of Comics Collaborations:
Considerations of Multimodal Composition for Writing Scholarship and Pedagogy.”
Composition Studies 43.1 (2015):
105-130.
Stein, Pipa. “Rethinking Resources: Multimodal Pedagogies in
the ESL Classroom” TESOL Quarterly
34.2 (2000): 333-336.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Review the learning objectives for this course. What's one thing you've learned that connects to an objective and to your future job?
Review
the learning objectives for this course. What's one thing you've
learned that connects to an objective and to your future job?
One of the course objectives that I am naturally drawn to is the communication skills objective:
Communication skills. Understand how to present a proposal orally, using appropriate visuals. Measurement: successfully create, manage, produce, and report on artifacts through collaboration, including active participation in classroom discussion and blogs.
During this course, I have learned how to appropriately begin discussions, engage in discussions and respond to others both as a student and as a teacher. I think the term "communication skills" is a bit too broad though, and that is something that I've learned from this course.
Obviously, I knew there was formal and informal communication, but I've learned and developed more steadily my knowledge and use of different types of informal and formal communication. While I learned many years ago that I cannot speak to my professors as I speak to my sisters, and I cannot speak to my students as I speak to my peers; this course has helped further develop my conscious awareness of these different types of communication.
This will help in my future job because it teaches me to think more fully about what I want to say before speaking or writing. It also will help me communicate more effectively with my students, my peers, and my employers, and do so in different situations. For example, if I and a peer are casually sitting in one of our offices just chatting, I can communicate more informally with them, but I must also keep in mind of where I am, and that I still need to be aware of who might overhear our conversation. The same goes for communicating in my classroom as the authority figure versus communicating as a student. Moreover, it is interesting to see the different types of communication that occurs in different classrooms. For instance, in one of my classes, I feel it is critical to be genteel and professional, but in our composition classroom I feel it I can speak more freely and not fear retribution.
I think the most important part about our learning objective for communication skills that will help me in a future job, is becoming consciously aware of how I am communicating.
One of the course objectives that I am naturally drawn to is the communication skills objective:
Communication skills. Understand how to present a proposal orally, using appropriate visuals. Measurement: successfully create, manage, produce, and report on artifacts through collaboration, including active participation in classroom discussion and blogs.
During this course, I have learned how to appropriately begin discussions, engage in discussions and respond to others both as a student and as a teacher. I think the term "communication skills" is a bit too broad though, and that is something that I've learned from this course.
Obviously, I knew there was formal and informal communication, but I've learned and developed more steadily my knowledge and use of different types of informal and formal communication. While I learned many years ago that I cannot speak to my professors as I speak to my sisters, and I cannot speak to my students as I speak to my peers; this course has helped further develop my conscious awareness of these different types of communication.
This will help in my future job because it teaches me to think more fully about what I want to say before speaking or writing. It also will help me communicate more effectively with my students, my peers, and my employers, and do so in different situations. For example, if I and a peer are casually sitting in one of our offices just chatting, I can communicate more informally with them, but I must also keep in mind of where I am, and that I still need to be aware of who might overhear our conversation. The same goes for communicating in my classroom as the authority figure versus communicating as a student. Moreover, it is interesting to see the different types of communication that occurs in different classrooms. For instance, in one of my classes, I feel it is critical to be genteel and professional, but in our composition classroom I feel it I can speak more freely and not fear retribution.
I think the most important part about our learning objective for communication skills that will help me in a future job, is becoming consciously aware of how I am communicating.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Identify where you think students may fail in an assignment in your syllabus, and how you will use that at a teachable moment by design.
Identify
where you think students may fail in an assignment in your syllabus,
and how you will use that at a teachable moment by design.
I don't want to think that any of my students will fail at any of my assignments; but I will admit that I think my students might struggle with the podcast assignment on Monday February 15. I would expect my students to write out their response to the critical questions in essay form, and then they would have to adapt it to speech. This would require students to be able to fluidly shift between the written word and the spoken word.
I think with the assignment, I would require my students to turn in their essays with the podcast, and if I wanted to make it even higher level thinking and more challenging for my students, I would require that their essays and their podcast are not the same. What I mean is, I would require my students to write a formal essay to turn in, and then produce the podcast without simply reading off the paper.
I think this assignment will force students to learn the difference, and have hands on experience with, using different modalities, shifting between written and spoken words.
As for using a teachable moment, I would acknowledge the fact that students may struggle with alternating between writing and speaking, as well as formal and informal writing.
I also think that having the podcasts available for all students to listen can create a larger discussion of the texts on Blackboard and in class. I also think using podcasts will help students learn the rhetorical power of voice both in writing and speaking.
This idea stems from our conversation in class regarding using "I" in essays. Our students can easily convey their voice and opinion when speaking, so I want them to learn how to use "I" correctly in their writing, and take notice of how "I" is a flexible term.
I don't want to think that any of my students will fail at any of my assignments; but I will admit that I think my students might struggle with the podcast assignment on Monday February 15. I would expect my students to write out their response to the critical questions in essay form, and then they would have to adapt it to speech. This would require students to be able to fluidly shift between the written word and the spoken word.
I think with the assignment, I would require my students to turn in their essays with the podcast, and if I wanted to make it even higher level thinking and more challenging for my students, I would require that their essays and their podcast are not the same. What I mean is, I would require my students to write a formal essay to turn in, and then produce the podcast without simply reading off the paper.
I think this assignment will force students to learn the difference, and have hands on experience with, using different modalities, shifting between written and spoken words.
As for using a teachable moment, I would acknowledge the fact that students may struggle with alternating between writing and speaking, as well as formal and informal writing.
I also think that having the podcasts available for all students to listen can create a larger discussion of the texts on Blackboard and in class. I also think using podcasts will help students learn the rhetorical power of voice both in writing and speaking.
