Learning Letter

Hey Sean!

This class this quarter has been so insightful!  There are a lot of things that I had never really thought about when it came to an English classroom.

The ideas of what goes into the curriculum in an English class is something I never out much thought into. I just assumed that I would do the state required readings, along with tsing of the classics that I want to teach. But I really love the idea of using alternative books sources, like using graphic novels for students in the classroom. I think that was one of my favorite book mediums to read with the class.

I also didn't think much about interactions with students and classroom management. I mean, I know that a lot goes into that, but it is not something I thought needed to be planned. But it does. It's going to be a lot harder to just wing it than it is to reall plan your classroom management.

I think the most important thing I learned this quarter was really about myself. Sometime, I really doubt whether or not I am cut out to teach. It's when I'm allowed to do it in a safe space that I actually realize that I just need to trust myself. I may be nervous, but I look more comfortable than I actually am, and that this is something I want and can do.

I love taking your classes because it gives us these opportunities to grow and learn without fear if rejection.

Thanks so much!
Makenzie Curtis

American Born Chinese -- Mini Reflection

Teaching a lesson to students is already difficult. Teaching a lesson to your peers and getting feedback is even worse. Or at least that how I always imagine it to be. I always have what turns out to be an irrational fear that someone is going to tell me, “maybe teaching just isn’t for you,” or, “maybe you should choose a different career path.” But this never happens.

Looking back now, I think getting feedback on your lesson is a great source for teacher candidates. It allows us to see what awesome things we are doing that we might not have been aware of, and what we could do to improve. For example, I did not think that I seemed very confident in front of the class. However, apparently I hide my nerves better than I give myself credit for, and appear more comfortable than I am. For some people, it’s easy to act confident, that is, until you start looking at the little nervous habits people have that they are unaware of. Usually, mine is fidgeting with some item of clothing, but that day it was keeping my hands in my pockets. By doing this, I was unintentionally closing myself off to students, limiting my interactions with them.

I think that, overall, I did a good job connecting each part of my lesson together, and had good transitions between them. There are definitely a fews things that I can improve, such as leaving definitions up, or making sure the information on pictures I give students actually match up. When I printed up the pictures for them to discuss had the text printed on the wrong pages with ridiculous amounts of hyperlinks. This is something that I should always double check before handing out information to my students because it will become very difficult to understand for them. I'm really glad that we do our lessons in class this way, because it really does give us a safe environment to practice and improve our teaching.

Night

This book is one of those ones that as you read, you can't help but be sucked in, forced to keep reading, even if it makes you cry. Elie Wiesel has written a beautiful novel, and though it is a fictional story, it also serves a memoir. Everything that happens Eliezer, the main character, with a few details changed, are what happened to Wiesel.

I was in high school the first time I read this book. We spent a whole unit really trying to dive into what Wiesel went through, even watching an interview between him and Oprah Winfrey. It is hard to read about all the hardships, physical abuse and death that Wiesel's character is forced to face. For a high schooler, and even most people to day, it is difficult to imagine that people had to go through this, that people could hurt their fellow man in such horrifying ways.

The only other book that students will probably be familiar with that deals with the Holocaust at this point is "The Diary of Anne Frank." I think that this offers a great comparison, but also believe that "Night" gives a different viewpoint to the war. Anne Frank is a autobiography, an actual dairy. However,  "Night," though fictional, gives more insight into the actual death camps.

I absolutely love this book. It is gut-wrentching, but important to history.

Romeo and Juliet

Every high school freshman, and I do mean every, is required to read Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." It is probably one of his well known, and in some ways, most over done plays.

Personally, I enjoy "Romeo and Juliet," however I can see why people would think that it is cliché. It is about a 13 and 16 year old who fall in love, though their family's are feuding, thus causing multiple tragedies. If you look at the time period, 13 and 16 are about the ages that people would be getting married. However, looking at it now, when many don't marry until well into there 30s, people thing it is an over romanticized story of children who were too young to really be in love who end up committing suicide. Bleak right?

