Computer time in High School...

Well, we didn't have "computer time," but we did sometimes get to go to the library if we had group projects or papers we needed to use computers for. Mostly in my english classes or my business management class is when we needed the computers. Usually, this meant free time for me, though. I either was going to use my computer at home to finish my work or I had already done so. So I would go onto my email and write people back for the most part. Thankfully, facebook and myspace were not around so I didn't have that to occupy my time. We would be sitting at computers next to each other and would find something cool and then tell the person next to us about it and so on.

Technology in Classrooms...

Technology has helped education but it has also hindered my educational experience, personally. Let's talk about powerpoint. It could be a really great way for teachers to show pictures or diagrams. But I have found that every teacher who I have had who used it, predominately in college, reads directly off of the powerpoint slide. They may as well have given us copies of their presentations and sent us home. In fact, these are the classes I do not attend. Try listening to an excercise physiology lecture for two hours where the professor is just reading off of the slides. Yeah, it sucked. I think that even though technology has helped us, it has also gotten some teachers off of the hook of actually teaching. It has really promoted more of a teacher centered atmosphere than anything and has gotten students to zone out. However, there are times where technology can be a great thing to draw students in to the lesson. I love watching videos in class or looking at web pages on an overhead that someone has created.Technology has also given the students a window of opportunity to be more creative during projects, etc. I would have to say though that I could do without powerpoint!

Peace Out

Well, thankfully semester is about to come to an end. It has been a long one but I did enjoy this class at least. So far, being an English minor, I haven't found too many classes I have taken so far for it very helpful to me as a teacher. But I would have to say that I will take a lot of the ideas from the group and indy. teaches and the texts we had for this class into the classroom with me. I would like to give a shout out to my homies, group 2, and jen B. Group 2, there will be a jurassic park screening next week at my place, be there! And to Michele and Jen, the gang will still meet regularly :)

Some good quotes...

"Experience is the worst teacher; it gives the test before presenting the lesson."

"They may forget what you said, But they will never forget how you made them feel."

"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove . . . . but the world maybe different because I was important in the life of a child."

"Friendship is like peeing your pants,everyone can see it,But only you can feel the true warmth."

Slam Poetry Activity

Only 1.3 miles
Please take us
I speak for everyone when I say this

Stop gazing into the mirror
ignoring all 28
jagged, crooked, chipped

Like an overcrowded parking lot
cars parked every which way
sideways, parallel, but never straight

We send signals
through the nerves to your brain
but you still ignore us

Please take us
Like a field trip for a class of 28
drilling, filling, bracing

Indy Teach Poem

Sitting at the table,
Where everyone knows each other.
Just taking in the moment and breathing air,
Thinking about your so called perfect life.
The thought is gargantuan like heavy night.
I think about where I come from,
I am from scary monsters under my bed.

Emotion Poem

Angry that I am turning into my mom
Angry that I have to watch my parents get older
Angry that I am broke
Angry that I have worked so hard and have nothing to show
Angry when people use the "N" word
Angry nobody cares
Angry that I haven't won the lottery
Angry that I can't find a better job
Angry that I drink so much
Angry that my roommate can eat whatever she wants
Angry that I haven't had a carb. in two months
Angry that I have to grow up
Angry that people expect me to get married and have kids
Angry that I don't keep in touch
Angry that I am not always right
Angry that I am angry all the time

For the indy teach poem, I used lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 9

Dear Michelle,

Hey! So this weekend was crazy. My roomie turned 21 so friday we had a party at our place. There was definitely a lot of cupid shuffle and soulja boy going on. The people below us were like really not happy with us. Anyways, I ended up sleeping on our dining room floor which makes me mad because I was at my own house! Saturday the festivities continued we all went to the fashion show and then downtown. We went to Monaco Bay first which I love and Amelia had to get on stage for her birthday, but instead of them singing to her, she had to dance to the booty queen with a tamberine for over 2 minutes. Needless to say it is now on youtube. So at this point I really should have gone home but then we went to Wild Bull. My little sister used my Id to get in so it was a lot of fun. I think I am still bruised from riding the bull. I always am like, I am not riding the bull but then I get drunk and before you know it I am buying an all night pass. The best part of the night was that the cad driver took us through mcdonalds for some double cheeses' and then home. We carrieed amelia in and then I think I got sick and again, passed out in the hall instead of my bed. So that is what I did this weekend. Don't worry--my dog was asleep for all of this :)

Self Portrait

Hairspray, pick, comb
Our hair made us three inches taller.

