Here are the questions:
1. What kinds of reading and writing did you see students doing in school? Why do you think Rose chose these assignments?
2. What “rules and regulations” did students appear to be following as they read and wrote? In light of the students’ overall schooling experiences, did these seem useful or not? Speculate about how they might have influenced students’ literacy development.
1) I found that the students that Rose describes in his anecdotes usually were the ones who were pulled out of the regular reading and writing classes. These regular classes catered strongly to standardized testing and the breakdown of the components within reading and writings such as circling the correct verb forms, picking out the parts of speech, filling in the blanks within sentences, etc. When Rose pulled his students out, he started with the basics of simply getting them interested in writing again and took a completely backwards approach to how he was influencing them to write. He allowed them to express themselves creatively and worrying about grammar, spelling, and syntax after they were finished simply conveying their thoughts. He found through this that many of the students who had been labeled as unable to string coherent sentence together could truly express themselves with a little extra time and attention.
2) I think the students had many rules and regulations to follow, they learned in one specific way and if they were not successful in that way they were labeled as outsider s to the rest of the class and placed in special categories. The rules placed on students that Rose was not working with seemed to have been rules that limited the students he had a chance to be one on one with. Once they were allowed to write about pictures, feelings, their own thoughts, then their creativity and ability began to shine rather than relying on a structured curriculum in which the y felt so lost. I think that strict classroom regulations that pertained to the mastery of complex items before the writing process even began limited these students and pushed their progress even further away from their grasp. Especially once these students were labeled, they knew it, and felt like they were separated form the group at large which in turn led them down the spiraling path of either believing their label or succumbing to, both a sever inhabitant on their later literary progress.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Language Investigation #3
I feel like my early education years were basically split into two areas regarding reading and writing strategies and requirements. The first half through 8th grade I feel like my teachers were really drill sergeants, demanding constant practice with numerous activities and daily involvement with reading and writing in every subject. By high school, however, it was more of a sink or swim approach. You got the grade you deserved based on the effort you put into an assignment.
Until high school, reading was seen as a daily requirement. We had planners that had to be signed nightly by our parents verifying that we had read for at least half an hour each day as well as a strong emphasis on the Accelerated Reader Program (this has many names in different schools) which were basic online reading quizzes synonymous for points and prizes. Reading outside of school was mostly pleasure based, though required, while reading in-school was always tested and analyzed. We would have daily questions to answer from our textbook reading, quizzes, and lots of busy work. Nearly every chapter we covered in all subjects but math had to be reviewed with Venn diagrams, summaries, character maps, timelines, etc. Close reading was always stressed.
Writing was also a daily activity. I remember having some sort of journal entry for many of my classes even up through high school. The writing prompts varied in many classes, but the format was always the same: the five paragraph essay aided by pre-writing strategies, several drafts, and peer editing before a final copy was submitted. Writing skills were aided by grammar lessons, spelling tests, dictionary activities, etc. Words like “hook,” “thesis,” “main points,” “introduction and conclusion” were used and understood by everyone in class by the fourth grade, or earlier. I would classify those earlier years as a constant training program; daily drilling and feedback and interaction with writing and reading in every class.
High school, however, was quite different. Planners detailing what our homework was for the night and the mandatory reading and writing everyday were well… no longer mandatory. I don’t know how many times I heard conversations about how many students passed a test about "To Kill A Mockingbird" without every picking up the book. “Sparks Notes” and other online materials replaced reading entirely for many people. For myself, I found that I had been so well trained in earlier years to pick important parts of the text for analysis that skimming a few pages of each chapter was sufficient enough to write a whole term paper. The vigilance exhibited by previous teachers was lacking in the last four years, instead it was up to the student to put in the effort on their own when it came to reading.
Writing styles and requirements changed drastically as well. Many of my teachers cringed at a five paragraph essay saying it lacked imagination and voice. It was the first time I had ever drifted away from that structure, which was a learning experience all in itself. Writing in high school not only became more involved, but it seemed to serve more of a purpose. We were no longer having to suffer from writing what seemed like pointless summaries on every chapter of our novels and analyzing each character with charts and drawings, we began to write persuasively and about topics of our choosing.
Because of this, I feel like by the time I started my freshman year of college I was very well versed in all types of writing, and had begun ( I don’t know if you ever really finish) to develop a writing voice of my own. Reading in college has led to many flashbacks of activities and study skills that, shockingly, were learned in primary grades. I feel like each successive year of school built on one another (as they should) but also pushed me as a student to become more and more independent. I moved from being required to write and read in certain ways and think critically in certain ways to having to know those methods instinctively and use them on my own terms.
