Learning Letter

By taking this class in conjunction with English 408, I have learned a lot about myself as both a teacher and a student. Through this class, I have been introduced to new ways of thinking as a teacher and new strategies to incorporate into the classroom. For example, one of the texts that stuck out to me the most was Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed." At first, I was pretty taken aback by his claims; that teachers are oppressing their students purely because of their position. This made me realize that as a teacher, I have to actively be aware of my position above my students. I have to actively work to create an environment in which students feel as though they are equals. By using some of the Common Core instructional suggestion from Beach, Thein, and Webb's text, I can create a classroom where students can write in order to explore the world around them. Rather than constricting students with standardized testing and the banking method, teachers should be aiming to give students the tools they need to be successful in the 21st century. As also mentioned in Duncan-Andrade and Morrell’s “Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom," students should be exposed to texts and activities that celebrate their diverse lives and experiences. Duncan-Andrade defines critical pedagogy as the ability "to argue for an approach to education that is rooted in the existential experiences of marginalized peoples; that is centered in a critique of structural, economic, and racial oppression; that is focused on dialogue instead of a one-way transmission of knowledge; and that is structured to empower individuals and collectives as agents of social change." Critical pedagogy includes many of Freire's ideas, in that students should be able to recognize themselves within their education. Education should not be a luxury, and should not be for the teachers, but rather for the students. In order to get students to the place where they can be this free thinking and have the ability to critically think about their education, the California State Universities Expository Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template helps teachers break down the writing (and reading) process to ensure maximum understanding. I really liked this handout, because it breaks down very "common sense" ideas into something that is easily manageable and aligns with CCSS. In order to discuss all of these texts, our class did it in a way that fostered all types of learning. Tying back in to the California State Assignment template, we (students) had the opportunity to post our thoughts on our blogs, talk in small groups, and then discuss as a whole group. I would like to incorporate this type of open discussion in my classrooms. This quarter at my practicum school, the seventh graders in my class had a student led Socratic Seminar. Students absolutely loved the free flowing discussion and sharing of ideas. I want to incorporate more discussions like this during my full time student teaching. In addition to our readings, I think that the book-talks, mini lessons, and unit plan also helped me start to make the shift from student to teacher. The book talks were really fun and interesting towatch, but also very helpful as a future teacher. Doing my own book talk, I actually reread one of my favorite books that I enjoyed as a teenager. I had to shift my lens in order to view it from a teacher's view point, an administrator's, a student's, and a parent's. This helped me further my love of reading, and also to determine how I could turn what I consider to be good books into classroom material. I saw this unfold in other students' book talks as well. In addition to this, it was also helpful to do the mini lessons. While I am in the classroom already, I don't get the valuable feedback from my students that I get from a classroom full of colleagues. This helped me determine what truly works, and what needs some work. I took this seriously, and as a challenge. I will never have the opportunity to get honest feedback from my peers again! However, the unit plan has been the biggest challenge for me this quarter. With taking 20 credits, working, and doing my practicum, the hardest part of doing the unit plan is the lack of time. I have found it to be a very useful and realistic portrayal of what it will be like to be a full time teacher. In addition to this, I will definitely be using some of these lessons for my edTPA when I full time student teach. It has been so helpful to be held to these standards that none of my education classes have enforced thus far. To sum up, this course has truly helped me make the shift into thinking "like a teacher." At the beginning of the quarter, you stated that this was the quarter that we would truly start to make that shift. Now, in the very last week of the quarter, I could not agree more. Rather than looking at assignments as a student, I have viewed them as helpful in my growth as a teacher. I am eager to continue learning more and more as I progress in my field. All of the texts that we read for class made me become more excited and sure about my future. Being in an environment with like-minded people also helped me explore new possibilities to teaching that I had not considered before. I think that my participation in this class has successfully set me up for my teaching career, and given me new tools to do so. 

