http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020102427.html?g=0
Sound familiar?
What Do You Mean No More Books?!?!
13 years ago
Monday, February 1, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Upcoming!
Well, Christmas is over and the New Year is here, and student teaching is right around the corner. On January 19, I will begin student teaching, and I am both nervous and excited! I can't wait to see how things go with 8th graders, as well as with the high schoolers I'll be teaching later this semester. I will be updating this blog with my experiences and thoughts, so be sure to check back if you're interested!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Reflection on the Semester
I learned a lot from this class this semester. I learned many new strategies for discussion that I plan to use, including literature circles, Socratic Seminar, and the "ticket out."
Books that I thought were most valuable were Persepolis, Monster, and The Book Thief. I like the issues of multiculturalism found in these, and they all help to teach a lesson and a genre. The Book Theif would be helpful in teaching about narrators, and Monster and Persepolis offer new genres our students may not be familiar with, but genres that may have the greatest effects on our students. I would say that Forever, The Chocolate War, and Boy Meets Boy were the least effective for me. Since we decided that most schools would not allow these books to be taught, it was difficult for me to find a lot of meaning in them, especially because our students won't run to these particular books in their free time, either.
Using some "classic" literature, or literature from the canon, would have been helpful to me. I haven't read a lot of what is in the canon, so knowing some of the basics would be helpful as a future teacher (and as a Praxis taker). Doing this would also have helped us make more connections between classroom materials and possible companion pieces.
I feel well-equiped to discuss literature now, largely because of the group-teach experience and our general time spent in discussion. I learned a lot about respectfully listening to other people's comments, and I also feel like this class enabled me to create my own thoughts and accept new viewpoints. Using the strategies I discussed earlier, I think my classes will experience great discussion.
The group teach was definitely valuable to me, though it was difficult to coordinate schedules since we all live so far away from each other and couldn't get together before class because of schedule conflicts, and after class was difficult because of car-pooling and long drives home. However, planning 2 lessons for about 3 hours was a valuable experience that helped me see the big picture of planning, and how everything needs to tie together.
I enjoyed writing my blogs and think that it was valuable for me, however there often was not a lot of feedback from other students. There were many weeks when I tried to comment on everyone else's blogs, but when I got few responses I felt like I was helping others but getting no help in return. If there was a requirement to comment on a certain number of blogs each week, that might have been helpful. I also think it would have been helpful to have the comments be less "fluffy"--- ("I like that too," "You're right, that was a funny part," etc)--- and more in depth, like a discussion through blog and comments. However the students in the high school where I'll be student teaching have a technology requirement, so blogs might be a great idea to get them interacting. I would love to use these with my future students as well because it encourages them to come to class ready with topics to discuss.
Overall, I think this course was very helpful. The articles got me thinking (especially about setting up our classes and developing new writing assignments for our students to use), and I felt that they were helpful. I enjoyed learning about topics I never knew about before, like FanFiction. This could also be helpful in the future as a teacher.
Books that I thought were most valuable were Persepolis, Monster, and The Book Thief. I like the issues of multiculturalism found in these, and they all help to teach a lesson and a genre. The Book Theif would be helpful in teaching about narrators, and Monster and Persepolis offer new genres our students may not be familiar with, but genres that may have the greatest effects on our students. I would say that Forever, The Chocolate War, and Boy Meets Boy were the least effective for me. Since we decided that most schools would not allow these books to be taught, it was difficult for me to find a lot of meaning in them, especially because our students won't run to these particular books in their free time, either.
Using some "classic" literature, or literature from the canon, would have been helpful to me. I haven't read a lot of what is in the canon, so knowing some of the basics would be helpful as a future teacher (and as a Praxis taker). Doing this would also have helped us make more connections between classroom materials and possible companion pieces.
I feel well-equiped to discuss literature now, largely because of the group-teach experience and our general time spent in discussion. I learned a lot about respectfully listening to other people's comments, and I also feel like this class enabled me to create my own thoughts and accept new viewpoints. Using the strategies I discussed earlier, I think my classes will experience great discussion.
The group teach was definitely valuable to me, though it was difficult to coordinate schedules since we all live so far away from each other and couldn't get together before class because of schedule conflicts, and after class was difficult because of car-pooling and long drives home. However, planning 2 lessons for about 3 hours was a valuable experience that helped me see the big picture of planning, and how everything needs to tie together.
