Finally Student Teaching

Collectively, the class I am with runs a blog. I wanted to post this week's prompt as well as my response:

In the introduction and chapter one, Palmer makes the case for teaching being a spiritual endeavor, and that "To educate is to guide students on an inner journey toward more truthful ways of seeing and being in the world" (p. 6).

Does this resonate with you?  In what ways?

He also makes the case for teaching beyond technique and honoring subjectivity.  As novice teachers, you are probably depending on techniques and strategies.  Have you experienced some times when you have reached beyond this?  Describe those, and how that felt different than implementing a particular technique.

Ever since I started on the path to becoming a teacher, I knew that it was more than reciting Shakespeare and reading lessons out of a grammar book. I think that, with English especially, students benefit heavily from each other and the teacher, not just for a grade, but to learn with how to handle and maintain themselves outside of school. In classes, we talk about culture, characters who struggle to find a place for themselves in the world, and, very often, talk about topics that are not discussed as much as it should. Teachers create tolerance and model it as well.
I agree with Joey's statement [fellow student teacher]: “High school seems to be more about creating a future generation gifted with a tool box hefty enough to come in handy when they need to look at the world in different angles.” Often times, we talk about our teacher toolbox and all the lessons and resources we have accumulated over time that created what was once a tool box and later into a tool shed. What we do (or do not do) with these tools is up to us. I think that by modeling and showing students how to use some of these tools themselves, it not only makes them successful and ready learners in the classroom, but ready and capable persons in general.
From what we read so far, I agree with Palmer when he claims that to be successful teachers we must sometimes expose our inner lives: to show our passion for our craft. None of us chose English (at least I hope not) because it was “easy” and “not much work” or “it is all up for interpretation anyway so I will not have a hard time”. I know that I chose English because it was something I enjoyed and I wanted an opportunity to share something I love and teach it to others. Passion: I think that is a good first step into the inner journey—what are you passionate about?
Right now, I do model a lot of the teaching methods others have used. However, I did notice that I like to walk around the class more than teachers I have seen do, and I like to ask kids, often, to relate themselves to the book they are reading “raise your hand if you have been to this place. Have any of you done this.”… I have always been under the impression that we learn best from a multitude pf people, especially those close in age, so I do like for students to learn from one another as well as myself.
I am starting to notice things too: who is quiet, who is a hard worker, who works alone even in a group, etc. I am developing habits to help alleviate some things that could be hazardous to students’ learning or to what Palmer states. We are still works in progress, but we are using our craft and modeling those around us within ourselves to create something entirely unique to us. And that---I think that is good for where I am presently.

A little update

Hello! Well, this blog was designed originally for a class. I would hate for it to go to waste, however.

I am now starting up a new course as I finish my life as a student (or am I?). As I draw closer to becoming a teacher, the more I start to wonder "Am I ready? Do I have what it takes?"

Today, I am writing an assignment asking me to write about all the things that has made up my social identity. The only thing more difficult than using your own poems as sources is actually writing about yourself. What do I say? Am I even doing this assignment right?!

These are probably questions my own students will ask when they get writing assignments.
I have noticed a dramatic change in my mind set as I continue my teaching path: I am finally starting to think like a teacher-recording all those small questions that I ask myself, as a student, and, hopefully, when my own students ask I will be able to help them answer.

Well, that is all for now. Happy Wednesday!

Reflection-Teaching in a Digital Age

Final Reflection: Teaching in a Digital Age

“As an English Major, I write a lot”. More than once have I said this while finding information for my I-Search. My research provided me with this revelation— a revelation that showed me to see that I was initially only writing for a grade. During the beginning phase of my I-Search, I was only focused on what would sound good. Be it a lack of time or effort, it was not the behavior I wanted to teach students. As a teacher, is it my job to teach students to write for a grade? The answer is no, I want them to be able to write effectively, diligently, and creatively in and outside of the classroom. I like to believe I am a better writer than I was in September and I like to believe I know the ins and outs of composing writing. However, the past few months have just opened a door. 

