Yeah, we're going to have students that can't read, don't want to read, just don't read, but what about the students that love to read? The kid (like Taryn) that will read a book while you are teaching about nouns, the kid that will read the entire novel the night you assign the first chapter. In other words... how do we accommodate for students like we were in high school?

Melanie... give the option of a video project. Or maybe they could work with a partner and do a podcast interview with one student as Twain. I agree that powerpoints are boring. I always fell asleep during them.

Back to YA Lit...Again

I hope so too, Melanie...those are fun books...but ya know what? the reason that I think they're fun is not because I'm a guy but because of how they were taught to me...this is what makes me mad about this whole YA vs. Classics convo (as if to suggest that anything that is not YA is a classic...which it's not...anyway) I reject the idea that all kids will automatically like YA, as if it's some magical candy store that parents and teachers don't want kids to know exists because once they go inside they'll be corrupted and never enjoy anything of any real intellectual merrit (whatever that means)...no, reading YA is still reading! the kids who hate to read probably won't enjoy reading YA...sure, there may be some YA they take to, but who's to say there aren't some classics they'd take to as well...for me, it all goes back to teaching, and frankly, The Scarlet Letter is one of the most poorly taught books we have...teachers who teach it don't know what it's about! I get so sick and tired of people teaching that book during the early American unit because it has to do with the Puritans...Guess what teachers: it has just as much to do with modern society as it does with the Puritans...or heck, the society in which was written, the nineteenth century...teachers always bastardize their teaching of it which does two things in my mind: it perpetuates this debate over classics and YA because we think the kids have to find something to read, but at the same time it gets kids turned off reading...Melanie, I'm not talking to you at all, I just think it was a great topic to go back to because as teachers I want to caution us all against this idea that our students will enjoy YA, necessarily...there isn't anything necessary about it...some kids will and some kids won't...some kids like classics, some kids won't...but at least with classics (for now, anyway) we have the opportunity to teach them to see them in a different light...personally, this is a challenge to which I will gladly rise instead of throwing Harry Potter at 'em and saying to myself, oh well, at least it's reading....(i like harry potter, by the way...)

Last week

Working on this project made me wonder what the differences are between reading to one's self and reading aloud. My student could not remember most of what he read except for a few details. He read very slowly and deliberately. As I was listening and taking notes I wondered what would be different if I could find out what he was reading in his head. Sometimes we don't know how to pronounce a word, but we know what it means and how to use it. It's an interesting project for getting an idea of how a middle school student reads. One of the biggest concerns of a beginning teacher is knowing at what level students are reading/writing at. This was a good way to be better informed about their general skill level. 

Back to YA Lit

I spent another day at my school yesterday and discussed with my CT why the classes were not reading. The novel they are reading is The Scarlet Letter and with the majority of all the classes being male, I can see why the student may not read a novel. I asked my CT about YA lit and she said that in 11th grade she thinks its important to teach the classics because once the students get to college the professors expect you to have read them. I don't disagree with her; however, if the students are reading for lack of interest, I don't see a problem with allowing them to read a book they enjoy-especially this early in the year--to just get them to start reading. We start and Huck Finn and Connecticut Yankee in a couple weeks, so maybe these novels will spark the male's interest a little more. Let's hope...

Middle Schoolers

Before this class, I was all about high school, I did not even bother to look at jobs that were from Middle Schools. I don't know if I have developed a greater appreciation for middle school or what, but all our discussions makes me as excited about middle school as I was/am about high school. I agree with Nick, I think this class should be a full semester because I feel that I would have gotten more out of the Miscue Anaylsis project, also I would have liked to spend more time in Middle School classroom. Over my four years here at PU, I have always been in high school classroom for the practicums. I don't feel as prepared to teach a middle school class that I am a high school class.

Final post

This class was so short. I'm still getting things together from the start of the semester and this class is already over.

Since I'm student teaching in a middle school I feel like a benefited from this class, even though it was brief. Middle school is a lot different from high school and requires a different kind of approach to teaching - the kids are younger, and they have much different concerns than older high school kids.

Overall though, this class was a positive one. It helped develop tools that we'll use when teaching these younger kids.

Finding the perfect book

For some reason this whole miscue thing has got me thinking about how we, as English teachers, hold this belief that everyone actually loves reading but has yet to find the right book yet. And that I, as an English teacher, am going to find the magic book that takes student to that special place. What if that isn't the case? What if the student doesn't like to read because he or she doesn't have to read to get by day to day? I am not advocating giving up on the dream, but I am trying to be realistic about my goal. I may be able to help my miscue student, but what about the other 120 kids who enter my classroom? I am finding it hard to lead one student to that special book let alone the rest of them. This is just something that I have been kicking around in my head during this project. Everyone have a great student teaching session!

final thoughts....

So, at the end of one road, beginning of another....hmmm, I think I'll leave philosophical musings up to Jeff.
Anyway, final thoughts on this 6 weeks...I was surprised at how much my middle school ready miscued! I did the actual research part like 3 weeks ago...and she missed almost one word per sentence....she'd read "placed" as "paced"...usually a wrong word, but a real one. Thus, she pretty much missed a lot of the story; although she did claim that she realized, in her mind, when she messed up, but didn't want to go back and correct herself. hmmmmmmm....i wonder how much I miscue when I read. Pretty sure that most of it is when reading aloud, but who knows?
I watched Freedom Writers....LOVED it. :) I would of course. I guess it was sad that she lost her husband b/c she was so invested in teaching, but teaching was what she loved and wanted to spend time doing! I can totally see myself doing that, so I guess it's a good think I don't have a husband/boyfriend to lose? haha I loved that she got 2 other part-time jobs to help pay for what she wanted to do with teaching, but couldn't get support for. I don't think I'll have much trouble with that in the Westfield school system...I think they have a good amount of money to go around, for a school anyway. :)
It was interesting to note, in the film, that the teacher herself wasn't really in danger from the gang kids....but they were in danger from each other! hmmmmm, something to get used to at Jeff high school.
Well, "that's all folks!"

Middle School(ers) vs. High School(ers)

I think probably the most important thing I learned during this past 6 weeks about middle school teaching is that the reason teaching middle school is SOO different from teaching high school isn't' because the subject material is so differnt, but because the students themselves are so different. I've really enjoyed this short time to focus on middle school teaching, because I've always assumed I would teach high school....but now my first job is going to be 7th grade Language Arts....so I need to start getting mentally prepared now! I've definitely appriciated all of our conversations about what kinds of books to teach in middle school, how to teach grammar, and writing, etc. Honestly, the more I think about it (I hadn't even considered middle school before 2 months ago!)...I really think I might like to stick with those crazy hooligans, for a while at least! :) I think I really like the idea of their energy and goofiness, insecurity and everything else that comes with them. I think I'll be able to work with them more than I would with high schoolers...I've been in a 12th grade class, an 11th, a 9th, and a 6th for field experiences, and now in ST I have 9th, 12th and "upperclassmen"....so I've had slim experience in middle school classrooms, but after visiting the school where I'll be starting in January, and thinking about that one 6th grade experience I had....I think I am going to LOVE it! :)

Techonolgoy Projects

I spent some time planning my student teaching with my cooperating teacher today, and I have been assigned to create a technology project for during the reading of Huck Finn. Normally my teacher has her classes all do a powerpoint on Mark Twain and then present to the class. I am trying to come up with some other options. I still want the project to involve Mark Twain, but I don't want to grade 60 powerpoints of the exact same information. Any suggestions???

Postings for Last Week

Ok, so here we are--the last week of class! Write about whatever intrigues you, but you could focus on the miscue analysis project and what you learned about middle school readers from completing it. What do you think now that it's done (or almost done)?

Thanks for a great six weeks. Good luck with your student teaching and in your future teaching lives--I know you'll all be very successful! Keep in touch!

Janet

Banned Books
A Times article about the top ten most banned books.

Moving on, who's ready for student teaching? haha. I've worked with little kids (2-12) and I've been in high schools through Purdue. Middle schoolers have always been a mystery to me. After these 6 short weeks, I'm excited to student teach in a middle school.

Week Six Post One

Because I'm "old" I definitely have a hard time believing that students "need" cell phones. Even when I was in college the only students who had cell phones were rich kids with new gadgets. And they were mocked for talking on them in public! It seems in the last several years that parents are perceiving more danger than before. Have murders, rapes and kidnappings really increased to the point that parents must be overprotective? Sometimes I wonder if their paranoia is really a function of overexposure of those stories in the media. When one child is kidnapped every ounce of that story is all over the news. Of course parents should protect their children, but isn't the point of having children that we raise them into adults? I was in cars that broke down in high school on the side of the road. We didn't have cell phones and no one died or was raped or murdered or kidnapped. Honestly, those incidents came as opportunities to develop problem solving strategies. Now I know how to contact a mechanic, a tow truck and find a water pump for a 1989 Volvo. It seems today that in the same situations adolescents call their parents to the rescue; to solve their problems for them. I hope to press students to solve their own problems rather than using the phone to get the answers. 

are we so close to being done?!

ahhhhhhh, it's frightening...sort of. lots of mixed feelings, i'm on overload right now!
anyway, have some thoughts about grammar that i wanted to post before moving on to semester (aka 6 weeks) summary....
I personally, weird being that I am, LOVE grammar. I took a very intense senior grammar class when I was in 8th grade--it was taught by a retired college professor. Something about the way that she taught it, along with her creative writing course, helped me to understand grammar and actually like the fact that I understood it. I am going to be real, though, going into my 9th grade basic English classes; and I'm not gonna assume that my students will be able to love grammar just because their teacher (me) does. It does make a big difference if the teacher enjoys the subject, but I'm gonna have to find a way to help them enjoy it, too! I think the last couple of weeks talking about grammar in middle school classrooms, talking about how it shouldn't be taught in isolation....those discussions really helped me get an idea of how I can teach grammar to my students. I think that a combination of 1) excitement on my part, and 2) demonstration of how the grammar is applicable to other areas--will help the students "get it." But more importantly, I want them to see why it's important to get it.

