Can Christenbury read my mind?

She must know all my insecurities, hopes and dreams for teaching. All I have to do is read the first page and feel a sort of relief and have another one of my doubts about my abilities be soothed by the words of Christenbury. I mean, lets be honest, I wasn't assuming that I was going to know EVERYTHING there is to know about English when I graduated, but it can still be frightening to feel as though you are underprepared. I love her comment, "Teachers, in order to teach, really must continue to learn" (123). It has to be true that in order for us as teachers to be engaged and enjoy teaching we must be learning - even alonside our students.

I also enjoyed reading Christenbury's section on Focus (pg. 140). No doubt we will be teaching novels, short stories and other literary works where we could extrapulate from the work all that can possibly derive from it, but I think that she makes a valid point that "trotting your students through every literary element" can be overwhelming and give students more of a negative feeling towards a piece of work (140). I am hoping to learn how to teach a novel through my conceptual unit and sometimes it is easy to think that I must hit every aspect of the literary elements that can be found in it. I read Christenbury and she changes my mind.

The different ideas that are presented are definitely note worthy. However, I want to make sure that I can provide opportunities for my students to read what they enjoy. In Christenbury's closing story, I was a little taken back by the idea of giving students a reading day once a week. In high school, I don't really remember having classtime to just read so it is hard for me to comprehend setting that much class time to reading alone. I have been thinking about it more, though, and really see that it could be the most beneficial thing to do in a classroom. What I love more is that I met with my practicum teacher on Friday and she mentioned that every Friday in her English 2 class it is "quiet day" or class time devoted to reading. I think I'm hooked on this idea and hopefully I can incorporate into my own classroom.

Great Recovery Christenbury

I think that Chapter 4 was the inevitable depressing chapter that comes with every textbook on education, but Chapter 5 was the bringer of new hope: the literature chapter. I would have to say that literature is probably one of my favorite things about English. I am always reading something, and I hope that my excitement for reading will be passed on to my students.

I really enjoyed the section on the Characteristics of a Reader Response Classroom. I am not going to be one of those teachers that stands in front of the classroom and talks about whatever assignment was given out the day before while the students take notes and wish they were somewhere other than my classroom. I want my students to be actively involved in what they are reading, and I want them to enjoy it because they sincerely like it rather than reading it solely for the grade.

I also liked the section where Christenbury talked about the ways in which a Reader Response classroom can be abused. It is very easy to allow students to get off track when having open discussions, and as a teacher, I have to be careful not to get caught up in the side conversations, as interesting as they might be. I have been in plenty of class discussions where the teacher has allowed the class to get off on a side track, and the whole point of the discussion over what we had read the day before was lost.

I'm glad that Christenbury took the time to mention the emergence of the Graphic Novel in this chapter. The more I go into the classrooms for field experience, the more I am beginning to see graphic novels being read by the students. Christenbury suggested that the graphic novel could be an appropriate replacement for those students who would rather go to Spark Notes rather than read the text, and I think using these versions of the classics alongside the novels may be a great way to get students more interested in reading the actual novels.

The Silver Lining

After Chapter 4's plummet into a state of despair, I was afraid to pick this book back up for fear that I would throw it into the fireplace and resign myself to a lifetime of banking. Thankfully, I am still on the path to being an English teacher and chapter 5 brought much hope. I think my favorite part of this chapter was her discussion on reader response. I was the student who would have said, "English class ruined every good book I ever read." And I think much of that is because of the way literature was approached in my academic world. I wasn't given much freedom in what to read. I wasn't asked to explore my own thoughts about the piece. I simply had to read and find the answers that my teachers wanted, thus ruining my love for reading. So when Christenbury talks about a reader response classroom, something inside of me screams that this is the answer!! I want to be a teacher that encourages my students to talk....a lot...to make a community of meaning.....I want them to be so tired of me asking question after question. I want my students to be able to make links to their personal experiences which I think might be the single most important key to keeping students in love with reading. And I want to be full of affirmation for my students.

I think one of the main reasons that I chose English as my content area, other than the obvious love for literature and writing, is that much of English is about a journey. In math, 2+2 will always be 4. There's not much up for discussion there. But there is so much room for exploration, for interpretation, and for examination in the world of literature. Rarely is there a "right" answer. If I do my job correctly, students will feel tremendous freedom to find out what a specific piece of literature means to them without trying to figure out what I want them to think or say. They will feel safe thinking out loud about the options and discussing it as a class. They will feel comfortable walking away from a discussion without one "right" answer but rather a plethora of options. They will read for discovery and not for a grade from me.

