Management vs. Engagement
https://ellclassroom.com/2012/06/25/management-vs-engagement/
The first blog I read came from ellclassroom.com, and it discussed the idea of having either an engaging lesson or a well-managed classroom. Even though this is not directly related to teaching writing, I thought this was an important topic because when it comes down to it, management and engagement are critical to any classroom. In my opinion, these two ideas should not be in competition with each other. Who says you can't have an engaged lesson that is well-managed? It seems silly to sacrifice one over the other when having both can create a better environment for learning. As a teacher, one of the most important things you learn is how to manage your classroom. Giving the students rules and expectations beforehand helps them to know how they should act. At the same time, you want to make sure that your lessons allow the students to become active participants in their learning. Writing allows students this opportunity, creating time for them to put their thoughts and opinions on paper and making their learning interesting. I think it is so important to include both of these aspects into my future classroom. Together, they can create a place where the students feel comfortable enough to take risks, but know their boundaries when it comes to behavior.
A Learner-Driven Classroom and Writing Workshop
https://twowritingteachers.org/2017/04/05/a-learner-driven-writing-workshop/
This blog post was quite interesting because it incorporated some of the values present in our textbooks. This teacher describes her experiences with implementing a student-led writing workshop. Allowing students the freedom to make their own choices about writing can produce wonderful results. Rather than standing in front of all the students and lecturing them on what makes a good piece of writing, Deb Frazier gave her students the opportunity to experiment for themselves and discover their inner writer. I think of how Gallagher emphasized giving students a choice when it comes to their writing; when implemented in the classroom, the teacher was thrilled at how creative her students were. I think as teachers of writing, it is important that we take a step back sometimes. It can get overwhelming thinking about all of the techniques and grammar concepts and structure and everything else that goes into writing that we must teach. Sometimes it is necessary to let the students take control of their own learning and just come alongside them to be a guide. They don't always need lectures on how to construct the perfect sentence. They are going to make mistakes - writing is a PROCESS! The important thing to keep in mind is that we encourage our students to keep writing, to keep taking risks, and to keep revising. Hold the red pens and just let them experiment. You never know what they will come up with.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Monday, April 10, 2017
Conference Reflection for Class on 4/11
The conference which some of us attended on Saturday was an incredible experience. I have never been to a conference like that before, so the whole experience was interesting and enjoyable. I wasn't sure what to expect going in to Linda Christensen's morning session. I have loved reading her book in class and collecting ideas about how to "teach for joy and justice" when I get my own classroom. Her session was a reflection of the ideas we have discussed in class, and we were allowed to participate. The activity allowed me to see what a social justice curriculum looks like. All of her points added up to the major question that all teachers face: how do we build a better society? As teachers, we have a huge opportunity to impact a whole generation. How can we get them to make changes to better the world we live in? Christensen's techniques are a great place to start.
The first workshop I went to was about implementing graphic novels and comics into the classroom. It was led by Michael Gianfrancesco, an English teacher at North Providence High School. He offered some great resources and interesting ideas about using graphic novels not just for reluctant readers, but to teach students how to analyze. His approach was through O I A: 1.) What is obvious about the image? 2.) What is implied in the image? 3.) What is assumed by the viewer? I was amazed at the way he was able to take something I had never given much thought to and turn it into an entire unit that provides students with opportunities to develop foundational skills! He brought in a range of graphic novels for us to peruse, including classic texts like Beowulf, The Scarlet Letter, and The United States Constitution. He told us about a program that he is a part of that starts in September. This program will rent teachers a graphic novel set for the whole class, along with 4-6 weeks of curriculum. Having access to resources like that can really take any English class to another level. It engages the students on their level, but pushes them to think about how the pictures and text interact with each other. The idea of using graphic novels in a classroom is intriguing, definitely something I'll consider down the road.
The second workshop I attended was about teaching students how to write a narrative with Dr. Karen Kurzman. There were a lot of good points that I never thought about when it came to narrative writing. She explained that a good narrative focused on one moment, not a range of events. Also, she discussed how it should either be plot driven or character driven. At the end of the workshop, we were given some resources to help us when we have our own classroom someday. I will definitely look back to the tips from this workshop when I teach narrative writing in my classroom.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this conference. I thought there was so much beneficial advice and material that I want to incorporate into my future lessons. I am so glad that I have chosen this field. Attending this conference gave me another affirmation that I made the right choice in becoming a teacher. I hope to attend more conferences like this one in my future. I think that there is never a point when teachers stop learning, so it is important to come together and share our experiences. I loved learning from experienced teachers this weekend, and I can't wait until I am ready to be one myself.
The first workshop I went to was about implementing graphic novels and comics into the classroom. It was led by Michael Gianfrancesco, an English teacher at North Providence High School. He offered some great resources and interesting ideas about using graphic novels not just for reluctant readers, but to teach students how to analyze. His approach was through O I A: 1.) What is obvious about the image? 2.) What is implied in the image? 3.) What is assumed by the viewer? I was amazed at the way he was able to take something I had never given much thought to and turn it into an entire unit that provides students with opportunities to develop foundational skills! He brought in a range of graphic novels for us to peruse, including classic texts like Beowulf, The Scarlet Letter, and The United States Constitution. He told us about a program that he is a part of that starts in September. This program will rent teachers a graphic novel set for the whole class, along with 4-6 weeks of curriculum. Having access to resources like that can really take any English class to another level. It engages the students on their level, but pushes them to think about how the pictures and text interact with each other. The idea of using graphic novels in a classroom is intriguing, definitely something I'll consider down the road.
The second workshop I attended was about teaching students how to write a narrative with Dr. Karen Kurzman. There were a lot of good points that I never thought about when it came to narrative writing. She explained that a good narrative focused on one moment, not a range of events. Also, she discussed how it should either be plot driven or character driven. At the end of the workshop, we were given some resources to help us when we have our own classroom someday. I will definitely look back to the tips from this workshop when I teach narrative writing in my classroom.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this conference. I thought there was so much beneficial advice and material that I want to incorporate into my future lessons. I am so glad that I have chosen this field. Attending this conference gave me another affirmation that I made the right choice in becoming a teacher. I hope to attend more conferences like this one in my future. I think that there is never a point when teachers stop learning, so it is important to come together and share our experiences. I loved learning from experienced teachers this weekend, and I can't wait until I am ready to be one myself.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Response for Class on 3/28
The Six Traits of Writing
I don't think I was ever explicitly taught these six traits. What I mean is I was never given a list with these traits on it, saying, "This is how you write successfully." As I've said in previous posts, I only had a few teachers who actually taught writing, so I'm not all that surprised. For the most part, I gathered that these things were important through trial and error. I wrote reports that weren't organized well, so they didn't make sense. I wrote essays where there was no sentence fluency. I wrote stories in which the word choice was bland. I had to practice these six skills to improve m writing.
When I look at this list, I can see that a good piece of writing needs all six traits to be truly successful. There needs to be a strong idea that has well-organized arguments, a voice that comes through, and proper use of conventions. The words should be rich and specific, but not too flowery, and the sentences should feel natural to the reader. I think it is impossible to teach writing without focusing on these traits. Whether they are taught explicitly, as a checklist to have in a writing repertoire, or an implicit focus throughout a writing curriculum, these are the areas we should seek to develop in our students.