Mom always taking the picture instead of posing,
She was the one who did this to us--made us look like her.

I hated my dress, pink and girly, but not more than my hair
I planned on playing with the boys anyway.

Courtney cut out her shoulder pads, I tried to change, and we whined for hours,
But when it was time for the picture we humored my mom and held hands.

Our hair made us three inches taller,
But I look more like my mom everyday anyhow.

Then and Now

Me and my little sister!! Such 80's hair, our mom did this to us :)

Found Poetry Project

My words were: tradition, runners, pasta, tea, shame, sobriety
I got this from an article from people magazine. Apparently, Katie Cruise was preparing to run a marathon, but before it, instead of only training and eating pasta, she was throwing a tea party for baby Suri.

My Thanksgiving tradition
Racing, running, competing
All before dinner
Weeks of only pasta
Such a shame I can't feast just yet
Racing post biggest bar night of the year
Keeps me sober
No wine, sangrias, draft beer
maybe tea

Winter

Oh, no! It is coming. Scraping off my windshiled, bundling up, staticy hair, and chapped lips. Dreaded winter. There are really only two positive things that I can think of for this particular season--the anticipation of a snow day and my birthday. But really just the thought of a snow day has in fact saved me. Here's to the hours of local news watching during the early morning hours that have kept me sane. Waiting for Kalamazoo County's turn to scroll across the bottom of the screen, hoping that a commercial break does not bring it back to the "A's". Here it comes...Western Michigan University is no where to be found. Did I miss it? Oh, well. So I go back to bed--there's always tommorrow.

Release the Fury...

There are so many things that outrages me; people who don't use blinkers, how Gaby and Carlos are still not back together on Desperate Housewives, but lately I have been struggling with much larger issues. The fact that there is even a vote for whether or not gay marriage should be allowed really pisses me off. Who am I to say if two people of the same sex can get married? We are in an era where more people vote for American Idol than for the President of the United States and you are gonna tell me that two people who love each other cannot be legally bound? It isn't like heterosexual marriages are so great--half end up divorced! I am one of them! A lot of the people who are against gay marriage are against it for religious reasons, which I find really ironic. Aren't we not suppose to be judging? I thought that was God's job--if they were so religious then they would leave this to Him.

Me, Myself, and I...

Well, most everyone knows that I am a physical education major, not English. But it really is for good reason. I originally planned on going to Michigan and into the medical field. Heart problems run in my family; a male has never lived over the age of fifty on my dad's side of the family. We also have weight issues. So I thought that going into pre-med made sense, until I decided that I would rather try to prevent the problems than treat people after they have been diagnosed. I also decided during this time that I would rather be around kids for most of my day. Physical education is so important to me and really hits a little too close to home. I am definitely the anti-dodge ball, fitness oriented person now. It's been tough though, most people think that it is a useless major that I picked to skim by. But I could tell you every muscle and bone in the body, what they do, and their relationship to the most relative joint. So Ha! :)

Some stuff people may not know about me is that I am a neat freak. Most people don't think so until they live with me because of the way I present myself most times; sweats and a hoodie. But I am always cleaning up. I also LOVE holidays--I decorate like months in advance. And despite what Michelle has said, I actually do love animals. I will admit that I am no dog whisperer though. Personally, I am divorced. I know, crazy, right? But now that I am single, I go to the bar....A LOT. Tonight, Wild Bull and every Thursday Monaco Bay, etc. I am really addicted to Harry Potter. Seriously, I could reference almost anything anyone says back to Harry Potter. It is sad, but after I read it, I had like hours of conversation about the political messages in it with my boyfriend. So there's just a little bit about me that maybe people didn't know before.