Week 6- Post 1- Taryn

I know we're supposed to be summing up here, but I've still got some random stuff to say before I quit typing. SPEAKING of cell phones...technology in the classroom is obviously a huge issue today. The other day I was introduced to a SmartBoard and fell in love. They are AMAZING; if you haven't seen one, ask your cooperating teacher to show you one if they have them at your school. Unfortunately, English departments aren't generally very big in the tech department, and SmartBoards haven't changed that. (I had to go to the math room to check it out.) Although I'd have to agree that technology in the classroom is mostly beneficial, there's one area where it's questionable. That area = cell phones.

After having this incident occur in the classroom of my cooperating teacher, I remembered that it had happened in my classroom last year as well. Last semester, I wrote this in my reflective journal for Melanie's class:
"My designated teacher, Ms. Whitcombe, was teaching in front of the class when I heard a high pitched noise coming from one of the student’s backpacks. Although I’m assuming that everyone heard it, most of the students ignored the pitch until it was silenced by the student who owned the cell phone. I was shocked though, that Ms. Whitcombe didn’t say anything. I saw the student punch a few keys on his phone, hiding his hands behind his backpack, and then put it back inside, only to hear the high pitched noise coming from another student’s pocket, who silenced the noise and repeated the process. Baffled by my teacher’s lack of action, I told the student sitting near me to keep his phone off and put it back in his backpack. After my confusion that day, I explained the story to one of my friends, and only then understood the use of the “mosquito” ring tone. Apparently it is something that even college students use, although I haven’t ever heard one go off in class."

Welcome all, to the perks of cell phone technology. Here's the site where you can test the ringtone and see if you can hear it: http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/. Overall, I'm not sure how we can control something that we don't know is going on. I think the best solution here would be to have a policy on cell phone use in the classroom and stick to it. Watch for weird behavior and be aware as to what's going on in your classroom. By simply keeping myself up to date and aware of these technologies, I will have a better chance of preventing their misuse in my classroom. But seriously- who is coming up with this crud that old people can't hear?! How unfair!!!

The phone or the life vest?

Jeff, that whole thing did not surprise me in the least. I often feel that I am too reliant of my cell-phone. I often feel that most people are offended if they cannot get a hold of me as soon as they deem prudent. I too am a dinosaur that roamed in a time without the convenience of a cell-phone. What changed to make me so reliant? Is it healthy? It sure does not feel like it. The parents want to keep tabs on their kids for safety or other reasons. Can I fault them for that? I don't know. Maybe it makes them feel safe, but does it work? I think the cell-phone is just another leash that we give kids. What is funny about your situation is that the parents could just choose to spend the weekend...a weekend...two days!!! with their kids so that they don't need the use of a cell-phone. But that may be just a dangerous....maybe more so.

scary stuff

so i thought this was kinda funny...basically, for my class of juniors, in a few weeks, they'll be doing a unit on transcendentalism which is a literary movement that preaches, amoung other things, total self-reliance and sacrifice...as a way of hammering the message home, so to speak, my teacher suggested to the class that while they're reading Walden, they try to go without their cellphones for a weekend...a weekend...two days...yeah...when he said this, a few hands immediately shot up and confessed that their parents wouldn't allow them to do such a task because it would be placing them in unneccessary danger...not knowing whether or not these students were kidding, my teacher and i discussed the issue with our principal during prep period...he confirmed that in the past when teachers have insisted their students attempt similar tasks during the weekend, parents have complained that going without cellphones is dangerous and the school has no right asking students to do such a thing for a class project...yeah...scary stuff...i for one didn't have a cellphone until my freshman year of college...no one had them when i was in high school and certainly those rare few who did never brought them to school....of course, kids change and all that stuff, but seriously--parents complaining about not having a cellphone? just add it to my laundry list of societal concerns...peace

Some Chicks for you (some for your class)

I, the tomboy that I am, don't like "girlie" works. I've never seen "The Notebook" and never will. So, here are some female works that don't put me off. 

Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Frannie Flagg

The Collected Dorothy Parker - Dorothy Parker

The Lottery - Shirley Jackson

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? - Joyce Carol Oates

Madame Secretary - Madeleine Albright

The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek - Naomi Wallace

Special Topics in Calamity Physics - Marisha Pessi

Bee Season - Myla Goldberg

Sarah Vowell - Assassination Vacation

Enjoy!

What I've learned...

Since I've been in English Ed. I've always said I wanted to be a middle school or junior high teacher. I was disappointed with some of the classes that we took that geared most of the assignments towards teaching high school students. Even though most people say that middle schoolers are crazy and hormonal, they are still a lot of fun and many are still open to learning and being in school. Sometimes it's hard not to laugh and things they say and do, which could be a downfall!
Middle schoolers are different from elementary kids, but different from high schoolers as well... They're still developing the way they think and feel about topics... The discussions on grammar and reading were very helpful in really THINKING about how to teach this age. It was also good to have a classroom management plan project... Things we've never really had to look at before this six weeks!

From all the reading and discussion we've done in this class it seems that middle school is different from the high school experience. Students, to me, are still growing in significant ways. By high school students tend to have more established personalities and cliques, but middle school students are less defined. They share characteristics of both adolescents (high schoolers) and children, which makes them their own creatures for teachers to work with. With high school students I feel more like I am preparing them for college, but middle school students I'm preparing them for high school and being a high schooler. It seems more apt to have social programs and lessons for middle schoolers because they are not fully developed yet. They are often rowdy like children, but are obsessed with adult material. I do not always find these qualities to be negative. Middle school students are less self conscious than high schoolers, and therefore more willing to engage in the "fun" activities in class. As we prepared the grammar plans many of us in the class used games as means of engagement and practice. I'm not sure we would necessarily approach the material the same with high school students because they are closer to being adults. I think the material we've studied will come in handy when approaching a middle school classroom. 

I learned...

....that teaching middle school is not wholly different from teaching high school, but I must take certain things into account. They are looking up to the high schoolers and want to be like the high schoolers, but they do not think like the high schoolers. I discovered that they are really starting to develop the character that they will carry with them throughout high school, and unfortunately in some cases, life.

I think that I would really enjoy teaching at the middle school level. I still believe that I would want the older kids, but overall I would probably find the experience very satisfying. I am not sure if the class made me realize this or if it was the visits to my classroom, though.

Foreign Language and Grammar

On Tuesday, about the time Leo mentioned wishing he'd paid more attention in his foreign language classes, I was thinking about how much more I learned in my Spanish classes. In high school I really didn't pay attention, but during my college classes I started paying a lot more attention (especially after I switched into English Education). Some of the terms that I learned in Spanish (the language), I still think of in Spanish. I had to take a Spanish lit class as well and remember more terms and examples from that than any English class I've taken!

Nick D

I'm starting to think about my school more and more each day. I thought that as this start date grew closer I would become more nervous, but really I'm just starting to feel excited - and unprepared.

middle school teaching

i'm not sure if i learned anything about teaching middle school that is more important than learning that i may want to teach middle school....i never thought i would want to teach those kids, especially after the enlightening rigor that comes with teaching college...yet even with my brief exposure to my eighth grader at northridge, i was pleasant suprised to see that middle schoolers offer a unique teaching experience...in short, i've learned that they're willing to listen! of course, as with any level of academics, one has to earn their respect, but they're learning about so much more than school stuff in these years of their lives...teaching, thus, grants people the opporunity to potentially affect middle schoolers in much more profound and diverse ways than in high school or college...as far as certain pedagogical styles or lesson plans, no, i'm not sure i've crafted my views on teaching to any great extent...however, six weeks ago i never would have considered teaching middle school and now i realize, it wouldn't be so bad...in fact, it may be quite rewarding!

Last week of posts

Hello, all. We have one more week of class, so I think this is a good time to do some "summing up." Overall, what do you think you've learned about teaching English in the middle school/junior high? Do you think you might want to be a middle school/junior high teacher? Why or why not?

Janet

Connie and Starbucks

I think Connie makes a great point with her random, yet not so random, posting of poem from a Starbucks cup. We all have different opinions, experiences, and expectations and I think its important to keep this in mind in our class discussions. I think there have been many respectful and insightful conversations within the confines of our class, despite my sometimes lack of comments in class all the discussions spark a thought or two, and I appreciate all the different opinions expressed in class.

From Leo, to Taryn....and anyone else that cares to write

I think this is a great question. I love the male dominated books that seem to litter our classrooms and the canon. I also realize that not all people love these books or the books' bias toward the male sex (and sometimes gender). This actually has recently stressed me out because I want to find "good" (if Jeff will allow me usage of the term) female authors who write in "good" female protagonists. I have been avidly reading female authors in hopes of finding this diversity. It is not as easy as it sounds. I am not saying female writers are not as good or that the protagonists are not as compelling, but what I am saying is that female writers have not been on the scene as long and therefor it is hard to find a large selection to choose from.

