Taking the plunge into Wiki-world this week with my college-level seniors. Why them and not the younger kids? Because these seniors are a fun group that want to play with technology and are willing to take risks. I've discovered the sophomore class I have is really risk-adverse. They're afraid to try anything new because they have no previous understanding as to how it works...or how it will affect their grade. That class also has trouble with access. Several of my sophomores have no computer at home and/or few skills when it comes to technology. While the media likes to make it seem as if every student carries a cell phone, Ipod or an MP3 player, the reality is far from the truth.
I'm a lover of new technologies and am often looking for ways to use them to my advantage in class. But there's no advantage if the kids don't actually HAVE the technology available. Comfort comes only from familiarity. How can I expect my kids to get excited about using a new way of commuication when, for so many of them, it's simply another slap in the face with something they don't have and aren't going to have for the forseeable future?
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project is promising...but I wish I could find a rich benefactor that would be willing to buy them for this rural American district. No...that wouldn't work. Those little green machines are designed for little fingers, and I have high school students with adult-sized hands. Hands that hate pen and keyboard alike because they've already been beaten down so many times, they no longer wish to try.
I'm speaking in generalities, of course. With a room filled with laptops (caveat: laptops that WORK) I could move them from their apathy. I'm a teacher, which means I'm also a cheerleader and I can make them all feel good about themselves while doing difficult work.
Oh, dear. This turned into another rant. Sorry about that. I will try to post again later today and put up something that's actually USEFUL!
CD
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
A Rant
This article caught my interest, not because I'm any great fan of Sting's music (although I don't mind it), but because of the headline "Sting tops list of worst lyricists." Bad lyrics? From such a popular musician? But the headline did what it was supposed to do...catch my attention and make me read the article, which I did.
The top five worst lyricists, according to Blender, place Sting at No. 1, "Rush drummer Neil Peart at No. 2, Creed frontman Scott Stapp at No. 3, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher at No. 4, and soft-rocker Dan Fogelberg at No. 5" (Yes, I cut and pasted that list from the Reuter's article).
Dan Fogleburg? a bad lyricist? I've often thought his songs read more like poetry than song lyrics, mostly because they include a level of literacy that is generally lacking in most popular music. And why was Sting on the list? Because he name drops Russian novelists and makes allusions to Chaucer and Shakespeare in his songs. Shame on him! Literary references in a mass-market offering? What are these men thinking?
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised in an era where the obsenities of rap are glorified and the language itself is undergoing a massive shift with the rise of 'netspeak. I supposed I shouldn't wonder that lyricists who reference literature in a day of informality and deliberate ignorance are considered "bad" and "unimaginative".
(Led Zepplin's Robert Plant also makes the list...his crime? Making mention of Tolkien's character Gollum in one of his pieces)
Sorry there isn't a link here to the original article on Blender. I can't seem to find it at the moment. When I do, I'll fix that.
In the meantime, I think I'll put on a Dan Fogleburg album and relax to some poetry...
The top five worst lyricists, according to Blender, place Sting at No. 1, "Rush drummer Neil Peart at No. 2, Creed frontman Scott Stapp at No. 3, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher at No. 4, and soft-rocker Dan Fogelberg at No. 5" (Yes, I cut and pasted that list from the Reuter's article).
Dan Fogleburg? a bad lyricist? I've often thought his songs read more like poetry than song lyrics, mostly because they include a level of literacy that is generally lacking in most popular music. And why was Sting on the list? Because he name drops Russian novelists and makes allusions to Chaucer and Shakespeare in his songs. Shame on him! Literary references in a mass-market offering? What are these men thinking?
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised in an era where the obsenities of rap are glorified and the language itself is undergoing a massive shift with the rise of 'netspeak. I supposed I shouldn't wonder that lyricists who reference literature in a day of informality and deliberate ignorance are considered "bad" and "unimaginative".
