Dialogue Journal #5

While reading through the Beach article, I started to think about two things in particular- stereotypes and the nature of resistance. On the topic of stereotypes, I started to think over how stereotypes are created and the idea that many stereotypes are, of course, grounded in something. This fact can make discussion even more difficult. As if discussing most of these topics isn’t already pretty darn difficult, now we have to also address what makes some statements stereotypes, and even if students have experienced some of these stereotypes first hand why they aren’t always the case. It also seems to me that stereotypes aren’t always negative and are often used to make light of sometimes-difficult issues (which is good to bring up when teaching satire). Although this issue isn’t quite as scary to me as some of the other issues associated with this class, it is something that came up in the article and will come up in a multicultural classroom, so it will be worth a few minutes of thought on how to best handle that discussion.

The next thing that stood out in this article, as well as some of the others we have read is the challenge of student resistance. Hopefully any resistance is what Moller and Allen call “engaged resistance” and can be used to our advantage to contribute to the conversation, but one thing I worry about is the kind of resistance that leads to students simply shutting down. Beach brings this up when discussing some of the white male students that he was observing and how they became defensive about their societal status as privileged white males. In a perfect world and as a perfect teacher, my lessons will not lead to defensiveness, but in the real world this is another thing to think about along with the question of how do we bring students back from that defensive stand in a way that will allow them to save face and once again join the conversation in a productive manner (even if that is from the standpoint of engaged resistance)?

These are just a couple more things on the list of things to prepare for when getting ready to engage in difficult topics, and I think the answer to these issues is probably much the same as some of the other issues. Create safe spaces, respect everyone’s opinion, rely on good texts, don’t pretend to know everything and let the students teach us as much as we are teaching them, etc, etc. Lessons are never perfect, but as long as we try to keep even some of these practices in mind, I think we will be at least taking a step in the right direction.

Dialogue Journal #4

Some thoughts on Goebel:

This article was written about the difficulties in a multicultural college classroom. The first thing that came to my mind is that the ongoing shift in college expectations is a great argument toward why we need to be teaching multicultural literature in our high school classes. Just as I stated in my previous post on the teaching of the five-paragraph essay, if we want to prepare our students for college we need to give them a large toolbox of skills and the ability to adapt in any situation. Also, if we are asking out students to be adaptable to various situations (including individual and group work, oral presentations and written assignments, and a wide array of writing formats), we need to be adaptable as teachers as well. As the article points out, “Women and working-class students might immediately benefit from a shift from individualistic, teacher-centered instruction to cooperative student-centered instruction,” and then a paragraph later states, “In some instances, a teacher-centered, competitive, hierarchical classroom may be appropriate.” (p24). Just as this article cannot give us any clear, cookie-cutter answer as to how to best reach every student, we will never be entirely sure how to do that ourselves. We can only try our best and always be willing and attentive enough to be able to change things that are not working.

Another thing that came to mind when I was reading this article was the need for teachers to be consistent. This contradicts what I just said about a teacher needing to be ready to mix things up, but I kept thinking that especially when working with students that may be having trouble with new educational and communication formats, students do need some level of consistency. If we are going to be conducing a classroom where we are using many different types of strategies for learning, one way to create more stability is by setting clear expectations and completely explaining the nature of the course from the start. I think it is important to always make students aware of what you are doing and why you are doing it. This should help students to be more motivated and hopefully relieve any stress that comes with the learning of new and unfamiliar things.

My final note on this article has to do with the degree of difficulty involved in the use of these kinds of educational strategies. An ideal classroom might be full of open debate in a comfortable learning environment, but as Goebel notes, “The tendency toward subservience, passivity, and silence are quite prevalent.” Finding that balance that will reach all students is not easy and there will never be one right answer to the question of what makes a teacher great. That will be a question that we will all just have to figure out every day that we step into a classroom.

Dialogue Journal #3

I have had many a debate on the usefulness of the five-paragraph essay, and I generally tend to agree with what Pirie had to say in his article. I think students need to learn how to write academically, which includes knowledge of the five-paragraph essay, and we as teachers would be doing a disservice to our students by not exposing them to it. On the other hand, this is just one tool in our large chest of writing styles and formats. We can and should teach our students to think creatively and can encourage them to use more than one form of writing throughout the year.