I believe Frankenstein is one of the greatest books of all time, let alone the best written by a woman, but the protagonist is male. Wuthering Heights seems to deal more with the male hero than you or I might like. And as you implied, Scout is just a little too butch.

So, what I would like is the titles of good books written by women. I am sure that between the nine of us that I could gather a pretty solid list. I have no problem bringing in diversity as long as the novels stack up to the rest.

Week 5- Post 2- Taryn

I know we talked about this in Melanie's class last semester, but regardless of how many times we bring it up, the male dominance in canonized books never ceases to amaze me...

Most books assigned to me in high school were written by white-male authors; similarly, their main protagonists were usually males. Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men and Invisible Man were just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. Even looking at those titles after I type them, I realize how much male domination is taking place…Of Mice and Men, Invisible Man, The Great Gatsby. (And Gatsby is a man; therefore making him great, right?) The only book that I remember reading that had a female as the main character was To Kill a Mockingbird. Even then though, the narrator is very tomboyish; even her name sounds male.

The only book that we read with a female character was The Handmaid’s Tale, and all I can remember is the guys rolling their eyes and groaning in their chairs because the book gave “too many implications on the suppression of women.” My boyfriend barely made it through the first chapter before he started to look for the Sparknotes. On the contrary, he loved One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Brave New World: both of which had male characters as their leads. It never really hit me that the sex of the characters could be one of the reasons why the male students didn’t seem to like certain books as much. The Handmaid’s Tale was a completely different style than the usual books we were assigned, but I never “put two and two together” and realized that this could stem from the main character’s sex.

My question is, what do we plan to do about this gender dominance in literature? I know I'm stereotyping here, but, for the most part, girls seem more capable of relating to male character leads than boys can relate to female character leads. Does this mean we should really only pick novels with male character leads? If we can get all students to be interested in these books without too big of a fight and the girls can adapt to the male dominance, then why not? Are we ignoring good books because we don't know how to get the boys interested in them? Should we? Just some food for thought...

Responses and Starbucks...

As we were sitting in seminar tonight, I was drinking my Starbucks pumpkin spice latte and happened to look down at the poem on the cup. It seems to fit with both things we've talked about in class and things that have been written in this blog (not in a negative way, but just FITS). The poem is called "The Way I See It" by Desi Di Nardo:

"The way I see it
Isn't necessarily
The way you see it
Or the way it is
Or ought to be
What's more important
Is that we're all
Looking for it
And a way to see it"

I actually think I was inspired by Starbucks... I'm considering hanging this up in my future classroom. It fits for many situations. It can be paired with the subject of English easily (not just because it's a poem) and may help us to keep an open-mind, not only to each other as peers, but also to our students and their opinions and readings. Replace the first few "it"'s with English, with MTV, with 'crap reading'... replace the last few with knowledge... or patience... or art or... you choose.

teaching grammar

Today in class we're going to talk about teaching grammar--so I'll ask you about it now. What are some of your thoughts? What kinds of long term plans are you making in your grammar plans? What do you think is most important, grammatically, for middle school students to know? How are those things different from high school knowledge (if they are)?
Janet

Arts and Crafts

Okay. I will grant the both of you your points about keeping the student interested, the TV station doesn't make you dumber, and that what is important to me is not necessarily "good" and what is bad, for me, is not always "crap." I think what I am trying to speak to is the fact that I am supposed to be somewhat of an expert on English. I am supposed to have solid pedagogical reasoning for my choosing of texts. I am the one who has spent the time to truly understand Language Arts. So shouldn't I be capable of identifying "good" writing and texts from "bad" or "crap" writings and texts? If I cannot make that distinction or if I cannot be "right" about what is "good" or "bad" writing then who am I to grade the papers of my students?

Let me make something clear, I do not want to turn students off to reading. I am not a canon nazi. I do, however, feel that I am equiped to determine the difference between Art and Craft when it comes to English literature. I may not always like the things I read and teach, but I should still be able to tell the difference between the art of F. Scott Fitzgerald and the craft of James Patterson. It is no different than someone with an Art degree understanding why Jackson Pollock's paint sploches mean something and my paint sploches mean nothing (or at least very little by comparison).

Week 5- Post 1- Taryn

In response to Leo and Jeff:

I think we have to refer back to Janet's post when she says that there's not necessarily a "right answer" to all of these questions. Although we feel we know what would be best for our students, each individual situation is obviously going to vary.

I agree with both of you in the sense that MTV may not be the best station for anyone to watch 24/7, but my point is- if it sparks your interest, it will likely lead you to something else. I don't think it'd be smart to consistently allow a student to read celebrity gossip magazines in the back of the classroom, but why not do your own research for that student and find a book on something that has to do with something similar: the perception of famous people or how the paparazzi has gotten out of control or how the laws that should more greatly protect those in the public eye or whatever else can relate back to The Enquirer that the student refuses to put down.

I'm just saying that we should use their interest in things (any things) to spark them into greater understanding and further interest. There are millions of pieces of literature, articles, and commentaries about pop culture today, so why not use these sources as a tool of enlightenment instead of simply taking away the source of the spark?

do it anyway!

I'm encouraged by what Janet said "we're all teachers at heart"....and I do see that in my own life, in all areas. No matter what I'm doing, what setting, or who I'm with, I usually like to take on the role of a teacher in some way....I like to explain things to people, help guide people, be the leader of the group, etc. And I also think that I'll really need to take to heart the advice that we latch on to the joy of teaching, and leave the negative behind. I'm afraid I might be the type of teacher to brings it ALL home....and I can see myself having haunting nightmares about my classroom/students and all the things that have gone wrong or could go wrong....but I'm gonna really have to make a concious effort to focus on the good!
Also, in response to....dang, now I forget who wrote it....but whoever said that you just won't be able to get kids to read if they aren't interrested or don't want to. I would absolutely beg to differ! Maybe I'm just an exception (personally, I think not)....but I would always read what was assigned, and I can remember MANY times when I did NOT want to! I read Tale of Two Cities in 8th grade....(try reading just the first couple paragraphs now, guys, it's rough going!) and I soo didn't want to; it took like 20 min. to read the first half-page! nasty! but I read it anyway, and Moby Dick (ewww!) and Fountainhead, and others...not because they interested me, but because I was supposed to, I wanted a good grade, I knew I would learn something from it, I don't know! But I don't think we should just assume the worst and have low expectations of our students! Sure, some aren't going to read cause they don't want to or aren't interrested. But if we expect that, I think we're a lot more likely to encounter that!

Hidden Intellectualism

yes, i stole the post title from a gerald graff article, but for those of you who didn't know that, I'll take all the credit for it...in response to the discussion between taryn and leo, i'd like to chime in with my two cents, as is my way, of course...leo, i hear ya, and agree with you in concept...yes, ideally we'd live in a world where students would enjoy the canon...however, realistically, we'd like to live in a world where students may not necessarily enjoy the canon, but wouldn't fuss about having to read it in school with the hopes that they'd get something out of it...yet, realistically, we'd like to live in a world where everyone can read...yet, realisitically, we'd like to live in a world and not get shot by a enraged student...realisitically, we'd all just like to live...point being, i agree with you in concept but as graff argues, often times as english teachers, we privilege certain areas of scholarship over others...for example, he argues in his article, that teachers inherently value shakespeare over car magazines, and i hear echoes of those same sentiments in your previous posts...you've expressed your concerns that anyone who watches nothing but MTV will eventually be a dumber person. my response is twofold: dumber than what? and why MTV? i have a colleague who is writing his dissertation on Youtube...another colleague of mine wrote his entire master's thesis on MTV's coverage of the 2004 presidential ecletion, and i myself wrote my master's thesis on YA Lit (as you know)...so, what's my point? my point is graff's point: that there really is nothing inherently "good" about the canon just as there is nothing inherently "bad" about car magazines...you use the word crap in your postings to describe that which, I can only assume, you don't consider academically viable...but "crap" is a value judgement. just like good, great, gay, sucky, awesome, or okay...you can't "prove" the crappiness of a text anymore than you can "prove" the existence of God...or lack thereof on both accounts...thus, you reflect the notion that society functions along a lines of dubbing opinions facts and in turn refuses to accept that perhaps by studying car magazines (as i often encourage my students to do) one can learn a great deal about gender bias, visual rhetoric, and classist assumptions...sure, MTV has a lot of crap on it, but in and of itself, watching it won't make people dumber...maybe they're dumb to begin with for watching nothing but MTV...or, maybe not...

a little psychological rambling

In many ways when you are teaching and making decisions about books to teach, assignments to give, etc. you really just have to trust yourself and your knowledge. That might sound overly simplistic, but you have been to college for at least four years, and you _do_ know more than your students both about English and about teaching (and arguably about life). That's not to say that you will never make mistakes or modify your practice to make it better. I just mean (as you know) that so many of these issues we're discussing have no right or wrong "answer." You prepare as much as you can, walk into your classroom, and do what you know you can do. Make every day a new day and leave negativity behind when you go home at night--focus on the joy, in other words, of being a teacher. It really is awesome, and I have a feeling that all of you, like me, simply couldn't do anything else. No matter what our future professions may be, we will always be teachers at heart. It's just who we are.
Janet

banned books - nickD

I find it really hard to believe that "American Psycho" is actually on the banned books lists. It should have never found its way into a high school library under any circumstances.

