1. My topic, tentatively, is racist discourse in ethnically homogenous classrooms. I would like to better understand how students in all-white classrooms talk about race. I would also like to look at how I could make students understand the power of language, especially hateful language. I grew up in a town of 200 people. The entire population of the high school was white and there were instances of racism all through my school career. I myself was guilty at times. Some people from my high school never got over the racism. I don't know where they learned it, but they were not taught any different in school. In my future teaching career, I would like to tackle this issue and hopefully help students think about race differently. For now, simply understanding how they talk about it is my main goal.
2. It looks like I will probably do a paper for this one. I want to research and better understand a topic and then synthesize the information into one final product. A paper seems like the best choice for that goal.
3. I don't really have many questions at this point. This topic relates closely to my topic for ENGL 461, so I am well on my way to understanding this better. I guess one question I have is whether or not I should include some sort of teaching material in my final product. Lesson plans or teaching strategies or something? I don't know if that's really what I'm going for yet.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
About the transcripts...
The transcripts were an interesting text for this class. It is difficult to read through a transcript and understand what is going on, so I really thought it was useful for us to perform them. It also made for an entertaining few days of class. Every performance seemed to include good discussion and was useful for us to experience, as there were so many different examples of what discussion can look like in the classroom.
I especially liked the one that Kelsey did in Belgrade. I liked the way the teacher was interacting with the students. He was playing a sort of game with them where he would never really answer their questions, but would instead keep asking them questions so they would come to the answer themselves. This rhetorical strategy would be difficult to implement successfully, but I think he was able to do so because he had an excellent rapport with his students.
Another transcript I enjoyed was the one that Alyssa and I acted out, the one with Greg. I enjoyed playing that part because it was so funny. We discussed whether or not Greg's story was relevant to the discussion, and it really wasn't in an explicit sense. He did, however, loosen the class up for later discussion, as Doug and Emma informed us. I think it is useful to have a student like Greg in every classroom. He may have gone on a tangent irrelevant to the discussion, but he improved the dynamic in the classroom, creating a space more conducive to discussion.
The main goal of my future classroom discussion will be to have fun with it. That does not exclude arguing, because, at least for me, getting excited enough about a topic to have a lively argument is a lot of fun. I would like to develop a rapport with my students similar to the teacher in the first example I cited, and I would like to let students like Greg tell their stories (within reason) to get the class in the right mood for lively discussion. One thing I will always make sure to do is answer every comment with a summary of that comment and feedback. I think teachers sometimes didn't do that in the transcripts. For example, in the one I recorded, I noticed that the teacher sometimes would listen to a students comment but never expound on it and would move on to something else. She is a student teacher so I guess she has some leeway in the discussion department but I really think she did a good job considering her lack of experience.
I especially liked the one that Kelsey did in Belgrade. I liked the way the teacher was interacting with the students. He was playing a sort of game with them where he would never really answer their questions, but would instead keep asking them questions so they would come to the answer themselves. This rhetorical strategy would be difficult to implement successfully, but I think he was able to do so because he had an excellent rapport with his students.
Another transcript I enjoyed was the one that Alyssa and I acted out, the one with Greg. I enjoyed playing that part because it was so funny. We discussed whether or not Greg's story was relevant to the discussion, and it really wasn't in an explicit sense. He did, however, loosen the class up for later discussion, as Doug and Emma informed us. I think it is useful to have a student like Greg in every classroom. He may have gone on a tangent irrelevant to the discussion, but he improved the dynamic in the classroom, creating a space more conducive to discussion.
The main goal of my future classroom discussion will be to have fun with it. That does not exclude arguing, because, at least for me, getting excited enough about a topic to have a lively argument is a lot of fun. I would like to develop a rapport with my students similar to the teacher in the first example I cited, and I would like to let students like Greg tell their stories (within reason) to get the class in the right mood for lively discussion. One thing I will always make sure to do is answer every comment with a summary of that comment and feedback. I think teachers sometimes didn't do that in the transcripts. For example, in the one I recorded, I noticed that the teacher sometimes would listen to a students comment but never expound on it and would move on to something else. She is a student teacher so I guess she has some leeway in the discussion department but I really think she did a good job considering her lack of experience.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Ready?