This whole reader response idea kind of scares me because I don't think I've ever really seen it for myself. I read about it and get excited but when I think about my own English classes in high school and the classes that I have observed, I don't think I've watched this in action. Why doesn't it happen? Do students not talk and thus teachers freak out and take over? Do teachers fear a lack of discussion? Are students not interested enough in literature to want this kind of environment? To me, the concept screams this is the way, walk in it, but I haven't seen it. I want to be able to model something I have seen. I guess for now, I'm going to have to resign myself to modeling something I have only read......

Btw, after hating Gallagher's baseball analogy, I will admit that chapters 2 & 3 changed my views on him and his book. I am impressed and hooked.

So it's Saturday, definitely not a school night yet my mind exists only listen to my Eel's Cd's and talk about school and other stuff that totally has things to do with, like, school -- and stuff. Yeah, well that and Keri got onto me about not having "blogged" recently...is that officially a verb now, blogged, it sounds funny, like elbow -- or booger, if I see someone picking their nose is that boogering. Anyway, I've decided to blow off the iSearch paper for a minute and instead start working on my lesson for class, I'm debating on whether or not I should teach a lesson where the main focus is writing instead of reading. sounds redundant 'cause the two go hand in hand but hear me out. From what I've seen in previous classes that are similar to this one I know that a lot of concentration among English (education) majors during their first "real" lessons is that they'll concentrate heavily on reading, which is cool, you know I'm down words in a book, but making words is cool too. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching literature but, dude, writing.



Writing.



Communication kids, it's what makes us us, it's what makes our species unique simply because we can chronical our past and present and future thoughts with the intention of transcending forever, humans are immortal through words. The simple lines we dismiss as nothing more than lines on a surface will unintentionally yet permanently etch our presence into the history of this planet. Our, your, my words are universal, and we much teach our students this idea because we as teachers are totally catalysts to a universal infinity. Dood, we are like so freaking important that it hurts my freaking head to even think about it.

Alright, enough sentimental malarkey. I'm sure chapter 5 was great I'll read it sometime I'm sure. Promise. I leave you with lyrics from a song that I've had on repeat since I started writing this...

"So what are you gonna do about me?
I been hangin' 'round a while,
Trading books and knowing glances,
I thought I'd stick around,
but it really ain't my style,

So this ain't heaven on earth,
Looks like we'll have to wait,
But we are standing at the gate,"

Chapter 5, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

Yes, yes, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, calm down it's not plagerism. I really enjoyed Chapter 5 because, well, not only was it more positive than the previous chapter, but of course it focused on LITERATURE (pretty much the coolest thing in the world). I especially enjoyed the section on Poetry because it mentioned that many teachers are scared of poetry (or at least scared that they can't interpret the poem exactly 100% correctly). As I am currently writing my I-search Paper on "teaching poetry to high school students," this discussion (143) got me to thinking: Do students hate/not get poetry because their teachers hate/don't get poetry? As teachers I'm sure we don't only want to teach our students about our specific favorite topics and writers, we of course should want to give them a much broader and far reaching perspective than that. Granted Christenbury later encourages us not to teach pieces we don't like, but she is talking about individual pieces, not entire genres (165).

The other thing in this chapter that I really enjoyed is the the discussion on "giving students choice regarding what they will do with literature" (163). I think this is just so important (and I guess Christenbury is almost equally as smart as me, because she agrees. Haha.) because I remember as a high school student hating the structure of the projects we used to do. One of the reasons I have always loved college as compared to high school is the freedom we have been allowed when it comes to projects, and sometimes even literature as a whole. The ideas listed such as word tests, home pages, and creation of a past seemed especially neat, fun, and useful to me, and they are ideas I would like to put into action at some point.

Well, that's all I have to say. I hope all of your have completed your assigned homework of watching Pay It Forward (I assigned that in my last blog, not Dr. Franklin, lol). Hmmm,...the assignment I will give you for next class, that of course is vital to shaping who you are as a teacher and a human being, is to read Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau. Enjoy.

