Krakauer's "Into the Wild"

          Growing up with a very outdoorsy family had made me a nature lover and wild child by association. "Into the Wild" had resonated with me on that level as I understood Chris's need to find himself by getting lost. I don't necessarily mean lost as in, no idea where his orientation is, but needed to lose all associations, ties, expectations that come along with being a human of society. I believe Chris felt a need to reinvent himself and all his past values in order to feel enlightened and morph into the best version of himself that he could find. 

          This story embodies people trying to reinvent themselves and grow by challenging themselves. This concept is perfect to work into the classroom as students are still learning and growing and trying to figure out who they are. "Into the Wild" attracts a different crowd of readers that thirst for adventure but fails to be captured by fiction. This book is a good in-between for concepts such as individualism, existentialism, naturalism and applying them to your student's real lives. It tells a tale of someone actually doing what they dream of and applying these concepts that we often drone on about in class. 

          Chris sparks a sleeping wanderlust in most of the readers of the novel but also stands to be a testament of what we can work on individually. Chris was a person and people are flawed. One thing the author continues to point out is the fact that Chris had struggled taking and applying feedback/advice. Someone can argue that that was his Hamartia which ultimately caused his death. Someone else can argue that this is what made Chris unique and thirst to learn more about life unquenchable. Teaching this story can show that there is more than simply learning in school. Learning also applies to taking risks and learning from your (and other's) mistakes. 

Edgar Allan Poe Isn't Always the "Bees Knees"

          I don't know of anyone that doesn't enjoy the thrilling and ghoulish stories from Edgar Allan Poe. They're suspenseful and enthralling which are important points to consider when trying to teach literature, and complex literature at that, to a young audience. As English Language Arts teachers, it is easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of the story and force that love of literature and all its elements on our students. However, I will discuss some downsides to teaching Poe to middle and high school students. It is important to keep in mind that I am not writing this with the intention to dissuade anyone from teaching Poe all together. My goal is for those that plan on teaching to be aware that there are limitations of Poe's text versatility, despite what we have been force fed over the years. 

          First, it is essential that we keep in mind of our audience. As exciting as many of us find the stories, there is a specific age group where teaching Poe's text is most effective. If you try to teach the literary aspects of the stories to too young of students then there is a strong possibility that you may lose their attention and drive for the story. Poe's diction is complex and difficult to understand for a lot of younger students (by younger, I mean middle school and possibly freshmen). As a former student who didn't have an expansive vocabulary at the time, I understand the struggle of having to look up a new word every other sentence just to try to understand what is going on in the plot. This doesn't even apply to the work I had to do to understand what is going on between the lines. I praise Poe's stories for being a challenge and it had made me a better student because of it, however it is important to keep in mind as a teacher that you need to give ample time to go over vocabulary and give an overview of the plot. 

          A final note I feel is worth mentioning is the versatility of Poe's text. Yes, they are engaging (if you do it correctly) and an easy go-to to teach components of a story such as diction, point of view, symbols, personification. But as it turns out, a lot of Poe's texts lack a moral or impactful themes that are worth using on an older audience (junior and seniors in my opinion). At this point in their education, the text would be best used as examples for other assignments such as a persuasive essay.

          Again, I want to say I am all on the Poe train! However, we as teachers often overlook the difficulties that students face if we do not tailor teaching curriculum for the correct age group and lessons. There are a lot of teaching material out there that makes learning 100 times more engaging for students because of the excitement in Edgar Allan Poe's text and to utilize that would show the actions of a resourceful teacher. Please, just keep in mind that not everyone is in love with English as we are.

"The Round House" by Louise Erdrich

          This amazing story covers many themes that are considered difficult to discuss in a classroom. It discusses sex, race, and religion extensively all of which are "taboo" subjects to bring up in a secondary level classroom. However, if you feel you can mediate the conversation well enough, these are vital subjects that students need to learn to confront, decide their stance, and actively listen to opposing views because these themes are ongoing throughout life. Knowing how to confront difficult situations like those that occur in the story and approach difficult conversations is how we prepare our students for the outside world. 

          The first theme that occurred to me while reading this story was the injustice to not only the Native Americans people, but specifically the Native American women. This is a subject that does not gain enough coverage and often overlooked even in today's culture. In the book, many men both white and Native, abused the Native women both mentally and physically. This repeating message to the reader makes us take notice to the injustice being done to those oppressed by their male counterparts.

