Culture or Religion?

I went to the talk on culture or religion and the question of women’s roles in Islam. This was a really interesting talk for me because I am currently closing out a class in Women in Developing Countries and one thing we talked about was women and their role in Islam, whether it was at home or in the social world. The thing I found most intriguing about this talk was when they starting discussing Mohammad and how he came to be known as a prophet. What was really amazing to me was that I knew what they were talking about and I could actually think about their theories and how they related to the facts I knew about women and Islam.

When the panel was talking about Kadaicha, one thing I found really interesting was that they did not bring up the fact that she was widowed. I found this really interesting when I started to learn about Islam because Kadaicha had a lot of influence in Mohammad and his theories. When Islam started being talked about in the US, I always thought that women were oppressed and not allowed to do anything. To me, they had no rights and nothing they did was either seen as productive or important. As I started my class this semester, it was a real wake up call. To learn that Mohammad took no other wives until Kadaicha was dead was stunning. The panel took things that I already knew and applied them in ways that I had not thought about.

I also found it odd that there was not really opposition to what anyone said. When the panelists said something, most of the others just agreed and added on. This showed me that the Koran is something that is not as vague as what I thought it was. It is obvious to me now that the Koran is very specific and makes it clear what should be. I liked what Mr. Byrd said about the Koran being a guide and showing what a society should be. That made this seem a lot like the US to me. The Bible is supposed to be what a model society would be, which is exactly what the Koran is.

The panel also did a very good job at hammering the fact home that Islam and Mohammad were the first ones to really give women rights and let them own property. This was amazing to me; the society that we see now as oppressive to women was and is actually more progressive than the US.

I also enjoyed the part of the speech in which the panelists talked about women and politics. Specifically when they started to talk about how women, even when elected to office, did not really change the institution, but the institution actually only changed the women in those offices.

This talk was really beneficial to me because it allowed me to understand Islam a little better instead of just the surface stuff. It is also beneficial to me because it gives me a little bit better of a perspective on different religions and how they can be divided into and actually not what they seem on the outside.

Grammar Group

I loved this presentation. I liked how the group incorporated different strategies on how to teach grammar. I know when I was in high school we used sentence builing and I hated it. Actually, to this day I am still shaky on what all of the parts of a sentence are because I lost interest when I was being taught all I needed to know about grammar. It is hard to keep yourself involved in something tedious and boring. However, this group did a great job at giving me some ideas on how to teach grammar in an interesting light.

Also, I liked the recurring theme throughout the presentation! The France thing was awesome. Overall, you guys took a subject that a lot of people (including myself) and turned it into something that is interesting and not so freaking boring! Great job!

Gilmore - Chapter 7

I love reading fiction...not so good at writing it. However, I know that if we are going to continue to get quality writing that lasts throughout the ages, we have to make sure we are giving future writers all of the tools they need to keep us entertained when we are ninety and don't know how to use the remote anymore. Fiction is very hard to edit because you know where you want it to go, but how you get there holds so many possiblities that it takes about twenty years to get there.

Gilmore gives some really good strategies on how to revise and one thing that I will do in my classrooms that I never got to do in my English classes in high school is have my students write some creative pieces. I think this helps kids get stuff off of their minds and helps them learn to express what they are feeling. I will definately keep this book in my personal library to use when I am a teacher, whether it is English or government.

Gilmore - Chapter 6

I think that technology is a great tool because it has, yes, ruined most people's ability to spell, but it also helps use correct words and has cut down on then environmental impact of writing ten different versions of the same essay. Some people are perfectionists and will write something until it is perfect. For this person, trees cry for help. With technology comes a better way to communicate ideas and help to spread those ideas to large groups of people.

However, technology can be dangerous because not every student will have access to a computer or the abiltiy to get to the local library. It is hard, but if a teacher really wants something done with technology, they have to allow the amount of time they want involved on the project to be allocated to the students for the project in class. I don't know if that sentence really made sense, but think of this. What if we couldn't type papers? Teachers wouldn't be able to read my work and I think that technology is great, but too much of anything is bad for you.

Gilmore - Chapter 5

Essays on standardized tests suck, basically. They are sometimes about things that someone might not have experienced and I feel like I have to make something up on the fly. The standardized tests are just that, standard. You have to take something that can be so incredible general and try to write a scripted and detailed essay on it? It just doesn't seem right to me.

Also, I am not a fan of standardized tests at all. They are eltist and very slanted. If you didn't have the right people around you growing up, guess what, you aren't going to succeed. I don't like the fact that some people sit in an office and try to dictate what is important for our students to learn. I understand that everyone should know the basics, but shouldn't the basics be set by teachers and students, ont office personnel who are getting paid to write a test? Anyway...