The most important thing we can teach our students is effective communication. Communication is a broad term that refers to oral, written, bodily, and others. It is the key to success. If a student can adequately express him/herself in writing, can conduct an interview, and can come across as a generally respectable human being, he/she will be able to do nearly anything in life. Communication also includes understanding of incoming stimuli. Students must be able to comprehend texts that they encounter, from advertisements on television to complex literary texts. I believe that once students can effectively communicate in all of the ways I previously mentioned, they are indeed college and career ready.
I have previously mentioned the other goals that I would have for my students. I guess I will mention them again. I want my students to be accepting and tolerant of those who are different from them in race, sexual orientation, religion, etc. I hope to instill in them an appreciation for diversity. If I can teach students to effectively communicate their love for diverse peoples....well that would be pretty damn awesome! Career and college ready AND tolerant. Heck yes Ms. Knox. Best teacher ever.
I have previously mentioned the other goals that I would have for my students. I guess I will mention them again. I want my students to be accepting and tolerant of those who are different from them in race, sexual orientation, religion, etc. I hope to instill in them an appreciation for diversity. If I can teach students to effectively communicate their love for diverse peoples....well that would be pretty damn awesome! Career and college ready AND tolerant. Heck yes Ms. Knox. Best teacher ever.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Literacy
Literacy, in the most simple of terms, is the ability to read. It is not only the ability to read texts, however. It is the ability to read...period. There are an unlimited number of literacies (e.g. digital literacy, mathematical literacy, interpersonal literacy, etc.). Literacy allows people to read and understand and interact with their respective environments. The reading involved in that statement may not always be textual. If person has a complex understanding of what is going on around them, I believe that person to be literate.
This definition becomes more difficult when one considers that some people cannot read text at all. Is a person who cannot read text illiterate? I guess my answer would be yes, unfortunately. I feel that illiteracy is not necessarily a direct opposite to literacy. Society tells us that a person who is illiterate cannot read text and I may have to agree to a certain extent. I can remember a time when I couldn't read. The world seemed like a melee of symbols and scribbles that I could not understand. Without the ability to read the most simple text, a person is missing out on so much of what the world has to offer. A person who cannot read can understand the world, indeed, but I don't know that I would call that person literate.
Just learning what those crazy symbols mean does not make a person literate, however. For example, I wouldn't consider my five-year-old self literate. I could read, sure, but I couldn't yet truly understand what I was reading. I think the first step to literacy is learning how to read text, and the sky's the limit from there on out. A person who can read a situation but cannot read text may be literate in a different way, but literacy for that person is not a stand-alone word. This person could be considered situationally literate, for example, but could not be considered straight-up literate.
I believe that literacy is something ever person strives for. People who do not know how to read have not yet attained the tools to become literate, and that will not get them far in life. These people may achieve the level of literacy that they are satisfied with. They may feel like they have a good-enough understanding of their surroundings without knowing what the symbols in books mean. That may be just fine for some people, but I know I wouldn't have been able to tolerate that.
I feel that this post got a tad out-of-whack, but what a confusing topic! I thought, "yeah this is going to be an easy one" but then I started and kind of got lost. I am not entirely sure what my point is, but I do believe that every person benefits from learning to read text. Literacy allows us to broaden and interact with our world.
This definition becomes more difficult when one considers that some people cannot read text at all. Is a person who cannot read text illiterate? I guess my answer would be yes, unfortunately. I feel that illiteracy is not necessarily a direct opposite to literacy. Society tells us that a person who is illiterate cannot read text and I may have to agree to a certain extent. I can remember a time when I couldn't read. The world seemed like a melee of symbols and scribbles that I could not understand. Without the ability to read the most simple text, a person is missing out on so much of what the world has to offer. A person who cannot read can understand the world, indeed, but I don't know that I would call that person literate.
Just learning what those crazy symbols mean does not make a person literate, however. For example, I wouldn't consider my five-year-old self literate. I could read, sure, but I couldn't yet truly understand what I was reading. I think the first step to literacy is learning how to read text, and the sky's the limit from there on out. A person who can read a situation but cannot read text may be literate in a different way, but literacy for that person is not a stand-alone word. This person could be considered situationally literate, for example, but could not be considered straight-up literate.