          Another theme I had seen begin to take place in "The Round House" was that of religion. It is no secret that the Catholicism and different Native American tribe's religions have clashed since Americans had forced cultural assimilation on the latter. More often than not, Catholicism had forbidden usage of the Native's first language and practice of their religion. Although there are some references to this clash in cultures, there was nothing outright stating the wrongdoings of the Christian church. In fact, Erdrich had presented both religions as beneficial to the well being of the people. I am unsure if she had wrote the novel on purpose with this intent or if she chose to not embellish one religion over the other but this would be a good discussion point with a classroom and possibly her reasoning behind it.  

edTPA: Making Good Choices

        Being a WA state teacher candidate comes with it's fair share of anxieties. Apart from being prepared to teach a classroom, the precaution and planning it takes to fill out each lesson plan most effectively is an extensive process. There are a lot of components that make up the TPA format but the focus lies on how you teach your lesson plans. This article helps significantly with breaking down what is expected of you when turning in your edTPA and understanding how you are getting graded. This reflects what we should expect from our students when giving out rubrics so this way there are no surprises for them when they are finally graded on their products. 

        In order to get the most out of your time, it is vital that you do not procrastinate. It is important that your students get your best effort when planning your lesson plans. The mechanics of a sentence isn't graded (grammar, spelling, etc.) but rather the depth of your content. However, to be taken seriously as a teacher, and ELA teacher no less, I think that it is vital to double check your grammar and spelling before submitting your final product of your TPA. 

       One of my main questions that was answered through the article was what to include along with the TPA? I knew that you have to include videos of you teaching, student work, and proof of assessments, but I was unclear of how in depth each should be. Now knowing the intricacies of what to add and how to best display my learning along with a wide variety of my students learning, I feel confident that I can succeed at the edTPA. 

Social Justice in the Classroom

What I read to get acquainted with Social Justice
How to implement Social Justice in the classroom
        In my eyes, Social Justice is incorporating the real world with your classroom. It is promoting real interaction with people and discussions in order to help a problem. Before this happens, they need to learn how to have an argument which is a statement of facts to solve a problem. There are not many other opportunities where students are able to discuss and persuade in a safe environment outside of the ELA classroom; As an English teacher, it is important that we realize the important task that we are dealt to teach these students. 
        To begin with, students need to be able to discern fact from fiction. This incorporates a lot of research which adds to their skills. Aside from persuasion, it is also vital that we teach student how to listen to one another. This may be purely to notice a mistake in the other person's facts or to notice fault in their conclusion. One step above this, in my opinion, would be actively listening to see if their stance changes. This creates the environment of being co-learners rather than adversaries. You need to foster an environment that is conscience so students will be able to step back and look at a single problem many different ways. Once this community is established, bringing in real life issues that affect the students now would be the next best step. 
         It is vital to remember that the goal is to solve and issue and irradiate any inequality that may exist. By implementing Social Justice, you're not only challenging students to build their arguments and see from multiple points of views, but you're preparing them for a future outside of school. You're teaching them academic and critical skills that are necessary to resolve real differences in the world. 

Popular Culture and Critical Media Pedagogy in Secondary Literacy Classrooms

         As a future teacher, a fear that I have is not being able to help all my students. Or, even worse, is to look as some student as “unteachable” and not know how to help them. This article had helped point out to me that if it comes down to that situation, it is not the student who needs help, but myself. If a student is failing to learn, it is because the material doesn’t resonate with them and/or I am not teaching it in a way that best suits them. The fact that the Hip-Hop Project was made up of students that struggled academically speaks volumes to how far troubled students can go with the right curriculum tailored to their needs and a willing teacher to take extra time with them. Some of the biggest points that the students had pointed out was the lack of student voice when it comes to schoolwork. If the curriculum doesn’t reflect student experiences, they aren’t going to relate to it and I won’t get the results I was hoping for as a teacher. For tougher kids that come from a difficult background, this is essential. As secondary education advances, so should the curriculum. 

         Yes, I think it is important to teach classic literature but finding a way to incorporate that into the student’s daily life is far more important. Thinking outside the box for teaching reading and writing may fall under analyzing pop culture lyrics and how themes in certain songs reflect similar themes in literature. This allows students to bring knowledge that they already know ahead of time to the table and be able to apply it and contribute to the class. On top of this, they will enjoy being engaged with something they enjoy as it touches their daily life. 

Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”

The role of a teacher is to prepare students for the real world outside of school. These include other skills rather than just reading, writing, math, and fact about the solar system or how many bones are in the body. With this methodology of teaching, students come with a “helpless” mentality and expect the teacher to simply teach them a new “school skill.” And because of this, many teachers teach to this school skill rather than to life skills. In life we don’t encounter having to write a persuasive essay daily but we do have to face difficult decisions. These decisions might come in the form moral dilemma, facing racism, or interpersonal skills to help someone other than yourself.

The more teachers set up this illusion of “this ‘school skill’ will help you later in life,” it not only discredits the school system we have in place but destroys the creativity that comes with real life problem solving. This leaves us with a conditioned next generation that expects the answers to land in their laps just like the information did in the previous 18 years of their life. This isn’t only a disservice to the next generation of adults but to ourselves as we helped raise a nation of people that do not find beauty in math or original thoughts that can cause a revolution. These authentic thoughts are what gives life meaning. Who are we to deny that right to students?

As English teachers, we have the ability to enter endless amounts of worlds, problems, and solutions. We have to use this gift as a tool to teach students to simply think for themselves and as daunting as that might be at times, that is the only way we can come up with new solutions to our ever-changing world.

Book Talk- "Refugee" by Alan Gratz

1.               Please include a detailed description of the text.

 The novel is broken into three different third person perspectives - Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud and the story follows in that order, and repeats. Each perspective is a few pages, then changes to the next perspective where the story last left off.

A)    Josef’s story is that of a Jewish boy in Nazi ran Germany beginning in 1938 and about his family’s journey to escaping to Cuba. As his family encounters new problems there and getting turned away in the United States, Josef is forced to return to war-torn Europe, specifically Nazi-invaded France.

B)    Isabel lives in Havana in 1994 but her family and neighbors are forced to leave Cuba overnight in a quickly crafted boat destined for Miami. They encounter many difficulties that include being pursued by the police, marooned, the boat flooding. They land in the Bahamas but are forced to turn around as her mother goes into labor on the boat. Isabel finally reaches Florida’s shores but not without sacrifice from her family.

C)    Mahmoud is from Aleppo Syria in 2015 but the war desolates his house forcing his family to relocate to Turkey. They are forced to leave everything behind and only granted temporary pass into Turkey, leaving them homeless. In order to make their voyage into Greece, Mahmoud’s family are smuggled on a raft where difficulties arise and are separated from each other. Upon making it to Germany, Mahmoud’s mother and him were taken in by Josef’s sister.

2.      Please explain why you chose this text. What was your rationale? For whom is this text appropriate? Please consider age, ability, and any other factor you find important. Why is it appropriate for this group of students?

I had chosen this text because it shows three different perspectives of kids of similar age and circumstances, but only different generations and cultures. It shows the gravity of taking care of those in need and it is not different from 1938 to present day. Compassion and empathy is vital for human survival and this is important to express to young adults. Anywhere from 8^th grade and up this text would be ideal because of the simple text but the heavy subject addressed.

3.      Please include some teaching ideas.

You can use this book for important discussions pertaining to the human condition and if this is a reoccurring issue with refugees, if we can help stop this pattern and if so, how? Another alternative would be to dissect the story into its components and teach about the plot, summary, theme, and character development being there are three different options to choose from in this one book and how they might compare to each other. A final option would be to make this into a research project that requires students to find other stories of refugees in the present day and perhaps bring in options for non-profits as we help raise funds/awareness to current events.

4.      Please consider some challenges to using this text. Administration, student, parent responses?

Possible challenges that may arise could be the difficulty with bringing different race and cultures into the classroom; there may be students and family members that oppose being inclusive and other problems that may accompany the sensitive topics of race, religion, and gender. I do not foresee this book being an issue with administration as it is important to shed light on current problems for students in a safe environment and this book is a good, first foot in the door for bringing up these discussions in class.