This idea stems from our conversation in class regarding using "I" in essays. Our students can easily convey their voice and opinion when speaking, so I want them to learn how to use "I" correctly in their writing, and take notice of how "I" is a flexible term.
Friday, October 23, 2015
List 5 terms you don't quite know yet how to define from our final keywords list.
List
5 terms you don't quite know yet how to define from our final keywords
list. Next identify three in other students' blog you do know how to
define, and comment on them there in those blogs.
Obviously I know definitions of some of these keywords, but I'm having a hard time putting them into 140 characters.
1.Stephen North
2. Dialectic vs. rhetoric
3. Intertextuality
4. Making of Knowledge
5. Genre Theory
Obviously I know definitions of some of these keywords, but I'm having a hard time putting them into 140 characters.
1.Stephen North
2. Dialectic vs. rhetoric
3. Intertextuality
4. Making of Knowledge
5. Genre Theory
Sunday, October 18, 2015
What is one assignment you will include in your syllabus assignment that uses collaboration and/or technology and/or other things Yancey, Selfe, Breuch, Bruffee, or Shaughnessey have discussed?
I was really inspired by Selfe's article for two reasons: the first being that it was written in the early 90's and how it so easily transfers to today's culture, and the ideas she puts forth for technology use and integration.
I am drawn to Selfe's comment about linguistic utopias (Pratt), and how "students [can] speak without interruption, and marginalized students can acquire more central voice" when using technology (2). This reminds me of our blogs for this class, and the forum section in blackboard that I use for Research Methods. This is a place where I can hide behind my computer screen and ultimately write whatever I want to without fear of being interrupted, where I can edit and revise my words to make them come across exactly how I want them to, a place where I can write and think freely without the judgmental looks and comments from my peers. Now, obviously, I'm still aware that what I say here is attached to my name, my face, my body; but in other spheres of the Internet, it doesn't have to be. I can create an entirely new persona on Twitter and say whatever I want to, where no one knows it's Meghan Self. The only way it could be traced to me is through my IP address on my computer.
I think the awareness of the speaker and the anonymity of the speaker and vital, especially in a classroom full of young FYC students. I remember in some of my undergrad courses where I would have these great ideas that I really wanted to add to the discussion, but would sit silently instead and not share my thoughts and ideas for fear of rejection by my peers. Even now, I somewhat censor what I say on this blog, you don't see me dropping F words every third word as I sometimes do when I'm speaking out loud to my friends (it's just diction mom; some ladies do have the mouth of a sailor and I use it for rhetorical purposes. :) )
I am going to integrate the use of Blackboard forums in my syllabus. I like the way Blackboard is one place where all the students come together to write and respond. While I think blogs are a great idea because this is my "personal space" that reflects only ME, I have to go to a separate webpage if I want to go look at everyone elses blogs, as opposed to Blackboard where everyone elses comments are unavoidable.
So I would like to follow in the footsteps on Dr. Couch for this. I will have several different forum threads available. For example: I will have a "general questions, comments, concerns" section where students can post questions about the course that are not specific to any week's reading or assignment. I will have another thread for each week that will cover the week's reading and assignment. This is where students will post specific questions about that week's reading or assignment (perhaps I will require students to be weekly leaders and post questions about the reading for their classmates to respond to). Then I will have an "Ideas" thread. This is where students can continue conversations from class discussions, can post new ideas or questions, or look for clarification on theories, ideologies, etc. Sure it can pertain to a specific week, but it is designed more for "general ideas" in the sense of "I have to write a research paper and I'm struggling to formulate an idea for the "so what factor," so they will post it there and their peers can respond accordingly.
I find great value in this, particularly the "general ideas" thread because it allows students who are maybe too shy or too nervous to speak in class to have a voice. It also allows students the opportunity to think about, edit/revise their ideas. There's been plenty of times when I leave class still thinking about an idea that was discussed and while I didn't have an answer in class, I finally found one after class and I don't want to waste it, so this is where I could post it to the "general ideas" thread.
Having forum abilities creates this "linguistic utopia," a place where I can hide behind my computer screen to write and think freely, a place where "gender, race, and socioeconomic status are minimized" (2).
I am drawn to Selfe's comment about linguistic utopias (Pratt), and how "students [can] speak without interruption, and marginalized students can acquire more central voice" when using technology (2). This reminds me of our blogs for this class, and the forum section in blackboard that I use for Research Methods. This is a place where I can hide behind my computer screen and ultimately write whatever I want to without fear of being interrupted, where I can edit and revise my words to make them come across exactly how I want them to, a place where I can write and think freely without the judgmental looks and comments from my peers. Now, obviously, I'm still aware that what I say here is attached to my name, my face, my body; but in other spheres of the Internet, it doesn't have to be. I can create an entirely new persona on Twitter and say whatever I want to, where no one knows it's Meghan Self. The only way it could be traced to me is through my IP address on my computer.
I think the awareness of the speaker and the anonymity of the speaker and vital, especially in a classroom full of young FYC students. I remember in some of my undergrad courses where I would have these great ideas that I really wanted to add to the discussion, but would sit silently instead and not share my thoughts and ideas for fear of rejection by my peers. Even now, I somewhat censor what I say on this blog, you don't see me dropping F words every third word as I sometimes do when I'm speaking out loud to my friends (it's just diction mom; some ladies do have the mouth of a sailor and I use it for rhetorical purposes. :) )
I am going to integrate the use of Blackboard forums in my syllabus. I like the way Blackboard is one place where all the students come together to write and respond. While I think blogs are a great idea because this is my "personal space" that reflects only ME, I have to go to a separate webpage if I want to go look at everyone elses blogs, as opposed to Blackboard where everyone elses comments are unavoidable.
