Class Blog 4/7/09

I apologize that this wasn't on here earlier.  I completed it at my parents house when I was visiting and it apparently didn't post like I assumed it had. 

Comment:  I thought it was neat to see everyones presentations.  I saw many ideas that I would like to use in my classroom, especially using the codes that Drew shared during reading.  I think this idea is great to start with elementary students because it is a skill they can use when they get older too.

Question:  Is there a good way to show parents what critical literacy is at a back to school night presentation that doesn't take too long?  I was thinking about doing this next year, however I only have 20 minutes to cover a lot of information.  

Connection:  I related to the program that Christy has at her school (PBIS) however we call it PBS.  I have noticed such a positive change in the climate of the school since we began this program.  I'm a believer in positive behavior plans.  I use Fred Jones in my classroom and my kids love it!

Class Blog 3/31/09

Comment: I really enjoyed seeing how everyone implemented critical literacy into their classrooms.  I want to try out the Stephanie's lesson in my room.  I think my kids would get a lot out of it.  I am planning on reading When the Emperor Was Devine since it sounded like a great book and I really enjoyed A Heart Divided.

Connection:  Megan's project with her students was really cool!  I remember doing something like that during my freshman year of high school and it was a memorable activity.  I think we had to do a counter commercial to one on T.V. 

Question: Is there a place to find a list of books dealing with socio-political issues?  Anyone have recommendations?  I've found some to add to the library at my school, but am looking for many more. 

Social Action Project Update

I started the girls group and we are meeting twice a week but I decided that I wanted to take a different direction with my social action project after reading The Breadwinner and A Heart Divided.  Part of this idea also came from EDU 619 where one of our assignments was to go to a local library to see what types of books were there.  Well, I also checked out the library by me in Arlington and my schools library.  Both are greatly lacking books of diversity and ones that deal with social issues.  My school library is particularly lacking in this department.  After reading The Breadwinner with my class my students have been obsessed with finding books dealing with different issues.  Of course, when we go to the school library there are not any available.  I have spoken with my school librarian and I'm going to start developing a list of books/text sets that would be a great addition to our library.  Once these start arriving I'm going to do book talks about them before school with the kids.  I'm really excited about this because I think it will really open up the kids minds and engage those students in reading that aren't always excited about it. 

The Breadwinner

I really enjoyed reading this book for class.  I loved how it dealt with a part of the world that is in the news all the time.  I thought Parvana was a strong main character and I enjoyed learning about how she dealt with the changes in her life.  I actually ended up using this book as a read aloud with my class because I enjoyed it so much.  My students were so engaged by it and I was able to pull in a lot of current events with the book reading.  We studied what a burqa was and how women are treated differently in many Middle Eastern countries than they are in the United States. I heard the phrase, "that's not fair" many times.  My students were amazed about arranged marriages and what happened to the prisoners in the stadium.   Even my students who are usually not that engaged by read alouds truly enjoyed this book.  

I thought that I really taught the children something through using this book in class that was meaningful.  Sometimes I feel we get away from meaningful curriculum due to standardized testing.  I was astonished how many of my students had no idea where Afghanistan was and how different life is in other parts of the world.   I am going to order the sequel to the book, Parvana's Journey to read since my students were begging to find out what happens next (plus I would like to know too!!!)

Class Blog 3/3/09

Comment: I liked the idea of having the kids do a multimedia text set instead of a traditional book report. I think I would get some really neat results from that. Pedro Noguera was amazing on Saturday! I truly enjoyed his insights. The story about the New York school with the internet cafe and clubs after school, which was open until 9 P.M. was awesome! I also liked his view on standardized tests, and how we are doing so much testing that its hard to actually teach. I couldn't agree more!

Question: I loved how that principal in NYC was able to create such a supportative school with so many resources. I wonder how she was able to get the money to do that? It seems like just getting a little resource is like fighting a war. :)

Connection: I really connected with our discussion both in class and on Saturday about how young teachers need to be mentored and have support. While, I did feel that I was very prepared to begin teaching, there were days where it would have been nice to have someone there to help out. Also, not giving a new teacher all the behavior problems would be a great thing to do. I think part of the reason that teachers burn out and leave the profession is due to behavior issues.

Social Action Project Ideas

I've been thinking awhile about what I would like to do for my social action project.  I've come up with a few ideas. 

1) A girls group that would meet after school that would focus on healthy body image, nutrition, positive peer relationships, and exercise.  I've noticed that a lot of fifth and sixth grade girls have an unhealthy body image, which I think is greatly influenced by the media.  Of course, this would have to be approved by my administration before I would be able to do anything like this.  

2) I am science lead teacher for grades 4-6 at my school.  I was trying to think of something that I could do involving the science curriculum.  I was thinking of having a fun science night that promotes scientific thinking and critical thinking.  

In my thinking I also did some searching on the internet.  While doing that I came across this book, http://www.amazon.com/Kids-Guide-Social-Action-Choose/dp/1575420384/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235685642&sr=1-1  that I think would be a great read on this subject! :)

Class Blog 2/24/09

Comment:  It was interesting to learn about hidden vs. formal curriculum.  I never really thought about it this way and I like how the practice of a critical pedagogy disrupts these types of curriculum.  I really like how different types of schools (like montessori) allow students to explore their interests.  I think this is something that is lacking in public education today.  We are so standardized test focused that we tend to get away from what students are really interested in studying at a deeper level.  

Question:  How does one get away from standards based eduction and focus more on student interests?  I have tried to do this several times, but I always feel like more and more things are being thrown at me by my administration that "have to be done this way".  Its very frustrating.  I like to focus on my students learning styles, but it seems like that is not always possible.

Connection:  While talking about things that we would like to change about schools, my students mentioned how they thought that we shouldn't have to do social studies this year.  I asked why, and they stated that because we do not have to take a state test over it, why bother? I found this statement upsetting in many ways.  It is so important to know about our world, especially in society today, and the social studies curriculum is very interesting.  In our standards based society, even children think that its only important to learn what is going to be tested on.  I feel like exploration and learning are being ruined by this.