Writing

"Good writing occurs because a writer passionately desires to say something....Students do not need more abstract advice about how to write. They need somehow to have their feelings kindled." X.J. Kennedy This statement couldn't apply better to my feelings about writing. I like the idea that Atwell established her classroom as a workshop. In chapter 10 she lets us know that she believes it is imperative for her to be a role model for her students. With her bringing papers of her own, or stories, poems etc., it shows her students that there are adults who write as well. We can't ask our students to write for us if in fact they don't see us writing at all. We are English teachers and this should be like breathing to us anyway. I hope to establish my classroom as a workshop just like Atwell in the future.

http://www.oneofus.co.uk/index.php/writing_tips/writing_exercises/

Above is a link that has a couple of writing activites that could help others dive into some "non-traditional" way of teaching it. My personal favorite is "Writer's Tennis" because I have had such success with this actually in my life. I was introduced to it during high school, and I actually used this when I was helping tutor for the OGT at Akron North. Many of my students were not passionate writers, and when we were practicing on some of the essays for the OGT I used this approach. I would help them after they wrote a paragraph and we would write off of each other. Clearly the students wouldn't be able to do this on the test, but my idea was to keep them thinking and writing the entire time.

Student Teaching

I think it's only appropriate to talk about student teaching in this blog. I want everyone to know that I absolutely have been loving my experience at Field High School. I am learning and gaining so much from this experience. When I am in my classroom I am able to lead discussion, grade papers and dive into lessons. I have taught 2 lessons completely so far and have been very involved in others every time I am there. Taking everything in about the school has given me a better outlook on how my future might be shaped. I see how schools are run and how everything gets done. I have been watching other teachers as well and soaking everything in.

I do wish that KSU's teaching program would have gotten us into schools sooner. I have talked to many teachers over the past few months about my experience and they were shocked to learn that we had only been in the schools starting last year. I am not in anyway bashing our program, I just am learning so many more things by actually physically being in a classroom as opposed to just reading about it. I would be interested in seeing if anyone at KSU would actually consider placing education majors inside of a school somehow even earlier than Junior year. On a POSITIVE note, like I said, being in the classroom for hours has proven EXTREMELY beneficial. Learning things like, how to redirect lessons that are going poorly, treating students equally, interacting with students is truly something you can't learn from books, and I am learning so much just by being there. I can't wait to see how this unit turns out!

Myers Article

I think that this article showed a lot of insights to things that I have never really thought about when it comes to teaching. I never take into consideration the "early years" of teachers and how they helped pave the way for us today. On page 66 of the article two things really caught my attention. One was the fact that the pencil was the main technology that had led the way to writing. I know this seems so odd to us today, but the fact that something so simple took them so far. They were talking about quill pens not being so productive. Now we have computers, pens, mechanical pencils, smartboards etc. and it makes me wonder about what articles a hundred years from now will be saying. Will they think we are out of date??

The other thing that caught my attention on this page was the statement about the only books, if any, that were in the house at that time would have been a Bible and an Almanac. It's crazy to me that those would have been the only kinds of books available to them. I personally think it would have crowded judgment and not allowed for any personal growth. Imagine students only being able to view one or two books. Actually, when you think about it, some students attend schools with such poor funding that this actually may be a reality. It saddens me thinking about what some were subjected to in the past. However, it does bring a sense of hope for the future because I think of the advancements we have made from then. I can only imagine how far we will go in years to come.

Netflix, Gaming, Texting

Yes, I am going to blog about Netflix, Gaming and Texting. I am a HUGE movie watcher. As Dr. Kist said, we should all be up-to-date about what is going on in the media. I think being aware of what kinds of movies our students are watching is a good conversation starter with them. A lot of the time students don't want to talk to teachers because they don't think that we are "cool" enough or know what is going on with their lives. If we are able to strike up a conversation about a movie that we both have seen then it could put us, as teachers, in a different light to them. Netflix is available in all kinds of ways and we just became subscribers at my house. You can get movies through the mail, on PS3, on the Wii and through your labtop. It's amazing the technology that is out there right now.

Our students are constantly playing with their I-pods, cell phones and PSP's during classes. I don't think that these are a good idea for the classroom, but I think they should be allowed during lunch and study halls. I know this goes against everything that most schools try to establish. Hear me out. If our students are writing, reading and putting conversation/thought into something, why are we trying to stop it? I know that the texts, and the gaming scripts aren't traditional ways of reading and writing. However, the fact that they are doing so is a positive thing in my opinion. Below actually is a link to an article about schools who have embraced this change. With allowing cell phones being used it has reduced the "sneaking" of texts in class becasue they have the chance to communicate anyway. It's an interesting read and I agree with every part of it. I think that more schools should accept this change as well. These schools have had success embracing this change and I think that I will try to bring it up to my school district now and in the future.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100921/NEWS0102/9220333/More-high-schools-embrace-student-texting

Adolescence

It's a funny word. You never really know how to take what teenagers are doing or saying. We were all there once in our lives, but it seems as if their thoughts can be so strange and unfamiliar to us. Atwell talks on page 55 about the fact that one of the most important things middle school teachers can do is be aware and conscious of the real issues that teenagers are dealing with. I think that this should apply to teachers on ALL LEVELS. I don't think that there is a time that teachers and educators should ever be unaware or unsympathetic to the emotions and lives of their students. Their lives and what goes on in them does affect who they are in our classroom. This particular section of the book focuses on poetry which I think ties in perfectly to this message.

Poetry is such a great way of expressing what is going on in your life. Emotions, thoughts and dreams can all come out in poetry. It is a freedom of expression that has no boundaries. I think that although many adolescents would run away from the thought of writing poetry, teachers need to put it in a light that will interest them. I have actually began a poetry "unit" with my teacher at Field the past few weeks. Our students have began writing and reading more poetry and they are finally starting to enjoy it. A lot of my students are actually opening up about themselves within their writing which makes it even more enjoyable. I get to finally know more about my students. I have encouraged them to continue writing and to make a collection of their poetry throughout the year. At the end of my student teaching I would like to do an activity where the students bind their work. I think it would be special to them and hopefully they continue to enjoy it.