So I would like to follow in the footsteps on Dr. Couch for this. I will have several different forum threads available. For example: I will have a "general questions, comments, concerns" section where students can post questions about the course that are not specific to any week's reading or assignment. I will have another thread for each week that will cover the week's reading and assignment. This is where students will post specific questions about that week's reading or assignment (perhaps I will require students to be weekly leaders and post questions about the reading for their classmates to respond to). Then I will have an "Ideas" thread. This is where students can continue conversations from class discussions, can post new ideas or questions, or look for clarification on theories, ideologies, etc. Sure it can pertain to a specific week, but it is designed more for "general ideas" in the sense of "I have to write a research paper and I'm struggling to formulate an idea for the "so what factor," so they will post it there and their peers can respond accordingly.
I find great value in this, particularly the "general ideas" thread because it allows students who are maybe too shy or too nervous to speak in class to have a voice. It also allows students the opportunity to think about, edit/revise their ideas. There's been plenty of times when I leave class still thinking about an idea that was discussed and while I didn't have an answer in class, I finally found one after class and I don't want to waste it, so this is where I could post it to the "general ideas" thread.
Having forum abilities creates this "linguistic utopia," a place where I can hide behind my computer screen to write and think freely, a place where "gender, race, and socioeconomic status are minimized" (2).
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Engage in discussion about something that captured your attention over the past few weeks in the course. Relate it back to specific class discussions, readings, and your grading/teaching when possible
You're what's wrong with the education system, not me. Blaming, name-calling, pointing fingers, deflecting, what are we five years old? Apparently so, if we, as teachers, think that it's 100% the students fault who make the educational system fail, or inferior. I could go on a wild rant about how it's actually not the student nor teacher, but rather the politicians in office who rightfully deserve 99.8% of the blame for what's wrong with our education system, but I'll leave that for another time and another place.
Mina Shaughnessy's essay Diving In: An Introduction to Basic Writing really hit me hard this week. She says, "This system of exchange between teacher and student has so far yielded much more information about what is wrong with students than about what is wrong with teachers, reinforcing the notion that students, not teachers, are the people in education who must do the changing" (319). I reread this sentence a couple of times to really let it sink in; and she's right, absolutely right.
While I don't have college teaching experience, this easily transfers to high school students. The term "basic writer" is transparent across the board, the idea Shaughnessy suggests, that we need to STOP categorizing our students, "eighth-grade, fifth-grade, developmental, remedial, etc." as if they have some malady is crucial. How would you feel if at 18 years old if a teacher walked up to you and said, "your skills are about the same level as a fifth grader." I'm pretty sure you'd be like "what the...." and be even more discouraged than you maybe already were about the subject.
Shaughnessy provides four categories for teachers:
GUARDING THE TOWER- this is when we protect the academy, this is being more concerned about test scores, student feedback at the end of the semester, about making sure we hit all of the TEKS we need to in one lesson, and ensuring that the State, School, and Student is happy with our performance. Our performance, as if we are actors, we have a certain list of to-do tasks that we must accomplish each year, and if we don't accomplish them, because let's say we spent more than the two days the state alloted us on how to write thesis statements, then we fall behind on our to-do list and come the end of the year, we are told that we have failed our students and have not fully prepared them. So, we guard the tower, we stand at the front of the classroom as if we are Generals going into battle picking our front linesmen, singling out the weaker ones, the ones that might fall behind, the ones that we automatically think just by a pre-test performance that they need specialized learning, so we remove them from our classrooms, because God forbid we let one child make us lose the uphill battle against the State Standards.
But then, "Examined at a closer range, the class now appears to have at least some members in it who might, with hard work, eventually 'catch up'" (321). We've chosen the students we're willing to go to battle with, now it's training time. We've put our students through rigorous pre-testing examinations and lessons, to narrow down who goes in what position on the battle field, and after we have gotten rid of the obvious weaklings, the ones that we knew from the start would lead to our demise, we've chosen a few students who we think might actually be capable of holding their own on the battlefield, we're just hoping now that we can train them well enough to perform well and successfully when the time comes. This is CONVERTING THE NATIVES.
As preparations for battle and rigorous training begins, we stop and look at our students and say, " I dont understand what you dont understand about this? it's easy." As Shaughnessy says, it actually "only appear[s] simple to those who already know them" (322). So we stop and take a step back and try to see what it is that we know, and what our students don't know, and we must now approach a difficult concept from a different angle. This is called SOUNDING THE DEPTHS. We must figure out what and how to teach something that seems so easy to us, in a new way so that our students can grasp the concept. This might be the most difficult task for the teacher because we have to take what is natural to us and turn it into something else, something that may seem foreign to us but that might actually help our students learn the concept. "The experience of student hood is the experience of being just so far over one’s head that it is both realistic and essential to work at surviving" (325). As teachers, we must figure out and do whatever it takes for our students to succeed, to survive the uphill battle of learning, because with out student success, we, as teachers, fail.
Lastly, DIVING IN, this is when as a teacher we must become a student to ourselves, we must become one with our students. We must "become a student of new disciplines and of his students themselves in order to perceive both their difficulties and their incipient excellence"(325). How are we to succeed in the battle if we don't fight ourselves? If we don't be come a student, and learn too? We aren't learning what the student's are learning, but rather we are learning how the student learns. This is essential, if we can't view the world through the eyes of our students, then how are we to teach our students successfully? We must dive in, head first, into our students' learning.
The difference that Shaughnessy points out at the end of her essay, the crucial difference between high school and college, is the the very first notion of Guarding the Tower. As a high school teacher, we are allowed to move students to different classes, we can ask our administrators to remove to students and place them in remedial courses. But in college, we cant, we get what we get and we have to work with all of the students. We must make choices in our teaching and learning styles to help ALL students succeed.
