- article by Shirin Hakimzadeh and D'Vera Cohn, Pew Hispanic Center
Virtually all hipanics born in the United States are proficient speakers of English, in comparsion less than a quarter of Spanish-speaking immigrants consider themselves fluent speakers of of English, a disparaging statistic. The statistic, derived from a survey of over fourteen thousand Latino adults, show a significant increase in English literacy progressively from one generation to the next. The statistic reflect an increase of over one-hundred percent in fluency from the first to second generations. The increase in fluency levels out after the third generation which reports indicate has an English literacy rate of 94 percent.
Not only does fkuency and literacy increase through the generations, the very use of English increases. English language usage increases in the work place and even in the homes of Latin Americans across generations. In the case of immigrants and early generations, the English language use increase does not correlate with the predominant use of the English language; this occurs in their adult children with surprising frequency.
The surveys indicates that Latino immigrants the likelihood that a Latin American speaks English well and uses it regularly, increases if they have a higher eduation, arrived in the United States as children or have lived in the Unites States for many years. College education seems to have the greatest correlation with English speaking ability and literacy. Accordning to this survey, of the major Hispanic denominations, Puerto Ricans and South Americans are the likelist to have be adept English users; Mexicans are the least likely to say so.
I think discrimination plays a role in language acquisition. Whether it be a teacher that purposefully "misteaches" her minority students, or a student whose non compliance prompts him to not use the language. Discrimination whether it be blatant or subversive, intentional or instituted, plays a role in the ability of young people to become skilled English speakers and readers. Mexico has many fine universtities. I think being Mexican carries a dangerous connotation in the United States and this is why compared to other Latin Americans they are misrepresented in the realm of fluent speakers of English.
Why is it that not all second-generation, American born hispanics speak english? Why is it 88% and not 99%? Are the remaining children 22 percent not being schooled at all?
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Long School Days
The article that I read was about a school in Massachusetts that extended its school days in order to give teachers more time to teach their students. As a result, the school did better on state mandated exams. It is really hard to argue with this article, when it is pretty clear that extending school hours had a positive effect on the school. It would be ridiculous to stop this for the reason that students don't want to be in school any longer then they have to. All I know is I'm glad I finished high school before anyone thought of this.
Clearly extending the day does work because Massachusetts has seen a lot of results. However, how far are people willing to take this? The longer you make the school day, the more likely your going to cut into other things like after school activities and sports. Although educators may not see those things as a big deal, for the students it is. School is not just about learning, it is also where students gain socialization skills and it is a place where they can try out their skills. If extra curricular activities are taken away as well as sports, students might find it hard to socialize with other people. Also, the more time students are spending at school the less they are spending at home or at a job, which could effective their lives on a larger scale.
Clearly extending the day does work because Massachusetts has seen a lot of results. However, how far are people willing to take this? The longer you make the school day, the more likely your going to cut into other things like after school activities and sports. Although educators may not see those things as a big deal, for the students it is. School is not just about learning, it is also where students gain socialization skills and it is a place where they can try out their skills. If extra curricular activities are taken away as well as sports, students might find it hard to socialize with other people. Also, the more time students are spending at school the less they are spending at home or at a job, which could effective their lives on a larger scale.
4th Graders Losing Ground on Literacy
The article I read is about the 4th grade literacy level decreasing in the United States, compared to other countries. The entire article shows which countries have surpassed us, as well as where are 4th grade literacy level use to be at. However, the article does not ask why this decline in literacy is taking place. I think that everyone forgets to ask this question, and this is one of the biggest reasons illiteracy isn't being taken care of. If we can figure out why there is such a decline in the 4th grade literacy level, then maybe we can solve the problem. Everyone is so concerned with which countries are doing better that they forget what's really important, which is the students that aren't making the grade. It seems so simple to me that the best way to improve the literacy of 4th graders, is by figuring out the problem, and fixing it. Maybe teachers need to ask their students why they are struggling with reading, opposed to just ignoring the fact that there is a problem. Stop looking so hard at the numbers and look more at why there is a problem.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Too Much School Testing:
Can anyone else hear the collective “Huzzah” from the students? Now if only all states could have this epiphany. I know I would have had a lot more fun in my high school classes if there had been fewer state tests. I most certainly agree that too much time is being spent on testing and not enough on actual learning. Maybe
No College Plans, No Diploma:
I was kind of intrigued by the article about
Maryland’s Graduation Requirement Changes:
Personally I like this idea. As horribly as I did in some courses in high school (namely math and science) having a fall-back option like the project would have definitely have taken the stress level of those courses down a lot. But I wonder if students might rely too heavily on those fall-back options. I think whoever is in charge of those projects should be prepared because in a few years students may have realized that they can still pass without studying for the big test.
Friday, November 30, 2007
The kindle: an i-pod for books?
In "Rekindling Reading" Matthew Felling discusses the issues surrounding the much-anticipated "Kindle," a wireless reading device released by Amazon for $400. He lists some obvious pros of the invention, such as the compact convenience of a small device that can hold all of your current reading: books, newspapers, etc. He puts the Kindle advantage concisely as "it could do for literature what the iPod did for music."
The Kindle could perhaps inspire or "rekindle" reading for our technology-savvy generation, but I worry about differing reading habits for print and online text. Traditional reading, flipping the pages of a book, allows readers to get lost in the world between the pages. Most people read the entire book; it is a whole experience. Most online text is not read as wholistically, but skimmed or browsed through. Since the Kindle will feature online text, will the same reading habits transfer for the device, even when the text is supposed to be a "book"??
The Kindle could perhaps inspire or "rekindle" reading for our technology-savvy generation, but I worry about differing reading habits for print and online text. Traditional reading, flipping the pages of a book, allows readers to get lost in the world between the pages. Most people read the entire book; it is a whole experience. Most online text is not read as wholistically, but skimmed or browsed through. Since the Kindle will feature online text, will the same reading habits transfer for the device, even when the text is supposed to be a "book"??
Rekindling Reading?
Amazon just released it's new wireless reading device, the Kindle, a giant leap into the future of reading. It seems like a great device, letting one connect to a limited internet in the same way cell phones do with no monthly charge or bill whatsoever, putting over 90,000 books and newspapers from all over the world at the fingertips of its owner, and weighing only 10.3 ounces with a large memory and a long battery life. Some cons: The books are not free (our generations constant advancement in using the internet as a means for free, yet often illegal, entertainment makes me feel obligated to make note of that) they cost around $9.99 unless noted otherwise, its internet capability only allows the Kindle to connect to the Kindle Store, an assortment of blogs, Wikipedia, and receive e-mails for on-the-go viewing. With all that being said, at $400, how do I feel about the Kindle?
While it isn't the first e-book device, I do think it is the best yet. $400 is a lot but it's not an outrageous price for the Kindle and, I'm sure it will go down as time goes on. It makes sense that technology advances by making things smaller and more compact. The iPod has diminished the need for CDs, tapes, and such in the same way the Kindle diminishes the need to carry around books, magazines, and newspapers, all which can become burdensome at times. I think the product could have had more internet capabilities, so that one would not be limited to what website the go to.
Aside from actual features I have some other issues with a device like this. What does something like this say about people in general? The very act and nature of reading a newspaper especially, but books and other things as well, in the physical form is being forgotten and unappreciated. It's cliche to make note of this but true all the same: people these days no longer have time to sit and read a book, or sit and listen to a CD, or not use their cell phone in the supermarket. I'm someone who finds joy in the very act of holding a newspaper or book and turning its pages. I could totally see myself using this Kindle; I love new technology and this does seem useful when I'm traveling and out of reach of something I'd like to read. But something just seems misguided about it. Yet at the same time I'm also pushed to say "It's human nature to try and improve what we already have (i.e. paper)". If we weren't to, then we would be no different than our very first ancestors. So yea, I think it's cool and practical, but for now I'm just not ready to leave the physical reading experience forgotten.
While it isn't the first e-book device, I do think it is the best yet. $400 is a lot but it's not an outrageous price for the Kindle and, I'm sure it will go down as time goes on. It makes sense that technology advances by making things smaller and more compact. The iPod has diminished the need for CDs, tapes, and such in the same way the Kindle diminishes the need to carry around books, magazines, and newspapers, all which can become burdensome at times. I think the product could have had more internet capabilities, so that one would not be limited to what website the go to.
Aside from actual features I have some other issues with a device like this. What does something like this say about people in general? The very act and nature of reading a newspaper especially, but books and other things as well, in the physical form is being forgotten and unappreciated. It's cliche to make note of this but true all the same: people these days no longer have time to sit and read a book, or sit and listen to a CD, or not use their cell phone in the supermarket. I'm someone who finds joy in the very act of holding a newspaper or book and turning its pages. I could totally see myself using this Kindle; I love new technology and this does seem useful when I'm traveling and out of reach of something I'd like to read. But something just seems misguided about it. Yet at the same time I'm also pushed to say "It's human nature to try and improve what we already have (i.e. paper)". If we weren't to, then we would be no different than our very first ancestors. So yea, I think it's cool and practical, but for now I'm just not ready to leave the physical reading experience forgotten.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Shawn's Literacy Dig
Object 1: Giant Poster of the famous Jim Morrison picture - The Doors are my favorite band and Jim Morrison is one of my favorite people. Their music changed music in general in a way not many other bands have. Everything from how the wrote music, what they wrote, and how they lived is absorbing. I have tend to write in the same fashion Morrison did when I'm writing leisurely, in a sort of jivey, abstract and inexplicable way.
Object 2: Vitamin C - I take vitamin c everyday because I always think I'm getting sick. I get the 500 mg and take 2 pills each day. My friend always gives me a hard time saying that 1000 mg is over the daily value, but one pill of 500mg is 833% of your daily value so why would they make 1 pill 733% over your daily value if your body would only take 100%? So 2 must be twice as good. I read a lot of fine print like that.
Object 3: A wood carved ashtray with a female figure - People are always smoking here so it makes sense to have an ashtray. I stole it from a boardwalk store in Ocean City, New Jersey when I was in 7th grade. I figure it's just New Jersey so I don't feel too bad. It was probably over priced anyway. There are some empty Zig-Zag boxes and a lot of other little pieces of garbage that fill up the ashtray making it pointless. They should read our recycling box so their cardboard can go in it, a lot of people don't read or notice signs when they don't care.
Object 4: An Ipod - I listen to music a good more than not, but a lot of times I can't find something I want to listen to. I'll scroll through my Ipod 10 times and still not find anything, then a friend will just choose something and I'll like it and think "how did I scroll over that 10 times?" It's not that I don't pay attention to what I'm reading...I don't really know how I can look through my music library a bunch of times and see everything yet miss everything.
Object 5: An antique date-keeping thing - It's a small brass semi-cylinder with a scroll of days, numbers, and months inside. The three windows show one of each and then I scroll the inner and outer knobs on each side to change the day, date, and month depending on what it is. I usually don't remember to change it fro weeks or months at a time but I look at it over 10 times a day, every time I sit at my desk. Even though I read the wrong date, day, or month everyday I usually only fix it when I'm absolutely fed up with looking at the wrong figures.
Object 2: Vitamin C - I take vitamin c everyday because I always think I'm getting sick. I get the 500 mg and take 2 pills each day. My friend always gives me a hard time saying that 1000 mg is over the daily value, but one pill of 500mg is 833% of your daily value so why would they make 1 pill 733% over your daily value if your body would only take 100%? So 2 must be twice as good. I read a lot of fine print like that.
Object 3: A wood carved ashtray with a female figure - People are always smoking here so it makes sense to have an ashtray. I stole it from a boardwalk store in Ocean City, New Jersey when I was in 7th grade. I figure it's just New Jersey so I don't feel too bad. It was probably over priced anyway. There are some empty Zig-Zag boxes and a lot of other little pieces of garbage that fill up the ashtray making it pointless. They should read our recycling box so their cardboard can go in it, a lot of people don't read or notice signs when they don't care.
Object 4: An Ipod - I listen to music a good more than not, but a lot of times I can't find something I want to listen to. I'll scroll through my Ipod 10 times and still not find anything, then a friend will just choose something and I'll like it and think "how did I scroll over that 10 times?" It's not that I don't pay attention to what I'm reading...I don't really know how I can look through my music library a bunch of times and see everything yet miss everything.
Object 5: An antique date-keeping thing - It's a small brass semi-cylinder with a scroll of days, numbers, and months inside. The three windows show one of each and then I scroll the inner and outer knobs on each side to change the day, date, and month depending on what it is. I usually don't remember to change it fro weeks or months at a time but I look at it over 10 times a day, every time I sit at my desk. Even though I read the wrong date, day, or month everyday I usually only fix it when I'm absolutely fed up with looking at the wrong figures.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Media Literacy Role Models
The article "Students Use Technology for Critical Thinking" serves up a role model for media literacy teachers. NCTE itself has just rewarded Abigail Kennedy, the featured teacher of this article, with an award. Ms. Kennedy, teaching as Pasco High School in Florida, incorporates podcasts, commercials, and other technology in her classroom with the purpose of analyzing digital content critically in mind. The article reports exactly what a prospective teacher like myself likes to hear about what is going on in current media litearcy teaching:
"With media being so prevalent in the world," Kennedy said, "if they're not taught how to view it, they can be passive viewers, and can be taken advantage of." So naturally, Kennedy was thrilled earlier this year when a student told her the young teacher had "ruined" the girl's enjoyment of television commercials.
That current high school teachers are full-steam ahead on teaching media literacy and critical thinking is relieving and inspiring. She is a good role model for prospective teachers like us that grapple with how to incorporate technology in the classroom and worry about how technology is presented. With teachers such as Abigail Kennedy putting into practice exactly what I have read about in theory, I feel more confident joining teaching ranks such as her's. I feel that I will join teachers that are not passive in their teaching of technology, and will not teach their students to be passive in a technological world.
"With media being so prevalent in the world," Kennedy said, "if they're not taught how to view it, they can be passive viewers, and can be taken advantage of." So naturally, Kennedy was thrilled earlier this year when a student told her the young teacher had "ruined" the girl's enjoyment of television commercials.
That current high school teachers are full-steam ahead on teaching media literacy and critical thinking is relieving and inspiring. She is a good role model for prospective teachers like us that grapple with how to incorporate technology in the classroom and worry about how technology is presented. With teachers such as Abigail Kennedy putting into practice exactly what I have read about in theory, I feel more confident joining teaching ranks such as her's. I feel that I will join teachers that are not passive in their teaching of technology, and will not teach their students to be passive in a technological world.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Freshman Writing Courses Given "Face Lift" at Drexel University
The article named "First-Year Writing Gets A New Look" outlines the changes within the freshman writing courses at Drexel University. "English Alive" is refreshing, as it marks a transition from traditional essays to "interactive projects" with "hybrid" (both web and class-based) assignments. Several professors of English from Drexel University spoke persuasively as to the effectiveness of the program, citing traditional assignments as irrelevant for students; the new assignments include technology and are not limited to essays alone. Students can write an essay, write an essay and include a visual, or create a webpage, etc. Freedom to express themselves in whatever form they choose seems to be a staple of Drexel's "English Alive" curriculum.
