Saturday, October 19, 2013
Identity Blog
I think one of the best ways I can support the formation of students' identities is by always giving them opportunities to decide who they are, and where they stand, on a variety of issues. I'm fortunate to be going into English education, where we have the amazing vehicle of literature. Students will have the chance, virtually every day, to view a character as they tackle complex and messy situations. Which means that students will have the opportunity to ponder over how they would have handled the situation, and whether they agree or disagree with the character. I will provide guided discussions in the class so that students will be gently pushed toward confronting these issues, in case they are either forclosed or diffuse on the issues. As they discuss their points, supporting their positions with logic and textual evidence, they can have "practice runs" at life--a kind of safe trial-and-error period in which they can test hypotheses about the way things work in the world and society without the danger inherent to making these decisions in their real lives. Literature provides a safe distance at which students can analyze decisions without endangering their egos or risking damaging their lives, but allows them to gain wisdom as though they had experienced it personally.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Differentiation Blog
Disclaimer: I am not at all sure I really understand what I'm doing here just yet.
So, thinking of the English/ Language Arts content area, and specifically in the area of creative writing (since that is kind of my passion), I was thinking about when I will teach formal poetry. If I want to get really specific, Sonnets.
To start off, I would "pretest" or have students fill out the K & W sections of a KWL on sonnets, turning it in for me to look over before beginning instruction. If, by some chance there is a student who, like me in high school, was already able to compose an iambic pentameter Shakespearean sonnet (yeah, I'm a dork, so sue me) then I might provide that student with an alternative assignment, giving instructional materials and format for more advanced formal poetry, such as a Villanelle or Sestina. For students who know a sonnet is a poem, and who know the basics of poetry such as rhyme and a basic idea of meter, but little else about it (which I anticipate will be the majority of them at that point in the year) I will be giving direct instruction, on the number of lines, the meter, the rhyme schemes and topical generalities, which may include handouts, modeling via whiteboard/projector/etc how to identify rhyme/meter/form, jigsaw groups in which one group finds the rhymes, one group looks at the meter, one group looks at format (Shakespearean/Italian), then explains to each other the elements they found in the sonnets provided, then finally having students compose a sonnet or two on their own as summative assessment for the unit. For students who have no idea what a sonnet is, what rhyme schemes are, etc, I will provide scaffolding by way of modules, handouts, side instruction, or peer mentoring. However, I plan to address these elements in an earlier unit, so I hope to avoid this problem. However, there could always be a circumstance where a student was absent for that week or two, or even transferred to the school, and would need scaffolding to get caught up. So the materials from earlier in the unit would be made available as well.
So, thinking of the English/ Language Arts content area, and specifically in the area of creative writing (since that is kind of my passion), I was thinking about when I will teach formal poetry. If I want to get really specific, Sonnets.
To start off, I would "pretest" or have students fill out the K & W sections of a KWL on sonnets, turning it in for me to look over before beginning instruction. If, by some chance there is a student who, like me in high school, was already able to compose an iambic pentameter Shakespearean sonnet (yeah, I'm a dork, so sue me) then I might provide that student with an alternative assignment, giving instructional materials and format for more advanced formal poetry, such as a Villanelle or Sestina. For students who know a sonnet is a poem, and who know the basics of poetry such as rhyme and a basic idea of meter, but little else about it (which I anticipate will be the majority of them at that point in the year) I will be giving direct instruction, on the number of lines, the meter, the rhyme schemes and topical generalities, which may include handouts, modeling via whiteboard/projector/etc how to identify rhyme/meter/form, jigsaw groups in which one group finds the rhymes, one group looks at the meter, one group looks at format (Shakespearean/Italian), then explains to each other the elements they found in the sonnets provided, then finally having students compose a sonnet or two on their own as summative assessment for the unit. For students who have no idea what a sonnet is, what rhyme schemes are, etc, I will provide scaffolding by way of modules, handouts, side instruction, or peer mentoring. However, I plan to address these elements in an earlier unit, so I hope to avoid this problem. However, there could always be a circumstance where a student was absent for that week or two, or even transferred to the school, and would need scaffolding to get caught up. So the materials from earlier in the unit would be made available as well.
Schooling the World
Which part of the video did you find most powerful (either positively or negatively)? Why?
First, the video of students marching and swinging their arms military fashion was terrifying. Not only did it have all the undercurrent of conformity (loss of identity, loss of choice, loss of thought), but the militant element suggesting child-soldiers made me physically ill. It's bad enough to be raping these young people of their language, their culture, their beliefs, their family, to indoctrinate them in an Anglo-centric, commodified global economy, but the threatening undertones of militarization was something else completely.
I've always been strongly affected by the way the Native Americans were treated. The systematic physical extermination, followed by spiritual and cultural extermination. The images in this documentary just pulled those to the surface again for me.