I've read "American Psycho" several times and I own the movie as well - it's one of my favorites. However, I do not feel that this book should be in the hands of anyone under the age of 18 as it is probably the most explicitly violent pieces of literature ever written - and I mean that.

Why was this book banned from a high school? How did it get in there? "American Psycho" has no place among children particularly because, I feel, it would be one of those materials that could easily inspire similar sadistic behavior not to mention the psychologically damaging aspects that it could inflict upon a minor.

(But... I recommend everyone who hasn't read it pick it up, or at least see the movie... although the movie is really really really watered down)

You work for who???

I totally understand where you are coming from, but I don't know that I totally agree. If you work for them then do they get to choose the curriculum? Do they get to choose what is important? My real question is who are they to choose? They don't know, that is why it is our job to tell them what to know. Of course, if what i am doing doesn't work then I need to try something else. My problem is going in with the mindset that I can't make it work and instantly going with what is easy. If it gets hard....work through it. Don't go around it or turn back.

PS. I love Great Expectations. What digit am I? Have a great weekend!

Post Two

The problem with throwing what we think is important at student is that if they don't like it they won't read it. No matter how important it is, no matter how useful it is, we can't make them read something. The answer to that isn't MTV or porn, but rather finding works/activities that promote engagement. I am not one to pander to my students, but if what I'm doing as a teacher isn't working, then I am always willing to try something different. For instance, I have to teach Great Expectations. I can name the people that like that book on one hand. I am spending a great deal of energy trying to find tactics and tools to more easily get through the 500+ pages of Dickens's ramblings. I can try games, or short stories with similar themes but less pain. But we are doing our students a disservice by telling them how and what to do without trying to find out what they need. There will always be the students who do exactly what we want when we ask, and we will love them for never causing us trouble and justifying all of our choices as teachers. But if that's our goal, then what's the point of working in public schools? In a lot of ways I work for them, not the other way around. The goal is for them to succeed and I am there to help them.

In response to Taryn's response to me:

Yeah, so that is what I am getting at. The idea that you stated, "if they can find something that keeps them interested and doesn't do them any harm, why not let them be enthralled with whatever they choose?" If I can't decide what is crap than how can I decide if it is "doing them any harm." I firmly believe that if you watch nothing but MTV then you will become a dumber person. You have no balance. Your viewing world is filled with sex, drug, and immoral values. That seems harmful. If they read nothing but ONE genre and the genre does not create good balance than should I be excited just because they string words on a page together? I am not excited by this. I feel like it is just giving up. No, not every student is going to fall in love with reading the canon, but does that mean they shouldn't have to read it? Why does the student have to like everything we throw at them? At some point don't they just need to know certain things? I don't know. Novels without substance is like food without nutrition. Both seem to do harm.

PS. I realize I have no data to prove that reading "crap" is detrimental to mental health, but I don't think anyone here has data to prove that it is not harmful.

Week 4- Post 2- Taryn

In response to Leo:

I think you bring up a really good point. What if all our kids like to read are trashy books and celeb-gossip magazines? In other words, what if our students enjoy reading crap? Is that really good enough?

Not everyone feels the way we do about English. Most people I know roll their eyes when they're told they have to read a book. (I about pee my pants with excitement, but that's only because I have the English major/super nerd combo.) My ex wouldn't pick up a novel if you paid him to, but he's an extremely intelligent guy who finds anything interesting that has to do with math or mechanics. Magazines about computers: fabulous. Short articles on the newest cell phone technology: he loves it. News stories on tracking devices: all about it. But hand the kid a novel and he'll barely make it through the first page without crying.

Here's the thing...we all have different likes and dislikes when it comes to what we read about. Most of what the average person likes is much different than us English nerds. And who gets to define "crap" anyways?

So do I let my 11 year old student read the romance novel in the back of the class during silent reading? Hell yes I do, because good God, she's freakin' READING. I've heard too many stories about limiting students' choices when it comes to texts and, to be quite honest, it rarely turns out very well for motivational factors. I say that if they can find something that keeps them interested and doesn't do them any harm, why not let them be enthralled with whatever they choose? Even if I personally consider it to be nothing more than smut, at least some form of reading is sparking their interest.

Response to Mel

Okay, so I have to say that your boyfriend is wrong in various respects by saying that everyone hates English... I'm not just saying that because I liked it (A LOT actually). I feel like most students say they don't like it because they're tired of doing the same things year after year: the same types of essay, grammar over and over again, reading "HUGE" novels, etc! A lot of kids just hate getting up in the morning and coming to school in the first place and for those kids, English is not going to be the only subject that they hate. This may not be the most insightful response, but basically: not everyone hates English class.

In response to your second blog: I did the SAME thing except it was with a student that's actually going to be in my class. She comes up, sticks out her hand, and says "Hi, I'm ___" and I reply with "I'm Connie" and then "OOPS I mean Ms. Bruce!" My cooperating teacher said I'm still in 'helper' mode, but the real 'teacher' in me will come out once I start.

WOW, SORRY MELANIE

whoops, um, yeah I don't know what I was thinking, but my last post to ANNA was really meant for Melanie...sorry you two...and, Melanie, regarding your second shorter post about not feeling you're a teacher...um...none of us are...no worries...i'm not...you're not...yeah, in the eyes of Purdue, we're pretty damn close, but don't worry if the feeling doesn't consume you the second you walk into a classroom...it takes time! trust me....trust me...it took me three semesters to realize I was a grad student, a year to realize I was married, and only recently have I begun to think of myself as eve ready to teach high school...but, guess what: none of us are high school teachers...sure, we're "teachers" in the colloquial sense of the word, but we don't have students yet...we don't grade papers on the weekends...that will come with time! you'll know when it sinks in...it may be after grading your first round of papers, or yelling at your first class about how their papers sucked...or it may be the first time a student says "thank you" or maybe "i hate this class"...who knows...but you'll eventually feel that way...and when you do, it will be great...trust yourself

Anna, here ya go

I hear ya, yo...first off, I think it's important for you to decide what "english" means to you...i'm in no way trying to be "that guy" here, but seriously, when you say you want your kids to love English when they leave your class (which I feel the same way), what do you mean? I know what I mean when I say it...I mean that I want my kids to appreciate the inherent value in texts as well as the potential to use that value for their own gain...how we define "value" "text" and "gain" is obviously something fun to debate, but essentially I want my kids to learn these things for themselves...that's me...what about you? What about English do you think is so important? What do you think is worthless? anything? the question becomes not so much how we avoid the stigma, but where the stigma comes from and how to confront it...not avoid it...hit it, head on, kill it, change it...save the stigma, save the world...guess what: English aint the only class with preconceived stigmas, so get out of that mindset...ya think math teachers have it easy? or science teachers? or social studies teachers? school in general has a stigma attached to it so don't pay any attention to what your BF says about you being "down for the count" because as a teacher, if you are in fact "down", you're gonna be laying next to pretty much everyone else who's ever wanted to help a child...there's comfort in that, anna...i know I mentioned this in class, but i'm reminded of what thomas friedman says about teachers...he notes that we don't remember good teachers for what they teach us but rather how they made us view learning...english is a great subject...but it isn't the only subject...any teacher can change the lives of their students through caring instruction and by making learning seem 1) accessible, 2) rewarding, and 3) exciting...ya wanna avoid the stigma: do those things! the stigma will still be there, and sorry to say that not everyone is going to love English when they leave your classroom...you have to understand that...let me say it again: not everyone will love English when they leave your classroom...some will...some will hate it...sorry...but you'll be a good teacher, anna, if you remember why English excites you and show that (not teach that, but show it) to your students...we all remember teachers whose passion for a given subject--any subject--made learning that subject worth while...that's cool!! on a more personal note, and forgive me if I'm overstepping my boundaries here, but you may not want to let this issue go with your BF....it's vital--VITAL---that you have support from the people who love you...now, of course, support does not necessarily mean that you'll always condone one another's decisions...but what you have in quotes in your post doesn't sound like its very comforting...you need to take care of yourself, anna, and I'm worried about what will happen if you just let his comments brush off your shoulder simply because he's your BF...talk to him about it...anyway, that's enough for me....at the end of the day, you're the teacher--who cares about the stigma...do your best, try your hardest, enjoy yourself, and remember that despite the recent scholarship, sometimes teacher centered learning isn't such a bad thing...but you don't have to take me word for it...

One more thing...

I met with a student form Tecumseh this week and discovered I have yet to feel like a teacher. This scared me. I still introduced myself as "Melanie" and I felt that when I was interviewing him it was more as a friend than as a future teacher. I don't think the situation warranted an authoritative persona; however, I thought I was going to be able to transpose from student to teacher easily, but I am still thinking as a "student who will become a teacher." I think the student teaching period is going to be a huge transition and maybe I'm expecting too much from myself to be the "teacher" already when in actuality I have had very little time in the classroom in the span a teacher's career.

Does every student hate English?

