Square of Shame

I have an 8-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter. They both attend Maplewood Elementary school where I am having some problems with their discipline policy. My son would not obey the no-talking rule in the cafeteria when the lights went out. I'm sure he has done other acts to warrant punishment in the cafeteria also. His teacher sent me a note explaining that he had to stand in the "Square of Shame" in the cafeteria for his misconduct. He was also sent home with a detention. I gladly took him to his early morning detention; however, I was shocked that an elementary school would allow a punishment called the "Square of Shame". I could not imagine making any of my students feel ashamed of what he/she has done. I once observed a teacher tell a high school student not to leave her class for a college presentation. The student was told that her grades weren't good enough to even be accepted and the college was one of the most expensive around. I then watched this student fight back tears the rest of the class period. I want to educate students, not embarrass or criticize them. In college, I don't recall being taught the best ways to humiliate your students or make them feel like less of a person.
I know this has nothing to do with multi-modal literature, but it is still a worthy topic to think about for future teachers.

Film Festival

I attended the film A Place To Live today in Cleveland. It was not the original movie I had intended to see; however, Alternatives To Slitting Your Wrist was sold out. The documentary was about men and women over the age of 62 who gay or lesbian trying to relocate into Triangle Commons. This is a gay and lesbian senior citizen community for low income seniors. I felt it was very hard to separate my personal thoughts and opinions from writing an objective review. Aside from the issues involved, I would love to take my students to the film festival. I enjoyed some shopping afterwards. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience. Check out the Cleveland Film Festival website.

Film

I have been searching for links about film. I have found some sites dealing with film use in the classroom and one site is about film in general. These are for class; however, I will add the links to my blog. I liked this site about films because it classified them into the greatest 'something' of film. Anyone who enjoys things like-the best movie kiss or the greatest movie death-will enjoy this site. The first educational link to film comes from Rick Beach and his 12 module creation on how to teach film, television, and media. Robert Yahnke provides some film summaries, notes, and exercises on some classic films. Next, Karin offers some lessons using film, discussion, and a variety of other links. This final link is an article called "Teaching Psychology Through Film, Video" and explains some of the benefits of using film to teach. Some people might think film is only used by teachers for relaxation time. I'm sure that might be true sometimes; however, if chosen correctly, the film can be a part of the lesson also. Hope you enjoy some of these sites.