Chapter 5 MTJ, Chapters 2/3 DR

Making the Journey is a text book that I'm never going to sell back to the bookstore! I'm going to keep it so that I can continue to use it throughout my teaching years. I loved the fact that someone has finally written about one of my deepest, darkest fears: Do I have adequate knowledge about English to be an English teacher? Or am I just fooling myself and those around me? Apparently I'm not the only one who has a realistic fear about this, but I really appreciate how Christenbury put a positive spin on that fear, saying that we should be excited about the prospect of continuing to learn while we're teaching others. I am excited to know that my students won't be the only ones in my class who are learning.
I really appreciated the examples of a student-led classroom that she gave us (pgs 131-134). I think it's important for us to see how we as teachers can step aside and let the students become the facilitators of the classroom activities.
I also thought the examples of activities on pg 159 were great ideas for assignments over the reading.
The one thing that confused me was the graphic novel. What is this? Is it a required part of Comm Arts now? I've never heard of it.

Deeper Reading is fairly similar to a book I'm reading in one of my content area literacy classes. I like this one a little bit better, though, because it is easy to read, easy to understand, and has a lot of good guides/charts/activities, etc. On page 43 there is an extended version of the KWL chart that I've seen before, but I like the "R" that has been added on for the research aspect of reading. I would also like to try out the Word Game (pg 47) that he describes. I think that would be a great way for the students to go beyond the words on a page and really look at the meaning and the significance of something. Anything that gets students to write something that is relevant to their reading will improve their comprehension and memory of what they're reading.

Responding to Student Writing

We've been asked by Mrs. Gibson, the middle school teacher at Greenwood, to respond to her seventh graders' writing on their blog. She would like us to comment to their writing:

The students have already posted their stories on the blog site. What I'm trying to do is get them more used to writing for an audience, to understanding what someone might need in order to understand their story. I'm also trying to model good ways to respond--more so to content than mechanics, but they also need to understand when their mechanical mistakes can get in the way of understanding for a reader. They're at a pretty basic level of responding to each other right now. We've been talking about constructive responses, digging deeper, asking questions, pointing out places that really jump out visually, etc. They are at a pretty tender age as 7th graders and are not too used to getting feedback that might challenge them to revise more thoughtfully.

Just the fact that I was going to have them put their work on the web caused several of them to rethink what they were going to write. That was encouraging! :) I've also got a website that I've been using to post student work, and of course, there's always Blackboard. The great thing about the edublog site is that each student can post his or her own work, yet I can monitor comments and content.

The website is http://greenwoodlab.edublogs.org

This is yet another exciting opportunity to work with students. I think one thing we can all work on as writing teachers is understanding what students need. No matter what our age or writing ability, we need to look at each piece of student work on its own merits. These are seventh graders, and I think Mrs. Gibson is asking us to "Bless" and "Press." The "Press" will require you to "point." As a reader, you will "point" to the reader parts that jump out. Elbow describes "pointing" as the following:

Ask readers: “Which words or phrases stick in your mind? Which phrases of features did you like best? Don’t explain why.”

"Pressing" will also be asking questions.

"I was wondering . . ."
"Which of these . . ."

We are not focusing on challenging or critiquing the students. Focus on providing comments that will encourage them to continue working on their papers, but also provide constructive comments that will give them ideas for revision. If you have any questions about what to say or how to respond to their work, email me or Mrs. Gibson. The students are writing short stories, and this is their very first draft.

HELPFUL!!! Week 5: Chapter 5

WOW!!! The more I read, the more I enjoy this book! This information is so relevant, so creative, so modern! I cannot wait to use some of this information in my classroom. The section about student creativity that relate to their reading was amazing. I could have never come up with ideas like rewriting certain places, characters, traits, etc. These are all great ideas that will promote creativity in the classroom and I think that is great.

The other ideas that I would love to incorporate into my classroom are found on pages 163-4. In one of my high school English classes we had a list of choices such as these, but they didn’t involve ideas this great. The home page, yearbook, chat room, and email list ideas are very modern and I think that students will really enjoy and relate to them. Others ideas that I did in high school were the collage, interview, and video. But my favorite was an interview involving songs. We would pick a character from a story and then create questions to ask them. The responses were lines from a song. We had to tape this on those great little cassettes and present them to class. My entire class enjoyed this and many of my classmates were really creative in it.

Also, this chapter had some wonderful ideas regarding teaching poetry, young adult literature, and Shakespeare in the class. It taught me some key things that I will incorporate into my classroom someday about reading aloud, criticism, reader response, and organization. In general, this chapter will be one very great reference for books, lessons, activities, and other information in my classroom and I hope you all found it to be as helpful.