As far as this essay relating to our class discussions, we've spent hours discussing how to help the struggling students who just might not be "up to par" with their peers. While I don't think there's a universal answer that will work for all, I think it depends solely on the students and the teacher. We must make a choice, do we spend an extra class day reviewing grammar rules for the five basic writers in our class and watch the other 25 student sigh and roll their eyes, or do we skip the extra grammar and push onward and focus on the 25 students who will succeed and just hope and pray the five other students will one day, "catch up"? I think the answer is obvious, at least it is for me, but I've had teachers in the past who have chosen differently and in the end, the 25 students helped win the uphill battle, while I and the other four students struggled measly along behind the crowd just praying for a C in the course, so I could just move on to the next required course.
Mina Shaughnessy's essay Diving In: An Introduction to Basic Writing really hit me hard this week. She says, "This system of exchange between teacher and student has so far yielded much more information about what is wrong with students than about what is wrong with teachers, reinforcing the notion that students, not teachers, are the people in education who must do the changing" (319). I reread this sentence a couple of times to really let it sink in; and she's right, absolutely right.
While I don't have college teaching experience, this easily transfers to high school students. The term "basic writer" is transparent across the board, the idea Shaughnessy suggests, that we need to STOP categorizing our students, "eighth-grade, fifth-grade, developmental, remedial, etc." as if they have some malady is crucial. How would you feel if at 18 years old if a teacher walked up to you and said, "your skills are about the same level as a fifth grader." I'm pretty sure you'd be like "what the...." and be even more discouraged than you maybe already were about the subject.
Shaughnessy provides four categories for teachers:
GUARDING THE TOWER- this is when we protect the academy, this is being more concerned about test scores, student feedback at the end of the semester, about making sure we hit all of the TEKS we need to in one lesson, and ensuring that the State, School, and Student is happy with our performance. Our performance, as if we are actors, we have a certain list of to-do tasks that we must accomplish each year, and if we don't accomplish them, because let's say we spent more than the two days the state alloted us on how to write thesis statements, then we fall behind on our to-do list and come the end of the year, we are told that we have failed our students and have not fully prepared them. So, we guard the tower, we stand at the front of the classroom as if we are Generals going into battle picking our front linesmen, singling out the weaker ones, the ones that might fall behind, the ones that we automatically think just by a pre-test performance that they need specialized learning, so we remove them from our classrooms, because God forbid we let one child make us lose the uphill battle against the State Standards.
But then, "Examined at a closer range, the class now appears to have at least some members in it who might, with hard work, eventually 'catch up'" (321). We've chosen the students we're willing to go to battle with, now it's training time. We've put our students through rigorous pre-testing examinations and lessons, to narrow down who goes in what position on the battle field, and after we have gotten rid of the obvious weaklings, the ones that we knew from the start would lead to our demise, we've chosen a few students who we think might actually be capable of holding their own on the battlefield, we're just hoping now that we can train them well enough to perform well and successfully when the time comes. This is CONVERTING THE NATIVES.
As preparations for battle and rigorous training begins, we stop and look at our students and say, " I dont understand what you dont understand about this? it's easy." As Shaughnessy says, it actually "only appear[s] simple to those who already know them" (322). So we stop and take a step back and try to see what it is that we know, and what our students don't know, and we must now approach a difficult concept from a different angle. This is called SOUNDING THE DEPTHS. We must figure out what and how to teach something that seems so easy to us, in a new way so that our students can grasp the concept. This might be the most difficult task for the teacher because we have to take what is natural to us and turn it into something else, something that may seem foreign to us but that might actually help our students learn the concept. "The experience of student hood is the experience of being just so far over one’s head that it is both realistic and essential to work at surviving" (325). As teachers, we must figure out and do whatever it takes for our students to succeed, to survive the uphill battle of learning, because with out student success, we, as teachers, fail.
Lastly, DIVING IN, this is when as a teacher we must become a student to ourselves, we must become one with our students. We must "become a student of new disciplines and of his students themselves in order to perceive both their difficulties and their incipient excellence"(325). How are we to succeed in the battle if we don't fight ourselves? If we don't be come a student, and learn too? We aren't learning what the student's are learning, but rather we are learning how the student learns. This is essential, if we can't view the world through the eyes of our students, then how are we to teach our students successfully? We must dive in, head first, into our students' learning.
The difference that Shaughnessy points out at the end of her essay, the crucial difference between high school and college, is the the very first notion of Guarding the Tower. As a high school teacher, we are allowed to move students to different classes, we can ask our administrators to remove to students and place them in remedial courses. But in college, we cant, we get what we get and we have to work with all of the students. We must make choices in our teaching and learning styles to help ALL students succeed.
As far as this essay relating to our class discussions, we've spent hours discussing how to help the struggling students who just might not be "up to par" with their peers. While I don't think there's a universal answer that will work for all, I think it depends solely on the students and the teacher. We must make a choice, do we spend an extra class day reviewing grammar rules for the five basic writers in our class and watch the other 25 student sigh and roll their eyes, or do we skip the extra grammar and push onward and focus on the 25 students who will succeed and just hope and pray the five other students will one day, "catch up"? I think the answer is obvious, at least it is for me, but I've had teachers in the past who have chosen differently and in the end, the 25 students helped win the uphill battle, while I and the other four students struggled measly along behind the crowd just praying for a C in the course, so I could just move on to the next required course.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Responding to Nancy's Extended Anaylsis Project
Nancy,
I particularly enjoyed your last paragraph when you say, " Research has shown that students who identify as readers are more empathetic, and have a larger referential knowledge base. Reading is certainly a way to experience many lives that do not belong to us, and is thus enriching beyond measure."
I think this is crucial as a part of defining your teaching philosophy. I would like to have read something similar to this at the start of your philosophy. While I haven't read hundreds of teaching philosophies, I've never come across one that references another source the way you did. I think this really makes your philosophy stand out among the hundreds of others that a school would receive when looking for a candidate.