Indy Teach!

I am done! I am so happy that this is out of the way, mostly because I was so nervous. I just really wanted to say thank you to everyone in the class for participating so much in the group discussions and really providing helpful comments. I also loved how people really disclosed so much about themselves and their own experiences--it really made it easier for me. So thank you, and great job to Michelle too! :)

Group #3...

I really loved this teach! Everyone was really prepared and made effective comments to the discussion, but the material was really great too! A lot of what we talked about the first day I will use in my classroom. I had never really thought about making stereotypes a topic in my classroom until i realized how obviously apparent they are in high schools. I think that by identifying the stereotypes that the students may or may not be aware of could maybe help them think about their own beliefs. It is definitely a topic that any student could do some form of writing on. I also really appreciated the how group 3 transitioned into stereotypes in the media and kind of gave an explanation as to why and where students get their stereotypes from. It isn't like students are directly taught about the different stereotypes, particularly the negative ones, but rather through many different types of media. Both activities, the commercials and the Disney clips, were really good ways to get students to think about how stereotypes are in our everyday lives. I liked the commercial activity because we were not told to pick a commercial that portrayed stereotypes, but almost everyones did. The Disney one was helpful too because the horribly negative stereotypes were so evident yet this is what children are introduced to at a very early age! I really enjoyed this group teach--there wasn't anything I would have changed about it! Great Job!

Dear Disney,

Dear Disney,
After viewing clips from Aladdin, Dumbo, and Peter Pan, I do not believe this material suitable for children, the targeted audience. I do not want my children to think that people from the middle east travel on camels wearing gigantic turbins in an underdeveloped country. I also don't want them to think that only black people, slaves, should be doing manual labor while the white man stands idle. Nor do I want any children under the impression that Native Americans are red and dumber than a white person. However, the visual images and songs that you have presented do just this. To market these movies to unsuspecting and very impressionable children should be a crime. You are largely responsible for influencing the youth into not only thinking about stereotypes but believing them. If this is their first representation from someone outside of their culture, it is a very poor one. Where these representations in the original written works? If they were, there was no need to write songs about them, unless you were specifically trying to trick the younger population into adopting your beliefs from a catchy little tune. You should have not incorporated such narrow minded views of any population including gender biases into a childrens movie. How will you change these views or edit them out of future movies? I would suggest not influencing children at very early ages to stereotyping any population of people different from their own. Not only is it offensive, but it is not true. Sincerely,
Ashley Wallace

Stereotypes...

I really liked the first activity from group #3 today. Throughout my high school experience, I was part of a "clique" and recognized that there were different groups of kids and even that they didn't all get along. Most of the time, we didn't get along because of the group or clique that each of us were a part of, not always because we just didn't like each other. Instead of just accepting the fact that their are different groups, I think as a teacher I will have a responsibility to know each of my students well enough to not just stereotype them but to actually get to know each students' personality traits. They may possess some qualities from a group, but most likely they will not be 100% matched with the stereotype I may have put them into before I got to know them. Getting to know your students individually is important, which is what my Indy teach will focus on!

The second part of the teach was really interesting to me. Commercialism is a large part of public schools now, but I have never noticed the stereotypes within that. Even the snickers commercial, with really obvious stereotypes, kinda went over my head because I wasn't thinking about stereotypes but rather a commercial that I enjoyed. I think that I will definitely pay closer attention to the reasons why students conform or are put into stereotypes particularly the medias influence. This would be a great lesson to introduce to students to get them thinking about stereotypes on a daily basis. It would be important to then let them think about stereotypes of students. Ryan gave a good example for an activity; using The Outsiders and then identifying each groups similarities and differences.

Comics in the Class!

