Need to Read

 Christina Pennell, April 14, 2008This is it, the final blog entry and it’s about ELLs, my speciality. I enjoyed this week’s readings, as always, but was a little troubled by some of the advice I read in Chapter 4: Narratives About Teaching Second Language Learners in the English Class. While I really preferred the model offered entitled Transitional Bilingual Education, I cannot say that I agree with the practice of allowing home languages in the English Language Arts classroom. While the concept sounds very politically correct and as though a teacher is really minding his or her manners, the opposite of what I have observed in my classroom is true.

By allowing my students to speak to me in Spanish, a language I am conversationally fluent in, I deprive them of (in most cases) of the only chance these students may have to practice their English. I become their crutch, a safety net for them not to have to learn a second language. Oftentimes, outside of school, I am the only person who speaks English to them. I deprive them of their opportunity to speak and learn English if I allow Spanish in my classroom. This language opportunity will lead them to other opportunities such as college and a higher pay check, no matter what country my students choose to live in.

Does this mean that I devalue my student’s culture? Absolutely not. I love being Cuban American and I love the fact that my students are from all over the world and have such beautiful and interesting insight to provide me with during our lessons. I value my students and recognize that many of them may not have the opportunity to pay for language lessons at a later time in their lives. Because of this economic reality, it is critical for me to teach my students how to speak and write English as best they possibly can while they are in my classroom.

My final point about only allowing English in the classroom is that Spanish excludes some of my Asian and Middle Eastern students in the fun and camaraderie that takes place in the class. While a little Spanish might be ok, it seems that I always open a flood gate in my class once the Spanish gets started and then I know that my non-Spanish speakers feel left out. While it might sound harsh, in reality, this practice protects everyone and ensures that there is a fair and cohesive learning environment.

Please let me know your thoughts on this. Sincerely, Tragalibro 

“As publicly accessible online archives make more and more texts available — from fiction to non-fiction, from classic to contemporary, from the academic to the mainstream — our study of texts will continue to change.” (Swenson, 355.)

The strongest intellectual selling point of this article (and the other two regarding technology) is the equalizing force the internet can be used as in terms of providing quality educational materials for very little money to a huge number of students.

When researching deconstruction for our class I accessed sites from Stanford, MIT, Yale, South Africa, and Australia. I literally traversed the globe and could read what different minds in different fields thought about deconstruction. Twenty years ago this would have been impossible for me to do. My understanding and research would have reflected a far narrower view of this theory.

The difficulty I find in using the internet is policing the students (and the public) from accessing information that they should not. I find that my students are far more technologically adept than I at using the internet and these little darlings know a remarkable amount of sites (from all over the world) that allow them access to the types of videos and images that if viewed during class time could easily get me fired. Believe me when I tell you that it would take less than five minutes for them to download something while I was conferencing with one of their peers.

I am at a cross roads with technology in that I have been explicitly told to stay away from the internet. I am open to suggestions that will allow me to implement these types of literacies in the classroom while simulatneously keeping control of my students and keeping my job.

What can I write about deconstruction? Deconstruction is not:

• Any one meaning for a given text
• The be all and end all of literature
• Annoying
• Useless

Some critics tend to view deconstruction as obnoxiously over-written in a stylistic type of language that is purposefully confusing. I believe the Derrida was rebelling against the concepts of logocentrism and the fact that structuralists believed that there were specific meanings to texts. Derrida’s rebellion, in my humble opinion, was beautiful in that it gave readers and writers a freedom that I have not encountered in any other given type of literary criticism.

I particularly enjoyed the ideas of dissemination and iterability. Dissemination is the dispersal of meanings among infinite possibilities. This pluralistic approach to meaning seemed to me to be a mixture of reader response and libratory pedagogy. Reader response factored into the theory in that I believe Derrida believed that meaning is dependent upon context, much like reader response believes that meaning changes or is individual to each reader. Iterability is the capacity of signs (and texts) to be repeated in new situations and grafted onto new concepts. I believe I see this happen when my students and I study William Shakespeare and relate a text that is over three hundred years old to modern times. Iterability gives texts a type of immortality or evolutionary quality in that this grafting of signs and meanings sometimes gives the words someone writes the ability to continue living long after that person dies. This to me is the real purpose of writing and a goal that is most worthy of pursuing. 