But as Dr. Rice stated in class last week, schools read hundreds of philosophies in a matter of minutes, and will typically read the first and the last paragraphs and maybe skim the rest. This is why I'd like to see you add the sentences I mention to the beginning of your paper too.
It's difficult to comment on your values, because, well, they're YOUR values. I don't disagree by any means, and I would say that your values align with mine, but if I had to choose just three major values, I can't say if I would use the exact ones you do, not because they're good or bad, just different. But that's really the point of a teaching philosophy, to tell others what YOUR values are, not what they want to hear.
I want to focus on your second value: Writing and reading as a way to connect, both to the internal (self) and to the external (the outside world).
I really like this idea, as well as the way you word it. I've thought about this idea myself, but I've been unable to put it into such concise and clear language as you do. -- I might have to steal this. :)
You say, "Writing and reading allow access to our most private selves, and much of the curriculum of creative nonfiction operates on the belief that we don’t truly know what we believe until we try to write these beliefs." This is so true. I can really appreciate this value and idea, because as you said later, writing can be therapeutic. I would however, liked to have seen a bit more on writing and reading as a way to connect to the external. You mention it in your last sentence: " we connect to people we have never or will never meet in person" but I want to know MORE! Why does it matter if we connect to the external world? Long ago, I was taught that writing is personal, writing is for my eyes only, unless I want to share it with others. But in my creative writing class as an undergrad, I was told that no one would read what I wrote, so I opened myself up and poured my heart out. But then my professor duped the class and made us share. With no names on papers, he read aloud our writings. I felt violated. embarrassed. terrified. But I was the only one who knew that what was being read was mine. My professor didn't even know. While many students felt the same as I did, my professor explained to us that we first needed to learn to write freely and without constraints before we could write something that we knew others would read, because when we begin with the idea that others will read this, we consciously, or unconsciously censor our writing.
We received feedback on our writing from our classmates and professor after he finished reading our work, and the comments my classmates made about the anonymous work presented to them, helped me become a better writer because I was able to hear what other people thought about my own ideas and thoughts. While still feeling violated, I also felt invigorated. I connected with the external world, and I didn't even know it until after I had finished writing. I heard comments such as "wow, I feel the same way," "I thought I was the only one who thought that," "it's like the writer knew me!"
This is why I'd like to see you add a little bit more to emphasize how writing and reading help student connect to the external more. Sure I can see how reading helps us connect to the external, reading newspaper articles and such, but what about writing? How does my writing help me connect to the external?
Anyway, I enjoyed reading your philosophy, and I am encouraged by it.
I particularly enjoyed your last paragraph when you say, " Research has shown that students who identify as readers are more empathetic, and have a larger referential knowledge base. Reading is certainly a way to experience many lives that do not belong to us, and is thus enriching beyond measure."
I think this is crucial as a part of defining your teaching philosophy. I would like to have read something similar to this at the start of your philosophy. While I haven't read hundreds of teaching philosophies, I've never come across one that references another source the way you did. I think this really makes your philosophy stand out among the hundreds of others that a school would receive when looking for a candidate.
But as Dr. Rice stated in class last week, schools read hundreds of philosophies in a matter of minutes, and will typically read the first and the last paragraphs and maybe skim the rest. This is why I'd like to see you add the sentences I mention to the beginning of your paper too.
It's difficult to comment on your values, because, well, they're YOUR values. I don't disagree by any means, and I would say that your values align with mine, but if I had to choose just three major values, I can't say if I would use the exact ones you do, not because they're good or bad, just different. But that's really the point of a teaching philosophy, to tell others what YOUR values are, not what they want to hear.
I want to focus on your second value: Writing and reading as a way to connect, both to the internal (self) and to the external (the outside world).
I really like this idea, as well as the way you word it. I've thought about this idea myself, but I've been unable to put it into such concise and clear language as you do. -- I might have to steal this. :)
You say, "Writing and reading allow access to our most private selves, and much of the curriculum of creative nonfiction operates on the belief that we don’t truly know what we believe until we try to write these beliefs." This is so true. I can really appreciate this value and idea, because as you said later, writing can be therapeutic. I would however, liked to have seen a bit more on writing and reading as a way to connect to the external. You mention it in your last sentence: " we connect to people we have never or will never meet in person" but I want to know MORE! Why does it matter if we connect to the external world? Long ago, I was taught that writing is personal, writing is for my eyes only, unless I want to share it with others. But in my creative writing class as an undergrad, I was told that no one would read what I wrote, so I opened myself up and poured my heart out. But then my professor duped the class and made us share. With no names on papers, he read aloud our writings. I felt violated. embarrassed. terrified. But I was the only one who knew that what was being read was mine. My professor didn't even know. While many students felt the same as I did, my professor explained to us that we first needed to learn to write freely and without constraints before we could write something that we knew others would read, because when we begin with the idea that others will read this, we consciously, or unconsciously censor our writing.
We received feedback on our writing from our classmates and professor after he finished reading our work, and the comments my classmates made about the anonymous work presented to them, helped me become a better writer because I was able to hear what other people thought about my own ideas and thoughts. While still feeling violated, I also felt invigorated. I connected with the external world, and I didn't even know it until after I had finished writing. I heard comments such as "wow, I feel the same way," "I thought I was the only one who thought that," "it's like the writer knew me!"
This is why I'd like to see you add a little bit more to emphasize how writing and reading help student connect to the external more. Sure I can see how reading helps us connect to the external, reading newspaper articles and such, but what about writing? How does my writing help me connect to the external?
Anyway, I enjoyed reading your philosophy, and I am encouraged by it.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
What is andragogy, and how might the approach help in teaching FYC?
What is andragogy, and how might the approach help in teaching FYC?
