Adolescent Lit

I agree that finding quality lit for our young readers is important, but the problem that I have is that great literature is not always so exciting for the first few chapters as the authors sets the tone, etc for the piece.  The issue is that so many students are used to being hooked on a story line by the first commercial break rather than working though the opening pages of a book. 

I have had students tell me that the book is 'boring' after only reading the first paragraph (sometimes that is at most).  So--- I read to them....And they need that so they learn to interpret and determine meaning from the phrases and sentences which are streaming past their eyes.... 



I just don't know sometimes.... and in the reading of this piece, I wondered if we are allowing time for them to read -- after all, my own children are often so busy that they cannot stay awake when they finally get to sit down at home. 

Aargh...interrupted again, sorry.

CCS-

So I wanted to write CCC beacuase I love acronyms and the Civilian Conservation Core....but I can't help but wonder and think about discovery.  I don't really feel any discover in these standards -- even though they seem to be pretty broad and I have a little chart which puts them side by side with the MI HS content expectations -- "The Huskies....as my colleagues like to say...."


Anyway, back to discovery -- I think that we may be treating English Language Arts too much as a catch-all (speaking, multi-media, etc.... ) as well as too seriously. I can't really say what I fully mean by the idea of taking it too seriously, but I think that we need to begin to learn to learn again.  Less focus on subject area and more on learning -- I want to open a Socratic institute....   Hmm....  But can it work for the jaded kid who has already been taught to hate school? 

Assessing --

Wow...this is old already, but I really appreciate that Hillocks  addresses that we do so much whining,yet we capitulate to the stance that we all 'teach to the test' -- at least in one way or another.  I think that what I am most bothered by -- and I see in my own school -- is that "writing assessment drives instruction" (64).  That is clear and needs to be so as we are evaluated by those scores, but I worry that it will take voice and tone out of writing.  All writing needs then to be 'The Same' in some fashion.  No longer will individualism in style, content, voice and even rhetorical grammar be allowed and we are condoning it.  Hillocks goes through a number of very significant and important questions to consider, but his audience is already sold on the matter -- instead, we need the legislators (who may not be savvy regarding all that education entails even though they set policy and funding) to listen to more than just the test writing companies.  So how do we get communities to take back control of their schools and dictate more. 

The standardization of the GLOBE is bothering me, but we seem to be losing any sense of regionalism and culturalism -- to me it feels a little like the 1984 situation  -- certainly not to that extreme yet -- maybe? 

So, I guess what I want to see is the resurgence of the local school that is founded on the children and adults of that community.  This school could focus on the needs of its own community members and therefore may direct its curriculum toward whatever its members may need.  I don't know that any "national" standards are truly necessary.  Instead, I wonder if this might give more rise to local concern, pride, initiative and less emphasis on the answers all coming from the top down.  Of course, this would require a change in National Education law and funding changes --

9 November - Tuesday

I. Journal: (10 minutes and turn in after done today) Topic: Today I feel....
II. Begin group-led discussions on The Crucible  Act I -->  Act IV (Unit Test is on Monday, 15 November)
III.  Sub for 1/2 of the hour tomorrow....
IV. Remember -- Roots?Base quiz over list 7 on Thursday

Myers - Globalizing ... and I often want to localize....

Terms/concepts I like: Critically Literate/Critical Literacy
                    intercultural competence
                   "partial" cultural truths
Vygotsky - "the very mechanism underlying higher mental functions is a copy from social interaction (p . 164). [152]
Scribner and Cole's explanation of literacy skills - "Literacy is not simply knowing how to read and write a particular script but applying this knowledge for specific purposes in specific contexts of use.  The nature of these practices, including, of course, their technological aspects, will determine the kinds of skills ('consequences') associated with literacy" (p. 250) [152]

I am interested that this all takes place in ENGLISH....is that glocalization? on Ethnocentric in its own way?  Why must it be in English since the native English speakers/writers have a natural advantage and greater 'power' over the language?

Rex - what is important?

Ok, to start this off, I need to address my neuroses.... It bothered me that this was in columns...Is that unreasonable?  I will write more later.