I love that the conventions are last on the list. Whether this was an intentional choice or not, I think it is something to take notice of. So often, teachers spend so much time with a red pen, correcting grammar and punctuation. In reality, that is not as important as making sure the organization of the paper makes sense, or the fluency is on target. I work at the Writing Center on campus, and one of the things we are told is to leave grammar alone and focus on the more important aspects of writing. While conventions are clearly an important part of successful writing, there is nothing more discouraging than a paper filled with red marks. I think back to one of the first readings we did that advised against finding everything wrong with a student's paper in favor of finding the talent inside of it. Teachers need to keep in mind that teaching organization and sentence fluency and how to develop an idea will grow a student's confidence in their writing; the conventions will come.
When I have my own classroom full of students, I want to use these six traits in my curriculum. I think they need to be incorporated into every possible assignment, developing strong writers with every opportunity.
I don't think I was ever explicitly taught these six traits. What I mean is I was never given a list with these traits on it, saying, "This is how you write successfully." As I've said in previous posts, I only had a few teachers who actually taught writing, so I'm not all that surprised. For the most part, I gathered that these things were important through trial and error. I wrote reports that weren't organized well, so they didn't make sense. I wrote essays where there was no sentence fluency. I wrote stories in which the word choice was bland. I had to practice these six skills to improve m writing.
When I look at this list, I can see that a good piece of writing needs all six traits to be truly successful. There needs to be a strong idea that has well-organized arguments, a voice that comes through, and proper use of conventions. The words should be rich and specific, but not too flowery, and the sentences should feel natural to the reader. I think it is impossible to teach writing without focusing on these traits. Whether they are taught explicitly, as a checklist to have in a writing repertoire, or an implicit focus throughout a writing curriculum, these are the areas we should seek to develop in our students.
I love that the conventions are last on the list. Whether this was an intentional choice or not, I think it is something to take notice of. So often, teachers spend so much time with a red pen, correcting grammar and punctuation. In reality, that is not as important as making sure the organization of the paper makes sense, or the fluency is on target. I work at the Writing Center on campus, and one of the things we are told is to leave grammar alone and focus on the more important aspects of writing. While conventions are clearly an important part of successful writing, there is nothing more discouraging than a paper filled with red marks. I think back to one of the first readings we did that advised against finding everything wrong with a student's paper in favor of finding the talent inside of it. Teachers need to keep in mind that teaching organization and sentence fluency and how to develop an idea will grow a student's confidence in their writing; the conventions will come.
When I have my own classroom full of students, I want to use these six traits in my curriculum. I think they need to be incorporated into every possible assignment, developing strong writers with every opportunity.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Response for Class on 3/21
Artifactual Literacy
Literacy is this weird term that I thought was one thing but is actually so much more. Being a self-proclaimed book nerd, I hear literacy, I think books. Texts you can read, words on a page, the ability to be literate. All of this is was literacy encompasses. Except that's not all. My original definition of literacy is so shallow in comparison to what literacy can be. Our in-class discussion during the first few weeks of the semester really opened my eyes to that.
Now that I have a better grasp of what literacy actually is, this article was extremely interesting because of how it presents yet another side to literacy that I never even considered. Objects can actually contain experiences and stories that are central to a person's being. That in itself is literacy - my mind was actually blown. I love that experiences can be considered a part of literacy. I think that the idea of creating a time capsule or memory box project is a really cool way to introduce students to the important aspects of their peers. There are stories within the smallest parts of our everyday lives that carry lessons for others to take from.
When students can connect to each other in a personal way, they are able to see that people aren't so different, that everyone has something in common. Using something as small as an artifact assignment can open the door to a more personal form of writing. We've learned throughout many of the readings this semester that students write better when they enjoy what they're writing about. This is an excellent way to give them a chance to find their voice.
Writing Between Languages
I have had a limited number of experiences with ELL students. I really enjoyed this reading because one of my fears is that I will get into a classroom and not know how to teach a student who is learning English. These chapters helped to give me an idea of how to approach differentiating a writing curriculum for students who need extra support.
When I was in high school, I took AP Spanish. Whenever we did a writing assignment, my teacher told us to think in Spanish because the writing would be more accurate than if we wrote in English and translated later. I always felt like I was writing at such a low level when I thought in Spanish. I couldn't express what I wanted to say, so I had to simplify it. I feel like this is the approach most people take when dealing with emergent bilinguals. All this really does is discourage them in their attempts at writing; if they are a strong writer in their native tongue, seeing how little they can write in English when they "think in English" can be harmful to their progress. If it was difficult for me to be able to express myself in a language that wasn't necessarily pertinent to my survival in this country, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for ELL students to feel as though their communication is barred because they do not have the skills to think in English yet.
I loved Fu's point about the four stages of writing that ELL students go through. It makes sense that they would undergo a gradual process rather than achieve an overnight skill. I think if teachers can recognize the stages that the students go through, it will make it easier to encourage and build up the students in their writing. I hope that I will be able to use the strategies in these chapters to help me cultivate a love for writing in any bilingual students I may have in the future.
Literacy is this weird term that I thought was one thing but is actually so much more. Being a self-proclaimed book nerd, I hear literacy, I think books. Texts you can read, words on a page, the ability to be literate. All of this is was literacy encompasses. Except that's not all. My original definition of literacy is so shallow in comparison to what literacy can be. Our in-class discussion during the first few weeks of the semester really opened my eyes to that.
Now that I have a better grasp of what literacy actually is, this article was extremely interesting because of how it presents yet another side to literacy that I never even considered. Objects can actually contain experiences and stories that are central to a person's being. That in itself is literacy - my mind was actually blown. I love that experiences can be considered a part of literacy. I think that the idea of creating a time capsule or memory box project is a really cool way to introduce students to the important aspects of their peers. There are stories within the smallest parts of our everyday lives that carry lessons for others to take from.
When students can connect to each other in a personal way, they are able to see that people aren't so different, that everyone has something in common. Using something as small as an artifact assignment can open the door to a more personal form of writing. We've learned throughout many of the readings this semester that students write better when they enjoy what they're writing about. This is an excellent way to give them a chance to find their voice.
Writing Between Languages
I have had a limited number of experiences with ELL students. I really enjoyed this reading because one of my fears is that I will get into a classroom and not know how to teach a student who is learning English. These chapters helped to give me an idea of how to approach differentiating a writing curriculum for students who need extra support.
When I was in high school, I took AP Spanish. Whenever we did a writing assignment, my teacher told us to think in Spanish because the writing would be more accurate than if we wrote in English and translated later. I always felt like I was writing at such a low level when I thought in Spanish. I couldn't express what I wanted to say, so I had to simplify it. I feel like this is the approach most people take when dealing with emergent bilinguals. All this really does is discourage them in their attempts at writing; if they are a strong writer in their native tongue, seeing how little they can write in English when they "think in English" can be harmful to their progress. If it was difficult for me to be able to express myself in a language that wasn't necessarily pertinent to my survival in this country, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for ELL students to feel as though their communication is barred because they do not have the skills to think in English yet.
