Let Them Read

As I started to read "You Gotta BE the Book" what really struck me was aesthetic reading. Here he talked about how he had not realized that students were just reading for information. This is how students become bored of the reading. We have been brought through high school skimming for useless information and not really required to read the actual story. It shocked me that teachers would not realize that is why students are not interested in reading on their own.

I did not enjoy reading because we had to read books that were just to get the information for filling out packets or basic questions. He journaled about one student who read for fun at home, experiencing the aesthetic side of reading. This is when they get to live through their reading and the stories. I wish that I had been taught in a different way to engage in the stories, much like young kids do. We grow up loving books and wanting to read more...maybe just to avoid going to bed, but even the girl he read to knew the story as if she was actually part of it... Then we stop doing this, and do more searching for information.

He then talks about how Rosenblatt never said specifically what strategies to use in engaging students with the reading. This has been a struggle for me as I read through books like this. They tell you what not to do, but not specifically what TO do. I share this frustration with him a lot! You go on to learning what works best for others and yourself in your own classroom. I plan to use his two big points: teaching with clarity of purpose and being more social in the classroom. They are vague, but reminds you that the students need to know what to get out of the reading and why they are doing it. It also helps them to engage with each other, giving them time to experience the reading with others and connecting to it. This way students can get much more out of the reading, "a need to learn relationally from characters, author, and experts through their transactions with various texts."

Here is a LINK that talks about why students are bored in class... This can connect with reading as well. It talks about sitting too long and the teacher talking too much- this can be avoided by using more social work in the classroom. It also talks about directing too much, and observing too little. This can also be a factor of why students aren't living through their reading- because teachers aren't giving them the space to be their own person and think their own thoughts.

In Clearing the Way,  this quote really captured my attention. "As English teachers our major responsibility is to enfranchise student in our classes to such a degree that they think of themselves as writers, as those who use written language to both discover thinking and communicate thought, who boldly try varied forms of writing, using them to meet their needs." I thought that it was a little overwhelming... Like who am I to influence students in a way that makes them want to think of themselves as writers. What if I fail and turn students away from reading and writing. What if I don't equip my students with these 'varied forms of writing' in order to make each of them successful?
As I continued to read, these thoughts calmed. Romano gives plenty of ideas to begin to give these varied forms of writing... He says we are responsible to allow the students to engage their creative side throughout their writing processes. The many ways he discusses need to be incorporated in lesson plans about the reading you are working with. He talks about how writing about a dramatic encounter leads students to creative and realistic thinking. Prose is also another way, which takes many forms such as journal entries, profile of a character, editorials, prequels or sequels. Songs can be written to be more engaging and fun. Poetry gives students a chance to write in a way that they may want to- many poetic forms. This LINK shows many possibilities for poetry writing, and some books that you could use while teaching poetry.

I realized that there are endless possibilities when it comes to writing; I will just have to learn as I progress with each student. Using a variety of writing styles aside from essays will help to engage students in their work and make them excited to do more. You just have to keep them on the edge of their seat!

Conferencing

After I read Clearing the Way chapter 7- "The Crucial Role of Conferencing," I realized how much conferencing mattered in my own development as a reader. 

How to conference: sit down next to your student (not in front of, to avoid eyes on the student), talk about how their writing is going, read through it, do not correct the grammar or spelling, work on pointing out what is powerful and what they can focus on in a positive way, be available to talk to the students about their writing when they need it.

This LINK talks about the process of conferencing. At the end it also has sheets attached to use in order to keep track of the conferences you have with each student. (Great idea for younger kids.)
Romano works with one specific student on a poem she is trying to write throughout her entire process. Due to how he pointed out the strong points of her poem, good work choices, and gave feedback in a constructive way, she continued to come to him to seek advice for her writing until it was a finished piece. When you do conferencing this way, it encourages students and makes them feel good about what they are writing.

In my AP English class, I was first exposed to this conferencing. I had never met with any teacher to go over my writing; I just wrote, turned it in, and got a grade. When I was able to meet with my AP English teacher, I started to improve my writing skills. I learned how to pick out the strengths of my writing and how to bring them out. Conferencing definitely is something that I want to include in my teaching career.

Cardboard Boxes

I read Cajas de Carton by Francisco Jimenez, and really enjoyed it. The narrator was originally the one that did not want to leave because he was comfortable with his home in Mexico. They headed off to find work elsewhere and Roberto was upset that he would no longer go to school while the narrator was able to. As soon as the narrator had become excited about schooling and the progress he was making there, they packed up to leave.

This is a good aspect on how teaching English as a secondary language can be. The teacher has to be very patient and willing to build a relationship with the student. In this story he struggled to catch up on new English grammar due to the fact that he did not hear English very often. His family spoke Spanish to each other as well. As a teacher, you have to understand that students may speak a different language in their home and you need to be able to connect and understand them. (Here's a LINK to a cute website of games for ESL children). 

Teachers need to build a relationship and be familiar with other cultures, respecting their language, and engaging them in different ways. This is mentioned in Reading, Writing, and Rising Up as well. When you scold a student's writing or speech that is practiced within their own home, you can cause a student to be silenced. Once you silence a student in their writing, it is hard to open them back up again. Being aware of different cultures and understanding that everyone comes from different backgrounds helps to bridge this gap.

This short story visited how the narrator and Mr. Lema connected. Mr. Lema took extra time to help the student to be successful because he was not as familiar with English as the other students may have been. His background was much different but Mr. Lema supported him, and even went above and beyond saying that he will teach him to play the trumpet.

Advice learned: be open, be honest, be aware, be prepared

Being the Teacher's Shadow

Today I went to Portage West Middle School and shadowed an English Language Arts teacher. She is primarily sixth grade but also teaches one class of seventh graders. 

