So proud of how great the students did with these!
Here's the 'online version,' which is the physical ones scanned page by page, then inserted into a Word Doc, converted to PDF here, and then uploaded to Acrobat.com. I highly recommend this for class websites and any personal sites you have. I was worried about uploading them in an effective way, but I really like this! (Only 1 is shown here, because they take a while to load. But there are links to both!)
Can't See?
Check out Better Than Jarred's Magazine, Magazine
and Check out Milkshake Magazine
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Project Plan: "Tweeting for Perspective"
I've been working on lesson plans involving new media that center around the class that I'm observing. They read Beauty and the Beast recently, and I wanted to make a lesson using Twitter to teach perspective.
You can find the full text of the story here.
And finally, the worksheet:
The class will have to boil down the story of Beauty and the Beast into a series of “tweets” on a mock Twitter forum. Students can choose to be Beauty or Beast, and in 18-25 “tweets,” tell the story (from the fairy tale, not the movie) from the perspective of their character.
I made one for an example, you can find it here.
You can find the full text of the story here.
And finally, the worksheet:
TWEETING BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
You and a partner are going to get inside the mind of Beauty or Beast (after picking from the jar to see which you will be). Create a 140 character profile, find a picture online, and create 18-25 “tweets” of no more that 140 characters each telling the story of Beauty and the Beast from your character’s perspective. You can type or print this assignment.
Profile Pic: Profile:
Tweets:
Monday, October 18, 2010
Very Exciting Day!
It's always a good day when my library books come in. This time was no exception! Expect reviews in the near future on:
Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham (old but classic, I'm so stoked on this one!)
Comic Book Nation by Bradford W. Wright
Children's Learning in a Digital World by Teena Willoughby and Eileen Wood
Teaching Visual Literacy by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher
Engaging 'Tweens and Teens by Raleigh Philp
There is a distinct comic book topic emerging here...
Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham (old but classic, I'm so stoked on this one!)
Comic Book Nation by Bradford W. Wright
Children's Learning in a Digital World by Teena Willoughby and Eileen Wood
Teaching Visual Literacy by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher
Engaging 'Tweens and Teens by Raleigh Philp
There is a distinct comic book topic emerging here...
Zine Articles from ELLEgirl magazine
Friday, October 15, 2010
Zine Project, Part 2
All right, the gone but not forgotten part 2 of 3 section on how the zine project progressed with the 7th graders!
This class, we really focused on getting all of their submissions in, and getting them into the actual zine itself. I brought in an electric typewriter, which they all really enjoyed playing with! They had to use their class laptops, finish writing and printing their submissions, then they could help me assemble their pages and use the typewriter to type their names, titles, and whatever else they felt like trying out. They LOVED the typewriter.
Really, what a zine is is a literary magazine. However, if students view it as a lit mag, they find it less appealing and more "normal." So, a lit mag is reframed as a "zine," something much more counterculture. The fastest way to make it more counterculture is to simply use black cardstock to make the zine, giving it a much edgier look and a "punk rock" appeal.
After the class, I scanned all of the pages and uploaded them. We were thinking about making a blog with the submissions, but I preferred the idea of translating the actual aesthetic of the handmade zine into an online version.
Simple, but it was a great experience for the kids! Today, I had one of them tell me that she was going to start her own zine.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
GoodReads: my new best friend
(as a Teaching Tool and for Fun!)
I've said it before, I'm a huge book nerd. So when I heard about GoodReads, I was instantly obsessed. And I mean obsessed before I even actually signed on. And once I did, I was even more obsessed!
The basic premise: you have bookshelves (to-read, read, currently-reading, and whatever ones you choose to add, like "graphic novels," "teaching," "nutrition," et cetera.) Then, you search for books- they have almost everything!- and put them on their respective shelves in your "library." After that, you can simply use it to catalog what you're reading, offer reviews, and find suggestions of other books to read. Or, you can become "friends" with people and see what they're reading! I love this function because it's led me to a bunch of great new finds, and reminded me about books I wanted to read and hadn't gotten around to reading. For example, my friend (also boss and teacher) had The Three Musketeers on her list, which prompted me to bring it to the beach and finish it in a matter of days. (Dumas Rules!)
Anyway, here's what it looks like:
You can also get the widget to put on your facebook, twitter, or like me, on your blog, which is neat. I'm using it for fun, and also to keep track of all of the books I'm reading about education outside of class, and to remember what books I want to read at some point. It's a great tool as a teacher, and I think it has potential to get students really interested in reading and using new technologies.
A student can have an assignment, for example, that they have to post 10 different books (maybe books they have to read for class), and that way they can keep track of what they're reading, and so can the teacher! There's a function where you can put in what page you're on, so it would help keep track of how much students are reading. I think it has a lot of cool ways to integrate it into the classroom, and I'm going to keep thinking on it and bringing up the new ideas.
I've said it before, I'm a huge book nerd. So when I heard about GoodReads, I was instantly obsessed. And I mean obsessed before I even actually signed on. And once I did, I was even more obsessed!
The basic premise: you have bookshelves (to-read, read, currently-reading, and whatever ones you choose to add, like "graphic novels," "teaching," "nutrition," et cetera.) Then, you search for books- they have almost everything!- and put them on their respective shelves in your "library." After that, you can simply use it to catalog what you're reading, offer reviews, and find suggestions of other books to read. Or, you can become "friends" with people and see what they're reading! I love this function because it's led me to a bunch of great new finds, and reminded me about books I wanted to read and hadn't gotten around to reading. For example, my friend (also boss and teacher) had The Three Musketeers on her list, which prompted me to bring it to the beach and finish it in a matter of days. (Dumas Rules!)
Anyway, here's what it looks like:
A student can have an assignment, for example, that they have to post 10 different books (maybe books they have to read for class), and that way they can keep track of what they're reading, and so can the teacher! There's a function where you can put in what page you're on, so it would help keep track of how much students are reading. I think it has a lot of cool ways to integrate it into the classroom, and I'm going to keep thinking on it and bringing up the new ideas.
