January 26, 2015 - Slam Poetry

The chapter ‘Slammin’ School’ by Bronwen Low explains the experience of developing a Spoken Word Poetry class at an American high school.  I was struck by the positive reactions of students to this class and content.  The interest and engagement shown by students who participated was really moving and impressive, almost idyllic.  I tried to picture some kind of similar program at the high school I attended but for some reason couldn’t.  Perhaps because the students in Low’s chapter were mostly marginalized, minority kids who felt extreme frustration with the school system and society, and my school was rural and predominantly middle class Caucasian students.  The issues facing students at my school were quite different than those in Low’s study.  These frustrations seemed to be fuel for creativity, motivation for expression and conveyance of deeper meaning and intense feeling.  They were inspired by hip hop artists and other slam poets, and I wonder what might be brought in for inspiration in a school with a different demographic make-up?

Bringing spoken word and slam poetry into the classroom is a unique way to engage some students.  There is something about the genre that is provocative enough to entice adolescents as it allows them to deal with taboo subjects, to express themselves in their own vernacular, and to really explore topics that genuinely interest them.  The question is, how do you assess Spoken Word and slam poetry?  And how would it be integrated into different content areas?  It works in Low’s example as a stand-alone course in which students know that they will be writing poetry and performing it.  However, is it applicable in a science class?  Or even in history or the social sciences?  I think it might be an interesting challenge.  I would consider it as an option on an assignment, as in ‘Choose one of the following’, so that students might have the option to express themselves in this way focusing on the subject content.  It is a wonderful way to evoke feeling and meaning in students and to translate that passion into their writing as an outlet for their ideas.  I am not sure if I would approach this subject in the classroom, or if I would make it part of my curriculum. I know that I certainly wouldn’t dissuade a student from using the genre as a way to express themselves or to explore a topic that truly interests them. It is something I will consider more as I develop as a teacher. 

January 19, 2015 Using Mentor Texts in the Classroom

The mentor text that I chose to examine is a book review from the New York Times of Alexandra Fuller’s ‘Leaving Before the Rains Come’.  The review gives an introduction to the genre of the novel, which is a memoir, as well as some examples of other books and authors of a similar style.  It also introduces the author, tells a bit about her life, background, and some of her other works, and gives a synopsis of the story.   

The book review is an excellent method for teaching students to think critically about the material they are reading.  It is a wonderful method for assessing the depth of understanding  which students may reach while reading, as well as a diagnostic assessment of what they might be struggling with.  Showing a mentor text of a review as a pre-reading activity can assist students in identifying what details and facts to look for and pay particular attention to so that they might get the most out of their reading.  Assigning a review activity after reading can be used as an effective evaluation tool to assess how students interact with and perceive the text.  The reviews should demonstrate the importance of not just re-telling the story or narrative, but of critically analyzing its style, meaning, purpose, and value as a literary work.  Every student will take something different away from the reading and their reviews will also act as an insight into their own particular experience and perspective.   

The book review can also be used to demonstrate the importance of audience.  This particular review appears in the New York Times, where the general audience tend to share certain demographic similarities.  The use of multiple reviews of the same text but for different entities (ie. the New York Times vs an online blog) could be extremely useful to demonstrate the way audience may shape or change style and content.  This could also lend itself to a lesson on proper writing conventions and the use of formal vs informal language.

Reading Response January 12, 2015

How does Nancy Atwell’s story strike you and consider the subtopics in Peterson’s chapters 1 & 2 as a teacher writing in your discipline?

Both Atwell’s story and the Peterson readings really made me aware of the many issues that come with timed, topic assigned writing activities.  The issues are not new to me, as I have on many occasions felt the panic and pressure of trying to get meaningful words on paper in a given slot of time on a subject which may or may not resonate with me in any real way.  However, it is so easy to forget this as a teacher, and to assign a time-specific writing activity and expect students to use that time wisely and produce thoughtful work, simply as a means to an end in conforming to curriculum.  The problem is, writing is an art.  It is a process that is unique to each individual.  Not every topic is going to spark creativity in every student and not every student can get words down on paper when the teacher says ‘go’.  Atwell’s story about her student Jeff and the ways in which her own philosophy as an English teacher evolved really underlined for me the importance of freedom of writing.  Especially in the discipline of English or Writer’s Craft, creative writing can not truly be ‘creative’ unless the student is given full freedom in the writing process; that is, what they write about (topic), and how they write (genre and process).  

In contrast however, Peterson states that many of his/her students preferred a well-defined topic to already be in place so that they have a starting point.  The Grade 9 English class that I taught during my practicum wanted specific instructions, directions, and examples for every writing assignment that I gave.  I remarked more than once to my AT that I felt frustrated by the lack of imagination and creativity that the students had shown, and the reason that we came up with for this is that the school system had more or less stripped students of their creativity and made them wary of ‘discovery’ or exploratory writing for fear of being told they were wrong.  I found this very sad, and so I felt very hopeful reading Atwell’s story, as I think this is the answer.  Allowing students to have full choice will result in forcing them to be creative.  The ‘Writing to Learn’ activities that we looked at in class today is one way to facilitate this and jump the hurdle of students having ‘no idea what to write about’.  As Atwell stresses, when allowed to explore topics and issues that students are genuinely interested in and care about, they will find something to say and a unique and engaging way to say it. 

Free Write Response January 5, 2015

What do you believe is important in writing in your content area?

When asked to write down what came to my mind when I hear ‘writing’, I wrote the words creativity, expression, communication, history, and literacy.  I think that this list of words is very telling of how I associate writing to my teachable subjects, which are History and English.   Writing is an integral component of both of these subjects, and arguably the most important form of expression of knowledge and communication of ideas, at least traditionally speaking, within these topic areas.  Expression and communication are the key words even in that sentence.  

I think that now more than ever, we need to examine writing within these subjects in a more open and less regimental light.  Essay writing is and should always be a part of the study of History and English, and it is what generally comes to mind to most people when they think of these disciplines.  However, it is arguable that creativity is equally important, especially within English.  This doesn’t necessarily mean fictional story writing, but also relates to the issue we discussed of writing for content learning.  Simply practicing writing as a way to become better at it, in a multitude of forms and styles.  Within the study of History, writing and reading are equally linked, in that most of what we learn about History at the I/S level is written word.  It is the main way which History has been recorded, analyzed, interpreted and passed on.  Thus, writing in all forms is inseparable from my own content areas of English and History, and will be a main focus during my development as a teacher.