I loved Fu's point about the four stages of writing that ELL students go through. It makes sense that they would undergo a gradual process rather than achieve an overnight skill. I think if teachers can recognize the stages that the students go through, it will make it easier to encourage and build up the students in their writing. I hope that I will be able to use the strategies in these chapters to help me cultivate a love for writing in any bilingual students I may have in the future.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Quick Write for Class 3/14
1. Michelle Kenney’s article “The Politics of the Paragraph” discusses the problems with teaching the five-paragraph essay. She disputes one common thought on formulaic writing, that writing formulas are like training wheels, and you need to “know the rules in order to break them.” In your own experience in high school, did you learn the five paragraph formula or other formulaic writing? Did you find that it helped you become a better writer? If you were taught formulaic writing in school, did you have any issues when you started writing on the college level? Or did you find that formulaic writing helped prepared you for college writing?
For me, the formulaic form of writing was introduced and reinforced in middle school. We were taught the particulars of the five paragraph essay, with slight variations if you were writing a persuasive paper vs. an informative paper. I was conditioned to maintain this model until I entered high school, where one particular teacher told us to forget that structure and write more freely. Unfortunately, most of my teachers in high school depended on the basic structure of a essay - present your argument, provide supporting evidence, and present an analysis of the argument - so my paper writing was limited to an adapted version of the five paragraph essay, one with more body paragraphs.
When I entered college, I remember being nervous that I would not be capable of producing the level of writing necessary for a college student. I felt inadequate when it came to constructing a well-written paper. I feel like I was stunted by a dependence on the formula that I didn't have enough practice with working out my words and developing concise writing. The only thing I could produce was a semi-convincing argument clinging to a bare-boned structure.
I realized later on that if I let myself just write, it turned out better than if I became preoccupied with sticking to a formula. I took time to map out my thoughts, organize them logically, and then put them in paragraph form. I learned to trust myself more than a framework. I know I am a good writer. I don't need those training wheels anymore. I think they helped me discover what academic writing looked like, but having them act as blinders to my writing did me a disservice. I hope to avoid this "blinding" of my students. I want to give them the tools they need to succeed, but balance that with an ability to trust in themselves.
For me, the formulaic form of writing was introduced and reinforced in middle school. We were taught the particulars of the five paragraph essay, with slight variations if you were writing a persuasive paper vs. an informative paper. I was conditioned to maintain this model until I entered high school, where one particular teacher told us to forget that structure and write more freely. Unfortunately, most of my teachers in high school depended on the basic structure of a essay - present your argument, provide supporting evidence, and present an analysis of the argument - so my paper writing was limited to an adapted version of the five paragraph essay, one with more body paragraphs.
When I entered college, I remember being nervous that I would not be capable of producing the level of writing necessary for a college student. I felt inadequate when it came to constructing a well-written paper. I feel like I was stunted by a dependence on the formula that I didn't have enough practice with working out my words and developing concise writing. The only thing I could produce was a semi-convincing argument clinging to a bare-boned structure.
I realized later on that if I let myself just write, it turned out better than if I became preoccupied with sticking to a formula. I took time to map out my thoughts, organize them logically, and then put them in paragraph form. I learned to trust myself more than a framework. I know I am a good writer. I don't need those training wheels anymore. I think they helped me discover what academic writing looked like, but having them act as blinders to my writing did me a disservice. I hope to avoid this "blinding" of my students. I want to give them the tools they need to succeed, but balance that with an ability to trust in themselves.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Response for Class on 3/14
"The Politics of the Paragraph"
Do formulas always lead to the right answer? Perhaps in math, where numbers always add up to the same sum and 10 will always be greater than 7. Writing, however, is a lot more complex. In middle school, we began writing with the common 5 paragraph essay: an intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This was the understood process we were to follow when writing any paper. When I got to high school, my teacher assigned us a research paper, and I remember getting overwhelmed at the thought of squeezing a huge amount of research into just 5 paragraphs. My teacher told us to forget everything we knew about writing papers, that he was going to teach us the correct process in constructing a well argued paper. This involved notecards and outlines and several drafts and 8, 9, 10 paragraphs in my paper! It was anarchy compared to the carefully constructed outlook on academic writing that I was used to, but it was easier knowing I didn't have to stay within such strict guidelines.
This is something I still grapple with; I am a very "guidelines-oriented" person. I love knowing exactly what is expected of my and how I am to present it. At the same time, I hate being confined and limited by a 5 paragraph essay structure. I understand that there are certain elements that must be included in a well-written paper. You must have a purpose, a clear argument, evidence, and analysis. But does that mean that we must teach our children that writing can only take place under absolute circumstances? If anything, I think this discourages students to write at all. There is little creativity in the 5 paragraph method. There is little space to work out thoughts into concise statements. I think there is a time and place for them. When beginning to move from basic writing to paragraph form, it helps to provide students with structure to build their ideas on. Once students are familiar with how a paragraph is formed, they should be exposed to a form of writing that allows for freedom. We need to push our students to take what they know about writing and wrestle with it. Not everyone's writing is supposed to look the same. These formulas are beginning to enforce more of the "sameness" that the standards are bringing to education. We're all different, and so our writing should look different.
Gallagher: Chapters 2-4
Writing often seems like an obvious way to get better at writing. I loved the sports metaphor Gallagher used in chapter 2: a coach wouldn't throw players into a game without having them practice first, and so we must not expect students to crank out great essays when they haven't done low-stakes writing. I love the writer's notebook. We had one when I was in 4th grade and I still have it. In high school, one of my teachers had us keep a writer's notebook and started the beginning of every class with 5 minutes of writing in it. Getting to put thoughts on paper without the pressure of grades helped immensely in my confidence when it came to turning in a first draft. I knew how to work with words, so it was easier to construct a clear, concise paper.
I loved the idea of writing with students that Gallagher mentions in chapter 3. A lot of times, students look at teachers as experts. They don't realize that writing is always a process that requires work; even teachers struggle with "lousy first drafts." I think it is important to show students the difficulties of writing - if they see a teacher having the same problems, it takes away some of the pressure to be "perfect." We had to model scientific writing for the students in my science practicum. As the teacher, I modeled what their writing should look like, and I posted a focus question to guide their thoughts as they wrote. From watching me construct a paragraph about the experiment we conducted, the students were able to follow my example in their scientist notebooks. I loved that this was a part of the curriculum. Like Gallagher discusses in chapter 2, writing shouldn't be limited to English class.
The discussion of using real world examples in chapter 4 is something I wholeheartedly agree with. Students will write more (and better) when the topic is something they can relate to/are interested in. I think it is so important to show students that writing extends beyond the academic paper. They don't have to be confined to typical school essays. Giving them other types of assignments allows them to show their voice, choice, and creativity. Also, connecting reading and writing is something I have always been a fan of. The more you read, the better you write, is what my mom always told me. She would explain that she could tell which students of hers were big readers and which were not based on their writing. Personally, I am a reader, so I see the value that the books I love so much have done for my writing. It is just as important to encourage students to be readers as it is to encourage them to write.
There were so many ideas in these chapters that I will definitely look forward to using in my own classroom one day. I think keeping in mind that we are to teach the writer, not the writing is critical in maintaining a classroom where students are not afraid to write. Giving them time to practice their skills where they feel safe to do so will allow them to gain confidence in themselves. I want to allow my students to be creative and think outside the 5 paragraph essay. I'm curious to see what it brings.