When I arrived at the school I signed into the office, found the teacher in the computer lab. She was excited to meet me and ready for questions. She talked a lot about her decision to become a teacher. She was unsure of what to do, went to KVCC for a few years, then came to WMU and started to study business, learning shortly that it was not for her. Then she took a career exploration class which helped her to realize that her good influences were within the school system. She had had a great English teacher that had opened her eyes to really loving English. When she became a teacher, this same woman became her mentor within the school in her first years. She has been teaching now for fifteen years! I asked her a few more questions, but I want to save them for my paper :)

The first class was called six plus, which was basically the regular English class. She has this same class first and third hour, which I found very interesting, so that they can have a break from the class. (To keep them engaged!) They were working on grammar such as the use of commas and were typing a novel. This was a biography of someone over the age of thirty that they had decided to interview and write about. The finished product will have six chapters and is a project that takes quite a long time in sixth grade. I got to engage with the students, helping with formatting and spelling. This definitely was exciting for me, although I wanted to take over the class!

One huge difference from the middle school I attended was the diversity. There were many different races, languages, and types of children. They all got along, respected each other, spoke in different languages to each other, and I was intrigued because this was not normal in my school years. 

I also sat in on a class called FLEX, which is a reading program for kids that need extra time to work on their reading skills. There were only seven students because after you meet certain credentials, you graduate out of the class. The teacher set up three stations: one with her, one with a teacher aid, and one for an online reading program. The students spent about thirteen minutes in each station to work on fluency, speed, and comprehension. I really enjoyed working with these struggling students because it was rewarding to see them improve even within the hour.

Lastly I sat in on a class with a teacher that was new to middle school, but had taught at an alternative high school for eighteen years. We did not get any time to chat, which I would've loved to. In this class sixth graders were starting to read Esperanza Rising. They had learned a little background on Mexico and talked about a painting. Then she handed out a paper that had personal questions that would later come up as they read the book.

Overall my day was a great experience. I would love to do it again, and I am so excited that this will be my future career. I cannot wait to see how much of an impact I can make in students' lives, no matter how big or small. :)

Curriculum

After reading the chapter "Curriculum" in Early Career English Teachers in Action, it raised a few concerns. First of all, in the introduction Lindsay Ellis talked about how she did not have many teachers that shared their curriculum due to a small school size. She spent a lot of time writing the curriculum on her own, which scares me. There was a teacher Nancie Attwell that had a great curriculum and was very confident, yet it did not work for all of the students. I do not feel that I would be prepared to do that coming in as a first year teacher and would definitely need some direction. 

I learned in David Jagusch's story that curriculum is something that you learn to develop over time. You have to be open and willing to change it according to where you are, who your students are, and what works the most successfully. Every group of students you have has to be treated in a new way, and none are the same. You have to care to get to know your students for who they are, observe other teachers, and learn from your own experiences. This is also worrisome because it is a lot of trial and error which takes time. Check out this article, it talks about the importance of curriculum in all aspects of the teaching realm.

Sierra Holmes was lucky to find a school system that valued what she did- whatever works best for the students. I loved that she was more concerned about improving the students' writing and gave them back their paper with comments instead of a grade. She was able to take away grading and gave the students credit for improving and working hard on their writing. I think that the flexibility she had and the allowance that the school had lead to better results. The students actually wanted to work on their writing and ended up improving much more than they would if a grade was associated. This also worries me, though, because not all schools systems are allowing of this. I need to remember to ask about the goals of the school staff when interviewing for a job.

I am excited for this part of teaching, but it may be the scariest part for me because I am not formally trained for it yet... :)

What will make school better?

After reading the article "How to Make Schools Better For Kids" by Alexandra Sifferlin, I have a few questions. What will make school better? (beyond the levels you see on WikiHow) This article gives many options but how do we know which things to change, or if they will actually work. Are they reasonable? It raised many thoughts and questions...
"Ditch Traditional Homework"- I think this is an excellent and reasonable idea. When you give choice, students are more interested, therefore will succeed at a higher rate.
"Make Recess Mandatory"- I always had to go out for recess and think that it is sad that schools are shortening this time. If they shorten recess, they will only go home to sit on the couch or play on their computers. I think recess is very important!!!
"Screen Kids for Mental Illness"- This is a very touchy subject with parents because they do not always want to know if their kids have a mental illness. I really have no opinion on this, but it should be up to the parents and not the school system. Also the school system would need to have programs to accommodate these mental illnesses.
"Design Cafeterias that Encourage Healthy Eating"- This is very important because it is hard to make healthy choices when there are mostly unhealthy choices. Obesity is rising so promoting healthy eating is only helping. But how would you do this cheaply? And what options would they give for variety?
"Promote Diversity"- I can see how you could attract students from different backgrounds, but how do you promote diversity in a community full of 80% white people? 
"Turn Discipline into Dialogue"- This is an interesting way to handle your students and disruption in the classroom. I think that it might almost be more distracting to have students stand up during class than if they were not able to sit still. Would this encourage students to behave better or would they feel like they could get away with more?
"Let Students Customize Their Curriculums"- This would work well for students that learn decently on computers. Many students though, would much rather learn on paper. This can be challenging to use this concept with- would it actually help?
"Start Classes After 8:30am"- I do not agree with this at all. You start cutting time from after school activities and make it harder for the family to be together. Those things all help the student to be well-rounded while if classes started later, they would not have as many opportunities for that.

I really enjoyed this article but it raised more questions than it answered. They were good proposed ideas but no thorough explanations... I would love to learn more about customizing curriculums and turning discipline into dialogue.