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Blog Post #14: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a staple in any high school English class. Most students read this as their first introduction to Shakespeare. Most of the time, this play is taught as a tragic love story of young and dumb love. However, I would teach this completely different. Instead, I would have students examine the familial bonds between the characters and how that influences their actions and reactions. For example, we could have a discussion or essay about whether or not the two lovers were only "in love" because their family hated each other so much. They probably would not have died if their families were not so controlling. We could also discuss what would have happened if Juliet would have just married Paris instead of going against her father's wishes. These discussions could all lead into students considering their own families, and how they function and interact. We could examine whether or not Juliet's maid was responsible. Their final essay for the unit could be argumentative; the students would choose a character in the book who was the most responsible for the multitude of deaths in the book. It could be the friar, for marrying two young teens, the Capulets or Montagues, Romeo, or Juliet. Before the essay, students could have a mock trial, putting all of the characters on trial for murder and seeing what argument held up the best. This would be a really fun play to act out (in some selected scenes by the teacher). Students would enjoy this play if it was taught in an entertaining and engaging way. There is love, violence, suspense, within the play. All of these things are present in modern day works, and could easily be connected to each other. There are also many renditions of the play that could be used as supplements for students. I would definitely read this play in class with students, and within reading groups.

Blog Post #13: In the Name of God

Jolin's In the Name of God explores a very complex and current world issue. Especially with the rise of fear mongering by political figures such as Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, it is important for students to get a compassionate glimpse into the lives of Muslim people in other countries. Most students get their information and opinions from their parents, which is expected. However, I think that it essential for school to open up new perspectives and beliefs. Students are then able to use their critical thinking skills to determine a stance on an particular subject. For example, if a school is in a suburban and white neighborhood, students are probably not exposed to many Muslim peers. This book would be a good start to help students get a more global view of the world. It would also be a good book to introduce students to unreliable narrators, since our narrator feels so strongly and her beliefs are so black and white. Students would be able to see, through the narrator, that the radical Muslim issues are much more complex than they are generally taught. Through the people around Nadia, we see what Islam should look like, and that it can be a positive and modern religion.
In this unit, students could explore their own religion or lack thereof and write a personal narrative about how they found or lost their religion or spirituality. They could also write an informative essay about an assigned religion and literary compounds of that religion. This book opens up many different opportunities for not only literary elements, but current world issue discussions and activities.

Blog Post #12: Maus

The two graphic nvovels that we read from the Maus series were so much more impactful than any other Holocaust narrativve that I have read. Spiegalman's portrayal of the Jews and the Nazis provided much more to the story than just a simple history lesson or  a book like The Diary of Anne Frank or Night. While all Holocaust novels are essential to history and are imperative for learning, Maus creates a whole new layer of understanding and complexity.
For high school or middle school students, this book would be very engaging. Part of the reason is because of the format that it is written. I would have muuch rather  read this book in high school than the former two books that I mentioned, or at least have read this along with those two. The fact that it is a graphic novel helps engage students who may struggle with reading, students with low reading and writing comprehension, and draw in the kinestetic and spatial learners. Spielgalman captivates his audience through his complicated relationship with his father. That theme in itself could provide material for discussion in the classroom, as most people have complex and complicated relationships with someone close to them. With this book, teachers have ample opportunities to appeal to their students. Students could work on making their own graphic novel throughout the unit as individuals, or the class could compile a graphic novel throughout the year focusing on things that they haave read or done. This activity could be accomplished by hand or through a comic strip website.
Maus would also be a great way to introduce symblism to students. By focusing on the nationalities represented and their corresponding animal representations, the teacher can also push students to consider stereotyping. This activity would probably go hand in hand with discussing racism, xenophobia, and current world events and literature that connect to the text.

Blog Post #11: Edgar Allen Poe

All of Poe's work could be used within a class of middle schoolers to high schools, and achieve different standards and main objectives. Poe could be used to introduce students to strong figurative language, poetry and verse, theme, and unreliable narrators. In "The Fall of the House of Usher," the narrator becomes increasingly unreliable as the story goes on. This, paired with the dark themes and rich language, can lead students to have a lot of fun with the story. If it is taught well, students could even use this as a springboard to create their own short narrative with an unreliable narrator. Another example of an unreliable narrator can be seen in "The Tell Tale Heart." The speaker is extremely neurotic and has auditory hallucinations, and also has a strong conscious, we find out. I have personally seen this story taught as young as 4th grade, which I think goes to prove that Poe is pretty universal. However, I would have much better understood the content and language if I had studied it in a higher grade.
Within the poems "The Bells" and "The Raven" we see the obviously recurring theme of death. Both of these poems would be a great introduction to poetry. I personally prefer "The Raven" a bit more, and I think it could be paired with Poe's essay "The Philosophy of Composition." Whether the essay has been written as a satire or not has been argued, but the class could examine how his thoughts in "The Philosophy of Composition" ties into the final product of "The Raven." It would be part of a great poetry unit that could end with students writing their own Gothic poem. I would also add the poem "Annabel Lee" to that unit. I think it adds to the theme of death of loved ones.

