"Life Is a Highway...

School ends in two days, but apparently with all this blogging and reflection, I've already put this year behind me. Driving home from school today I thought of a way to tie down (or free) our freshmen English course to a coherent and meaningful foundation. As of now, we cover run down a checklist of classics: "The Scarlet Ibis," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Most Dangerous Game," "The Gift of the Magi," The Odyssey, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet. I'm sure I'm too dense to see it, but I have trouble seeing/understanding the strand that connects these pieces. So 

here's my the idea for a freshmen English course: English for a Developing Citizen.

I think the new principal at our school would like this for two reasons: one, he is trying to develop an academy (teams) for struggling freshmen that would provide these students with a sense of purpose and place within the daunting structure of the high school; and two, he's always talking about turning our students from mere students into world citizens. I completely agree with him and personally feel that English shouldn't be taught in school if the focus isn't providing students with the tools to become better peo

ple. Hence, this would be a first-year English course that introduces what it means to be a a good citizen.

So this course's mastery objective would be to teach students what it means to be a good citizen and it would be broken down into units. The units would be thematic and have corresponding unit assessments that focus on applying the skills gained in the unit to "real world" situations. Playing on the "real world" phrase a bit, the s

tructure of the course (especially assessments) would be based on the model of reality t.v. shows. OK...bear with me a bit here. This would work especially well in an academy/team because different classes would be different teams. I've been so lucky to work with a teacher who shares a lot of the same ideas as me, and we had a few friendly competitions this year; the kids responded really well to it, which makes me think turning to the course in this direction could generate a lot of enthusiasm and a strong community. Each unit would have a number of minor applications corresponding to the skills taught and then the unit assessment would be a big, hyped-up challenge. Think Real World/R

oad Rules Challenge. Students today are inundated with reality TV, so this would be using a medium they are familiar with to engage and excite them. The entire course would be part of a larger competition. If done in the right way, this would foster a real sense of community even among competing classes.

Here's a brainstorming syllabus:

ENGLISH FOR THE DEVELOPING CITIZEN

English IA and IB

Course objective: This course, using literature as its foundation, guides and encourages students to become better citizens of their school

, local and world communities. Students will will participate in various instructional activities and assessments in order to apply the life lessons that are presented in literature to real-world situations. By the end of the course, students will have a working idea of what it means to be a good citizen and how they can continue to develop their citizenship by using literature as a springboard. 

Units, Literature and Assessments:

1. Teamwork

"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Edward Connell

"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe

"The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst

"The Gift of the Magi" by O Henry 

Assessment: Team five-paragraph essay building challenge

2. Community

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Assessment: Create an ideal classroom. This is a bare-bones assessment right now but would be developed a lot more. 

3.  Character (and possibly an emphasis on decision making)

The Odyssey by Homer

Assessment: We are still working on plans for this unit but we were thinking of doing something with an odyssey around the school. This could tie into the assessment.

4. Creativity

The focus here would be on enhancing writing skills

Assessment: The Apprentice-style challenge where teams must develop and market a product that teaches students to write effectively

5.  Tolerance 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Assessment: Develop and execute a plan to 

educate the school about the need for tolerance. This year our class came up with a Wall of Tolerance made from surveys they took from the student body...it was pretty cool. I like the idea of some sort of monument because it gets kids thinking about the physical spaces they use and occupy and artistic forms of communication.

6. Communication

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Assessment: This year my coworker came up with an awesome assessment that involved making the play accessible to the masses. 

Students can expect to develop, enhance and apply their writing skills because the ability to write effectively is a benchmark of becoming a good citizen. In addition to mastering the standard five-paragraph essay, students will blog all of their writing online, participate in monitored online forums for homework, and use their writing skills to interact with the school, local and world communities. 

So that's the end of my brainstorming syllabus. By the way, I totally stole the blogging essay idea from this teacher-- http://hipteacher.typepad.com/ . Large contingency of readers (Mom and now Michael (mom's boyfriend), any thoughts?

I knew my hour-and-fifteen-minute, ever-more-expensive car ride home was good for something. 

...And I'm going to ride it all night long."