It is true, English majors read and write often. As we expand our writing abilities, we are also asked to expand how we write. For me, as much as I am “plugged in” and attached to my laptop, digitally composing was newer to me than I expected. Most of my writing used to happen on paper, where my ideas would unfold and I could be as messy as possible. It did not occur to me that I was not writing as much as I believed I was. My blog, “Writings on the [blog] wall” helped my digital writing abilities. So far, I have learned to enjoy composing straight to my computer, not needing to feel confined to the pen and paper first. Although it still takes some getting used to, I believe that this course helped me achieve better writing abilities and more confidence in my abilities to digitally compose.

Back in September, I wrote, “It is not often that I actually think about writing, I just do it”, which sounds unbelievable, writing is generated through thought. I discussed how much I loved to read and it seemed that I did not feel the same about writing. Writing was a chore; I was sucked into writing merely for a grade.  Writing became an exhausting habit, something I would only do when I had to. In fact, I was not writing as much as I thought I was; the problem was I was not expanding my writing. Reading had so many outlets in my life: school, home, pleasure or information, the internet, even my videogames. I was always reading, but I was not always writing.

SED 445 helped my realized that there are so many creative and new ways of writing that, previously, had not seemed possible or probable. One of my favorite ideas about writing, discussed by Fletcher, was the writing space as a place where you feel most comfortable. Originally, I had the idea that the ideal writing place was just my paper, pen, and me. Fletcher had the better idea: a writing place should be where ideas spark, carrying a notebook that he felt comfortable writing in. My classmates and I tried to have some sort of conformity with our writer’s notebooks. Some of us, however, took some creative liberties. I personally liked the polished look of a double cover, something I could easily spot in my endless pile of notebooks and still “portable”.

For the longest time, I was under the impression that all school work involving digital writing as an essay as typing looks cleaner, neater, and polished. According to Troy Hicks, a PowerPoint, slide show, or a movie could be considered digital composition. This was a process newer to me than I believed. Luckily, I did know of various ways to teach and introduce students to new material using a variety of media. Personally, I find YouTube to be the best outlet for finding material about a topic, and that is why I relied on it so heavily during my I-Search. Still, reading about digital composition is drastically different than digitally composing.

Throughout the semester, our class has diligently posted on one or two, maybe more, blogs. A blog, to me, was a place of informal writing. Blogs were certainly not a place to post my findings for a project; those are to be transferred into essay format and handed into the teacher; however, as I got used to blogger, I let myself compose my findings—they could be informal, formal, essay, or a stream of thought. The key that I discovered was the idea of writing often and the process to get your final product. In all honesty, I wrote more on that blog than I ever initially intended.

Back in September, I wrote, “I still prefer to do 80% of my brainstorming on paper. There is something about writing your thoughts out that make brainstorming easier”. Since I have written so much, I found that I actually write more, and more efficiently, on the computer, even within the first draft. Proofreading drafts still requires me to print out and correct. Still, this is a huge step in my journey to become a better writer, a better digital writer, and a better teacher of writing. Despite my efforts, it is possible that my students would be more comfortable digitally writing than I am. My biggest struggle is going to be working with English Language Learners. Currently, I am facing a similar challenge many ESL students would face as I try to learn Spanish again.

In the text by Douglas Fisher, he discusses various learning curves that ESL students face and some ways to help them in the classroom. English Language Learners face challenges when learning English through conversation: Oral learners, who rely on context through body language, facial expressions, and “acquirers” who face difficulties in understanding all the rules of grammar or sentence structure. As I read the text, I developed some ideas of my own to help some of these students a bit. One, I could read text aloud, use body language, tone, and expressions, to convey meaning. High school students still enjoy being read to, so long as you make clear meanings of the text and you break off a bit by explaining what has just happened in the text or else they may doze off. In the same text, I found an example of how to effectively read aloud to students.