Review: Youth Learning on their own Terms by Leif Gustavson
This author might just be my hero. For starters, the book looks like this:
I admit it, it was the cover that caught my attention in the library at Rutgers. (Mainly because that's how I looked in high school, spiky hair and all!) Then, when I realized that the first third of the book was devoted to a teenager who self-published zines and ran a poetry slam at his school, I was beyond excited. (Again, it made me nostalgic for my punk rock high school years: I was an avid zine writer, a it was the perfect outlet for my inherent nerdiness while retaining my punk cred.) Immediately, when I got home I sat down and started reading. Not only were there zines involved, there was a teen who was a turntablist, and a teen who dabbled in tattooing and graffiti. And throughout the book, the author managed to take a scholarly look at these three youths who might have been written off by any other teacher. In doing so, he also manages to not be condescending to the young men, and really inserts himself into their lives as he researches how they express themselves and what that might mean for teachers.
At the end, he adds that none of the ideas- zines, turntables, or tattoos- need to be added to the curriculum. Rather, it is the spirit of creativity and the understanding of these kids that needs to be incorporated. While I do agree that to add so of the things would appear condescending to the students themselves, I think that done the right way with an appropriately aged group, things like zines have a place in the classroom, as do poetry slams. While I wouldn't teach a group of seniors about zine making, the 7th graders that I have now are incredibly interested in the idea of "being punk rock." (It helps that I'm young and still retain some amount of "scene cred," I'm sure if I was 50 and sharing this project it wouldn't be as well-received.)
Gustavson mentions the concept of Tekhne, defined by Aristotle (and written by Gustavson) as "the art in mundane skill and, more significantly, in day-to-day life... an intrinsic aesthetic or crafting that underlies the practices of everyday life." (p.3) He goes on to illustrate the point through Ian, the 15 year old zinester, saying "Ian's practice of zine-writing, for example, is a part of his everyday life. He literally carries it with him wherever he goes. Articles and pieces for future zines line the sides of notes that he takes for English class." (p. 3) I have a soft spot for Ian, since he is a fellow zine writer and spoken word poet who started a poetry slam at his high school- I think we would have gotten along both as friends and in a student-teacher relationship. Anyway, I found Tekhne particularly interesting because students often don't see writing as a craft or an art form, and presenting it in such a matter- making the everyday into art- may help students discover a passion for writing. It also may demonstrate how writing can carry over to other classes and to recreational activities.
Gustavson also explores the ways that the students do their creative work outside of school, and how much time and effort they devote to it: "When youth work 'on their own terms'- meaning that they engage in some form of ongoing practice without adult supervision or guidance- they tend to work reflexively and experimentally. They also engage in multiple forms of performance as a means to evaluate and strategize their work." (p. 6) They are, essentially, being excellent students, just not in a school setting, and without being rewarded with good grades.
He goes on to explain why these creative and intelligent youths may not be performing as well i school as they should be: "More often than not, the processes by which students engage in turntablism, zine-writing, and graffiti (along with other creative practices) exist outside of school-sanctioned ways of learning. Therefore, in order for them to exist, youth must dedicate a considerable amount of their everyday lives to keep this work going, sometimes even at the expense of their schoolwork... In addition, these creative practices demonstrate a desire on the part of youth to determine their own learning trajectories. Youth navigate large cities without drivers' licenses, maintain networks of fellow artisans, strategize how to obtain equipment, and find ways to create with few resources. They want to, need to, and must work and learn on their own terms." (p. 8)
Students can create their own "communities of practice" outside of school, maintaining huge networks that interconnect and overlap. Thanks to the Internet, it's easy for people to connect over any interest, and it's simple to find out where underground shows and poetry slams are happening, and where the best places to graffiti are. Gustavson goes on to define a community of practice as "a group of people connected through a shared interest in an activity," (p. 15) which sounds simplistic on the surface but requires a lot of effort to create.
ZINES!
For those of you who don't know, "a zine is a handmade, amateur publication that focuses on a particular interest of the publisher." (p. 29)
It is not a recent concept, in fact, the most famous example could be Common Sense by Thomas Paine during the Revolutionary War. And it goes back even farther! "The zine, as Chu (1997) suggests, has its roots as deep as Martin Luther posting his 'Ninety-five Theses' on the Castle Church door at Wittenburg." (p. 29)
However, the zine as it is today has been around for roughly 40 years, though it's been debated that origins began with sci-fi fanzines in the 40s and 50s. "This underground publishing movement gained momentum in the 1970s with the explosion of punk music and punk culture... Contemporary zines run the gamut from traditional fanzines that follow the careers of particular bands to travel zines that document the journeys of writers to political zines that rant against the status quo." (p. 30)
Ian does most of his zine work in the classroom, and while his grades may suffer, his creative practice flourishes. "Ian's manipulation of class time and space to serve his own writing is a nice illustration of De Certeau's concept of la perruque, 'the wig.' 'The Wig' is an instance when workers usurp on-the-job time to do personally meaningful work." (p.40) In fact, Gustavson mentions that Ian was almost more productive when in school or at places like Model UN in terms of getting his own writing done. Because he had no distractions like instant messaging or television to fall back on, his own writing was the distraction from something he wasn't enjoying, rather than something he needed to be distracted from.
As Ian ventures into spoken word poetry, we see even more importance placed on finding a community: "Here, again, the community of practice that Ian formed within his zine writing and spoken word was crucial to the development and trajectory of his craft." (p. 49) He organizes a poetry slam at his school, combining his creative practice with the academic world, though he receives no recognition from the school for his efforts. "By organizing a slam within school, Ian created an opportunity to see other practitioners at work was well as expose himself to the content of their poetry." (p. 53) I find it hard to believe that he received no extra credit in English or Speech classes despite all of the time and effort put into organizing something of that magnitude, and that certainly speaks volumes about why he was having a hard time in school, since he obviously had no teachers who really understood his creativity or were willing to help him in his practice.
Ian is eventually diagnosed with ADD, and he says that he hopes that the medication will help him to focus in school. Gustavson questions this diagnosis, however, saying that it may just be a way of explaining poor grades while not really addressing the real problem that Ian was simply bored and unchallenged in school. It's easy to blame a physical problem like ADD for children not paying attention and doing well, but Ian was obviously able to focus for hours at a time on his zines and poetry, which theoretically would be hard to do if he legitimately had a problem with ADD. I agree with Gustavson: perhaps Ian has ADD, but there's a very real chance that his problem was simply a disconnect with school.