Do formulas always lead to the right answer? Perhaps in math, where numbers always add up to the same sum and 10 will always be greater than 7. Writing, however, is a lot more complex. In middle school, we began writing with the common 5 paragraph essay: an intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This was the understood process we were to follow when writing any paper. When I got to high school, my teacher assigned us a research paper, and I remember getting overwhelmed at the thought of squeezing a huge amount of research into just 5 paragraphs. My teacher told us to forget everything we knew about writing papers, that he was going to teach us the correct process in constructing a well argued paper. This involved notecards and outlines and several drafts and 8, 9, 10 paragraphs in my paper! It was anarchy compared to the carefully constructed outlook on academic writing that I was used to, but it was easier knowing I didn't have to stay within such strict guidelines.
This is something I still grapple with; I am a very "guidelines-oriented" person. I love knowing exactly what is expected of my and how I am to present it. At the same time, I hate being confined and limited by a 5 paragraph essay structure. I understand that there are certain elements that must be included in a well-written paper. You must have a purpose, a clear argument, evidence, and analysis. But does that mean that we must teach our children that writing can only take place under absolute circumstances? If anything, I think this discourages students to write at all. There is little creativity in the 5 paragraph method. There is little space to work out thoughts into concise statements. I think there is a time and place for them. When beginning to move from basic writing to paragraph form, it helps to provide students with structure to build their ideas on. Once students are familiar with how a paragraph is formed, they should be exposed to a form of writing that allows for freedom. We need to push our students to take what they know about writing and wrestle with it. Not everyone's writing is supposed to look the same. These formulas are beginning to enforce more of the "sameness" that the standards are bringing to education. We're all different, and so our writing should look different.
Gallagher: Chapters 2-4
Writing often seems like an obvious way to get better at writing. I loved the sports metaphor Gallagher used in chapter 2: a coach wouldn't throw players into a game without having them practice first, and so we must not expect students to crank out great essays when they haven't done low-stakes writing. I love the writer's notebook. We had one when I was in 4th grade and I still have it. In high school, one of my teachers had us keep a writer's notebook and started the beginning of every class with 5 minutes of writing in it. Getting to put thoughts on paper without the pressure of grades helped immensely in my confidence when it came to turning in a first draft. I knew how to work with words, so it was easier to construct a clear, concise paper.
I loved the idea of writing with students that Gallagher mentions in chapter 3. A lot of times, students look at teachers as experts. They don't realize that writing is always a process that requires work; even teachers struggle with "lousy first drafts." I think it is important to show students the difficulties of writing - if they see a teacher having the same problems, it takes away some of the pressure to be "perfect." We had to model scientific writing for the students in my science practicum. As the teacher, I modeled what their writing should look like, and I posted a focus question to guide their thoughts as they wrote. From watching me construct a paragraph about the experiment we conducted, the students were able to follow my example in their scientist notebooks. I loved that this was a part of the curriculum. Like Gallagher discusses in chapter 2, writing shouldn't be limited to English class.
The discussion of using real world examples in chapter 4 is something I wholeheartedly agree with. Students will write more (and better) when the topic is something they can relate to/are interested in. I think it is so important to show students that writing extends beyond the academic paper. They don't have to be confined to typical school essays. Giving them other types of assignments allows them to show their voice, choice, and creativity. Also, connecting reading and writing is something I have always been a fan of. The more you read, the better you write, is what my mom always told me. She would explain that she could tell which students of hers were big readers and which were not based on their writing. Personally, I am a reader, so I see the value that the books I love so much have done for my writing. It is just as important to encourage students to be readers as it is to encourage them to write.
There were so many ideas in these chapters that I will definitely look forward to using in my own classroom one day. I think keeping in mind that we are to teach the writer, not the writing is critical in maintaining a classroom where students are not afraid to write. Giving them time to practice their skills where they feel safe to do so will allow them to gain confidence in themselves. I want to allow my students to be creative and think outside the 5 paragraph essay. I'm curious to see what it brings.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Response for Class on 2/28
Technology: Tool or Stumbling Block?
Since beginning college, I have encountered professors who are very averse to the use of technology in the classroom. It is their belief that they grew up without computers, so they don't like us to use our computers in their classrooms. I think this fixed thinking is absurd in this day and age. We have come into a technology-explosive century where everything is automated or digitized. Everywhere you look, there is evidence of the footprint technology has left on the world. As teachers, it is critical to understand that technology is not our enemy. I will admit that I did grow up in the midst of the wave of technology, but my access was much more limited than that of the students I work with. Younger and younger they are getting tablets, iPads, and phones. In his article, Couros provides ways to include technology in the classroom as a support and tool for teaching. He discusses how important it is that teachers model appropriate use of technology for students and to show them the wide array of uses it can have. He mentions using an academic blog, such as the one we are using in this class, to openly dialogue various topics as well as to demonstrate the pedagogical side of technology. I personally love the idea of blogging with students. It is a low-stakes environment where the students can connect with each other's thoughts an opinions, as well as make arguments and think about various perspectives on different issues. We don't need to rely entirely on technology in our teaching, but at the same time, it isn't something to shy away from. Let's use it in a way that betters the education of our students.
[Personal]ized Learning
There seems to be a spectrum. At one end, no technology is good for the classroom; at the other, technology takes over and replaces the teacher. We have to find a balance. Coiro centers her article around this balance. She brings up the term "blended learning," which is not a term I was familiar with. Blended learning incorporates technology into a classroom that values student involvement in their learning. Digital playlists do not provide any opportunities for students to personally interact with teachers or peers, instead limiting them to interaction with a computer. I can see the appeal of having learning that is more specific to the student, but taking away the social aspect of education is not the way to do it. Teachers spend much of their time differentiating lesson plans and creating instruction that caters to the individual needs of students. Their way includes time for students to share their thoughts and think in ways that are challenging. If all students are doing is pressing buttons on computers, they are not able to see that learning is human. We are born learning. We continue to learn, even after school ends. The world teaches us new things everyday. Students should not assume that learning can only come from technology.
The Difference Between a Teacher and a Business Person
You would think the difference would be obvious, right? It really grinds my gears that there are so many individuals who have little to no experience in the field of education who are constantly making the decisions concerning education. The ideas present in Robert and Mahoney's article were startling - I had no idea that corporations could even enter the education sphere. Business people are looking at schools and seeing another opportunity to boost the economy. Their plan to simplify and personalize learning is devaluing teachers and creating students who are only capable of following instructions. The whole idea of the banking method is at play here. Learning is a fixed entity: knowledge is specified to the individual, it is pumped into the student, and they take it as fact. There is no opportunity for a dialogue or any sort of creative thinking. Students aren't able to wrestle with difficult issues that may not have an answer. Learning is put into a box. I shook my head at the idea that teachers are reduced to facilitators or data collectors. My mother is a middle school English teacher, so I get to see all of the hard work that goes into her planning and preparing for lessons. She takes time to plan different methods of presenting information for the various learners in her classroom. There is so much heart that goes into teaching, so much that we invest in our students, and to have that reduced to a proctor is crazy. I want my classroom to be a place where students can use technology as a tool to enhance their learning, not depend on it to tell them what they should think. Learning is not just about acquiring information but applying it to your experience.
I am studying to be a teacher. I want to teach. I don't want to facilitate. I don't see a classroom as an economic opportunity. I see it as a training ground for the next generation of thinkers. We have to teach our children to think for themselves, not do all the thinking for them.