Andragogy- the education of adult learners.
According to our class, adult learners need to know the reason for what their learning, experience including their errors form the basic foundation for their education, adults feel the need to be responsible for decisions made in their learning (this is a BIG one!), and adults are more interested in learning topics that directly relate to their life/work experience.
In regards to teaching FYC, I think the classroom as well as the teaching methods and pedagogy, is a bit of a mix of both adult learners and non-adults learners (I'm not talking legal definitions of adult, I mean in terms of maturity and experience). Obviously the students are all likely legal adults, but not all students would fall under the andragogy pedagogical category.
In the FYC classroom, we should incorporate several pedagogical strategies for our students. I think a scaffolding system is necessary here. For instance, you can start the beginning of the year with a more teacher and content center classroom, and then throughout the semester, shift toward an andragogy student centered classroom. I think as students mature and grow over the course of the semester, the students will begin to have more experience in life and in the classroom, and will likely become more wanting of making more of their decisions and be more involved with their learning than at the beginning of the semester.
The way I see incorprating andragogy in the FYC is like teaching a kid to ride a bike. At first you hold on to the bike for the entire time the kid is on the bike, holding them steady, making sure they're understanding the basic concepts of riding a bike, and then after a few weeks of practice, you begin to slowly take one hand off the bike, then moving to just holding on to the seat, then briefly letting go for just a few seconds before you run up behind the kid and grab onto the bike before the kid falls. Then one day, the kid says, let go, I got this! and you do, and then the kid takes their knowledge, their ability, their skills to ride the bike on their own without falling off.
This is how I see andragogy being used in the FYC classroom.
Andragogy- the education of adult learners.
According to our class, adult learners need to know the reason for what their learning, experience including their errors form the basic foundation for their education, adults feel the need to be responsible for decisions made in their learning (this is a BIG one!), and adults are more interested in learning topics that directly relate to their life/work experience.
In regards to teaching FYC, I think the classroom as well as the teaching methods and pedagogy, is a bit of a mix of both adult learners and non-adults learners (I'm not talking legal definitions of adult, I mean in terms of maturity and experience). Obviously the students are all likely legal adults, but not all students would fall under the andragogy pedagogical category.
In the FYC classroom, we should incorporate several pedagogical strategies for our students. I think a scaffolding system is necessary here. For instance, you can start the beginning of the year with a more teacher and content center classroom, and then throughout the semester, shift toward an andragogy student centered classroom. I think as students mature and grow over the course of the semester, the students will begin to have more experience in life and in the classroom, and will likely become more wanting of making more of their decisions and be more involved with their learning than at the beginning of the semester.
The way I see incorprating andragogy in the FYC is like teaching a kid to ride a bike. At first you hold on to the bike for the entire time the kid is on the bike, holding them steady, making sure they're understanding the basic concepts of riding a bike, and then after a few weeks of practice, you begin to slowly take one hand off the bike, then moving to just holding on to the seat, then briefly letting go for just a few seconds before you run up behind the kid and grab onto the bike before the kid falls. Then one day, the kid says, let go, I got this! and you do, and then the kid takes their knowledge, their ability, their skills to ride the bike on their own without falling off.
This is how I see andragogy being used in the FYC classroom.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Teaching Philosophy - Updated 11/8/15
Teaching Philosophy
Good
teaching is in a constant state of evolution. Adapting new pedagogical theories
and reworking older theories allow teachers to incorporate highly effective
tactics in their classroom. I believe that progressive pedagogical theories
maintain a solid foundation for teachers at any experience level. Putting the
controls of classroom learning back into the hands of the students, allows for
better student involvement with the course material and a more interactive
learning experience for students. The objective in my classroom is to educate
and inspire, and my objective as a teacher is to provide the knowledge, desire
for curiosity, and inspiration in any way possible. I believe student-centered
learning is the most
effective pedagogy for engaging students to be actively
involved with their education and learning process.
·
I believe in the value of
language and its ability to affect students learning and writing capabilities.
·
I believe that teaching and
learning involves constant action and reflection.
·
I believe that the most
motivational factor for students to learn is being able to connect a new topic
or concept to something
they already know or value, particularly if this includes technology.
The value
in a composition classroom is derived from understanding how to use and
structure language appropriately. Composition is concerned with both process
(thinking and drafting) and product (written output). Composition engages
student’s minds to think critically about how they write, what the write, why
it is important they write in a specific manner and arguably, the most
important factor of Composition is learning to write for an audience. Learning
the foundations for Composition is critical before students even begin to
write.
Approaches to
the Classroom and Assignments
My role as
the teacher during the particular assignments is to offer support and
suggestions to students. If a student does not understand the assignment
directions or struggles with completing the assignment due to lack of
understanding the material, I will provide open office hours for students to
meet with me one-on-one to review the material or directions. I am aware that
not every student learns the same way, which is why I assist students in any
way possible. I envision the teacher’s role to be that of the mentor and
mediator in the classroom. If a student requires extra help, the teacher should
be willing to adapt the material to help the student as their mentor. While the
teacher should maintain an authoritative role in the classroom hierarchy, the
teacher should allow students the freedom of open discussion and encourage
classroom participation, which would allow the teacher to play the role of
mediator. Being the mediator will supply the teacher with a lax authoritative
role, providing further explanations, examples and correct information during
discussion. This allows students the opportunity to speak more freely and engage
more with Composition. As a
teacher, I believe outlining specific goals for the class and students is
crucial:
Understanding the
relationship between Composition and Chosen Field of Work
Ensuring
students thoroughly understand the relationship between their chosen field and
Composition is imperative. Many students do not believe they will be a
significant amount of writing in their career, however, I would encourage
students to interview professionals in their chosen field about how much
writing they perform on a daily basis. I would also ensure that my students
were aware of the multiple scholarly journals for their chosen field (if
applicable). Providing students with the opportunity to be actively involved in
their chosen field, using and exploring the opportunities for Composition will
only motivate them further to continue learning the importance of Composition
in their field.