I believe that literacy is something ever person strives for. People who do not know how to read have not yet attained the tools to become literate, and that will not get them far in life. These people may achieve the level of literacy that they are satisfied with. They may feel like they have a good-enough understanding of their surroundings without knowing what the symbols in books mean. That may be just fine for some people, but I know I wouldn't have been able to tolerate that.
I feel that this post got a tad out-of-whack, but what a confusing topic! I thought, "yeah this is going to be an easy one" but then I started and kind of got lost. I am not entirely sure what my point is, but I do believe that every person benefits from learning to read text. Literacy allows us to broaden and interact with our world.
Grammar
I believe that it is extremely important for students to know know standard grammar, but I don't know that I will incorporate grammar into my curriculum in an entirely obvious way. I don't think I will do sentence diagramming exercises or anything like that. What I will do, however, is have my students read...a lot, every day. I never really learned grammar on a word-by-word level, but I think I'm pretty good at it and I can thank reading for that. If students are exposed to standard grammar in text, I believe that they will pick it up. In addition, I would consider having a sentence-fixing exercise at the beginning of each class. It would be one of those "daily oral language" exercises where there is a grammatically incorrect sentence on the board and students must fix it. I found that useful in my English classroom in high school.
What I must understand, however, is that not every student will have an innate understanding of grammar like I always have, no matter how much they read. I think I will have to go on a case-by-case basis with this one. I am planning on teaching in a rural classroom, which will give me more time with each student, so I think tailoring my grammar-teaching to each student's needs is not entirely far-fetched. It will be a lot of work, to be sure, but I feel that I won't know exactly how to do it for a whole class. As a high-school student, I personally would have gained little from intensive grammar exercises, but I know that other students in my class would have benefited from it. The plan is to make kids read all of the time, and differentiate between them when it really comes down to it!
What I must understand, however, is that not every student will have an innate understanding of grammar like I always have, no matter how much they read. I think I will have to go on a case-by-case basis with this one. I am planning on teaching in a rural classroom, which will give me more time with each student, so I think tailoring my grammar-teaching to each student's needs is not entirely far-fetched. It will be a lot of work, to be sure, but I feel that I won't know exactly how to do it for a whole class. As a high-school student, I personally would have gained little from intensive grammar exercises, but I know that other students in my class would have benefited from it. The plan is to make kids read all of the time, and differentiate between them when it really comes down to it!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
My Literacy Development
My Dad read to my sister and I before bed. We had bunk beds, mine was on top. Sometimes my sister and I both sat in the bottom bunk and he sat, sometimes we both sat in the top bunk and he stood. Either way, he made sure we were both listening. He read us The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It may have been a bit of an advanced book for a four and five year old, but I remember crying when the deer died.
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Before I was old enough for school and until I was in about second grade, my parents, my sister and I would spend the summers in an old, crusty trailer on the Missouri River. Mom and Dad moved irrigation pipe by hand morning and evening so my sister and I spent the summers playing in the enormous garden, swimming in the river, and running through sprinklers. A couple of summers before I started Kindergarten, I decided that I was going to learn how to read. I always made Dad read me the Bernstein Bears "Sleepover" book and eventually I had it memorized so even though I couldn't read yet, I knew what some words were. I used that book to decode the writing I found in all of the National Geographics strewn about the coffee table. I remember sitting for hours, puzzling over the strange words, tirelessy asking my Mom and Dad "what word is this?" and "how do you say this?"; writing combinations of letters and making them pronounce the words I created. My parents were ever patient, answering my questions and teaching me as they went. I was the only kid in my Kindergarten class who could read well right away, and it put me ahead in school from day 1.
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I have a wonderful idea for inspiring literacy in my children. I plan on finding one (or a couple) of Far Side day-by-day tear-off calendars and using the cartoons to decorate an entire wall in their bedrooms. Far Side jokes most definitely inspired my sense of humor from an early age, and I think I'm pretty damn funny sometimes. Finding humor in forms of text is integral in developing children's enjoyment in reading. My parents were always sitting down and reading us Far Side jokes to us. Some were a bit tough to contemplate for a young mind, but I was always dying to understand the joke, which encouraged me to improve my reading comprehension.