Since beginning college, I have encountered professors who are very averse to the use of technology in the classroom. It is their belief that they grew up without computers, so they don't like us to use our computers in their classrooms. I think this fixed thinking is absurd in this day and age. We have come into a technology-explosive century where everything is automated or digitized. Everywhere you look, there is evidence of the footprint technology has left on the world. As teachers, it is critical to understand that technology is not our enemy. I will admit that I did grow up in the midst of the wave of technology, but my access was much more limited than that of the students I work with. Younger and younger they are getting tablets, iPads, and phones. In his article, Couros provides ways to include technology in the classroom as a support and tool for teaching. He discusses how important it is that teachers model appropriate use of technology for students and to show them the wide array of uses it can have. He mentions using an academic blog, such as the one we are using in this class, to openly dialogue various topics as well as to demonstrate the pedagogical side of technology. I personally love the idea of blogging with students. It is a low-stakes environment where the students can connect with each other's thoughts an opinions, as well as make arguments and think about various perspectives on different issues. We don't need to rely entirely on technology in our teaching, but at the same time, it isn't something to shy away from. Let's use it in a way that betters the education of our students.
[Personal]ized Learning
There seems to be a spectrum. At one end, no technology is good for the classroom; at the other, technology takes over and replaces the teacher. We have to find a balance. Coiro centers her article around this balance. She brings up the term "blended learning," which is not a term I was familiar with. Blended learning incorporates technology into a classroom that values student involvement in their learning. Digital playlists do not provide any opportunities for students to personally interact with teachers or peers, instead limiting them to interaction with a computer. I can see the appeal of having learning that is more specific to the student, but taking away the social aspect of education is not the way to do it. Teachers spend much of their time differentiating lesson plans and creating instruction that caters to the individual needs of students. Their way includes time for students to share their thoughts and think in ways that are challenging. If all students are doing is pressing buttons on computers, they are not able to see that learning is human. We are born learning. We continue to learn, even after school ends. The world teaches us new things everyday. Students should not assume that learning can only come from technology.
The Difference Between a Teacher and a Business Person
You would think the difference would be obvious, right? It really grinds my gears that there are so many individuals who have little to no experience in the field of education who are constantly making the decisions concerning education. The ideas present in Robert and Mahoney's article were startling - I had no idea that corporations could even enter the education sphere. Business people are looking at schools and seeing another opportunity to boost the economy. Their plan to simplify and personalize learning is devaluing teachers and creating students who are only capable of following instructions. The whole idea of the banking method is at play here. Learning is a fixed entity: knowledge is specified to the individual, it is pumped into the student, and they take it as fact. There is no opportunity for a dialogue or any sort of creative thinking. Students aren't able to wrestle with difficult issues that may not have an answer. Learning is put into a box. I shook my head at the idea that teachers are reduced to facilitators or data collectors. My mother is a middle school English teacher, so I get to see all of the hard work that goes into her planning and preparing for lessons. She takes time to plan different methods of presenting information for the various learners in her classroom. There is so much heart that goes into teaching, so much that we invest in our students, and to have that reduced to a proctor is crazy. I want my classroom to be a place where students can use technology as a tool to enhance their learning, not depend on it to tell them what they should think. Learning is not just about acquiring information but applying it to your experience.
I am studying to be a teacher. I want to teach. I don't want to facilitate. I don't see a classroom as an economic opportunity. I see it as a training ground for the next generation of thinkers. We have to teach our children to think for themselves, not do all the thinking for them.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Response for Class on 2/21
When I was a senior in high school, we did a unit on poetry. For our major assignment, we had to write "I Am From" poems. These poems are meant to express where we come from, who raised us, and who we are now. I LOVED this assignment. I thought it was a way to write something that evoked emotion in the reader, but didn't need to explain everything to do it. In reading them aloud, we got to take a peek into the lives of our classmates, seeing what has made them who they are and feeling the honesty in their words. I liked how there was a freedom with this assignment, that we could speak from experience and not focus as deeply on grammar or structure. The thing about poetry is that it is unapologetically honest, and it feels more than it reads.
The "I Am From" poems remind me a lot of the "Raised By" poems Christensen discusses in her chapter on poetry. I connected with the section about the students hearing their classmates poetry. They realizes how similar they were in spite of being different. I felt the same in my high school English class. In those moments, we were connected by our pasts, different, yet the same. I think the major thing in all of the types of poetry Christensen discusses is that they all bring about a sense of community. I love the quote, "By structuring a curriculum that allows room for their lives and by listening to their stories, I can locate the right book, the right poem that turns pain in to power - while I teach reading and writing." Through poetry, students who feel alone in their experiences see that others go through the same things and have found power in their pain. As teachers, we should connect students with authors and poets who have similar experiences as they do. Giving them the tools to write poetry is to give them access to a whole other genre of literature to find themselves in.
While we can find ourselves in poetry, we can find poetry in the world around us. The author of "Finding the Poems that Hide: Why Students Should Write Poetry" discusses how she was able to find poetry in a simple grocery conversation. She goes on to say that "poems defy explanation." I totally agree with her point. There is something about poetry that allows you to write something that you can't put into words. Students should have the opportunity to read and write poetry because it diverts their attention from what can be explained to what can be felt. It is an entirely different challenge than writing a narrative or an argumentative essay. If teachers are supposed to equip students with the tools to be successful in a variety of writing styles, poetry should be included.
The "I Am From" poems remind me a lot of the "Raised By" poems Christensen discusses in her chapter on poetry. I connected with the section about the students hearing their classmates poetry. They realizes how similar they were in spite of being different. I felt the same in my high school English class. In those moments, we were connected by our pasts, different, yet the same. I think the major thing in all of the types of poetry Christensen discusses is that they all bring about a sense of community. I love the quote, "By structuring a curriculum that allows room for their lives and by listening to their stories, I can locate the right book, the right poem that turns pain in to power - while I teach reading and writing." Through poetry, students who feel alone in their experiences see that others go through the same things and have found power in their pain. As teachers, we should connect students with authors and poets who have similar experiences as they do. Giving them the tools to write poetry is to give them access to a whole other genre of literature to find themselves in.
While we can find ourselves in poetry, we can find poetry in the world around us. The author of "Finding the Poems that Hide: Why Students Should Write Poetry" discusses how she was able to find poetry in a simple grocery conversation. She goes on to say that "poems defy explanation." I totally agree with her point. There is something about poetry that allows you to write something that you can't put into words. Students should have the opportunity to read and write poetry because it diverts their attention from what can be explained to what can be felt. It is an entirely different challenge than writing a narrative or an argumentative essay. If teachers are supposed to equip students with the tools to be successful in a variety of writing styles, poetry should be included.
Monday, February 13, 2017
Response for Class on 2/14
I have always hated group projects. It doesn't matter who was in my group, I hated that my grade depended on other people's effort. In high school, I had a few teachers who loved group projects just about as much as everyone else hated them. This meant that we did them often, leaving most of us frustrated. I do remember, though, that there was one kind of group project that I didn't mind. Sometimes, my teachers would split us into groups to teach a section of whatever unit we were on at the time. We had complete control over how to teach the information, how to engage our classmates, and how to test them on what they learned.
