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….