Reflection for Pytash

I have learned a lot in Professor Pytash's class this year. I went into it, as I did with Dr. Kist's class, thinking that all we would be doing is lesson plans and reading theories on how to teach all the time. I was thankfully mistaken. In our class I have learned to much about how I am going to develop my classroom in the future. We have looked at texts in such a deeper way than I have any other class. We have broken up into groups and dissected material and learned from each other on ways in which we can teach the material in our classrooms. I also have loved actually reading about all the ways to approach Literature. I knew about feminism, and Marxism and etc. However, reader response and topics such as that were fun to learn about. I have a new look at how to truly analyze Literature. I think that professor Pytash made us really think about ways to involve ALL students when reading a book. She let us know that not all students are going to be able to get the message that other students are going to pick up easily once they begin to read a book. She too has had so much experience in her teaching and she was able to share stories with us about ways she has worked with students, and what she has found to be helpful in her adventures as a teacher. I plan on taking away the lessons, the activities, the critical thinking and all of the MANY ideas we talked about during our group discussions in class. Professor Pytash, it again has been a pleasure being in your class this semester. I know that you may think sometimes I prefer, oh say a football game, rather than class! However, I want you to know that I truly have learned so much from you over the year. You have been so kind to me and all of my other peers in the classroom. You treat us with respect, and truly give us every opportunity to learn as much as we can. You have been a great role model to me, and I will take the lessons and insight you have given me throghout my career as a teacher. Again, thank you for all you have done!

Reflection of Multi Modal

I have honestly thoroughly enjoyed being a student in this class this semester. It has opened my eyes to a lot of issues that we will be facing in the future as teachers. I think that there are a lot of things we have used/discussed that I'll end up using in my class in the future. I will certainly create wiki space for my students for a project. Personally I thought that was the best project that we have had all year. I love the fact that we are all able to gain/learn from everyone else in the process of creating them. It has been interesting learning about how things such as cell phones, movies, music, TV and even the internet are such useful tools that we can use as teachers. Most of the time when I thought about what my classes would be like once I got into my education classes here, I assumed all we were going to do is write lesson plans and study about theories all the time. This class showed me there is so much more to teaching that not only enhances us as teachers, but allows us to develop our students as well. Students are going to be technologically advanced when we begin to teach them. Being on the same page as them when we enter the classroom is not only going to make me confident, but I'll be at a comfortable and understand level with them on things that will be going on in their lives. Looking back at my blog, I have grown over the year. I still don't think I'll ever use a blog in my classroom just because I still haven't found the love for them that I had hoped to. I have thought about using a blog however, it would really be more of a journal that the students could write in at the end of the class period. I would not think that I'd ever make it a requirement outside of the classroom. I have changed my views about worrying whether or not I will know how to use some of the sites and gadgets that my students will be using as well. I have never been technology savvy but I feel like now I at least will be able to join in discussion. Finally, Dr. Kist, I just wanted to tell you what a pleasure it has been being a student in your classroom. You truly are a remarkable teacher and I am not just saying that because you hold the ticket to my grade :) I am saying that because every week we come into your classroom and I can tell you really are enthusiastic about what you are teaching. You know your content and have given us tools that we will be able to use in the future that will make us more successful in our careers. Over the year you have treated us with respect and been a great role model. Thanks for everything you have done!

Jago Chapter 7

I liked this chapter due to the subject that it was talking about. I personally used to HATE classic Literature. I still find myself finding new pieces to try and dissect and I still get frustrated at times. Jago takes her time and patience when she is teaching this topic. She lets us know that she believes it's imperative that high school graduates know how to read such Literature. Pieces of works like these have shaped the ways that poems, books and movies have been made over the years. It impacts them whether or not they want to admit it. On page 154 I liked how she confronted her class with the question of : "Who would make the best President out of Julius Caesar, Brutus, Cassius or Antony?" It's enabling students to look at Literature like this that is going to help them actually start to learn and understand the issues within the text. Jago also lists ways to actually assess whether or not students have been reading the texts, or whether they have gathered information from friends or merely internet sources. She takes a closer look at their work to see if they actually had a deep reading of the text or just on overview look at it. I am happy that I had to take an AP English class my Junior and Senior year before I came to college because I know how to read these kinds of works and how to analyze them. Unfortunately, not everyone was blessed with those opportunities and it has hindered them in college. I hope that teachers like Jago start taking the initiative to make this topic an important one in their classrooms.