I enjoyed writing my blogs and think that it was valuable for me, however there often was not a lot of feedback from other students. There were many weeks when I tried to comment on everyone else's blogs, but when I got few responses I felt like I was helping others but getting no help in return. If there was a requirement to comment on a certain number of blogs each week, that might have been helpful. I also think it would have been helpful to have the comments be less "fluffy"--- ("I like that too," "You're right, that was a funny part," etc)--- and more in depth, like a discussion through blog and comments. However the students in the high school where I'll be student teaching have a technology requirement, so blogs might be a great idea to get them interacting. I would love to use these with my future students as well because it encourages them to come to class ready with topics to discuss.
Overall, I think this course was very helpful. The articles got me thinking (especially about setting up our classes and developing new writing assignments for our students to use), and I felt that they were helpful. I enjoyed learning about topics I never knew about before, like FanFiction. This could also be helpful in the future as a teacher.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
A surprise for Bella
“Hey Edward!” Alice called from across the Meadow. My meadow. She had infiltrated my space with Edward, and as much as I loved Alice I was not about to let that go.
She waved toward him, calling him to her, using her secret mind-words, and he looked at me as though to say “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
I was so angry. My blood started pumping and my heart started racing. My cheeks turned pink-hot and I knew that I was about to lose it.
“Edward, come on!” Alice yelled to him. And even though I knew he could tell how angry I was turning, even though he didn’t know the reason why, he went to her before I knew he had stood up. I hate vampire speed.
I sat alone, wondering what they were talking about. In addition to the speed, I hated vampire hearing. They could speak so softly and hear so well, and I never knew what anyone was saying, or thinking, or feeling… Jasper’s gift was annoying too. Come to think of it, most things about vampires really piss me off.
In the Meadow, I was so angry that my heart continued racing. Alice glared at me, knowing what I was ready to do. She laughed, knowing that it would not end well for me. Her crystal ball brain pissed me off too.
She took Edward’s hand and they sped away toward the house, and I was alone in the Meadow wondering what I was supposed to do. My truck was parked at the edge of the Meadow. I could hop in and drive to La Push to see Jacob. But instead I followed Alice and Edward, through the woods, toward the house.
The house was dark, which was weird. There were always lights in the glass house, not that vampires needed them to see. Even at night, though they weren’t sleeping, to keep up appearances of normalcy, the Cullens would leave the TV on, or some other random light that had looked forgotten. Everything else would be off, but there was always at least some kind of light.
Tonight was so different that I knew instinctively that something was wrong.
“Bella,” Edward whispered in my ear. He must have been hiding at the edge of the treeline around the house.
“God, Edward. You scared me!” I turned to swat at his marble body, and he chuckled. “What are you doing, anyway?”
“Edward had a surprise for you, Bella.” Alice’s voice rang like a crystal bell. “Ready, Edward?”
He smiled and nodded and suddenly the house was blindingly bright. I shielded my eyes at first, but when my eyes adjusted I moved my hand. The lights were still a blur of brightness, so I asked Edward,
“What am I supposed to be looking at here?”
I tried to lean into him, since he was standing beside me, but I fell. I was so clumsy all the time.
“Here, Bella,” he said, kneeling to help me up. At least now we were on the same level.
He was on one knee, trying to help me up. Even when I was standing, though, he remained on his knee.
“What is this?” I asked, looking around. There were words spelled in lights on the roof of the house, but I still couldn’t make them out. The rest of the Cullens looked happy and proud along the trees’ edge. I quickly brought my eyes back to Edward when he spoke.
“Bella, I wanted to surprise you.” Still on one knee. Oh, God.
“Edward?” Not this. I wanted to be with him, but not like this. Please no. “Edward, no. I can’t. Sorry. I’m not going to marry you.”
“Marry me? Who said anything about that?”
“What?” I looked around again, this time seeing clearly what was written on the roof. “Santa: Stop here.”
She waved toward him, calling him to her, using her secret mind-words, and he looked at me as though to say “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
I was so angry. My blood started pumping and my heart started racing. My cheeks turned pink-hot and I knew that I was about to lose it.
“Edward, come on!” Alice yelled to him. And even though I knew he could tell how angry I was turning, even though he didn’t know the reason why, he went to her before I knew he had stood up. I hate vampire speed.