At first glance, the professors at Drexel had convinced me to be completely supportive of their program, but then I took a step back and evaluated "English Alive" on my own terms. Yes, I feel it's imperative to incorporate all sorts of media into the classroom experience. However, I also feel that it is absolutely imperative for entry-level English courses to make freshman proficient writers. These courses are the basis for the writing students do in all other college classes and beyond. I think that it is worth exploring the possibility that when one gives students options other than the traditional essay, they will very likely choose the other options. Now, it would be fine to supplement essays with other projects, but to not insist upon a few traditional essays seems like a poor choice. I definitely feel that it is through practicing the formulation of essays that students mature as writers of the English language. The endorsers of "English Alive" claim that "clarity," "coherence," "audience," and "role" are all included in their program, just as they would be in classic freshman writing courses. However, I'm not sure that these terms can be targeted and taught without the help of essay writing. To conclude, I am all for reevaluating the way we teach writing, and I fully support the incorporation of technology in the classroom. I am simply a little hesitant to give students assignment options that allow them to disregard the traditional written essay, as I feel essay writing is a truly invaluable tool.
At first glance, the professors at Drexel had convinced me to be completely supportive of their program, but then I took a step back and evaluated "English Alive" on my own terms. Yes, I feel it's imperative to incorporate all sorts of media into the classroom experience. However, I also feel that it is absolutely imperative for entry-level English courses to make freshman proficient writers. These courses are the basis for the writing students do in all other college classes and beyond. I think that it is worth exploring the possibility that when one gives students options other than the traditional essay, they will very likely choose the other options. Now, it would be fine to supplement essays with other projects, but to not insist upon a few traditional essays seems like a poor choice. I definitely feel that it is through practicing the formulation of essays that students mature as writers of the English language. The endorsers of "English Alive" claim that "clarity," "coherence," "audience," and "role" are all included in their program, just as they would be in classic freshman writing courses. However, I'm not sure that these terms can be targeted and taught without the help of essay writing. To conclude, I am all for reevaluating the way we teach writing, and I fully support the incorporation of technology in the classroom. I am simply a little hesitant to give students assignment options that allow them to disregard the traditional written essay, as I feel essay writing is a truly invaluable tool.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Emmanuel's Literacy Dig
In my bedroom...
Object #1: Ruled Post-It notes adhered to the wall adjacent to my couch. There are three of them. One list words that made an impression on me. The other has original thoughts, quotes and phrases that I felt like recording at one time or another. The third is a list of my favorite television networks with their corresponding channel numbers next to them.
- Overall Significance: I consider myself to be fairly eloquent and I'm constantly trying to expand my lexicon. This is why I regularly scribble down either words which I find interesting sounding or words to which I don't know the meaning. When watching television or even overhearing conversation, I jot down phrases and words. As for the list of television networks and their respective channels, I can never seem to remember what numbers to press on the TV remote when I want to watch "The Office" or The Discovery Channel.
Object #2: A poem to a lady friend; a work in progress.
- Overall Significance: The first line reads, "Your name, the most beautiful utterance my lips have ever produced." Initially, my girlfriend wanted me to write a song for her, but the she realized that my I sang terribly. I decided I would write her a poem that has lingered for months. The page is sprawling with scribbles; the vestiges of a completely different poem can be seen under cross-out markings. This profoundly sentimental piece of writing has to be perfect before she can see it.
In the living room...
Object #3: A broken piece of wood, nailed to the wall, covered in signatures.
- Last year, my roommates and I had barbecue in our backyard. All our friends were invited and we lapped up several 30-packs of canned beer. In my drunken stupor, I bet my friend that I could karate chop and splinter a rigid piece of wood. Everyone gathered as I suspended the piece between two tables and proceeded to chop it in two congruent pieces. All the witnesses signed it with a blue fine-point Sharpie. This demonstrates how writing is an integral part of preserving memories, to me at least.
Object #4: A Charter Communications bill and an attached note that boldly reads, "PAY ME!!", thumb-tacked to my roommate's door.
- My roommate, fed up with my other roommate's inability to ever pay his share of the utilities on time, nails the bill and the accusatory note to our other roommate's door. At least in this household, sometimes a hand written note can be much more effective than a few oral word.
Girlfriend's dorm room on campus (second home)...
Object #5: Literally inscribed on the wall adjoining my girlfriend's roommate's bed in purple and blue Crayola are the rules to the popular drinking game, King.
- My girlfriend's roommate, Betsy, is a self-proclaimed alcoholic and the fact that she is under 21 yrs of age and the rules to a drinking game are written directly on her wall is evidence to her incessant drinking. She misspelled the word "categories" and different discourses are evident in the rules. One of the steps is "Bust a rhyme," this is a popular saying in African American vernacular used when one person prompts another to "rap" a few verses.
Heidi's Literacy Dig
Object #1: Yellow index card
This card has the words "Daer Heiadidi I loveat yoan of Moriah Hanover" on it. This card was from my little sister, Moriah. Because she was falling behind in the areas of writing and reading at school, we decided to become pen pals and would write each other back and forth to improve her reading and writing abilities. This was the first letter she wrote to me without any help from her teacher or our mom, and because of that, it means much more to me than any guided letter or card.
Object #2: Spelling Test
Tacked on the wall beneath my sister Moriah's first card to me is a blue spelling test with the statement "100 Excellent!" and a princess sticker that said "Beautiful" on it. Moriah had been failing test after test at school and was becoming frustrated. After talking to my mom about it on the phone, I went home and Moriah and I spent two hours spelling, reciting, and taking mock tests. The next day, she took her test and got her first 100. She was so happy and proud that she gave me her test sheet to hang on my wall. I put the test on the wall with the card she wrote me earlier, and was amazed when I realized how much she had progressed in just a few months. Although I will be teaching students much older than Moriah, she is one of my greatest inspirations for wanting to be a teacher.
Object #3: Glass Figurine
My third object is a flat mirror with the spun glass words "Heidi Will You Marry Me" on it. This past weekend, I went to Lake Placid with my boyfriend and we decided to go to the glass blowing shop. As we were walking past the display window, he asked me what I thought about the one in the middle. I was still comprehending what it said when he pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. Because of the significance of the figurine, I chose to prominently display it in our living room, not only as a conversation piece, but also as a reminder of one of my favorite memories.
Object #4: Christmas Ornament
I have a Christmas ornament that stays up all year round with the words "If a kiss was a snowflake I'd send you a blizzard" on it. Not only is the ornament whimsical and romantic, it is a reminder to not get hung up on the small things that make relationships rough. This helps me to remember the bigger picture of relationships, such as being in love and appreciating each other, instead of focusing on negative aspects that may not truly matter in the grand scheme of things.
Object #5: Friends Forever Frame
The last object is a frame with the words "Friends Forever" on it. This frame is ironic because I got as a freshman in high school and immediately put a picture of my older sister (the one who gave me it) in it. It was on display all through my high school and college career, even when we became more distant from each other. However, years after receiving it, we decided to close the gap that had grown between us and began hanging out again. Now, in our last years of college, my sister and I are roommates, we are both engaged, and we consider ourselves best friends.
This card has the words "Daer Heiadidi I loveat yoan of Moriah Hanover" on it. This card was from my little sister, Moriah. Because she was falling behind in the areas of writing and reading at school, we decided to become pen pals and would write each other back and forth to improve her reading and writing abilities. This was the first letter she wrote to me without any help from her teacher or our mom, and because of that, it means much more to me than any guided letter or card.
Object #2: Spelling Test
Tacked on the wall beneath my sister Moriah's first card to me is a blue spelling test with the statement "100 Excellent!" and a princess sticker that said "Beautiful" on it. Moriah had been failing test after test at school and was becoming frustrated. After talking to my mom about it on the phone, I went home and Moriah and I spent two hours spelling, reciting, and taking mock tests. The next day, she took her test and got her first 100. She was so happy and proud that she gave me her test sheet to hang on my wall. I put the test on the wall with the card she wrote me earlier, and was amazed when I realized how much she had progressed in just a few months. Although I will be teaching students much older than Moriah, she is one of my greatest inspirations for wanting to be a teacher.
Object #3: Glass Figurine
My third object is a flat mirror with the spun glass words "Heidi Will You Marry Me" on it. This past weekend, I went to Lake Placid with my boyfriend and we decided to go to the glass blowing shop. As we were walking past the display window, he asked me what I thought about the one in the middle. I was still comprehending what it said when he pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. Because of the significance of the figurine, I chose to prominently display it in our living room, not only as a conversation piece, but also as a reminder of one of my favorite memories.
Object #4: Christmas Ornament
I have a Christmas ornament that stays up all year round with the words "If a kiss was a snowflake I'd send you a blizzard" on it. Not only is the ornament whimsical and romantic, it is a reminder to not get hung up on the small things that make relationships rough. This helps me to remember the bigger picture of relationships, such as being in love and appreciating each other, instead of focusing on negative aspects that may not truly matter in the grand scheme of things.
Object #5: Friends Forever Frame
The last object is a frame with the words "Friends Forever" on it. This frame is ironic because I got as a freshman in high school and immediately put a picture of my older sister (the one who gave me it) in it. It was on display all through my high school and college career, even when we became more distant from each other. However, years after receiving it, we decided to close the gap that had grown between us and began hanging out again. Now, in our last years of college, my sister and I are roommates, we are both engaged, and we consider ourselves best friends.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Universities Changing Roles of their Libraries
UNIVERSITIES ARE CHANGING THE ROLE OF THEIR LIBRARIES AND HOW THEY DELIVER INFORMATION
-Elizabeth Church, Education Reporter
Technology affects the way in which our society operates; with technological advancements come shifts in the way information is appropriated, retrieved, and even the way in which it is used. Our culture currently focuses greatly on technology and will continue to with ever increasing emphasis. Libraries in colleges across the world are adopting new, less traditional stances toward the collection of information, sources, resources, and allocation of services for the purpose of facilitating the distribution of information to their students.
Jeff Trzeciak, the chief librarian at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, finds that the most prevalent issue in terms of accessibility for libraries lies in "meeting students wherever they are." Which means institutions must actively seek out their students in the places they frequent, whether they be physical spaces or cyberspace. Mr. Trzeciak mans a help desk in "Second Life," an increasigly popular virtual microcosm of our world wherein members can lead alternate lives with fully customizable avatars. Trzeciak also acknowledges that although some students require assistance they will not make attempts to request it. He dutifully expresses that he would like to "make it easier for them to ask." One way in which he did this was to change the McMaster library's appeal. Rows of computers replaced rows of reference books and the library is being frequented by students with greater incidence than ever before. According to Trzeciak, more students than ever are going to the library for more variant reasons than ever. The accessibility of college libraries must increase to accomodate this resurgence.
These changes, which are becoming more and more prevalent, have also brought on many concerns about the direction n which libraries are headed. To increase the accessibility of libraries, greater costs will undeniably be incurred. This worries many college boards and faculty. Also, the demand for space to be used as "learning centers" means less space is allocated to books and more and more is used for sitting and computer stations. With more information than ever now being delivered in electronic form, digital resources have overtaken print texts in their popularity. Even Trzeciak is concerned about the need to preserve collections, stating that he doesn't want to rid libraries of all books.
Are colleges justified in taking strides to make libraries more capable of being reached by students? Is this working?
-Elizabeth Church, Education Reporter
Technology affects the way in which our society operates; with technological advancements come shifts in the way information is appropriated, retrieved, and even the way in which it is used. Our culture currently focuses greatly on technology and will continue to with ever increasing emphasis. Libraries in colleges across the world are adopting new, less traditional stances toward the collection of information, sources, resources, and allocation of services for the purpose of facilitating the distribution of information to their students.
Jeff Trzeciak, the chief librarian at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, finds that the most prevalent issue in terms of accessibility for libraries lies in "meeting students wherever they are." Which means institutions must actively seek out their students in the places they frequent, whether they be physical spaces or cyberspace. Mr. Trzeciak mans a help desk in "Second Life," an increasigly popular virtual microcosm of our world wherein members can lead alternate lives with fully customizable avatars. Trzeciak also acknowledges that although some students require assistance they will not make attempts to request it. He dutifully expresses that he would like to "make it easier for them to ask." One way in which he did this was to change the McMaster library's appeal. Rows of computers replaced rows of reference books and the library is being frequented by students with greater incidence than ever before. According to Trzeciak, more students than ever are going to the library for more variant reasons than ever. The accessibility of college libraries must increase to accomodate this resurgence.
These changes, which are becoming more and more prevalent, have also brought on many concerns about the direction n which libraries are headed. To increase the accessibility of libraries, greater costs will undeniably be incurred. This worries many college boards and faculty. Also, the demand for space to be used as "learning centers" means less space is allocated to books and more and more is used for sitting and computer stations. With more information than ever now being delivered in electronic form, digital resources have overtaken print texts in their popularity. Even Trzeciak is concerned about the need to preserve collections, stating that he doesn't want to rid libraries of all books.
Are colleges justified in taking strides to make libraries more capable of being reached by students? Is this working?
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Vanessa Assis' Literacy Dig
Object #1 - Instant Messager Boxes
Usually when I leave my room, I leave my computer on. When I get back I come back to my friends leaving me messages on Instant Messanger. It's usually the first thing I do when I get to my dorm, check my IM messages. It has become a big habit of mine, and one of the main forms of communciation with my friends. As informal as it may seem, it seems like I do most of my planning with friends through instant messanger. I've even peer edited papers with friends. So whenever I'm at the computer, instant messanger always keeps me reading and writing.
Object #2 - New York Yankee's Calendar
I have a Yankee calendar posted right above from my computer. I write in days that I'm on duty for my RA position and friends birthday's. It also has a list of holidays, scheduled games, and Yankee player's birthdays. Each month a player is featured with his basic information (position, age, bats, throws, height, weight, hometown, etc.)
Object #3 - RA Duty Log
In every resident hall there are RA's who have access to a duty log. In the duty log, the RA's write notes to each other to keep them updated on what's going on in the building. It dates back from the first day of the semester to present. Each night someone writes a note and the next day the RA on duty looks over them all.