The chapter on co-teaching reminded me of this style of group project I did in high school. In the chapter, the author makes a point that when the students are able to teach the class, the teacher gets to see how the students learn best. I think that is such a profound idea, that "the teacher cannot fully meet the needs of students unless the students have an opportunity to show the teacher what they need and then demonstrate what good teaching looks like for them." Many times, having a classmate explain a difficult concept to me helped me more than listening to the teacher repeat himself/herself over and over again. Students will approach teaching by using how they learn to guide them. It allows students to take responsibility of their learning and experience what it is like to be the expert.
In my own experience, I know that I remember things better if I have taught them. Physics was a particularly challenging course senior year. On nights before tests, some of my classmates would get together to have a study session. Often, they asked me to explain different concepts that they didn't understand when our teacher first explained it to us. In taking on the role of the teacher, I was able to better the understanding of my classmates as well as ingraining the information into my own memory.
Not only does this form of co-teaching help the students to better understand the material, but it helps the teacher to see what the students need more of to be successful. I never considered that this was a reason my teachers had us teach parts of units. The idea that teachers could learn from us was not something that was emphasized. Now, I learn a lot from the students I teach; each group gives me more ideas on how to present information, plan assessments, and manage behavior. To be a good teacher, you must also be open to being taught.
The Gallagher chapter discusses the idea of choice in writing. When students are able to have choice, they will write more passionately. I definitely agree with his position. There have been times when a topic was assigned and my writing wasn't as good as it could have been because I cared very little about the topic. I also understand the importance of the standards that teachers must incorporate into their lesson plans/curriculum. I get it. Still, there are many ways that you can give students a choice while meeting the standards.
I really enjoyed reading Gallagher's ideas for incorporating choice into writing assignments. I think the section about "boring topics" was most interesting: there is no such thing as a boring topic. If you can get your students to think deeper about seemingly mundane topics, they will take ownership of their writing because they have developed their own angle to the paper. Part of getting students to enjoy writing is to get them to take ownership of their own ideas.
Christensen's chapter about narrative writing was extremely insightful. I personally believe that narrative writing is just as valuable as essay writing. A narrative is a place to begin teaching about literary analysis. If students can understand concepts in the context of their own writing, it will make it so much easier to understand in another's work.
When Christensen described her method of having her students color-code the literary tools they implemented in their writing, I couldn't get over what a good idea that was. It made me want to print out some of the pieces I've been working on and give them the same treatment! To visually show students the important parts of narrative writing is significant. So many students are visual learners, so an exercise like this can make all the difference in their growth as writers.
The readings for this week gave me more tools for my educator's tool box. I can see the benefit in including students in their learning, and allowing them to experience a role reversal. I understand how important it is to allow my students the luxury of choice whenever possible, that doing so will fuel their writing with passion. I now have a new way to give support to my visual learners, helping them to put literary tools in context, to see what writing looks like with them and without them. All of these techniques are preparing me to become a better teacher, and they are helping me to improve things in my own writing as well.
The chapter on co-teaching reminded me of this style of group project I did in high school. In the chapter, the author makes a point that when the students are able to teach the class, the teacher gets to see how the students learn best. I think that is such a profound idea, that "the teacher cannot fully meet the needs of students unless the students have an opportunity to show the teacher what they need and then demonstrate what good teaching looks like for them." Many times, having a classmate explain a difficult concept to me helped me more than listening to the teacher repeat himself/herself over and over again. Students will approach teaching by using how they learn to guide them. It allows students to take responsibility of their learning and experience what it is like to be the expert.
In my own experience, I know that I remember things better if I have taught them. Physics was a particularly challenging course senior year. On nights before tests, some of my classmates would get together to have a study session. Often, they asked me to explain different concepts that they didn't understand when our teacher first explained it to us. In taking on the role of the teacher, I was able to better the understanding of my classmates as well as ingraining the information into my own memory.
Not only does this form of co-teaching help the students to better understand the material, but it helps the teacher to see what the students need more of to be successful. I never considered that this was a reason my teachers had us teach parts of units. The idea that teachers could learn from us was not something that was emphasized. Now, I learn a lot from the students I teach; each group gives me more ideas on how to present information, plan assessments, and manage behavior. To be a good teacher, you must also be open to being taught.
The Gallagher chapter discusses the idea of choice in writing. When students are able to have choice, they will write more passionately. I definitely agree with his position. There have been times when a topic was assigned and my writing wasn't as good as it could have been because I cared very little about the topic. I also understand the importance of the standards that teachers must incorporate into their lesson plans/curriculum. I get it. Still, there are many ways that you can give students a choice while meeting the standards.
I really enjoyed reading Gallagher's ideas for incorporating choice into writing assignments. I think the section about "boring topics" was most interesting: there is no such thing as a boring topic. If you can get your students to think deeper about seemingly mundane topics, they will take ownership of their writing because they have developed their own angle to the paper. Part of getting students to enjoy writing is to get them to take ownership of their own ideas.
Christensen's chapter about narrative writing was extremely insightful. I personally believe that narrative writing is just as valuable as essay writing. A narrative is a place to begin teaching about literary analysis. If students can understand concepts in the context of their own writing, it will make it so much easier to understand in another's work.
When Christensen described her method of having her students color-code the literary tools they implemented in their writing, I couldn't get over what a good idea that was. It made me want to print out some of the pieces I've been working on and give them the same treatment! To visually show students the important parts of narrative writing is significant. So many students are visual learners, so an exercise like this can make all the difference in their growth as writers.
The readings for this week gave me more tools for my educator's tool box. I can see the benefit in including students in their learning, and allowing them to experience a role reversal. I understand how important it is to allow my students the luxury of choice whenever possible, that doing so will fuel their writing with passion. I now have a new way to give support to my visual learners, helping them to put literary tools in context, to see what writing looks like with them and without them. All of these techniques are preparing me to become a better teacher, and they are helping me to improve things in my own writing as well.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Response for Class on 2/7
State Standards
When it comes to standards, I like to take an apprehensive approach. While I am not the biggest fan of the Common Core, I do recognize the importance of having expectations for our students. Learning goals are necessary to push students' effort and ensure that no student is being passed over by the system. That being said, what I think standards don't account for is that student learning isn't linear. We have a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds being represented in our school systems, and these environments can and do affect how well students perform in school. While I appreciate having a basis for comparison when it comes to developing my lessons, I believe that it is the teacher's job to use the standards as a tool, rather than let their teaching be controlled by standards.
This is why I particularly liked the Guiding Visions section on the NCTE/IRA site. These standards specifically state that their purposes are to, "encourage the development of curriculum and instruction that make productive use of the emerging literacy abilities that children bring to school," and "provide ample room for the innovation and creativity essential to teaching and learning." These standards aim to encourage creativity in teaching, to be a help to students and not a hindrance. They recognize that teaching can and should be done in many ways; there is no script for educators to follow that leads to student success. Teachers know how to meet their students where they are, how to get through to them and develop their skills, whether in writing or any other subject. When we are given wiggle room to adjust curriculum as is necessary, we are able to better help our students to learn.
Standardized Testing
Earlier this week, my sister shared a video with me. She knows my passion for teaching and many times has been a witness to my rants about how the system impacts students, so her first thought was to send it to me. I've included the link below, and I highly recommend giving it a watch. This video encompasses many of the ideas present in "Rhode Island Teachers Respond to PARCC: A White Paper." The speaker, Prince Ea, argues that schools need to stop treating kids like they are "one size fits all." With the diversity of backgrounds and home structures present in our schools today, there are so many factors that can affect a student's ability to learn. When we try to squeeze every one of them into the same mold, it isn't going to work; all it will do is create frustration on the part of the students, who feel like they can't learn, and the teachers, who feel helpless to preserve their students' sense of self-efficacy.