The power of TV

I have been sitting here the ENTIRE day with my roommates watching every single Harry Potter movie! Lame, yes I know, you can judge me. We have sat here for the past 12 hours just watching these movies. The fantasy and all of the creativity put into them has been fascinating to me. I know that TV doesn't really seem like a topic of blogging that I should be writing about when I am supposed to be blogging about our future as educators. However, I think that movies like these are great for students. The fact that as a 21 year old adult I can still enjoy the fictional aspects of these movies is awesome. It allows my mind to think creatively and wonder off to places that textbooks or even most novels can't even take me. I know that Harry Potter is also such a widely recognized series of books that millions of Americans are hooked on. Some students don't have the attention span to read a book that is over 400 pages long. Yet, I guarantee a student could sit down and watch one of these movies for 2 and a half hours and would be able to articulate all kinds of aspects that were put into the movie on a paper that they could write. It would be an easy assignment and it would still be considered educational because they would obviously have to dive deep into the movie to analyze it. Just because students aren't strong readers, it doesn't mean that they are terrible writers. Sometimes it's extremely difficult to write on materials you find difficult to read. I think creativity is half the battle when it comes to writing, and these movies certainly spark that part of ones brain. I easily think things like this could be incorporated into the classroom.

American Born Chinese vs. Naruto

The two graphic novels are similar and different in a lot of ways. I am going to talk about American Born Chinese in this paragraph because I would have to say that of the two, it was my favorite. The way the novel was set up was that of a normal comic to me. It read from left to right, had color, the scenes were depicted nicely on each and every page. With all comics it's either extremely hard or quite easy to follow the dialogue of the characters. Gene Luen Yang did a great job of having the flow of conversation easy to follow throughout the novel. The bubbles came in sequence as my eyes moved across the page. The sound affects I think came at appropriate times in the novel. I am not a fan of authors writing out sound affects, I think they should be implied. However, they certainly were not overdone in the novel. I thought that the characters were drawn very well throughout the book. Each page they looked the exact as the same before and they were believable. You could tell there was a lot of detail that went into creating both the fictional and non-fictional characters of the novel. Even the Monkey King and all of his encounters had details about them that made them intriguing to look at. The scenery in the novel was creative. I personally was a fan of the dinner party that took place up in heaven during the first few scenes. The general layout of all the scenes was put to good use. I think that the way the cartoon images were shaped and the borders around them fit nicely onto each page. I liked the simplistic use of black bordering and white text bubbles. When there needed to be close ups to provide emphasis during a certain situation I think they were used effectively. I don't think that the mood or tone took away from the novel at all. I personally thought I was really just reading just another book that was brought to life by pictures. I haven't read many graphic novels because I have never been one to enjoy them, but this one was different than most. I think a lot of time and care was put into this. The characters and their relationships, roles, dialogue and actions were all thought out carefully and it was a well constructed novel.

When it comes to Naruto I don't necessarily have negative feelings. The two novels are just completely different from one another. It took me a little while to figure out how exactly to even read Naruto. I don't like the fact that it was reading from right to left, it just doesn't follow the protocol that I am used to. The balloons and text were much more difficult to read compared to American Born Chinese. I think a lot of that just has to deal with the fact that Naruto is in black and white instead of color. Not that there is anything wrong with that at all. I must say I am not a fan of using things such as "?!&%" to try to indicate feelings or thoughts. It's much easier to type or write out what the person is trying to say or think. I certainly wouldn't consider them to be noises because those aren't noises. I understand though that a lot of comic books do this with their text, I am just no a big fan of it. Naruto did have a lot of strong qualities to it. The characters looked fierce and strong throughout the novel. I am guessing that most of the reasoning behind this is due to the NINJA story from the book, but it does appeal to a guys point of interest. There were a lot of close up shots in this novel which didn't require any scenary to be in place for that box. However, when there were scenes in the pictures, they were actually very detailed and look like they had more emphasis on them rather than the characters themselves. I do wish that this novel would have been in color. Looking at the cover of the novel, it looks so much more professional. Yet, I guess that the black blood and bruising and the overall darkness of the novel gives it a more edgy feeling which again plays along with the ninja aspect. There were funny party in this novel, particularly the part on 102 where he can't kiss Haruno because he has the runs! Overall I would recommend this novel to young male readers, but I don't think too many other people would enjoy it.

