Nancie Atwell

I am glad that Dr. Kist chose "In the Middle" by Nancie Atwell for this semester. I can relate to her sentiment "I have almost overcome my anxiety about revealing to the world how hard and slow writing is for me, and how wildly off-base my first attempts can be" (p 26). In junior high, I was asked to attend a writing contest with a small handful of peers. We were given a set amount of time to respond to the prompt/topic given to us that day. I did not enjoy this. My own process of writing can be very time consuming. At first, it takes me a long time to focus my thoughts into one idea. This idea can then change many times through the writing process. I can relate to students who might not work well with forced topics and short time schedules. This was one reason I never entertained the idea of going into journalism.

Furthermore, I like her idea of giving students silent reading once a week. I know how busy life can be outside of class and work. My own habits reserve personal reading time for right before bed. This allows me around 15 minutes until I can't hold my eyes open any longer to read the words!

As with any teaching strategy that seems good while reading, I wonder how it actually works in the classroom. Is silent reading a waste of class time? Should students be writing their assignments at home and not during the school day?

Trying to Stay Awake

Education between 1864-1916, when students were required to recite lessons and articles, they were not learning important critical thinking skills. Teachers had complete authority. Students in poverty only learned the basics that allowed them to understand what their country expected of them. They weren't gaining the skills necessary to change that country into something better. It seemed as though learning enough information to go to work was enough.

The changing ideas that came between 1916-1983 made it possible for more people to become further educated. Educators still had a difficult time letting go of some control they had over students. Their 'toe-the-line' idea gives the impression that students were machines instead of free thinkers. The change to teach higher order thinking skills came closer to the end of the 1900s.

We still have many issues to work out with the roles of students and teachers...and how to balance those roles in a classroom.

Blocked

I just want to let everyone know how bummed I am that most of the technology we learn about in class is blocked from my school. I can't access my blog or the Ning from the high school I student teach at. This really disappointed me. The computers are also not very up-to-date. I was hoping to use Movie Maker during my time there, but the computers are too old to accept the program. I found it oddly amusing that one of the very first ads I opened the Internet to was for Michelob beer....but I can't access my class Ning....

Graphic Novels

I recently read The Complete Persepolis and was amazed at how it held my attention. At first, I was dreading this long, comic book type read. It's going to be difficult, confusing, or just plain boring. Comic books were never really my type of literature to read. This graphic novel was actually hard to put down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next as if reading any other novel. Cool! It's definitely a new experience trying to read the text and look at all the artwork. It took more time to read through than just text. This type of novel might help those students who are visual learners. The pictures give clues to feelings and thoughts of the characters that some might not pick up on with text alone. Before reading, I thought this type of novel wouldn't be part of my curriculum. Now, I think it's a nice change from the text-only novels. I'm curious to know how many English teachers use graphic novels because this was the first time I've encountered one.

Cell Phones

I recently read an article in the Tribune Chronicle about a school using cell phones instead of computers.(not the Tribune article, but relevant)(another article) At first, I thought...kinda neat! Then, I kept thinking about it. I wondered how this would help a student with disabilities. A student with low vision might have problems reading on a tiny screen. Students with cerebral palsy might have a hard time holding a cell phone in their hands. Also, I don't understand the need to eliminate the use of a computer. I know it takes up space, but is that a major problem schools are facing today? This relates to the article in class about cell phone novels. I don't think they are a bad thing like some of the critics in the article claimed. Creating a novel on your cell phone is a unique twist to the typical book novel. I don't think there is anything wrong with having both in our world. If students, or anyone else, will write a novel through their cell phone instead of a word processor, then...GREAT! But let's not take away the merits of our big computers and word processors just yet. Instead of focusing on how these novels came to be, we should celebrate the creative minds behind the words!!

Media Writing

I am currently thinking on how to incorporate a teaching idea into a news story for my Media Writing class. The professor wants us to write a news feature dealing with the media. Since I am a INLA major, I would like to somehow link the two ideas. My first idea is to say that the media portrays a negative image about our educators and educational system. My second idea was to discuss how teachers might incorporate the media into learning. I remember cutting out news articles from the paper to bring into class in high school. I'm just not sure what purpose that served. At the moment, I can't even remember if it was for English class or Government....My third idea is to say how teachers can implement new media into their curriculum.

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.