As a whole, I think this class exhibited some really great ideas and strategies when it came to teaching. The fact that we participated in a writing workshop, not only allowed us to express ourselves and grow as writers, but it also allowed us to become better commentators of writing.
I think that the strategy demonstration activity was useful in that it allowed for us to exhibit a little bit of our own teaching style/methods to the rest of the class, and it provided ideas for the rest of us to use in our future classrooms.
I appreciate the Unit Plan and most of what it entails, however I felt like some elements, mainly the endless reflections, became rather redundant. There is only so much (and so many times) a person can reflect on the same occurrence of events before they begin to doubt their own sanity!
While I can see how the out of class readings with the blog posts is a way to motivate students outside of the classroom to read required texts, I did feel sort of jilted over spending times on things that did not hold any significance in our class meetings. I appreciate the fact that this blog is a tool to get our ideas out there and to communicate with one another. I see the value in this sort of open conversation, but I would have appreciated a stronger tie-in what is actually going on in our classroom.
I did enjoy the use of the wiki, especially as a collaborative online text. I think it is a great way to assemble a multitude of ideas by various people. I also liked using it for my writing portfolio. The fact that I could designate everything to its own specific page made fulfilling the assignment less hectic.
I really enjoyed this class, especially our group therapy sessions! Thank you everyone for helping me survive this semester!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Teaching Writing
I have really strong beliefs when it comes to teaching writing in the classroom. I think going into the English classroom I am going to be teaching two of the most fundamental skills that a person needs in order to succeed in life: to read and to write. Writing is a form of communication that is necessary to get a job (resume or application). It is necessary to function through everyday life. My dad is a mechanic...one would think that his job does not rely heavily on writing, however, one would be wrong. He has to fill out parts orders, work orders and bills, etc. I use this as an example because even on the most basic level writing is a necessity. Therefore, I think it is necessary to teach the fundamental mechanics of writing, so people can communicate effectively.
Perhaps more importantly, I think writing contains meaning, especially literature. I think students need to be able to express themselves through writing and to be able to write about other's writing. This is the dialogue of the intellectual. This is the dialogue of the human spirit. We are represented by what is written. Shakespeare is still relevant today because he wrote about human nature. Writing connects the present to the past and gives life meaning. Writing connects us as human beings.
Perhaps more importantly, I think writing contains meaning, especially literature. I think students need to be able to express themselves through writing and to be able to write about other's writing. This is the dialogue of the intellectual. This is the dialogue of the human spirit. We are represented by what is written. Shakespeare is still relevant today because he wrote about human nature. Writing connects the present to the past and gives life meaning. Writing connects us as human beings.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
How to Comic
I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of comics. Every once in a while, I enjoy the Sunday comics, but that is about the extent of my admiration. I do appreciate certain story lines that are derived from comics, most especially those that are brought on to the big screen. Despite the fact that I may not personally hold the appreciation for comics that I should, I do feel like they have a lot to offer the English classroom. I think that it is a type of text that many students are familiar with, which could help in aiding them deal with more difficult texts. I think it exhibits a relationship between words and pictures that often go unrepresented in more traditional texts. So when I started reading Making Comics, I tried to keep an open mind.
I think the book has a lot of great teaching tools in it. It gives great explanations to different concepts, types and terms regarding comics. I really like how the book explains things through the comic layout, so there is a visual representation through both text and pictures. I really like the face diagram on page 92 and 93. I never realized that by simply shading a face in different ways you could achieve so many facial expressions through drawing. I also like how later in the book McCloud explains how to gain distances through a grid. It really is a very educational book in terms of creating comics.
I do have to mention that like comics themselves, this book does have a few pictures that might not be entirely considered school appropriate. I think that as a teacher I would probably would not assign this entire book, but perhaps use it as a supplementary tool, only pulling certain aspects of the text that would allow students to learn some tricks of the comic trade.
