What it is & what it was.

So what now?

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:15:21 -0400

One of the things that I have prayed vehemently for since I began my career journey in 2009, which is the same time that I became the parent of a toddler, is patience. Four years later, I am still asking for wisdom, strength, and you guessed it, PATIENCE!

It’s hard for me to not be in control of my future, especially considering how out of control I was in my distant past. This is something that I have identified within myself: control equates to success whereas out-of-control equates to disaster. What I forget is that I can only control myself, not my surroundings. So how to I keep trudging along and holding steadfast to my positivity and dreams when, seemingly, I am encountering nothing but disappointment, rejection, and frustrations? And just where is that patience I have been praying for?!

I want to be a positive force in the classroom, but I feel like I may never have that opportunity considering the ambiguous, and somewhat perilous, state of education. I doubt myself and the choices I have made because I am 30 and I am still working part-time. Yes, I am teaching and am insanely happy, proud, thankful to be doing so…but I want more. I am not satisfied with taking what I can get.

It all boils down to the fact that I really thought that I’d have it all figured out by now…that I’d really have my sh!t together at this point in my life. As it turns out, I am more confused now than I have ever been in my life. Why can’t I have what I want? Why can’t I have it my way?

The honest reality of the situation is something I find myself shyly grappling with: what if my life is destined to be something completely different than what I intended for it to be? What if it’s not patience that I need, but direction? Maybe my internal compass has gone all wonky after the devastating things I experienced in 2009. If it is, how do I fix it? What do I pray for now? Is this settling, or graciously accepting what is for what it is?

I am not an extremely vocal religious person, and I do not attend church regularly. It makes me extremely uncomfortable. However, I do believe in my higher power as well as the power of prayer. I’d like to know what you pray for when your light flickers, yet you refuse to let it go out.

laurkondesigns: Laurkon Designs on Etsy....

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:31:27 -0400

laurkondesigns:

Laurkon Designs on Etsy. $7

Printable.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/150651221/printable-keep-your-face-always-toward?ref=shop_home_active

mei ☯ mei: Peppermint Schnapps

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:18:08 -0400

mei ☯ mei: Peppermint Schnapps:

in2itive:

He was tequila and you were the lime that relieved the pain from that bitter time.

I was the bartender,
minding mine,
when you approached me
with that played-out line.

“You must be candy, for you have the sweetest face.”
So I poured him a drink
just to give him a taste.

I rolled my eyes…

bored-meetings: Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:17:48 -0400

bored-meetings:

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

10 Ways to Fight Standardization « Cooperative Catalyst

Sun, 11 Nov 2012 18:17:04 -0500

10 Ways to Fight Standardization « Cooperative Catalyst:

cooperativecatalyst:

The sage is the one who calmly reshapes the system, gaining the respect of the power brokers and deal-makers. The lunatic, by contrast, rages against the system, speaking out boldly for what he or she sees as inhuman and unjust.

Sage Approach

Communicate Results: I hate the tests. However, I recognize that standardized teaching occurs at such a low cognitive level that authentic learning will almost always lead to higher test scores. People thought I was crazy for using customized and authentic learning strategies until they saw the test results. It gave me a bit of a “free card.”

Be Sneaky: When told to create a word wall, I used the word “asinine” next to “standardized tests.” When told I had to use the math book, I had students examine the pseudocontext of the word problems.

Use Their Language: I learned to talk about data as I explained the authentic assessments. I learned to structure customized learning into lesson plans under “enrichment” and “intervention.” I learned to find the standards that fit with differentiated instruction. In other words, I found a way to do what I wanted to do and use standardized language to explain it.

Decide When To Conform: I tell my administration each year that I will not write referrals. I will refer to procedures are “shared rituals” and I will work within a philosophy of “the freedom to learn.” My class runs smoothly, precisely because I abandon the system of punishments and rewards. However, I also recognize that I have to grudgingly follow silly rules like shirts tucked in, straight lines and silence during tests. I explain to the students why I disagree with these rules and why I choose to conform on some of the small things. I use the following litmus test: Will this ruin learning? Will this dehumanize students?

Find Common Ground: Often the proponents of standardization are not mean-spirited people who hate kids. Instead, they want students to thrive and fear that a progressive approach will water down standards. A sage is able to build a bridge between traditional reformers and authentic reformers so that people see a rational side to our argument.

Lunatic Approach

Reconfigure your class: I use groups, allow for movement and create specialized centers that students can go to at any moment. My students paint classroom murals and works of art on classroom canvases. All of these are small, subtle steps toward humanizing our classroom environment.

Teach the Reality of Tests: I tell my kids about the rigged system they are up against. Many of them have written letters speaking out against these injustices.