Here's the set up: my boyfriend and I went and met my parents for dinner in Peru and on the car ride back the BF and I had a little tiff that I feel I need to share. I have no doubt that he loves me dearly, however, he hates English, English teachers (except me of course) , and says that all his friends in HS hated English too. How this started is I was jabbering on (yeah, can you believe that? =) about all my inhibitions, concerns, and excitement about upcoming student teaching. We started discussing the climate which I want to have in my class room, and my concerns about not being the "push-over" teacher and being able to be quick on my feet and to have the classroom that students want to be in. He says to me,

"Well, everyone is going to hate coming to your class no matter what because it is English. You are already down for the count."

Grrr.. I did my best to explain to him that students may hate English when they come into the classroom, but I want them to love it when they are leaving. I was very discouraged after the argument and started pondering my future as a teacher.

How are we as teachers going to overcome this stigma? Internally, what kind of mindset are we going to need to have to not be discouraged by those students (maybe classes of students) who hate English? I foresee a tough obscale with a classroom of students who do not want to be at school let alone my English class. How can a teacher transfer his/her excitment for English without being that overly enthusiastic joke of a teacher? I am not naive enough to think that all my student would love English, but I had hope that there would be some students willing to learn.

Thoughts?

A teachers dream...

I know we want to make every kid into a lifelong reader, but at what cost. I mean, what if all they read is crap? Is that good enough? I will admit, I read some crap, but that is only because I read for BOTH entertainment and enlightenment. For instance, I love to read the canon and that controversial book... the Bible. On the other hand, I like to read Dean Koontz, James Patterson, and a whole slew of other writers that I call "easy reads." Sometimes it is just too tiring to read nothing but the canon. The thing I worry about is if the students are ever going to read the canon or anything worth its salt (my new favorite saying apparently) if they are only reading for fun. I am sorry, but Harry Potter did not really "speak" to me. I liked it...a lot, but J.K. Rowling is no Mary Shelley.

Miscue text

I just remembered that when I was in love with Harry (yes, Harry Potter) I got two small paperbacks that are written as if they are textbooks owned by Harry himself. I'm willing to let any of you borrow them if your middle/junior high readers are Harry Potter freaks. Just a suggestion.

Week Four Post One

I personally enjoyed the Alexie novel a great deal. I am also currently finding that posting *after* class is a mistake, because I'm certain I am going to repeat myself. I do keep wondering if we have trouble categorizing the novel as YA literature because it is good. Often the arguments for YA literature involve scaffolding, and by extension, the inability of some students to comprehend more difficult works. We often do not see YA as another type of literature with different but valid uses. I often find YA literature simple, flat, and almost insulting in its condescension. Most times I have been assigned the works I loathed them for the lack of subtly and abundance of stereotypes. But, maybe that is a function of bad literature rather than merely the genre. I liked The Chocolate War and The Absolutely True. I also look forward to reading The Book Thief. As more well-known and respected adult authors are writing YA literature these books can possibly be better tools in school. There was mention of a Joyce Carol Oates YA novel, and I am curious to read it. She is a great author who produces work that students can learn a great deal from while still including other benefits of YA literature. Hopefully there will be more quality literature geared towards younger audiences. 

week 4 post 1 nick

A diverse selection of literature for classrooms is probably the most benificial thing for students. YA lit is always easy for students to comprehend, though not really much of a challenge for them. Other works can provide this challenge later, after the intrest in YA literature has sparked their attention.

If all we're trying to do is make our classrooms into better students, then there's no reason why we shouldn't be using all of the tools at our disposal.

MARY!

I will bring in some graphic novels for you to read. You need to at least see them for yourself. I have just a few, but a range of what they can be. I'll bring them either to the 5:30 or on Thursday.

pictures help...duh

I loved the Sherman A. book...read it in one sitting! He has such a strong voice, the character...I could almost imagine hearing him talk, telling me about Penelope, Rowdy, his alcoholic dad, the Coach, etc. What I found most facinating though, was the cartoons that were inserted strategically here and there throughout the story. After thoroughly examining a few of them, as I came upon them in the reading, I realized that I was getting a much more in depth explanation or description of something than I would have if I had just read the plain text. So I did a little experiment, and the next time there was a cartoon, I skipped it and finished the chapter, and then went back to the cartoon to see what I had missed....and it was actually quite a bit! You can infer a lot from pictures, and the little word or thought bubbles he added....and it made me wonder if that is what graphic novels are like, in a way?? I don't want Nick to be offended (or anyone else), but I've never read a graphic novel, so I don't know what it's like. But after my little experiment with the cartoons in "...Part-Time Indian" I think that it would be beneficial to exercise the students minds in different ways, and have them learn to read graphic novels well! So much more going on there!
Goodnight, see ya'all in the mornin'!

Week 4- Post 1- Taryn

Connie,

I can completely understand your concern. I went and met with my cooperating teacher last week and was a bit nervous as well. But it sounds to me like it might be a little better than you think...Think about it: only one classroom where you see possible discipline problems with? That's fantastic! Of course you're going to deal with discipline in every class, but I think that will be something that will come naturally.

Last semester when we had to teach a lesson for Melanie's class, I taught to two completely different groups of students. The first period class was completely quiet and not very participatory. I was so nervous that I forgot to look at my lesson plan in front of me. The next period was completely different. They were nothing but trouble, and I've never had more fun in a classroom in my life. We were bouncing jokes off of each other during the lesson and I learned to have that familiarity with them within a matter of minutes. Basically, the group that I thought would be easy turned out to be difficult, and the group that I thought would be difficult turned out to be a blast. I never would have guessed it until I got up there. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that we can sit and observe and think we know how things will go, but until we develop relationships with the students as a whole, we won't know what the heck is going to happen.

And as for the "extra set of eyes": I think that's a good thing. I've already been told that on the first day of my student-teaching experience, my teacher will be out the door (leaving me alone with a billion eighth graders?! AHHHH). I'm sure you'll do just fine, and if you're in your 8th week and she still hasn't left, then mention it. It doesn't take anything more than saying, "I appreciate you being in the classroom so much, but I'm interested to see how the kids react to me being the only adult in the room. I just want to make sure they'll respect me either way." Done and done. You'll be fine; we'll all be fine; it's just going to be a little stressful at first!

Experience

Thanks Anna!

I went into my classroom for the first time today... met the teacher... the students.... was really excited... then it turned into nervousness. For one, though the majority of the classes were great, at least one period I'm afraid of having discipline problems with. I could see the difference in her demeanor from class to class as well. Is that a learned trait or does it come natural with the teaching position and the different personalities in each class? Also, my cooperating teacher said she's going to stay in the classroom with me the majority of the time and take care of the administrative work and be an 'extra set of eyes'... I know she didn't mean it to make me sound like I'm under a critical eye, but the thought still makes me a bit nervous. The other thing she said was that she'd be there to help me control that one not-so-good class... I kind of need to learn to do that alone, right? On a positive note, she told me I can tweak projects and such to put my own spin on it but I'm still feeling a little bit like I'm under her eye... or something.

Reading in class

How much time is too much time for eighth graders to read silently to themselves in class? I have to consider two things: 1) Some of these kids are not going to read at all if they are not reading in class, and 2) if they read for too long then we run into disciplinary problems and, well, a waste of good teaching time. I am thinking nothing longer than 15 minutes....ever. I don't know though because if I am reading a novel then 15 minutes gets me nowhere. And to narrow down my question, I DO mean a novel. I don't want you to say, "just have them read a short story or poem or graphic novel" because that does not help me. How long do I give them to read a required novel? Do I read out loud? Also, if you are willing, give me a little pedagogy with your responses please.

PS. I think you all deserve a little background to know where I am coming from. A certain teacher that I will have close proximity to in the near future LOVES her reading time. I need to have good reasoning behind cutting it in half or all together. Thanks!!!

Reading

Hey Connie,

Try a news article or a short story on the internet. Or use the Google book search, they have excerpts from books there.

Miscue

When I get back from SC, I'm going to spend an extra day at home to do the miscue analysis project on my little cousin who goes to my old high school. (This way I don't have to take students away from classroom time) He's a freshman and an excellent reader, but I'm having trouble finding something interesting (and semi-short) that he hasn't read for him do for this assignment. Any suggestions?

it's all about cooperating and compromising

Hey All,
So I filled out my first professional job application on Wednesday...for Westfield Washington Schools. It was just a general application, but at the end was a quiz. 32 questions. If you don't get a high enough school on the quiz, you don't even get an interview. (the principal gave me a few pointers before I filled out the appl--aka took the quiz).