1. Select books that are appropriate to students’ interests and match their developmental, emotional, and social levels.

2. Preview and practice the selection.

3. Establish a clear purpose for the read aloud.

4. Model fluent oral reading while reading the text.

5. Be animated and use expression.

6. Stop periodically and thoughtfully question the students to focus them on specific parts of the text.

7. Make connections to independent reading and writing.

This gave me the idea to use poetry as read alouds in my future classroom. They are usually short, have descriptive language, and can be read out loud within a few minutes. This allows students to read a text more than once and dive deeper to search for meaning or theme; this is also a more manageable process than having students read a book twice and try to dig into the text that way.

When I made the decision to become a teacher, my goal was to make learning English a painless process with a few essays, read-alouds, poetry, etc. However, over the course of my own learning, and through this class, I have found so many tools and ideas that can utilize. Now, more than ever, I found that I want my students to reflect upon their writing abilities to see where they are. From there, I can introduce them to tools like Animoto or Prezi where they can expand on their writing and composing abilities. I have also learned that I will be teaching a very different generation than my own. These students will be more advanced with technology. I even recognize that I was late in the game with digitally composing compared to my peers, hence why I relied heavily on pen and paper and saw the computer as a tool for turning my essays into a clean and neat artifact.

Anything outside of Microsoft word was not “composing” in my eyes, it was entertainment. Now, I see it as both. What makes my Tumblr page less educational than my Blogger? They are both on the internet, and they are both blogs. The immediate difference is what I do with both. Tumblr is my source of entertainment—since I am not compiling data for a school assignment. That does not make it any less informative, I probably could write an essay about what I have found on Tumblr, complete with sources. What I have discovered, through Blogger, is that a blog can be used as a tool for composing writing. If anything, my blog helped me more than any other approach I have used when to compile a research paper. All my data was in one spot with feedback!

Poetry has also changed my perspectives on writing a bit. Before, poems were fun and easy. Through endless research and searching, I discovered that it can be so much more. Initially, I just wanted to use poems in my class because I enjoy reading them, and thought that relating poems to course texts was the most effective way to use poems in a classroom. For the most part, that was not entirely far from the truth; George Whitehead agreed with me and said that connecting poems to other texts was an effective way to use poems in a classroom. However, over time I found many other ways to incorporate poetry in the classroom.  Students can explore themes or research word meanings to interpret the writer’s thoughts.

As I continue to explore the realm of writing, and, specifically, digitally writing, I do wonder what else I will discover. In less than four months, I saw a blog turn into a source of entertainment into a valuable learning tool. I also learned that I value YouTube as more than a music source. Through each of my education classes, I have this toolbox ready to use at my disposal. It makes me wonder what else I may discover; perhaps there are some digital tools I have yet to try.

As a teacher, I need to be able to find more tools on my own, and I think that this I-Search really helped push me this far.  YouTube, for example, is an old source but I allowed myself to use it in a different manner than I was accustomed to. It is within my best interest to find more digital tools and become familiar with them. In an age where technology is growing, it is important for me to keep up. As I said in September, “My life goal is to help young minds find the joys of reading and writing and how it does not have to be a chore”. What better way to help them realize this than by finding ways that connect and work for them?

Inspiring quote and afterthoughts of Memo 5.

"A poem can change a child, and a child can change the world."

-Kalli Dakos

There is a trend that I noticed when some poets like Kalli Dakos and Taylor Mali.  Why were these poets former teachers?

I looked into them a bit, got a kick at Mali's website: "(NOTE: IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE INTRODUCING TAYLOR AT AN EVENT, DON’T READ THIS ALOUD VERBATIM. IT’S TOO LONG! YOU CAN TAKE A FEW FACTS FROM HERE, OR GO TO HIS INTRODUCTION CUE CARD, WHICH YOU CAN ACCESS HERE. ALSO NOTE: “I, TAYLOR MALI, WAS BORN ON MARCH 28, 1965″)." ...oh. He knows he is good and has everything all set and ready to go. 

This made me think about Nikki Giovanni again, how famous these poets are. It brought me back to my original question, why are some teachers not including poetry in the classroom? In fact, I never heard of ANY of these people until I entered college. The only poets I knew were Poe and Shakespeare, who I still love greatly.