(Led Zepplin's Robert Plant also makes the list...his crime? Making mention of Tolkien's character Gollum in one of his pieces)
Sorry there isn't a link here to the original article on Blender. I can't seem to find it at the moment. When I do, I'll fix that.
In the meantime, I think I'll put on a Dan Fogleburg album and relax to some poetry...
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Teaching the Ramayana
That's the literature-of-the-moment in my sophomore class. I used to teach it in conjunction with the Odyssey in the freshman year. Had a curriculum that I'd developed then that really worked. But one can teach that age-level for only so long and after twenty years, I asked to be moved. Now that curriculum isn't taught much by the new 9th grade teachers and so the Ramayana has been relegated to the untaught pile.
Why? Because the curriculum already contains one ancient epic and most teachers barely want to teach the Odyssey. They'd rather bring more modern literature into the classroom and I totally understand that. But for me, tossing ALL the classics would be equivalent to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There needs to be a balance...and so I'm determined to bring that to my sophomore students. Hence, I tell the story of the Ramayana.
Yes, you read that right. The epic is a great story and one that has been expounded upon for generations. In fact, expounding on the basic outline and making the story your own is a part of the tradition. So I stand before the class and tell them a story. A long story. A really, really long story. Takes me several days (all told, about 3 hrs worth) to give just the basic plot. And I leave out a lot! Whole sections.
And I never tell it the same way twice. That's the beauty of storytelling. It encompasses the audience, plays with and on them. As they are bored with a section, I skip over it or embellish with enough detail to engage them again. Or if they're really excited about a part, I'll dwell on it...drag it out a little and give them more of what they want to hear about the characters or the setting at that point in the story. We have fun and they think they aren't working.
Of course, they are. They have to listen. And I give them a character and place name cheat sheet so they can write down who is who and where is where as we go along. So they're taking directed notes as they listen. And believe me, it's active listening. I describe Shoorpanaka's ugliness after Ram gets through with her and they all make faces. Or we get to the point where the monkeys have all picked up Sita's jewlery and they all want to yell at the monkeys.
After they've heard the story, I give them a short written version (you can find it here) and they read that one on their own. Invariably I get the "but this isn't what you told us in class!" complaint and it gives me a chance to explain again the Hindu proverb: There are as many Ramayanas as there are grains of sand on the seashore." Larry T's work is different from mine, because he is different from me. His purpose is different, his audience is wider.
And that leads me into their own expoundings. I have them choose a VERY small piece of the story to retell in their own words. VERY small. The descriptions can get out of hand very quickly (I once had a student write two typed, double-spaced pages on the description of Ayodyha). So keep the plot point tiny. This is a great exercise in getting them to write descriptively, whether describing Laksman getting hit with Ravena's arrow or Sita's reunion with Ram or the appearance of Ravena's palace. Each of those are plot points or locations, but their details? That's up to each reader/expounder to decide (click here to learn more about this idea).
So...teaching techniques discussed today? Using storytelling to improve listening skills. Reinforcing plot points by showing differing versions of the same story (I often begin this unit by having them tell me the story of the Three Little Pigs...in as many permutations as I can get out of them. Then ask, "which one is the right one?" They begin to understand that ALL versions are "right"). And writing descriptively by creating an expounding of their own.
Have fun!
Why? Because the curriculum already contains one ancient epic and most teachers barely want to teach the Odyssey. They'd rather bring more modern literature into the classroom and I totally understand that. But for me, tossing ALL the classics would be equivalent to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There needs to be a balance...and so I'm determined to bring that to my sophomore students. Hence, I tell the story of the Ramayana.
Yes, you read that right. The epic is a great story and one that has been expounded upon for generations. In fact, expounding on the basic outline and making the story your own is a part of the tradition. So I stand before the class and tell them a story. A long story. A really, really long story. Takes me several days (all told, about 3 hrs worth) to give just the basic plot. And I leave out a lot! Whole sections.