I noticed a theme throughout those 32 questions, which was something that J. Alsup discussed on our first day of class, regarding the difference between a middle school and a junior high. The questions were situational, "what would you do in this situation" kind of questions. Multiple choice answer. All of the right answers involved team work, finding a way to work together, discussing the root of a problem, recognizing the students as "unique individuals," and cooperating with parents, other teachers, the principal and the students. I don't know though, I think sometimes they expect a little much in the way of working things out. For instance, if two kids in my class aren't getting along, I think I probably will just separate them....rather than having a conference with the two of them to figure out why and what we can do about it! balogna! Anyway, I do think teamwork is a good thing...but just not too much. :)

miscue stuff

elisha, you're stealing me idea for the graphic novels!!! idea stealer...but alas, it proved to be a very interesting experience...last week i did all four sessions with my little kiddo down at northridge, and let me tell you, she's a sharp cookie...i did find, though, that when recalling the events of the story, she was describing, essentially, the illustrations: as if to suggest that the pictures, believe it or not, actually HELPED her understanding of the story itself! obviously there was more to the entire process, but i found her vivid recalling of the pictures as well as the prose to be an interesting by product...as far as YA goes; i have yet to read the novel for next week, but have loved the past alexie novels i've read and definitely think they have a place in the classroom. aside from their sheer pedagogical merit of being about a foreign (to most) culture, i think he's an adult writer who speaks to children as opposed to a hacky children't writer who tries to make novels sound grown-up...if that makes sense...i think it's interesting that most people say the book necessarily is "relatable" to teenagers because the characters themselves are teenagers...for those of you (leo?) who know about the work i did in grad school, you know that i have issues with the homogenizing of the teenage world: in other words, just because two people are 14 doesn't make automatically make them any more similar than someone who is 14 and someone who is 40...it makes sense to think so, but we have to be careful not to lump everyone into the same circumstance...one of my former students said it best one time....he was a black student from the inner cities of chicago. in our unit on diversity (or lack thereof) at purdue, he says to the class, "shit, i'm more like the white boy over there from new york than i am to the brother over there from evansville!" his point was well taken. as with age, we tend to be somewhat racist in our depiction of diversity. we ignore the implication that ALL BLACK people must have shared experiences merely because their black...with age, though, our ignorance is much more subdued...i think as teachers, all of us, for one reason or another, need to believe that ALL TEENAGERS share experiences merely because they're the same age...after all, how would we teach in a world where everyone is as diverse as some schools makes it appear?

Week three Post Two

I just finished interviewing my miscue analysis student and I'm not sure if I got the responses I was supposed out of the student. Many of the questions on how the student reads or where he/ she learned to read encouraged nothing more than a stare from my student. He clearly has reading problems, but he doesn't seem particularly concerned about them. Far worse than that is that he has done almost no reading in his class thus far because the students are preparing for ISTEP. Maybe that's a huge problem in his reading skill level. He couldn't answer how the other students in the class read because he has never heard any of the read. The class is taken up by mostly grammar exercises, which are not reading. It is difficult to get a middle school boy to critically analyze his own reading style/skill/habits. From my observations so far, they are far more concerned with other things. So it seems I will most likely have to gain my own insight from the observations and not as much the questions. I think I will try the graphic novels on this student, he already mentioned reading a few Marvel comics over the years. I intend to question him both about the images and the reading material and the relationship between the two. 

Alexie

I LOVED this novel... I couldn't believe how hard it was for me to put it down! In reply to why it's considered YA Lit: Yes, the protagonist is 14, but think about what it could mean for a teenager (specifically a teenage boy) to read this novel. He may completely relate to the 'locker room' talk about masturbation and knocking each other out... but he may also see the that guys CAN be sensitive. Guys DO cry, it's not just a girl thing.
This novel could reach a variety of audiences. I wanted to laugh and feel sympathetic for the characters all at the same time. Alexie did a great job on the dialogues and phrasing things the way he did.
Something interesting: on the back of the book, the advance praise from Neil Gaiman says, "I have no doubt in a year or so it'll both be winning awards and being banned." Even though there's some material that shocked me when I first started reading this book, it's sad to think that it could be on the banned book list for many schools. There's so much more to it!

taryn

That is fine, as long as you didn't highlight or underline. Oh, and you're welcome.

Week 3- Post 2- Taryn

I finished the book last night and absolutely loved it. I really like Alexie's style of writing; the storyline itself was also fun to read-- Is that weird to admit that I enjoyed this book a lot more than I have enjoyed many "adult" genre books? I found myself laughing out loud at certain parts and feeling terribly sorry for him at the same time. Obviously, good authors can make their audience feel emotion, but I think Alexie did an excellent job of making us feel more than one emotion in a given situation. The chapter "And a Partridge in a Pear Tree" cracked me up and made me feel horrible for Arnold at the same time. It begins, "When the holidays rolled around, we didn't' have any money for presents, so dad did what he always does when we don't have enough money. He took what little money we did have and ran away to get drunk..." After his dad saves the five dollar bill for Arnold upon returning from his drunken week, Arnold narrates, "He could have spent that five bucks and stayed drunk for another day or two. But he saved it for me. It was a beautiful and ugly thing." I really think these last lines set the overall tone for the story. It's true that the Indians on the reservation were dirt poor, had drinking problems, and were generally depressed about their social conditions, but at the same time, they stuck together like no other culture. "It was a beautiful and ugly thing." Overall, I have great admiration for Alexie and his ability to turn a terrible situation into something witty. If any of his other works are like this, I'm going to have to check them out pronto.

P.S. Leo- Thanks for letting me borrow your book. It came in handy on my trip through the Amazon Rainforest where I held it above my head as not to get wet...oh, and also to lure fish in for food. I'm sure that it will still be readable if you can get the pages to separate again.

What about the "bad" words in this "YA" novel? So far I've seen bastard, shit, and ass and retard is used inappropriately. Thoughts?

Alexie

I finished the novel as well and I also enjoyed it. I honestly don't know why it is considered a YA book though. It reads about the same as all his other works. It would seem that either Sherman Alexie writes at a YA level (which I doubt is the case) or this work was deemed YA because the protagonist was 14. This makes me wonder why Catcher in the Rye is not a YA book. This novel had some "adult" themes (i.e. masturbation, alcoholism, violence, and racism), so what exactly gives it the label of YA? Maybe it was the pictures. Oh and by the way, a personal opinion, the pictures added zero depth to the book. Why capitulate to the graphic novel genre when you are capable of writing real literature? (And just so everyone is aware, I intentionally mocked the genre of graphic novels...OMG gasp!!!)

Sherman Alexie

I just finished the Sherman Alexie book and I throughly enjoyed it. I know that there are many different opinions about Young Adult Lit, and I think The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a great example of YA Lit. Even as an almost 23 year old, I found myself identifying with the narrator and I think many students would be able to as well. For me, it was a simple read so I can foresee using it in the younger middle grades, but I think it would be a great novel to use in a class that crosses into other disciplines. For instance, this novel could be read in an English class the same time that a History class is studying Indians and thier struggle. I think Alexie makes the struggle that Indian people endured tangible for students. I am interested to hear what everyone else thought about the novel.

Week three - post one - nick

This miscue analysis project can be done very differently based on what we have the kids reading. Jeff's ideas regarding graphic novels interested me because reading a graphic novel is almost like two seperate forms of reading - understanding the words, and interpreting the images.

Each of us could have very different results with this project based on the content we choose and the readers we end up working with. It'll be pretty cool to see what happens with this.

Going back to Janet...

Because I'm behind in posting, I am only going to address the questions Janet has posted...

I like grammar; I like teaching grammar; and I like diagraming sentences. I want grammar to be a decent part of my future teaching. I think it is important for students of all ages to have somewhat of an understanding about the terminology, usage, and context. I have not yet worked in a middle school class or with a middle school studnet; but, I think that grammar needs to be approached from a baby step system. For instance, learn the terms and definitions then move on to identificiation and usage.

I am not for sure whether teaching reading and writing in middle school is going to be that much different in teaching in high school. I guess the students' abilities will be different so a teacher will have to adjust the material used; but as I think back to my middle school years I don't remember many dranstic differences between high school and middle school reading and writing, just maybe the degree of difficulty of the text.

Teacher identity is not something I have had to address quite yet because I have not spent a considerable amount of time consecuatively in a classroom, but it is something that crosses my mind. I get the feeling sometimes that teacher are expected to keep their personal lives completely out of the classroom and to just be "teacher." I will not be able to accomplish that; I may be quiet when people (students) first meet me, but once I am comfortable I find it hard not to make converstation about the weekend, what I do in my own time, my family, etc. Personally, I think that is what makes a great teacher; one a student can relate to. I worked with a teacher, my favorite mentor teacher thus far, that would take time every Monday morning and ask her students what they did over the weekend. She would allot for this casual conversation in her lessons, and I think it was important because the student became comfortable with her that if they did have a problem with school or question about an assignment they would not feel intimiated to apporach her. As a first year teacher, I do not foresee being able to give the first half of every class on Monday to casual conversation, but as I mature as a teacher I hope to incorporate something of the like. Just as I ask the students about their weekends, if I am asked I want to feel comforable enough that I can talk about my weekend (short, sweet, and discreet, as to I know students who take advantage of teachers who get off topic) so I can keep my personal self, or the person students see outside the school walls, consistent to the person who stands in front of them for 50 minutes every day during the school week.

teacher identity

Hello, all. Just a few thoughts today on the development of teacher identity--I conducted a research study a few years back which focused on interviews with three pre-service (and then first year) English teachers. They, like you, struggled with negotiating their "personal" or "core" identities and subjectivities with this sense of "teacher." Often the participants in the study felt torn between who they felt they _really_ were (their hobbies, ways of speaking and acting, personal lives) and what the teaching profession and the so-called "teacher" identity demanded that they be. Even when this difference was not emphasized by their instructors or supervisors, the new teachers _felt_ it and hence felt a sense of insecurity, discomfort, and even confusion as they moved into their new professional role.

So what helped them make the transition successfully? The new teachers had to find a way to integrate their personal subjectivities with their newly-felt professional obligations. They couldn't completely banish their "old" selves; they had to find a way to bring their personal selves into their professional role in a productive way. For example, while you may not want to share every detail of your personal life with your students, you may want to share some details that intersect with class discussions, literature you are reading, etc. While you may not want to share everything you do on weekends, you want to allow your personal passions to inform your professional life when you can (e.g., bringing in pictures from your recent vacation to London when studying Shakespeare or describing your own experience in a first year writing class when teaching writing). The key is not to create two separate identities so that you feel fragmented as a person and like you are always playing some kind of fake role when you teach. There must be some kind of harmony among your various "selves." I know that's easier said than done, but I think it's important.