Switching topics: for students, having personal space is key to creative development, especially when trying to push students towards legal and safe options, as opposed graffiti or prison-style tattooing. Because Miguel lacked personal space in his home, he was less inclined to take on projects like Ian or Gil. His creative process was also effected: "Miguel often stayed up late finishing a model, drafting a piece on canvas or in his sketchbook, or painting his boots. Then there would be long stretches on inactivity related to his creative practice... A pattern with all three youth and their creative practices is the necessity to negotiate their creative work around the demands of family life." (p. 89) I think that it's important for teachers to assign projects where students can be creative, so they are essentially forced to make time for it, and it will be parent-approved.
TURNTABLES
I loved that Gustavson related turntablism to the English classroom: "Sam suggests that manipulating records is a form of language. There is the interpretation of the words. There is the fashioning of a message out of these words, phrases, and sentences that have been captured from other sources... Like writers of more traditional texts, turntablists make meaning out of language and ideas that they did not create of conceive." (p. 103) There was a great example of comparing a turntable piece that Gil created to a research paper that was perfectly done: Gustavson described the online and physical "researching" he did in finding records, the editing, testing, and drafting, and perhaps most importantly, the way that Gil combined various authors/artists to create his own critical interpretation of an idea- a thesis statement of sorts. Isn't that what a research paper is? Citing different authors and creating a new idea from their old ones?
For Gil, being in a record shop attached him to his community of practice in the same way that Ian found his at open-mic nights and poetry slams. Being able to talk about records, listen to various new artists and records, and watch others perform afforded him the chance to be a part of a community in a way he could never achieve at home or online. Because of the Internet, students have more resources, but the old methods of actually physically going places and interacting within communities cannot be overlooked. I know that when I was into zine writing, for me, going to independent bookstores was more meaningful that browsing online "zine distros," and going to poetry slams and readings were infinitely more exciting than posting to an online poetry forum. In my own creative practice, I experimented with Internet communities and physical communities and both certainly have pros and cons, and I think it's important to make students aware of both types of community.
One important conclusion Gustavson offers is the concept of believing in youth as "creative and intelligent human beings," something easily overlooked by teachers who are already struggling to fit in required curriculum. However, psychologists contend that students NEED to be allowed to develop within their creative practices, and encouraged to do so both inside and outside of school. Teachers can also help direct youth away from the more harmful creative practices and channel energies elsewhere, and can aid students in larger-scale projects, like planning and running a school poetry slam. I know that when I was a high school student, I relied heavily on the support of English teachers when I began hosting a poetry slam, and without them, I'm not sure how I would have fared.
Gustavson suggests that teachers should increase creativity by allowing for different modes of "project creation," and being more flexible with assignments. Don't assign a turntable piece to everyone, but allow it as an option: "Once a teacher sees his role as, in part, developing a sense of the culture of work of his students, he can then do the work of translating that understanding into how he designs the learning experience." (p. 143)
On another topic entirely, but one that comes up throughout the book as Gustavson- a white male- infiltrates the lives of white, Hispanic, and Black students, is writing about "urban youth living in poverty," and how to write about them and teach to them without being condescending and making assumptions. He quotes Susan Heath, an ethnographer noted for her work studying communities in the rural South (I've read her for a linguistics course), as saying, "no group under the scrutiny of social scientists has been more heavily over-generalized than urban teens who live in impoverished neighborhoods." (p. 167) Obviously, this isn't fair to the youth, but how do we prevent ourselves from teaching to the stereotypes?
I think more and more about this as I'm considering applying to Teach for America. Raised in a very white middle-class area, a lot of my thoughts have been devoted to if I could actually effectively teach marginalized youth, but after reading this book, I feel much better about it. I feel like there's this standard idea that low-income students are unmotivated and hard to teach, but perhaps it's the way we teach, rather than the students, that is causing the disconnect. Again, I believe that a personal connection between teacher and student, where the student can feel comfortable telling the teacher about creative practices he or she engages in is key to being an effective teacher, both in terms of creativity in learning and basic curriculum development.
Basically, if you're at all interested in reading about really cool students learning on their own time, I highly recommend this book. I'm hoping to have a chat with the author at some point in the near future and have an entire post dedicated to that, because anyone who is willing to put this much effort into researching how students learn and practice creativity is aces in my book!
Find Youth Learning on Their Own Terms here.
At the end, he adds that none of the ideas- zines, turntables, or tattoos- need to be added to the curriculum. Rather, it is the spirit of creativity and the understanding of these kids that needs to be incorporated. While I do agree that to add so of the things would appear condescending to the students themselves, I think that done the right way with an appropriately aged group, things like zines have a place in the classroom, as do poetry slams. While I wouldn't teach a group of seniors about zine making, the 7th graders that I have now are incredibly interested in the idea of "being punk rock." (It helps that I'm young and still retain some amount of "scene cred," I'm sure if I was 50 and sharing this project it wouldn't be as well-received.)
Gustavson mentions the concept of Tekhne, defined by Aristotle (and written by Gustavson) as "the art in mundane skill and, more significantly, in day-to-day life... an intrinsic aesthetic or crafting that underlies the practices of everyday life." (p.3) He goes on to illustrate the point through Ian, the 15 year old zinester, saying "Ian's practice of zine-writing, for example, is a part of his everyday life. He literally carries it with him wherever he goes. Articles and pieces for future zines line the sides of notes that he takes for English class." (p. 3) I have a soft spot for Ian, since he is a fellow zine writer and spoken word poet who started a poetry slam at his high school- I think we would have gotten along both as friends and in a student-teacher relationship. Anyway, I found Tekhne particularly interesting because students often don't see writing as a craft or an art form, and presenting it in such a matter- making the everyday into art- may help students discover a passion for writing. It also may demonstrate how writing can carry over to other classes and to recreational activities.
Gustavson also explores the ways that the students do their creative work outside of school, and how much time and effort they devote to it: "When youth work 'on their own terms'- meaning that they engage in some form of ongoing practice without adult supervision or guidance- they tend to work reflexively and experimentally. They also engage in multiple forms of performance as a means to evaluate and strategize their work." (p. 6) They are, essentially, being excellent students, just not in a school setting, and without being rewarded with good grades.
