Wow..Again

To me, this is one of those inevitable chapters that you know that you're going to come across eventually, and I thought when I started reading this that I wouldn't read anything that I didn't already know. After all, isn't it supposed to be obvious that your students have a right to privacy or that you have to step in and call out inappropriate behavior in the classroom?

I think that Christenbury went a lot deeper with her explanations than I thought she would, and it really helped to change my perspective of things. I like that she talked about being friends with your students, because I can relate to that. I had a couple of teachers in high school that also ran some organization or another in the school, and they made quick friends with the students in their classes that were also involved in whatever organization they were in. Although they tried to say that it didn't have an impact over how they treated those students over how they treated other students, you could tell that there was an obvious difference. It's easier to befriend students the more you are with them, but there's still that separation that needs to be there to protect both the student and you/your job.

I really have enjoyed reading the debate between Stan and Michael. They both make a lot of interesting points. I'm still leaning towards Katie's comment, though, when she mentions the fact that it's possible to be a thought-provoking and inspiring teacher without breaking the rules...maybe just bending the rules will do the trick? Another great chapter...and I'll end my post here.

classroom ethics

Some of the things in this chapter were very obvious - report abuse, don't be sexually inappropriate with students, don't be BFF with your students, etc. Then there is this issue of "breaking the rules" that I'm going to leave for the boys to battle out in the post below.

So for here, I want to address what Christenbury talked about at the beginning of the chapter. As English teachers, we are going to be having a lot of conversations with our students about things that don't necessarily have a right/wrong answer. Much of what we read will delve into the topics of racism, religion, justice, decision making, honesty, etc. and we will want for our students to actively explore these issues. Chances are good that as adults, most of us have already figured out how we feel about these issues and have made our own determinations about what is "right." The tricky part is going to be allowing our students to explore these issues without trying to convince them of our idea of "right" and being okay if they come up with something other than what we believe. And then there is the need to facilitate discussions fairly, which I think will be harder than we initially want to believe.

So maybe not the most thought-provoking chapter, but still some good things to think about and consider.

You need to reconsider...

My first instinct would to be agree with most everyone that this chapter is a no-brainer; however, I think that people are really not considering how important this chapter is to YOU. Okay, so I understand that none of us are going into the profession planning on crossing any boundaries when it comes to sexual relations with our students, and I'm sure all of us will be wanting to give each of our students fair opportunities, and we will do our best to protect them and report things that need to be investigated further, but have we really considered that all these things could and most likely will happen to us?!

I don't know about you but I have already seen how easy it could be to find ourselves breaking these "ethical" rules (whether intentionally or not). You think that you are going to be able to give your students fair opportunities? I work at an after-school program with the same kids each day. I have students that I enjoy more than others, and it is hard to be fair to everyone and not take my frustrations out on the kids who pose the most problems or rub me the wrong way while I may let another student get away with it (until the one I don't care for points out that I'm not being fair). We can't be so quick to say it is obvious that we need to be fair to each student because we will all reach a point in our careers when we find ourselves not being fair.

Have you ever really considered the privacy that our students deserve? No doubt, we have a job where students can really feel comfortable talking with us and really opening up to us - especially as English teachers. We understand that they don't have to open up to us. We understand that they have "bubbles" that should be respected. However, what about those times where you find out about a student's miserable home life, about his/her life outside of school, or some other private aspect of his/her life? Teacher lounges are breeding grounds for talking about students and what we can dish about their home life or their parents. We all want to hear it, and I'm sure at one point we are going to be the ones sharing the private information. Lets talk ethics - it isn't as obvious and easy of a matter as we think it is.

Lastly, I think that we really need to take the issue of sexual ethics seriously. I certainly have no plans for anything near what Christenbury talks about, but I think that it is something that we have to constantly be aware about and consider how our actions may be giving wrong messages. We never know when a student could take our body language, speech, etc. the wrong way. Furthermore, who knows what kind of actions our students will do, even without any "encouragement" from ourselves? One of my roommates went through her student teaching last semester and while she was at one of the school's basketball games, with her husband and sitting with some of the other teachers, one of her male students came and sat on her lap. Of course, she was quick to get him off and show him that it was very inappropriate. This instance had nothing to do with her actions in the classroom, yet it certainly did not look good for her, and it is frightening to think about what could possibly have happened if this student took her reaction the wrong way and decided to spread rumors.