Book Talk Handout

Luna by Julie Anne Peters

Background

·      Published in 2003 as the first young adult novel to have an explicitly transgender character

·      Highly controversial and banned in many schools

Text Description

·      It focuses on the main character, Regan, a sixteen-year-old girl in a conservative family.

·      Her sister, who has chosen the name Luna, is transgender. To her family and everyone else but her sister and close friends, she is Liam.

·      The novel is told through Regan’s point of view.  

·      The story focuses on the relationship between Luna and Regan, and Regan’s growth that she is forced to come to through her sister.

·      The book explores religious upbringings, and a family that is unaccepting of their child. At the end of the book, it is revealed that Regan and Luna’s mother knew all along that she was transgender and refused to acknowledge it. Most of this refusal stemmed from the fear of their father.

Rationale

·      This text would be more suitable for high school students, because it does reference sex and drugs.

·      However, since it is told from the point of view of a non-LGBT person, many students could connect with the story. This would help students who are not exposed to transgender issues see that all people should be treated with love and dignity.

·      This novel does require an open mind, so I would not teach it in an extremely religious school, unless I am trying to make a statement. If I knew that there was homophobia and transphobia going on in my school, I would try to teach it.

·      Even though the book is controversial, it would be essential to have in your library to help students who may be coming out as transgender.

Obstacles

·      Despite this being a great novel, administration, parents, and some students would have issues with it. It is considered a “controversial” subject, but I think that teachers could normalize the topic through this book.

·      Depending on the school, many administrators may not allow teachers to share this book with students. Because of this, teachers would need a strong rationale and unit surrounding it. I would also foresee many parents being upset, if they saw it on an attack of their religion or other beliefs. This would reflect directly on student reactions, which teachers can combat or foster through discussion.

Teaching Ideas

·      This novel would be perfect for many open discussions, before reading, during reading, and after reading.

·      To end the unit, I think a reflective, personal narrative style essay would be an appropriate choice. Students would explore how they view the importance of family acceptance and their personal tolerance.

·      A written reflection of how students have faced or witnessed any prejudice or intolerance in their lives would make students think critically about how other people affect their lives, and how they can do the same.  

Blog Post #10: Gallagher's Readicide

Much of the sentiment that Gallagher shows toward the education system is similar to Tovani's point of view. Their critique is on the banking system, which is essentially just attempting to "fill up" students with knowledge, and then prove their "knowledge" on standardized tests. Gallagher concludes that most high school students are not ready for the real world, and not by fault of their own. It is not necessarily teachers' faults either; because of our world of standardized testing, students are not being taught meaningful learning strategies. Like Tovani, Gallagher also acknowledges that students are not comprehending reading as well as they should be. Most students do not know what they are reading, even though they know how to read the words. I also like how Gallagher took the time to point out that students need an introduction to what they are reading by using the "farrier" story. Based off of students' literal locations, they are at a disadvantage to some texts unless they are given background information by their teachers. Since most of the time they do not want to or do not know how to make connections themselves, we (as teachers) will have make that bridge between them and the text. From that point, students can make personal connections with the text in order to understand it better.
Another point that surprised me was Gallagher's view on SSR. In most of my education classes, I have been taught that SSR is a wait of valuable time for students and teachers. But in the studies that Gallagher has shown, SSR turns out to be more effective than directly teaching reading. Many of the values that are necessary for students become readers come from students being consistent readers. Without giving students the time and opportunity for this, how do we expect them to pass any tests or comprehend any reading past an artificial level? Personally, I love SSR. However I do see the downsides to it; we already have so much to teach that it can be very difficult to find time to allow for SSR when that time could be used to teach. The statistics show positive results, though, and I would like to try to include SSR in my class at least once a week. I remember in my school experience that SSR fostered my love for reading and was the one of the main things that encouraged me to be an English teacher.
I also think that the over analyzing point that Gallagher talks about is very important. So many good books are murdered because of the tiny details focused on that do not help students critically think. For example, my sophomore year of high school we had to read A Tale of Two Cities and it was accompanied by an 80 page packet with detailed questions of virtually every word in the book. We were expected to read it completely independently, and answer the questions in the packet. To this day, I still refuse to read that book because of the horrible connotation due to that class.