He goes on to explain why these creative and intelligent youths may not be performing as well i school as they should be: "More often than not, the processes by which students engage in turntablism, zine-writing, and graffiti (along with other creative practices) exist outside of school-sanctioned ways of learning. Therefore, in order for them to exist, youth must dedicate a considerable amount of their everyday lives to keep this work going, sometimes even at the expense of their schoolwork... In addition, these creative practices demonstrate a desire on the part of youth to determine their own learning trajectories. Youth navigate large cities without drivers' licenses, maintain networks of fellow artisans, strategize how to obtain equipment, and find ways to create with few resources. They want to, need to, and must work and learn on their own terms." (p. 8)
Students can create their own "communities of practice" outside of school, maintaining huge networks that interconnect and overlap. Thanks to the Internet, it's easy for people to connect over any interest, and it's simple to find out where underground shows and poetry slams are happening, and where the best places to graffiti are. Gustavson goes on to define a community of practice as "a group of people connected through a shared interest in an activity," (p. 15) which sounds simplistic on the surface but requires a lot of effort to create.
ZINES!
For those of you who don't know, "a zine is a handmade, amateur publication that focuses on a particular interest of the publisher." (p. 29)
It is not a recent concept, in fact, the most famous example could be Common Sense by Thomas Paine during the Revolutionary War. And it goes back even farther! "The zine, as Chu (1997) suggests, has its roots as deep as Martin Luther posting his 'Ninety-five Theses' on the Castle Church door at Wittenburg." (p. 29)
However, the zine as it is today has been around for roughly 40 years, though it's been debated that origins began with sci-fi fanzines in the 40s and 50s. "This underground publishing movement gained momentum in the 1970s with the explosion of punk music and punk culture... Contemporary zines run the gamut from traditional fanzines that follow the careers of particular bands to travel zines that document the journeys of writers to political zines that rant against the status quo." (p. 30)
Ian does most of his zine work in the classroom, and while his grades may suffer, his creative practice flourishes. "Ian's manipulation of class time and space to serve his own writing is a nice illustration of De Certeau's concept of la perruque, 'the wig.' 'The Wig' is an instance when workers usurp on-the-job time to do personally meaningful work." (p.40) In fact, Gustavson mentions that Ian was almost more productive when in school or at places like Model UN in terms of getting his own writing done. Because he had no distractions like instant messaging or television to fall back on, his own writing was the distraction from something he wasn't enjoying, rather than something he needed to be distracted from.
As Ian ventures into spoken word poetry, we see even more importance placed on finding a community: "Here, again, the community of practice that Ian formed within his zine writing and spoken word was crucial to the development and trajectory of his craft." (p. 49) He organizes a poetry slam at his school, combining his creative practice with the academic world, though he receives no recognition from the school for his efforts. "By organizing a slam within school, Ian created an opportunity to see other practitioners at work was well as expose himself to the content of their poetry." (p. 53) I find it hard to believe that he received no extra credit in English or Speech classes despite all of the time and effort put into organizing something of that magnitude, and that certainly speaks volumes about why he was having a hard time in school, since he obviously had no teachers who really understood his creativity or were willing to help him in his practice.
Ian is eventually diagnosed with ADD, and he says that he hopes that the medication will help him to focus in school. Gustavson questions this diagnosis, however, saying that it may just be a way of explaining poor grades while not really addressing the real problem that Ian was simply bored and unchallenged in school. It's easy to blame a physical problem like ADD for children not paying attention and doing well, but Ian was obviously able to focus for hours at a time on his zines and poetry, which theoretically would be hard to do if he legitimately had a problem with ADD. I agree with Gustavson: perhaps Ian has ADD, but there's a very real chance that his problem was simply a disconnect with school.
Switching topics: for students, having personal space is key to creative development, especially when trying to push students towards legal and safe options, as opposed graffiti or prison-style tattooing. Because Miguel lacked personal space in his home, he was less inclined to take on projects like Ian or Gil. His creative process was also effected: "Miguel often stayed up late finishing a model, drafting a piece on canvas or in his sketchbook, or painting his boots. Then there would be long stretches on inactivity related to his creative practice... A pattern with all three youth and their creative practices is the necessity to negotiate their creative work around the demands of family life." (p. 89) I think that it's important for teachers to assign projects where students can be creative, so they are essentially forced to make time for it, and it will be parent-approved.
TURNTABLES
I loved that Gustavson related turntablism to the English classroom: "Sam suggests that manipulating records is a form of language. There is the interpretation of the words. There is the fashioning of a message out of these words, phrases, and sentences that have been captured from other sources... Like writers of more traditional texts, turntablists make meaning out of language and ideas that they did not create of conceive." (p. 103) There was a great example of comparing a turntable piece that Gil created to a research paper that was perfectly done: Gustavson described the online and physical "researching" he did in finding records, the editing, testing, and drafting, and perhaps most importantly, the way that Gil combined various authors/artists to create his own critical interpretation of an idea- a thesis statement of sorts. Isn't that what a research paper is? Citing different authors and creating a new idea from their old ones?
For Gil, being in a record shop attached him to his community of practice in the same way that Ian found his at open-mic nights and poetry slams. Being able to talk about records, listen to various new artists and records, and watch others perform afforded him the chance to be a part of a community in a way he could never achieve at home or online. Because of the Internet, students have more resources, but the old methods of actually physically going places and interacting within communities cannot be overlooked. I know that when I was into zine writing, for me, going to independent bookstores was more meaningful that browsing online "zine distros," and going to poetry slams and readings were infinitely more exciting than posting to an online poetry forum. In my own creative practice, I experimented with Internet communities and physical communities and both certainly have pros and cons, and I think it's important to make students aware of both types of community.
One important conclusion Gustavson offers is the concept of believing in youth as "creative and intelligent human beings," something easily overlooked by teachers who are already struggling to fit in required curriculum. However, psychologists contend that students NEED to be allowed to develop within their creative practices, and encouraged to do so both inside and outside of school. Teachers can also help direct youth away from the more harmful creative practices and channel energies elsewhere, and can aid students in larger-scale projects, like planning and running a school poetry slam. I know that when I was a high school student, I relied heavily on the support of English teachers when I began hosting a poetry slam, and without them, I'm not sure how I would have fared.