Speak Out: I talk to parents, district office representatives and the larger blogging community about my feelings regarding standardization. I’ve written a book and a guest article for the Washington Post blog.

Be Bold: When people told me that students needed to hand-write all drafts before using our classroom blog, I defiantly refused. When a curriculum specialist once told me that we couldn’t do a documentary, because it wasn’t “real learning,” I told her I would rather lose my job than give up the project. There is a time when teachers need to stand up and say, “Okay, write me up. Fire me. Go ahead. This is too valuable of a learning experience to give up.”

Provide an Alternative: While it’s easy to bust on professional development, the lunatic can articulate a crazy vision of a better method of teacher learning (such as a PLN). Similarly, a teacher who hates standardized tests needs to have a list of alternative assessments that work better. In a Waiting for Superman world, it’s key that we create a non-standard, alternative story that will be more compelling, authentic and inspiring than what’s currently being peddled by the press.

True Story

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:55:00 -0500

A nugget for you that is not for school or a repost. It’s me : )

And now I have forgotten that ever important, pressing thought that I just had to log on to post about. However moving and thoroughly consuming, that thing must have been a true flicker in the wind that is my mind. Maybe I should listen to forgetting more than trying so desperately to remember. There is significance in losing sight after all. Now that’s powerful.

Exposure is what it’s all about anyway, right?

10 Ways to Treat Acne Naturally

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 21:06:01 -0500

10 Ways to Treat Acne Naturally:

Really interesting alternatives for skin care. There are a few on this list that I feel confident enough to try. Let me know what you think?

Presentation 2-ENG 571

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:16:00 -0400

This presentation focuses on sponsors and the various ways that they exist in the literacy narratives and personal histories of students. The way in which I structure significant information from this course supports the topic of my final paper, which is addressed at the end of the presentation.

http://www.box.net/shared/g42gqtj61k83mkugvt9z

my creative soul

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:46:32 -0400

People need to be reminded that their creativity is THEIR’S and therefore unlike any other’s. They won’t be able to draw, write, paint, design, create like anyone else, but they can do so like only they can. Imitation is a sincere form of flattery. What it is not is a direct reflection of one’s true talent nor pure and original. Creativity is a form of both release and expression. It’s good for the soul. Everyone possesses these creative qualities and abilities; it’s just a question of how to awaken and evoke it out of hiding.

Said by a true professional. hungoverowls: “I’m going to have...

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:30:23 -0400

Said by a true professional.

hungoverowls:

“I’m going to have to log off my twitter and my tumblr and all that shit for a couple hours. I can’t really deal with how stupid everybody is right now.”

RR5-week 8 on the topic of textbooks

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:53:28 -0400

The first semester that I taught college orientation, I literally dissected the textbook issued for the course to create my lectures and design Lessons, activities, and assignments. It was basically my scope and sequence because I had no clue about what to teach nor did I have any directional instruction or guidance to work with. That text book was my most valuable teaching aide. Fast forward several semesters later and here I sit still using those meticulous notes scribbled in the margins of my trusty text and outlines structuring my class lectures. However, there is an additional element at play concerning my planning and instruction today-experience. With this experience, I am able to add student reliability, real-world connections, and personal anecdotes in my teaching. Without that textbook, though, I would not have been able to become so comfortable and knowledgeable about the course content I teach.

In an article I recently read about tutor and their learning experiences, Galbraith and Winterbottom report that by reorganizing and transforming knowledge, tutors are exposing themselves to information in a variety of in-depth and cognitively significant ways (329). Through this repetition of processing information and knowledge to assist their tutees, the tutor is actually gaining better comprehension and mastery of the content. I think this true for teachers of writing, too. Personally, I am not comfortable with all of the discourse rules, styles, and modes not the discipline specific theories, terminology, or history. I think that given some time and experience, textbooks and the act of teaching will help me to overcome this discomfort and eventually master the basic principles of my domain.

From the instructor standpoint, I view textbooks as a resource or reference for teaching. From the student standpoint, I view textbooks, in all their various forms, as sources of factual, historical, and informative knowledge. Bloom talks about how Oprah is a canon for American contemporary works with her book list suggestions and how teachers influence the canon through their course reading selections (947). To this I question can textbooks, as canons, act as sponsors of academic literacy? According to Carr et al., yes indeed they can because “virtually every literate person encounters” them, these “ubiquitous and rare” books that have been “battered and consumed by successive generations of students” (109).