The Importance of Writing Clearly and Effectively
Students
must learn the importance of writing clearly, effectively, and appropriately in
their careers and their daily life. Being an effective writer is vital for
every student, it allows for open and clear communication inside and out of the
workplace. There is no substitution for good writing skills.
Providing a Solid Foundation of Composition: Purpose and
Function
Teaching
students the solid foundations of Composition such as, appropriate formats and
document designs, writing to the appropriate audience and most importantly for
students, composing a proper resume, offers students the knowledge and ability
to use these skills even after my class has ended. Knowing foundations of
Composition will always provide students a step in the right direction in life.
Implementing technology based and teamwork assignments encourages students to
adapt to situations they will encounter in their chosen career. With a hands-on
and project-based learning approach, students will be able to move outside of
the classroom to work with real-world examples of Composition. I plan and
organize each day with my students to teach them multiple facets of Composition
and always allow time for students to practice writing. I always encourage
students each day to ask questions, seek answers, work with a team, be
understanding of others and never belittle another for difference of opinions.
Motivation and Encouragement
Encouraging
students to be open is vital in my classroom. Students who are open to others
opinions and ideas, as well as being open to different situations, strategies
and theories that they may not necessarily agree with encourages students to
handle situations suitably and work as a team to find the right solution or
answer.
Because
teaching is in a constant state of evolution, teachers should always be aware
of new pedagogical theories and methods to incorporate in their classroom.
Effective teaching should be focused on the students learning the material, and
the teacher should be flexible to adapt their teaching styles to promote
extensive learning the best way possible. By learning and experimenting with
pedagogical practices and with the foundations of Composition, students receive
life-long skills they can and will likely use on a day-to-day basis. I practice
every day to keep an open mind, open ears and open eyes to my students, their
questions and their preferred learning styles. I do my best to adapt the course
to fit my students, rather than requiring the students to mold to fit an outlined
course.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Based on your teaching philosophy (which may change over time), what are types of assignments which you would include in a FYC syllabus?
Based on your teaching philosophy
(which may change over time), what are types of assignments which you
would include in a FYC syllabus?
As we've talked previously in class, and from my own teaching experience, one of the hardest things to accomplish is answering student questions such as: "Why is this important?" "How will this help me in my future?" "Why do I need to know this stuff?" "Why are we handwriting when we have computers (computers do everything for us)?" In essence the first goal of any English class should be to engage the students, nearly in any way possible. So with this, I would begin the semester with a series of guided free-writes leading to non-guided free-writes. This would allow students to simply write. I would start by giving a quote, a word, a picture, or any other type of text and ask the students to write their thoughts for 5-10 minutes. Just write, it doesn't matter how you write, what you write, or even if it makes sense, just simply write. Then we might share and discuss some of the students' writing. After a few sessions of this, once the students were used to the practice, I would then let them write on any topic they want. The purpose is to have students writing, in any manner, on any topic. This is to offer students the realization that they do actually have something to say, and that they can write for a purpose.
I would then use Op-Ed articles. I love these because it gets students interacting with each other rather than with me. I would have students respond, in writing to each piece, then they would share with the class. I would hold Socratic seminars using these Op-Ed pieces as our focus text to encourage students to not only think and engage critically with the texts at hand, but also to think and engage critically with their peers. One thing I've always really enjoyed about Op-Ed texts and socratic seminars is that it challenges the student to think, simmer, stew, brew over the text, then formulate a response. It allows students time to gather their thoughts coherently and write them down; but when doing socratic seminars, students have to think more quickly, and respond to their peers verbally, also, with coherence and clarity. If I was to take it a step further, I would have students respond in writing to their peers verbal question and then read their response aloud.
In essence, I really follow Bloom's (revised) Taxonomy:
Maybe it's just a high school teacher concept, but it's something that legitimately works. You can start from the bottom and work your way up, or you can mix and match. I prefer to mix and match in my lessons. I think 99% of our daily life comes from the understand and remembering category, but as you work your way up the pyramid it becomes more difficult. Applying these concepts to real life events (this is why I LOVE Op-Ed pieces), analyzing and evaluating the OP-Ed pieces, finding holes in the author's arguments, agreeing/disagree and explaining why, and then creating your own response to it, or even creating your own Op-Ed piece.
For a way to work this into literature, because I read short pieces of poetry, NF and F pieces in my 1302 course, I've found a Norton Anthology from 2010 that has some of the most beautiful poetry and short Fiction pieces in it. I've used this in my high school lesson plans, but they can easily be adapted for higher level thinking at the college level since that's what it was originally geared towards. For example, this is one of my favorite poems:
We would read this poem and annotate, stanza by stanza, writing down our thoughts, feelings, and comments for each stanza. Then read it again. Then I might asks the following questions:
1. How was the speaker injured? (Understanding and Applying)
2. What words in this poem would not ordinarily be part of the vocabulary of an average four-year-old? Does the use of such language detract from the poem's impact? (Applying, Analyzing and Evaluating)
3. Discuss the effect of the words "a look in/ his eyes/ I could not understand" (II. 13-15) (Understanding, Analyzing, and Evaluating)
4. Discuss the various meanings of "look him in the eye" (I. 33). (Understanding, Analyzing, and Evaluating)
5. The speaker contrasts her almost four years of experience with the innocence of a nine-month-old baby. What impact does this have? (Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating)
Writing topic: Armed conflict creates "collateral damage." Define this term. Under what circumstances is such damage morally justified or plainly immoral? (Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and (most importantly) Creating)
'Ashrawi, Hanan Mikha'il. "From the Diary of an Almost Four-Year-Old." Literature: The Human Experience. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. 163-64. Print.