Applebee's quote is so valuable to me...."...students' entry into the domains of conversation that constitute a curriculum..." -- I think that is why I love education now and that I am interested in continuing my studies.  It is no longer a monologue and my questions have a real and valid audience.  I struggle with this with my own students because they are conditioned to only ask "the right questions" rather than the "informed or truly inquisitive" questions...

I appreciate that Rex dives into the aspect of culture building, but I still find issue with the dichotomy between what I believe is real education and what is standardized education.  The one that is most valued today is not what I believe will make education truly beneficial to all.

Academic literacy (p. 67) -- I didn't really see the definition that Rex is using, but I think the term, as I understand it, is key to grasping the benefits of education versus the probability that one will become disillusioned with education and will fail and/or drop out.  Certain communities and cultures and not invited to be academically literate and therefore will never be able have a full partnership in control and direction of the dialogue regarding education.

Eckert - Reading vs reading

Eckert lays out the dilemma we face as secondary school educators: Do we teach to the test so that kids will have high scores on the standardized tests in order to score well for themselves (scholarships, college apps, graduation requirements, etc...) and for us (evaluations, yearly school 'report cards,'  etc...)  or do we teach the aspects of critical thinking and evaluation?  I am not satisfied with the former and sometimes it gets me in trouble.

My own students often prefer to think of reading as the 'decoding of words (111) rather than anything more 'difficult' simply because it requires more and there is an inherent risk because the 'answer' may not be absolute or concrete.  Furthermore, there may not be any one true answer and they are afraid to take risks because they have not been allowed to in the past.  Hence the age-old question "Is this going to be on the test?"

I appreciate Eckert's distinction between reading and interpretation and I don't know if the world of school/teacher evaluations is ready for the open-endedness of that.  I was thinking of how unlike a business model schools really are even though business leaders have been clambering for years that schools should be run as a business and should generate only the highest quality product.  It seems that the most successful companies, Google would be a superb example, have very little that mirrors current education.  - they reward and create opportunities for the employees to explore and create questions.  The pre-college education system does exactly the opposite to both its students and its teachers.


I have certainly gone off on an aside, but I think that the main point of what I am saying is that we need to define what we really want and how that can be attained.  Until that is done, we we wallow in the mire of labels and 'reform.'

Dyson - The Humble Prose...

I wonder what literocracy  is....(150)...I have an idea of the concept of literate and equal individuals?


I appreciate the relationship between the written and spoken language, but I am not fully aware of how the two influence each other.  I have some anecdotal evidence such as witnessing  children of deaf (and even blind) parents, but I never had the opportunity to study these kids. 

I do know that often the reticent child has not proven to be the better writer in my classes...

154 - "Oral and written language are dynamically interrelated, as Britton (1970) argued, but the nature of the speaking/writing matrix -- and of the 'voice' itself -- depends on the kind of communicative situation (i.e., the cultural practice) and on the particular social happening (i.e., the ongoing event). -- This is key to what I hope to project as literacy and success to my students.  I want them to critically evaluate a situation so that they may understand the semantic, rhetoric, syntax and then respond appropriately so that they will be Literately-empowered and not subject to the tactics of the established powers/authorities.

Hadjioannou - Authentic Discussions

Just the title got me thinking because I sometimes wonder if Authentic discussions can work in a classroom.  I think that I have been able to create theopportunity in my Honors sophomore class, but I just allowed it to happen.
   Maybe I helped foster the possibility, but I honestly believe that the motivated learners in that room made it happen more more than me influencing it.  I like to think that I may trigger the Authentic Discussion, but I also fear that the dominant voices may take too much control and stifle the more timid students in my room.  OK-- this is my pre-reading comment since I now need to go read the article. 

Post-reading....I hope that she addresses large class sizes (55-60)...
"In other words, the environment withing which language is used substantially shapes the nature of interactions by providing guidelines as to what can be said, how, by who, to whom, and for what purpose." (372)

..."environment of language..." "classroom communities" 

--the surround view --the weaving view -->created by the participants....I think that I like this, but I have great concerns about the amount of time that it may take to build that environment to a point where "measurable learning" and take place -- especially in the current environment of standardized testing....(373) 

I like the list that will foster long-term reading engagement (373-4) 
  - learning goals
   - real-world interaction
   -interesting texts
   -autonomy support
   -strategy instruction
   -collaboration support
   -evaluation 
 

Wheeler - Code switching...