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My parents have a bookcase taking up nearly an entire wall in their bedroom. I remember laying on their bed, staring at all of the books and marveling at the creative names and the names of all of the different authors. Sometimes Dad would sit with me and I would ask him questions about random books on the shelf. "What is this one about?" "What is your favorite book?" My parents were forever encouraging my sister and I to read and would be so proud of us when we finished a book...so we read a lot. Who doesn't want to make their parents proud?
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After reading this article and seeing two drastically different approaches to literacy development in children, I have come to understand how truly lucky I am. I think my parents did it right! It was certainly helpful that I had intrinsic motivation to read, but I think they helped me along pretty handily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before I was old enough for school and until I was in about second grade, my parents, my sister and I would spend the summers in an old, crusty trailer on the Missouri River. Mom and Dad moved irrigation pipe by hand morning and evening so my sister and I spent the summers playing in the enormous garden, swimming in the river, and running through sprinklers. A couple of summers before I started Kindergarten, I decided that I was going to learn how to read. I always made Dad read me the Bernstein Bears "Sleepover" book and eventually I had it memorized so even though I couldn't read yet, I knew what some words were. I used that book to decode the writing I found in all of the National Geographics strewn about the coffee table. I remember sitting for hours, puzzling over the strange words, tirelessy asking my Mom and Dad "what word is this?" and "how do you say this?"; writing combinations of letters and making them pronounce the words I created. My parents were ever patient, answering my questions and teaching me as they went. I was the only kid in my Kindergarten class who could read well right away, and it put me ahead in school from day 1.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have a wonderful idea for inspiring literacy in my children. I plan on finding one (or a couple) of Far Side day-by-day tear-off calendars and using the cartoons to decorate an entire wall in their bedrooms. Far Side jokes most definitely inspired my sense of humor from an early age, and I think I'm pretty damn funny sometimes. Finding humor in forms of text is integral in developing children's enjoyment in reading. My parents were always sitting down and reading us Far Side jokes to us. Some were a bit tough to contemplate for a young mind, but I was always dying to understand the joke, which encouraged me to improve my reading comprehension.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My parents have a bookcase taking up nearly an entire wall in their bedroom. I remember laying on their bed, staring at all of the books and marveling at the creative names and the names of all of the different authors. Sometimes Dad would sit with me and I would ask him questions about random books on the shelf. "What is this one about?" "What is your favorite book?" My parents were forever encouraging my sister and I to read and would be so proud of us when we finished a book...so we read a lot. Who doesn't want to make their parents proud?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After reading this article and seeing two drastically different approaches to literacy development in children, I have come to understand how truly lucky I am. I think my parents did it right! It was certainly helpful that I had intrinsic motivation to read, but I think they helped me along pretty handily.
Works Cited for Appalachian English Group: Sally, Doug, Katelyn, Alyssa, Jake
Amazon. IMDb. Quotes for Mater (Character) from Cars
(2006).Web. 23 Sep. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0009195/quotes>.
Appalachian
Mountain Homework Questions Answered. Author Unknown. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. <http://tcdsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/asaulnier/Atlantic%20Canada%20Studies%209/Explorations%20Answers%20p%2025%2026.html>.
Brown, Esther. “FACT:
Adirondack=Awesome.” Outside.in. 30
Sep. 2010. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. <http://blog.outside.in/2010/09/30/adirondack-almanack-awesome/>.
Harding, Craig. Setting a Higher Standard. Sep. 2008.
Web. 23 Sep. 2012. <http://www.craigharding.com/>.
Humphries,
Stephanie. Some Features of Appalachian
Dialects. Applit, 3 Dec. 2003. Web. 23 Sep. 2012 <http://www2.ferrum.edu/applit/studyg/dialect/features.htm>.
Montgomery,
Michael. Appalachian English. 6 June
2006. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. <http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/engl/dictionary/index.html>.
Movie Quotes. Author unknown. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. <http://www.quotefully.com/movie/Cars/Mater/4/>.
