Gallagher: Chapter 2

I enjoyed reading chapter 2 in Gallagher. I especially like what was written on page 17 - "The Importance of Collaboration". I liked this because it talked about deeper reading. In my I-Search paper, I was researching/discussing how students can take more from a text through deeper reading and discussion. Towards the middle of the page, Gallagher talks about what we remember, taken from Edgar Dale's Audio- Visual Methods in Teaching. It's crazy that we only remember 10% of what we read and we remember 70% of what we talk about with others. I guess it just goes to show how important it is to discuss material with your students. If students can practice deeper reading and then discuss it others, I think they would remember the material much better. Gallagher also says "the richer the text, the harder it is for any single reader to uncover it all on the first reading. Because of this, it is important that students be given time to discuss what they discovered while reading". We are all human, so sometimes we need to reread or examine the text for more detail or understanding. I'm glad that Gallagher discusses this because I will definitely take this to my classroom.

Chapter 8 - Questioning

While the video we watched with Seinfeld was more of a teeth-pulling session, I do feel that the layout of the room in the video is appropriate for certain uses. For instance, Christenbury says we should allow for students to be arranged so they can see each other for group discussion, however, my field experience has given me a mindset otherwise. The students are often engaged with each other, not listening to the instructor, and have their backs to the teacher. I want to rearrange the class before I do my lesson Friday for that very reason. I know the very presence of another person teaching might yield me better results, but I want to give the regular teacher the notion to move the desk into groups for "group activities," and not keep them there for every activity. This alone could limit student participation and your ability to question students, or see if by their facial expressions, you're asking too difficult of questions. Am I right Stacy?

I think my greatest fear, that Christenbury touches on, is when the students do not answer. I know rephrasing the question works, but what if they "won't" answer from the onset? I think this can only be overcome by trial by fire. You just have to get in there and deal with it. Am I right Valerie?

Answering questions incorrectly happens all the time in my college level courses. I have two classes where there is an individual who just doesn't get it. They add comments and answers to the discussion that are either irrelevant or incorrect. They aren't really answering a question or adding to a discussion as much as they are just talking to be heard. In both classes, these professors have given me an idea Ignoring the fact that the comment was ever made to begin with is often useful with dealing with it. I had one professor that had one of "these" students who would always answer, then add a tag question of, "Do you know what I mean?" He finally answered her question to laughter from the rest of the class, "No, I have no idea what you mean?" It gave a release to those who were tired of hearing her comment oblivious to the discussion at hand. Finally! Am I right Kendra?

I think you should pull these students aside and let them know that they need to stop, think, and then comment. Blurting things out does not help the discussion. Am I right Kitty?

~Stan

My dog Zeus, is a Papillion. A great example of the "First Names" approach that Christenbury describes on Pg. 194. Papillion means "butterfly" in French.

And, I have to disagree with Christenbury. I don't think that "Courtney" is an androgynous name. Who's ever heard of a boy named Courtney? Where Christenbury living these days!

(My boy Zeus)

~Stan

Gallagher, Christenbury and Stan

I hated the reading of Chapter 2&3 of Gallagher, I can't lie. Although I think she has several good strategies to use in our teaching, I think we should focus on these aspects of her book when we read and it will help. It's a great sleep-aide though. As I yawn at 4 in the afternoon, sitting at my desk, on a beautiful day!

I liked her "Using Metaphors to deepen comprehension," but doubt she cam up with the concept herself. Face it, as teachers, we will be like a common street criminal. Sneaking into the copy room to make copies, finding discarded books at the public library to use in our class libraries, shopping at garage sales to find book shelves, clothes. I can't believe that teachers at high schools have to come up with their own supplies past $200 dollars. I guess that doesn't allow for much creativity the first few years as we collect the scissors, glue, butcher paper and other necessities to be creative in our class. Enough of that rant, on to Christenbury.

Christenbury brings up many point in chapter 6. Among the key points that I agree with are the ELL students. Being from California, I went through school in a very diverse atmosphere. Students who often mixed up subject-verb agreement and issues like that, were often WAY smarter than me. They just needed to have the 5-7 years to master the language. As a high school student, it made for humor in reading their papers. As a potential teacher, California is a nightmare. Some of you think you have it difficult with the students who are all white, speak English and show up most of the time, you would be no match for the diversity you'd find in a California classroom! In my city, there were Laotians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, East Indians, African-Americans, Guadalajaran's, Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, illiterates, degenerates, Special needs, and me. I can assure you all, no matter what challenges you face here, you don't want to teach there, nor do I. Appreciate Missouri for at least the ease your job should afford you in comparison. I will.