Until high school, reading was seen as a daily requirement. We had planners that had to be signed nightly by our parents verifying that we had read for at least half an hour each day as well as a strong emphasis on the Accelerated Reader Program (this has many names in different schools) which were basic online reading quizzes synonymous for points and prizes. Reading outside of school was mostly pleasure based, though required, while reading in-school was always tested and analyzed. We would have daily questions to answer from our textbook reading, quizzes, and lots of busy work. Nearly every chapter we covered in all subjects but math had to be reviewed with Venn diagrams, summaries, character maps, timelines, etc. Close reading was always stressed.
Writing was also a daily activity. I remember having some sort of journal entry for many of my classes even up through high school. The writing prompts varied in many classes, but the format was always the same: the five paragraph essay aided by pre-writing strategies, several drafts, and peer editing before a final copy was submitted. Writing skills were aided by grammar lessons, spelling tests, dictionary activities, etc. Words like “hook,” “thesis,” “main points,” “introduction and conclusion” were used and understood by everyone in class by the fourth grade, or earlier. I would classify those earlier years as a constant training program; daily drilling and feedback and interaction with writing and reading in every class.
High school, however, was quite different. Planners detailing what our homework was for the night and the mandatory reading and writing everyday were well… no longer mandatory. I don’t know how many times I heard conversations about how many students passed a test about "To Kill A Mockingbird" without every picking up the book. “Sparks Notes” and other online materials replaced reading entirely for many people. For myself, I found that I had been so well trained in earlier years to pick important parts of the text for analysis that skimming a few pages of each chapter was sufficient enough to write a whole term paper. The vigilance exhibited by previous teachers was lacking in the last four years, instead it was up to the student to put in the effort on their own when it came to reading.
Writing styles and requirements changed drastically as well. Many of my teachers cringed at a five paragraph essay saying it lacked imagination and voice. It was the first time I had ever drifted away from that structure, which was a learning experience all in itself. Writing in high school not only became more involved, but it seemed to serve more of a purpose. We were no longer having to suffer from writing what seemed like pointless summaries on every chapter of our novels and analyzing each character with charts and drawings, we began to write persuasively and about topics of our choosing.
Because of this, I feel like by the time I started my freshman year of college I was very well versed in all types of writing, and had begun ( I don’t know if you ever really finish) to develop a writing voice of my own. Reading in college has led to many flashbacks of activities and study skills that, shockingly, were learned in primary grades. I feel like each successive year of school built on one another (as they should) but also pushed me as a student to become more and more independent. I moved from being required to write and read in certain ways and think critically in certain ways to having to know those methods instinctively and use them on my own terms.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Language Investigation #2: RMCF
RMCF- The World of Chocolate
I work at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which as I realized after doing the post card activity has many words that I would not have any clue what they mean, but gradually over time the register of the chocolate world has come to involve nicknames, candy definitions, cooking terms, and processes that are so familiar I sometimes forget how awkward it must sound to hear someone say “Stock the dark bears and temper the dipper.”
The first thing every employee learns is the definition of the word “BEAR.” This large chocolate, caramel, and nut mixture is also synonymous with a “turtle.” But, since we are the rocky mountain chocolate factory, we call it a bear (as there are limited times when you may see a turtle in the Rocky Mountains). This is one of those terms that not only marks insider status for the employees but for frequent customers as well who refer to all of our candies by their franchise name and have no hesitation in asking for “6 milk pecan bears.” New customers totally give themselves away when they come in still looking for turtles.
Another unfamiliar phrase is “tempering the dippers.” This simply means that the chocolate in our giant revolving bowls that we use to dip things in must be cooled down to 89 degrees. Otherwise (and here’s another term) the chocolate will “bloom” or turn white. It’s like when you accidentally get that really old candy from the grocery store or from the old lady on Halloween who has kept her free chocolates from the previous year and it is all white and splotchy… If the chocolate is at any other temperature than 89 degrees, this will be the result.
With so many chocolates in the store, there has to be some way to tell them all apart. Each chocolate has something called a signature, which contrary to the everyday definition of signing your name, also means that there is a swirl, design or distinct shape that a piece of chocolate has in order to tell it apart. Each employee has to know the signature for each piece of chocolate in the store.