Gustavson suggests that teachers should increase creativity by allowing for different modes of "project creation," and being more flexible with assignments. Don't assign a turntable piece to everyone, but allow it as an option: "Once a teacher sees his role as, in part, developing a sense of the culture of work of his students, he can then do the work of translating that understanding into how he designs the learning experience." (p. 143)
On another topic entirely, but one that comes up throughout the book as Gustavson- a white male- infiltrates the lives of white, Hispanic, and Black students, is writing about "urban youth living in poverty," and how to write about them and teach to them without being condescending and making assumptions. He quotes Susan Heath, an ethnographer noted for her work studying communities in the rural South (I've read her for a linguistics course), as saying, "no group under the scrutiny of social scientists has been more heavily over-generalized than urban teens who live in impoverished neighborhoods." (p. 167) Obviously, this isn't fair to the youth, but how do we prevent ourselves from teaching to the stereotypes?
I think more and more about this as I'm considering applying to Teach for America. Raised in a very white middle-class area, a lot of my thoughts have been devoted to if I could actually effectively teach marginalized youth, but after reading this book, I feel much better about it. I feel like there's this standard idea that low-income students are unmotivated and hard to teach, but perhaps it's the way we teach, rather than the students, that is causing the disconnect. Again, I believe that a personal connection between teacher and student, where the student can feel comfortable telling the teacher about creative practices he or she engages in is key to being an effective teacher, both in terms of creativity in learning and basic curriculum development.
Basically, if you're at all interested in reading about really cool students learning on their own time, I highly recommend this book. I'm hoping to have a chat with the author at some point in the near future and have an entire post dedicated to that, because anyone who is willing to put this much effort into researching how students learn and practice creativity is aces in my book!
Find Youth Learning on Their Own Terms here.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Review: Classroom Blogging by David Warlick
This is the book that inspired me to start this blog. Basically, the author suggests that teachers almost need to have blogs to vent and share their ideas and views about teaching, in order to connect with other teachers and have feedback, as well as just having a blog in order to familiarize oneself with the technology in order to understand how to use it in the classroom. In a discussion I was having with a classmate, we were talking about how our professors are so gung-ho about using technology in the classroom, though most don't seem to have a great grasp of it themselves. (Don't get me started on PowerPoint presentations, that's another post!) We concluded that if we were teaching students that using new technology leads to greater literacy and that using it is cool and new and exciting, we need to actually use the technology ourselves. So, a blog was born!
More to the point: Warlick discusses various ways that blogs and wikis can be used in the classroom, and provides a whole lot of instruction about how to start a blog, how to start a wiki, how to post, et cetera. Which is fabulous for teachers who have no working knowledge of the classroom, though it falls somewhat flat for those of us who already knew how to do basic blogging functions. I would have liked to see a little more by way of "new" uses for a blog, and a lot more in terms of actual classroom applications- like what projects are best done blogging, and what new things they can explore with wikis. Don't get me wrong, it does offer ideas, but just extremely basic ones.
Ironically, the graphics in the text are incredibly outdated in terms of the style in which they are done, and though it was written only 3 years ago, it doesn't account for so many of the technologies- blog and otherwise- that are available to teachers now. The problem I'm finding with all of the technology books that I'm reading now is the simple fact that most of them are outdated practically upon being published.
The book did offer me one major idea that I intend to try out: the idea of a podcast. The only issue is that it detracts from the written elements of blogging, however, for journal entries about books children are reading, some of them may enjoy an option that allows them to verbalize and record thoughts to be used for a paper later, rather than writing. It might provide an interesting "hook" for getting students interested in journaling.
For me, blogging for students is about allowing them 'personal property.' I always loved having my own writing journal, not handing in one sheet of paper per entry, but having a real notebook to keep all of my thoughts in. Something about that physical "property" really held my interest. I feel as though blogs do the same thing for students now: it's a chunk of the Internet that is now theirs. Not to mention, the public access forces them to more carefully consider what they write, since their classmates or parents can easily see the work that they are doing.
Basically, while it's a simplistic (but necessary) book for teachers with little or no background in computers, it did make me start thinking of applications for blogging, and how to use it in my own research into teaching as well as in the classroom. This blog is intended to be an experiment for different web-based teaching applications, but also a place for me to hold all of my thoughts on student teaching experiences and also on books and research that I find myself studying outside of the classroom.
More on Warlick here.
More to the point: Warlick discusses various ways that blogs and wikis can be used in the classroom, and provides a whole lot of instruction about how to start a blog, how to start a wiki, how to post, et cetera. Which is fabulous for teachers who have no working knowledge of the classroom, though it falls somewhat flat for those of us who already knew how to do basic blogging functions. I would have liked to see a little more by way of "new" uses for a blog, and a lot more in terms of actual classroom applications- like what projects are best done blogging, and what new things they can explore with wikis. Don't get me wrong, it does offer ideas, but just extremely basic ones.
Ironically, the graphics in the text are incredibly outdated in terms of the style in which they are done, and though it was written only 3 years ago, it doesn't account for so many of the technologies- blog and otherwise- that are available to teachers now. The problem I'm finding with all of the technology books that I'm reading now is the simple fact that most of them are outdated practically upon being published.
The book did offer me one major idea that I intend to try out: the idea of a podcast. The only issue is that it detracts from the written elements of blogging, however, for journal entries about books children are reading, some of them may enjoy an option that allows them to verbalize and record thoughts to be used for a paper later, rather than writing. It might provide an interesting "hook" for getting students interested in journaling.
For me, blogging for students is about allowing them 'personal property.' I always loved having my own writing journal, not handing in one sheet of paper per entry, but having a real notebook to keep all of my thoughts in. Something about that physical "property" really held my interest. I feel as though blogs do the same thing for students now: it's a chunk of the Internet that is now theirs. Not to mention, the public access forces them to more carefully consider what they write, since their classmates or parents can easily see the work that they are doing.
