Reading for Monday, November 29th

Being a very analytical person, I sometimes "over-think" things and read too much into them. Well, the author to "Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us: Critiquing Cartoons and Society," is being just that---too critical and analytical. I don't think it's fair to say that disney movies are implanting these sterotypes in our children's minds. Yes, the author makes a valid point that the disney princesses are usually one race with one specific body type, but there are other elements within the disney movies that should be celebrated and not critiqued. How about those awesome songs that inspire children to sing, dance, and play instruments? When I got a keyboard for christmas in middle school, one of the first pieces of sheet music that I bought was "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas. Now, do you think that I sat there analyzing the movie about the characters' body types, social class, or gender roles? No. The only thing I really remembered from the movie was the cute/funny animals and catchy songs. Most kids are like that. Most kids take away and remember the positive aspects of the movies. I don't think most children get their education on values and ethics from the cartoons they watch or the fairy tales they read. They are influenced by their parents, friends, neighbors, teachers, etc. There are other role models out there that make a greater impact on children's lives. Maybe we should be critiquing those kinds of role models and let fairy tales and children's stories remain just that---tales and stories!

Readings for Monday, November 15th

I loved the article "Multimodal Texts: What They Are and How Children Use Them" by Bearne. I agree with the author that "the idea of 'text' is being redefined." Besides words, children use images to make meaning and create understanding, which is why technology is becoming such a driving force within education. For instance, we are writing a blog in a college course. I never would have expected this to happen. But, time are changing and so as teachers, we need to facilitate this change and welcome it with open arms. We should learn more about the different ways children acquire knowledge whether that is by reading books, watching TV, or playing video games. In order to be an effective teacher, we need to understand this new definition of "text" and figure out a way how we can incorporate these methods into our teaching.

Monday, November 8th: MGRP Reflection

Reflection

            The multigenre research paper was a challenge for me in the beginning. Because there are so many critical issues facing education today, I found it difficult just picking one topic. The process I used to finally narrow down my research topic was very similar to the writing process that we teach to our students. I created a list of topics that I found interesting; however, I had to then narrow it down to those topics that directly influence my future teaching. Because of my background in music, I’ve always had a passion for incorporating the arts within a standard elementary classroom curriculum. Because of my prior experiences in the arts, it was exciting to read research articles that discussed essential questions such as, “What is arts integration,” “Why is arts integration important,” and “How can teachers integrate the arts in a meaningful way.” Once I uncovered these essential questions through my research, I was able to begin my inquiry process. Those three questions generated even more questions pertinent to the application of the arts within a literacy program. The multigenre research project allowed me to experience the inquiry and writing process at an entirely different level. I had to gather data and organize it in such a way to support my argument about the importance of arts integration. I plan to save all of my research articles for my future teaching because they provided me with many ideas on using music, art, drama, and dance to enhance literacy learning.

Monday, November 1st Post

Why didn't my middle school/high school require us to read Seedfolks? I asked myself that question once I finished reading the book. I loved how each character was so different yet they were all united by the garden in the lot. There was that central unifying link bringing various ethnicities, cultures, ages, and genders all together into one envrionment. Young adults need to learn that there is something bigger than ourselves out there in the world. Yes, we all have our problems and tend to focus on our needs and wants, but what I love about this book is that it shows young adults that there IS something bigger to focus on---the lot. The lot stands for so many things such as teamwork, friendship, respect, responsibility, etc. These are the bigger ideas and values that children should be focusing on --the big picture!

Monday, October 25th Post

I thought that Van Sluys' article on how to set up an invitation within your classroom was very informative. It is very important for the teacher to know how to create an appropriate classroom environment which would facilitate student engagement and learning. It all boils down to the teacher's role in preparation and planning. The author gives a teacher specific considerations in order to create an environment for invitations such as 1) Make time for invitations 2) Create productive workspaces 3) Organize invitations and related materials 4)Design written invitations that honor the requisite properties 5) Give students choices about invitations to pursue 6) Establish sign-up procedures 7) Make invitations interesting and engaging 8) Build in opportunities for relflection 9) Allow students to share their thinking, experiences, insights, and processes. I think the 8th topic about reflection is very important and I love how the author included examples of reflection forms and learning logs. In order to set up an effective and successful invitation, the teacher needs to carefully consider the students' interests, plan ahead with all necessary materials, and be organized.

Monday, October 18th Post

For this week, we had to read chapters out of the MGRP book and "The Donut House" by Powell and Davidson. I found the article written by Powell and Davidson to be very interesting. I would never think as a teacher to take a class field trip to a local donut shop. First off, I'd be worried about the liability of walking there and then how I'd have to make sure that no one ran off and/or got hurt. Thankfully, the Kindergarten teacher in the article knew to get parent permission slips. But, such an experience is definitely worth all of the headache of getting such a field trip organized. I loved how the article talked about the benefits of situated literacy compared to the traditional schooled literacy approach. The article mentioned, "Children are more engaged in learning when they perceive an authentic purpose for their efforts." Not only did the Kindergarten create situated literacy learning within her classroom, but she also made sure that they kids collaborated with members/business oweners within their local community. Not only was this literacy project authentic, but it was also culturally relevant, which increases and motivates student understanding.

Reflection on Writing Workshops

I've never considered myself a very good writer. I found it time-consuming and exhausting but that's probably because I am a bit of a perfectionist and would spend hours revising just one simple little sentence. In high school, I used to take pride in editing my brother's papers for grammar and spelling mistakes. Keep in mind that I was the little sister pointing out my big brother's mistakes. You can assume that I took great pleasure in this experience. To this day, my brother's grammar is god-awful; however, who is the one writing 3-4 papers PER WEEK in his PhD program and reading 30 novels in one semester? - my brother! So, even though I was the one fixing his mistakes, he was the one utilizing his creativity and putting his ideas onto paper. You see, I never liked to take that risk because I enjoyed the role of "editor" more so than the role of "writer." So, while my brother is cranking out paper after paper like it's second-nature to him, I am sweating at just the thought of having to write a MGRP this semester. If only I would have taken that risk and tried expressing my ideas onto paper more often as a child, then maybe I would feel comfortable and confident enough to call myself a "writer" as an adult.

So, the point of this whole little summary about my writing history is that now I am yet again assuming my role as "editor" in my field experience. Even though we've only had two days in our field placements, I have already done two writing conferences. For my very first writing conference, the classroom teacher  just kinda threw me into it. I had barely enough time to even read my "instructions" on how to edit the students' papers. So, there I was---feeling very unprepared and about to make or break a child's confidence as a young writer. It wasn't easy trying to keep my perfectionistic "Mr. Hyde-type" personality locked deep inside my head. I kept thinking to myself, "For a second grader, shouldn't he know the difference between 'Jim' and 'Gym?" I mean, it's logical that a young boy would like 'Jim' class and for all things considered, the spelling does make sense. So, how was I supposed to explain that the word starts with a "g" and has a magic "y" in the middle that sometimes makes the short /i/ sound???? I can only imagine how confusing the sound of "y" might be for a child. Sometimes you slap "y" on the end of a word to make the long /e/ sound but then...oh wait...now we can use it in the middle of a word for the short /i/ sound? How confusing! So, I tried focusing on content rather than grammar. It's hard giving recommendations to a stubborn 2nd grader who is absolutely, 100% positive that he wants to have the word "And" at the beginning of every sentence! Obviously, I know that as I continue having writing conferences, I will become more comfortable and confident giving young writers praise and suggestions for improvement.