Object #4 - Cell phone (text messages)
I always have my phone on me, and I'm a huge texter. Friends and family always send me messages over texts, whether it's just to say hello or what not. I receive text messages daily by friends, and usually respond to them. It keeps me in touch with friends and constantly reading and writing.
Object # 5 - Mail & E-mail
I check my mail daily, both my school mailbox and e-mail account. Whether its bills or letters, there's always something waiting for me to read in my mailbox. As for my e-mail account, it's one of the main forms of communication for faculty and staff, so it's usually a guarantee that there's an e-mail waiting to be read/responded to in my inbox.
Usually when I leave my room, I leave my computer on. When I get back I come back to my friends leaving me messages on Instant Messanger. It's usually the first thing I do when I get to my dorm, check my IM messages. It has become a big habit of mine, and one of the main forms of communciation with my friends. As informal as it may seem, it seems like I do most of my planning with friends through instant messanger. I've even peer edited papers with friends. So whenever I'm at the computer, instant messanger always keeps me reading and writing.
Object #2 - New York Yankee's Calendar
I have a Yankee calendar posted right above from my computer. I write in days that I'm on duty for my RA position and friends birthday's. It also has a list of holidays, scheduled games, and Yankee player's birthdays. Each month a player is featured with his basic information (position, age, bats, throws, height, weight, hometown, etc.)
Object #3 - RA Duty Log
In every resident hall there are RA's who have access to a duty log. In the duty log, the RA's write notes to each other to keep them updated on what's going on in the building. It dates back from the first day of the semester to present. Each night someone writes a note and the next day the RA on duty looks over them all.
Object #4 - Cell phone (text messages)
I always have my phone on me, and I'm a huge texter. Friends and family always send me messages over texts, whether it's just to say hello or what not. I receive text messages daily by friends, and usually respond to them. It keeps me in touch with friends and constantly reading and writing.
Object # 5 - Mail & E-mail
I check my mail daily, both my school mailbox and e-mail account. Whether its bills or letters, there's always something waiting for me to read in my mailbox. As for my e-mail account, it's one of the main forms of communication for faculty and staff, so it's usually a guarantee that there's an e-mail waiting to be read/responded to in my inbox.
Dana Lutters' Literacy Dig
Object #1: Bumper sticker on my refridergator reading "What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?"
-Overall Significance: This is a bumper sticker that we have had for years. I saw it once and thought it was funny, posing a/making fun of existential questions. There is a jumble of other things to read on the refridgerator, including random letters of magnetic poetry and a homemade frame spelling "Family" that I made when I was little. It is a literary experience every time we open the refridgerator door, taking in the jumble of words and pictures and making some coherent sense of them all.
Object #2: A YMCA brochure on the kitchen counter, listing yoga and spinning class times and sections about childcare.
-Overall Significance: This is a good example of something you find often on your counter that you naturally skim instead of read. It is designied to skim, actually, with lots of different headings in bold followed by short paragraphs, other lists and charts. It requires a certain sort of casual skimming that is routine in your own home.
Object #3: My baby niece's blocks with letters on the sides.
-I watch my niece while my sister is at work a couple days a week and there are toys and diapers in a pile in a corner of the living room. She loves her block set that has some sort of spinning/flashing/movable feature on one side, a number on one side, a picture of an animal on one side, and a letter on one side. Many of her toys are interesting to look at for how they promote literacy, actually. Letters and words and colorful and often textured to grab babies' attention.
Object #4: The back of the Honey Bunches of Oats cereal box.
-Honey Bunches of Oats is my favorite cereal. I always wonder who designs the back of cereal boxes; it is obvious that there is a clear audience. More sugary cereal often feature cartoon characters for kids and a cereal like "Grape Nuts" is pretty plain except for an ad about "not dieting hungry." That is obviously aimed toward adults. This box has pictures of family member together on the back, of various ages and races.
Object #5: A graphic tee in my drawer.
-This is a fairly common shirt reading "I love New York" (with a heart for love, but I can't type that.) Graphic tees are really popular in our generation and it is always interesting what people choose to display on their chest.
-Overall Significance: This is a bumper sticker that we have had for years. I saw it once and thought it was funny, posing a/making fun of existential questions. There is a jumble of other things to read on the refridgerator, including random letters of magnetic poetry and a homemade frame spelling "Family" that I made when I was little. It is a literary experience every time we open the refridgerator door, taking in the jumble of words and pictures and making some coherent sense of them all.
Object #2: A YMCA brochure on the kitchen counter, listing yoga and spinning class times and sections about childcare.
-Overall Significance: This is a good example of something you find often on your counter that you naturally skim instead of read. It is designied to skim, actually, with lots of different headings in bold followed by short paragraphs, other lists and charts. It requires a certain sort of casual skimming that is routine in your own home.
Object #3: My baby niece's blocks with letters on the sides.
-I watch my niece while my sister is at work a couple days a week and there are toys and diapers in a pile in a corner of the living room. She loves her block set that has some sort of spinning/flashing/movable feature on one side, a number on one side, a picture of an animal on one side, and a letter on one side. Many of her toys are interesting to look at for how they promote literacy, actually. Letters and words and colorful and often textured to grab babies' attention.
Object #4: The back of the Honey Bunches of Oats cereal box.
-Honey Bunches of Oats is my favorite cereal. I always wonder who designs the back of cereal boxes; it is obvious that there is a clear audience. More sugary cereal often feature cartoon characters for kids and a cereal like "Grape Nuts" is pretty plain except for an ad about "not dieting hungry." That is obviously aimed toward adults. This box has pictures of family member together on the back, of various ages and races.
Object #5: A graphic tee in my drawer.
-This is a fairly common shirt reading "I love New York" (with a heart for love, but I can't type that.) Graphic tees are really popular in our generation and it is always interesting what people choose to display on their chest.
Friday, November 16, 2007
The Literacy Dig
1. Computer
found on my desk
2. Newspaper
found on my chair
3. Sticky Notes
found around desk and computer
4. Wipe Board
found on the outside of my door
5. Ticker
found on the ESPN channel across the bottom of the screen
The newspaper is one of the more "traditional" methods of literacy that can be found in my room. Newspapers among younger generation are becoming somewhat out of date. However, I still enjoy the newspaper and frequently read it. It’s one of my literacy habits that involve lots of reading at one sitting.
The sticky notes and wipe board messages are primarily short composed of 3-6 words. Often they just contain important information like usernames and passwords or brief messages saying, "I have your notes" or "I’ve gone to Clinton". This type of reading takes only a brief glance to understand.
The computer and ticker involve technological literacy. On the computer you are required to be literate as most things on it involve reading and understanding the computer language. The ticker is on the television and flashes across the screen. Therefore you must have a good level of reading ability in order to read it quickly before it vanishes off screen.
1. Computer
found on my desk
2. Newspaper
found on my chair
3. Sticky Notes
found around desk and computer
4. Wipe Board
found on the outside of my door
5. Ticker
found on the ESPN channel across the bottom of the screen
The newspaper is one of the more "traditional" methods of literacy that can be found in my room. Newspapers among younger generation are becoming somewhat out of date. However, I still enjoy the newspaper and frequently read it. It’s one of my literacy habits that involve lots of reading at one sitting.
The sticky notes and wipe board messages are primarily short composed of 3-6 words. Often they just contain important information like usernames and passwords or brief messages saying, "I have your notes" or "I’ve gone to Clinton". This type of reading takes only a brief glance to understand.
The computer and ticker involve technological literacy. On the computer you are required to be literate as most things on it involve reading and understanding the computer language. The ticker is on the television and flashes across the screen. Therefore you must have a good level of reading ability in order to read it quickly before it vanishes off screen.
Amanda Miller's Literacy Dig
1) Giusseppe’s Pizza menu: Posted conveiently in my reach while I’m sitting at my desk. Best pizza shop in town! (Or at least the closest in style to the one at home). It usually gets ordered from about once every two weeks, it’s the only pizza place I’ll order from up here, although I’m usually ordering something other than pizza.
2) Campus Channel Listing: In the odd instances I have time to channel surf, I need to know where the exciting channels are. I only know HBO, CBS, Fox and Animal Planet by heart (a sad selection, I know) so for everything else I have to get off my but and crouch down by the fridge where the campus-provided list is posted.
3) My Mort Kunstler Civil War Calender: Each month’s painting has a paragraph below it explaining what the picture is portraying. I have to stand on my desk to change the month so I always read that little spiel before I get down. There’re also little historical facts on some of the days. For example, yesterday (November 15th) in 1864 was the beginning of
4) Movie/DVD cases: (All conveniently stashed in a box under my bed) Sometimes I just don’t know what I want to watch. I guess in a way reading the cases of the movies is like channel surfing, it shows you the options. Most of the time I spend 10 minutes or so just looking through to decide which one I’m really in the mood for. And somehow I usually end up watching the same 4 or 5 movies over and over again. It must be they have the most convincing overviews on the back of them.
5) Tags on clothes: Sadly enough, most of the time I ignore these, but I’ve learned to be a little more careful since I shrunk one of my favorite skirts that happened to say Dry Clean Only on the tag. Oops.
Carissa's Literacy Dig
1) Insulin Pump - digital readout
This is essentially my electronic pancreas, and it flashes messages when it alarms to explain what is going on. Without those, I'd be in the dark as to dosages.
2) Christmas lists
I've got the names and objects that have been made for each person in the family, otherwise I'd be completely clueless as to which present is going to each family member. (Thankfully, I'm all done now and everything is wrapped.)
3) Shampoo and Conditioner
If you don't know which one is which, your shower is either going to be a very long process or your hair is going to hate you when you try to dry it.
4) Instant Messages
One of my most used methods of communication, as my best friend is terrified of phones. I usually get a story or two at the end of each day from someone and it's a wonderfully fast way to keep in touch with friends all over the country.
5) Tivo
Between classes, work, and volunteering there isn't much downtime to watch any tv when it originally airs, so taping them and watching them much later is usually the only option I have. Reading through the list gives me a good selection and a way to catch up when I can.
This is essentially my electronic pancreas, and it flashes messages when it alarms to explain what is going on. Without those, I'd be in the dark as to dosages.
2) Christmas lists
I've got the names and objects that have been made for each person in the family, otherwise I'd be completely clueless as to which present is going to each family member. (Thankfully, I'm all done now and everything is wrapped.)
3) Shampoo and Conditioner
If you don't know which one is which, your shower is either going to be a very long process or your hair is going to hate you when you try to dry it.
4) Instant Messages
One of my most used methods of communication, as my best friend is terrified of phones. I usually get a story or two at the end of each day from someone and it's a wonderfully fast way to keep in touch with friends all over the country.
5) Tivo
Between classes, work, and volunteering there isn't much downtime to watch any tv when it originally airs, so taping them and watching them much later is usually the only option I have. Reading through the list gives me a good selection and a way to catch up when I can.
Kellie Bolles*Literacy Dig
1. Kickline and Dance awards hanging on my wall stating what I achieved
I haven't really noticed before doing this assignment that I occasionally look up at my desk and read the awards even though i've read them a thousand times. It shows that I am proud of my accomplishments and the fact that I do read them occasionally even though I know what they say, keeps me motivated to keep succeeding in dance and other skills.
2. Disney Princess Calendar hanging on my bedroom wall
I ALWAYS need a calendar in my bedroom because I'm always trying to plan roadtrips, weekend when I can go home, and keeping track of important dates. I would be lost without my calendar! I look it over almost every hour!
3. Magnetic letters scrammbled across the refridgerator and occassionally coming across some words and sentences such as "carl rulz" and "pauper"
The magnetic letters are fun to play with and when we are in the kitchen sometimes we glance at the fridge and see a new word or sentence and it makes us laugh. They also let us know who has been at our house when we see "matt waz here" spelled out.
4. At my house with my family, my mom has pictures and paintings around the house with phrases such as "carpe diem" and "it is what it is"
These short phrases sometimes help me to have a little boost throughout the day. Mom has a big stone "Carpe diem" plate hanging above the sink and when i'm washing the dishes, or simply washing my hands I always notice it and it always makes me feel a little better.
5. Also at my house at home, we have caller ID on the TV screen
Whenever someone calls we don't even have to get up to see who is calling. It makes us use our literacy skills without realizing it because we are reading the upper hand corner of who is calling almost minutely. It also shows that literacy has come along way from no caller ID, to using caller ID, and now having it available on your television screen.
I haven't really noticed before doing this assignment that I occasionally look up at my desk and read the awards even though i've read them a thousand times. It shows that I am proud of my accomplishments and the fact that I do read them occasionally even though I know what they say, keeps me motivated to keep succeeding in dance and other skills.
2. Disney Princess Calendar hanging on my bedroom wall
I ALWAYS need a calendar in my bedroom because I'm always trying to plan roadtrips, weekend when I can go home, and keeping track of important dates. I would be lost without my calendar! I look it over almost every hour!
3. Magnetic letters scrammbled across the refridgerator and occassionally coming across some words and sentences such as "carl rulz" and "pauper"
The magnetic letters are fun to play with and when we are in the kitchen sometimes we glance at the fridge and see a new word or sentence and it makes us laugh. They also let us know who has been at our house when we see "matt waz here" spelled out.
4. At my house with my family, my mom has pictures and paintings around the house with phrases such as "carpe diem" and "it is what it is"
These short phrases sometimes help me to have a little boost throughout the day. Mom has a big stone "Carpe diem" plate hanging above the sink and when i'm washing the dishes, or simply washing my hands I always notice it and it always makes me feel a little better.
5. Also at my house at home, we have caller ID on the TV screen
Whenever someone calls we don't even have to get up to see who is calling. It makes us use our literacy skills without realizing it because we are reading the upper hand corner of who is calling almost minutely. It also shows that literacy has come along way from no caller ID, to using caller ID, and now having it available on your television screen.
Literacy Dig- Steevi
1.) Post It Note that reads "Post Blog for Friday, Post Office, Laundry"
This is just a reminder to myself of the things I needed to do today. If they were'nt written down, I'd probably still remember, but I really like post it notes.
2.) Calendar that has important important test dates and paper due dates.
My calendar is important to me because I do tend to forget important due dates, so I'm constantly checking it.
3.) A framed Lao Tsu poem hung on the wall .
This is an inspirational poem and illustration that is hung on the wall by my desk. It's a simple yet inspiring poem that I often look at when I have writers block or when I'm spacing out trying to do work.
4.) Cable and electric bill on the refrigerator door
This is pretty self-explanatory. I like to keep my bills on the refrigerator door because I know I will see them.
5.) Birthday cards on top of the T.V
My birthday was a few weeks ago, but I like to keep my cards out for decoration. I miss a lot of my family and friends from home, so it's a nice reminder of them.