The more I write this piece, the more I see that when I am trying to describe an unfamiliar word or phrase I am tempted to use more unfamiliar words in the attempt to define the first words. It’s crazy to me to think that something as simple as a chocolate store has so many words that seem so strange when taken out of context, but if you’re here, it sounds stupid if you use any other sort of description. It’s like when I go to a foreign restaurant, even just Chinese or Italian, and I see something on the menu that I know I would never be able to pronounce.
I usually don’t try to; I point or say “that pompadora thing,” or “the sesame thingy with the chicken.” I now realize that those people are probably laughing at me the minute I turn around because they are so used to the words,. It is similar to when I laugh at people when I ask them if they want milk, white, or dark chocolate and they reply “light” which is none of the above, yet for some reason they feel more comfortable saying “light.” It’s very interesting to me how quickly you can become an insider or an outsider even when we all seemingly speak the same language.
I work at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which as I realized after doing the post card activity has many words that I would not have any clue what they mean, but gradually over time the register of the chocolate world has come to involve nicknames, candy definitions, cooking terms, and processes that are so familiar I sometimes forget how awkward it must sound to hear someone say “Stock the dark bears and temper the dipper.”
The first thing every employee learns is the definition of the word “BEAR.” This large chocolate, caramel, and nut mixture is also synonymous with a “turtle.” But, since we are the rocky mountain chocolate factory, we call it a bear (as there are limited times when you may see a turtle in the Rocky Mountains). This is one of those terms that not only marks insider status for the employees but for frequent customers as well who refer to all of our candies by their franchise name and have no hesitation in asking for “6 milk pecan bears.” New customers totally give themselves away when they come in still looking for turtles.
Another unfamiliar phrase is “tempering the dippers.” This simply means that the chocolate in our giant revolving bowls that we use to dip things in must be cooled down to 89 degrees. Otherwise (and here’s another term) the chocolate will “bloom” or turn white. It’s like when you accidentally get that really old candy from the grocery store or from the old lady on Halloween who has kept her free chocolates from the previous year and it is all white and splotchy… If the chocolate is at any other temperature than 89 degrees, this will be the result.
With so many chocolates in the store, there has to be some way to tell them all apart. Each chocolate has something called a signature, which contrary to the everyday definition of signing your name, also means that there is a swirl, design or distinct shape that a piece of chocolate has in order to tell it apart. Each employee has to know the signature for each piece of chocolate in the store.
The more I write this piece, the more I see that when I am trying to describe an unfamiliar word or phrase I am tempted to use more unfamiliar words in the attempt to define the first words. It’s crazy to me to think that something as simple as a chocolate store has so many words that seem so strange when taken out of context, but if you’re here, it sounds stupid if you use any other sort of description. It’s like when I go to a foreign restaurant, even just Chinese or Italian, and I see something on the menu that I know I would never be able to pronounce.
I usually don’t try to; I point or say “that pompadora thing,” or “the sesame thingy with the chicken.” I now realize that those people are probably laughing at me the minute I turn around because they are so used to the words,. It is similar to when I laugh at people when I ask them if they want milk, white, or dark chocolate and they reply “light” which is none of the above, yet for some reason they feel more comfortable saying “light.” It’s very interesting to me how quickly you can become an insider or an outsider even when we all seemingly speak the same language.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Warm Up 9-3-08
• What patterns did you see among the Language Investigations you wrote and read?
The patterns I noticed the most were that many people seemed to elicit a closeness and a personal tone within their blogs. Many called on cultural traditions of the family and words and phrases that were passed down among generations and throughout extended family as well. Each writer became the expert in his or her own family language while also being able to relate the ideas and expressions of other families. Each family was different in the words they chose that had significant meaning in their family but each blog was interconnected because all families seem to have a "secret language" of sorts.
• What do these patterns reveal about language and its conventions in family contexts?
These patterns show langauge to be a way that families bond together. They are from their culture, common family experiences, inside jokes, needs and wants of each family to create meaning. Everyone had the ability to write about some significant word or phrase which show that all families seem to operate in the same way of creating a familiar language that is unique to them.
• Thinking about these Language Investigations in conjunction with what you’ve read so far in Lives on the Boundary, what does it mean to be an “insider” in terms of language? What questions and issues do your conclusions raise for you as a future teacher?