Blog Post #9: Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It

I love this book, quite honestly. I appreciate that straight from the beginning, Tovani clarifies that this is not a book that will give readers direct instruction on how to teach reading, but will instead give readers tools to help build up their students. It reminds me of Gallagher's "Teaching Adolescent Writers" at some point because of the modelling strategies Tovani uses through the book. For example, she makes it clear that students need to know how good readers read before they can become good readers. I especially liked the Signs of Confusion; I think I would make an anchor chart with students of those signs and hang it in the room. As I read this book, I realized that a lot of the suggestions are already being used in my placement classroom. As soon as school starts, students begin learning how to annotate and communicate with their text (she suggests using symbols for annotating, and my students do this). Throughout the year, I have also given students a variety of different note taking strategies that help aid them in understanding. I have several students in 7th grade classrooms that have between a kindergarten and a 3rd grade reading comprehension level. I think many of these tools could definitely help students, especially the chart of identifying confusion. I also like all of the fix-up strategies that are provided through the text that are short and quick ways for students to check themselves for understanding.
I also think that the list of "what to do when you get stuck reading" can tie in with critical pedagogy. In order to make students have connections with the text, it's important to compared it to something that they do understand. Whether on their own or through teacher guidance, I think that is one of the main tools that will help students learn. I also think that by incorporating reading in the classroom to "real life," students will become more invested in what they are reading, and more eager to understand. Some of the metaphors and analogies she uses are perfect for getting students to think like this. I especially like the car metaphor, where she says that just like a driver is trying to get to their destination, a reader should be trying to come to understanding. Of that list of what to do when you're stuck, I might make a graphic organizer of it for students to log their thoughts into during different texts.

Lesson Plan Template

TPA Lesson Plan #_1__

1. Teacher Candidate		Date Taught
Cooperating Teacher		School/District
2. Subject		Field Supervisor
3. Lesson Title/Focus		5. Length of Lesson
4. Grade Level

6. Academic & Content Standards (Common Core/National)
7. Learning Objective(s)
8. Academic Language demands (vocabulary, function, syntax, discourse)

9. Assessment

**Attach** all assessment tools for this lesson

10. Lesson Connections

11. Instructional Strategies/Learning Tasks to Support Learning
Learning Tasks and Strategies Sequenced Instruction
Teacher’s Role	Students’ Role
Student Voice to Gather

12. Differentiated Instruction

Plan

13. Resources and Materials

Plan

14. Management and Safety Issues

Plan

15. Parent & Community Connections

Plan

Blog Post #8: Social Justice and LGBT Students

Using information from a research article conducted by the GSLEN at http://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/Teaching%20Respect.pdf, we can see that LGBT students face a disproportionate amount of bullying and victimization (verbal and physical) in their schools. Part of this victimization occurs from the lack of an LGBT inclusive curriculum, which, like many marginalized students, leaves LGBT students feeling less connected to their schools. In order to have positive LGBT curriculum in schools, teachers must positive representations of LGBT people within history and literature. As educators, it is our job to include the histories and experiences of all students in our classrooms. By default, we should be teaching to not only the majority, but arguably more so the marginalized. LGBT students are not the only ones who can benefit from positive representation within curriculum; for example, students who are straight are more likely to stand up to bullying, and more likely to be accepting of their LGBT peers. Rather than trying to enforce a strict no tolerance on bullying policy, it would be much easier to incorporate acceptance into our curriculum. In my placement classroom, my CT is very quick to shy away from anything that may have to do with shining a positive light on the LGBT community. While I understand that the school district is strict, I think it is important for students to know facts about the authors they are reading, and the acceptance levels in said time periods of those authors. One instance of this issue was during class one day when we were discussing the Holocaust. My CT was trying to get the students to understand that Jewish people were not the only ones victimized in the Holocaust, but refused to mention that gay and people of color were also persecuted. By doing this, we assume that our students are less intelligent and aware of the world than they are. If they can call each other “fags,” they are mature enough to understand the implications behind the word. If they are old enough to bully one another, they are old enough to accept one another. I think the issue with this is that teachers are so afraid of being challenged by students and parents, that they forget that a student who needs them might not be getting that acceptance. All teachers are bound to have LGBT students in their classes throughout their career, so I think it is essential to normalize and humanize LGBT people in our classes. Even subtle differences will stick out to the kids who really need it. 