Bullying

I know we have been discussing topics that have to do with all sorts of media in the classroom. We have talked about the use of blogs, Facebook, cell phones, Twitter etc. In one of my other classes we are learning about how students use all of these kinds of media to bully one another. Kids sending threatening texts, posting something mean or rude about another on Facebook, or Twitter accounts made that are purely just to make fun of someone. The fact is, that the majority of this is actually happening IN SCHOOL, a lot of these events don't even occur outside of school. So what can we do about it? I personally think that these types of media are fine to use freely in and out of school. I use my cell phone all the time to text and don't think that students should be held in different standards. But when it crosses the line, I think that something surely needs to be done. There are countless stories about kids being bullied this way and it ends up being a serious case where someone ends up hurt. I read the other day on line about a girl name Louise who was receiving threatening texts from girls at her school. When she went to her teachers with the issue they wrote it off and told her that's just how girls behaved. Two weeks later Louise was foudn being beaten up by one of the girls by her bus stop. It had gotten to the point where Louise was unconscious on the ground with the other girl on top of her kicking her face. Louise was in a coma for over a month before she recovered. The point I'm trying to make is that although these are helpful tools to all of us, we need to be aware of the dangers that they provide as well.

Multi Modal - Cleveland Film Festival Experience

I am unfortunately going to say that all in all, I did NOT have the best experience when I was at the film festival. I know, it was supposed to be something fun, and something to get us outside of the classroom but it just wasn't pleasant for me. I don't particularly like the city of Cleveland, and I found myself thinking the same about Music City Towers. I felt that the building itself was nice, but everything was so crowded, and everyone I seemed to run into was rude. With the bridge being out, I was literally 2-5 minutes late for the movie I wanted to see. I tried buying tickets, after running to get there, and they told me I was rude for thinking that I could come so late to a movie. I had to wait an hour and a half to see the next movie that was playing. When I finally got my tickets and got in line, some man informed me that I was in the wrong place since I didn't have a pass, and next time he would throw me out for cutting the line??? I simply walked back to where the movie was playing, stood in line with everyone else, and waited for the movie. Three workers told me to go there, and this security guy had other plans. Once I was finally in the movie, it started 45 minutes late! Wondered to myself if my first choice of movie was really on time or not. I did however watch a great movie, but I will talk about it in my next blog.

Classics In The Classrom Chapter 5

I realized I got a little overexcited about poems last time, and am not sure about how to "edit" these, so this is actually going to be my post about Chapter 4 instead of 5! Getting back on topic, this chapter was interesting to think about. I mean, we all know how stories go, with the beginning, middle, and end. But, sometimes when we think of it that way I tend to think someone is only telling me facts instead of an actual story with meaning behind it. In this chapter it talks about the importance of introducing characters, setting the mood, having a plot, picking a setting etc. It goes into much more depth than we would think about if we were telling a story, but we are doing these things unconsciously when we are telling a story. Yet, an author needs to be careful because that is their main goal when putting together a work of literature. They need to pay attention to details like, the rising action, climax and falling action. Without them a story wouldn't really be a story. I also really liked the list of words that are found on page 69. A lot of these are words that a student should be familiar with when discussing a book. It's interesting to think of all the things that have to be covered before finishing up a book. I would never be able to really write an entire novel that was long. I would fear that my thoughts in my head wouldn't be conveyed on paper and would confuse my audience.