This is just a reminder to myself of the things I needed to do today. If they were'nt written down, I'd probably still remember, but I really like post it notes.
2.) Calendar that has important important test dates and paper due dates.
My calendar is important to me because I do tend to forget important due dates, so I'm constantly checking it.
3.) A framed Lao Tsu poem hung on the wall .
This is an inspirational poem and illustration that is hung on the wall by my desk. It's a simple yet inspiring poem that I often look at when I have writers block or when I'm spacing out trying to do work.
4.) Cable and electric bill on the refrigerator door
This is pretty self-explanatory. I like to keep my bills on the refrigerator door because I know I will see them.
5.) Birthday cards on top of the T.V
My birthday was a few weeks ago, but I like to keep my cards out for decoration. I miss a lot of my family and friends from home, so it's a nice reminder of them.
Melissa Golio's Literacy Dig
Object #1: A note taped to my wall from my roomate
Significance: My roomate left me a note apologizing for not going to the gym like she said she would. This was a way for her to tell me in a funny way so I wouldn't be upset. I read the note pretty often because it's funny and it reminds her that she still owes me a weekend in the gym like she promised.
Object #2: Two picture frames in my room. One that says Family on it and the other says Friends.
Significance: The picture frames remind me of home. The words are pretty large so they are the first thing you notice when you look at the pictures. So whenever I look at them I always read the words first.
Object #3: My e-mail and cell phone
Significance: I do a lot of communicating via and e-mail and through text messaging. They are easy and efficient ways to talk to people. I always get responses proptley so I am always reading them.
Object #4: Assignment Book and Calendar
Significance: Everything I do, whether it is related to school or not, I write in my assignment book and/or calendar. I look at both everyday and see what I need to do for that day or the days coming up.
Object #5: Dry erase board
Significance: My dry eraase board is located on the outside of my door, so anyone can write or draw whatever they want on it. I always look it over to see what people have written.
Significance: My roomate left me a note apologizing for not going to the gym like she said she would. This was a way for her to tell me in a funny way so I wouldn't be upset. I read the note pretty often because it's funny and it reminds her that she still owes me a weekend in the gym like she promised.
Object #2: Two picture frames in my room. One that says Family on it and the other says Friends.
Significance: The picture frames remind me of home. The words are pretty large so they are the first thing you notice when you look at the pictures. So whenever I look at them I always read the words first.
Object #3: My e-mail and cell phone
Significance: I do a lot of communicating via and e-mail and through text messaging. They are easy and efficient ways to talk to people. I always get responses proptley so I am always reading them.
Object #4: Assignment Book and Calendar
Significance: Everything I do, whether it is related to school or not, I write in my assignment book and/or calendar. I look at both everyday and see what I need to do for that day or the days coming up.
Object #5: Dry erase board
Significance: My dry eraase board is located on the outside of my door, so anyone can write or draw whatever they want on it. I always look it over to see what people have written.
Timpy's Literacy Dig
Object #1: Songbook
Significance: Everyday I play guitar. I use my songbook that contains lyrics to all the songs I've written, and covers that I perform. I do this because I'm too lazy to memorize all my songs, and also to prompt me for each line.
Object #2: Laptop
Significance: The only main form of media that takes up my life is the internet. I do not watch tv, and most of my entertainment comes out of my laptop. Also all of the work I do is through word processing on my laptop. It holds every paper, poem, and story since senior year of high school. I'm very proud of my My Documents folder. JEAHH!!
Object #3: Flag
Significance: I have this huge outrageously bad-ass flag on the wall beside my bed. It's this flag that says "Kill 'Em All....Let God Sort 'EM Out" with a skull and knife in the middle. I found it in an Army Navy store in Rhode Island, and this is always the first thing I read when I wake up in the morning.
Object #4: Iron Maiden shirts
Significance: I have an unnecessary amount of shirts in a line in my closet with the title "Iron Maiden" on the front. Since I've started going to their shows, I've sort of been collecting the shirts. Some would say it's part of my history, because I am usually wearing two a week. "Iron Maiden" shirts define me.
Object #5: My Schedule
Significance: Since freshman year I began posting my schedule on my wall over my desk. This helps me organize my day. I look up from my laptop and think, "Damn! I'm already late for my ENG 297 class at 2." Also my roommates that may be looking for me can see where I am.
Significance: Everyday I play guitar. I use my songbook that contains lyrics to all the songs I've written, and covers that I perform. I do this because I'm too lazy to memorize all my songs, and also to prompt me for each line.
Object #2: Laptop
Significance: The only main form of media that takes up my life is the internet. I do not watch tv, and most of my entertainment comes out of my laptop. Also all of the work I do is through word processing on my laptop. It holds every paper, poem, and story since senior year of high school. I'm very proud of my My Documents folder. JEAHH!!
Object #3: Flag
Significance: I have this huge outrageously bad-ass flag on the wall beside my bed. It's this flag that says "Kill 'Em All....Let God Sort 'EM Out" with a skull and knife in the middle. I found it in an Army Navy store in Rhode Island, and this is always the first thing I read when I wake up in the morning.
Object #4: Iron Maiden shirts
Significance: I have an unnecessary amount of shirts in a line in my closet with the title "Iron Maiden" on the front. Since I've started going to their shows, I've sort of been collecting the shirts. Some would say it's part of my history, because I am usually wearing two a week. "Iron Maiden" shirts define me.
Object #5: My Schedule
Significance: Since freshman year I began posting my schedule on my wall over my desk. This helps me organize my day. I look up from my laptop and think, "Damn! I'm already late for my ENG 297 class at 2." Also my roommates that may be looking for me can see where I am.
Courtney Hayes Literacy Dig
Object #1-Note on Refrigerator reading "Electric Bill is $111.00, get me money asap. Thanks, love u guys"
Overall significance: My roommate Kellie left this note for me and my other roommate Terianne to remind us the electric bill is due. I always read the messages left on the refrigerator, its a convienent spot to leave notes.
Object #2-my cell phone, using text messaging to communicate and respond to others.
Overall significance: My cell phone is an easy and accessible device that I use to constantly text message, it allows me to contact people no matter where I am or what I am doing. If i cant actually make a phone call, I can type/text whatever I want to say quickly and easily. Also, it allows for almost instant response.
Object #3-AOL Instant Messanger
Overall significance: Instant Messanger is another form of communication. You have to think about what you are going to say before you type it. It also allows for instant response. However, it also eliminates the personal contact of communicating with somene face to face. Another problem with it is that it is hard to know exactly what a person is saying or in what context because you can't actually hear their voice or see the emotion on their face.
Object #4-Assignment Notebook
Overall significance-I use my assignment notebook for almost everything I do. I write my grocery lists, mental reminders, and just simple to do lists as well as school assignments in it. Having a written reminder really helps me know what I need to get accomplished on a day to day basis. Also, it helps me to look ahead because I can look at the syllabus for my classes and record when upcoming tests, papers are due, etc. I also keep my friends birthdays recorded in my assigment notebook because it also serves as my calendar.
Object #5-Card from my pen pal Taryn reading "I MISS YOU"
Overall significance- I have had a pen pal for about three years now, she lives in Long Island and goes to school in Boston. We are constantly writing eachother letters and sending eachother cards, pictures, cd's etc. We keep in contact via mail only and I like that. We rarely talk on the phone unless it has to do with plans for a visit. The card is hung on my wall because it reminds me of her and lets me know she cares about me.
Overall significance: My roommate Kellie left this note for me and my other roommate Terianne to remind us the electric bill is due. I always read the messages left on the refrigerator, its a convienent spot to leave notes.
Object #2-my cell phone, using text messaging to communicate and respond to others.
Overall significance: My cell phone is an easy and accessible device that I use to constantly text message, it allows me to contact people no matter where I am or what I am doing. If i cant actually make a phone call, I can type/text whatever I want to say quickly and easily. Also, it allows for almost instant response.
Object #3-AOL Instant Messanger
Overall significance: Instant Messanger is another form of communication. You have to think about what you are going to say before you type it. It also allows for instant response. However, it also eliminates the personal contact of communicating with somene face to face. Another problem with it is that it is hard to know exactly what a person is saying or in what context because you can't actually hear their voice or see the emotion on their face.
Object #4-Assignment Notebook
Overall significance-I use my assignment notebook for almost everything I do. I write my grocery lists, mental reminders, and just simple to do lists as well as school assignments in it. Having a written reminder really helps me know what I need to get accomplished on a day to day basis. Also, it helps me to look ahead because I can look at the syllabus for my classes and record when upcoming tests, papers are due, etc. I also keep my friends birthdays recorded in my assigment notebook because it also serves as my calendar.
Object #5-Card from my pen pal Taryn reading "I MISS YOU"
Overall significance- I have had a pen pal for about three years now, she lives in Long Island and goes to school in Boston. We are constantly writing eachother letters and sending eachother cards, pictures, cd's etc. We keep in contact via mail only and I like that. We rarely talk on the phone unless it has to do with plans for a visit. The card is hung on my wall because it reminds me of her and lets me know she cares about me.
My Oven and Stove Knobs
The outstanding chef that I am, I find myself reading these knobs and making sure they are on the proper setting to ensure best taste, flavor, and aroma.
My Darts Scoreboard
We play a lot of Cricket at my house. Although this is not a verbal form of language, the markings speak loudly to the dynamic of the game and ultimately determine the winner.
Video Game Commands
Wasting 15 minutes playing Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2, (2007: First Contact) for any of those interested) I am bombarded with commands from "Base" as to how to go about mission tasks, mainly sniping North Korean militia.
My Countdown Calender
This calender is a countdown until George Bush is out of office. Each day is numbered and there are countless "dum" quotes and things that the commander has done while in office. On the calender are a series of numbers as well, which is a work schedule.
My Pearl Jam Poster
My favorite band; their posters plaster my walls. This particular poster has their name, date of the show, and my ticket stubs for the 2006 tour framed in it. It hangs on my wall so that as I drift off to sleep at night I can stare at it, read the tickets, and have sweet dreams of Ed Ved at Lollapalooza.
The outstanding chef that I am, I find myself reading these knobs and making sure they are on the proper setting to ensure best taste, flavor, and aroma.
My Darts Scoreboard
We play a lot of Cricket at my house. Although this is not a verbal form of language, the markings speak loudly to the dynamic of the game and ultimately determine the winner.
Video Game Commands
Wasting 15 minutes playing Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2, (2007: First Contact) for any of those interested) I am bombarded with commands from "Base" as to how to go about mission tasks, mainly sniping North Korean militia.
My Countdown Calender
This calender is a countdown until George Bush is out of office. Each day is numbered and there are countless "dum" quotes and things that the commander has done while in office. On the calender are a series of numbers as well, which is a work schedule.
My Pearl Jam Poster
My favorite band; their posters plaster my walls. This particular poster has their name, date of the show, and my ticket stubs for the 2006 tour framed in it. It hangs on my wall so that as I drift off to sleep at night I can stare at it, read the tickets, and have sweet dreams of Ed Ved at Lollapalooza.
Andrea Townsend's Lit. Dig
1)Abbie's Post It Notes
-The significance of Abbie's post it notes are that whenever anyone needs to let someone know about something when they aren't there, we all run into Abbie's room the stack of multicolored squares of paper and use those as communication. Whether it be a treadmill appointment, cable money amount that is due, or what kind of beer we want later that night, the post its are a normal source of communication in our house.
2)Instant Messenger
-The significance of instant messenger is that it is the easiest way to communicate with someone or multiple people at one time. Whether it be talking to my older sister, my friends from home, friends here, or classmates with questions, instant messenger is the easiest and fastest way to communicate with another person.
3)Cell Phone
-Either talking or texting, the cell phone is a easy and accessible way to communicate between people. I probably use my phone at least twice a day, not counting texting which occurs commonly, especially if a friend is in class or somewhere when they are not allowed to talk.
4)Card from Grandma
-This card is of important significance for several reasons. It hangs on my wall above my dresser in a little envelope with "Andrea", written in my Grandma's perfect cursive. On the inside is a blue card that she gave me for Christmas last year, along with a beautiful homemade quilt with my favorite colors blue and yellow. This card reminds me of the strong family structure that I have at home, as well the reminder on bad days of the people that mean the most to me.
5)Email
-Email is a daily way that I communicate with various people; professors, my sister, and my old basketball teammate from Japan Yuri, are all common names in my inbox that I enjoy communicating with.
-The significance of Abbie's post it notes are that whenever anyone needs to let someone know about something when they aren't there, we all run into Abbie's room the stack of multicolored squares of paper and use those as communication. Whether it be a treadmill appointment, cable money amount that is due, or what kind of beer we want later that night, the post its are a normal source of communication in our house.
2)Instant Messenger
-The significance of instant messenger is that it is the easiest way to communicate with someone or multiple people at one time. Whether it be talking to my older sister, my friends from home, friends here, or classmates with questions, instant messenger is the easiest and fastest way to communicate with another person.
3)Cell Phone
-Either talking or texting, the cell phone is a easy and accessible way to communicate between people. I probably use my phone at least twice a day, not counting texting which occurs commonly, especially if a friend is in class or somewhere when they are not allowed to talk.
4)Card from Grandma
-This card is of important significance for several reasons. It hangs on my wall above my dresser in a little envelope with "Andrea", written in my Grandma's perfect cursive. On the inside is a blue card that she gave me for Christmas last year, along with a beautiful homemade quilt with my favorite colors blue and yellow. This card reminds me of the strong family structure that I have at home, as well the reminder on bad days of the people that mean the most to me.
5)Email
-Email is a daily way that I communicate with various people; professors, my sister, and my old basketball teammate from Japan Yuri, are all common names in my inbox that I enjoy communicating with.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Carrie Douglas' Literacy Dig
Here's a list of my five items:
Object # 1: Bedroom whiteboard with the word "RUN!" written on it.
Significance: I wrote "RUN!" run on this board not because I forget to exercise but because it will keep me accountable. I will feel more guilty about not exercising if I have a written reminder. Apparently this says that the written word affects me more than unspoken mental reminders.
Object # 2: Assignment notebook in my backpack
Significance: This calendar of upcoming events and assignment due dates keeps me sane and organized. This notebook illustrates my dependence on literacy to complete daily tasks.
Object # 3: My bedroom's laptop, AOL Instant Messenger Box
Signficance: This log of conversations between my friends and I illuminates how technology has made literacy a fundamental part of my everyday communication. While in the past, people depended upon literacy for correspondence to an extent, I do not feel it was quite as vital to communication as it is now.