Blog Post #7: Critical Pedagogy and Pop Culture

In this article, I love that Morrell addresses how to incorporate pop culture without losing academic perspectives. I also think that too often, teachers are quick to dismiss multicultural points of views from classical literature. As he explains, we don't have to have characters of color to exemplify diversity. Instead, we can also look at how characters interact with one another, look at social standing, examine which characters are the "others," and tie this back into pop culture. Teachers who are on strict curriculum may feel stuck with a lack of diversity in their classes, yet Morrell proves that it is more than possible, but essential to students learning. I think the concept of allowing students to relate to classical works in order to uplift them is also a great idea. I think a good, and quick, way to do this is to tell students that their writing is reminiscent of a famous writer, if they show any characteristics to one. This helps them feel less isolated from that "elite" group. If not complimenting their writing, I also love the idea of comparing rap to Shakespeare or some other literary figure. This brings down this elitist culture to something students can understand and relate to. Rather than holding class literature away from students as a goal for them to reach and understand, I would rather connect their lives to it.On page 10, Morrell mentions having a class that is connected to studying film, newspapers, magazines, and music in conjunction with traditional literature. This helps fill that disconnect, and bring the students to common ground with what could be viewed as the "elite" aspects of society. It only ties in the community connections that are required for the edTPA in a way that is engaging to students and relates directly to student interest. In the book I read for my composition process class, Teaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly Gallagher, he uses the TV show "Pimp My Ride" to form a lesson plan on revision that keeps students engaged, and brings the outside world into the classroom. This type of teaching is what I would like to incorporate into my classrooms.
However, I think that my placement classroom is lacking slightly in that regard. We read a lot of news and magazine articles, but I would like to see more music and movies playing a role in the classroom. Once we get to the poetry unit, I would like to incorporate modern music with classical poetry. In my own experiences, I once had a teacher in middle school who had us write an essay connecting a poem from class to a song of our choosing. We found similar values and composition in each one, in order to draw a connection between modern life and traditional poetry. This allowed students to bring in their own knowledge, and use it as another piece of writing to analyze and examine. These types of activities help to close the ever expanding gap between the classes, and to help students feel that their experiences, interests, and feelings connect with literary pieces. Manipulating modern film, music, and books gives students a sense of agency in what they enjoy. It shows them that what they enjoy, even though it may not be considered "elite" by many, is still essential to their learning.

Blog Post #6: Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Freire takes a new stance on a teacher and student relationship. We have all been brought up to assume that the teacher knows best, and to never question authority, and that students should always be the learners. These ideas are exactly that of an "oppressed" group, as Freire puts it, and teachers are the "oppressors." At first, I was pretty shocked at hearing this; because most teachers are in the profession be being compassionate and caring, it is hard to believe that we would be the oppressors. However, it is the same sort of systematic oppression, even though it is more symbolic, as racism or homophobia. Teachers are not intentionally being the oppressors, but the sheer nature of how we think of teachers and teaching is oppressive. This ideology encourages students who learn one way or students who can easily "work the system," but allows students who need different methods of teaching to fall through the cracks. Someone in class today said that it seems like students are just waiting to be "injected" with knowledge, and are passive learners. Students seem to have no drive to learn and explore for themselves. This stems from the idea of the "banking" approach to teaching that so many students are unconsciously experiencing throughout their career as a student. It is clearly going to be difficult to unlearn the acceptance of this oppression that Freire is speaking of. With most teachers wanting specific answers to broad questions, students will have a hard time to navigate the system without oppression since they are so used to catering to it. The job of teachers should shift from just dumping information onto students, to allowing students a space that encourages critical thinking that will let them come to their own answers.

Blog Post #5: Assessing Students

Similar to what is described in the handout “Assessing and Evaluating Student Learning,” I learned to plan my lessons and unit “backwards” in my last education class. As this article points out, that helps students understand what they need to pay closer attention to; for example, if their unit assessment is a test on the book, they will need to pay closer attention to the details of the book. Likewise, if their final assessment is an essay, they will need to focus on more critical thinking and analyzing the text. I especially like the idea of having journal entries as a form of assessment. However, I would also like to include more formal forms of assessment within a unit. Giving students the freedom to write informally on a regular basis is important in fostering their willingness to write more formal essays, so I would like to incorporate both methods. With essays, students need more direction to show quantitative evidence in how they proved their point. In 7th grade, I would like to assign more essays, but have of assigning an essay is also teaching them how to write, so it seems like it takes twice as long. However I like that this text breaks down certain things to look for in essays, so that the grader (teacher) is not overwhelmed with grading every single thing within the essay. In addition to these two things, I would also like to incorporate ample discussion time in my classes. I think that it is just as important as writing, and also helps students prepare to write for their essay or journals. Having a consistent grading criteria would also be important for this method so that students know what to expect when they discuss. Giving this variety of options would also differentiate the unit.