~Stan

Chp. 6 and Chp. 8

As I was reading through Chapter 6 "Words, Words, Words," I couldn't help but get excited about the different methods (Language Play/Language Games, pg. 192) that Christenbury provides to teaching spelling/vocab. and grammar. I hate those vocabulary books. I'll be honest and say that I usually just studied the night before - vocabulary was definitely a short-term thing for me (just get it in so that I can make an 'A' on the assignment). All those words departed my mind the minute we were moving on to the next activity for the class. I like the idea of students keeping spelling logs and vocabulary lists from their reading, life and classwork. I should probably do this myself when reading the things for my different classes. Who doesn't come across words that they don't know how to spell or the meaning of when they read? My grandma still goes to a dictionary when she doesn't know the meaning of a word that she finds in one of her beloved Mary Higgins Clark or Stephen King books. Smart woman (and it shows)! Wouldn't spelling and vocab become so much more meaningful if students were taking the words from their surroundings rather than from some book where they don't see how those words are used in their language?

I also loved the idea of using billboards and other pun/play on words to teach students grammar. Why has teaching vocabulary, spelling and grammar become such a boring and uncreative aspect of teaching?

I also enjoyed Chapter 8, "The Craft of Questioning." I need to learn how to ask questions. I also don't want to be like the statistic Christenbury mentions and ask 3 questions per minute. I wrote next to that statement, "Teacher talk too much."

But one part of this chapter impacted most. I love the story that Christenbury tells about the time she taught a poem and how her students took over the discussion, made a lot of in-depth personal connections, and were challenging and encouraging one another. Wouldn't it be great to have our classroom be an environment where students feel safe (not only physically but in regards to expressing themselves and being as open as they choose) and feel as though they will be respected? Christenbury notes that students in remedial classes are "often asked nothing but factual or recall questions and are never or rarely asked to consider why, how, or what if" (241). I ask myself Why do teachers think that these students don't want to be asked the deeper questions or why do we assume that they can't answer those deeper questions? I don't think we will ever have what I consider "classroom unity" and mutual respect if we don't allow our students to feel like they have a voice.

Videos

The Youtube videos were really funny. I especially thought the stand-up comedian was hilarious. He told it how it was! The Seinfeld clip was pretty funny too. It's also scary at the same time. I know my students won't be that stupid... but hopefully they will care a little bit more... thats probably what I am most scared of, my students thinking that I am boring and just blowing me off. I really hope they take me seriously! I am going to try my best to keep them interested! I think it's good for us future teachers to see stuff like that (the video's) once in a while, because it reminds us not to be so serious about things and to try and take light of those bad situations.

A Little Bit Outside France

Those videos were very interesting to watch. I had seen the SNL one before but seeing it again on the cusp of actually taking on the profession set a new feel for me. Naturally, there were many stereotypes in the scene but many of them made sense to me. The running gag about France, for instance, reminded me of the line I hear every other week about History in America, "the students know the history of America but little to nothing about other areas in the world." Though I believe this thought is just a myth, people believe it and state it as fact. It's no wonder parents and politicians think teachers aren't doing a good job when they see skits like this or movies like Half Nelson and are too brain-dead to figure out that it's a representation and not the actual reality. If you weren't going to be a teacher and you saw Jerry popping pills as a teacher and giving up on his students, would you think your children were being taught well? Doubt it.

The other video was very interesting in what he was saying (though I wish he wouldn't cuss as much--"GD" offends me). It reminded me of my last practicum where I went into the teacher's bathroom and saw a paper on the wall. It had a conversation between a parent, who I believe was a lawyer or doctor, and a teacher. The lawyer, or doctor, said something foul about teaching and put it down as he asked "what do you make?" The teacher went on for a long time talking about the lifetimes of achievement teaching creates and the love of helping the students learn. It was a beautiful little tidbit and made me realize that money is not as important as changing a person's life.

video clips

Ok..so those were great videos! I had never seen the SNL clip, but I had seen the other one before. It is so funny to think about, first of all, the truth that is in those clips, and second of all the misconceptions and stereotypes that are in there as well. I'm sure that most teachers who watch that SNL clip find a lot of truth in the fact that there students don't seem to follow anything they have to say at all! But I do have to say that, especially in my current practicum, I have seen many students who have overwhelmed me with how intelligent they are and how much they pick up on! So, I definitly think that most of out students will be a lot more intelligent than that clip portrays. The other clip gave me goosebumps! It is so true that people look down at the profession of teaching and the low salary! I have already had so many people give me that "look" about choosing this profession! and i'm not even a teacher yet! But all the things he listed in his response to that guy...those things are the reason I wanted to become a teacher too! Not for the english (even though it is so very exciting!!! little sarcasm there! ) but for the kids! To be the person they see every day that is a positive influence and makes a difference!

Week 5: Making it Real

I feel like I read the Deeper Reading chapters such a long time ago! I am still getting over being confused from the whole ice storm problem. Anyway, the Deeper Reading book is helpful, but not nearly as helpful as the Christenbury book. I like the way that this text reads more like a novel than a text book, but I still catch myself being bored. The section about using metaphor for reflection was interesting to me though. I like the way she used a list of tangible and intangible items to create metaphors, but was even more impressed by the way her students put them together. This use of metaphors will strengthen their writing abilities and even their thinking abilities, especially on standardized tests. You and I both know that the MAP, Praxis, and CBASE love to use metaphors to relate things, and this is a great introduction for those relations. Also, metaphors are a part of everyday language and students can relate these comparison in their real life, not just on tests.