Book Talk- "The Sea Wolf" by Jack London

1.               Please include a detailed description of the text.

The Sea Wolf tells the story of a soft, domesticated protagonist — in this novel's case an intellectual man named Humphrey van Weyden — forced to become tough and self-reliant by exposure to cruelty and brutality. The story starts with him aboard a San Francisco ferry, called Martinez, which collides with another ship in the fog and sinks. He is set adrift in the Bay, eventually being picked up by Wolf Larsen. Larsen is the captain of a seal-hunting schooner, the Ghost. Brutal and cynical, yet also highly intelligent and intellectual (though highly biased in his opinions, as he was self-taught), he rules over his ship and terrorizes the crew with the aid of his exceptionally great physical strength. Van Weyden adequately describes him as an individualist, hedonist, and materialist. Larsen does not believe in the immortality of the soul, he finds no meaning in his life save for survival and pleasure and has come to despise all human life and deny its value. Being interested in someone capable of intellectual disputes, he somewhat takes care of Van Weyden, whom he calls 'Hump', while forcing him to become a cabin boy, do menial work, and learn to fight to protect himself from a brutal crew.

2.      Please explain why you chose this text. What was your rationale? For whom is this text appropriate? Please consider age, ability, and any other factor you find important. Why is it appropriate for this group of students?

I had chosen this text because it was my first introduction into analyzing literature. Themes that are seen throughout the book are evolution vs. de-evolution, physical and spiritual maturation, and philosophical materialism (material vs. spiritual). This is a great introductory book into deeper thinking as it provides many different avenues of approach and no given “correct” answers which encourages synthesizing from the students. Most of the topics are light but existential which targets a more mature and focused group therefore I would suggest 10^th grade and higher to read this novel. It has a still incredibly engaging with the story’s adventure which keeps the attention of “lower level” readers very well.

3.      Please include some teaching ideas.

You can use this book for introducing topics from people such as Nietzsche (nihilism), Darwin (evolution), and Schoepenhauser (philosophical pessimism). These philosophers and writers embody an overarching Naturalistic point of view which Jack London shares. Another option would be a character analysis to see progression/digression as “Hump” and Wolf Larsen transforms throughout the story. Finally, a useful lesson would be writing arguments to defend/oppose claims within the text and use textual evidence.

4.      Please consider some challenges to using this text. Administration, student, parent responses?

The content of the text is very age appropriate and strays away from most sensitive topics. However, although the language used within the reading is simple, the deeper meanings are not. It is easy to get carried away with the story line which can be used to your benefit to maintain the attention of the students. On the otherhand, you need to keep students focused on the ideas and themes within the story as these are discussion points that can easily go over some student’s heads.

Parents Guide to Standards Based Grading and Secondary Standards Based Grading

The parent’s guide to standards based grading is insightful and helpful to those that want to be involved with their child’s learning but have either preconceived notions about standard based grading or don’t understand the system and need a good beginning point. And because this is local to the Spokane Public Schools, it is good to know that there is a consistent system within the many schools here. It did discuss in Section Six about the impact of zeros on a student’s grade. By taking zeros out of an equation, it brings up the overall average of a student’s grade and boosts their confidence knowing they’re averaging okay. However, this replaces the average grade with the most current trend and achievement of the student’s ability. Yes, I think this is beneficial but it is also important to know past assignments and subjects that the student had struggled with. By taking out that assignment completely, it gives a student an almost false sense of confidence as their grades do not correctly portray their efforts.

Moving on to assessment and evaluating student’s learning, many good points were brought up with the standardized testing dilemma. With Language Arts, it is difficult to have standardized tests because this instills the “correct answer” thinking with students when this subject is far from it. English and literature is a very complex subject with many different interpretations for a “correct answer,” making testing the ability of the students difficult. By asking open ended questions and discussions that open student’s frame of thinking, this is what will benefit them in thinking out complex situations later on in life. Because there are so many different interpretations, it is important as a teacher to try to keep the thought process of the students on track though and a rubric can be helpful with this. It keeps a broad overview of what is expected while allowing freedom and creativity to still be present in the classroom.

California Common Core State Standards Assignment Template

             The CCSS for California outlines the structure in which teachers can help students learn to read and write rhetorically. I had noticed that this happens in precise steps where there is critical reading and discussing of a certain text takes place before the writing process begins. Before students jump right in to reading the actual text though, the article talks about a type of warm-up or “prereading.” This includes including the student’s point of view and connecting their personal world to that of the texts. This can be seen as discussing key concepts that may lie ahead in the reading, describing specific words/phrases, surveying the text, and making predictions based on the survey. I think that it is incredibly important to include this prereading in a classroom setting as it is VERY difficult for students to do this work alone. And this prepping to read is vital in order to get them in the right headspace in order to delve into the assigned reading. This maximizes the amount of information students might gain from reading the text.