As I reflect about my professional opinion and appreciation of textbooks, I think about the days I spent in grade school with textbooks and the range of sentiments they inspired. Feeling completely overwhelmed with reading page after dreadful page in my twelfth grade economics book; being truly excited to move to the next story in my second grade reader; experiencing the inquisitiveness of new discovery in my eighth grade physical science book; the sense of accomplishment in annotating and writing about a particularly moving piece found in my freshman literature book. All of the instances that I can recall have molded my attitudes toward specific discipline reading, writing, and learning.

P.S.-To this day, I struggle to read history, government, and economic books while I thoroughly enjoy texts from the sciences and in literature. Interesting, don’t you think? J

Works Cited:

Bloom, Lynn Z. “The Essay Cannon.” The Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009. 945-972. Print.

Carr, Jean Ferguson, Stephen L. Carr, and Lucille M. Schultz. “from Archives of Instruction: Nineteenth-Century Rhetorics, Readers, and Composition Books in the United States.” The Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009. 108-118. Print.

Galbraith, Jonathan and Mark Winterbottom. “Peer-tutoring: what’s in it for the tutor?” Educational Studies 37.3 (2011): 321-332. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Oct. 2011.

RR4-Connecting with Mayo: Then and Now

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:22:00 -0400

This week’s reading provided me with a wonderful reflective and connective opportunity. The history of Old ET, now TAMU-C, and William Mayo is something that I am not well-informed about. I found this particular chapter of the book to be more interesting than the rest because it is directly related to me in that I am a student at TAMU-C. That being said, I enjoyed identifying commonalities, the origins of, and the links between my current course work and the many aspects of education established by Mayo. His convictions, beliefs, and pedagogies concerning education still shine through in the learning and instruction that takes place today.

Mayo believed that using multiple textbooks as opposed to one because it would extend and deepen research and topic study (123). We are doing that now in this very course. This not only expands our knowledge on the topic from many points of view but it also instills the value in perspective taking in developing our teaching abilities. The more you know, right? Our text books serve as more of a reference source as opposed to what is taught (138-139). I feel like selecting a topic and reading various texts on said topic promotes a diverse learning experience filled with interesting discussions and student contributions. It’s a valuable learning experience for me and I love that it is something that has always been a part of my school.

Another current-day connection I immediately recognized is the importance of public speaking. This is still very much a challenge for many students today. Mayo’s “emphasis on oral production…grounded in the belief that students-and future teachers-needed to be able to ‘get up and talk’ in public” is prevalent in my life on a daily basis (136). This is something that I both experience and assist certain the students that I tutor with as well. Crystal and I meet each Friday to work on her speech assignments. Not only do we focus on topics and brainstorming, flow and structure, grammatical and mechanical issues, but also oral presentation. She wants to speak clearly and academically so that she is taken seriously and, of course, receives a good grade. In my daily instruction, I review what I will teach and how, what points I will expand on, where I will invoke student feedback, but most importantly the way I say it, the word choice I will use, the tone of voice needed, and the overall oral presentation I select. For me, oral production is the primary concern at this point. I know the material I am teaching, but if I cannot deliver it appropriately and confidently, then I am failing my students and myself.

Basically, I think it’s really significant that Mayo’s methods and beliefs about education are still in practice today, albeit modernized or altered to fit current purposes, they are just as effective now as they were then.

Works Cited

Gold, David. Rhetoric at the Margins: Revising the History of Writing Instruction in American Colleges, 1873-1947. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University, 2008.

RR3

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:07:05 -0400

Extending the topic of student variation, I’d like to explore the theory of personalized instruction. This is a major part of my philosophy of teaching and something that I firmly believe in, encourage, and actively employ in my instruction. In order to personalize instruction, you have to get personal; discovering the individual student is essential.

Observing my students in my classes, I see variations in physical characteristics and appearance, obviously. However, I tell my students “I don’t care who you are, where you come from, what color you are, or how much money you do or don’t have. I might admire your shoes, though, but that’s only because I really love shoes. What matters to me, what sets you apart from the rest of the group, what defines you and makes you different to me is your work, your willingness to learn, your engagement, and participation in the learning process.” I let them know what’s important and therefore how they can succeed.

That being said, identifying my students’ educational variation is not as simple. It is not until I get the chance to interact with their intellect that I can determine student competencies and deficiencies. From Brandt, I realize that it is not just the student artifacts, the work they compose, that matters, but also their personal literacy narratives. I have found that where you have been is just as important as where you are going. In some instance, writing in particular, where you’ve been determines where and how to go to further develop skills.

Since I am a novice, I greatly appreciate Fitzgerald’s piece concerning the historical background of normal schools and pedagogy related to teacher education and writing instruction. The informative nature of the piece is valuable but more so is that it reinforces my personal theories and philosophies on teaching. Pastalozzi’s “object lesson” pedagogy is a “child-centered psychology that trusted the child’s intuitive powers based on experience and reason” (176). My theory of personalized instruction is similar in that it is student-centered and creates a starting point for effective instruction generated from the student’s needs, base knowledge, and attitudes on writing.