Online Class

No class tonight, folks, and we don't have class next Monday. Here's the homework:

1. Bring a copy of your TB test and your membership to SNEA or MSTA to Pummill Hall 301 and place in my box. DO NOT go to your school without these.

2. Read Ch. 5 in Making the Journey. Read Ch. 2-3 in Deeper Reading.
Chapter Five is important since it talks about teaching literature. Read carefully--2nd draft reading?-and be ready to discuss.

3. Post and comment on the blog. We are already to the third week of class. Thanks to the few who have posted and commented for the two previous. It's surprising how much blogging is worth in terms of the grade. Some of you have kept up quite nicely. Keep up the god work.

3. Pick up in my box (Pummill 30) Ch. 9 of Smagorinsky's book "The Basics f Unit Design." I should have it there by tomorrow afternoon.

4. Finish your I-search paper. Make sure that Part I is developed. Explain why you chose this topic. This part is narrative-it tells a story. The research section is much more expository. I'm also looking for very specific application. For example, it will not be enough to say, "I really learned a lot," or "There were some great ideas I'll use." Explain exactly how you might apply these ideas to your classroom. In addition, explain how these ideas fit into who you want to be as a teacher. As a teacher with a discovery-orientation, for example, how will what you learned come to fruition in your classroom.

5. Be ready to share the results of your I-search, and the paper itself, with class on Feb. 25

6. If you signed up for a lesson for Feb. 11 or 25, please contact me. We will need to meet in advance of class.

7. Parts of the Lesson Plan:
Title
Grade Level
Grade Level Expectations :
(pick two or three--these should represent what you hope the students will learn. Don't forget--a good lesson could MANY GLE's. As the teacher, you have to decide what you want to focus on.)

Objectives: These are even more specific than the GLE's. I probably would not write out the GLE's (although some schools may ask you to include the GLE's on your board), but I would ALWAYS have the objectives on the board. In fact, when you teach the lesson at your practicum, you MUST have the objectives on the board and on the overhead. You should also tell the students up front, "This is what we will accomplish today." I am not kidding when I say that school's require this. Principal will do "walk bys," and they will expect and look for your objectives on the board.

Rationale: This is a brief paragraph that explain the context, and it should explain why this lesson is important to teach. Like Matt shared in his post, sometimes students don't see the need. This is where you explain the need. "Because I said so" does not cut it with teenagers so don't even try. :). This should be more conceptual. The rationale is not about what the students do. The rationale is about the purpose. In the whole scheme of things, why, as a teacher, would you spend time doing this lesson.
Approximate Time Needed:
Materials / Technology Texts You Will Need:
One brief note here. I expect you use technology in your in-class lesson. Everyone should use it in some way, so be thinking about that.

Procedures:
List the steps of the lesson. What will you say? What will you ask them to do? Explain exactly what you will be doing. This is important for several reasons: 1) the process of writing down these directions will help you think through and visual the steps of the lesson; 2) as a new teacher, it's important to have the lesson written out. It will help you so much.; 3) each of you will have a copy of everyone else's lesson, and the directions will help each of us try the lesson ourselves. Good directions will be a great resource for everyone in class.

You cannot be too specific here. There are two things I will look for in this lesson. In order to get an "A" (for you grade-hungry, Type-A, teacher-types :)), "step 1" of your lesson plan should be where you explain the objectives out loud to the students; "step 2" should be your anticipatory set. See Gallagher's "key point" on page 29: "How a person feels about a learning situation determines the amount of attention devoted to it." He goes on to explain that students' think, "what's in it for me?" It's your job at the very beginning of the lesson to tap into what students already know (background knowledge) and make the lesson relevant something they care about.

The very last procedure should ask the students to do some metacognition, or "thinking about their own thinking." Have us do something in writing. Ask us to write down what we learned and what questions we have. Ask us what we'll do next. Do SOMETHING that makes students think about their own thinking.


Assessment:
How do you know what students learned?

On page 24 in Deeper Reading, Gallagher explains how he takes his students back through the objectives. He revisits the objectives with them. This is a great idea. But, I have one problem with it. Ask yourself this: who is doing all of the work?

Answer: He's the one explaining to the students what they learned or what they should have learned.

My suggestion: He needs to ask the students what they learned. He can have them return to the objective and have them write what they learned in terms of each of the objectives.

There are two types of assessment:
1. Formative: These are end-of-unit tests, standardized tests, and any tests that test in relation to content standards. These are biggies--large assessments. This is based purely on the teacher.