Today I introduced feminist literary theory or a milder version of it in my class for about twenty seconds. I do not feel that I gave it justice at all in that I have never even written a single paper on feminist literary theory (I am not asking for homework here), attended a formal lecture, or studied this type of thinking in any depth at any time in my life. So my question is, how do we teach this theory without it becoming a girls against the guys type thing or just a hurrah for girl power type thing?

I did say that Shakespeare lived in a time that considered women to be little more than human cattle used for trading and obtaining social position and having babies. I then added that I would like to see or read Shakespeare’s view on women (if the great bard were alive today) after he had passed a watermelon out of “you know where.” I find it daring that he had the audacity to call women weak (or as Friar Lawrence refers to Romeo while he is blubbering mindlessly in Lawrence’s cell — “thy tears are womanish.” Act III, scene iii, line 110) during the reign of the most formidable and intimidating female monarch in history.

I enjoyed Gibson, but confess to having a preference to the beginning of the book where we read about the rhetorical devices Shakespeare used. I am just nerdy that way. I can say that I use a lot of kinesthetic learning in my teaching and that my students really enjoy it.  

This week’s readings asked us to take a good look at how and why we decided to teach literature for a living. The biggest surprise for me was reading Appleman’s critique of Rosenblatt’s transaction or reader response literary theory. While the chapters on technology were entertaining, I have pretty much been told to stay as far away as possible from things like MySpace or blogging or other technological interactions between children because it could cost me my job. I really wish I could use some of that technology, though. I especially like the blogging. 

Alsup and Bush’s warning against tokenism in literary selections for our curricula as well as the controversies in teaching literature made deep impressions on me. I was fascinated by the use of ecology or the environment as a teaching strategy as well. I enjoyed reading the narratives that dealt with the teacher’s frustration at factors in the classroom like absenteeism, low motivation, and students not feeling that their efforts would ever be rewarded. These are real-life situations that I encounter and fight against daily. It was nice to know that I am not alone in this journey.

After reading our extensive list this week of chapters and articles on classroom management, I can reflect that I really connected with the points that stated that students need to be built up instead of torn down. I really loved the emphasis on positive communication and positiveness in the wording of commands and praises. I found the section on directions and the samples given in the readings helpful as well.

Classroom management is an area that I struggle with continuously. I constantly find myself redirecting my students and trying to keep them on task. I realize that I am the problem, it is not my students’ fault. The problem that I have is that my students are so funny that it is easy to get off task 0r loose focus. I am not a natural disciplinarian; although I find this strength in many of my colleagues. I joke around a lot and it is part of my teaching style. I have been able to push through to deeper levels of thought because of this style, but it does cost me in terms of time. My own stress level due to this can be a little high as well.

I know in time I will find the right balance in my classroom. I will just have to keep trying new strategies and teaching methods until I find what works for me. Some remedies that I will try that I found in our readings include:

• Having a clear agenda that demonstrates three separate types of activities: a warm up or beginning activity, a middle activity or an activity that covers new material, and a closing activity, or a review of the material covered. I normally do this already, but I will begin the class with a brief walk through of activities so that the children understand clearly what our goals are for that day.
• I tried this today during my second activity and it worked. When the class lost focus on our large group activity, I broke the class up into smaller groups and had them complete the second activity that way. This change in tactic brought a new focus and interest in what we were doing.
• I will continue to break down my directions into small chunks or pieces for my students. A big part of giving directions for me as well is circling back to make sure that everyone understands the task at hand. If the children are working in small groups, then I go around to each group to check and make sure that students are moving in the right direction. This follow up seems to make all the difference in regard to task completion.

I also liked the narrative that we read about the teacher who made children sign a slip when they missed homework. The children also had to make up the homework, no matter what, and they got credit for it. I find that this works well for my students. I find my children more likely to do the homework on time, if and when they know for certain there is no way they can get out of doing it. The more success I give them, the more they ask for their grades and, remarkably, they ask for more assignments to bring up their grades.

I can conclude my reflection by stating that it is an absolute joy being a teacher and working in the educational environment I find myself in. My colleagues and the students I am blessed to work with have made my year as a student teacher such a positive experience. I know there are challenges in regard to being a teacher, but the joy that we receive each day is worth the effort and the hours that we put in. 

“Knowledge about Shakespeare’s language is best acquired actively. When the language is spoken, enacted, explored, performed and used in ways which recognize and celebrate its dramatic qualities, response to the language is enlivened.”