San Francisco
General Hospital. “Trekking with AIDS, Part 3—A Special Report.” The Body. Feb. 2001. Web. 23 Sep. 2012. <http://www.thebody.com/content/art12597.html>.
Visitmississippi.
“Woodall Mountain- Luka, Mississippi.” Mississippi
Travel Blog.4 Nov. 2009. Web. 23
Sep. 2012. <http://visitmississippi.blogspot.com/2009/11/woodall-mountain-iuka-mississippi.html>.
Group Project
The group project was a good assignment. I feel like we could have done more in-depth research for it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially liked the article I found about the history of language because it was in strong defense of the validity of Appalachian English. The author clearly had a lot of respect for those who speak the dialect, which I think may be somewhat uncommon, as I would imagine most of society would brand those who speak it as "stupid hillbillies" or something equally offensive. I especially liked the quote that I included in my part of the presentation: "Almost all the so called 'bad English' used by natives of Appalachia was once employed by the highest ranking nobles of realms of England and Scotland." I doubt that nobles in England and Scotland sounded much like Larry the Cable Guy, but I believe this quote to be valid nonetheless. It is important to understand the roots of a dialect in order to respect it. If I hadn't done this project, I would have probably gone on thinking anyone who spoke in the Appalachian dialect was of similar intelligence (or portrayed intelligence) of Larry the Cable Guy and I can't say that would be a positive assumption at all.
I felt that our group worked well together. We got along well and working together turned out to be surprisingly easy. I wouldn't say our presentation was exceptional, but I feel like we all learned something and hopefully the class learned something as well. If we would have had more time to research and could have met a few times before the presentation, I feel that we could have done a really good job. Great assignment, but we definitely could have been given more time to research and present.
I felt that our group worked well together. We got along well and working together turned out to be surprisingly easy. I wouldn't say our presentation was exceptional, but I feel like we all learned something and hopefully the class learned something as well. If we would have had more time to research and could have met a few times before the presentation, I feel that we could have done a really good job. Great assignment, but we definitely could have been given more time to research and present.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
What to do?
How can I let students know that people will question their intelligence if they speak in a dialect? It is the cold, hard, truth. In this class, we all may be accepting of dialects and we may not think that someone who speaks in dialect is less intelligent. But this class is not what I would consider "the real world." Society is a lot less tolerant...and yeah, that sucks.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Reality Check
I don't really have a preference as to what grade I teach, as long as it is within the 7-12 range. For the purposes of this post, however, lets say I want to teach seniors.
I feel that the most important aspect of this topic is simply awareness. I will most likely teach in a rural setting. Having grown up in a rural area, I know that people who live in such places are oftentimes quite narrow-minded when it comes to topics like race. I can remember clearly the talk that went around about the issue discussed in the Pullum article. People in my hometown where up in arms about "poor English being considered a different language." I agreed (yeah, I know) as most young people would be prone to do when their surroundings are wrought with such attitudes. My goal as an English teacher in such an area would be to have an in-depth conversation with my students about such a topic. When the majority of the community has racist tendencies, it is difficult for a teenager to have their own thoughts on a topic to do with such. I will never tolerate racism in my classroom, as I will make clear to my students from day one. Thus, I feel that I could help them look take a different perspective on the matter. If I could create a racism-free, factual conversation about AAVE, I feel that my students would gain awareness as to why there may be a need for certain teenagers to be allowed to speak in such a dialect.
I was never taught about dialects in my English classes in high-school; I was only taught Standard English and that Standard English is the only way. As a teacher, I will encourage my students to explore different dialects and to attempt to understand why people speak the way they do. I will, however, make it clear to my students that Standard English is necessary to know for formal settings. I hope to maintain a dialogue with my students about how dialects are perceived and I hope that they understand that a way of speaking/writing is not wrong because it is different.
One of the main goals I have in my classroom is that it is a hate-free environment. I want to create a safe space to talk about such huge issues as racism, homophobia, etc. I will tolerate many types of misbehavior to a certain extent, but I will maintain a zero-tolerance policy on hate. I feel that if I can do that, my classroom will be a place where students can gain perspective, awareness, and learn a little something about themselves.