Sorry about the rant, but I think it would be handy to have a checklist for revision, but it would be extremely hard for me to revise an essay I wrote in fifteen minutes and even expect it to be anywhere near my best writing. It is not feasible and the tests are not beneficial.

Gilmore - Chapter 4

Peer review is tricky for me. I love the idea of giving students the opportunity to read and give suggestions to others in the class. I know that it was really beneficial high school for me...if the other student was serious about it. I remember a few times where my paper turned out awesome because of the feedback that I got from other classmates. I also remember where I would read someones paper and you could tell that they didn't care about the assingment and when I got my paper back I had a comment like "Good paper" at the bottom. WHAT KIND OF HELP IS THAT?!!

Peer revision is not something that I like a lot because high school kids are mean. If someone writes something personal or they are trying to be funny in their paper, it opens the door for a student to be made fun of. I am not a fan of giving students others work to look at. I think that grading is a teachers job and I know that I never liked it when I had to hand my paper over to another student.

The teacher conferences are awesome. This is something that I intend to do with my students all of the time. Not only does it give the teacher a chance to sit down with the student and help try to mold the paper into what they really want, but it also lets the student know that you are willing to take time out of whatever you are doing and help them out. Also, teacher conferences, I think need to be done without work so that the teacher and the student can talk about what is going on...whether it be in their personal life or if there is something that they are worried about. Teacher conferences are a great tool...not just for revision, but so that teachers and students can get to know each other better.

Poetry Group

This group did an awesome job with the subject they had. Poetry, I feel, is the most feared part of English and this group tackled it. It was apparant that they loved poetry and had a passion for making others want to write and read poetry. The "I Am" poem with the outline was an amazing idea because I think it took something we had already done and put a new spin on it. We were all already comfortable with the "I Am" poem and they did something new.

The magazine activity was fun, however, I don't really know what it accomplished. It just seemed more like an art project than anything that had to do with poetry. But, for a fun activity, I could definately see myself using it.

As for the memory map activity, it was good, but I think some students would be kind of hesitant in putting something so personal on display for the rest of class to see. I guess that is my biggest issue with poetry, it is usually very personal and most of the time things that I would not want put into the public eye.

However, the poetry did a great job and gave me some pretty cool ideas for introducing poetry into my Political Science classes! Good job guys!

Gilmore - Chapter 3

This chapter was very informative for me. I was reading and thinking at the same time, "man, this stuff would have been awesome to know in high school." As a teacher, I think this gives me a lot of suggestions and great ideas to not only pick out writing that might not be a students' best, but also ways to help them look for things that might work really well in another person's work. I don't believe in giving students another student's work to read because even if you tell the current student's to only look for positives, it still gives the current students ammunition and the ability to make fun of a past student.

I had teachers give my work out in high school and it was not fun. If I mis-spelled one word or had one grammatical mistake, I was teased. I think teachers forget what it was like to be in high school once. That is one thing I want to make sure I never do; give students a reason to tease another.

Over my rant...now back to Gilmore. The suggestions for revision, reading in groups and picking out strong sentences and things that work well are excellent tools that I wish my teachers would have used with me in high school. By the time I got to college, I really didn't know much about revision and I think I was at a huge disadvantage; I didn't get the exposure to AP classes and I felt really left behind in my freshman year because I wasn't on the same level as some of my classmates.

Gilmore - Chapter 2

I like the strategies that Gilmore gives throughout the chapter and agian, I don't like that he is so light hearted about the situation. I do have to agree that I am dreading the days that I have to go home and read one hundred five paragraph essays, but I hope to give my students enough time in class to perfect their papers and by the time that I get them they are not dry, but full of life and energy. I understand that I am very idealistic, but I think that with the right amount of planning and time management I can do pretty much anything with my class.

As far as his strategies go, I find that they do seem pretty useful and they will more than likely help me out, but I also agree with his assessments of introductions and conclusions. I don't think that English teachers really teach the importance of these and how they can really hurt a paper if they are not written well. That is also something that I want to emphasize with my students; the importance of every piece of an essay and the effects it can have on your grade.

Gilmore - Chapter 1

I thougt this chapter was really a good framework for this book. Gilmore did a really good job of showing 1) how students feel about revision, and 2) what it takes to get a student to do the work. Revision is something that I think is very hard for most students to get a grasp on. We, as students, have not been taught how to really revise a piece of writing. Not that we are taught to just fix the mechanics, but I, at least, was never given any tools or expectations on how to revise until I got to college; and by the time I got here it was too late.