I figured I had to do a bit more digging. Taylor Mali has lesson plans on his site, he wants teachers to use his work. Some of these include:

Answer to an Unasked Question
All poems can be seen as answers to questions never asked. Each student artfully answers an imaginative question, leaving others to guess what the question is.
Build a Better Metaphor
Using three different colors of index cards, each student gets to create a metaphor using a concrete noun, and adjective, and an abstract noun, often with hilarious results.
Poem from a List of Prompts
A list of two-minute prompts to be given one after the other so that students can build a poem line by line.

And there they are. Just sitting there waiting for us to use and abuse in our classrooms. I want to use all these assignments in the classroom and I do see students enjoying them.  The "Build a better Metaphor" speaks for itself too in relation to teaching English in a classroom: turn the metaphors that students generate into a class-made poem and stick the cards on the wall or door. Possibilities are endless!

Dakos' site made me a little sad, "Helping children cope with grief and loss; THE GOODBYE POEMS" 
Yikes. However, maybe even some teenagers could use this kind of therapy. And it is a good way to help know students better and make the classroom more inviting.

So, while the rest of this entry may feel a bit scattered. I do want to point something out. All these poets that I encounter, they all seem geared and ready to teach a class: materials ready, plans set before you, people who are still alive and were teachers once themselves. WHY ARE WE NOT USING THIS?
I think we, as English majors, and as Teachers, need to see this. I would not have either myself if I did not have people showing me sources, and really devoting my time into really looking into these sources.
As a write myself, though slightly out of practice, I really want to have my students enjoy writing, and get used to writing. Right now, I only write for grades. Before students are faced with this reality, they need to see the more fun side to writing. The expressionism they can generate through poetry. How much they can learn through poetry. What others have to say through poetry. And how much we learn from it. I learned more about Malcolm X through Nikki Giovanni than any Social Studies or history class. How easy is it that we can connect all these tidbits of history and other literature and make it so much more meaningful to our students just through a few little poems.

And that is what this I-Search helped me see. I want to be that teacher that makes learning and writing meaningful, maybe not fun per se, but meaningful. Shakespeare is something I will always love, but what will my students learn? That Elizabethan is difficult to translate?
I am so grateful that I got a chance to explore all these different poets, and write poetry again myself.


Bonus: Dis Poem

[Memo 5] Just thinking about it, hopefully the puzzle is almost complete.

As an English major, I write a lot. Then I write some more. Then some more. Read more and then write about it. And so, the cycle continues. However, I sort of lost that artistic freedom in my writing that I got to experience in high school. Thinking back, I remember having stacks of notebooks filled with drawings and poems and songs that I was so proud of at the time. Until now, I had not realized that I do not write as much as I thought I was. No longer was I writing for me; I was writing for a grade. 

When I first began contemplating my I-Search assignment, I was at a loss. I had ideas; however, they were either too broad or not broad enough. I was only thinking about ideas that sounded good or would make for a good essay, not really putting myself into it. Like most of my ideas, one came to me last minute: poetry in classrooms. My original focus was how some teachers used poetry in the classroom and why other teachers did not include it, when I have personally seen it used effectively.

That was when I went straight for JSTOR, a very reliable, but scattered, scholarly journal website. It was difficult at first to pin point ideas applicable to my assignment. I was able to pull out some, one of which I was not even entirely sure if it would fit my assignment. My initial instinct was to look for articles that stood out to me, “English Language Arts, Basketball, and Poetry Collide”. Yes, that would work. I wanted to find ways that teachers used poetry in their classrooms, so I suspected that this teacher had found a way to link poetry to something his students liked, basketball, and then used that in his classroom.

What I got was something a little bit different. He instead found similarities between coaching basketball and teaching poetry that would change how he taught both. Well, it was not exactly what I wanted or expected, but it was an interesting article nonetheless.

However, that was when my mindset on this whole project began to change. Instead of searching for why teachers did not use poetry, I began to see a shift: how was I going to use poetry in my classroom? In all honesty, I never actually thought about it. I looked back at the article before heading towards my other steps, how basketball changed Douglas Baker’s attitude about teaching. Even my second article, it was giving me ideas and I never realized it. What I was really searching for was not how or why teachers teach poetry, but about how and why I should. 