Basically, while it's a simplistic (but necessary) book for teachers with little or no background in computers, it did make me start thinking of applications for blogging, and how to use it in my own research into teaching as well as in the classroom. This blog is intended to be an experiment for different web-based teaching applications, but also a place for me to hold all of my thoughts on student teaching experiences and also on books and research that I find myself studying outside of the classroom.
More on Warlick here.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Zine Project, Part 1
I'm doing fieldwork in a 7th grade class, and rather than just passively observing, I got involved in the class. To preface this lesson, a "history lesson" about me is needed:
I was young and punk rock once. During that time, I thought it would be cool to publish a zine (a homemade magazine.) I published it, full of photos, poems, essays, stories, and letters to no one. It was corny, but it was a great way of expressing myself. It paid off though: I sent a copy to ELLEgirl magazine, a teen fashion magazine at the time, and they offered me an internship, despite the fact that I was just graduating high school and not in any journalism program. I wrote articles for them including one about how cool zines are.
When I started my fieldwork, my teacher looked at my resume and noticed the ELLEgirl thing and wondered if I would be willing to teach a lesson about what working there was like. I thought about it, and decided to take it a step farther: I would talk about that, and then we would make a class zine.
First, the handout:
I talked to the class for a few minutes about how I got my job at ELLEgirl, showed them the article on zines, and talked about what zines are. Then, I told them that they would be making one. Before class started, I heard kids complaining about this new project that they were getting, but once I explained it, there was a shift int he room: kids seemed interested. It was a new way of having a class literary magazine: it's more punk rock, creative, and do-it-yourself. It's hands on, and it's gritty. It's not laid out perfectly, it should look messy. The title should be silly. I told them they could have a poem, short story, or an essay- even one about why they hate homework, and that got them excited!
Then, we worked on finding a name. I wasn't sure how this would play out: would hey be able to come up with something interesting or would they get stuck? I didn't have to worry. Within 5 minutes, we had a huge list of names:
Clutch
Prototype
Alien Workshop
Breaking Apart
Neon Colors
Better than Joey's Magazine, Magazine
and a whole lot more.
We used the Smart Board to write them all up, then did a preliminary vote to get down to 6 titles- each student could vote three times. Then, with the top 6, we had a final vote, and the winner was "Better than Joey's** Magazine, Magazine." Joey is a hilarious kid, totally self-aware and he loved it. The name was a joke between him and his group, since he had come up with a name option, their response to his was to create "Better than Joey's Magazine, Magazine." I was originally a little uncomfortable with it, but the teacher, who knows the students, was ok with it, and clearly Joey was too, since he was the one who voted most emphatically for it.
While they talked about the title, I circulated with a mock zine I had made for Beauty and the Beast, the short story that they were reading in class the week before. I also circulated the magazines I had articles in, so they could take a look at the kinds of things that I wrote. I walked around and they asked me a lot of questions about the job and about the zine, and talked to me about their article ideas- everything from poems to video game reviews!
I'll write more on this later, but after we had my section of the class, the students got to work on another project, and this time, instead of me being an outsider and sort of suspicious to the students, they were eager to share their projects. And I was amazed with the levels of technology used! Some of the kids had made their own simple programs or video games, and while they didn't have as much to do with the subject of the project as they could have, their technological literacy was shocking to me.
I'm thinking that what really brought the project to life for them was the hook that I used to get them interested- showing them a view of me as a kid and what I was into, and the practical applications of it (a zine got me a really cool job!) Teachers should definitely try to show kids that they can be "real people" too- though I think this is more effective if you don't do it all of the time, so it has "shock value" when you do utilize it.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what they come in with next week, and how it translates into a zine. I have a few great tricks up my sleeve for it...
**Names have been changed
I was young and punk rock once. During that time, I thought it would be cool to publish a zine (a homemade magazine.) I published it, full of photos, poems, essays, stories, and letters to no one. It was corny, but it was a great way of expressing myself. It paid off though: I sent a copy to ELLEgirl magazine, a teen fashion magazine at the time, and they offered me an internship, despite the fact that I was just graduating high school and not in any journalism program. I wrote articles for them including one about how cool zines are.
When I started my fieldwork, my teacher looked at my resume and noticed the ELLEgirl thing and wondered if I would be willing to teach a lesson about what working there was like. I thought about it, and decided to take it a step farther: I would talk about that, and then we would make a class zine.
First, the handout:
Then, we worked on finding a name. I wasn't sure how this would play out: would hey be able to come up with something interesting or would they get stuck? I didn't have to worry. Within 5 minutes, we had a huge list of names:
Clutch
Prototype
Alien Workshop
Breaking Apart
Neon Colors
Better than Joey's Magazine, Magazine
and a whole lot more.
We used the Smart Board to write them all up, then did a preliminary vote to get down to 6 titles- each student could vote three times. Then, with the top 6, we had a final vote, and the winner was "Better than Joey's** Magazine, Magazine." Joey is a hilarious kid, totally self-aware and he loved it. The name was a joke between him and his group, since he had come up with a name option, their response to his was to create "Better than Joey's Magazine, Magazine." I was originally a little uncomfortable with it, but the teacher, who knows the students, was ok with it, and clearly Joey was too, since he was the one who voted most emphatically for it.
While they talked about the title, I circulated with a mock zine I had made for Beauty and the Beast, the short story that they were reading in class the week before. I also circulated the magazines I had articles in, so they could take a look at the kinds of things that I wrote. I walked around and they asked me a lot of questions about the job and about the zine, and talked to me about their article ideas- everything from poems to video game reviews!
I'll write more on this later, but after we had my section of the class, the students got to work on another project, and this time, instead of me being an outsider and sort of suspicious to the students, they were eager to share their projects. And I was amazed with the levels of technology used! Some of the kids had made their own simple programs or video games, and while they didn't have as much to do with the subject of the project as they could have, their technological literacy was shocking to me.
I'm thinking that what really brought the project to life for them was the hook that I used to get them interested- showing them a view of me as a kid and what I was into, and the practical applications of it (a zine got me a really cool job!) Teachers should definitely try to show kids that they can be "real people" too- though I think this is more effective if you don't do it all of the time, so it has "shock value" when you do utilize it.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what they come in with next week, and how it translates into a zine. I have a few great tricks up my sleeve for it...