So far, all of the Indy. Teaches have been really good. But I particularly liked Monday's class on using comic books/graphic novels in the classroom. The scenarios were really eye opening to the different cases where they would and would not be useful. I didn't even know what SSR was, so I never even thought about appropriate material for this timed reading. I think that I will allow comic books to be used, but I will have questions for the students who choose them to think about while they are reading them. Thanks for the Info!

If I were a boy...

So many times I have wished to be the opposite sex. I think it all peaked around fourth grade: not only was I in the middle of my horribly awkawrd years but it was the same year we had to watch a sex ed tape. I remember thinking, "boys have it so much easier." I should probably mention that I was in the "awkward stages" for much longer than anyone should have to be. I developed a little early, if you know what I mean. I also had really pudgy years, acne, the whole bit. So instead of trying to do something with myself, I decided I would rather be a boy so I dressed in baggy clothes and rarely brushed my hair. I figured that since I hung out with the boys and played sports with them and they were my friends, that it was okay to not try too hard to be girlie. Well, that resulted in me just looking like the dirty kid in class :). Yeah...my mom still brings the pictures out when I have anyone over. Now, I like being a girl minus the double standards. So what if I want to make out with a different guy every night at the bar. Why isn't this cool? If I were a guy, I would be awesome.

Snickers

A commercial that sticks out in my mind was aired during the last Superbowl. It was an advertisement for snickers candy bars. Two men were working and each ended up with a half of the snickers bar in their mouth, simulating them kissing. To prove they were still men, they then proceeded to rip out their chest hair. I thought that it was really funny. I don't eat too much chocolate, but with all of the different kinds of candy bars out there, I think that this commercial is memorable enough for people to pick snickers over another brand.

I love Harry Potter!

Education World-"Not Your Mother's Grammar Lessons"

The article I found was from the website Education World. It discussed important grammar related topics with an author. It pointed out that the issue most people outside of the education world believe to be debated is whether or not to teach grammar in schools. But the real controversy is over how to teach it. So many adults who grew up frustrated with how grammar was taught are now drawing more interest to the topic. Diagramming sentences should be things of the past, according to this author. She also beleives that not over using one particular technique could also help solve some of the frustration and hatred of grammar by so many students. I think that this is a key point. Not every student learns the same anyways. By trying several approaches, it may help promote all types of learners.

Image Grammar...

I really liked how Noden approached how to teach the art of image grammar through the five brish strokes. 1) the participle, 2)the absolute, 3) the appositive, 4) adjectives shifted out of order, and 5) action verbs. Before reading this, I had never heard of the brush strokes. The first example of adding a few ing words, participles, to the beginning of the sentence made the sentence more aciton packed and complex. I have, in my own writing, used this but I didn't know what it was called. I think that these techniques also help explain why and what these parts of speach are.

Rough Outline of Indy Teach...

Main Ideas/Title: (Fires in the Bathroom)
This book is co-authored by students in an attempt to give advice to their high school teachers. In my lesson, we will examine ways that teachers can make school relate to each one of their students to promote success.

Overview:
Special attention will be given to how to get to know your students well, classroom behavior, and creating a culture of success. We will also be putting ourselves in the positions of the students because thinking back to our own experiences can help us, as teachers, identify with what the students may be going through. Throughout the lesson, we will be looking at quotes from the co-authors of the book to get an understanding of the mentality of a high school student.

Essential Questions:

What signals can I send as a teacher to get them to know that I expect them to do well?

Is it better to be liked or respected?

How do we make high school something done by kids instead of something done to kids?

Activities:
At the beginning of the lesson, each person in class is going to fill out a questionaire suggested by the text, simulating the first day of a class, and then examine what is good or bad about it, and what a teacher could benefit from doing this activity with a class. After the discussion on creating a culture of success, each person in class will fill out another form describing a situation where they did not understand something. They will go through different questions about the situation, and then we will discuss how this will help us better understand and help our students. At the end of the lesson, we will talk about any disagreements from the book and problems that could arise from taking advice from our students. (all forms in lesson plan)

I hate red pens!