2. Summative: This type of assessment is mos important to you. Think of this as in-process assessment. It's also informal. This type of assessment involves the student and involves their thinking. What do they know, and how do you use that information to move forward--to teach them? Here are examples of summative assessment:

• Criteria and Goal Setting with students engages them in instruction and the learning process by creating clear expectations. In order to be successful, students need to understand and know the learning target/goal and the criteria for reaching it. Establishing and defining quality work together, asking students to participate in establishing norm behaviors for classroom culture, and determining what should be included in criteria for success are all examples of this strategy. Using student work, classroom tests, or exemplars of what is expected helps students understand where they are, where they need to be, and an effective process for getting there.
  

• Observations go beyond walking around the room to see if students are on task or need clarification. Observations assist teachers in gathering evidence of student learning to inform instructional planning. This evidence can be recorded and used as feedback for students about their learning or as anecdotal data shared with them during conferences.

• Questioning strategies should be embedded in lesson/unit planning. Asking better questions allows an opportunity for deeper thinking and provides teachers with significant insight into the degree and depth of understanding. Questions of this nature engage students in classroom dialogue that both uncovers and expands learning. An "exit slip" at the end of a class period to determine students' understanding of the day's lesson or quick checks during instruction such as "thumbs up/down" or "red/green" (stop/go) cards are also examples of questioning strategies that elicit immediate information about student learning. Helping students ask better questions is another aspect of this formative assessment strategy.

• Self and peer assessment helps to create a learning community within a classroom. Students who can reflect while engaged in metacognitive thinking are involved in their learning. When students have been involved in criteria and goal setting, self-evaluation is a logical step in the learning process. With peer evaluation, students see each other as resources for understanding and checking for quality work against previously established criteria.

• Student record keeping helps students better understand their own learning as evidenced by their classroom work. This process of students keeping ongoing records of their work not only engages students, it also helps them, beyond a "grade," to see where they started and the progress they are making toward the learning goal.

All of these strategies are integral to the formative assessment process, and they have been suggested by models of effective middle school instruction.

***************** last two parts of the lesson
Adaptations:
How can you modify this lesson for all learners? For example, let's say you have a student with an IEP in written expression or reading. How can you differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners.

Extensions:
Where can you go from here? What could you do tomorrow? Is this lesson a starting point for other assignments? Where could this lead? How could you "extend" this lesson?

Here are some websites that might be useful:
1. (here's a link to a site that describes a similar lesson plan format

2. This is a good site as well. Open the pdf's.

*****************

Okay, I think that's it for now. If you have questions, post them here. I'm sure others will have the same questions.

Make sure that you post and comment. Katie, I think, talked about room arrangement. Here's a picture of another arrangement in a class at Kickapoo.

Be safe, and I hope your electricity is still on.

Is school relevant to students?

After reading chapter 4 of Making the Journey I thought the quote that Christenbury uses on page 98 from William Glasser is something that really struck my thoughts. " The problem is that at least half of all students are making little or no effort to learn, because they don't believe that school satisfies their needs." I know there have been many times that my education in high school and college was fustrating because there were classes that I thought were not necessary for what I needed to be successful in my field of work. I think one of the responsiblities as teachers we have to make everything we do tie into real life application. Obviously, this is easier said then done. Within each class as we found in ch 4 that there is multiple types of students in our class, some who do care about learning and some that could careless about being at school. One thing that I believe teachers must do is to to pull all of these students into their class, to making learning a real life experience. Again this task is easier said then done. We face the obstacle of trying to change the mindset of students. Class is not about gaining information to puke up on a test but instead creating a learning experience that can be used again throughout life. These are just a few thoughts that I have. I hope that you will answer my intial question of "Is school relevant to students?"

It makes sense...

I really enjoyed the comparing Gallagher did of knowing the game of baseball you’re your students learning to understand what they read, not just reading it. (And that’s not just because I’m a huge baseball fan!!)

As teachers, I think that we have to step up to the plate (no pun intended!!) and teach our students how to examine and discover the things we teach them. We are responsible in helping to lay the ground work on how this can be done. Something that kept popping in my head was a certain image that I imagine we can all relate too and that we could still observe in many (if not most) classrooms today. We have all had the teachers how made us read a chapter and then answer questions at the end. I might be going out on a limb, but I would have to say that most of us, did not do all the assigned reading and just went straight from the question at the end of the chapter to finding the answer (and there were those times when you would just turn to the back of the book and see if the answer could be found there!). Personally, I was never was taught, in a classroom, how to dig a little deeper and really understand and comprehend what I was reading. And for me, it left me slightly unprepared for the higher level reading and work I had to complete once at the college level.