I like that he uses metaphores, but I think by joking constantly, he is diminishing the seriousness of the subject. I see this being a theme throughout the book, but he still does make some good points and gives some really useful strategies for students to revise their work.

Group Teach 2

This was my week to teach with my group and I was really nervous. We really didn't have a good book to teach out of and I felt like I was going in blind. Not that my group was not helpful, they were, it was just that I didn't really know what to do with this book. It was full of lesson plans and things that might help you have students write about their community, but it there was really nothing we could find to pertain to this class. We finally just chose a lesson and went with it.

I definatly thought we could have done better on day 1. It just seemed like it was rocky the entire way through until we got to the discussion. Day 2 was awesome I thought. It was great to break out of the normal routine and do something that was fun. It was also really educational for me because I have always known that there were differences facing kids as they came into classrooms, but this activity helped me to understand why they felt the way they do. To finally get to see how frustrated people get and how the feeling of hopelessness comes about, it made me gain a much deeper respect for the differences that I will face walking into a new classroom every year.

Group Teach 1

I thought this group was really well prepared and set a high standard for the rest of us. They knew what they were talking about and answered every question as if they were experts on the subject.

The activity that they had us do was fun and it broke up the monotony of the two hours. The issue itself was an awesome unit because I had never done a multi-genre piece before. It actually has me excited to do that project in 301.

Overall, it was a great topic and I think that group did a spectacular job, especially going first.

Christensen - Chapter 8

This is a very sensitive subject for me. I absolutely hate the idea of tracking. I think it is the most degrading thing that can happen to a kid, yet schools are still doing it. It is not fair to a kid who got one bad grade to be pushed aside and be told that they are not good enough. It was embarassing for me as a student put into the lower English classes because I did not have the grade in 8th grade to get into Honors English I. Because I didn't get into Honors I, I couldn't get in Honors II, III, or AP. On top of that, every student has the ability to bring something to the table. Just because a student cannot write an essay as well as the next, that doesn't mean that they cannot read and analyze as well as another. Tracking is not fair and sets kids up for failure.

Christensen - Chapter 7

The way that Linda got her students motivated to do a portfolio, I feel, was very innovative. She took something that a student understood and made it into the reason that they had to do a portfolio. And I think I agree with her in her expectations of a portfolio. I have never been a big fan of portfolios because I have always found them very pointless. They have never really seemed like much except for a waste of my time. However, when she talks about giving time to actually reflect and not just assume that they will, that makes the world of difference. As I was reading, I thought, yeah, I could have actually gotten something from that if someone would have taken the time to explain that to me.

Christensen - Chapter 6

I think this was a pretty awesome chapter. Being that I am a Political Science major and a huge believer that our history textbooks lie and only tell the easy stories, I thought that it was awesome that an English teacher was making students get involved. I know that this is just one simple part of our history, but by making students be aware of something that affected every single one of us in some way, I feel that students will be more motivated to challenge their History teachers and go out on their own and learn the truth. I feel that History is one of the most important subjects we teach in schools and for an English teacher to be taking this stance is something that I think should be mandatory in every class. It creates a passion within the students, which is exactly what is missing in our schools.

Christensen Talk - Questions

1) What type of advise would you give to first year teachers that cannot get their students to interact in the classroom?

2) What is the most rewarding thing that has happened to you as a teacher?

3) How do you balance your personal life with your work life and how does teaching affect your family and personal relationships?

Christensen - Chapter 5

I think the part in this chapter about poetry brings up some very good points. However, I am not sure if I would quite make it a requirement that kids write in poetry. I know that poetry is seen as self-expression, but to me, I would rather write a quick essay about what I felt or a sort story from that characters perspective. I think that Christensen rely's way too much on poetry. It seems like to her that is the only effective way for students to release their feelings. The bottom line is that students should have the freedom to choose what they write about and the method they follow to get there.

Christensen Chapter 4

There is something called Standard English for a reason, and I think Chrsitensen does a fantastic job of pointing out why it is necessary to have a Standard language. Writing for a college entrance or a professional memo has to be somewhat standard, it is a way that everyone, with education and the chance to learn, understands.

However, I also agree with Christensen in the fact that home languages need to be accepted as part of our culture. After all, if we are working towards social justice, we cannot start to discriminate based on a different pronunciation of the same word.

As far as the Tea Party idea goes, it sounds supper interesting, but I feel that it might not always work, especially if it is a very difficult piece of writing. It would be a good idea to kind of break the ice with a story though.