Janet

Week 3- Post 1- Taryn

Now, this may seem like an inappropriate comparison, but I'm gonna go for it. (Forgive me for my insomnia and restless brain.)

When I went to visit my school, I was also shocked at how small the little stinkers were. I felt more like I'd walked into an elementary school before realizing that I thought I was "mature" in eighth grade. (HAHA- yeah right!) Their fashion sense did seem to reflect that of many college students as well, but I was more amused by the situations going on around me rather than their attire. Here are some of the conversations/actions I saw occurring in my brief five-minute hallway observation.

Dialogue 1:

"Mr. Huffman- you're my friend. HAHAHAHA. Isn't that funny?! You're my frieeeeeeeeeeeeend Mr. Huffman. Don't you looooove having me in your class 'cause I'm your friend. HAHAHA."

"No, Ashley*, I'd rather just be your teacher, thanks."

"HAHAHAH! Ohhhhh well. I'm still your friend Mr. Huffman. I have to get to my bus though...BYEEEEE! HAHAHAHA!"

Situation 1:

Lone shoe in hallway on ground. Student picks up missing shoe, starts to hysterically laugh, then proceeds to chuck it at nearby boy. Boy gets hit in back with shoe. Boy turns around, picks up shoe, chucks shoe up at ceiling. Boy and all friends burst into laughter. Another student picks up shoe, carries it over to teacher, starts hysterically laughing at the fact that someone is missing a shoe. Teacher takes shoe from student, thanks student, returns to class.

Now the clothing that the students were wearing was not the only thing similar to college students in these examples. The students seriously act like they're little drunkies. I'm not trying to be funny here either; think about how many times you've watched an intoxicated college student make an idiot of himself by his immaturity or infatuating amusement with the stupidest of objects or conversation topics. This is exactly what the middle school hallway reminded me of. We talked about how the brain is developing so strongly at this point in their lives, and it really makes sense now. They're hyper, attention craving, exploratory students who act just like the bar-goers of West Lafayette. Isn't it sad to realize that so many people you know basically allow their brain to spend every weekend as if they were in middle school? When people drink that much, it's as if they lose enough brain power to the point where they could be considered an 8th grader. Sober up, classmates, because in three weeks we'll begin to have to deal with the miniature versions of Harry's customers, and it won't be fun unless we know how to handle them properly!

It all goes back to expectations. The older generations expect kids to be kids. And with the growing span of adolescence allowing more time for kids to be kids, the time of middle/junior/high school is not spent helping students mature but rather giving the excuses that, well, "Kids will be kids" instead of having them learn from their mistakes.

...

"tweener" ........hilarious. You know, when it really comes down to it, I just don't want to see any butt cracks and cleavage. Being that I see both...in middle school, I think that they are simply trying to imitate college students or TV or magazines. I am not a fashion cop. I do think that it is important to inform the students of exactly what their appearance says about their professionalism.

Week Three Post One

I was also in my middle school today and noticed much of the same dress habits as Jeff. The students dress exactly like college students, or is it the other way around? Students seem no more mature than any other time I've interacted with the early adolescents, but I have noticed as well that college students do not look like young adults. They look no more prepared for life. The attending-class-wearing-pajamas look is still strong, but even their dress clothes don't speak to the fact that within a few years they will be professionals. I wonder how we are preparing students for life if they aren't progressing towards adulthood by the age of eighteen. Students (and adults) will always slack, but as people inch towards responsibility it seems they should get better at hiding it, or at least realize how offensive and immature it appears to others. I know when I am doing something I shouldn't, so I at least make the effort to appear polite. But like the middle school students, college students aren't concerned with how adults view them. These issues do make me concerned that students are not moving towards adulthood with the right tools. Granted, I'm still on the fence whether my job is to teach students how to dress and act like adults. But I am interested in teaching them to speak and write beyond that of an eighth grader. 

since you insist on a title...

so here's some food for thought (i know, leave it to me, rigiht!): i began doing my research for the miscue project today at the junior high and was pleased to be greeted by a classroom full of apathetic and fidgety eighth graders. i picked a kid to observe and will commence the more rigorous portions of the project later on in the week...BUT, i noticed the weirdest thing...we all know how kids dress, right? i mean, nothing really out of the ordinary was going on down in northridge: cargo shorts, flip flops, the shaggy hair--no big deal...i found myself reflecting on what nick said the other day about forgetting just how small the little tykes are...they were all quite tiny...but alas, i did my work then left...when i got back to campus, though, and walked through the union, it really hit me: the union was full of junior high kids! well, actually college students who looked conspicuously like enlarged versions of the tweeners i just left thirty minutes before...the college kids were dressed the same as their tweener counterparts and, for the most part, were engaged in the same range of activities found down in north ridge: people were sleeping, flirting, gossipping, zoning out, texting, testing, and a few were actually reading...okay...so no big deal, we all know how we dress and act too...but it reminded me of what tom wolfe says in his book I AM CHARLOTTE SIMMONS about how college kids today are really grown-up versions of fifth graders in their bevavior and dress...certainly that isn't how it used to be...college kids used to dress differently than kids...EVERYONE DID...but indeed something has changed...now, of course, shorts on a game day are a whole lot more comfy than slacks and a blazer, but i'm wondering if there's anything else to this idea of dressing, essentially, the way little kids do...is this a manifestation of arrested development or merely a cultural shifting in style? or both? or neither?

In Response to Janet's Questions:

I haven't read everyone's post since my last one, so I'm going to go back to discussing Janet's questions...
I don't think teaching reading is exactly the same thing as teaching literature though there may be some similarities... at least not in the way that I think about it. In a sense, there do have in common that students should be learning and thinking about what they are reading; making sense of all those words on a page. To me, teaching literature seems like it would be a more in depth process. Students are presumed (though not always correctly) to have the ability to make meaning of what they are reading so the teacher does not always have to go through every chapter every reading in order for students to understand it. Teaching reading seems more 'basic' for some reason. It doesn't seem like students are presumed to have the ability to make meaning with very little help. At the middle school age though, most teachers assume that students can read: that they can put the letters and sounds together to make words and then with guidance, make a greater meaning.

Honestly, I'm not sure I know what the writing level of a middle schooler should be like. I have no idea what they should be writing about or how much. I visited my friend's 4th grade classroom and she showed me some of their writing, which just seemed to confuse me even more. They were at so many different levels that I'm not sure I would know what type of grade to give them! The expectations from middle and high school writing would be pretty different, at least I would think so.

As for grammar, I think students need a mixture of both. There are some terms that I still couldn't give an example of, but know how to write it. Some students may need that terminology and vocabulary to help them remember to write it correctly though. Practicing writing is important know matter what type of student they are though, especially with all the pressure of testing.

Teaching and Coaching

I would tend to agree with you about the fact that teachers who coach/sponsor ANY type of extra-curricular seem to have a better connections with the students. In many cases I have seen that there are less discipline issues as well. The flip side to this is there is more of an issue with students overstepping boundaries (i.e. talking about sports when they should be talking about verbs). I think the reason that the students seem to be, as you put it, "closer" to the students is because the students are afforded an opportunity to see the teachers outside of the classroom setting. The students begin to see that you are passionate about some of the same things as they are be it football, theater, or debate (and the list goes on...).

coaches

I'm wondering what it is about a teacher/coach that makes their relationship with all students so different from "just teachers." I was thinking the other day about the fact that it wasn't just my own coach that I interacted with a little differently, but also the other coaches that I had for teachers. Even if I never ran track myself, when I had the coach as my teacher in Etemology, I saw him as a coach and teacher....which was more. All the students just seemed to be a little bit closer to the teachers who coached a sport, or ran theatre, chior, brain game team, or something else. I think it's because as students we knew that cared about us and were willing to invest in us more than just as teachers.

P.S. The middle school and high school in the corporation I'm teaching in starting in Jan have BOTH called me now to ask if I would coach swim team! yay!

I'm picking up what your puttin' down...

Jeff, I am not entirely sure how I feel about the whole situation. On one hand we want more parental involvement and accountability and on the other hand we want to "cut the cord." But I think the problem lies in the fact that WE as TEACHERS give the students about a hundred mixed messages. Allow me to get passionate (or rant)....

I am going to use males in my explanation because I am a male and I understand them a little better than I do females. We ask boys to grow up and become men. Then we tell them that there is no pattern for men. Some people see men as rough, some as intellectual, some as nice, some as mean, some as effeminate, some as masculine. Essentially we tell them that there is no mold of what a man is or should be. At the same time we tell them that everyone is right. Well ladies and gentlemen, someone has to be wrong (GASP). If we want kids to become adults we need to show them a better model of what an adult really is. I have a pretty solid construction in my mind of what a man really is...or can be. I cheat myself by tailoring MY construction of what a man should be so everyone has a chance to be right. Forget that, they are wrong (concrete thinking? Or someone that is decisive?). It does not surprise me at all that the parents of college freshman are calling the professor. These parents are the same ones who do not see their sons' as men but as little boys off to school. I fear that this is only going to get worse. Our society is soooooo scared to hurt someones feelings that no one is willing to have a backbone and say what really needs to be said.