Gibson, Rex. Teaching Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press, England. 1998. P. 92.

As I read chapters four through seven for this week’s readings, I could not help but select this quote to reflect upon for my blog. Our students will only truly understand Shakespeare’s greatness by acting out his plays. The literary devices that he used so frequently and with such ease only jump to life when someone is acting out the part. We rob our students of immeasurable joy and understanding when we force them to sit and only read Shakespeare. I believe he would have been appalled by that practice. My students had a fabulous time chasing each other around my classroom with my son’s light sabers and playing with Tybalt’s lines, “Turn thee Benvolio and look upon thy death.” They have a new appreciation for literature and the work that goes into visually representing and bringing a work to life. It forced them to go from the flat page into the world’s stage. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for the rest of the play.

I thought Gibson’s lesson plans were inspired as well. I love the ones where the children have to cast the plays, write obituaries, make their own lists, write their own play reviews, and come up with their own soundtracks. I plan on using these in my classroom as well.

I am concerned that some students who are not active learners will be lost in the fray or commotion. I have to devise a teaching strategy that allows them to participate in a calmer way while still being part of the action. More to come on that front later. 

“The four principles of effective curricular conversations are: quality, quantity, relatedness, and manner.” Applebee, Arthur N. Toward Thoughtful Curriculum: Fostering Discipline-Based Conversation in the English Language Arts Classroom. Page 4.

I feel a little uncomfortable speaking about curriculum as I am so new to the teaching field. I feel the county I am student teaching for does a good job selecting a curriculum and then allowing teachers to supplement the readings as they see fit. I have noticed that they are a bit restrictive in terms of making sure they do not get sued or have upset parents calling the school. I noticed this when I asked to teach the Walter Dean Myers book Monster. It was pretty clear that they did not want to even touch the issues that the book dealt with — even though they were very related to the environment I teach in.

I cannot honestly say that I am unhappy about their conservativism in regard to curriculum because it protects me as an educator. I am really glad that someone is looking out for me and guiding me in terms of what is acceptable and what might be construed by someone else as unacceptable in our field. I sense that we are tremendously vulnerable at this point in our blossoming careers and need to be very conservative in terms of how and what we teach our students.

I selected the above quote because it seemed that it would be a good guide in helping new teachers, like me, select appropriate materials to fold into a curriculum. I liked the fact that the article we read addressed student participation and dialogue. The dialogue that we have with students in regard to their intellectual development is the really interesting part of teaching. Class should be an interactive experience with students participating and conversing about the literature that we ask them to study.

I am in the process of showing my classes Baz Luhrmann’s (I know — I showed the film before I made them read the play — I can feel you all cringing as you read this) Romeo and Juliet. It was one of the best decisions I made all semester and I had the freedom to do it. The children asked if they could come to school on Saturday to see how the play ended. It was amazing. I stopped the play and explained the different literary and visual devices that were being used in the modernized version and the kids just ate it up.I recently attended a break out session in a conference that included different suggestions and approaches to helping your students act out Shakespeare in the classroom — I cannot wait to incorporate this into my curriculum. I know I will have the support of my mentor teacher as well, which makes all the difference. I also feel that acting the scenes out promotes a deeper understanding and ownership of the material on the part of the students.

If I allow the students to choose different options during the different scenes that they are acting out, then they feel that they have made Shakespeare and his work their own. They have also had to visualize the words that they have read and have had to make them make sense in the three dimensional setting (that is the stage).  

I can conclude my reflection on these readings that dealt with curriculum by saying how grateful I am to be in the environment I am teaching in because of the safety nets that my school has in place for me as an educator and for my students. I am also incredibly grateful for the freedom I have been entrusted with as well in terms of adapting the curriculum to make it meaningful and relevant to my students lives. 

