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.