Additionally, we can also do this for Non-Fiction and Fiction pieces.
My goal, ultimately, would be to have students engage with texts in a multitude of ways, from reading and writing about it, to talking about it, analyzing and evaluating it, to then creating their own piece of written work. I don't think there is any one specific task that precedes another, necessarily, and I don't think FYC should be taught just by doing one thing, or in a step-by-step process. I think each lesson should encourage reading, writing, thinking, talking, and creating. It's not just about working through a written text, it's about engaging and without sounding too much like John Lennon here, we should be involved with the text.
As we've talked previously in class, and from my own teaching experience, one of the hardest things to accomplish is answering student questions such as: "Why is this important?" "How will this help me in my future?" "Why do I need to know this stuff?" "Why are we handwriting when we have computers (computers do everything for us)?" In essence the first goal of any English class should be to engage the students, nearly in any way possible. So with this, I would begin the semester with a series of guided free-writes leading to non-guided free-writes. This would allow students to simply write. I would start by giving a quote, a word, a picture, or any other type of text and ask the students to write their thoughts for 5-10 minutes. Just write, it doesn't matter how you write, what you write, or even if it makes sense, just simply write. Then we might share and discuss some of the students' writing. After a few sessions of this, once the students were used to the practice, I would then let them write on any topic they want. The purpose is to have students writing, in any manner, on any topic. This is to offer students the realization that they do actually have something to say, and that they can write for a purpose.
I would then use Op-Ed articles. I love these because it gets students interacting with each other rather than with me. I would have students respond, in writing to each piece, then they would share with the class. I would hold Socratic seminars using these Op-Ed pieces as our focus text to encourage students to not only think and engage critically with the texts at hand, but also to think and engage critically with their peers. One thing I've always really enjoyed about Op-Ed texts and socratic seminars is that it challenges the student to think, simmer, stew, brew over the text, then formulate a response. It allows students time to gather their thoughts coherently and write them down; but when doing socratic seminars, students have to think more quickly, and respond to their peers verbally, also, with coherence and clarity. If I was to take it a step further, I would have students respond in writing to their peers verbal question and then read their response aloud.
In essence, I really follow Bloom's (revised) Taxonomy:
Maybe it's just a high school teacher concept, but it's something that legitimately works. You can start from the bottom and work your way up, or you can mix and match. I prefer to mix and match in my lessons. I think 99% of our daily life comes from the understand and remembering category, but as you work your way up the pyramid it becomes more difficult. Applying these concepts to real life events (this is why I LOVE Op-Ed pieces), analyzing and evaluating the OP-Ed pieces, finding holes in the author's arguments, agreeing/disagree and explaining why, and then creating your own response to it, or even creating your own Op-Ed piece.
For a way to work this into literature, because I read short pieces of poetry, NF and F pieces in my 1302 course, I've found a Norton Anthology from 2010 that has some of the most beautiful poetry and short Fiction pieces in it. I've used this in my high school lesson plans, but they can easily be adapted for higher level thinking at the college level since that's what it was originally geared towards. For example, this is one of my favorite poems:
"From the Diary of an Almost Four-Year-Old" By Hanan Mikha'il 'Ashrawi
Tomorrow, the bandages
will come off. I wonder
will I see half an orange,
half an apple, half my
mother's face
with my one remaining eye?
will come off. I wonder
will I see half an orange,
half an apple, half my
mother's face
with my one remaining eye?
I did not see the bullet
but felt its pain
exploding in my head.
His image did not
vanish, the soldier
with a big gun, unsteady
hands, and a look in
his eyes
I could not understand.
If I can see him so clearly
with my eyes closed,
it could be that inside our heads
we each have one spare set
of eyes
to make up for the ones we lose.
Next month, on my birthday,
I'll have a brand new glass eye,
maybe things will look round
and fat in the middle ---
I've gazed through all my marbles,
they made the world look strange.
I hear a nine-month-old
has also lost an eye,
I wonder if my soldier
shot her too --- a soldier
looking for little girls who
look him in the eye ---
I'm old enough, almost four,
I've seen enough of life,
but she's just a baby
who didn't know any better.
We would read this poem and annotate, stanza by stanza, writing down our thoughts, feelings, and comments for each stanza. Then read it again. Then I might asks the following questions:
1. How was the speaker injured? (Understanding and Applying)
2. What words in this poem would not ordinarily be part of the vocabulary of an average four-year-old? Does the use of such language detract from the poem's impact? (Applying, Analyzing and Evaluating)
3. Discuss the effect of the words "a look in/ his eyes/ I could not understand" (II. 13-15) (Understanding, Analyzing, and Evaluating)
4. Discuss the various meanings of "look him in the eye" (I. 33). (Understanding, Analyzing, and Evaluating)
5. The speaker contrasts her almost four years of experience with the innocence of a nine-month-old baby. What impact does this have? (Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating)
Writing topic: Armed conflict creates "collateral damage." Define this term. Under what circumstances is such damage morally justified or plainly immoral? (Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and (most importantly) Creating)
'Ashrawi, Hanan Mikha'il. "From the Diary of an Almost Four-Year-Old." Literature: The Human Experience. 10th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. 163-64. Print.
Additionally, we can also do this for Non-Fiction and Fiction pieces.
My goal, ultimately, would be to have students engage with texts in a multitude of ways, from reading and writing about it, to talking about it, analyzing and evaluating it, to then creating their own piece of written work. I don't think there is any one specific task that precedes another, necessarily, and I don't think FYC should be taught just by doing one thing, or in a step-by-step process. I think each lesson should encourage reading, writing, thinking, talking, and creating. It's not just about working through a written text, it's about engaging and without sounding too much like John Lennon here, we should be involved with the text.
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