Before we begin saying that this chapter is "obvious" or "a no-brainer," I think that we need to reconsider our view of what Christenbury is saying. Who are we to say that the topic of ethics shouldn't take our careful consideration? When we get into the classroom, we are going to be hit with a wall of issues surrounding this topic, and I am quite certain that each of us will find ourselves at a point in our career where we will have to reconsider if we are treating everyone fairly, making sure we aren't telling other colleagues confidential information regarding our students, and making sure that our actions (even if unintentional) are not giving our students the wrong messages.

Input needed!!! ~~~ Calling all Bloggers!!

Everyone please join the discussion Michael and I are having in the "The Job is the fight" posting. We are discussing the topic of when and if to fight as a teacher and would like to hear additional opinions, even Kevin's.

Besides, you will be able to fill your "comment quota" on a fun and heated post for once. There is some life in this blog. Ding..ding..

~Stan (not pictured)

Ethics...important enough to repeat!

This chapter on ethics was very powerful. Yes, it was a lot of things I already knew or assumed about teaching, but these issues are still hugely important. I think Christenbury had to address these issues somewhere in the book in order to stress how important these things are. I think we would all be surprised how many teachers violate these rules on a daily basis. I think it is easy for us to say that we will never do any of these things now, but who knows?...maybe years down the road when our fresh perspective on teaching has worn off, we might be tempted to slack a little. The whole concept of giving students respect is very broad. Sure, it seems like an obvious thing to say, but it is good to think about actual scenarios where you might forget to show the student respect. Also, being a professional in the classroom is a good reminder for me not to try to be on the student's level. I obviously want my students to like me a lot, but that isn't always going to happen. My priority needs to be maintaining my professionalism and being a teacher, not a friend. It is also very important to know where the boundaries are as far as building relationships with students. Physical contact, like hugs, pats on the back, or other gestures you might do to show your appreciation or care about a student, might be offensive or inappropriate to that student. Making sure to recognize those boundaries before we step into the field is going to be crucial in us keeping our jobs. Overall, this chapter did say a lot of things I was already aware of, but it was defintily necessary to be included in this book. It showed me how important Christenbury viewed these ethics, and it is always a good reminder for us.

The Job is the Fight

After reading the chapter and going through what a lot of you guys posted, I realized that there are a lot of wussies in our class. Sure, the chapter told us a list of what to do and what not to do and it was a no-brainer and, sure, it is a job so it should be viewed as such and nothing more. I understand these points of view completely but they're wrong.

How many jobs have you had where you can inspire or challenge another's complete outlook on life? How many jobs have you had where you really wanted to know the people and the potential of the people you worked with? How often have you hid in your safe shell of a job and were afraid to say or do something different because you might get fired? Stop kissing ass and take charge of what you love!

I know from my own experience that I have never done what I was told to do just because. There had to be a good reason backing it or I would never do it. Every job I've ever had, aside from acting, was one in which I rebelled against my oppressors. Every job I've ever had had hypocritical management and a list of things to do and not to do and I just ignored them. Granted, I read and heard them but I tweaked them to suit my needs. As an educator, you need to tweak the way your school is run based on the student's needs. They're not giving you enough money, work on the weekends as a server or hotel manager. They're telling you how to do your job— shut the door and teach your way. They're telling you "you have to teach for this standard or test," teach how you feel is the best interest for the students... so they can get a job and have a successful life after high school. They're telling you that you'd be fired if you go on strike, have your students go on strike for you! Keep the rules they've shoved down your throat in your forethought but teach those kids and worry less about the stipulations of the term "job."

Teaching is more than a job; it is a way of thinking, a way of idealizing, and a way of setting the standards for the future of the nation. Take the power from the corporate vagabonds and federal government and remake America from the schooling outward. Stop cowering and worrying about your job security, grow some guts and take a stand. You shape the future, not them. When the rest of the leaders of the world lack popularity and the youth stop looking to them for guidance, they look to teachers. We make the difference. Get out there and risk everything. No fear.

Busy Work

I was wondering how many times you have been on the receiving end of "busy work." Have you ever experienced an assignment that lacked challenge and any potential for learning?

Take a look at each of the assignments in your unit plan. Are you asking students to do busy work?