Object # 4: Bedroom John Lennon poster with "Imagine" lyrics
Significance: These song lyrics are on my wall for aesthetic purposes. This hints at literacy as a means of artistic fulfillment in my life.
Object # 5: Kitchen Wheat Thins Cracker Box
Significance: The box reads "reduced fat" in big, bold letters. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I chose this specific box of crackers. Therefore literacy is a means of selling a product and also a means of uncovering nutritional content about a particular food product.
Object # 1: Bedroom whiteboard with the word "RUN!" written on it.
Significance: I wrote "RUN!" run on this board not because I forget to exercise but because it will keep me accountable. I will feel more guilty about not exercising if I have a written reminder. Apparently this says that the written word affects me more than unspoken mental reminders.
Object # 2: Assignment notebook in my backpack
Significance: This calendar of upcoming events and assignment due dates keeps me sane and organized. This notebook illustrates my dependence on literacy to complete daily tasks.
Object # 3: My bedroom's laptop, AOL Instant Messenger Box
Signficance: This log of conversations between my friends and I illuminates how technology has made literacy a fundamental part of my everyday communication. While in the past, people depended upon literacy for correspondence to an extent, I do not feel it was quite as vital to communication as it is now.
Object # 4: Bedroom John Lennon poster with "Imagine" lyrics
Significance: These song lyrics are on my wall for aesthetic purposes. This hints at literacy as a means of artistic fulfillment in my life.
Object # 5: Kitchen Wheat Thins Cracker Box
Significance: The box reads "reduced fat" in big, bold letters. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I chose this specific box of crackers. Therefore literacy is a means of selling a product and also a means of uncovering nutritional content about a particular food product.
Literacy Dig - Travis
The five items that I have selected are:
a) White board- As an RA, I use this whiteboard to post any reminders, updates and answers to any questions that residents have. This works as a great way of communication for if I am not present at the time. Allowing students to write their concerns, I always get back to them in a timely manner.
b.) Email- Using email allows me to keep in contact with not only friends but with teachers. If I have any questions about a topic, email allows me to get a response quickly. Without having to wait for office hours, my concerns can be answered.
c.) Cell phone- using this form of literacy allows me to reach people far away. Easily I can get on the phone and talk to my sister in California. The connection is quite clear with the advances in technology.
d.) IM- When I am bored or just don't feel like talking to certain individuals, I can easily chat with them online. This too allows me to communicate with past college buddies that have moved from the area. Not having to wait for a response via email allows me to strike conversation quickly.
e.) Janitor's log- If there are any concerns from other residents, I takes these up with the custodians of our building. passing these messages on through a log is much easier since our hours do not fall in the same brackets. Here matters can be resolved without having to wait when a convenient time comes up.
a) White board- As an RA, I use this whiteboard to post any reminders, updates and answers to any questions that residents have. This works as a great way of communication for if I am not present at the time. Allowing students to write their concerns, I always get back to them in a timely manner.
b.) Email- Using email allows me to keep in contact with not only friends but with teachers. If I have any questions about a topic, email allows me to get a response quickly. Without having to wait for office hours, my concerns can be answered.
c.) Cell phone- using this form of literacy allows me to reach people far away. Easily I can get on the phone and talk to my sister in California. The connection is quite clear with the advances in technology.
d.) IM- When I am bored or just don't feel like talking to certain individuals, I can easily chat with them online. This too allows me to communicate with past college buddies that have moved from the area. Not having to wait for a response via email allows me to strike conversation quickly.
e.) Janitor's log- If there are any concerns from other residents, I takes these up with the custodians of our building. passing these messages on through a log is much easier since our hours do not fall in the same brackets. Here matters can be resolved without having to wait when a convenient time comes up.
Schools hiring falls short
Finding enough teachers to fill positions has become a major problem the last couple of years for many years. Administrators are puzzled as to why this is happening. A Sacremento school still has not filled two dozen positions, leaving these students to be taught by unqualified substitutes. In a way this going against Bush's No Child Left Behind Act because students are being deprived essential information. Although the district is blaming this problem on an excessive amount of students being enrolled, this does not give a reason not to have positions filled when the school year is almost at the half way point. Lets face it teachers are underpaid for what they do. This may be the case in some areas, but as a whole we must look at what this is doing to the students. I remember when we had substitutes and boy it was a fun. However, these instances only occured rarely. For this Sacremento school substitutes are having to be rotated becasue they are exceeding their limits in the classroom. Teachers at this school are worried for they have seen many visible consequences. Poor student behavior, busy work assigned to occupy time, students correcting substitutes' academic mistakes are all deterriorating the classroom environment. The school system is asking many parents if they have any suggestions as to what they can do to fix this problem. Well it is simple. When hiring, don't always wait to the last minute. Districts should be offering more job fairs earlier in the year so if faced with a dilemna as this they will have something to fall back on. Even if they use these potential employees as substitutes until a position comes along. they will have the credentials in teaching these students. They will not be "baby sat" as to what Larry Tagg, a teacher at this school refers to these subs as.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Digital Age's Reading Rooms
From Elizabeth Church's article Bringing the reading room into the digital age, we've seen that in many ways campuses and many high schools across the nation are becoming more high tech and slowly working their way into the most recent available education systems, taking full advantage of the internet and the resources it can provide. By revamping their libraries and the systems that have been incorporated there for years, we've seen the decline of reference rooms and media clippings to increased digital paraphenalia, computer lounges and digital collections of reference material.
Is this really the way we want to go? Honestly, I'm all for using technology in the classroom and augmenting the resources in a library with that of the internet or digital collections of reading material, but in some cases schools have gone so far as to make everything reliant upon the technology factor and remove books from the shelves of the library itself. Yes, this may make finding information more convenient, but are we not just encouraging our students, both present and future ones, to dismiss actual books as less than worthy sources for information when they can simply press a few buttons to find what they need?
Another issue brought up would be the funding of such a task. Granted some schools may have the superior funding for something like this, but how many schools that are under-funded, who barely have enough money to buy the necessary books for the classes, let alone the computers to replace said books are there?
I find this article to be encouraging in the fact that there are open-minded faculty out there in the education process that will incorporate both the old and the new ways of finding, storing and passing on information, but in the same breath, I fear if we immerse ourselves and our schools in a library system where there are no books at all.... we should read up on M.T Anderson's Feed, and see how we like their way of life.
Is this really the way we want to go? Honestly, I'm all for using technology in the classroom and augmenting the resources in a library with that of the internet or digital collections of reading material, but in some cases schools have gone so far as to make everything reliant upon the technology factor and remove books from the shelves of the library itself. Yes, this may make finding information more convenient, but are we not just encouraging our students, both present and future ones, to dismiss actual books as less than worthy sources for information when they can simply press a few buttons to find what they need?
Another issue brought up would be the funding of such a task. Granted some schools may have the superior funding for something like this, but how many schools that are under-funded, who barely have enough money to buy the necessary books for the classes, let alone the computers to replace said books are there?
I find this article to be encouraging in the fact that there are open-minded faculty out there in the education process that will incorporate both the old and the new ways of finding, storing and passing on information, but in the same breath, I fear if we immerse ourselves and our schools in a library system where there are no books at all.... we should read up on M.T Anderson's Feed, and see how we like their way of life.
Friday, November 2, 2007
1 in 10 Schools are 'Dropout Factories'
The article 1 in 10 Schools are 'Dropout Factories' by Nancy Zuckerbrod, describes the disturbing trend of dropout rates in high schools across the United States. With a national average of 70% for a graduation rate, it seems the situation is dire enough, yet one in ten high schools, appropriately nicknamed "dropout factories," are averaging less than a 60% overall graduation rate.
One reason cited for the low graduation rates are minority students. Although the national graduation average is about 70%, minorities typically have a graduation average of 50%. One method mentioned to prevent this discrepancy is to keep track of graduation rates according to ethnicity. Zuckerbrod describes how legislative revisions are being made to the No Child Left Behind Act to "Make sure schools report their graduation rates by racial, ethnic and other subgroups and are judged on those. That's to ensure schools aren't just graduating white students in high numbers, but also are working to ensure minority students get diplomas."
Zuckerbrod also describes how NCLB's obsession with tests has created "a perverse incentive for schools to encourage kids to drop out before they bring down a school's scores. " Although the situation seems nearly unimaginable, it is possible some teachers may encourage students to pursue other avenues, such as acquiring a trade or receiving GED certification. While it is true many students may have no inclination to go on to college, every attempt must be made to have all students finish high school. This idea may relate more to Hirsch's philosophy on education, but it is essential that our society and the individuals who live within it retain a minimum level of achievement relating to communication, reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and an understanding of culture. Not only does a thorough understanding of the minimum level of education provide opportunity for entry-level jobs, it provides a certain level of equality because all members of society have been required to participate.
One major point made in the article refers to the concept of focusing on students more than content. Students described how they wanted teachers to bond with and care about their progress, yet instead they felt alone and alienated by the faculty in their educational setting. Zuckerbrod describes how some schools are addressing this situation by encouraging teacher collaboration, longer class periods in core subject areas, and more student-teacher interaction.
Even though having an actual number for the dropout rate is daunting, at least teachers now have factual data of what they are up against. Also, it would appear having a primarily student-centered environment is more conducive to learning than lecture style formats commonly used in the public school systems. Although classroom management is an essential aspect of school safety and decorum, perhaps administrators and teachers should stop telling students what they are learning and instead allow students to experience learning through action.
One reason cited for the low graduation rates are minority students. Although the national graduation average is about 70%, minorities typically have a graduation average of 50%. One method mentioned to prevent this discrepancy is to keep track of graduation rates according to ethnicity. Zuckerbrod describes how legislative revisions are being made to the No Child Left Behind Act to "Make sure schools report their graduation rates by racial, ethnic and other subgroups and are judged on those. That's to ensure schools aren't just graduating white students in high numbers, but also are working to ensure minority students get diplomas."
Zuckerbrod also describes how NCLB's obsession with tests has created "a perverse incentive for schools to encourage kids to drop out before they bring down a school's scores. " Although the situation seems nearly unimaginable, it is possible some teachers may encourage students to pursue other avenues, such as acquiring a trade or receiving GED certification. While it is true many students may have no inclination to go on to college, every attempt must be made to have all students finish high school. This idea may relate more to Hirsch's philosophy on education, but it is essential that our society and the individuals who live within it retain a minimum level of achievement relating to communication, reading, writing, basic arithmetic, and an understanding of culture. Not only does a thorough understanding of the minimum level of education provide opportunity for entry-level jobs, it provides a certain level of equality because all members of society have been required to participate.
One major point made in the article refers to the concept of focusing on students more than content. Students described how they wanted teachers to bond with and care about their progress, yet instead they felt alone and alienated by the faculty in their educational setting. Zuckerbrod describes how some schools are addressing this situation by encouraging teacher collaboration, longer class periods in core subject areas, and more student-teacher interaction.
Even though having an actual number for the dropout rate is daunting, at least teachers now have factual data of what they are up against. Also, it would appear having a primarily student-centered environment is more conducive to learning than lecture style formats commonly used in the public school systems. Although classroom management is an essential aspect of school safety and decorum, perhaps administrators and teachers should stop telling students what they are learning and instead allow students to experience learning through action.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Reading Aid Seen to Lag in English Language Learners Focus
This article focused on the Reading First program, funded by No Child Left behind, which was created to help early English language readers only. The Reading First program was designed through scientifically based reading research to help students become successful readers early on. Now, educations systems are realizing the problem this presents to children that have English as their second language. It’s no wonder that this program is faulty when the insufficient No Child Left Behind program created it; The children that are being left behind, so to speak, are second language English students. According to the article, the Reading First program is lagging in consideration for these students. The problems with the Reading First program has recently reached legislation and will be reauthorized to be “linguistically appropriate”. This change will extend the program to meet the needs of English language learners, but it also presents some conflict with teachers who now will have to acquire certain training to teach with this program. The article also brings up the discussion of applying English only laws to the readjusted program. The question of whether or not to teach English learners in their native language is another controversial matter, which seems to pose more problems for teachers. Teaching English in the native language of students doesn’t seem to be a realistic approach to the problem because most teachers aren’t capable of this. I think the best approach would be to have specialized classrooms that can devote their attention primarily to bilingual students.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Education on line: Bit by Bit, computers alter how we read
This article specifically dealt with students using the Internet for all their research. It also talked about how entire novels can be read on line, however, when using the Internet something is lost in the reading. When students read on line they lose the tone of the book as well as the meaning, because the Internet gives shortened versions of everything with things such as spark notes.
I would have to agree with this article. Although the Internet allows you to do work faster than searching through books at the library, the Internet is still very unreliable. Anyone can post things on line so it is difficult to separate the accurate information from the information that was simply made up. Students use this information as though it is all true and don't even consider what kind of website their on. For instance, in the article a teacher discusses how her students looked up information on Mexican immigration. The information they found was negative towards Mexicans and the information came from a neo-Nazi website. In this case, the information may be embellished but the students think it's accurate.
Personally, I do not like using the Internet for my research. I am always concerned with whether or not the information I have gathered is accurate or not. Using the Internet also helps lead to plagiarism. Nothing is stopping students from copy and pasting. When you are actually reading from a book, copy and paste is not an option. Also, I would not want to read a novel on the computer. The best part of a book is being able to sit and read it for a long period of time. When I read on the computer, I begin to get irritated and can't sit looking at the screen for a long time. Therefore I refuse to keep reading and just leave the computer. When I sit and read a book I am comfortable and don't have other things distracting me. Also, according to the article, books on line lose the tone of the book which is something that is important to the book.
There are some good things with reading on line. For instance, things are done faster and there easier to find. However, the only way your really going to have accurate information is in books.
I would have to agree with this article. Although the Internet allows you to do work faster than searching through books at the library, the Internet is still very unreliable. Anyone can post things on line so it is difficult to separate the accurate information from the information that was simply made up. Students use this information as though it is all true and don't even consider what kind of website their on. For instance, in the article a teacher discusses how her students looked up information on Mexican immigration. The information they found was negative towards Mexicans and the information came from a neo-Nazi website. In this case, the information may be embellished but the students think it's accurate.
Personally, I do not like using the Internet for my research. I am always concerned with whether or not the information I have gathered is accurate or not. Using the Internet also helps lead to plagiarism. Nothing is stopping students from copy and pasting. When you are actually reading from a book, copy and paste is not an option. Also, I would not want to read a novel on the computer. The best part of a book is being able to sit and read it for a long period of time. When I read on the computer, I begin to get irritated and can't sit looking at the screen for a long time. Therefore I refuse to keep reading and just leave the computer. When I sit and read a book I am comfortable and don't have other things distracting me. Also, according to the article, books on line lose the tone of the book which is something that is important to the book.