One of the main things I struggled with last quarter in my placement was giving student feedback. Since my field supervisor pointed it out, I have been trying to improve upon it every day that I am in the classroom. It’s important for students to receive both positive and critical feedback so that they can improve whatever assignment they are working on. For myself, there is nothing more frustrating than getting a low or high grade with any explanation as to why I received that grade. If I did something well, I need that spelled out for me. If anything needs improvement, I need to know where I should improve and how it affects readers. With this in mind as a college student, I think I can successfully give constructive feedback to my students since I am in a similar position as they are. I also like the idea of responding to student’s blogs or online responses, because it keeps the connection between school and home.

Blog Post #4: Expository Reading and Writing

The way that this article is set up is extremely helpful. I love how with each step to creating an essay, the author includes the CCSS that go along with the task. I also appreciate the detail put into the reading section, because that is just as important as the writing itself. In order to write a good essay, students need to be able to think critically about the topic, and discuss the subject with the class. Before the students even read the article or text, the article encourages teachers to have them do a type of prewrite. I wholeheartedly agree with this.
For my classes, before we start reading a text, they first help me look over it with the. We look for the author and publication, decide how we know that it is a reliable source, scan for main topics, read descriptions to pictures, etc. This seems very similar to what the text is suggesting. I did not realize that just this alone hit Common Core standards. Next, when we read the text together, we underline words that are unfamiliar, or phrases that stick out to us. The kids also have annotation symbols that they used during any reading. The process that this article walks us through is very detailed and mainly for expository writing. However, I am going to implement some factors of it when my 7th grade classes start writing their argumentative essays. Their topic is going to be about whether or not teachers should carry guns, since it is a topic that is current and actively affecting them. Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, it is even more essential to have a discussion beforehand, as well as a prewrite. The students’ prewrite will help them get their conflicting and emotional thoughts about on paper about school shooting before we starting reading articles. This will help students start to form their assessment of the topic and how they will take their stance. We will be annotating articles that I give them for their research so that they can continue to refer back to them as they build their claim, as suggested in this article. It will also be required that they complete multiple drafts of their essays, and to do so I will give sufficient feedback and hopefully one-on-one conferencing with students. The article suggests doing teacher conferencing after they have revised their first draft, but due to time constraints that may have to be done on their first draft. While writing, students will prove that they are able to meet a variety of CCSS such as citing resources, analyzing data, forming an argument, and looking at opposing viewpoints. In order for students to fully develop their argument, everyone will read articles from both sides, and we will have a Socratic Seminar on the articles.

Blog Post #3:Team Teaching

In the “Team Teaching: Benefits and Challenges” article, I found some major key points that spoke to me. First off, I love the Commandment style layout that gives readers the basic run down of team teaching. I also like that it makes the gradual shift from focusing on how to work with your colleague, to incorporating your students into that work. In my classroom experience, my mentor teacher and me have vaguely modelled this method of teaching. One of us will be teaching, the other will be having one-on-one time with students who need help (which also helps us differentiate), and circling around the room. The listening teacher may also interject points, or have questions directed to them so that students have a fresh viewpoint on the subject at hand. In this article, the author explains that the stand-by teaching should be modeling an exemplary students. This means that you should be on your toes, paying attention, and ready to jump in at a second’s notice. One example of this took place last week; my mentor teacher was going over a PowerPoint presentation with the class, deciding she didn’t like it, and let me work with it. It happened in the middle of our first class, the kids were losing their attentiveness, and my mentor teach was second guessing the PowerPoint she made as she went through it. In the middle of it, she turns to me and says, “I’m honestly really not liking this PowerPoint, can you see what you can do with it?” So I then proceeded to take over instead of scrapping the original lesson. I’m not sure if this is a model example of what team teaching should look like, but I feel that it encapsulates the essence of team teaching from the article; that is, both parties are equal, and ready to help and collaborate with one anther during lessons. Of course, this example excluded the collaboration prior to teaching, but that is only because of our time constraints. One other comment I had was on the consistent grading standards. I often have a hard time grading in the same way that my mentor teacher does, and I’m always worried that I am either giving out freebie points, or being too harsh. That being said, I like the idea of looking over papers or assignments if one of the teachers think that it is not up to standards, and I would like to implement that. These articles summed up pretty nicely how team teaching should look, even though it will differ vastly class to class.