I feel that the most important aspect of this topic is simply awareness. I will most likely teach in a rural setting. Having grown up in a rural area, I know that people who live in such places are oftentimes quite narrow-minded when it comes to topics like race. I can remember clearly the talk that went around about the issue discussed in the Pullum article. People in my hometown where up in arms about "poor English being considered a different language." I agreed (yeah, I know) as most young people would be prone to do when their surroundings are wrought with such attitudes. My goal as an English teacher in such an area would be to have an in-depth conversation with my students about such a topic. When the majority of the community has racist tendencies, it is difficult for a teenager to have their own thoughts on a topic to do with such. I will never tolerate racism in my classroom, as I will make clear to my students from day one. Thus, I feel that I could help them look take a different perspective on the matter. If I could create a racism-free, factual conversation about AAVE, I feel that my students would gain awareness as to why there may be a need for certain teenagers to be allowed to speak in such a dialect.
I was never taught about dialects in my English classes in high-school; I was only taught Standard English and that Standard English is the only way. As a teacher, I will encourage my students to explore different dialects and to attempt to understand why people speak the way they do. I will, however, make it clear to my students that Standard English is necessary to know for formal settings. I hope to maintain a dialogue with my students about how dialects are perceived and I hope that they understand that a way of speaking/writing is not wrong because it is different.
One of the main goals I have in my classroom is that it is a hate-free environment. I want to create a safe space to talk about such huge issues as racism, homophobia, etc. I will tolerate many types of misbehavior to a certain extent, but I will maintain a zero-tolerance policy on hate. I feel that if I can do that, my classroom will be a place where students can gain perspective, awareness, and learn a little something about themselves.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Introductions
I grew up in a town populated with a whopping 200 people. Actually, I didn't even grow up in town, but on a ranch 30 miles away from town...a ranch thirty miles north in the Missouri River Breaks. Don't worry, I know about people and all that stuff. I'm not totally ignorant to it. In fact, I would venture to say that I know more people than most...or at least know more people well (roughly 200 of them). A community of such a diminutive size can be likened to an enormous family. Everyone knows everything about everyone else, or so they think. And if they don't, they make it up and it is believed by the majority of the community. Interesting huh? Yeah, but I'm happy to have lived in Bozeman for the past five years.
I started out school in Cell Biology and Neuroscience. I never realized how difficult college would be considering I skated through high-school with straight A's (except a B in choir, and I was the only Alto so that's just bullshit) and graduated as valedictorian (a class of seven, but I'm still pretty proud of it). College life didn't work out so well at first. I guess you can't just drink every day and expect to do well in school. Hindsight is 20/20 indeed. Luckily, I got it together right around my second year, realized that Biology wasn't for me (four-hour labs, not a fan), and switched my major to Psychology with a minor in English. Then I realized that Psychology is sort of a dead-end for a person who doesn't plan to go to graduate school and thus decided to add a second major of English Education.
To be perfectly honest, I worked through three straight years English Ed. classes and really didn't know if I wanted to be a teacher. I just wanted to get through school. Then I went to South Africa for a semester and it changed my life. I am well aware that that sounds a tad cliche, but it is the truth. I was a volunteer coordinator for an after-school program called "The Kayamandi Project" in which I would spend several hours a week with kids in a nearby township. If you don't know anything about South Africa, know that townships are where the black people live. Kayamandi was a dirty, crime-ridden, poverty-stricken place directly outside the beautiful, upscale town I was living in. Surrounded by wine farms, the township was like a blemish on the countryside. A place allocated for black people, and black people alone. The goal of the program was to provide supplemental education in Math and English. I wrote lesson plans, created activities, and bossed around a whole bunch of volunteers...and let me tell you, that last part really, really, really, sucked. A lot. Aside from my run-ins with surly volunteers, the experience is one of the most amazing I have ever had. I got to see kids learn. Learn because I was teaching them. It solidified my decision. Now I am ready to be an English Teacher. I also would like to teach Math one day, but that's a different story.
So here I am, in my sixth year of college. I got my graduation paperwork in last week and am working on my student teaching application. Am I ready to become a teacher? Absolutely not. Is anyone ready for such a challenge? I doubt it. But do I want to become a teacher? I sure do.