Being an "insider" in terms of language means not only that you are familiar with how things are communicated to you on a substantial level, but also that you can trace how that language originated and how to use it in daily life. It is a feeling of a bond and a connection that allows for comfort and further learning experience, i.e. growth within the family. This parrells to Lives on the Boundary because Rose as a student is on the outside for a long time, he is trying to fit in a school but is placed on the "boundary' of education in the vocational program. It is clear when at the end of ch. 2 he finds a teacher who he can really relate to and understand that his level for wanting to read and know things increases greatly. As a teacher it is imporant to make language seem accessible and familiar, like in a family, so that the student is passionate about involved in the process.
The patterns I noticed the most were that many people seemed to elicit a closeness and a personal tone within their blogs. Many called on cultural traditions of the family and words and phrases that were passed down among generations and throughout extended family as well. Each writer became the expert in his or her own family language while also being able to relate the ideas and expressions of other families. Each family was different in the words they chose that had significant meaning in their family but each blog was interconnected because all families seem to have a "secret language" of sorts.
• What do these patterns reveal about language and its conventions in family contexts?
These patterns show langauge to be a way that families bond together. They are from their culture, common family experiences, inside jokes, needs and wants of each family to create meaning. Everyone had the ability to write about some significant word or phrase which show that all families seem to operate in the same way of creating a familiar language that is unique to them.
• Thinking about these Language Investigations in conjunction with what you’ve read so far in Lives on the Boundary, what does it mean to be an “insider” in terms of language? What questions and issues do your conclusions raise for you as a future teacher?
Being an "insider" in terms of language means not only that you are familiar with how things are communicated to you on a substantial level, but also that you can trace how that language originated and how to use it in daily life. It is a feeling of a bond and a connection that allows for comfort and further learning experience, i.e. growth within the family. This parrells to Lives on the Boundary because Rose as a student is on the outside for a long time, he is trying to fit in a school but is placed on the "boundary' of education in the vocational program. It is clear when at the end of ch. 2 he finds a teacher who he can really relate to and understand that his level for wanting to read and know things increases greatly. As a teacher it is imporant to make language seem accessible and familiar, like in a family, so that the student is passionate about involved in the process.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Language Investigation #1: In the Family
It is often difficult to pick out something that stands out when you are so close to it all the time. I don’t believe that secret coded languages or words made up from something else really exist in my family.
My mom refuses to allow any of her children to be called by anything other than his or her full name. There is no Britt, Vicki, Tom, Chris- Only Brittany, Victoria, Thomas, and Christopher. Words that people tend to assign cute or more appropriate names to are called what they really are, maybe because she is in a medical field. Rather, in my family, it is not so much the phrases that we all have in common that contain a special meaning, it’s more of a mocking joke to guess what someone will say before it comes out.
Each person has certain phrases that I wait for in conversation, we all sit around at dinner or watching the football games and get into those familiar conversations that you seem to have every week, with just a slightly new original spin. Those looks get shared behind the speakers back of “Oh I know what’s coming next…” Then out it comes and everyone cracks up.
My grandma for instance is famous for “warshing” things. Clothes, dishes, cars, children… these don’t get washed, they get warshed. Why? I have no idea. For the same reason that she says pockorn rather than popcorn. And the same reason we all say “oh piddle” whenever she is in the room, just to mock her quaint habits.
My dad has the second most predictable phrases:
“Very nice,” not an uncommon phrase, it is just the way he says it, patronizing and masking something that is really not very nice, or usually when at a loss for any other descriptive phrase. He always raises the pitch of his voice and slows it down considerably in the wpm category, as though he feels if he takes longer to say it, he may actually change his mind about whatever he is referring to. Usually this has to do with gifts (most often gifts my grandmother gives him).
“Once Again” was also originated by my father. Lecture format is where this phrase comes up the most and in pretty much all arguments between child and parent in my family.
Ever catch yourself doing a parenting tactic you swore you would never do because you hated when your parents did it? Ha. Well “once again” is now one of those “oops I can’t believe I let it out, bite my tongue” phrases that creeps into my reasoning debates far too often.
Almost every lecture I have gotten in my life has a “once again,” actually probably more like 10 once agains strewn unromantically throughout the words replacing um, likes, and any other sort of interjection or connector phrase:
Well, the tables have turned and now my siblings and I use his tactic to make jokes:
My mom refuses to allow any of her children to be called by anything other than his or her full name. There is no Britt, Vicki, Tom, Chris- Only Brittany, Victoria, Thomas, and Christopher. Words that people tend to assign cute or more appropriate names to are called what they really are, maybe because she is in a medical field. Rather, in my family, it is not so much the phrases that we all have in common that contain a special meaning, it’s more of a mocking joke to guess what someone will say before it comes out.