Ask yourself, "do these assignments help student to explore the essential question?" The essential question isn't something that you discuss the first and last day. The essential question guides the activities that you do. You want them to do something about justice. Then the assignments ask them to explore justice in the texts you are reading. But, I think it has to be more than just exploring the idea in the canon. Are you tying in the "here and now," as Matt mentions below?

What are some examples of busy work that you have seen?

We've talked about sponges some times. I wanted to tell you my favorite "sponge." I had a library in my class, and students at all times either had an independent reading book or could grab a book out of my library. Any time there was extra time at the end, or if they had to wait on other students to finish, students picked up their books and read.

As "English Teachers," we are teaching reading, writing, and thinking. Above all, I hope that you go out and create a love of reading, writing, and thinking in your students. They won't all be English teachers, but you have the power to create some spark and inspiration. They may not teach English, but I hope that they always pick up a book. I hope that they always pick up a pen and write for themselves.

So, ask yourselves, do the lessons I provide ask students to do "real" work as opposed to "fake" work? Great unit plans will have students inquiring and asking questions and figuring out.

"The teacher's conduct, at all times and in all ways, is a moral matter."

I really liked that quote from page 274, and it's one that we should all carry with us into our classrooms.

I enjoyed this chapter even if it did cover the blatantly obvious stuff about teaching. I especially liked the section on breaking the rules, and I thought it was interesting how many teachers had knowingly and willingly broken school rules.

One thing I wish had been covered in this chapter that wasn't was what to do with the student(s) that make us uncomfortable. Because most of us are going to be entering into the teaching field while we're still young, we will have students who are fascinated/infatuated with us (just as Christenberry stated). So...what do we do with students who cross the line or just plain make us uncomfortable? Do we try and handle it on our own? Do we hold a conference with the student? Do we involve administration as soon as possible? Or do we pretend it's not happening? I would be curious to hear different views on this and various ways to handle it.

Chapter 10- A Question of Ethics

In Chapter 10, Christenbury discusses being and becoming an ethical teacher. I hope I am never like one of those teachers that walk into the classroom acting like they know everything. I sort of had a teacher like that in high school, and I really remember hating him and him hating me back. I felt like he had no sense of humor, and often times I was afraid to really say anything because I would be shot down because he was the teacher and he was always right, and i am the student and I was always wrong. I don't think that's how it should be. Of course we are older and more educated, but that doesn't mean we are right 100% of the time. I don't think that I had much respect for that teacher, and I don't think I would get much respect if I acted in that way. I think that if we show our students that we are human and that we also make mistakes, they will think more of us.

DUH!!!

I will have to agree with Stan that this chapter was basically a no-brainer. This chapter basically states a list of what we, as future teachers are supposed to do. We are supposed to:
*report when our students have told us something that is harmful to them whether they ask us to or not
*respect their privacy
*be fair to all students
*assert ourselves in the classroom
*remain professional in the classroom
*maintain a relationship with students without crossing the line
*keep the students' best interest in mind
**Did i miss anything?
Basically i feel like Chapter 10 was just along list of what we are supposed to do. I agree with the key points that she made and think that it is important to reiterate these things, but i also feel like she has already state these things in previous chapters. I really enjoy the way CHristenbury writes and think this book will be a great help when i become a teacher...but this chapter really didn't do anything for me.

No Brainer Christenbury...but thanks anyway

Some of Chapter 10 was a bit of a no brainer. I guess some people might need to be reminded that students are not to be seduced, dated or otherwise molested in any fashion. Thanks Mary Kay Letorneau, Pamela Rogers (pictured left) and others. This was the no brainer part. I think male or female, crossing that line dictates that there are more than ethical boundaries that have been breached.

Now, with that said, while I had students reading during my lesson, I did walk around and slightly tap boys and girls on the shoulder to indicate they should read next. I think the "common sense" rule would say that this might get me in trouble as well. Learning names will avoid this interaction altogether. Which should be easier in my own classroom. We all might have a similar practice we do. The key is to be mindful of it and try to eliminate it.

Christenbury's thoughts on "students privacy or rights, where are we supposed to learn this? Is there a handbook? Policy statement? Class for beginning teachers at a school? I'm hazy on what is reportable. Some things are, again, no brainers such as abuse and suicidal thoughts.

"Breaking the Rules," although it appears we will all engage in the act at some time in our profession, doesn't sound all that appealing. I can see doing things that may not be "by the book" such as letting a student write about Wicca, but the incident with Ray was an episode in sheer stupidity. After all, Christenbury does include the quote from Nieto, "Teachers are not miracle workers. Nor are they social workers or missionaries." We need to remember this is still a job, with an employer and the possibility of being fired. I don't see myself breaking anything for several years of teaching.