There is a need for us, as teachers, to get to know our students, know where they stand in terms of reading comprehension and ability, and challenge them to work harder and dig deeper!!

Corrupt World?

Is it a corrupt world we live in for teachers? I don't think so. I'm ready to take on the alienated students. I want to make a difference in the lives of my students too, but I know Christenbury is giving realistic examples of what teachers face everyday. It's like any job. You have to take the good with the bad. Maybe I'm way too positive, but I think teaching will be great...once I have the hang of it. The examples Christenbury gave of the violent attitudes and actions of some of her students shouldn't be anything that different from our experiences of diversity we've encountered as students if we have been to a remotely diverse High School, in my oppinion. Being an older student might make a difference in my attitude. I have a lot of "real life" experience all ready, so I feel very prepared for teaching. It might even be easier than some of the jobs I've had, to deal with adolescents. In any case, let's not let fear get the best of us. Take it a day at a time and don't sweat the small stuff, and the big stuff will be learned.

I'm going to follow the guidelines of the contract -- with mutual respect of course. Be reasonable. Articulate. Listen. Remember. (p116) This was a great outline to begin with. The ones to handle alienated student's was also very good in giving me motivationg thoughts to handle situations; always speak to them (every day), remind them of things, contract rewards, and make deals. Flexibility in curriculum are a must! And, last but not least, structure to engage the student. I think the sad part of the alienation scenerio is that teachers do avoid them which pushes them farther "inside themselves." I wish there weren't teachers who play favorites, but I know it's inevitable because some people have very shallow minds. There are those teachers who care about people and there are those teachers who "care about the person" and I can't save the world, but maybe I can leave an impression on someone. Maybe I can shed light into the lives of a few students and help change the way their life would have been for the better. I grew up in a single parent home, so maybe I can relate to someone who is. I had friends that made the mistake of getting into the party scene, so if I can stop someone from doing it...that would be great. I'm very aware that the "at risk student could be gifted, or the average student, but have a huge heart for the alienated student.

I think I'll start by teaching them to think more critically about their decisions by what they read. And I'll do that by trying to get them to look "deeper" at the literature they read...to look beyond the surface. Then, ask them what they really see. I'm excited about teaching! That's half the battle, I think. I already think I'll love it. I totally agree with Gallagher that student's are not taught to read effetively sometimes, because they are not taught to succeed through effective evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing techniques. Maybe the new generation of teachers can change this. We need to implement brainstorming, collaborating, and revising techniques, as Gallagher suggests.

Personality will be the test. Not all students will relate to my personality type. But, I will be excited about teaching and I sinerely care about the students, so maybe they will see that I trully care about them as an individual. One thing's for sure, kids know when you don't really want to be there for anything other than the paycheck. My son, David, who's in eigth grade told me one day that very thing about one of his teachers. I told him, naturally, that he can't say that for sure and he shouldn't judge people, but he did sense that for a reason. His teacher gave the impression that they didn't genuinely care about the students.

Priscilla

Chapter 4

Wow. Yeah I am in agreement with many of my classmates, that Chapter 4 was depressing and the last page or so didn’t really save it. I really enjoyed reading this because I felt like they were giving a pretty realistic perspective on what to expect which is better than being lied to right now and being utterly shocked when we are in the classroom for the first time. I can say that my uncle has taught in St. Louis for as long as I can remember and he has told me many stories similar to the ones we read about, and I also have a family member who teaches that had a student kill his parents and then come to class (only to be escorted out later that day). There is some crazy stuff in the world, but isn’t that why we are becoming teachers? If all of our students were excited about school, where would the challenge be? Who is more fun to have success with: a student who eventually comes around, or a student who is already super-psyched to be there?

Big-Bucks. Yes since everyone else seemed to have mentioned this, I feel the need to throw my 1 cent in as well. I think Big-Bucks is an awesome idea. Someone previously said their boss would not reward them for doing a good job, but I beg to differ. Unless your do your job as a volunteer I think it’s fair to assume that you get paid by your boss (or his boss), so essentially that is your reward. Now many would disagree and say students payment for doing well are their grades, but we must remember that grades are extremely important to some students, and not at all important to others. Sure this is only a half-real world mentality, but high school students are often not long term thinkers, and grades are only for the long term for students who have no repercussions to face at home in their immediate future.