I think the book has a lot of great teaching tools in it. It gives great explanations to different concepts, types and terms regarding comics. I really like how the book explains things through the comic layout, so there is a visual representation through both text and pictures. I really like the face diagram on page 92 and 93. I never realized that by simply shading a face in different ways you could achieve so many facial expressions through drawing. I also like how later in the book McCloud explains how to gain distances through a grid. It really is a very educational book in terms of creating comics.
I do have to mention that like comics themselves, this book does have a few pictures that might not be entirely considered school appropriate. I think that as a teacher I would probably would not assign this entire book, but perhaps use it as a supplementary tool, only pulling certain aspects of the text that would allow students to learn some tricks of the comic trade.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Captivating...
I've noticed that many of my fellow bloggers have discussed their "pleasure reading" or what they've been reading besides the required school texts. I have been hesitant to do so myself, simply because lately I have been reading some theologically driven/based texts. Since this is an educational blog, and there is the separation of church and state, I have just avoided this topic. But this summer I came across a book called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. For all of those who are letting out a disgruntled groan and getting ready to click to the next blog, let me just say that any "Christian book" willing to quote Van Morrison and the Last of the Mohicans, really cannot be that bad. (Plus, it is possible to read this book and "skip all the God parts"... I have a friend that did that very thing.)
I bring this book up, not to 'spread the word' some much as to just discuss a concept. You see the book discusses "unveiling a woman's soul" and by doing so many topics, such as eating disorders, unsafe sexual practices, self-mutilation, family relationships, and struggle with self-identity are discussed. Hopefully, by now you can see the importance of bringing this up. As future educators, we will most likely know a female student who is going through some of these issues. While I am in no way suggesting that this book is a cure-all or that it even holds all the answers, it does have some major insight as to what could possibly be motivating factors of the above mentioned behaviors. I think one of the most important questions that a teacher can ask is why? Why is the student doing this or behaving this way? This book could possibly be a tool to help people understand or even perhaps begin to question student's motives and actions.
As an additional note, these authors also came out with a book entitled Wild at Heart, which focuses on men.
I bring this book up, not to 'spread the word' some much as to just discuss a concept. You see the book discusses "unveiling a woman's soul" and by doing so many topics, such as eating disorders, unsafe sexual practices, self-mutilation, family relationships, and struggle with self-identity are discussed. Hopefully, by now you can see the importance of bringing this up. As future educators, we will most likely know a female student who is going through some of these issues. While I am in no way suggesting that this book is a cure-all or that it even holds all the answers, it does have some major insight as to what could possibly be motivating factors of the above mentioned behaviors. I think one of the most important questions that a teacher can ask is why? Why is the student doing this or behaving this way? This book could possibly be a tool to help people understand or even perhaps begin to question student's motives and actions.
As an additional note, these authors also came out with a book entitled Wild at Heart, which focuses on men.
The Professor and The Madman
While reading The Professor and The Madman, I got a sense of deja vu. There was something about this story that I was familiar with. It took me a while to figure it out, but then I finally understood. This is yet another example of how utter brilliancy and utter craziness go hand in hand. The character of Minor is obviously complex in that he single-handedly contributed more than 1,000 words to the Oxford English Dictionary, but his brilliancy, much like a double-edged sword, equated his craziness as a murderer in an insane asylum.
I think people are genuinely fascinated by characters such as Minor. There are countless books and films with astounded popularity that will back up my claim. Think of characters such as Hannibal Lector, John Nash from A Beautiful Mind, or even the real life Howard Hughes. They are all brilliant men, and they end up being twelve kinds of crazy.
I just can't help but wonder what do characters like these suggest? That there is such a thing as being too smart or too brilliant? That being brilliant must come with a price? Its just an interesting concept that seems to have been proven true numerous times... and makes me somewhat glad that I am not a genius.
I think people are genuinely fascinated by characters such as Minor. There are countless books and films with astounded popularity that will back up my claim. Think of characters such as Hannibal Lector, John Nash from A Beautiful Mind, or even the real life Howard Hughes. They are all brilliant men, and they end up being twelve kinds of crazy.