~Stan

Reflection

It does seem like we are reviewing a lot of the same ideas about teaching, class management, and other things we can use in the classroom in this chapter. As a whole, the entire book brings a lot of things to the surface that we need to continually reflect on, so we learn in a process related way. I think this will help it to really stick in our minds. Like after you learn a process and then it just comes naturally to you. I'm ready to start my student teaching and try a lot of the ideas we've learned from each other and in our books in the classroom environment. That will really be the test. After you've been in the classroom a couple of months and then see how you feel about teaching, what you learned in school, compared nto the experience of the classroom at a little longer longevity. I really liked the Digital Project Larry Nueberger gave us in his lecture. I want to try something similar to this with my students. I've noticed that the students love to play roles in the class I'm observing. It gets them up and moving. Movement helps the brain circulate --as we learned in Edc.

Field Experience Teaching

I just recently taught in my field experience classroom. I was at Study Middle School with sixth graders. My lesson was introducing the students to two different newspapers. The class started by writing everything they knew about newspapers and what they liked about newspapers. They were then broke up into groups and discussed what they wrote down. The students were paired up and one student in the group was given a U.S. Today and the other was given the News-Leader. The students explored the newspapers and filled out some questions. After a set time the students then filled out a venn diagram. The students where then given a homework assignment to create their own newspapers about whatever interested them. I thought overall the lesson went well. I had a good time teaching it.

Ch 10

The two student strategies that he says his students most often use are strategies I know I have used myself and it can be very frustrating.  I thought the questions he asked himself about what he wanted his students to get out of reading by themselves and with his assistance was really good.  It is important for me to remember that in teaching it is not always about what I know for students to realize how brilliant and great I am but it is necessary to guide and lead students to deeper thinking.  Again, I  really enjoy his examples he uses in his classes about the AIDS crisis in Africa.  It is not just about the good old literature from the past but also about what is going on in the here and now.  One thing I thought was good especially for a future middle school teacher was the fact that he reads the first few paragraphs to his students before he silent reads to them.

DP Chapter 10 - Emms

Well, there was not a whole lot that I liked in this chapter as well. It seems that as the book progressed the same stuff was being said again; for me, that it completely boring. Finally a couple of pages from the end of the chapter something peaked my interest a little. "Danger 2:The Student Becomes Overreliant on the Teacher" section was so true, and not mentioned so much before. Keeping in mind that teachers are there to teach their students to learn how to read deeply is essential. If teacher don't do this and constantly guide the student(s) through every step then the teacher fails at teaching. They are there to bring the student's abilities up to par to make them ready to go out into the world so they can be successful in their future lives. Leading them does not prepare them at all and actually hinders them. The students do not acquire the abilities that they need to survive. They will constantly need to rely on other people to get them through aspects of their careers and lives all because their teacher didn't back off and let them learn how to do these things on their own. I know that this is a little dramatized but think about it. It can, and most likely does, happen.

Once again, a chapter that means something to me, this book is great. Essay questions that get the students thinking and using their own opinions...who would have thought we could do that? Gallagher's suggestion questions were great, I love the idea of getting students thinking and not trying to trick them with questions but rather continue to guide their learning by asking them to explore their own opinions of a text. I've started selling most of my books back but the ones from this class are definitely taking a permanent place in my collection.

Question of Quality

So, I'd like to think that I post good comments on this blog. Part of my brain is thinking about how useful it is to have a network of future educators sharing ideas with one another and giving ideas for the future but while I'm posting I can't help but think, "I'd better fill my quota of two posts for the week". I'm not really saying that I would post a whole lot if I didn't have the requirement hanging over my head but would you? Would your students? Honestly I don't know if I'm the only one that feels this way. I normally like to share my ideas but I really don't post with that in mind. I post because I have to. So here is my question. Is it possible to have a blog like this and encourage honest and deep conversation without stringent requirements, or do students need the motivation to post anything at all? I really would like to hear your thoughts on this.