I started out school in Cell Biology and Neuroscience. I never realized how difficult college would be considering I skated through high-school with straight A's (except a B in choir, and I was the only Alto so that's just bullshit) and graduated as valedictorian (a class of seven, but I'm still pretty proud of it). College life didn't work out so well at first. I guess you can't just drink every day and expect to do well in school. Hindsight is 20/20 indeed. Luckily, I got it together right around my second year, realized that Biology wasn't for me (four-hour labs, not a fan), and switched my major to Psychology with a minor in English. Then I realized that Psychology is sort of a dead-end for a person who doesn't plan to go to graduate school and thus decided to add a second major of English Education.
To be perfectly honest, I worked through three straight years English Ed. classes and really didn't know if I wanted to be a teacher. I just wanted to get through school. Then I went to South Africa for a semester and it changed my life. I am well aware that that sounds a tad cliche, but it is the truth. I was a volunteer coordinator for an after-school program called "The Kayamandi Project" in which I would spend several hours a week with kids in a nearby township. If you don't know anything about South Africa, know that townships are where the black people live. Kayamandi was a dirty, crime-ridden, poverty-stricken place directly outside the beautiful, upscale town I was living in. Surrounded by wine farms, the township was like a blemish on the countryside. A place allocated for black people, and black people alone. The goal of the program was to provide supplemental education in Math and English. I wrote lesson plans, created activities, and bossed around a whole bunch of volunteers...and let me tell you, that last part really, really, really, sucked. A lot. Aside from my run-ins with surly volunteers, the experience is one of the most amazing I have ever had. I got to see kids learn. Learn because I was teaching them. It solidified my decision. Now I am ready to be an English Teacher. I also would like to teach Math one day, but that's a different story.
So here I am, in my sixth year of college. I got my graduation paperwork in last week and am working on my student teaching application. Am I ready to become a teacher? Absolutely not. Is anyone ready for such a challenge? I doubt it. But do I want to become a teacher? I sure do.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
"A True Story..."
Wow, that was hard to read. I found that if I read it out loud I could understand it better. I feel that if I where to hear a person speaking this story, I would understand it a lot better. Reading it, however, is nothing short of a headache. So many apostrophes will about make a person's eyes bug out after a while. I can't necessarily identify the exactly linguistic features that stood out to me on this one, at least not in proper linguistic terminology. It was spelled different...and it felt jouncier. Yes, jouncier. It's the only word I can think of to describe how the writing felt to me. Words like "a-lookin'" and "a-blazin'" just seem, well, jouncy. The pronunciation of words is quite clearly different in this piece, which Twain illustrated with creative spelling, which in turn made this nearly impossible to get through. I had to take a break. This thing is only 3 pages long and I had to take a break. I guess I'm not a huge fan of written dialect. That sounds narrow-minded, but I have a headache now and I'm not entirely happy about it.
What I Want To Teach
I feel that I have far too little wisdom to impart to students, considering how soon I am to be a full-fledged English Teacher. First and foremost, I suppose, I would want my students to realize that English, like every other language (excluding those that are extinct, naturally), is evolving. Seriously, "google" is now a commonly used verb. I'm actually shocked that I still get the angry, red squiggly line under it when I type it on here. Sometimes it is okay not follow exact grammar conventions. Mostly because no one actually knows what they are anymore. Students need to know what audience to write for. They must realize that if they are writing a resume, they probably shouldn't depart from the grammar they have been taught since middle school, but if they are writing a letter (or, honestly, a paper for my class) they can have a little more fun with it. Language paints a picture and if we are all coloring by numbers and following conventions, we will miss out on the beauty English has to offer. I would also like to help my students realize that dialects of English such as Ebonics may indeed be different, but that my no means makes them wrong. Many people have a mindset that if our white, male, ancestors spoke a certain way, any other way is incorrect. Well I plan on blowing that out of the water. Hopefully. I realize that my students need to know conventional grammar, and they most certainly will, but I also realize the importance in opening their eyes to the real world. The one where the pictures aren't always paint-by-number and where language is alive and growing and always maintains the potential for beauty.
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