I can really relate to the vivid description of how it feels to get a paper back and you can no longer even see the ink on it any more. Instead, there are circles with lines extending from them to criticisms that are not even readable. ES. 395-say no more. It really does not help students, but instead is an over kill on the feedback. I also think it is funny that english teachers constantly complain about all of the homework and papers that need correcting, when they actually need to be cutting back on the time they spend releasing the fury of the red pen. Feedback on papers can be very helpful, as long as it is less intensive and not pointing out only the errors that have been made. Writing positive remarks on students' papers can do them just as much good as a correction could.

Resource Links...

I found a link to the website "Web English Teacher." Because my group teach is multi-genre, I found a lot of information on good projects to incorporate multi-genre writing in the classroom. This website also then gives you links to other ideas that stem from a multi-genre perspective.

Web English Teacher

I am From...

I am from tall cornfields, bonfires,
and home cooked meals.
I am from a town with friendly faces, farms,
and is traveled to in pick up trucks down dirt roads.

I am from large backyards with ponds, barbeques, and bug spray.
I am from fishing with my sister,
and the smell of the pig farm across the street.

I am from BP slushies and gas station pizza,
I am from chicken hanies, Knapps' burgers, and late night Taco Bell runs.
I am from kegs of beer that never end, and even the annual beer tent.

I am from Television parents.
Salute your Shorts, Wild and Crazy Kids, Hey Dude.
I am from Stick Stickly,
P.O. Box 163, New York City, New York State, 10108.

I can still hear "Don't knock it til you try it" and
Kenny Chesney blaring from trucks in the school parking lot.
I am from puking rally, and closed shops during football games.
I am from this place, movie quotes, sports, MIP's, family, friends, and great food,
Where everyone thinks we are better than you.

Starting to Write 2

The passage that I chose to write from discussed free writing or the "discovery draft."

"Often I don't know what has been written in my head so I write a discovery draft....In writing a discovery draft, I type as fast as I can, sometimes with the computer screen turned off. The important thing is to hear the flow of text."

This is just a few ideas from the passage, but it stood out to me because this phase, what the writer refers to as the discovery draft, is my favorite part of writing something. I am a big believer in the process rather than the product so I usually repeat the same steps for each paper I write. Doing the first draft gets any ideas I have down on paper and lets me write without having to worry about he grammatical aspect of the paper. I hand write rather than type and it really gives me a feeling of confidence once I see how much I actually had to write. After completing this phase, there are times when I may even change the entire original thesis because of one sentence that I jotted down that seemed enough to pursue.

Chapters 1

Daniels and Bizar:

My understanding of the Best Practice Teacing is implementing a structure, as a teacher, within the school that produces students who have a sense of critical thinking, decision making, independance, and a clear concept of the material that was taught. In short, Best Practice Teaching is the definition of what most people would say a "good" teacher is. This method consists of seven building blocks including reading as thinking, representing to learn, small group activities, classroom workshop, authentic experiences, reflective assignments, and intregrative units. These can be used some of this time, most of the time, overlapping, etc. Best Practice Teaching is truly based on a student centered classroom. It is not lecturing, sitting, listening, rewarding for silence, "busy work," or emphasizing standardized testing. This method could be easily incorporated into an English class or any other subject really. I would use this by doing several group activities. Bringing the class to gether to brain storm for paper topics or having a class act out a scence from a book they read could create a sense of community among the students.

Murray:

To be a write can mean a list of things to many different people. I think that after reading this chapter, to be a writer means to expand the experiences in your life. A writer gets to analyze the things that they are doing or life experiences that have occured. Sometimes things happen so nonchalantly that by writing about them or being inspired by them gives the writer a chance to reflect on what has actually really happened. A quote that stuck out to me was, "I started to write because of a terrible feeling of powerlessness: I felt I was drifting obscure, and I rebelled against that." This stood out to me because throughout day to day living I sometimes feel the attitude of people not caring encircling me. I realize that just as I don't care about others personal struggles at times, they also don't care but about me, which makes me feel like I could be invisible to most. When I write, I get so tangled in what is being written and my own thoughts that it is a nice feeling of empowerment.