I realized that I forgot to post about my field experience teaching, so here it is. The lesson was basically a class think aloud in which we went over a poem and they found examples of their poetry terms from the unit. This went pretty well except some of the kids were completely lost, or just talking for the fun of it and not paying attention. This is not unusual in this class so I tried to take it in stride and continue on with the lesson.
We then did an activity involving their terms again, which was a review for their quiz at the end of the class. They were extremely hyped up that day so it was hard to get them to calm down but eventuallly most finished the assignment.
In all the experience went well, though not as smoothly as I would have hoped. I like working with freshmen but I constantl have to remind myself how young they really are, and therefore how immature they can be, but it worked out for the best. I need to work on deviating from my set lesson if things aren't working out, because I know this happens pretty often and thinking on your feet is an important skill that teachers need to be successful in their classrooms.

practicum lesson

Last Tuesday I taught my lesson for my practicum at Parkview. For the most part, I was really pleased with how it went.
The students had just finished the book Animal Farm, and the teacher Mrs. Weber wanted me to focus on power and whether power corrupts and that sort of thing. I wanted to make the book relevant to them and their own lives, so I started out talking about a subject that I hoped would interest most of them: superheroes. I brought up Spiderman and the famous line "with great power comes great responsibility" in order to introduce what power means and how to use it responsibly. I then had them think about people from their own lives and who had used power responsibly and who had not. I then moved onto a discussion of the characters in Animal Farm and who had the power and how they abused the power and whatnot. Then I had them get into groups (this was relatively easy, because they already had pre-existing groups from their litcircle projects) and consider a scenario: they were suddenly put in charge of the school. What commandments (a la the animals' commandments in the book) would they come up with?

I particularly enjoyed this part of the lesson. The kids seemed pretty engaged in the activity, and I had some interesting responses. Some took it really seriously and came up with some excellent rules. Others took it less seriously and came up with such rules as "clothing optional" and "look good." Dr. Franklin pointed out that many of them were corrupt with their power and how that was my whole point. She suggested that I should have brought this to the students' attention or had them come up with that on their own by having them compare the commandments. I thought that was a great idea and I wish I had done something like that, but by that point I was starting to feel as though things were getting kinda rowdy and I was eager to wrap things up. I also felt a bit awkard in my transitioning through the different steps of the lesson, and my brief lecture on Animal Farm could have been better prepared. But overall, I had a good experience and I think the students did as well.

The Text is Made of Sunshine and Lollipops!!!!!!!

For the most part I have to say that I agree with most of the class; I like these two textbooks. The information provided about the practical aspect of teaching is useful as a student freaked out about his future as a teacher. The unfortunate part of this is that I don't picture myself thumbing through a textbook when I feel lost as a teacher. I know in the back of my mind while I'm reading these books that teaching isn't something that can be learned in a textbook. I know that it is important to have some kind of resource available for ideas and inspiration but each class and each teacher is different and even if we use the ideas presented in these texts we're still going to have to format our lessons to our individual classes. So again I can admit that I like these textbooks but I'm not quite ready to set up a candlelit shrine in my closet with the hair of Christenbury and Gallagher topping off the detail of my Voodoo love statues.

Ok then...

So here goes a little reflection about by lesson at Central not too long ago. I never really did this, so take my hand, and let's see what happens...

My lesson at Central High School was with an English III class (mostly Juniors) on the Great Gatsby. The goal of the lesson was to introduce Gatsby and get started with the beginning of the text. The first thing I did was introduce the text itself, telling them what we would be reading, and why we would be reading it. I introduced it as a book about lying, getting ahead in life, being accepted, and social classes. The students grabbed onto the idea about social classes rather quickly, so I ran with that for a bit.

The next thing I did was give them a set of anticipatory questions to get them thinking about the text. I first gave them the questions to look at individually, and then we got into small groups and they discussed their opinions (agree or disagree, and why). Lastly, I let them discuss the quetions as a class and I facilitated the discussion. I felt like they really enjoyed this part of the lesson best, although I had a little trouble keeping them only going one at a time, at least that meant they all cared about the questions and wanted to discuss their opinions.

Then we did vocab. I am not a big fan of vocab, but teacher wanted me to incorporate it, so I did. I gave them a "I've know this/I've seen this/I've never seen this" vocab worksheet, and they went over it in small groups. I then gave them dictionaries to look over the ones that they couldn't come to a consensus about, and last we went over them in class and they said aloud what they found. This, to me, was the most boring part of the lesson. I do not know a better way to do vocab though.