Reflection for Alsup & Bush, Introduction, Ch. 2-3

“What exactly does ownership mean and how does a teacher encourage it in his students? Ownership by our definition means something akin to taking responsibility …” (Alsup, p. 41)

I am currently working on making my students understand that their work is the legacy that they leave behind for humanity. I am trying to impress upon them that their work, not just their communication with their friends and family, can and should be an extension of their hearts, minds, and spirits. I am trying to frame class work in the most positive way I can because I am facing huge failure rates. In my one class with 29 students, only 7 are currently passing. Clearly, there is very little ownership being expressed. I know the children are capable; I just have to figure out a way to reach them and make class work more of a daily priority for them. The chapter goes on to mention the idea of Service Learning (Alsup, 42). While this is not a possibility for my immediate teaching career, service learning is one of my future teaching goals. I would like to gain one to two years more experience as a high school educator before I attempt to incorporate this into my curriculum. I believe service learning is one way my students might take their academic careers more seriously. I think this because the child can see an immediate connection between academia and the “real” or work world. This has a surprising way of making students or people wake up and realize that they will at some point have to apply what they have learned in an academic setting to a job or task in a real world setting. It brings students directly from the abstract to the concrete.I was surprised at how critical this text was in regard to traditional grammar instruction (Alsup, 44). I have to say that I am at odds with many of the instructional practices and teacher comments I read in this week’s readings. The text was obviously biased toward teaching grammar in context and using a hybrid approach to grammar instruction. The following quote demonstrates the author’s bias:

“In one corner are the traditionalists, who value grammar unconditionally and teach it as a separate and distinct part of their curricula. In the other corner are the teachers who know and accept the research demonstrating that … (the text goes on to define teaching grammar in context)”(Alsup, p. 80).

This above sentence implies that people ”in the know” teach grammar in context. People who do not are incredibly out of sync and behind the times. The text goes on to explain that in order for us as educators to teach grammar properly, we must have a stance on grammar and get current research and theory to back that stance up (Alsup, 81). I was a student who suffered from the majority of my English teachers ignoring the rules of grammar. I was lucky enough to have two very gifted English teachers (eighth and ninth grade, Elba McCue and Mrs. Morrison) who taught me some grammar, but it was largely discouraged in the classroom during the seventies and early eighties (when I was in middle and high school). Because of this lack of instruction, I find myself envious of those with a stronger knowledge of our language, its classifications and rules. I believe that we need to go back to our roots and have a heavier emphasis on grammar and the rules of our language. I believe this because proper grammar defends people from things like racism (no one will know where you are from if you stoically follow the rules of our language) and accusations of stupidity and ignorance (educated people speak grammatically correct English — it is the language of power. I feel we need to teach the language of power to our students).

You can already guess how appalled I was at the narrative that described the teacher who threw grammar out of his (I believe they called him Dave) classroom altogether (Alsup, ps. 89-93).This texts saving grace for me was the following quote:

“Doniger argues that analysis of the grammatical choices an author makes can help readers interpret and understand literary texts.” (Alsup, 102)

I do not believe a student can accurately determine an author’s grammatical choices without a pretty intense study of the grammar of our language. This study would also have to include a heavy emphasis on rhetorical grammar in order for a child to begin identifying and understanding grammatical choices on the part of a professional writer.

What I gained the most from in this text was the section on assessment. I am a nervous and reluctant grader, but this text helped me not to feel alone in my sorrow. The following quote helped me understand the importance and purpose of grading:

“After teachers have faced self-doubt or frustration and yet made decisions about writing evaluation, they should trust in their own developing expertise, and they should be able to articulate the decisions they make so that students clearly understand all the components of their own classroom writing environments.” (Alsup, p. 64)

I always felt a conflict in regard to grading because it defines students (especially in today’s academic environment) and pigeon-holes them. The grades and tests that we teachers give our unsuspecting and naïve students in high school sift our precious babes into educational paths that lead to career paths. Some of these paths inevitably, for some students, lead to poverty and a life of difficulty with little or few options of advancement or further learning. I found it a paradox that we, as educators, the ones who are supposed to use knowledge and learning as the great liberating force in the lives of our students, by assigning these grades (grades that will ultimately define these students), we teachers are the first ones to begin to shackle our students with these parameters that narrow their options or choices in life. I found this reality incredibly disturbing because it showed me the consequence of my failure.

What the above quote did for me was it taught me that when I use fair instruction and make all the rules clear and accessible to every student, then I am truly doing my job as an educator. Students must choose to educate themselves and choose to turn towards knowledge and learning. My job is to facilitate this choice and provide accurate materials that will help guide and prepare my students to reach and stay on the path of success.

 Alsup, J. & Bush, J. (2003). “But will it work with real students?”:  Scenarios for teaching English language arts.  Urbana, IL:  NCTE.

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