I never used the term 'codeswitching' when talking with my kids about language, but I have taught them that there are different forms of English that we need to use at certain times.  The most obvious to me today is that of texting compared to essay writing.  One is certainly more appropriate for a given circumstance than the other, but is is dependent on the society and the situation. 

For instance, I love to fall into a southern , twang, dialect.  When I return from visiting my friends in the South, I would always carry certain aspects of the dialect home with me and use it here in the North -- even while teaching class.  I love the way it feels rolling off my tongue and the way that it sounds.  My kids get a kick out it too.... But, that is not the best dialect to use in a job interview in the north or even during parent-teacher conferences. 

So what is best -- I have asked my kids to think about the situation and evaluate the proper language for the circumstance at hand.  I don't expect anyone to speak perfect, formal SAE in the hallway during passing time, but I do expect that they chance their word choice when I am present and they enter the classroom -- social courtesies still weigh heavily for me even though a swear word is only designated as so because of a social norm. 

This is the beginning of what I feel LITERACY is -- the ability to interpret a social situation and communicate in the language most acceptable for the moment.  And yes, that definition can make me 'funtionally' illierate since I don't not know AAVE and wouldn't pretend to try it -- although there is a very funny story about that if you really wish to hear it.  Equally so, I do not have a 'working vocabulary' to master TextSpeech either. 

So, I just need to say, "Thank Y'a;ll for readin my blog for today...."

--wabe

Fleischer -- Researching Teacher-Research: A Practitioners....

I greatly appreciate that Fleischer distinguishes between the undergraduate studies and the more practical research done by someone in the filed of education rather than one simply learning in order to become a teacher.  I think that we learn as undergraduates to only listen to the "great" minds that mold us in those years.  Instead, we need to begin the teacher research even earlier in the undergraduate years in order that teacher and researcher never need to be combined after the fact.  I regret to admit that it is difficult for me to put the two in combination due to the constraints of time, family and my own set habits....  I was not trained to be a researcher so it is not 'natural' for me to become that.  BUT...I do find it to be distinctly beneficial to my teaching and helps me keep a closer watch of the methods and curriculum I use and how it affects my students.

Freire:  Praxis:  critical reflection and action that change conditions of being in the world....(88).
This is what I strive for, but so often I only get to the reflection side of the equation.....

Are teachers encouraged to be researchers?  Is that currently happening?  I think that the current trends in the United States are tilted away from teachers as it seems that current opinion holds that only Politicians, Business Culture, and "Big R" researchers are able to give any sort of valuable research....

And what does that encouragement look like?  Is it just verbal or is there real time incentive?  Is there any opportunity given to encourage the research as a distinct element of our jobs?  As it now stands, it seems that it is in addition to our designated tasks and oftentimes seems to be discouraged as we have more and more petty requirements placed in our in boxes.....

Yeki...Yeki....

I like how Fecho mentions, "Usually one writes a piece and, after publication, that piece lives a life of it own" (281).  I have had this conversation with my students and authors alike.  I wonder if that is why I often feel hesitant to publish anything -- including a blog....I don't want my words manipulated by readers.  I strive to make my writings and utterings to be as precise and exact as possible so that my meaning and intent may not be altered to suit the desires of the reader. 

quantitative - qualitative ; descriptive - prescriptive;  -- I like the classification and I think that it shows the struggle between what we are told to do and what we know/believe we must do.

I am also interested in the recognition that Fecho gives to the response of a University department head and a principal to seeing a similar situation. 

DiPardo

I know that it is only at the beginning, but I am so fixated on the meanings of words that I cannot help but wonder if all the debate is simply about differing opinions on what literacy and English Education really is. It seems to me that the dialogue we hear is less discourse as so few are really listening.  DiPardo et al. say, "...that all this debating is indicative of fundamentally different vies of the nature of knowledge, of the ultimate ends of education..." (295-6).