**Names have been changed
Monday, October 4, 2010
Thoughts on Literacy Motivation
In my Teaching Literacy class, we were assigned a piece on how we look at student motivation.; I really liked where the assignment took me in terms of exploring my teaching philosophy, so here are some of my insights:
I believe that in order to motivate students, you have to convince them of their own knowledge- or their ability to obtain knowledge- and build their confidence to the point where they feel capable of independent thought and formulating their own ideas. Without confidence, they lack the motivation to search for answers on their own, to volunteer thoughts, and perhaps most importantly, find a joy in reading. If a student has been told that he is reading something wrong, or missing the point, or not finding the “right” answers in a text, then the chances of him wanting to go home and read- for school or pleasure- are slim to none. However, if he’s pushed towards reading critically but praised for what he already can do, his confidence may develop and so will his motivation to read and improve. To that end, I believe that it’s important to encourage students- from the higher level to the lower ability level- and always find something positive in their work. To some extent, this calls to mind a section I particularly liked in Adolescent Literacy when the counselor said that “Favorite teachers save lives.” (Heineman, 16) I think teachers do have that power, and motivation is one of the major pieces of that idea. If a student is motivated, that motivation can certainly change her life.
In addition, I think it’s important to foster an environment where students are motivated to learn and read, not just for school, but for fun. I think every English classroom should have a section for a class library with a wide selection, complete with a computer with links to the local library for downloading audiobooks (and headphones to listen to them!), writing materials, comfortable seating, and an assortment of newspapers and magazines for students. Since not all students read and learn the same way, it’s important to motivate not just the “readers” in the class, but also show the non-readers the various mediums now being used to “read” in different ways. Susan Hynds sums up this concept in On the Brink, saying, “For Meg, it meant learning to accept her students completely as individuals, while providing them with everything they needed to create their own special vision of themselves as literate people.” (Hynds, 77).
My instructional approach is simple- try to find time within the busy schedule to have “reading time,” regardless of grade, be ready with reading suggestions for recalcitrant readers, and encourage creativity with projects like reading journals (as a tool for communication similar to the calendars shown in the movie) and new ways of studying books (creating a “newspaper” for a novel set in the 1860’s, for example.) My belief is that children can be motivated if given the right project.
Making reading appear fun and exciting is the best thing that an English teacher can do.Whether it’s starting a book club, offering suggestions of great books, designing fun projects, decorating the class, or simply chatting with students about what they’re reading when they read for fun, a teacher’s attitude towards reading can be mirrored by her students. I just hope to one day be able to get students as excited about reading as I was, and to never be the teacher who tries to quash a creative approach, make a student feel dumb, or make a child hate reading because I don’t encourage her to read what she wants to read.
Cited:
Beers, K., Probst, R., Rief, L. (2007). Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Appleman, D. (2009). Critical encounters in high school English: Teaching literary theory to adolescents. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.
Hynds, S. (1997). On the brink: Negotiating literature and life with adolescents. New York: Teachers College Press.
I believe that in order to motivate students, you have to convince them of their own knowledge- or their ability to obtain knowledge- and build their confidence to the point where they feel capable of independent thought and formulating their own ideas. Without confidence, they lack the motivation to search for answers on their own, to volunteer thoughts, and perhaps most importantly, find a joy in reading. If a student has been told that he is reading something wrong, or missing the point, or not finding the “right” answers in a text, then the chances of him wanting to go home and read- for school or pleasure- are slim to none. However, if he’s pushed towards reading critically but praised for what he already can do, his confidence may develop and so will his motivation to read and improve. To that end, I believe that it’s important to encourage students- from the higher level to the lower ability level- and always find something positive in their work. To some extent, this calls to mind a section I particularly liked in Adolescent Literacy when the counselor said that “Favorite teachers save lives.” (Heineman, 16) I think teachers do have that power, and motivation is one of the major pieces of that idea. If a student is motivated, that motivation can certainly change her life.
In addition, I think it’s important to foster an environment where students are motivated to learn and read, not just for school, but for fun. I think every English classroom should have a section for a class library with a wide selection, complete with a computer with links to the local library for downloading audiobooks (and headphones to listen to them!), writing materials, comfortable seating, and an assortment of newspapers and magazines for students. Since not all students read and learn the same way, it’s important to motivate not just the “readers” in the class, but also show the non-readers the various mediums now being used to “read” in different ways. Susan Hynds sums up this concept in On the Brink, saying, “For Meg, it meant learning to accept her students completely as individuals, while providing them with everything they needed to create their own special vision of themselves as literate people.” (Hynds, 77).
My instructional approach is simple- try to find time within the busy schedule to have “reading time,” regardless of grade, be ready with reading suggestions for recalcitrant readers, and encourage creativity with projects like reading journals (as a tool for communication similar to the calendars shown in the movie) and new ways of studying books (creating a “newspaper” for a novel set in the 1860’s, for example.) My belief is that children can be motivated if given the right project.
Making reading appear fun and exciting is the best thing that an English teacher can do.Whether it’s starting a book club, offering suggestions of great books, designing fun projects, decorating the class, or simply chatting with students about what they’re reading when they read for fun, a teacher’s attitude towards reading can be mirrored by her students. I just hope to one day be able to get students as excited about reading as I was, and to never be the teacher who tries to quash a creative approach, make a student feel dumb, or make a child hate reading because I don’t encourage her to read what she wants to read.
Cited:
Beers, K., Probst, R., Rief, L. (2007). Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Appleman, D. (2009). Critical encounters in high school English: Teaching literary theory to adolescents. New York, NY: Teachers College, Columbia University.
Hynds, S. (1997). On the brink: Negotiating literature and life with adolescents. New York: Teachers College Press.
Why "English for Recess"?
When I sat down and decided to start a blog, it took me a while before I came up with this title. At first, I was thinking about something really dry but to the point, like Molly Hurford: Student Teacher, but that was just too boring. Then, I thought about what my most vivid memories relating to English and reading were.
I've always been a huge bookworm. I read early and fast, and by eight- not to brag- I had read Gone with the Wind (though the rape scene was lost on me) and "taught" my little sister and our stuffed animals about what Romeo and Juliet was really about (two families fighting over dumb stuff). I was a strange kid.