This might be strange, but the "Little Boxes" song at the end was another moment of connection for me. It has been my theme song for American education for a while now, more so with the implementation of NCLB and then the Common Core movement. My own education at UVU, even. I know that I'm in a system that is like a factory for producing identically molded children. I just hope that I am made of resilient enough stuff that, after I've been stamped by academia, I can regain some semblance of my former moral identity, able to use the tools I believe to be beneficial, and strong enough to reject those that stand at odds with my sense of individuality..
Do you agree or disagree with the message of the film? Why?
I do agree, generally, with the message of the film. I think western cultures are incredibly egocentric, bordering on megalomaniacal. I do not think that western society is innately better than other cultures. I don't think a global consumer economy is the way this planet was meant to be inhabited. I feel like I am too deeply embedded within it to ever get out, but I certainly don't believe that other cultures should be dragged into it with us. I also agree that most of western interference and colonialization in general probably didn't/doesn't come from a place of meanness, but a general (albeit wildly misguided) sense of altruism, love, and a desire to help.
How does this documentary relate to Vygotsky's theory of sociocultural development? Use vocabulary and be specific.
In terms of Vygotsky's theory, in the situations outlined in the documentary, the role of the more knowledgable other is being outsourced. In most of these cultures, learning took place within family units, and the skills necessary for survival were learned. However, that role is being subsumed by westernized institutions. The skills and ideas being taught do not prepare students to like in their homelands, but to become a part of the global economy. Even private speech is affected, because in many of these schools, students are required to think aloud in English, being fined for using their native tongue. As I have learned (by virtue of studying English, and it was repeated in this documentary) languages are more that just words and grammar. They contain the cultural assumptions, traditions, beliefs, morals, etc, of the places they are spoken. By depriving children of their native language, they are deprived of their cultural identity. When self-talk changes, learning changes.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Arts in Education (extra credit)
I was unable to attend the conference, but I did read an article from the Dana Foundation.
"Training in the Arts, Reading, and Brain Imaging"
Brian Wandell, Ph.D., Robert F. Dougherty, Ph.D., Michal Ben-Shachar, Ph.D., Gayle K. Deutsch, Ph.D., and Jessica Tsang
Stanford University
This article discusses the research and experiments conducted by the authors, investigating possible correlations between exposure and development of skills in the arts and the development of reading--specifically phonology (the sounds of words) which is closely linked to reading ability. They implemented new DTI software to map the brain's development to track the physical changes and compared the data to feedback from the parents of the children being observed. The results found there was a correlation between developing skills in the arts--Music especially-- and reading. They also found preliminary evidence linking visual arts to math improvement.
Maybe this is because I am both a musical person, as well as an avid reader (who has battled dyslexia), but I kind of read this article thinking, "Of course it correlates!" It's awesome that they were able to actually observe and record data supporting what I've long held to be true. When I was young and struggling to decode letters and words as they jumped and squirmed on the page, I was also finding solace in singing. My mother likes to say I was singing as soon as talking. I say, for all that practice, you think I'd be better at it by now. But the truth is, I would spend hours standing next to the paino as my mother exhausted our book of childrens songs, and I would sing every word along with her. I'm certain that singing the memorized words helped me somehow pin them down on the page as my eyes followed along. This (as well as a dozen other multi-sensory compensatory strategies have allowed me to develop the passion I have for reading and writing (which I am translating into a desire to teach reading and writing). And there's a very high likelihood that music will be present in my classrooms for various projects. Just sayin'.
"Training in the Arts, Reading, and Brain Imaging"
Brian Wandell, Ph.D., Robert F. Dougherty, Ph.D., Michal Ben-Shachar, Ph.D., Gayle K. Deutsch, Ph.D., and Jessica Tsang
Stanford University
This article discusses the research and experiments conducted by the authors, investigating possible correlations between exposure and development of skills in the arts and the development of reading--specifically phonology (the sounds of words) which is closely linked to reading ability. They implemented new DTI software to map the brain's development to track the physical changes and compared the data to feedback from the parents of the children being observed. The results found there was a correlation between developing skills in the arts--Music especially-- and reading. They also found preliminary evidence linking visual arts to math improvement.
Maybe this is because I am both a musical person, as well as an avid reader (who has battled dyslexia), but I kind of read this article thinking, "Of course it correlates!" It's awesome that they were able to actually observe and record data supporting what I've long held to be true. When I was young and struggling to decode letters and words as they jumped and squirmed on the page, I was also finding solace in singing. My mother likes to say I was singing as soon as talking. I say, for all that practice, you think I'd be better at it by now. But the truth is, I would spend hours standing next to the paino as my mother exhausted our book of childrens songs, and I would sing every word along with her. I'm certain that singing the memorized words helped me somehow pin them down on the page as my eyes followed along. This (as well as a dozen other multi-sensory compensatory strategies have allowed me to develop the passion I have for reading and writing (which I am translating into a desire to teach reading and writing). And there's a very high likelihood that music will be present in my classrooms for various projects. Just sayin'.
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