The last thing we did was to get into the text. I read the first 10 pages of the text before the class was let out and the extremely annoying bell rang. Reading aloud to the class seemed like an issue to me because I was afraid they would act up while I was busy reading, but luckily they were very respectful and listened.

The class closed with a "write something you learned" writing assignment for the last couple of minutes, and then they left. By the way, I didn't tell them it was my last day (goodbyes are stupid), so apparently that surprised some of them.

All in all I felt like my transitions from one part of the class to the next was the main thing I need to work on. I was fairly confident (as I should be because I'm pretty great), and I was quite well prepared, but the passing out of papers, etc., made it difficult to not lose them in the process.

Ok then.

Thoughts on the Reading

I found this chapter to be very helpful for me as a future teacher.

There are many examples of deeper reading questions to provoke the students' thinking. The concept of backward design also outlines where the teacher should be going with readings and questions for an anticipated ending understanding from the students.

I enjoyed the reading article about AIDS, and I grasped the importance of background information. Gallagher listed other topics/graphs that would help students and myself understand the epidemic better.

I also agreed with Gallagher when he stated what you test is what you get. Questions should evoke thought and opinions supported by text.

Field Experience Teaching

Friday I taught in class for about the third time. I had taught on Monday, and I taught the class before the one that Dr. Franklin observed. Overall, I think it went well, but there were some moments throughout the lesson where the students were a little overwhelming. I'll explain.

My lesson revolved around chapter 12 of Tuck Everlasting, and the main part of the lesson involved the students creating a crossword puzzle on the ReadWriteThink website. Using the websites Crossword Puzzle Generator (great tool), the students entered in some of their vocabulary words from the current and previous chapters as well as the clues/definitions that went with those words. Then, they switched computers with their table partners and completed their puzzle. To wrap the lesson up, the students responded to a question about the crossword puzzle activity on their class blog.

The time when I noticed the most problems was during the computer swapping process of the activity. Throughout the week, the students had been dividing up vocabulary words among their tables, and each person was responsible for a number of words; they were supposed to help each other fill in the words that they didn't complete, but for some of them it didn't happen. So, when it came time for them to do the other pair's crossword puzzle, some of them had no clue where to look if they got stuck on a word. So, they became frustrated and started roaming around the room. Other than that, the lesson seemed to go pretty well. All of the students enjoyed creating the puzzles, and they also seem to enjoy writing on the class blog.

I thought I did this already...

Katie, you've only got two weeks left. Don't be losing it now. Just hold it together. And stop talking...er...typing to yourself.

Right.

Gallagher was great. Do you know the difference between a theme and a moral (as described by my practicum teacher, Alisa)? Morals are prescriptive and in the second-person. Themes are descriptive and universal. For example:

Moral of the chapter: Don't ever teach a book without knowing what you want the students to learn and guiding them in that direction.

Theme of the chapter: Sometimes people make mistakes, but they still learn from them.

I think my work is done here.

TEN

Seriously...I love this text!!! It is probably one of the most useful texts I've been assigned to read while in school. I will definitely be using multiple ideas from this text as I explore the world of teaching!! I loved the beginning of this chapter. Gallagher's breakdown of what students learn on their own and what they through us, they're teachers is extremely important information for us to be aware of. I think that the breakdown of first draft reading, second draft reading and collaboration is an essential plan I want to implement in my class while we read and evaluate texts. Also, using Gallagher's idea of "Reflective Response to Text" is something I think that we can use to help students become aware of issues of our society as well as bring a text that might seem outdated to students and help them find themes in it that relate to their world!! All in all another great chapter...Thanks Gallagher!!!

Did they get it??

I really thought that the second part of this chapter was great! The discussion about the final exam questions and essays is important when thinking about assessing the sudents through a test. I really enjoyed the list of final essay questions because they seemed like opinion questions, but they were also relevant to the text. For example, students decide who changed the most or least or had the most or least important role in the text. THis is opinion and then they have to back their choices up with information from the text that shows that they understood the assignment. THis allows students a choice and they really like that. I think these types of questions are better than multiple choice or true/false questions because it really gets the students thinking and involved in the material. It allows them to use their higher-order thinking skills and make a connection from their lives to the book. He is absolutely correct that you don't want to WYTIWYG because that shallow assessment results in shallow thinking. As an artist, we dont want our works to be shallow. Therefore, as a teacher, we dont want our students' thinking to be shallow.