There are some good things with reading on line. For instance, things are done faster and there easier to find. However, the only way your really going to have accurate information is in books.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Blurring Lines Among Both Students and Subjects
Placing honors, regular and special education students in the same rooms is a brilliant idea. Also with the combining of ELA with social studies, it too will create many positive features. From this experience, students at different learning levels will gather and share with others. With students interacting with each other more often, a major goal to be achieved is for higher standards to be met. Also from my understanding of this article, is that by combining students, it may also reduce the “cliques”. Although this is just an experiment right now, many are intrigued with the many positives it has brought thus far.
One benefit from uniting students of all learning levels is that the number of teachers students have to work with each day reduces. As a sixth grader, one of the most difficult transitions they will encounter in life is making this move up to middle school. No more having just one teacher to teach all subjects. Therefore, by combining language arts and social studies it will allow the student to move up, but a slower rate so they feel comfortable. Also another important fact that occurs at this stage is the forming of many cliques. With most of these cliques forming from the child’s lifestyle; derived from an academic, social and financial standpoint, one way to eliminate this is by uniting all students together in one classroom. With combining students to one classroom, a better understanding of how each student views another becomes clearer.
Many students adapt new learning techniques from watching others. Since reading and social studies are closely related, why not combine the two? With some students having greater reading skills than others, they can help make students who do not comprehend as well. This works vice versa for those who can not remember facts most easily. Students will begin to set higher standards for themselves. With using what they have learned from others and combining it with what they already know, the end result will be most productive. With some being able to read better than others, some may become discouraged. With uniting, each student will see what the others are reading but work much harder to achieve their set goals.
The end result is very productive, for I have experienced this when teaching down south. There students in sixth grade are given two teachers with one concentrating on math and science, as the other teachers ELA and social studies. They too combined classes. With the lower level average learners combining with the mild exceptional children, their goal is to have students be in the same as average students and the honors kids.
One benefit from uniting students of all learning levels is that the number of teachers students have to work with each day reduces. As a sixth grader, one of the most difficult transitions they will encounter in life is making this move up to middle school. No more having just one teacher to teach all subjects. Therefore, by combining language arts and social studies it will allow the student to move up, but a slower rate so they feel comfortable. Also another important fact that occurs at this stage is the forming of many cliques. With most of these cliques forming from the child’s lifestyle; derived from an academic, social and financial standpoint, one way to eliminate this is by uniting all students together in one classroom. With combining students to one classroom, a better understanding of how each student views another becomes clearer.
Many students adapt new learning techniques from watching others. Since reading and social studies are closely related, why not combine the two? With some students having greater reading skills than others, they can help make students who do not comprehend as well. This works vice versa for those who can not remember facts most easily. Students will begin to set higher standards for themselves. With using what they have learned from others and combining it with what they already know, the end result will be most productive. With some being able to read better than others, some may become discouraged. With uniting, each student will see what the others are reading but work much harder to achieve their set goals.
The end result is very productive, for I have experienced this when teaching down south. There students in sixth grade are given two teachers with one concentrating on math and science, as the other teachers ELA and social studies. They too combined classes. With the lower level average learners combining with the mild exceptional children, their goal is to have students be in the same as average students and the honors kids.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Bit by Bit
According to the October 16th edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "The very way online information is accessed -- by jumping from one Web site to the next -- does little to encourage linear thought as is used when reading a book."
College students of this generation have grown up with the benefit of the vast reaches of the internet, and the several new search engines that tend to pop up monthly when trying to find information. We've all gotten the speeches on how the internet has 'unsafe information' or facts that have no credibility, yet.... What is the automatic resource that students turn to now when starting a research paper or project? You guessed it, the internet. Some may ask, "What's the problem in that?"
"Students over the years, I think, are losing a sense of tone," said David Miller, chairman of the English department at Allegheny College. "When you read text, one of the most important things you need to intuit is the tone of the writer's voice and the continuousness of things." Encouraging students to take a trip to the library, *gasp* what a thought! Dr. Miller also goes on however to marvel at the wide selection of what can be found on the internet and what online databases have access to.
Essentially, the article stresses what we have all heard dozens of times from professors and high school teachers alike in encouraging students to be wary of the simple solution of going to the internet for all information, and really, they have good reason to stress the point. With something as accessible and simple to use as the internet for researching any imaginable topic, it's a hard temptation to move away from for the busy student on the go. I agree completely that libraries and scholarly journals should be used more often in the student's game plan, but at the same have to say that we have to help our own students move into the future as well.
Should we as teachers incorporate a lesson plan or two devoted to teaching students how to properly use the internet for research purposes? I think for the sake of everyone involved it would be a great idea.
College students of this generation have grown up with the benefit of the vast reaches of the internet, and the several new search engines that tend to pop up monthly when trying to find information. We've all gotten the speeches on how the internet has 'unsafe information' or facts that have no credibility, yet.... What is the automatic resource that students turn to now when starting a research paper or project? You guessed it, the internet. Some may ask, "What's the problem in that?"
"Students over the years, I think, are losing a sense of tone," said David Miller, chairman of the English department at Allegheny College. "When you read text, one of the most important things you need to intuit is the tone of the writer's voice and the continuousness of things." Encouraging students to take a trip to the library, *gasp* what a thought! Dr. Miller also goes on however to marvel at the wide selection of what can be found on the internet and what online databases have access to.
Essentially, the article stresses what we have all heard dozens of times from professors and high school teachers alike in encouraging students to be wary of the simple solution of going to the internet for all information, and really, they have good reason to stress the point. With something as accessible and simple to use as the internet for researching any imaginable topic, it's a hard temptation to move away from for the busy student on the go. I agree completely that libraries and scholarly journals should be used more often in the student's game plan, but at the same have to say that we have to help our own students move into the future as well.
Should we as teachers incorporate a lesson plan or two devoted to teaching students how to properly use the internet for research purposes? I think for the sake of everyone involved it would be a great idea.
Monday, October 15, 2007
A Socratic Seminar: Emmanuel V.
Either/Or Distinctions: The Flight from Complexity
“A great deal of our discussion, as we searched for ways to define goals, seemed to depend on out setting up a series of oppositions. I’ve come to see this way of defining goals as reductive and based on false dichotomies” (Page 195, paragraph 1).
Bob Denham goes on to compare their ceaseless set up of reductive oppositions as a ‘flight from complexity.’ That statement is exactly right. As pedagogues it should be our primary concern to foster a desire to learn in our students, if this means that we should assess less, then so be it. If it means we should refrain from elucidating every single little goal, then so be it. The construction of these ineffectual dichotomies only demarcates this discipline as an antagonistic one.
The Danger of Softness
“Someone remarks, ‘I don’t teach English, I teach students.’ In a reply, a sudden explosion of clench-jawed anger; ‘Don’t give us that old line. It’s fake polarization. It’s falsely divisive. Sentimental. Anti-intellectual’” (Page 198, middle of page).
It’s a palatable, sensible argument that this proclamation is divisive or polarizing, but is sentimentality unprofessional? It seems that caring about students carries an amateurish connotation. This reflects pathology of English education. I feel the notion that it’s wrong or impeding of the educational process to become involved with students is an unprincipled and erroneous repudiation of instruction. My question is this: how are we supposed to teach when we erect walls of impersonality around ourselves? If we distance ourselves from students, as educators, how can we do our jobs?
The Education of Intelligences
“Except for those relegated to teaching the youngest children, teachers have typically commanded great respect. In the past much of the educational processes came to center on a single magnetic figure- a guru, a mullah, a rabbi, a Confucian scholar who took promising students under his wing…” (Page 348, 2nd to last par.).
I think this is the idyllic teacher. Instead of an autocratic, tyrant of a teacher, we should command respect but only for the sole purpose of educating our students. If we demand respect for supremacy or power and we fail to administer any reciprocity then our students will feel beneath us and their willingness to learn will be nonexistent.
The Child and the Curriculum
“Abandon the notion of subject-matter as something fixed and ready-made in itself, outside the child’s experience; cease thinking of the child’s experience as also something hard and fast; see it as something fluent, embryonic , vital; and we realize that child and curriculum are simply two limits which define a single process.”
I believe there is interconnectedness between students and the curriculum, the word embryonic is preeminently suggestive of that; students require an almost maternal sustenance to thrive in an academic setting. Within the microcosm that is the classroom, if we are cold and calculating about everything we will overlook individualism in students, ultimately depriving them of a literary identity. Strict adherence to a rubric will only make the classroom a homogenous pool of people. We should embrace academic dynamism, our curriculums should be an expression of our students
“A great deal of our discussion, as we searched for ways to define goals, seemed to depend on out setting up a series of oppositions. I’ve come to see this way of defining goals as reductive and based on false dichotomies” (Page 195, paragraph 1).
Bob Denham goes on to compare their ceaseless set up of reductive oppositions as a ‘flight from complexity.’ That statement is exactly right. As pedagogues it should be our primary concern to foster a desire to learn in our students, if this means that we should assess less, then so be it. If it means we should refrain from elucidating every single little goal, then so be it. The construction of these ineffectual dichotomies only demarcates this discipline as an antagonistic one.
The Danger of Softness
“Someone remarks, ‘I don’t teach English, I teach students.’ In a reply, a sudden explosion of clench-jawed anger; ‘Don’t give us that old line. It’s fake polarization. It’s falsely divisive. Sentimental. Anti-intellectual’” (Page 198, middle of page).
It’s a palatable, sensible argument that this proclamation is divisive or polarizing, but is sentimentality unprofessional? It seems that caring about students carries an amateurish connotation. This reflects pathology of English education. I feel the notion that it’s wrong or impeding of the educational process to become involved with students is an unprincipled and erroneous repudiation of instruction. My question is this: how are we supposed to teach when we erect walls of impersonality around ourselves? If we distance ourselves from students, as educators, how can we do our jobs?
The Education of Intelligences
“Except for those relegated to teaching the youngest children, teachers have typically commanded great respect. In the past much of the educational processes came to center on a single magnetic figure- a guru, a mullah, a rabbi, a Confucian scholar who took promising students under his wing…” (Page 348, 2nd to last par.).
I think this is the idyllic teacher. Instead of an autocratic, tyrant of a teacher, we should command respect but only for the sole purpose of educating our students. If we demand respect for supremacy or power and we fail to administer any reciprocity then our students will feel beneath us and their willingness to learn will be nonexistent.
The Child and the Curriculum
“Abandon the notion of subject-matter as something fixed and ready-made in itself, outside the child’s experience; cease thinking of the child’s experience as also something hard and fast; see it as something fluent, embryonic , vital; and we realize that child and curriculum are simply two limits which define a single process.”
I believe there is interconnectedness between students and the curriculum, the word embryonic is preeminently suggestive of that; students require an almost maternal sustenance to thrive in an academic setting. Within the microcosm that is the classroom, if we are cold and calculating about everything we will overlook individualism in students, ultimately depriving them of a literary identity. Strict adherence to a rubric will only make the classroom a homogenous pool of people. We should embrace academic dynamism, our curriculums should be an expression of our students
Friday, October 12, 2007
Socratic Seminar
Kendra Woods
The School and Society and the Child and the Curriculum by John Dewey
“It will do harm if child-study leave in the popular mind the impression that a child of a given age has a positive equipment of purposes and interests to be cultivated just as they stand. Interests in reality are but attitudes toward possible experiences; they are not achievements; their worth is in the leverage they afford, not in the accomplishment they represent.” (Page 193)
I think this says something about the teacher student relationship because I think that a teacher needs to understand that they have to help mold children into the things they need to be. They can’t expect a child to just learn information and be great just off of that. The child needs to be interested in what they are learning so that they use it in a positive way and as an accomplishment. To be interested in something helps to have experiences with what you are interested in. This is good for teachers because a student who is interested in something will work harder and gain more experiences because they like what they are learning.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
“Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the “banking” concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits.” (Chapter 2, page 53)
I think that this has to do with the teacher student relationship because it explains how teachers and students work. Teachers deposit information into students and they take that information and receive it file it and store it into their brain. I think this is a good example of exactly what some teachers do. Instead of interacting with children they just feed them all of this information and want the child to learn it and remember it. The student needs to remember what is deposited into them so they can memorize and repeat it back to the teacher. I think to a certain extent teachers do just have to give out a whole lot of information that students need to receive, but that should not be there whole way of teaching. They should listen to students and help them understand what they are learning and make them interact with each other and with the teacher.
Frames of Mind by Howard Gardner
“Next, there are particular sites or loci where learning takes place. Much education, particularly in traditional societies, takes place on site: the learner is simply placed near the model, who is at the time doing “his thing”. On site learning can occur at home, when that is the customary locus of the activity, be it learning how to prepare a meal or coming to “identify” with a parent who is always studying. As I have already noted, when societies become more complex, they are likely to set up specialized institutions for learning.” (Page 335)
I think this has a lot to do with teacher student relationships because a teacher does not have to be a professor. A school does not have to be in a special building. Kids are taught at home all of the time and they learn just as much as the ones who go to school. I think this says a lot because students don’t believe that their parents are teachers or their siblings are teachers. Everyone teaches you in some kind of way. Yes, teachers do teach you more about the world and math and subjects but the people around you teach you a lot also. So the teacher student relationship can be with any student and any teacher.
The Danger of Softness by Peter Elbow
“Elementary teachers are in more immediate contact with the fact that students cannot learn well unless they have some fun and get some personal support. Because they work with such young students and because they are with them so many hours in a day, they can see a student right before their eyes lose the ability to learn…” (Page 204)
This passage has to do with a student teacher relationship directly. Teachers can see when their students have lost interest in what is going on. Teachers with younger students can see this more clearly because a student needs a little fun and excitement to understand things that are going on. Students can get bored in a class very easily and sometimes need the teachers help to stay focused. So class should not be all play but at certain times students may need to take a bit of a break and do something fun for a while.
Discussion Questions
1. Why is it hard for students to understand teachers? Why can they understand a student better than a teacher?
2. Why is it hard for students to respect the authority of teachers in classrooms?
3. What can teachers do to accommodate different children’s learning styles all together to teach them all at the same time?