I sat alone, wondering what they were talking about. In addition to the speed, I hated vampire hearing. They could speak so softly and hear so well, and I never knew what anyone was saying, or thinking, or feeling… Jasper’s gift was annoying too. Come to think of it, most things about vampires really piss me off.
In the Meadow, I was so angry that my heart continued racing. Alice glared at me, knowing what I was ready to do. She laughed, knowing that it would not end well for me. Her crystal ball brain pissed me off too.
She took Edward’s hand and they sped away toward the house, and I was alone in the Meadow wondering what I was supposed to do. My truck was parked at the edge of the Meadow. I could hop in and drive to La Push to see Jacob. But instead I followed Alice and Edward, through the woods, toward the house.
The house was dark, which was weird. There were always lights in the glass house, not that vampires needed them to see. Even at night, though they weren’t sleeping, to keep up appearances of normalcy, the Cullens would leave the TV on, or some other random light that had looked forgotten. Everything else would be off, but there was always at least some kind of light.
Tonight was so different that I knew instinctively that something was wrong.
“Bella,” Edward whispered in my ear. He must have been hiding at the edge of the treeline around the house.
“God, Edward. You scared me!” I turned to swat at his marble body, and he chuckled. “What are you doing, anyway?”
“Edward had a surprise for you, Bella.” Alice’s voice rang like a crystal bell. “Ready, Edward?”
He smiled and nodded and suddenly the house was blindingly bright. I shielded my eyes at first, but when my eyes adjusted I moved my hand. The lights were still a blur of brightness, so I asked Edward,
“What am I supposed to be looking at here?”
I tried to lean into him, since he was standing beside me, but I fell. I was so clumsy all the time.
“Here, Bella,” he said, kneeling to help me up. At least now we were on the same level.
He was on one knee, trying to help me up. Even when I was standing, though, he remained on his knee.
“What is this?” I asked, looking around. There were words spelled in lights on the roof of the house, but I still couldn’t make them out. The rest of the Cullens looked happy and proud along the trees’ edge. I quickly brought my eyes back to Edward when he spoke.
“Bella, I wanted to surprise you.” Still on one knee. Oh, God.
“Edward?” Not this. I wanted to be with him, but not like this. Please no. “Edward, no. I can’t. Sorry. I’m not going to marry you.”
“Marry me? Who said anything about that?”
“What?” I looked around again, this time seeing clearly what was written on the roof. “Santa: Stop here.”
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Censorship, revisited
Well, it's after 11:00 and I just got home from class. I was really fired up the whole way home, thinking about censorship and the specific example of "Troy" from class. I had a bunch of questions.
To take a question from my group's discussion, what if someone had written the assignment from the slave's perspective and had brutally murdered the slave-owner? Would we have had a problem with that? Would the student have had to rewrite this assignment then?
If you think that assignment would have been acceptable, would your answer change if that writer was a black student?
If you'd still accept the assignment, don't you think that you'd be accepting a paper equally as racist as Troy's?
What if Troy hadn't derived so much pleasure from the writing? Would it have been acceptable then?
Why can we read terrible stories and gruesome details, but then censor our students when they write them? If we don't have to censor ourselves, why do we censor our students when we don't always agree with them?
Maybe my questions are out there and crazy, and I am in no way agreeing with what the student wrote. I think it's disgusting that people think that way. However, we accept when famed authors write about these horrors and I don't feel that we should censor our students (who could be the next famed author about slavery) when they react to writing prompts.
To take a question from my group's discussion, what if someone had written the assignment from the slave's perspective and had brutally murdered the slave-owner? Would we have had a problem with that? Would the student have had to rewrite this assignment then?
If you think that assignment would have been acceptable, would your answer change if that writer was a black student?
If you'd still accept the assignment, don't you think that you'd be accepting a paper equally as racist as Troy's?
What if Troy hadn't derived so much pleasure from the writing? Would it have been acceptable then?
Why can we read terrible stories and gruesome details, but then censor our students when they write them? If we don't have to censor ourselves, why do we censor our students when we don't always agree with them?