For those teachers out there that absolutely abhor the mere mention of the five-paragraph essay, they can feel free to express that dislike to their students. In much the same way that we have been discussing having a safe classroom with open discussion about topics such as language and culture, I think teachers can be open with their students about the “system” and the “man” as things that they may not want to conform to, but that they will have to at least know how to deal with throughout their education and beyond. I don’t think it is a problem to acknowledge the dominant power structure that we have been discussing in order to validate and engage those students that feel like the “other.” They need to know that they don’t have to give anything of their culture up in order to succeed in your classroom, but they may need to work with the system for one or two assignments and standardized tests. The five-paragraph essay can be one choice of many that students can choose to use to craft their arguments. For those who feel more comfortable using other formats, I think that is perfectly fine.

Being open and honest with students about what they need to do to be successful in a (still) white, male society is important and the students will choose whether or not they will acknowledge that world, and maybe work to change it, or ignore it and possibly be defeated by it along the way.

Dialogue Journal #2

I appreciate Bill’s stories of his student teaching because I just finished my student teaching and can relate my students to those of his first semester class. I feel that my students and the community all place at least some value on education and the school system. Points and grades are a reward and all students at least seem to want to “pass” all of their classes, which made my life easier as a student teacher that was just trying to deal with the day to day of becoming a teacher. Fortunately for me, though, my school had already implemented the use of multicultural literature and an emphasis on exploring different perspectives. I do think that it was more difficult to get all of the students engaged in this curriculum because many of them were from very similar backgrounds (white, middle class, suburban), and therefore couldn’t always relate. I think that the fact that students have very little exposure to problems faced by other cultures only accentuates the need for this variation of literature in the classroom.

The one thing that Bill said toward then end of his chapter that I had trouble with was, “The epiphany, if there has been one, during my student teaching experience, is this realization that a continuation of the educational status quo ensures that ‘othered’ groups will continue to be relegated to limited social and economic opportunities in a cycle that continually feeds upon and regenerates itself.” Throughout his story he discusses the small success of using culturally relevant texts to get his students engaged, and then their continued apathy and pressure to not value school. So, my question is, if the use of multi-cultural literature can work to get the students engaged and involved in your one class, how are we going to energize and empower those students to go out and be successful in the rest of their school careers and beyond? I think Bill did what he could with his final letter of encouragement, but things like that also need to be incorporated into the classroom culture from the start.

As for the rest of the readings, I agree that learning the history of your students is important. Aside from great methods and dynamic lessons, connecting with students and showing them that you care about their past as well as their future is one of the ways to become that “great teacher” that Byron mentioned in class.

Why to Teach Multi-cutural Lit

The question of whether or not to teach something that may impact or influence another person’s beliefs or understanding of the world is an interesting one. We are teachers, so that is what we do. I don’t think that you can simply walk into a classroom and have absolutely no agenda whatsoever. We have to teach something. Even simply teaching how to read and write English can be controversial if another language is more important to a certain student. Our lessons and the things we teach should always have some sort of purpose, and the intention of encouraging open-minded, deep thinking about the differences inherent in all people is a fine objective if you ask me.

This, of course, does not mean that teachers should attempt to change a student’s beliefs, but they should encourage reflection and tolerance toward all points of view. After all, if a student can take time to understand and reflect on the things that they disagree with, they should be able to strengthen their own convictions and have better knowledge of themselves. I will never feel bad about pushing an agenda of thoughtful open-mindedness, and I think using multi-cultural literature is one way to encourage deeper understanding of the world outside of the walls of a high school classroom.

The next question is one of what, out of the seemingly endless possibilities to cram into the small span of the school year. My answer to that question is that we should try to vary our reading selections as much as possible, while making it clear to students that what we are working with is just the tip of the iceberg. By emphasizing the fact that as we learn about one culture or author or character represented in one piece of literature, we are hopefully learning more about the great differences and similarities that can be found across all cultures. Teaching English should be more about teaching students how to think and not what to think. In the long run, I don’t really care if students can name all the characters and plot devices used by a certain author in a certain novel, but the act of having read and attempted to understand the views and cultures in that novel will maybe lead to a more enriched life and a better understanding of the world as well as the self.

Gender Lens

Dove Evolution

Fun with Satire

We will be exploring satire today.
Satire can range from: light to serious to bitter to irony.


Satire can focus on specific subjects, books, movies or events:

Literature
Hamlet

Political Cartoons and Current Events
Economy

Gas Prices

Education


Or, satire can criticize portions of society or life more generally:

Motivational Speakers

Romance Archetype