4. What techniques can a teacher use to get their students to understand and grasp information better?
5. What can students do to help the teacher better adapt to their learning styles so that no child is left out?
The School and Society and the Child and the Curriculum by John Dewey
“It will do harm if child-study leave in the popular mind the impression that a child of a given age has a positive equipment of purposes and interests to be cultivated just as they stand. Interests in reality are but attitudes toward possible experiences; they are not achievements; their worth is in the leverage they afford, not in the accomplishment they represent.” (Page 193)
I think this says something about the teacher student relationship because I think that a teacher needs to understand that they have to help mold children into the things they need to be. They can’t expect a child to just learn information and be great just off of that. The child needs to be interested in what they are learning so that they use it in a positive way and as an accomplishment. To be interested in something helps to have experiences with what you are interested in. This is good for teachers because a student who is interested in something will work harder and gain more experiences because they like what they are learning.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
“Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the “banking” concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits.” (Chapter 2, page 53)
I think that this has to do with the teacher student relationship because it explains how teachers and students work. Teachers deposit information into students and they take that information and receive it file it and store it into their brain. I think this is a good example of exactly what some teachers do. Instead of interacting with children they just feed them all of this information and want the child to learn it and remember it. The student needs to remember what is deposited into them so they can memorize and repeat it back to the teacher. I think to a certain extent teachers do just have to give out a whole lot of information that students need to receive, but that should not be there whole way of teaching. They should listen to students and help them understand what they are learning and make them interact with each other and with the teacher.
Frames of Mind by Howard Gardner
“Next, there are particular sites or loci where learning takes place. Much education, particularly in traditional societies, takes place on site: the learner is simply placed near the model, who is at the time doing “his thing”. On site learning can occur at home, when that is the customary locus of the activity, be it learning how to prepare a meal or coming to “identify” with a parent who is always studying. As I have already noted, when societies become more complex, they are likely to set up specialized institutions for learning.” (Page 335)
I think this has a lot to do with teacher student relationships because a teacher does not have to be a professor. A school does not have to be in a special building. Kids are taught at home all of the time and they learn just as much as the ones who go to school. I think this says a lot because students don’t believe that their parents are teachers or their siblings are teachers. Everyone teaches you in some kind of way. Yes, teachers do teach you more about the world and math and subjects but the people around you teach you a lot also. So the teacher student relationship can be with any student and any teacher.
The Danger of Softness by Peter Elbow
“Elementary teachers are in more immediate contact with the fact that students cannot learn well unless they have some fun and get some personal support. Because they work with such young students and because they are with them so many hours in a day, they can see a student right before their eyes lose the ability to learn…” (Page 204)
This passage has to do with a student teacher relationship directly. Teachers can see when their students have lost interest in what is going on. Teachers with younger students can see this more clearly because a student needs a little fun and excitement to understand things that are going on. Students can get bored in a class very easily and sometimes need the teachers help to stay focused. So class should not be all play but at certain times students may need to take a bit of a break and do something fun for a while.
Discussion Questions
1. Why is it hard for students to understand teachers? Why can they understand a student better than a teacher?
2. Why is it hard for students to respect the authority of teachers in classrooms?
3. What can teachers do to accommodate different children’s learning styles all together to teach them all at the same time?
4. What techniques can a teacher use to get their students to understand and grasp information better?
5. What can students do to help the teacher better adapt to their learning styles so that no child is left out?
Socratic Seminar (Melissa Golio)
Questions:
1. Why would we want students who all think the same? Shouldn’t life experience be part of the curriculum?
2. If children are taught by both relatives and teachers, who is responsible for teaching them right and wrong? Who is to blame if they did do something wrong?
3. Should students, in some sense, become the teachers?
4. How does the “banking system” prepare students for college and the work place?
Passages:
1. “The Child and the Curriculum” pg. 186: “Then studies introduce a world arranged on the basis of eternal and general truth; a world where all is measured and defined. Hence the moral: ignore and minimize the child’s individual peculiarities, whims, and experiences. They are what we need to get away from. They are to be obscured or eliminated. As educators our work is precisely to substitute for these superficial and casual affairs stable and well-ordered realities; and these are found in studies and lessons.”
-This passage is significant, because it shows why students and teachers don’t have a close relationship. When teachers don’t care about who their students are, it is difficult for the students to respect them. By trying to eliminate student’s personalities, it is telling the student that what they think and the way they think doesn’t matter. All that matters is what the teacher is telling them.
2. “The Child and the Curriculum” pg. 187: “The child is the starting-point, the center, and the end. His development, his growth, is the ideal. It alone furnishes the standard. To the growth of the child all studies are subservient; they are instruments valued as they serve the needs of growth. Personality, character, is more than subject-matter. Not knowledge or information, but self-realization, is the goal.”
-Although the ideals portrayed in this passage are a little over the top, they should be followed to an extent in the classroom. If students feel close with their teacher, meaning they feel that they can express themselves and have a voice, they will enjoy that class that much more. No student wants to just sit and be spoken to, they want to have an opinion and they want to express who they are. This passage, which is the way some sects teach, is a little extreme; however it provides teachers and students with the closest relationship.
3. “The Education of Intelligences” pg. 334: “Related to, but separate from, the intelligences involved are actual ways of learning exploited in one or another setting. Perhaps no basic is direct or “unmediated” learning: here the learner observes adult activity in vivo, as when a Puluwat child watches an elder construct a canoe or prepare to sail. Closely related to direct observation but involving more overt participation by the learner, are various forms of imitation, where the child observes and then imitates (either immediately or subsequently) the actions performed by the model.”
-This is very common in most schools, where the teacher will simply spit out information and the students simply write down the information and eventually memorize it. There is little communication between the students and the teacher which does not help build a relationship. Also, this kind of learning prevents students from really comprehending what the teacher is talking about. If discussions were allowed and questions were voiced, there would be a different understanding of the material.
4. Pedagogy of the Oppressed pg. 53: “The raison d’ etre of libertarian education, on the other hand, lies in its drive towards reconciliation. Education must begin with the solution of the teacher student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.
-This kind of idea, that the students and teachers constantly switch positions, promotes a healthy relationship. In all the classes I have taken, where the students were required to voice their opinions and teach what they know, I had a much closer relationship with that teacher. Everything becomes much more personal, because the teacher knows how you think and what interests you.
5. What is English? pg. 204: “The elementary section. Where the story of the wholistic group is complex and slippery, the story that I want to tell about the elementary section is simple (simple to summarize if not to enact). And where the wholistic group was often adversarial in stance, the elementary teachers were not. Though they were straightforward and learned, they nevertheless displayed the highest degree of play, metaphor, imagination, and connection of the cognitive to the affective. They were willing to risk the charge of corniness. They didn’t fight or get annoyed, and they weren’t particularly pushy. But they were an example, they were good colleagues, and they got through to people.”
-The way elementary school teacher’s act is the way all teachers should act, especially in the classroom. Elementary school teachers know that they do not have a long time to get and keep their students attention. They have young children who would much rather be doing something else, so their teachers have to create activities that will keep their attention and at the same time teach them. This creates a bond between the teacher and the students because the students see the teacher as fun and interesting. All teachers should do this because although students in high school and college are older, they would also rather be doing something else than sitting in class. However, if that class was fun and interesting and the students could relate with the teacher, the relationship would be stronger and the class would seem much more interesting.
1. Why would we want students who all think the same? Shouldn’t life experience be part of the curriculum?
2. If children are taught by both relatives and teachers, who is responsible for teaching them right and wrong? Who is to blame if they did do something wrong?
3. Should students, in some sense, become the teachers?
4. How does the “banking system” prepare students for college and the work place?
Passages:
1. “The Child and the Curriculum” pg. 186: “Then studies introduce a world arranged on the basis of eternal and general truth; a world where all is measured and defined. Hence the moral: ignore and minimize the child’s individual peculiarities, whims, and experiences. They are what we need to get away from. They are to be obscured or eliminated. As educators our work is precisely to substitute for these superficial and casual affairs stable and well-ordered realities; and these are found in studies and lessons.”
-This passage is significant, because it shows why students and teachers don’t have a close relationship. When teachers don’t care about who their students are, it is difficult for the students to respect them. By trying to eliminate student’s personalities, it is telling the student that what they think and the way they think doesn’t matter. All that matters is what the teacher is telling them.
2. “The Child and the Curriculum” pg. 187: “The child is the starting-point, the center, and the end. His development, his growth, is the ideal. It alone furnishes the standard. To the growth of the child all studies are subservient; they are instruments valued as they serve the needs of growth. Personality, character, is more than subject-matter. Not knowledge or information, but self-realization, is the goal.”
-Although the ideals portrayed in this passage are a little over the top, they should be followed to an extent in the classroom. If students feel close with their teacher, meaning they feel that they can express themselves and have a voice, they will enjoy that class that much more. No student wants to just sit and be spoken to, they want to have an opinion and they want to express who they are. This passage, which is the way some sects teach, is a little extreme; however it provides teachers and students with the closest relationship.
3. “The Education of Intelligences” pg. 334: “Related to, but separate from, the intelligences involved are actual ways of learning exploited in one or another setting. Perhaps no basic is direct or “unmediated” learning: here the learner observes adult activity in vivo, as when a Puluwat child watches an elder construct a canoe or prepare to sail. Closely related to direct observation but involving more overt participation by the learner, are various forms of imitation, where the child observes and then imitates (either immediately or subsequently) the actions performed by the model.”
-This is very common in most schools, where the teacher will simply spit out information and the students simply write down the information and eventually memorize it. There is little communication between the students and the teacher which does not help build a relationship. Also, this kind of learning prevents students from really comprehending what the teacher is talking about. If discussions were allowed and questions were voiced, there would be a different understanding of the material.
4. Pedagogy of the Oppressed pg. 53: “The raison d’ etre of libertarian education, on the other hand, lies in its drive towards reconciliation. Education must begin with the solution of the teacher student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.
-This kind of idea, that the students and teachers constantly switch positions, promotes a healthy relationship. In all the classes I have taken, where the students were required to voice their opinions and teach what they know, I had a much closer relationship with that teacher. Everything becomes much more personal, because the teacher knows how you think and what interests you.
5. What is English? pg. 204: “The elementary section. Where the story of the wholistic group is complex and slippery, the story that I want to tell about the elementary section is simple (simple to summarize if not to enact). And where the wholistic group was often adversarial in stance, the elementary teachers were not. Though they were straightforward and learned, they nevertheless displayed the highest degree of play, metaphor, imagination, and connection of the cognitive to the affective. They were willing to risk the charge of corniness. They didn’t fight or get annoyed, and they weren’t particularly pushy. But they were an example, they were good colleagues, and they got through to people.”
-The way elementary school teacher’s act is the way all teachers should act, especially in the classroom. Elementary school teachers know that they do not have a long time to get and keep their students attention. They have young children who would much rather be doing something else, so their teachers have to create activities that will keep their attention and at the same time teach them. This creates a bond between the teacher and the students because the students see the teacher as fun and interesting. All teachers should do this because although students in high school and college are older, they would also rather be doing something else than sitting in class. However, if that class was fun and interesting and the students could relate with the teacher, the relationship would be stronger and the class would seem much more interesting.
Socratic Seminar Preparation
From Dewey:
"Again, in school each of these subjects is classified. Facts are torn away from their original place in experience and rearranged with reference to some general principle. Classification is not a matter of child experience; things do not come to the individual pigeonholed. The vital ties of affection, the connecting bonds of activity, hold together the variety of his personal experiences. The adult mind is so familiar with the notion of logically ordered facts that it does not recognize--it cannot realize--the amount of separating and reformulating which the facts of direct experience have to undergo before they can appear as a "study" of branch of learning" (184).
Significance: In all of the educational theory we have been reading, the philosophies presented can be applied beyond the classroom. Dewey's analysis of pedagogy is grounded in an understanding of our society: everything is classified, therefore thinking is classified, and teachers--in their strict subject-matter divisions--teach categorized thinking. This brings to mind how significant teachers are to students. They do not simply transfer information, they teach children how to think in the normative way society operates.
Question: Is this role appropriate for teachers? Should we, as new teachers, question it?
From Freire:
"Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indocrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression" (59).
Significance: Similar to my thinking about Dewey, I can see how revolutionary Freire's ideas are about pedagogy, because his philosophy applies societally. Teaching passively, what he calls "the banking concept of education," teaches students to be civically passive. How students participate in school is training for how they will function as adults in society. As acting as the oppressed in the classroom, they become familiar with a world in which the system of oppression is widely accepted and tolerated.
Question: How can we create experiential learning that challenges the intolerable ways in which society now functions?
From Gardner:
"The pre-modern or nonscientific mind has available all the same thought processes as has the scientific mind, but the system within which the former works is essentially closed: all premises have already been stated in advance, all inferences must follow from them, and the explanatory system is not altered in the light of the new information that has been procured. Rather, in the manner described in my discussion of traditional religious eduation, one's rhetorical powers are simply mobilized to provide ever more artful justifications of the conclusions, the worldviews, that were already known in advance and for all time" (362).
Significance: In Gardner's relaying of learning throughout history and across cultures, the Renaissance/the Enlightenment that changed the way we think about learning was revolutionary.
Question: Is the focus on new innovation still as important today? How can we encourage our students to formulate their own questions instead of just mimicking others?
From Elbow:
"For me, the conference ended up with an important subtheme--ended by sticking up for a side of the profession that often gets lost in high school and college English departments: play, storytelling, the personal, amateur, imaginative, affective, and informal. I'm not saying that the profession suffers from too much of what is professional, cognitive, analytic, and pragmatic; there can't be too much of those good things--only too little of the other side. Nothing need be lost, but something need be gained" (205).
Significance: This is an older book, and I can see how Elbow's thinking, perhaps echoed by others, led recent teachers to incorporate art and media and creative personal exercises to bring back the play into the classroom.
Question: How important is the personal to the study of English?
"Again, in school each of these subjects is classified. Facts are torn away from their original place in experience and rearranged with reference to some general principle. Classification is not a matter of child experience; things do not come to the individual pigeonholed. The vital ties of affection, the connecting bonds of activity, hold together the variety of his personal experiences. The adult mind is so familiar with the notion of logically ordered facts that it does not recognize--it cannot realize--the amount of separating and reformulating which the facts of direct experience have to undergo before they can appear as a "study" of branch of learning" (184).
Significance: In all of the educational theory we have been reading, the philosophies presented can be applied beyond the classroom. Dewey's analysis of pedagogy is grounded in an understanding of our society: everything is classified, therefore thinking is classified, and teachers--in their strict subject-matter divisions--teach categorized thinking. This brings to mind how significant teachers are to students. They do not simply transfer information, they teach children how to think in the normative way society operates.
Question: Is this role appropriate for teachers? Should we, as new teachers, question it?
From Freire:
"Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indocrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression" (59).
Significance: Similar to my thinking about Dewey, I can see how revolutionary Freire's ideas are about pedagogy, because his philosophy applies societally. Teaching passively, what he calls "the banking concept of education," teaches students to be civically passive. How students participate in school is training for how they will function as adults in society. As acting as the oppressed in the classroom, they become familiar with a world in which the system of oppression is widely accepted and tolerated.