When I was reading through the paper, I was taken back to my time in practicums. One of the classroom teachers I worked with spoke with me about her frustrations with standardized testing. The students were not all on grade level, so it made her job even more difficult to prepare them for the PARCC. Her students were frustrated because they didn't understand the tests, and she was frustrated because she felt the tests weren't providing a true representation of her students' abilities. This paper outlines how a number of teachers feel the same way about the standardized testing that is pushed into their classrooms.
One thing that stuck out to me was the emphasis on the affect standardized testing has on the students with disabilities and ELL students. As I stated previously, learning is not linear. Some students have a disability that makes learning more difficult. Some students are new to the country and the language which makes understanding material a challenge. Some students have so much going on at home, it is impossible to focus on their education. The standardized tests do not account for such deviations. This is the "one size" mindset our education system is stuck in. Not only does it negatively impact the students, but it leaves teachers at a loss of what to do next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqTTojTija8
Solution?
So we have a problem with the system. We have students who need to be held accountable for what they are learning, but the current method is not working. Beyond that, how can educators do anything when decisions are made above their heads?
What I liked most about the standardized testing paper was that it included starting points for solutions. This problem isn't going to just disappear in a day. We have to work at it little by little to make changes. I think that the second suggestion was my favorite: "Offer authentic opportunities for teachers and educational researchers to help plan an assessment system based on the local and diverse student population." Teachers know their students best. They are the ones who differentiate lessons to reach learners in various ways, they are the ones who experience first-hand the diversity in the classroom. If assessments were localized and specific to students, perhaps we would see an improvement in test scores. If we gave students a chance to show us what they know and not just how well they can test, maybe we would see an improvement in their desire to learn.
When it comes to standards, I like to take an apprehensive approach. While I am not the biggest fan of the Common Core, I do recognize the importance of having expectations for our students. Learning goals are necessary to push students' effort and ensure that no student is being passed over by the system. That being said, what I think standards don't account for is that student learning isn't linear. We have a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds being represented in our school systems, and these environments can and do affect how well students perform in school. While I appreciate having a basis for comparison when it comes to developing my lessons, I believe that it is the teacher's job to use the standards as a tool, rather than let their teaching be controlled by standards.
This is why I particularly liked the Guiding Visions section on the NCTE/IRA site. These standards specifically state that their purposes are to, "encourage the development of curriculum and instruction that make productive use of the emerging literacy abilities that children bring to school," and "provide ample room for the innovation and creativity essential to teaching and learning." These standards aim to encourage creativity in teaching, to be a help to students and not a hindrance. They recognize that teaching can and should be done in many ways; there is no script for educators to follow that leads to student success. Teachers know how to meet their students where they are, how to get through to them and develop their skills, whether in writing or any other subject. When we are given wiggle room to adjust curriculum as is necessary, we are able to better help our students to learn.
Standardized Testing
Earlier this week, my sister shared a video with me. She knows my passion for teaching and many times has been a witness to my rants about how the system impacts students, so her first thought was to send it to me. I've included the link below, and I highly recommend giving it a watch. This video encompasses many of the ideas present in "Rhode Island Teachers Respond to PARCC: A White Paper." The speaker, Prince Ea, argues that schools need to stop treating kids like they are "one size fits all." With the diversity of backgrounds and home structures present in our schools today, there are so many factors that can affect a student's ability to learn. When we try to squeeze every one of them into the same mold, it isn't going to work; all it will do is create frustration on the part of the students, who feel like they can't learn, and the teachers, who feel helpless to preserve their students' sense of self-efficacy.
When I was reading through the paper, I was taken back to my time in practicums. One of the classroom teachers I worked with spoke with me about her frustrations with standardized testing. The students were not all on grade level, so it made her job even more difficult to prepare them for the PARCC. Her students were frustrated because they didn't understand the tests, and she was frustrated because she felt the tests weren't providing a true representation of her students' abilities. This paper outlines how a number of teachers feel the same way about the standardized testing that is pushed into their classrooms.
One thing that stuck out to me was the emphasis on the affect standardized testing has on the students with disabilities and ELL students. As I stated previously, learning is not linear. Some students have a disability that makes learning more difficult. Some students are new to the country and the language which makes understanding material a challenge. Some students have so much going on at home, it is impossible to focus on their education. The standardized tests do not account for such deviations. This is the "one size" mindset our education system is stuck in. Not only does it negatively impact the students, but it leaves teachers at a loss of what to do next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqTTojTija8
Solution?
So we have a problem with the system. We have students who need to be held accountable for what they are learning, but the current method is not working. Beyond that, how can educators do anything when decisions are made above their heads?
What I liked most about the standardized testing paper was that it included starting points for solutions. This problem isn't going to just disappear in a day. We have to work at it little by little to make changes. I think that the second suggestion was my favorite: "Offer authentic opportunities for teachers and educational researchers to help plan an assessment system based on the local and diverse student population." Teachers know their students best. They are the ones who differentiate lessons to reach learners in various ways, they are the ones who experience first-hand the diversity in the classroom. If assessments were localized and specific to students, perhaps we would see an improvement in test scores. If we gave students a chance to show us what they know and not just how well they can test, maybe we would see an improvement in their desire to learn.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Response for Class on 1/31
From pre-K through high school, I attended small, private schools. It was only once I started college that I got my first look into what public schools in Rhode Island are like. For the first time, I saw students who were given breakfast at school because they couldn’t count on eating at home. For the first time, I saw students so far behind grade level, they had to be removed from the classroom for most of the day for help from a specialist. Because I wasn’t a part of the public education system growing up, I had no idea how much poverty affects the education system.
In "Failing Still to Address Poverty Directly: Growth Mindset as Deficit Ideology" the author discusses the ever-popular “growth mindset.” In truth, I have learned about this idea in my education classes, so I went into this article assuming that it was the best way to approach learning in the classroom. While it is beneficial, Thomas makes a point that the growth mindset does have some flaws: it places blame on the student for bad performance, and doesn’t make efforts to solve the problem at the root. It portrays students who aren’t successful as missing something; once that something is identified, it is incorporated into the curriculum.
Thomas’ point about how, "...we routinely demand of children in the worst situations of life—through no fault of their own—that they somehow set aside those lives when they magically walk into school and behave in ways (growth mindset, “grit”) that few adults do who are also burdened by forces more powerful than they are," hits the nail on the head. There are often outside influences that are affecting students that we don't know about as teachers. A student who is dealing with personal issues may not perform as well as we would expect. Is this a reflection of the child and his or her ability to tough it out and get work done? Certainly not. Too often, it is forgotten that the children we teach are real people with real lives and real emotions.