Each person has certain phrases that I wait for in conversation, we all sit around at dinner or watching the football games and get into those familiar conversations that you seem to have every week, with just a slightly new original spin. Those looks get shared behind the speakers back of “Oh I know what’s coming next…” Then out it comes and everyone cracks up.
My grandma for instance is famous for “warshing” things. Clothes, dishes, cars, children… these don’t get washed, they get warshed. Why? I have no idea. For the same reason that she says pockorn rather than popcorn. And the same reason we all say “oh piddle” whenever she is in the room, just to mock her quaint habits.
My dad has the second most predictable phrases:
“Very nice,” not an uncommon phrase, it is just the way he says it, patronizing and masking something that is really not very nice, or usually when at a loss for any other descriptive phrase. He always raises the pitch of his voice and slows it down considerably in the wpm category, as though he feels if he takes longer to say it, he may actually change his mind about whatever he is referring to. Usually this has to do with gifts (most often gifts my grandmother gives him).
“Once Again” was also originated by my father. Lecture format is where this phrase comes up the most and in pretty much all arguments between child and parent in my family.
Ever catch yourself doing a parenting tactic you swore you would never do because you hated when your parents did it? Ha. Well “once again” is now one of those “oops I can’t believe I let it out, bite my tongue” phrases that creeps into my reasoning debates far too often.
Almost every lecture I have gotten in my life has a “once again,” actually probably more like 10 once agains strewn unromantically throughout the words replacing um, likes, and any other sort of interjection or connector phrase:
Once again, your homework is not done after practice. Once again, your room is a mess. I told this would happen, once again I’m right.
Well, the tables have turned and now my siblings and I use his tactic to make jokes:
Oh once again dad forgot to take out the trash. Once again the sky is blue. Once again A follows B...
The more I think about it, the more I realize that my dad is truly the instigator in our immediate family of words and phrases that we all mock and carry around on a daily basis. Our joking and sarcasm is a way of connecting with one another.
Where I'm From (The pointed black and white version)
Where I’m From
Where I’m from is a black and white world.
Where I’m from is an A+ standard.
An energizer bunny would be worn out.
Where I’m from is a life of expectation;
Never stopping, always achieving,
A black and white future laid out from birth
Who I am is a gray painting in progress.
Where I’m from is a house started from nothing.
White man’s poverty, peanut butter & jelly, new clothes-
Only when my grandparents came.
Where I’m from is parents who married too young
With too many pressures, not enough reality.
Who I am is someone trying to escape the fallout.
Where I’m from is a “Learn From Me” household.
“Don’t make our mistakes. Take advantage of every opportunity”
Bright Kid. Bright Future.
So many opportunities for success!
Who I am is someone who wants to redefine success.
I can define hard work and perseverance,
Imitate goal setting, hoop jumping,
And going up hill both ways. Twice a day.
Where I’m from is an over- achieving bloodline
Doctor, Lawyer, Scholarship winner:
A Biomediphysicologist.
Who I am is a future English teacher
Where I’m from is a black and white expectation
That I keep trying to paint gray.
Where I’m from is a black and white world.
Where I’m from is an A+ standard.
An energizer bunny would be worn out.
Where I’m from is a life of expectation;
Never stopping, always achieving,
A black and white future laid out from birth
Who I am is a gray painting in progress.
Where I’m from is a house started from nothing.
White man’s poverty, peanut butter & jelly, new clothes-
Only when my grandparents came.
Where I’m from is parents who married too young
With too many pressures, not enough reality.
Who I am is someone trying to escape the fallout.
Where I’m from is a “Learn From Me” household.
“Don’t make our mistakes. Take advantage of every opportunity”
Bright Kid. Bright Future.
So many opportunities for success!
Who I am is someone who wants to redefine success.
I can define hard work and perseverance,
Imitate goal setting, hoop jumping,
And going up hill both ways. Twice a day.
Where I’m from is an over- achieving bloodline
Doctor, Lawyer, Scholarship winner:
A Biomediphysicologist.
Who I am is a future English teacher
Where I’m from is a black and white expectation
That I keep trying to paint gray.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)