It was around Memo three when I really began seeing this shift. During memo 2, I did not think it would be enough for me to just compose a couple of poems. I could do that whenever. In fact, I felt I was cheating myself and others if I did that, so I desperately searched for something much more prevalent to talk about in my blog. I look back, and I wish I wrote more. As I said, I do not really write for me anymore. If I cannot even write for myself, how am I supposed to expect my students to? How will I be able to teach them? 

(I know that bookshelf! This was from the poetry meeting I attended!)
 

That is when I decided to see Gary Whitehead’s poetry reading. I will be brutally honest, the only poetry reading I went to before this, I was reading and listening to Poe works; I stuttered over every line. So, this was a nice chance to hear a poet reading his own work. And I was so glad I went! I really saw what it were like to be both a poet and a teacher at the same time, and what that could be like. Not to sound too cheesy, I was inspired. I wanted to be that clear, that precise, I wanted to live in the mountains for a year with no electricity and just write. It was high school all over again, I just wanted to write! And that is when it hit me. My I-Search was not about other teachers, it was about what I could do as a teacher. And so that is where the rest of my searching went.

I looked up other poets, see what inspired them; find political or literature related topics in their words and poems.

I still needed to find a why though, why was this so important? “As an English major, I write a lot. Then I write some more. Then some more. Read more and then write about it.” All teachers do is ask their students to write. And write some more. Then read and write about what they read. It. Gets. OLD. Even for teachers, we do not want to spend hours of our Christmas break grading essays! Poetry, thought I am making it sound like just an easy route, is a great way for students to write vigorously, but they feel accomplishment finishing their work. Why else would Nikki Giovanni inspire SO many people, such as Kanye West's song "Hey Mama". The whole song is about how wonderful his mother is, and it includes this lyric:

"Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni,
Turn one page and there's my mommy."  (Jessica). 

I still want to look a little further on my own, about other poets and such, but I think I am certainly on the right route. I certainly found what it was I was searching for through this whole process. In fact, I am glad I did not choose my other topics, this was more rewarding.

Nikki Giovanni (Memo 4)

I wanted to explore some poets again, more in depth than I did previously. So, I decided to look into one of my favorite poets Nikki Giovanni. Originally, I wanted to find an article written by her about poetry. After some consideration, I put this idea aside and pulled up YouTube. YouTube is where I had found Nikki Giovanni about three years ago. I typed her name in the search bar and found a video titled "Shocking Interview with Nikki Giovanni". It was a long video, but it caught my interest. This was a way to do three things for me: one, to get to know a little more about her, since she is a writer I admire. Two, I wanted to compile data for my I-Search. And three, and to serve as a demonstration; sometimes, learning about a poet or an author can help establish reasons for how and why they write what they do.
As I watched and listened to the interview, I jotted down some quotes, and topics she talks about, that I think say a lot about her as a poet and a writer.

(I have to link the video since Blogger keeps sending error messages: click here).

• "I don't know where I come from"
• What do you do?
• "I write." Mostly poetry.
• "My poems...some of them have become songs." --> She's very influential for people.

• First (black) woman to produce at Lincoln Center.
• Toni Morrison visited Virgina Tech. (She got to meet Toni Morrison, another very influential black woman writer).
• "No Spring Chicken" (I love that phrase).
•  "why wait until someone dies before we say 'i love you'"
• what could we have done? (reminds me of her poem "All Eyez on U")
• Is friends with Queen Latifah
• Why didn't that get learned? (Speaking to women)
• "Why don't you have good sense?"

• "I just do my job"
• in her 20's-"You do what comes"
• convinced Vogue to send her on a trip to Rome!
• a very convincing writer
• "always looking for opportunities" (VERY good message for teens)
• accepts jobs she is not sure she can do
• "never confuse art with buisness"

• Not in favor of subsidizing farms
• Capitalism: "A good system if we had it!"