But yet, in never high school this is still taught. I think a lot of that has to do with language, it providing a challenge for it's readers. But it also has to do with the fact that the students are roughly the same ages as the charters, allowing for more in-depth reading, and allows for them to really get into the mind of the characters, feeling what they feel.

Whether or not we should still teach "Romeo and Juliet" in the classroom is not a debate for me. I will always choose to teach it, especially when you look at the alternatives. I think "Othello," "Hamlet," and "King Henry VIII" are too heavy and difficult for 14 to 15 year olds. Plus the content allows for many different topics to be brought up, such as young love, suicide, warring families, etc. That's the best part about literature, providing opportunities for discussions.

Things Fall Apart

Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is quite an interesting book. I definitely have been told for a while now that I need to read this book, especially if I want to be an English teacher. I love too that even though this book is fictional, it plays on a lot of real events or concepts in his own life, religion and cultural difference being some of them.

            This book really shows a different side of native Africans than many other books of the time period. Those were all a one sided view of the colonial oppressors’ side. This really shows the culture, language and heritage that was already in Africa before they were colonized and forced to change their heritage, such as their religion.

            This theme of fighting against change is a huge part of the book. Whether it be Okonkwo’s fear of changing himself, seeing as he wants to show absolutely no kindness or love, the struggle against change in societal rank, or the obvious fight between white colonial men trying to change the cultural of the natives they meet, this struggle is a basic underlying principle of the book. Though theire are other important themes, I believe that this one, and Achebe’s overall goal to change how society saw native African’s at the time this book was written, is the most important.

            This book is a great book for students, I believe, to get a different viewpoint then, say, Heart of Darkness. Though there are some violent aspects, I think that it over all is a great novel for them.

TPAs

I’m not going to lie. TPAs (Teaching Performance Assessments) scare me. To death. I have only had to do a few so far, yet they are difficult and tedious. Not only that, but every teacher I have ever talked to has told me that they are unrealistic in real classroom. That being said, they are required, and I’m sure there are some benefits to learning how to write them.

I really like the examples of questions we should be asking ourselves that this guide gives. Eastern’s template is a 2 to 3 page guide of boxes with maybe one question explaining what we should be filling out. Although that template is a great visual guide, it does not get us asking the things we need to. How are the students in this class? How many? What age? What are their proficiency levels? When I have worked on TPAs before, it has been hard for me to think of these questions off the top of my head.

I think I actually like these guidelines better than the ones we are using. Or at least the explanations they give. It has been difficult for me to understand in the past, so the thought of having to do twenty TPAs this quarter for three different classes has been really freaking me out. This really goes into more specific details in terms that are easier to understand. Plus having so many questions to think about makes it a lot easier to discuss what I want my students to be learning from this lesson.

Overall, I’ll still use Eastern’s layout for a TPA not only because I know it, but because it is required. However, I know that I will be using this handout in conjunction to that, and I am now more confident about writing TPAs than I was before.

Differentiated Reading Instruction: What and How

The article I read for this week's blog is called "Differentiated Reading Instruction: What and How." This article is based on an experienced second grade teacher's class. I love that they start out with more of the history of differentiated instruction, along with further going into detail about how it is put into practice. 

Assessment is absolutely key in the first stage of differentiated instruction. This is not done as a group, but rather finding what each child individually needs. Each school district has it's own assessments that they require, and these assessments, along with the teacher's knowledge, will help decide what kind of instructions kids need. Keeping notes on student's progress, and then conferencing with the students afterwards, will also help to formulate the kind of instruction they should be receiving. 

Another big key is how students are grouped. In Ms. Martin's classroom, she groups student's together based on reading levels, and as the year progresses, she moves them to different groups, depending on their individual progress. These groups can also be more general, based on whole-class, small groups or  even partner instruction, just depending on what the teacher thinks would be more beneficial. I'm curious to know if things like partner work could be beneficial to helping students read better. For example, if you pair a student who excels with a student who is struggling, would it be beneficial or more detrimental for the students?

Over all I think that this article had a lot to offer. Even though it is set in a second grade classroom, I think that some of these ideas can be "aged up" and used in a high school classroom.