Light Upon a Hill

Hello, this is a repost because i received over 700 spam messages when i first posted it. 

I have found that ninety percent of my students think that they are terrible writers.  Some think this because of their hand writing, while others have trouble writing more than a paragraph in one hour.  My goal is to unclog  their brains from bad attitudes, fear, or general apathy toward writing.  I used one of Tom Romano’s ideas from, Crafting Authentic Voice to encourage my students to “Trust the gush,” and just write without being a mean little critic to themselves.  I called it “intensive 4 minute writing.”  Four minutes is less than five, but enough to get students in a quiet place where they see everyone else around them writing, so they feel like they want to join the group.  This seemed to work very well with my collaborative class (special education.)  After finishing the four minutes, many students sighed with relief and said their head hurt from thinking so much!  As a teacher, I went around and complimented them on ideas and encouraged them to continue.  The act of “getting it down” on the page had begun, and the blank page could not torture them anymore.  My place was to be their biggest cheerleader, and praise them for any fraction of a good idea.  They liked this, and responded very well.  So, keep cheering your students on! 

            Many educators see a major need to incorporate technology into the classroom.  Administrators send the faculty to one meeting after the other about how to incorporate technology and the wonderful effects it will have.  While this may be true, we must ask, “Why am I using this technology?” and, “How will it meet me meet my instructional goals?”  There must be a specific purpose behind the technology and definitive goals to be reached.  When we do use technology for the right reasons, we have to always prepare in advance in case of technical difficulties.  Instead of students waiting for the teacher to hook up the computer to the television, they could be accessing all the knowledge they know about the upcoming lesson with a KWL (What I Know, What I want to know, What I learned) chart.  Being over prepared is absolutely necessary when using technology in the classroom. 

As I have learned in the past three weeks as a first year teacher; teaching is hard!  While it is challenging, the rewards are endless.  But, I do not think my experience would be as positive and energizing if I had not considered classroom management before ever stepping foot inside.  I am learning how to navigate the middle school world as an authority figure who genuinely cares for students.  Although I am less than ten years older than my students, I have to assert my authority on a daily basis.  Maybe for teachers who have the idea that they want to be more of a friend than a teacher, this sounds difficult.  I tend to believe that classrooms where the rules and procedures are consistently reinforced produce the most efficient classroom environments.  Clearly, the teacher can not be a friend if he or she is holding students responsible for their actions.  Therefore, we have a fine line to walk as educators.  We have the opportunity to touch lives on an individual and general level.  We witness life changing moments in students’ lives, and sometimes are involved in those situations.  Sensitivity with authority is a mix that is essential and difficult to achieve, but our students depend on us to set the example inside and outside the classroom. 

While many high school English teachers may not be familiar with teaching literary theory in their classes, Deborah Appleman’s book, Critical Encounters, asserts that teaching literary theory can only enhance the study of literature.  I know that studying literature has helped my analytical skills, and to consciously question what I am reading.  To have a class full of students who are automatically analyzing and constructively criticizing different texts is the fantasy of many English teachers!  I have finally realized that literary theory is a vehicle in which to consciously analyze literature from a different perspective or lens.  If we can be deliberate and straightforward with our students about literary theory, I believe that they will rise to the occasion and continue developing the way they see literature and their own lives.  One of the ways that we can do this is to choose a literary theory, such as feminism, and discuss it with students.  Then, ask them to write a statement about a female character as portrayed in the story.  After that, ask them to write another statement using the feminist point of view.  Compare and contrast the statements in order to highlight the differences.  I know that if class discussions are lacking, literary theories can help the students become passionate about what they are reading, and how it relates to their own lives. 

When you were in high school, did you look forward to reading Shakespeare’s plays?  If you were like me, then probably not.  Teachers often struggle to teach their plays due to the language, complexity, and genre.  Nevertheless, there is hope!  After reading chapters 4 through 7 in Rex Gibson’s book, Teaching Shakespeare, I have so many ideas running through my mind of all the possibilities there are of teaching Shakespeare.  I always found the language of the plays to be the biggest barrier from appreciating them, so I would like to share a tactic to help students have a better understanding of what they are reading.  Point out Shakespeare’s use of repetition and ask students to flip to any page of the play that they are studying and find any repeating words, phrases, rhythms, and sounds(They may need to be refreshed on these concepts).  Ask them to try different ways of speaking the lines, and how the repetition adds to the dramatic effect.  By repeating the words aloud, the students gain insight into why Shakespeare uses repetition, and possibly into the words that they are reading(especially if they are unfamiliar with the word or phrase)  (55-6).  I hope you find this helpful and that your students will begin to understand and enjoy Shakespeare’s plays!

I have been wrestling with some questions and ideas regarding curriculum since my last post.  After reading Arthur N. Applebee’s article, “Toward Thoughtful Curriculum: Fostering Discipline-Based Conversation in the English Language Arts Classroom,” I decided that I do not know enough about curriculum.  I liked his idea that curriculum must be relevant to our students.  I think this relevancy must encompass a range of attributes that comprise students.  This makes me think that I must always consider my students and who they are (on many levels) when implementing the curriculum.  One of my questions that I have is, do administrators and those in power who formulate the curriculum consider the student population?  If so, on what level?  Just as I want my students to question the world around them, I must question my curriculum and engage in the curriculum as a critical thinker.  Please feel free to post any comments relating to this entry. 

This is my new blog that I will be using throughout the Fall 2006 semester.  I will be sharing all the new concepts and ideas that my class learns about.  I will also discuss teaching tips and “tactics.”  I realize the importance of sharing all the wonderful material that I read about and discuss in class with the online community.  By the end of this course I hope to have a better understanding of what effective teaching looks and feels like.  I would like to be knowledgeable about the common pitfalls new teachers face and the best ways to deal with difficult situations in the classroom.  My goal is to enrich my view and knowledge of teaching.  I hope that you find my posts helpful, encouraging, and valuable to you!  If you have any questions, please post them and I will be happy to respond at my earliest convenience.  Please enjoy my blog, and thank you for visiting.