• Local vs. Organic foods (prefers Local)
• claims we are "eating oil" because of how we get most food
• "Can NEVER go wrong with volunteering"
• Has traveled around the world
• Interviewer called Romney a "Cooperate Entity": "And Barack isn't?"
• She shows a high political awareness--> This is seen A LOT in her poems. Her poems that discuss politics would work as a great transition into some heavy texts that talk about politically sensitive material or themes. They could also help students get a better grasp at poetry and politics and use their new knowledge in writing persuasive essays.
• Morman: "SOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo Un-American" (sarcasm?)
• Topic of a new Prison being built:
• not a fan of "Warehousing people"
• Prisons are a "lack of imagination and commitment"
• "we don't need to put you in prison...we know it doesn't work!"
• "crimes are emotional"
• In the south, "It's always the black guy".

• "Men don't fight about abortion"
• Since this is a more feminist topic, you could find poems that are linked to feminism and explore more feminist texts. Perhaps build an understanding of what that is and teach students how to write and read in a feminist perspective.
• "my 16-year-old girl has to go on welfare"

• "Jesus is a poet"
• "None of them (people in the Bible I'm assuming) are woman so they need to butt the Hell out!"

• Topic of education:
• some people rather learn about religion then send their kids to school

• "I'm NOT a Republican"-"I hate Republicans"
• Science vs Religion (Global Warming Topic)
• "It will not hurt the Earth to be inhabitable"
• "We're just upset because it's us!"

• "Questions are brief, it's always me that goes on..."
• Black or African American: "[bluntly] Black."
• A time where she could not write:
• "I wouldn't know because I don't always write...a burden to write everyday" (Kind of contradicts what we tell students in school!)
• She cannot go a day without reading.
• "Even people you love you don't want to talk to everyday"

• Favorite Color: Blue
• Happy Place:
• Home
• Her dog goes to the spa

• Words of wisdom for a "young black feminist"
• "womanist"
• "help comes from all sides"
• "you work with people to get things done"
• "get people to agree"

• Old saying she likes: "If you have them by the balls, their heats and minds will follow" -I am committed
• She has a tattoo that says "Thug Life" on her arm. 

I have to say, there was not a lot here about poetry or writing, but I did learn a lot about Nikki Giovanni. She's witty and relatable, and would make for a wonderful research project for students (and myself). Poems where she talk about any of the topics she mentioned in this interview, there is SO much you can work with that: acting as transitions to other major works, authors, etc. or help students find relatable topics so they can compose their own writing, the possibilities are endless! I am so glad I found this interview. Please, if you have the chance, put an hour aside and just listen, she is so funny and inspirational.

(Photoblitz) We interupt this program...

Ready Set GO!

"Is that a Photograph?"

Gamer's Hands

One of these things is not like the other.

I'm a little blue.

We feel a bit... "off". 

Finish!

This little photo session went a lot faster then I intended. I ended up taking a LOT of pictures... most of them with mirrors. Oddly enough, only one of the mirror pictures ended up in the final five.
These pictures were taken in my dorm because my roommate and I have a lot of unique stuff and the small area assured me that I had plenty of angles to work with. It was pretty fun, especially with my roommate giving me ideas. Personally, I love my "blue" photo because I got to take a whole bunch of stuff from the room and dump it on the floor.
There were a few instances where I wanted to use my bamboo plant (named "Hector") in my photos, especially for the surreal one, since I have taken a similar photo about two years ago for fun. In fact, it is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken:

I am no photography major nor have I the equipment to take good photos. In fact, I would not have been able to do this assignment if my roommate did not allow me the use of her iPod. However, I found this assignment pleasant and a nice break from other assignments I have done. Never have I been given an opportunity to do a project like this.
Actually, I think this would do well in my iSearch; maybe, I can compose a poem for one...

Blue

Scattered and Littered

Across the floor they do lay

Old and New memories

Something like this would be entertaining for students to do as well, write a short essay or a poem (or more) about the photos and see what happens. Eagerly, I wait to see what others have composed!