As always, I have a couple points that I thought were important and here is another. I also enjoyed the part in chapter three about the anticipatory set. The use of potato chips was imaginative and creative and really got the students interested. Because I am preparing for my upcoming in-class lesson, I was particularly interested in this part when creating my anticipatory set. I wanted to create a way to get you guys interested in my topic and am still have problems finding that. But reading this blurb about making the information “real” to the students was helpful and sparked an idea. Hopefully you all will think it is interesting one Monday!

Interesting

I enjoyed watching both videos. I thought that the Seinfield skit was a good example of how some students are not really interested in what teachers bring to the table to teach students but instead are more interested in what they need to know to make a grade or pass a test. I think it shows how we as teachers have to work with students to debunk the grade-based teaching idealogy. We have to think of better ways to show students that school is about learning, it is about experience and preparing students for the real world not test.

I thought the other video was interesting as well it's always nice to hear people talk about how important teachers are because I know that there are going to be days where we don't feel important or even like we are reaching students.

Video Clips

That Seinfeld clip was hilarious but also very accurate. We are going to have students in our classes that just don't get the concepts that we're trying to teach, and it is going to leave us feeling like Seinfeld did at the end of the clip. That's when we go home and watch a clip like the second video clip and come back the next day remembering why it is that we do what we do.

I thought those clips went very well with each other. One shows what could possibly be a worst case scenario classroom, and the other shows why we keep teaching after having one of those days. I guess if you have a bad day, you could always come home and watch the Seinfeld clip and remember that things could be worse... :D

Videos

I enjoyed watching these clips because I think it is interesting to see others' views on teaching. The Seinfield clip reminded me that I have to step up my game to make my class memorable to students (especially in a era filled with media). Many of the students in this video accurately portray student personalities in real life. The message that I received from the first skit was the challenge that I as a teacher will face every day. I will feel drained and everything I teach may be discarded, but I must remember that I can not give up.

I liked the ending in the second clip. It reminded me of an incident that occurred during my practicum at Jarrett. I was working on underlying characteristics of Aunt Polly from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He was not quite sure what the teacher wanted, but once I sat down with him he understood the assignment. It was rewarding to see him understand the lesson that had confused him.

Watching Seinfeld's video was entertaining but I can't help but feel slightly more apprehensive about entering the classroom and teaching on my own. The thought of having no way to engage my students is one of my biggest fears, and the scary part is that every group of students will be different, so as educators we will constantly be having to evolve and cater to the new group, finding different ways to get them involved. At my practicum on Friday I walked in expecting to observe and was surprised to be told by the subsitute teacher that I should take over the lesson for the day, it was terrifying! Fortunately, this group of students was more than willing to share their thoughts, but I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to be in Jerry's shoes...

video response

Though meant to be very comical, I'm sure Seinfeld's episode in teaching will really be what it does feel like at times to teach. With the one student teaching experience I've had, I felt that it was sort of hard to get the student's to speak up in the discussion. Many classes I've taken at MSU, that students wouldn't talk in, have seemed the same way --and we're college students. We should be promoting our beliefs at this point. Right? It seems to always be the same students leading and defining the classroom conversations --whether it be enlightening, educationally speaking, or not. One of my greatest challenges in my classroom will be to get inside the student's head that doesn't talk much. Then, I will know I'm effectively doing something.

Priscilla

What will I make???

Like some of the others have already stated, the two videos were for the entertaining and reminded me that there will be days in which I want to just give up and there will be days and ways that I make a difference. But the question that pop in my head, especially as I listened to Mali's video...."What will I make?". I know the answer is not money, but will I make difference? That is what I am striving for, but will it happen? Or will there be more days that I feel like Seinfield and I cannot get anything out of my students. Will I have connection and be able to draw them in? Its a scary thought. A thought that I hope to face and triumph more than face and fail. If not, I can always fall back to reading quietly and watching Raiders of the Lost Ark...ohh...thats a very scary thought.

On to other things...
I have to say, that there was one particular key idea in the reading this week that struck me. In Chapter 3, there were a few key points outlined for us and point 2, kind of goes back to something I thought about last week during class, as well as after I left. The point was this..."How a person feels about a learning situation determines the amount of attention devoted to it". I can say that the less I feel connected to a subject, the less I care to put any effort into it. We have to make connections with our students and them show them connections they can find with the reading. I think they have to not only feel connection to the lesson at hand, but also with our teaching methods, or else I am afraid I will get SNL skit-like responses. There was one activity that was mentioned to help with this that I hadn't seen previously...Anticipation Guides. What a great way to find out what our students are interested in terms of the ideas and themes that are in the lesson or unit we are getting reading to start. I think that incorporating this into my classroom, could help me in finding out which way might be the best in approaching the lesson so that the students can find the most connection and therefore get the most out of what we are teaching. It also, in my opinion, can be used as a way for the students to feel like they are having a impact, even if it is minimal, on what we are learning.