If we teach our students that they have something missing that they need to succeed, they will never see that they are capable of growth. This leads in to the position statements on the NCTE website. One that stuck out to me in particular is: “Everyone has the capacity to write; writing can be taught; and teachers can help students become better writers.” I am so glad that a group of educators agreed to put this on the NCTE website. Teachers need to believe in their students almost as much as the students need to believe in themselves. One way to create a culture where everyone believes they can succeed in writing is to incorporate the students’ experiences in their writing. It helps to nurture a desire to write when you are able to draw from what you already know. I also liked how they stated that “writing and reading are related.” So often, this is not emphasized. If teachers want to improve a student’s writing, a good way to do it is to get them to read. In the same way, “writing can also help people become better readers.” This, I think, is a major goal of any English teacher. We want our students to have confidence in their writing as well as to grow their abilities in reading.
This brings me to the Cadeiro-Kaplan chapter, where the discussion is centered around the types of literacy we see in classrooms. I recognized each of the four types of literacy as ideologies I have experienced throughout my education. In particular, I noticed how easy it is to incorporate the functional literacy in the classroom, but it is not calling for our students to become deep thinkers. The idea is that a student’s goal is to “[learn] to read as opposed to [read] to learn.” I think that, while learning to read is an important part of becoming a functioning member of society, educators have shifted away from emphasizing the importance of reading for knowledge and understanding. It is not enough to recognize patterns of letters as words, but we must see the meaning behind them. It seems as though developing a curiosity for knowledge has been overshadowed by the strict rules of culture. This is why using a progressive or critical literacy style in the classroom is so beneficial: these ideologies encourage free thinking, analysis, and the development of a student's voice.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Response for Class on 1/24
My mother is a middle school English teacher, so you could say I grew up with a bit of an influence. I have always gulped books like they are coffee: addictive and possessing the power to keep your eyes open to the world.
In the same way, words have always been my best means of communication; I still have notebooks from when I was 6 or 7 years old with half-finished stories about Sprite bottles or rocks that were actually superheroes. It only made sense to pick a career in which I could do my favorite things all day.
I think I grew up having a preconceived idea of what being an English teacher means. As I read these texts, I realized that teaching in general is more complex than I originally thought. The situation that Christensen describes in Teaching for Joy and Justice about her student whose writing was not on grade level really struck me. Christensen speaks about Jerald, and how he "lacked the conventional skills" in his writing, "but he didn't lack intelligence." She attempted to teach him all the rules of punctuation in one go, marking his paper with flourishes of red pen.
Instead of helping Jerald, this discouraged him from his forward progress. Christensen says: "Instead of telling him how beautiful his writing was, instead of finding what worked in his piece, I found every single thing that was wrong." Going over Jerald's writing with a fine-tooth comb didn't cause him to achieve anything; he could only see the errors he had made and not the talent evident in his paper.
The message to take away from this is to "teach the writer, not the paper." I think this is a profound statement for English teachers and teachers of writing. Tearing down a student's confidence by covering their papers with red marks does little to teach them the mechanics of writing and nothing to show them that they possess the ability to write. Grammar and punctuation are important to a well-written piece of writing, but if a student does not see their talent in the act of writing, their desire to improve their skills will cease altogether. A class full of papers covered with red pen is not the mark of a competent teacher but one who does not understand that students need to know that they have potential in order to be successful. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day; in the same way, students won't learn how to write the perfect paper in one go. The writing process is a continual cycle of steady improvement rather than a list of facts to memorize.
This idea leads into one of the Top Ten Writing Wrongs listed in Gallagher's Teaching Adolescent Writers. The second "wrong" listed says, "writing is sometimes assigned rather than taught." I feel as though many teachers don't understand the difference; I have certainly had teachers in high school who would fall into that category. If students aren't taught how to write, they will never see writing as anything more than something they are forced to do. Teaching them involves more than ensuring they have a firm grasp on the structure of various papers and citation formats. Teaching students to write includes helping them to develop their voice, recognizing that pulling out what they have to say is more important than their incorrect use of the semicolon.
This same message is present in the article, "To High School English Teachers (and All Teachers)." One of the lessons the author writes about is "teach[ing] students—not programs, standards, test-prep, or your discipline." Here again, we see the same point being made. Learning should be student-focused, not subject-focused. It is a long process, but it is one that is well worth it.
As future teachers of writing, it will be our responsibility to make our classrooms a space for growth. To do this, we must shift our focus from the work to the student. The reality is that we will not encounter a class with students who are all on the same level; to expect such a scenario is absurd. If we are only looking at the logistics of a paper and ignoring the quality of the content within it, it will only result in raising a generation of students who resent writing because they believe that they do not have the ability to do it. I want to believe in my students and make them believe in themselves. If I change writing for them, perhaps their writing will change the world.
In the same way, words have always been my best means of communication; I still have notebooks from when I was 6 or 7 years old with half-finished stories about Sprite bottles or rocks that were actually superheroes. It only made sense to pick a career in which I could do my favorite things all day.
I think I grew up having a preconceived idea of what being an English teacher means. As I read these texts, I realized that teaching in general is more complex than I originally thought. The situation that Christensen describes in Teaching for Joy and Justice about her student whose writing was not on grade level really struck me. Christensen speaks about Jerald, and how he "lacked the conventional skills" in his writing, "but he didn't lack intelligence." She attempted to teach him all the rules of punctuation in one go, marking his paper with flourishes of red pen.
Instead of helping Jerald, this discouraged him from his forward progress. Christensen says: "Instead of telling him how beautiful his writing was, instead of finding what worked in his piece, I found every single thing that was wrong." Going over Jerald's writing with a fine-tooth comb didn't cause him to achieve anything; he could only see the errors he had made and not the talent evident in his paper.
The message to take away from this is to "teach the writer, not the paper." I think this is a profound statement for English teachers and teachers of writing. Tearing down a student's confidence by covering their papers with red marks does little to teach them the mechanics of writing and nothing to show them that they possess the ability to write. Grammar and punctuation are important to a well-written piece of writing, but if a student does not see their talent in the act of writing, their desire to improve their skills will cease altogether. A class full of papers covered with red pen is not the mark of a competent teacher but one who does not understand that students need to know that they have potential in order to be successful. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day; in the same way, students won't learn how to write the perfect paper in one go. The writing process is a continual cycle of steady improvement rather than a list of facts to memorize.
This idea leads into one of the Top Ten Writing Wrongs listed in Gallagher's Teaching Adolescent Writers. The second "wrong" listed says, "writing is sometimes assigned rather than taught." I feel as though many teachers don't understand the difference; I have certainly had teachers in high school who would fall into that category. If students aren't taught how to write, they will never see writing as anything more than something they are forced to do. Teaching them involves more than ensuring they have a firm grasp on the structure of various papers and citation formats. Teaching students to write includes helping them to develop their voice, recognizing that pulling out what they have to say is more important than their incorrect use of the semicolon.
This same message is present in the article, "To High School English Teachers (and All Teachers)." One of the lessons the author writes about is "teach[ing] students—not programs, standards, test-prep, or your discipline." Here again, we see the same point being made. Learning should be student-focused, not subject-focused. It is a long process, but it is one that is well worth it.
As future teachers of writing, it will be our responsibility to make our classrooms a space for growth. To do this, we must shift our focus from the work to the student. The reality is that we will not encounter a class with students who are all on the same level; to expect such a scenario is absurd. If we are only looking at the logistics of a paper and ignoring the quality of the content within it, it will only result in raising a generation of students who resent writing because they believe that they do not have the ability to do it. I want to believe in my students and make them believe in themselves. If I change writing for them, perhaps their writing will change the world.
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