I think that is the real issue -- I propose that the goal of education was never that of creating graduates whose skills could be measured.  Rather the goal began as creating opportunities to seek knowledge and to explore and explain the world around us.

Greek education created dialogue and questioning, not a measurement of the facts memorized.  Clearly there was application as we see with the great philosophers, astronomers, mathemetician, etc..., but there was not the 'exit exam' nor the 'senior project' to evaluate the learner.  Furthermore, it was not for everyone --

As our goals in education have changed, so must our evaluation of the systems of education.  I am being overly simplistic here as I posit that one of the main issue we really need to discuss is whether we have subdivided our educational system into too many subject areas and/or we have properly designated that the same education should be for all. Should we have separate English, Literature, Social Studies, History, Mathematics, Science, and World Language sections or should we work more diligently to combine them for a more interconnected education for our learners?

Just thinking...

Clearly, DiPardo et al. also have questions about literacy and the roles of the stakeholders in education.  "...the very term 'literacy' is increasingly contested, as educators and test-makers endeavor tp keep pace with a broadening array of literated challanges..." (296).  Seems interesting that the group has chosen to separate the entities rather than combine them.  Is that one of the more telling issues at hand?

I just don't kow, to be honest.  Maybe the right research project would help me to more clearly address my concerns, but I don't know that that fits into the realm of just English....

--
I appreciate the efforts to encourage teacher research, but I also know that the constraints on teachers' time are a bit of an obstacle for many of us....

--

Adolescent: Neither child nor adult -- Stevens et al.

I often think that it is just fine that some stages of life be defined by what they are not.  I think narrow definitions will often lead to narrow guidelines and more restrictions than encouragements....

This piece is a bit heavier and I can't help but think of the audience that the authors had in mind while composing this piece.  I wonder where in the process it would 'trickle-down' to teachers -- besides the obvious of this class.  But I also know that many teachers would not have the time/energy to work their ways through this piece.  Is that a flaw within the teaching field or is it a product of the system? 

Age -- when do the stages begin?  What are the signifiers? It makes me wonder if our "age/date" based enrollment cut-off dates are appropriate and necessary?  Are we grouping the kids in the best way for ALL of them or only the more advanced/older kids?  I don't see grouping as a topic yet....maybe later?

An Adolescent....oh for the days that were..../Lewis&Petrone

What I wonder, first of all, is if we don't overemphasize the ‘condition’ of an adolescent.   I know that there is great physical/physiological change taking place during this time in a life, but I also know that it is nothing that hasn’t happened to generations of kids since the beginning of the human race.  Do we need to create excuses and justifications for the hormonal uncertainty of these kids?   We know that life is changing for kids and that they will have different experiences at this time; we don’t need to create this as an opportunity for the kids to be irresponsible, off-task, etc….  WE just (‘just may be an extreme oversimplification here) need to “roll with the punches” and help them to “roll with the punches.”  To recognize moodiness and deal with it, to I do love that recognize and deal with fatigue, and attractions and all of that….

I am pleased that Lewis & Petrone focus on discourse.  I think that is what I believe that I encourage in my classroom, but it is not as easy as it first seems in a room full of 27-70 kids….

…furthermore, the idea of it being a social construct is valuable for me to think about since so much is different between my 12-year-old daughter and her cousin (who happens to be 2 months younger.)

LESKO”S ARGUMENT –

 …maintaining an expectant mode for teenagers that keeps them forever young and renders them as incomplete, incompetent , and in need of help (399).

She places the culpability upon the teachers it seems – and I wonder at this.  This feels, to me, to also be a social construct that we may not find in cultures outside that of a standard American community.  I don’t have the research on this, but I question if we find this in all cultures globally or if it is emerging in some of the faster ‘developing’ cultures. 

--- I don’t know if I would classify The Kite Runner  in that adolescent protagonist list per se.  That feels to be an oversimplification to me…

--

“…adolescence as a time of significant identity formation and adolescence as a particularly dangerous time period in people’s lives” (401).

Wow…..I think that we, teachers, sometimes overstep our responsibilities in this time of identity formation and make or break a kid – academically, socially, etc….