Jago Chapter 4

Writing about literature is something that is very important in today's classrooms, whether it is high school or college. It is important that students are able to dig deeper than just reading a text. By writng about literature, we are enabling students to see that they do have someone else in the world. Even if that character is fiction, it gives hope because somebody thought of it. I think that being able to write about a piece of literature is important as well because it allows you to see things that you have never seen before. For example, when I read a book, I usually just read it for recreation. However, if I write about that piece, I usually end up discovering something about the book that I had never realized before. It is a good exercise and I feel that Jago does a fantasic job at nailing down how this practice should go.

Jago Chapter 3

This was a really good nuts and bolts chapter. I think it is hard to write about yourself. In today's society, people downplay compliments and always feel like nothing special happens to them and they are just "normal". I remember when I wrote my college essay I was nervous because I did not get help from anyone. I wrote the essay by myself, with no guidance and nobody to proof read it for me. I think it is a good idea for teachers to incorporate this into their classroom because it will help them build self-confidence and give them somebody to bounce questions off of and help with development.

Christensen Chapter 3

Essays were always probably the hardest things that I had to write in high school. The hardest part is getting motivated. As a high school student, I didn't want to write about a topic that my teacher was not going to be interested in because I thought I would get a bad grade. It was hard to get started because I didn't have the first thing I needed, a topic.

The ideas that she gives in this chapter are, again, very simple and easy ways to get students started. By making them find things in a newspaper they are interested in, they always have a back-up to write about.

Also, by giving students a chance to write about things they are passionate about they are able to put a lot of work into the essay without dreading it. It is an awesome idea and I will probably find a way to incorporate this plan into all of my classrooms.

Jago Chapter 2

I thought the main point of this chapter was especially exciting. I would never have thought that to get students interested in writing an essay to have them read someone elses. It was amazing to me that something so simple is really all that it could take to not only have them see what an essay should include, but how meanings and thesises can be hidden until the end or not exactly expressed but an implied meaning throughout the work.

As far as having the kids pull newspaper clips to get them intereseted in a persausive essay, I thought that was a really good idea because then if they want to try and say that they don't know what to write about, you can have them pull out the articles they took and tell them to write about that.

Jago Chapter 1

I thought this chapter was pretty useful in the fact that not only did it bring up ways to teach about starting writing that I had never thought of, but it made me think about what to do with each paper a kid writes so that it is easier. It would have been great to have question forms when I was trying to write a paper in high school and I know it would have mad the process go by much quicker. As far as the group discussion afterward, that seemed like a really good idea as well because it allowed for other students that weren't in the group to pick up different tips from each other and use those on the next paper.

Christensen Chapter 2

I agree with a lot of what Christensen says in this poem as far as the need to teach about the differences in todays society and what role the media plays within that realm. However, too much of anything is not good. As I was reading this chapter, I was thinking to myself..."okay, thats great that these kids are realizing what is wrong with the media, but if I was them, I wouldn't want to constantly be destroying everything I had grown up with."

If we are going to dissect Disney movies and analyze how bad they are, why stop there? My mom was a stay-at-home mom with no job skills. She just took care of my sister and me. Is that so bad? I mean, if we are really looking at these stories in this light, shouldn't all women go out and have a nine-to-five job and be strong and independent of a man? I totally agree with the women's rights movements and teaching to change the world, but I think some things are just going too far.

I feel that parents should teach their kids what is right within the world. Teaching a child that Disney movies are fairy tales is the parents job, and most kids are able to figure that out. I understand that these movies create some of our values and beliefs as we are growing up, but don't kids' attitudes, beliefs, and values change as they get older? I know mine did. Maybe these are some beliefs that are being instilled in our children, but the same thing happens in our History classes. Kids come to the realization as they get older that life is not a fairy tale and things do not happen in a picture perfect way.

I want to be a teacher that cares about my students and helps them learn and grow into productive members of society and I will do everything I can to make sure they not only feel safe in my classroom but that they feel that they can achieve whatever they want. However, I will not be a parent to every child that comes into my classroom. Parents are still parents and still need to accept the fact that there are things that a teacher and a school should not have to teach their children.

Chapter 1 - Christensen

This chapter was really interesting to me because I am very interested in this type of teaching. Even though it might not exactly apply to my class (Political Science) it will still help me as far as reaching out to students and different type of beginning of the year ice breakers. As far as the discipline part of the chapter, it was really interesting that a teacher was able to see the error of their ways and fix it in such a quick and vital way to a students success. By understanding that by throwing a kid out of class it actually hinders their learning is crucial and fixing that problem to actually deal with their problems and skills that need to be worked on is amazing.