And I never tell it the same way twice. That's the beauty of storytelling. It encompasses the audience, plays with and on them. As they are bored with a section, I skip over it or embellish with enough detail to engage them again. Or if they're really excited about a part, I'll dwell on it...drag it out a little and give them more of what they want to hear about the characters or the setting at that point in the story. We have fun and they think they aren't working.
Of course, they are. They have to listen. And I give them a character and place name cheat sheet so they can write down who is who and where is where as we go along. So they're taking directed notes as they listen. And believe me, it's active listening. I describe Shoorpanaka's ugliness after Ram gets through with her and they all make faces. Or we get to the point where the monkeys have all picked up Sita's jewlery and they all want to yell at the monkeys.
After they've heard the story, I give them a short written version (you can find it here) and they read that one on their own. Invariably I get the "but this isn't what you told us in class!" complaint and it gives me a chance to explain again the Hindu proverb: There are as many Ramayanas as there are grains of sand on the seashore." Larry T's work is different from mine, because he is different from me. His purpose is different, his audience is wider.
And that leads me into their own expoundings. I have them choose a VERY small piece of the story to retell in their own words. VERY small. The descriptions can get out of hand very quickly (I once had a student write two typed, double-spaced pages on the description of Ayodyha). So keep the plot point tiny. This is a great exercise in getting them to write descriptively, whether describing Laksman getting hit with Ravena's arrow or Sita's reunion with Ram or the appearance of Ravena's palace. Each of those are plot points or locations, but their details? That's up to each reader/expounder to decide (click here to learn more about this idea).
So...teaching techniques discussed today? Using storytelling to improve listening skills. Reinforcing plot points by showing differing versions of the same story (I often begin this unit by having them tell me the story of the Three Little Pigs...in as many permutations as I can get out of them. Then ask, "which one is the right one?" They begin to understand that ALL versions are "right"). And writing descriptively by creating an expounding of their own.
Have fun!
Monday, October 1, 2007
the beginning
So I go out to search Google blogs for all the blogs that deal with the teaching of English. Why? Because I want to show my seniors how to use RSS feeds to their advantage. I've created a "dummy" Bloglines account that I can use to demonstrate with and then I decided a feed from the various English teacher's blogs would be a good addition for demonstration.
What do I find? None. Nada. Zippo. Several blogs that mention they ARE teachers of English, a TON more that are for ESL teachers (and the accompanying list of acronyms), and several decrying a program that has defaulted on paying their employees who were teaching English in different countries.
But not one on the tips and techniques (methods? anyone remember their methods course? Mine was two hours a week during our student teaching where we got together and chatted about stuff we'd tried. I think we managed to stay on task for about the first 45 minutes...). But no one out there in the blogsphere talking about the best way to teach the Odyssey or how to get the kid who hates writing to actually write a single sentence? Blew my mind.
And like any good teacher...when one sees a lack, one must try and "fix" the problem. So...this is my beginning.
Caveat: Although I've been teaching for 27 years and have used blogs in the past for other purposes, this is my first time with the "new" blogspot.com. Have patience as I set everything in place. Thanks.
C.D.
What do I find? None. Nada. Zippo. Several blogs that mention they ARE teachers of English, a TON more that are for ESL teachers (and the accompanying list of acronyms), and several decrying a program that has defaulted on paying their employees who were teaching English in different countries.
But not one on the tips and techniques (methods? anyone remember their methods course? Mine was two hours a week during our student teaching where we got together and chatted about stuff we'd tried. I think we managed to stay on task for about the first 45 minutes...). But no one out there in the blogsphere talking about the best way to teach the Odyssey or how to get the kid who hates writing to actually write a single sentence? Blew my mind.
And like any good teacher...when one sees a lack, one must try and "fix" the problem. So...this is my beginning.
Caveat: Although I've been teaching for 27 years and have used blogs in the past for other purposes, this is my first time with the "new" blogspot.com. Have patience as I set everything in place. Thanks.
C.D.
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