As a teacher, it is important to constantly ask precise questions that encourage understanding and acknowledgement of the structure. By doing exercises that point out what good writing looks like, either literary or educational, they will gain understanding of what their writing should look like. This helps them transfer their reading into writing. I thoroughly enjoyed the exercise of reading “with the grain” the “against the grain” as it pushes students to look at the text from different point of views. Postreading is an often overlooked necessity in the classroom. This step in the reading process ensures students remember what they had read and reword it into their own understanding as they summarize, respond, and discuss the text.

                To write rhetorically, I think it is important to remind students of their emotional ties that they had formed to the reading in order to make this writing process more personal to them. The first draft is where students really find their voice and discover what is worth discussing in their eyes so it is important to me not to make this first draft graded based on grammar and structure. For the remaining drafts, it gives them an opportunity to practice revising and editing their own writing as they transfer and build on their original ideas.

Graphic Novels in the Classroom

It is vital as a teacher to remain open minded to alternative teaching methods that may differ from how we were taught; it is an easy default mode that we find ourselves getting in the habit of. Graphic novels are a great way to enrich a curriculum in order to reach those hard-to-connect-to kids and provide variety to the “average” student as well. I believe graphic novels are a good in-between spot that crosses from basic interests from pictures with complex ideas that come from novels. This “in-between spot” is where a lot of middle and high school students find themselves as they are still perceived and treated like children while they are transitioning into their adult minds and bodies. Graphic novels provide an outlet that captures student’s attention with the pictures and dialogue and help them forget that they are reading something important about WWII or complex that Shakespeare discusses. The images aids their imagination’s eye to be captured by the story and indulge on the complexity that challenges their growing minds.

                Although it is simple to see how a graphic novel is a good addition to a teacher’s curriculum in order can be to benefit their students, I still personally struggle to know when the right time is to add this in a lesson plan. I see problems arising if you were to only use it as a text instead of the original plain text as it may miss a lot of details and lack textual evidence for assignments. In addition to this, you may lose the interests of some students who are slightly more advanced as they may think this as “elementary.” However, if you were to do a lesson in one day, I could see how this would be a quick read for most students so you could move on to the activity quicker to reach the learning objective.

                Overall, graphic novels are a great alternative to regular texts in order to aid a lesson and provide a more creative outlet for most students. Although the more advanced students may find it as not challenging, the one’s that struggle with doing homework and/or joining in on discussions may find graphic novels a more interesting way to enjoy literature. 

Discussion as a Way of Teaching

Classroom discussions are imperative to a student’s learning. As an instructor, it is your job to proactively engage the students In meaningful discussions with each other and in a positive environment. If done correctly, your students will gain myriad of skills that entail awareness, tolerance, respectful listening, and mental agility. Classroom discussions encourage mature communication that we expect from young adults transitioning into adulthood.

In order to limit problems that often arise in classroom discussions, it is important to note main reasons as to why discussions fail. As a teacher, your rules and procedures needs to remain constant and this applies to rewards as well. This doesn’t necessarily mean always bring in bite sized candy to reward students on “correct answers;” however, a proper reward system in place prevents the possibility of favoritism or the appearance of you “picking-on” a student. A balanced and relaxed environment in the classroom is important to bring out effective discussion in students.

In addition, providing clear instructions as to what is expected of students and allowing a safe space for those who may not be comfortable expressing their minds in front of their peers. If you address this early, it takes some strain out of the classroom environment as most students are willing to help eachother if there is a general understanding. Something new I had learned recently is if you share a part of yourself such as, “I understand how hard speaking is in front of people, as I had to take years of communication classes to be able to do what I do now,” that exposes you in some light, it helps some people feel more comfortable as they feel exposed into doing something they don’t enjoy.

If you identify who your students are early and their comfort level with speaking, I feel that a proactive teacher will use these characteristics for the benefit of the group or classroom discussions. For example, the “Conversational Moves” activity talked about in the article could be used to allow someone who often doesn’t want to be involved, be helpful for their peers as they exhibit a body language that shows interest in a group-mate’s ideas. This helps encourage new skills without making students feel awkward or uncomfortable.