Maybe my questions are out there and crazy, and I am in no way agreeing with what the student wrote. I think it's disgusting that people think that way. However, we accept when famed authors write about these horrors and I don't feel that we should censor our students (who could be the next famed author about slavery) when they react to writing prompts.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Twilight and FanFiction
The fan-fiction stories are interesting! It is fun to see how people play with the characters. Some use the same characters but change how they meet, and therefore, the relationships they have with one another. Others pick up where one novel or another left off.
I read "My Own Secret" by FantasyChick101 and felt that this was a pretty interesting story (not commenting on grammar, style, etc.) Fan-Fiction would probably make a good alternative writing assignment for our students--it requires them to be engaged in what they read, to comprehend what they read, and to understand the characters presented in the books so that they can produce "accurate" fan-fiction. (I say "accurate" because you can't write Harry Potter fan-fiction with Harry being a terrible wizard, etc. You have to know the characters to write them.)
The article definitely had some good points about intertextuality. This story can be tied into stories like Romeo and Juliet (because they are from two different worlds and if they give in to their love they could both be destroyed), and others that use this idea of forbidden love.
I actually read a great reaction to this novel and the movies over the weekend. The writer said that really Twilight is just about repressed sexuality. Edward can't give in to Bella because if he does he might kill her, and Bella loves Edward enough to risk it, but decides to wait until he is ready. (This whole idea brought some laughs from my friends who said that you never hear men saying "wait.")
The book itself is a terribly-written good story. The actual events are exciting and push you forward through the book. The writing style is so cheesy and ridiculous that I had some difficulty getting lost in the pages. I was sick and tired of hearing about how beautiful Edward is, and I felt that "Bella's" narration was over-the-top throughout. It could have been simplified to create a more enjoyable read (and one that was about 200 pages shorter!), but I think this is an art that Meyer improves on throughout the other 3 novels in the series.
I read "My Own Secret" by FantasyChick101 and felt that this was a pretty interesting story (not commenting on grammar, style, etc.) Fan-Fiction would probably make a good alternative writing assignment for our students--it requires them to be engaged in what they read, to comprehend what they read, and to understand the characters presented in the books so that they can produce "accurate" fan-fiction. (I say "accurate" because you can't write Harry Potter fan-fiction with Harry being a terrible wizard, etc. You have to know the characters to write them.)
The article definitely had some good points about intertextuality. This story can be tied into stories like Romeo and Juliet (because they are from two different worlds and if they give in to their love they could both be destroyed), and others that use this idea of forbidden love.
I actually read a great reaction to this novel and the movies over the weekend. The writer said that really Twilight is just about repressed sexuality. Edward can't give in to Bella because if he does he might kill her, and Bella loves Edward enough to risk it, but decides to wait until he is ready. (This whole idea brought some laughs from my friends who said that you never hear men saying "wait.")
The book itself is a terribly-written good story. The actual events are exciting and push you forward through the book. The writing style is so cheesy and ridiculous that I had some difficulty getting lost in the pages. I was sick and tired of hearing about how beautiful Edward is, and I felt that "Bella's" narration was over-the-top throughout. It could have been simplified to create a more enjoyable read (and one that was about 200 pages shorter!), but I think this is an art that Meyer improves on throughout the other 3 novels in the series.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Blog about the weekend
As promised to a few of you, I wanted to provide a little update about my weekend in Indy! First, you can see our picture on their website (fan photos) by following this link: http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?evgroupid=0&userid=IndianapolisColts&gallery_id=1834596&image_id=59&pos=60 
We made signs (which you can see in the picture) and then got on the big screen at the game too. Apparently, we were sitting in the family section too, but the families must have been those of some of the benchwarmers because they didn't get too excited about anyone on the field.
I'm in the process of posting lots of pictures to my facebook page, but I added some here for fun. They are all taken from our seats, with not a whole lot of zoom.
Let's start off with Dallas Clark. I absolutely adore him.
With the uprights in the background, pregame. Dallas Clark is back there somewhere.
The one end-zone has some fun stuff for fans--you can put yourself at a press conference podium, or on a plane next to McAfee. 
Here's one with the cheerleaders right before the Colts come out at the start of the game:
Here's one with the cheerleaders right before the Colts come out at the start of the game: It was a close game, but a missed Texan's fieldgoal at the end ensured our victory: 20-17. GO COLTS!
Be sure to check facebook for more pictures, and I will see you in class Wednesday!
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