Question: How can we create experiential learning that challenges the intolerable ways in which society now functions?
From Gardner:
"The pre-modern or nonscientific mind has available all the same thought processes as has the scientific mind, but the system within which the former works is essentially closed: all premises have already been stated in advance, all inferences must follow from them, and the explanatory system is not altered in the light of the new information that has been procured. Rather, in the manner described in my discussion of traditional religious eduation, one's rhetorical powers are simply mobilized to provide ever more artful justifications of the conclusions, the worldviews, that were already known in advance and for all time" (362).
Significance: In Gardner's relaying of learning throughout history and across cultures, the Renaissance/the Enlightenment that changed the way we think about learning was revolutionary.
Question: Is the focus on new innovation still as important today? How can we encourage our students to formulate their own questions instead of just mimicking others?
From Elbow:
"For me, the conference ended up with an important subtheme--ended by sticking up for a side of the profession that often gets lost in high school and college English departments: play, storytelling, the personal, amateur, imaginative, affective, and informal. I'm not saying that the profession suffers from too much of what is professional, cognitive, analytic, and pragmatic; there can't be too much of those good things--only too little of the other side. Nothing need be lost, but something need be gained" (205).
Significance: This is an older book, and I can see how Elbow's thinking, perhaps echoed by others, led recent teachers to incorporate art and media and creative personal exercises to bring back the play into the classroom.
Question: How important is the personal to the study of English?
Socratic Seminar
The Battle between Students and Teachers
Chad Shennett
The Danger of Softness – Elbow
"X tells the story of his teaching: ‘I teach students’ – stressing that who he is and who he teaches are more important than what he teaches. Y objects, "you can’t say ‘I teach students.’ Students is only an indirect object. What do you teach students?" Nevertheless it’s a theme of the conference – with force from elementary group – that we do teach students (and teach ourselves). Teaching is a relationship." (Pg. 198)
This passage interested me because it brought up a debate that I never heard or had considered before. Some teachers believe more in who they teach than what they teach while other believe that statement is a myth and you can’t say that you teach students which are an indirect object. I personally believe you must integrate a little of both philosophies. Teachers must teach a subject, but they must teach that subject personally to the students. I think this issue needs to be explored more in detail and that it could be a major debate among teachers.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Freire
"The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized and predictable. Or else he expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the students. His task is to "fill" the students with the contents of his narration- contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that endangered them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated and alienating verbosity." (Pg. 52)
I think this says something important about the teacher-student relationship as being non-existent. The fact that teachers act as fillers in the banking-concept of teaching is completely unacceptable. That is not teaching and if it is, then anyone can stand in front of a class and force the students to memorize different information. Teaching involves teaching students information or concepts they can apply in the future.
The Child and the Curriculum – Dewey
"One school fixes its attention upon the importance of the subject-matter of the curriculum as compared with the contents of the child’s own experience." (Pg. 185)
I think this effects the student-teacher relationship in a interesting manner. When the school chooses the literature or subject matter then the teacher has no input and must teach the class what the school tells them. This doesn’t allow the teacher to assess the class and decide on more specific class appropriate literature to teach. Also, the students have no input or options on what they study, instead they are told. This could affect the teacher-student relationship because neither the teacher nor class is happy with the subject material creating a negative learning environment.
Frames of Mind – Gardner
"A principal reason for developing an analytic framework is to explain why certain contemporary educational efforts have achieved success, while many other have met a less happy fate. I shall turn to this task in the concluding chapter of the book. To aid in this effort I have in the final pages of this chapter considered three components that typically occur together in the modern secular education – attendance at a school…"
(Pg. 333)
Gardner believes that the key to achieve educational success involves attendance at school, along with two other components. I do believe its important for students to attend classes as it creates a comfortable and more personal relationship with the teacher. It allows the teacher to get to know the student better. Some teachers are very encouraging regarding certain students to miss school and some students also feel that they can’t miss class for a number of reasons. I disagree with this. I personally believe more learning takes place outside of school. If a student has an opportunity to go on a 4-day road trip or go to the city to see a professional basketball game or hockey game then they should be encouraged by the teacher rather than discouraged. I think many teachers discourage missing class so much that students will pass on opportunities to explore new places and see new things.
Discussion Questions
How do you teach students facts such as capitals and multiplication tables without using the banking-concept?
Or instead of teaching specifics, teach the generalized meaning of capitals and mathematics and let the students explore the specifics if interested?
Why do some teachers, still today, insist on forcing students to memorize specific information?
Do we teach students? Or do we teach a subject?
Should the student have some input into the material they must study and learn from? Or should the teacher and school board solely decide?
Chad Shennett
The Danger of Softness – Elbow
"X tells the story of his teaching: ‘I teach students’ – stressing that who he is and who he teaches are more important than what he teaches. Y objects, "you can’t say ‘I teach students.’ Students is only an indirect object. What do you teach students?" Nevertheless it’s a theme of the conference – with force from elementary group – that we do teach students (and teach ourselves). Teaching is a relationship." (Pg. 198)
This passage interested me because it brought up a debate that I never heard or had considered before. Some teachers believe more in who they teach than what they teach while other believe that statement is a myth and you can’t say that you teach students which are an indirect object. I personally believe you must integrate a little of both philosophies. Teachers must teach a subject, but they must teach that subject personally to the students. I think this issue needs to be explored more in detail and that it could be a major debate among teachers.
Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Freire
"The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized and predictable. Or else he expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the students. His task is to "fill" the students with the contents of his narration- contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that endangered them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated and alienating verbosity." (Pg. 52)
I think this says something important about the teacher-student relationship as being non-existent. The fact that teachers act as fillers in the banking-concept of teaching is completely unacceptable. That is not teaching and if it is, then anyone can stand in front of a class and force the students to memorize different information. Teaching involves teaching students information or concepts they can apply in the future.
The Child and the Curriculum – Dewey
"One school fixes its attention upon the importance of the subject-matter of the curriculum as compared with the contents of the child’s own experience." (Pg. 185)
I think this effects the student-teacher relationship in a interesting manner. When the school chooses the literature or subject matter then the teacher has no input and must teach the class what the school tells them. This doesn’t allow the teacher to assess the class and decide on more specific class appropriate literature to teach. Also, the students have no input or options on what they study, instead they are told. This could affect the teacher-student relationship because neither the teacher nor class is happy with the subject material creating a negative learning environment.
Frames of Mind – Gardner
"A principal reason for developing an analytic framework is to explain why certain contemporary educational efforts have achieved success, while many other have met a less happy fate. I shall turn to this task in the concluding chapter of the book. To aid in this effort I have in the final pages of this chapter considered three components that typically occur together in the modern secular education – attendance at a school…"
(Pg. 333)
Gardner believes that the key to achieve educational success involves attendance at school, along with two other components. I do believe its important for students to attend classes as it creates a comfortable and more personal relationship with the teacher. It allows the teacher to get to know the student better. Some teachers are very encouraging regarding certain students to miss school and some students also feel that they can’t miss class for a number of reasons. I disagree with this. I personally believe more learning takes place outside of school. If a student has an opportunity to go on a 4-day road trip or go to the city to see a professional basketball game or hockey game then they should be encouraged by the teacher rather than discouraged. I think many teachers discourage missing class so much that students will pass on opportunities to explore new places and see new things.
Discussion Questions
How do you teach students facts such as capitals and multiplication tables without using the banking-concept?
Or instead of teaching specifics, teach the generalized meaning of capitals and mathematics and let the students explore the specifics if interested?
Why do some teachers, still today, insist on forcing students to memorize specific information?
Do we teach students? Or do we teach a subject?
Should the student have some input into the material they must study and learn from? Or should the teacher and school board solely decide?
Socratic Seminar
Courtney Hayes
ENG297-Socratic Seminar Assignment
1. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences- Gardner. “The invention of various technological aids, may, paradoxically, leave an individual less well prepared to rely on his own abilities. And the sequence witnessed in the Western world is certainly not the only conceivable one and, quite possible, not the optimal one.” (p.365) I think that this passage is an important one because it rings true in our society today. Although technological advances have been made and put into use in many schools throughout the Western world, perhaps technology has begun to take over the thinking process. The easier things become for students to do with the help of technology, it is less likely they are going to do them on their own without the help of a computer or some other technological device.
2. Pedagogy of the Oppressed-Freire. “Narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content. Worse yet, it turns them into “containers”, into “receptacles” to be “filled” by the teacher. The more completely she fills the receptacles, the better a teacher she is.” (Ch. 2, p.53) I think that this passage is extremely important because it shows an interesting relationship between the student and teacher, an unacceptable one at best. The teacher should not be a narrator; a teacher needs to get involved completely in the world of the classroom, not treating students as containers that need to be filled to the brim. Overloading the student with too much information will lesson the amount they actually learn. Also, simply memorizing facts and not knowing what it is that they are actually memorizing or learning is eliminating the thinking process all together.
3. The School and Society and The Child and the Curriculum-Dewey. “To learn the lesson is more interesting than to take a scolding, be held up to general ridicule, stay after school, receive degradingly low marks, or fail to be promoted.” (p.207) This is an important idea because Dewey is saying that students would rather just learn the lesson than get into trouble or risk getting a bad grade. He is ultimately saying that education and lessons need to be made interesting so that the student actually wants to engage in the classroom and learn the activity or lesson for that day. Without the interest of the teacher, why would any student want to be interested in the lesson or what they are being taught/told to learn?
4. Either/Or Distinctions: The Flight from Complexity-Denham. “The source for my first freshman essay was an experience that had been quite painful to me-the death of my father… At the time I thought this piece of writing was much more important than the freshman paper I wrote for my Western Civilization class...In retrospect, however, I’m not so sure. While my freshman essay was student-centered and came directly from my own experience, an experience from which I was trying to construct a meaning, I now recognize the experience of writing that freshman essay as extraordinarily limited and as simply another version of the late Romantic cult of the ego.” (p.195) I think this is an important idea because I can relate to it. In freshman writing courses, students are often told to write about what they know, thus a personal narrative. These pieces of writing are basic and minimal in content. Teachers need to give more complex and in depth assignments that really encourage the student to “construct” their own meaning and not simply re-tell a personal story or memory.
5. The Dangers of Softness-Elbow. “Thus, when participants used a term like child-centered, they meant something substantive, concrete and pragmatic: that learning must connect inward personally and focus outward socially-as opposed to only being organized conceptually.” (p.207) I think that this is an interesting idea because Elbow is saying that the term child-centered has new meaning, he believes that you cannot give every student the same material in the very same order. People are beginning to see that students should not only be able to but want to connect with the material they are learning on a more personal level.
Questions for Discussion:
Elbow believes that you shouldn’t give every student the same information in the very same order if you want them to connect with the material personally, how does he suggest you direct an entire classroom of students using this pedagogy?
Why is memorization still such a key element in most schools, Western included?
How can we get students more involved in the thinking process without limiting the technological advances we have at our disposal?
Is there a way to integrate technology in the classroom in a productive but non-limiting way?
Is there any way that lessons can be moved off-site to encourage a more open and unique learning atmosphere?
ENG297-Socratic Seminar Assignment
1. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences- Gardner. “The invention of various technological aids, may, paradoxically, leave an individual less well prepared to rely on his own abilities. And the sequence witnessed in the Western world is certainly not the only conceivable one and, quite possible, not the optimal one.” (p.365) I think that this passage is an important one because it rings true in our society today. Although technological advances have been made and put into use in many schools throughout the Western world, perhaps technology has begun to take over the thinking process. The easier things become for students to do with the help of technology, it is less likely they are going to do them on their own without the help of a computer or some other technological device.
2. Pedagogy of the Oppressed-Freire. “Narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content. Worse yet, it turns them into “containers”, into “receptacles” to be “filled” by the teacher. The more completely she fills the receptacles, the better a teacher she is.” (Ch. 2, p.53) I think that this passage is extremely important because it shows an interesting relationship between the student and teacher, an unacceptable one at best. The teacher should not be a narrator; a teacher needs to get involved completely in the world of the classroom, not treating students as containers that need to be filled to the brim. Overloading the student with too much information will lesson the amount they actually learn. Also, simply memorizing facts and not knowing what it is that they are actually memorizing or learning is eliminating the thinking process all together.
3. The School and Society and The Child and the Curriculum-Dewey. “To learn the lesson is more interesting than to take a scolding, be held up to general ridicule, stay after school, receive degradingly low marks, or fail to be promoted.” (p.207) This is an important idea because Dewey is saying that students would rather just learn the lesson than get into trouble or risk getting a bad grade. He is ultimately saying that education and lessons need to be made interesting so that the student actually wants to engage in the classroom and learn the activity or lesson for that day. Without the interest of the teacher, why would any student want to be interested in the lesson or what they are being taught/told to learn?
4. Either/Or Distinctions: The Flight from Complexity-Denham. “The source for my first freshman essay was an experience that had been quite painful to me-the death of my father… At the time I thought this piece of writing was much more important than the freshman paper I wrote for my Western Civilization class...In retrospect, however, I’m not so sure. While my freshman essay was student-centered and came directly from my own experience, an experience from which I was trying to construct a meaning, I now recognize the experience of writing that freshman essay as extraordinarily limited and as simply another version of the late Romantic cult of the ego.” (p.195) I think this is an important idea because I can relate to it. In freshman writing courses, students are often told to write about what they know, thus a personal narrative. These pieces of writing are basic and minimal in content. Teachers need to give more complex and in depth assignments that really encourage the student to “construct” their own meaning and not simply re-tell a personal story or memory.
5. The Dangers of Softness-Elbow. “Thus, when participants used a term like child-centered, they meant something substantive, concrete and pragmatic: that learning must connect inward personally and focus outward socially-as opposed to only being organized conceptually.” (p.207) I think that this is an interesting idea because Elbow is saying that the term child-centered has new meaning, he believes that you cannot give every student the same material in the very same order. People are beginning to see that students should not only be able to but want to connect with the material they are learning on a more personal level.
Questions for Discussion:
Elbow believes that you shouldn’t give every student the same information in the very same order if you want them to connect with the material personally, how does he suggest you direct an entire classroom of students using this pedagogy?
Why is memorization still such a key element in most schools, Western included?
How can we get students more involved in the thinking process without limiting the technological advances we have at our disposal?
Is there a way to integrate technology in the classroom in a productive but non-limiting way?
Is there any way that lessons can be moved off-site to encourage a more open and unique learning atmosphere?
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