Blog Post #2

Overall, I enjoyed the brief and honestly gritty nature of this article. I appreciate that the author does not force readers to love Common Core, and does not hold it on a higher pedestal. Instead, the author displays the main issues that teachers have with Common Core, explains the issues, and then addresses how to resolve the issues. The fact that they also include the issue of teaching standards to impoverished students, and students of color, help make the standards seem more inviting and universal. I think it is essential to connect with students on their level, not ours as teachers. Kids are coming from vastly different home lives, and if their teachers fail to make their classes relatable and modern, then students will not succeed.

I like that the article puts more focus on the teachers rather than the standards; that is, the standards are simply a baseline, and how you get there is up to the teacher’s curriculum and style of teaching. I think that it is often for experienced teachers to dismiss the CCSS because of our country’s history of painful standardized testing, and standardized students. However, the CCSS is very clear in explaining that the standards are not automatically “standardized.” This shift happens when teachers fail to be creative in their lessons, and when the community fails to support teachers and students. This failure is apparent in many forms: child poverty, lack of school funding, lack of teacher/student resources, lack of multicultural learning, and standardizing lessons rather than “holding high standards.”

Additionally, I really enjoyed all of the vignettes through the article. I thought that they were great examples of real life problems that occur when teaching to standards. For example, Kyle’s story of being disappointed when finding a curriculum that only catered to “dead white guys” is something I am facing in my mentor teacher’s classroom. While all of the selected texts are great, my school has many Native American students, hardly any black students, and little to no Latino or Asian students. This means that the majority of students, who are white, have hardly any exposure to any multicultural texts or experiences. For the students that are not white, they are most likely aware of the fact that there is a lack of resources that exemplify their history, their interests, and people of their culture. I think it is essential for all students to learn about different cultures and backgrounds, and an English classroom is the perfect place to do so.

In my own classroom when I start teaching, I’d like to have an equal amount of literature from multicultural writers and artists that I do for white male writers. This includes female writers, LGBT writers, and writers of different races and cultures. It benefits not only students that fall into those categories, but also the students in the majority population. As the article states, students will be from non-dominant cultures by 2030. It is essential to show students that learning can come from all different backgrounds, styles, and methods, so that students and teachers are prepared to communicate and work with an increasing amount on non-white students. Tying directly into this, the government has systematically failed these students who experience the achievement gap. Like the article states, I believe that the government needs to pay closer attention to how countries with high performing teachers and students treat those individuals, rather than pushing American teachers to meet goals that are impossible to reach without a community wide change in the education system.

Blog Post #1

According to "Discussion in a Democratic Society," discussion is much more than just a conversation. It fosters a cooperative and safe learning environment, and encourages students to bring differing opinions to the discussion. Students will be able to come to conclusions that none of them could have accomplished on their own. Shown in the vignette, it also seems to be wise for the teacher facilitating the discussion to not have concrete opinions on the discussion. If they do, it is important to encourage the other side of the argument to be fruitful. Also in the vignette, I liked that the  Lipman claims that discussion is a form of dialogue that inevitably pushes “each argument
[to evoke] a counterargument that pushes itself beyond the other and
pushes the other beyond itself.” By keeping this method in mind, students should ideally be bouncing ideas off one another and either come up with a new agreeable solution, or come to a mutually disagreement in civil terms. Students are made to question popular beliefs or social norms and successfully navigate those expectations with their class. I also think it's important for the teacher to only facilitate; that is, the teacher should not share their opinion or argue with the students, but only be there as a facilitator. The four purposes of discussion that are shown on page 6 are also essential to keep in mind. While picking a discussion topic, it’s clear that all of these aspects must be easily achieved through the discussion. If the topic won’t foster these learning goals, then perhaps a more challenging topic would be appropriate. By encouraging students to familiarize themselves with multiple ides of an argument, they become more capable of empathy and understanding. These are two important aspects of a democracy. Allowing every student to voice their opinion without being verbally attacked is essential to introduce students to a democratic society. The skills they use in discussions can carry with the throughout life. One of my favorite discussion strategies are Socratic Seminars. They teach students to be prepared, engaged, and up-to-date with their community.