I just can't help but wonder what do characters like these suggest? That there is such a thing as being too smart or too brilliant? That being brilliant must come with a price? Its just an interesting concept that seems to have been proven true numerous times... and makes me somewhat glad that I am not a genius.
Imagine my Surprise... with Image Grammar
Okay, so I don't know about the rest of you, but one of the first things that I did when I reached my cooperating classroom was check out my teacher's bookshelf. I wanted to know what literature Mrs. Postiy used to teach in her classroom, and I want you to imagine my surprise when on her shelf is a copy of Image Grammar. I don't know about the rest of you, but I had never heard of Image Grammar before last year.
As a person who has always been able to fumble my way through grammar during school simply because "it sounded right," I initially took this book as yet another attempt to explain the unexplainable. I feel like grammar, especially in the English language, is so fluid and so changing that it is difficult to always no the rights and wrongs of it all. As Dr. Kist said the other day, people are still debating whether or not to put a comma before the word "and" when you are listing something in a sentence.
In addition, when thinking about the type of grammar instruction that I got in school, my mind goes back to those horrifying grammar worksheets where you have to identify all the parts of the sentence: The dog in the window is barking at the cat by the tree. As a person who has always had my own style of writing these sentences really did not apply to my writing, and therefore, did not apply to my understanding of English grammar.
I think that Professor Noden's book gets around that boundary. By using actual writing pieces (especially those of the student), Professor Noden has found a way to make identifying grammatical elements and using them correctly in one's own writing a much easier task.
As a person who has always been able to fumble my way through grammar during school simply because "it sounded right," I initially took this book as yet another attempt to explain the unexplainable. I feel like grammar, especially in the English language, is so fluid and so changing that it is difficult to always no the rights and wrongs of it all. As Dr. Kist said the other day, people are still debating whether or not to put a comma before the word "and" when you are listing something in a sentence.
In addition, when thinking about the type of grammar instruction that I got in school, my mind goes back to those horrifying grammar worksheets where you have to identify all the parts of the sentence: The dog in the window is barking at the cat by the tree. As a person who has always had my own style of writing these sentences really did not apply to my writing, and therefore, did not apply to my understanding of English grammar.
I think that Professor Noden's book gets around that boundary. By using actual writing pieces (especially those of the student), Professor Noden has found a way to make identifying grammatical elements and using them correctly in one's own writing a much easier task.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Alter or Adapt?
Faced with starting to teach my unit plan in ONE week, I am starting to contemplate how I might have to adapt my lesson plans. I purposely made sure that I really jam-packed all my days, because when I interviewed the principal at the school he really emphasized that he wanted the students to be learning from bell to bell every single day of the week. Knowing that, and also realizing that our professors, supervisors and students would want there to be interesting stuff to do during the class period, I really tried to integrate student-centered activities into every lesson plan. However, I realize, as Dr. Kist pointed out in my evaluation, that activities and projects can be time consuming, or even overwhelming for students.
I think I am going to see how the first couple days go, as far as, students' pace, and then hopefully I will have a better understanding of if or how I could alter or adapt my lessons plans to fit my students needs. Even if it might mean cutting out some of my well thought plans.
This sort of reiterates one my major thought processes when it comes to education. I believe one of the best things a teacher can bring to a classroom is flexibility. It allows you to adapt to different learners, navigate classroom environments and hopefully, pull off unit plans.
I think I am going to see how the first couple days go, as far as, students' pace, and then hopefully I will have a better understanding of if or how I could alter or adapt my lessons plans to fit my students needs. Even if it might mean cutting out some of my well thought plans.
This sort of reiterates one my major thought processes when it comes to education. I believe one of the best things a teacher can bring to a classroom is flexibility. It allows you to adapt to different learners, navigate classroom environments and hopefully, pull off unit plans.
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