In addition to reading at home and in class, I read a lot during school- especially during lunch and recess. Who needed real life friends when I had friends like Lyra from The Golden Compass? Don't get me wrong- I had friends, but playing with a lot of kids at recess wasn't my cup of tea. I preferred playing with my neighbor and best friend after school in our yard, exploring the woods behind out houses and building our own forts.
However, the powers that be decided that my anti-social behavior was a bad thing, and banned me from reading at lunch and recess. So, I went underground- I sewed a pocket in my jacket and smuggled books like contraband onto the playground every day. I was a resourceful fourth grader!
Basically, the point of my blog is that I want kids to want to read at recess! I want them to take English outside of the classroom and have fun with it! I decided to take some fun pictures of myself on the playground now having fun with my reading instead of actually playing, because I believe that it really highlights how I feel about reading in general, but also how it embodies my teaching philosophy. I hope you enjoy it!
Who, What, When, Where, Why and How
As a wannabe English teacher, I felt like this post title was apt: after all, these are the questions that we expect students to answer in papers, so shouldn't we? I won't answer them one by one, but I can promise that as a reporter by nature, I crammed them all in to this post.
For starters, Who the heck am I?
To start simple, my name is Molly Hurford. I graduated in 2008 from Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism and English and a minor in Women's Studies. After graduating, it hit me (like a ton of bricks) that, like every other female for the past 5 generations of my family, I wanted to be a teacher. So, it was back to Rutgers to go to the Graduate School of Education to get my Masters in English Education, which brings us to the present.
In the interim, I also became a semi-elite triathlete, a Cat 3 cyclist on the Rutgers Cycling Team, and a freelance journalist, publishing articles in Triathlete Magazine. Write what you know! Prior to my personality shift towards the sporty, I was a little punk kid writing zines, which oddly led to a job working for ELLEgirl magazine, a teen fashion magazine focused on the "alternative" girl. Luckily, the zine writing got me the job, and landed me a great feature about zines and how to write them. I also wrote about things like knitting and feminism, did book reviews, and even wrote about and was photographed getting a tattoo. This high school newspaper Editor in Chief was going places!
So what changed and made me switch to education? For one thing, I realized after a year of working in NYC that I don't like the city lifestyle, and journalism- the kind I wanted to do- meant I would almost assuredly end up in a city. Then, I started tutoring at the Rutgers Plangere Writing Center, which led to tutoring student athletes at the Hale Center, and eventually tutoring EOF and ESL students for Student Support Services. It struck me that not only was I good at tutoring, but I was enjoying it. Much as I hated to admit it, I was clearly cut out to be a teacher.
Onto what everyone really cares about: what is this blog going to be about?
Now, I'm in my first full-time year of grad school, and find myself reading everything I can about using new media in the classroom and trying to work it into the lessons I'm teaching in the class that I'm observing- a seventh grade Language Arts class. I decided start this blog in order to put down my thoughts about some of the books I was reading, about the lesson plans I'm developing, and about what it feels like to be a student and a teacher at the same time. It seems to me that if I'm reading about new media with intentions of using it in the classroom, it's imperative that I practice what I preach, so I intend to use this blog as an experiment in new media uses. Also, I plan to allow readers to see the trajectory of my "career" as I try to decide what to do with my life after this semester: will I stay in grad school? Will I look for work in a private school? Will I sign up for Teach for America? It should be a fun ride!
Expect to see video and audio posts, links to things like my GoodReads account, experiments with classroom uses for Twitter and Facebook, and real life examples of suggestions from the great books that I'm reading. With any luck, I can even bring in some new media ways of connecting with some of the brilliant minds who are authoring the work that I highlight! Skype, anyone?
For starters, Who the heck am I?
To start simple, my name is Molly Hurford. I graduated in 2008 from Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism and English and a minor in Women's Studies. After graduating, it hit me (like a ton of bricks) that, like every other female for the past 5 generations of my family, I wanted to be a teacher. So, it was back to Rutgers to go to the Graduate School of Education to get my Masters in English Education, which brings us to the present.
In the interim, I also became a semi-elite triathlete, a Cat 3 cyclist on the Rutgers Cycling Team, and a freelance journalist, publishing articles in Triathlete Magazine. Write what you know! Prior to my personality shift towards the sporty, I was a little punk kid writing zines, which oddly led to a job working for ELLEgirl magazine, a teen fashion magazine focused on the "alternative" girl. Luckily, the zine writing got me the job, and landed me a great feature about zines and how to write them. I also wrote about things like knitting and feminism, did book reviews, and even wrote about and was photographed getting a tattoo. This high school newspaper Editor in Chief was going places!
So what changed and made me switch to education? For one thing, I realized after a year of working in NYC that I don't like the city lifestyle, and journalism- the kind I wanted to do- meant I would almost assuredly end up in a city. Then, I started tutoring at the Rutgers Plangere Writing Center, which led to tutoring student athletes at the Hale Center, and eventually tutoring EOF and ESL students for Student Support Services. It struck me that not only was I good at tutoring, but I was enjoying it. Much as I hated to admit it, I was clearly cut out to be a teacher.
Onto what everyone really cares about: what is this blog going to be about?
Now, I'm in my first full-time year of grad school, and find myself reading everything I can about using new media in the classroom and trying to work it into the lessons I'm teaching in the class that I'm observing- a seventh grade Language Arts class. I decided start this blog in order to put down my thoughts about some of the books I was reading, about the lesson plans I'm developing, and about what it feels like to be a student and a teacher at the same time. It seems to me that if I'm reading about new media with intentions of using it in the classroom, it's imperative that I practice what I preach, so I intend to use this blog as an experiment in new media uses. Also, I plan to allow readers to see the trajectory of my "career" as I try to decide what to do with my life after this semester: will I stay in grad school? Will I look for work in a private school? Will I sign up for Teach for America? It should be a fun ride!
Expect to see video and audio posts, links to things like my GoodReads account, experiments with classroom uses for Twitter and Facebook, and real life examples of suggestions from the great books that I'm reading. With any luck, I can even bring in some new media ways of connecting with some of the brilliant minds who are authoring the work that I highlight! Skype, anyone?
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