What I find so stimulating about the texts that we have been reading is that there is no one wrote way to teach writing. That gives me hope and motivation to get out there at put myself to work! Gold, Shaughnessy, Brandt, Ritter, and the others may share commonalties but their overall methodology and approach vary. That’s the beauty of it; variation. It is everywhere so why not take advantage of it? As Fitzgerald says, “It is important to triangulate-to look for other opportunities and possibly more direct windows into the classroom” (179). Personalizing instruction moves from an umbrella to a triangulated approach that is student centered. To me, that’s just as exciting as shoes (and that says a lot).

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, Kathryn. “A Rediscovered Tradition: European Pedagogy and Composition in Nineteenth-Century Midwestern Normal Schools.” The Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009. 171-192. Print.

Presentation 1

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:21:00 -0400

Variation in basic writing is represented in this presentation as the students, personal experiences and literacy narratives, and the location and context in which writing occurs. To break down barriers created by literacy accumulation and experiences, instructors must understand their students in order to personalize writing instruction.

http://www.box.net/shared/mq081657fhnalhyf9lz6

Joyful Abandon: Kick the Addictive Illusion

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 15:51:39 -0400

Joyful Abandon: Kick the Addictive Illusion:

Not mine but I liked enough to “steal” it. Enjoy.

lazyyogi:

“For most of us, and for most of modern culture, the body is principally seen as the object of our ego agendas, the donkey for the efforts of our ambitions. The donkey is going to be thin, the donkey is going to be strong, the donkey is going to be a great yoga practitioner, the donkey is…

Photo

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:53:26 -0400

Who wants to come with me?

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:36:41 -0400

Who wants to come with me?

I really really need this for my late night reading sessions.

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:53:28 -0400

I really really need this for my late night reading sessions.

hungoverowls: “All I have to do is sit at my desk for the next...

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:29:23 -0400

hungoverowls:

“All I have to do is sit at my desk for the next six hours and not vomit, cry, or die. This shouldn’t be this hard.”

Capitalizing on Student Errors (ENG 571-RR2)

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:19:00 -0400

Higher education is a fast paced world of intelligence designed to promote the upward movement of individuals and society. According to Shaushnessy, there are three types of students that pursue higher education: the college ready group, the mediocre, capable but not always willing, group, and the group of “those who had been so far behind the others in their formal education that they appeared to have little chance of catching up, students whose difficulties with the written language seemed of a different order” than their peers and barely met the basic of high-school literacy standards (388). This last group is what I would classify a remedial or basic writer as and I see them in my classroom every semester. I see students that are perfect examples of every one of these groups, actually. So when I came across Rose’s questions about “the kind of society we want to foster” and who and how many do “we want to have access” to higher learning and if college is intended for everyone, I found myself in great analysis (125).

College may not be intended for everyone based on design and curriculum, but everyone deserves the opportunity to give it a try. Before some students can succeed in college, they are in serious need of help. Diagnostic testing is in place to determine the level of college readiness of students. Being the former testing center coordinator at my campus, I worked directly with students explaining their test scores and their placement in developmental courses. It’s true what Rose says that “remedial programs are necessary if we want to educate” and progress (125). It’s also true what Shaushnessy says that instead of sectioning students off based on their problems, we should approach the use of student weaknesses along with the errors they make as an opportunity to effectively focus on how to prepare them to write in college (396). Focusing on their weaknesses and creating teachable moments maximizes the potential for learning and effectively improving a student’s skill set in any content area.

As a teacher, I want to know my students areas of weakness. I want to know that Annie struggles with transferring abstract concepts into statements because she was never made to critically think about what she was reading and that Jake is a comma abuser because he has always been a low level reader that pauses frequently while reading. To me, knowing the source of the problem is the salient factor in finding a solution. In short, it makes remediation less of a repetitive practice and more off a personalized lesson addressing specific needs. This theory of capitalizing on error benefits the student most because they are receiving rich and meaningful instruction that promote development and skill achievement in the areas where they need it most. This kind of teaching can reformulate college as being intended for any student seeking higher education.

Works Cited

Rose, Mike. “The Language of Exclusion: Writing Instruction at the University.” The Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009. 586-604. Print.

Rose, Mike. Why School. New York: The New Press, 2009. Print.

Shaughnessy, Mina P. “Introduction to Errors and Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic Writing.” The Norton Book of Composition Studies. Ed. Susan Miller. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009. 387-396. Print.