Here is a little stream of consciousness for you. I am going to say what must be said so that we can all be better teachers and we can help our youth fulfill their proper position in life. Here goes: No one can be better at being a man than a man. The inverse is true as well, no one can be better at being a woman than a woman. The minute you begin to mix the two to create some homogeneous being that cannot choose between becoming a man or a woman then you have a being that is incapable of "growing up." Of course they see college students as kids, we have no right of passage. We have no male sphere or female sphere. We are failing the students by teaching them that a woman can do everything a man can do and that a man can do everything a woman can do. This is false. We are different.

While I realize that this is only a small portion of the grand topic that Jeff presented about fear in our society. I think that much of this fear comes from people not knowing their own roles. Am I a parent or watchdog? Am a friend or a teacher? Am I a role-model or just another person with a job and I should be allowed to get sloshed in front of the students I teach (I am fully aware that I blew that topic out of proportion, but seriously, where do we draw the line)? I don't know, I just felt like some of these things needed to be said.

To Jeff: What do you attribute the fear shift that happened from the 80's to today to? Just wondering. Everyone have marvelous weekend!

Dear Mary

Hi Mary. I don't have a boyfriend, just so you know. He's just a nice guy that likes that same movies I do and is home by himself a lot because his wife is an australian model who livcs overseas. So what? We sometimes go out and get a drink in town or catch the late show at his place. No big deal. I don't think my wife would even care if I told her. So anyway, just wanted to clear that up. He's just a friend.

Week 2- Post 3- Taryn

In response to Mary's response to me (catch all that?), I agree completely. We shouldn't have to live two separate lives, and if we are, then maybe teaching isn't the profession for us. My life is made easier by the fact that I am a straight, middle class, non-alcoholic, non-smoking female. But I'm just saying, what if that weren't the case?

I don't think having a glass of wine in a restaurant is a big deal, but what if the parents of one of my students does? I guess I'm just worried about what other people think in these situations because it could potentially jeopardize my career if someone were to blow things out of proportion or be extremely uncomfortable with something about me (or any other teacher for that matter). I know that in the past Jeff has dealt with students twisting things into something they're not, and it's not a fun experience.

My main point is, how are we going to deal with the people who don't like something about us and don't want us teaching for that very reason? I'm not talking about myself specifically, but think of a homosexual teacher; it would be extremely difficult to teach in a "typical Indiana" classroom (forgive my stereotype for the purpose of hypothetical situations here). Do we have to follow the teacher-norm and fit into that perception that everyone has of us, and if not, how far are we allowed to deviate without it affecting our jobs as teachers?

untitled thoughts

(in response to Taryn) I am totally fine with allowing my "profession" of teaching to "define who I am".....to some extent. I'm not saying everyone else should mold their life around the fact that they're a teacher---and always be worrying about what they're doing/how they look outside of the classroom in case a student were to see them. But for me personally, I think that making my life outside of school continually reflect my status as a teacher won't be that difficult. I won't have to give up a lot or make myself into someone I'm not--I'm probably just a very boring person, and I was born already teacherish. :)

I also have the mentality that I really want my students to see that I am more than just an English teacher. I want them to realize that I don't sleep on a cot in the back of my classroom, the librarian isn't neccissarily my best friend, I do go shopping occassionally, I am part of a family, I own a dog, I go to concerts/movies/plays, I go out to dinner sometimes (and I might be sipping a glass of chardonnay, which is totally fine and I would never be embarrassed about!)....all these things make me just another person in the neighborhood (albeit the boring one). I think that students will respect my concern for their future more if they know that I'm not "just a teacher." If I act like I have two lives: in-school and out, and never the two shall meet, and teaching is just a job, just a profession to me...I think my students will be able to see through that mentality and then think of themselves as just part of my job.

But, like I said, I don't have to make major changes to my lifestyle to allow my teacher life and real life to mesh. I won't have to give up crazy nights of getting sloshed, or pack up all my mini-skirts and belly shirts; I don't have to cover up a million tatoos or take out piercings all over my face, I don't have a girlfriend (who I'd have to think about whether I keep secret of am open with my students).....as I said before, I'm pretty plain. I don't think I have to dress like I would in the classroom all the time; if a student saw me in jeans and a t-shirt at the movies with my boyfriend, I'll still be "Miss Koss" 9th grade English teacher, but they'll also see that I have another life---and it's nothing to get excited about!

Whatever, I'm rambling now....but so far I've only written about how I feel personally about this issue as it pertains to me, but I will say that I don't think Taryn should have to pack up all her tank tops that show her shoulders. Nor should any of us feel guilty about wine at a restaurant. Nor should Jeff have to hide the fact that he has a boyfriend (if that were the case)...haha, sorry. I think some level of discretion out to be required of all of us as teachers, in and out of the school, but we don't have to be "teachers" everywhere we go. If you feel like you have to change who you are, or lead two lives by being a teacher, maybe you ought to find another profession? I don't know...that sounds harsh, but I would feel sad for you if you were trying to be someone you weren't just in case a student saw you.

one more thing...

regarding leo's comment on my previous post about bus stops, I would have to say that it isn't community that we lack so much as it's community that we fear. ignorance is one thing. certainly our 80's upbringing brought with it more health hazards and just flat out stupid habbits than the wiser, more conscientious parents of today. but i think there's something to be said about the pervasive trend of infantilization that's infiltrating not only our bus stops but our class rooms as well. you said it yourself in class today, leo: why must we use the students' discursive space as the only arena for instruction? Why not have them come to us, to our level? and i agree with you. i'd have to argue, however, that waiting with the kids at the bus stop is in many ways conceptually the same as using blogs and chat rooms as a viable substitute for term papers and essays: it isn't just about paranoia, in other words. Both are predicated on keeping the child close to that with which they are familiar and thus denying them an opportunity to grow. yeah i could have been swiped by some bad guy when i was six. maybe my parents were ignorant for letting me walk home by myself, maybe not. (personally, i lean toward the latter because I'm still not convinced the world is really any more dangerous than it was in the 80's when we were in the middle of a war and a recession...oh wait) But kids today can still be swiped and ya know what, i wonder if in all the time the parents stand next to them at the bus stop in the mornings, they tell their kids what to do in case some old man comes up and offers them candy. cuz maybe deep down the parents can't bring themselves to imagine a situation in which their babies will ever be on their own. hopefully not. i see it in my freshman, or rather in the emails i get from the parents of my freshman who demand to know why little jimmy got a B on a paper when he was an A student in high school....yup...college freshman...adults...my mom never would have dreamed of emailing MY COLLEGE TEACHERS about why i got a certain grade on a paper. but that is happening more and more often. parents of grad students...GRAD STUDENTS...are renting apartments for their children not because their kids lack the verbal or mechanical skills to do it themselves but because, and i've actually heard this before, "kids don't know what they're doing with this stuff." Kids? Grad students, kids? If they don't know how to do something, why not, I don't know, TEACH THEM! but no. that's just not how things are done anymore, it seems. i don't think wanting to see kids walking home by themselves reflects the absense of caring on my part but rather i believe the refusal to allow kids the maturation of walking home alone demonstrates the paranoid anxiety that something bad is always around the corner and by extention a total absense of faith in the decency of mankind or the benefit of individual growth: the lack of caring. ya wanna show kids you love them, teach them to be individuals. teach them to think. teach them to stand up for themselves without our khaki-clad legs there for them to always hide behind when things get a little on the uncomfortable side. oh, and just because something's written in a passionate manner doesn't automatically qualify it as a rant. in order to spare yall a rant, i'll stop now and go to bed. peace, i'm outta here.

Pinot Grigio

Taryn raises an interesting point about the extent to which our personal lives need intersect with our professional--cuz that what it is, a profession--lives as teachers. The issue of sexual orientation, for me, is especially poignant because, though straight, I find the assumption that I'm straight somewhat perplexing. I probably will never have nor will I feel the need to announce to the class that I am straight: it's what's expected, it's what's "normal", it's simply an unmarked assumption. However, what kind of predicament does this put a homosexual into? Knowing that they are entering into a situation in which their perceived sexual orientation will most likely be wrong, do they have a right to disclose their lifestyle to their students? A responsibility? Why is it okay to discuss what my wife and I did over the weekend but not okay for me to talk about the movie my boyfriend and I saw? Is there even a difference and if so, why and if so, do we do anything about it? In trying to establish some sort of bond with our students, is information like this counterproductive or necessary for fostering an emotional connection? And Taryn, what if you were an alcoholic? Is that something that should determine whether or not you're hired? Or whether or not you can be an effective teacher? Of course, I'd like to think we're inclined to say "absolutely!" if for no other reason than to this day we insist on berating the legacy of our former democratic president for a character flaw that in no way influenced his presidency. Character matters, especially in America and, damnit, especially in schools. What about religion? I can wear a cross on my neck with a certain degree of freedom that I fear doesn't exist for someone who wishes to wear a Star of David or turban. Right? Wrong? Briefly regarding Janet's question about the differences between teaching reading versus literature, I liken it to the difference between humans and mammals: all teaching of literature will inevitably involve some sort of reading instruction but as per our discussion today which, according to Nick was interesting (thanks, Nick), not all teaching of reading will or necessarily should involve literature. There we have it. Now you know the rest of the story.