(edited)
And while we're on the topic of "teacher movies" I have to say that any movie that over-glorifies anything (for example: Freedom Writers) automatically gets docked a full star in my imaginary book. For a movie that is inspiring but also a bit more realistic (and in my book, awesome), I highly recommend Pay It Forward for those of you who have not seen it. I know a teacher who shows it in class every year (with very little fanfare from her administration). It's in my all time top 10, so watch it.

Readings

Chapter 4 of Making the Journey is one of those chapters that makes you look at the reality of all the things you'll see and experience at some point or another in the classroom. As I was reading about all of the problems she ran across during her teaching, particularly the student that murdered someone, it made me wonder how I would deal with all of those issues. Up until reading this chapter, I haven't really put a whole lot of thought into situations like that, but those are the situations that I should really focus on more in order to be better prepared in case something like that happens in my own class. While it would be impossible to be 100% prepared for every bad situation that might come up in my classroom, it is foolish to have the mindset that it will never happen to me. At some point it might.

I also liked the analogy that Gallagher used in Chapter 1 of Deeper Reading with the Puzzballs. I was one of those students in high school that only read the material one time before being tested over it, and in high school, that was all right. It got me through with A's and B's all through high school. Now that I'm doing college coursework, though, it's made it more difficult to study, because I don't have the concentration that I need to read something more than once. I really have to push myself to "study" the material that I'm presented with as opposed to cramming the night before and losing anything I might have learned the day after the test. My teachers in high school didn't really push the importance of thorough studying, and it's still haunting me as I try to study now.

Chapter 4 Depression

Wow. If someone handed me a teaching contract this afternoon after having read Chapter 4, I would probably sit down, rock back and forth and cry. I have always appreciated Christenbury's honesty and practicality, but this chapter was an invitation to reconsider everything I ever thought about teaching. I guess the hopeless romantic in me always thinks of the troubled class/student with the "Freedom Writers" mentality. Sure, they will be bad and mean, but if I just make them write in a journal, they will be forever changed and we'll all hold hands and sing Kumbaya at the end of the school year. I guess deep down I know that's not the reality, but its certainly more comfortable than this chapter was.

The part I appreciated the most was early on (probably before the panic set in) when she comments on the desperate need of young people to have authentic, real and effective relationships with adults - that at the heart of every classroom is an interaction with students and the challenge to motivate them to learn, to be better and to make something of themselves.

I want to be the kind of teacher that is able to reach all of my students. I want to make an impact on the alienated student. I want to know the right things to say, the right "assignments" to give, the right ways to really connect to them. But the honest truth is that I have no earthly idea how to do it. I wasn't an alienated student. I have a hard time identifying with the mentality of an alienated student and I don't know how to meet them where they are. And on top of it all, I don't know how to do that AND interact with all of my other students.

I liked Christenbury's ideas such as Big Bucks and some of the others on how to reach difficult students. Like Stan, I don't want to make excuses for lazy students or pamper them into doing what I want them to do, but somehow we have to find ways to motivate them. I guess its hard to know what I would do in these situations until I'm actually there, crying tears of frustration b/c I can't get someone to even stay awake for 5 minutes.

Btw, I hated the baseball analogy.

Chp. 4

Stan, I was thinking the same thing about the teacher spending her own money. It reminded me of Freedom Writers. I'm expecting teaching to take up most of my life, especially when I first start out - Will I have to get another job to pay for school supplies and other materials that I need to engage my students?

One of my Geometry teachers did something like "Big Bucks" my freshman year of high school. I remember having tons of money at the end of the year and being able to spend it. It was fun but I don't remember people sharing their money. ;)

This chapter made me uneasy, as well. You hope to have a positive impact on all your students and you want them to see that they can become someone truly great. It is going to be hard to reach those students who do not care and put little effort. I hope that I do not reach the point that Christenbury describes on pg. 106:

"Most of us will tend to avoid the truly alienated student because he or she is often not rewarding to be with. We can make a number of efforts but it is not axiomatic that they will be successful. And, in fact, some teachers, fearful of burnout, make it a point to be less than fully engaged with such students."

Hopefully that "D" that our student recieves (and a grade that is a step in the right direction!) is enough to keep us motivated to reach out to those alienated students.