"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." 

To Fail or Not to Fail? *

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more 

useful than a life spent doing nothing." 

George Bernard Shaw

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better." Samuel Beckett

So today was class reflection day. I've been lucky enough to have three of these this year. We are on the trimester schedule and have an insane--literally--task of teaching new students each trimester, so in my first year, I have taught twelve different classes of students; although, I've only had six preps. This means I've had approximately 230 class reflections handed into me to date. It's a good thing I'm a big fan of reflecting. 

I hope one day when I am the experienced, life-changing teacher that I dream of becoming, class reflection day will be the highlight of my year because it will be the day I realize that I've actually made a difference, a significant difference. However and to say the least, I'm not quite there yet. Today I had the full spectrum of reflections: one that particularly stands out was in response to the question "What made learning difficult for you this trimester? Explain." I received the ever-so-concise answer "Ms. (insert my last name here)." Actually, there were no periods; punctuation seems to be a lost art form these days. In the same class that I received this reflection, I failed about eight students, over a fourth of the class. I can't even believe I'm admitting this "publicly."

It was later in the day that I received unsolicited feedback from a student who I haven't had the pleasure of having in class. He's a nice kid: quiet, helpful, artistic and respectful. He came in after school to ask if I needed any help, and then we preceded to chat. He asked if it was my first year teaching and how I got into education. I explained what led me to where I am, and then he asked if I would be staying at the high school for a while. I responded that I was planning on it, and he replied, "Even after everything everyone says about you?" Ouch. I didn't see that one coming. I pretended not to be too struck by his comment and joked that I may not be caught up on all the latest gossip, and then he said, "Well, everyone just says how much work you give and how much writing you expect your students to do." Ahhh...in case that wasn't clear, that was me sighing with relief.

Not to jump on the defense but rather explain my concerns with the state of education, I don't give homework every night and when I do, it's usually about twenty-thirty minutes a night. I would say the amount of homework I give averages to about fifteen minutes a night (if that). I do ask my students to write a lot (mostly because many of them are sixteen years old and don't know what a sentence fragment is...even I, fraud English teacher, know that one). So my concern is this (and I speak for my school only): What are we sacrificing when we pass students who don't deserve to pass or dumb our classes down enough so it is possible to pass without ever bringing a book home or completing any work over the weekend? I think we are sacrificing everything, including our students. 

This trimester students could not pass my class if they did not write the "mandatory" four-and-a-half page junior research paper.** Was it hard? Yes. Was it new to most students? Yes. Was it impossible for any student? Heck no. But still eight students expected to pass without doing it despite the numerous warnings I delivered in class, on progress reports, to parents via phone and email, to guidance counselors and personally. They really were shocked when it got towards the end of the trimester and I told them they had to do the paper (now over a month late) or take a failing grade. I don't believe I speak too incomprehensibly (although at times I certainly lack eloquence) and I don't believe my students a dumb computer/couch potatoes. So where is the disconnect? I think it's in vague, inconsistent and lowered expectations. I have yet to have one student of average intelligence fail one of my classes; students who get a kick out of Ulysses have failed my classes but the ones that struggle the most intellectually usually get by with a C. So what am I doing wrong? What is the high school I work in doing wrong? What is the district doing wrong? I believe it is us, not the students, are the ones doing the failing. 

All I can say to sooth my bruised, teacher ego soul on this emotionally taxing day known as class reflection day is that I will fail my students and myself better next year.

*I'm sure this cliche title has been used before, but I'm drained from the day and lack all energy that would be required to come up with a creative title. Don't tell my students I said that. 

**Rants and raves on research papers will certainly make an appearance in the near future.

Conniving Mind Manipulator or Just a Teacher?

 
Today we wrapped up our unit on The Importance of Being Earnest. We talked a lot about materialism and examined the cyclical nature of advertising and consumerism in Western culture. As students presented their projects today, I realized my words resonated within the various projects they presented. That's one of the coolest things about teaching: when you hear something that you feel is important echoed back to you through the voice of a young, developing mind. But I'm beginning to wonder if my teaching and lessons are too calculated, too one sided.

One of my main objectives as an English teacher is to provide my students with the tools for self growth. Literature has been the catalyst for much of my growth as a person, and it is for this reason that I deeply love literature. I feel that my passion for literature comes before my passion for teaching; in fact, I don't think I could really say that I have a passion for teaching. It's my desire to show others how essential reading can be in developing our ability to think critically and analytically that spurs my desire to teach. I enjoy teaching immensely but I don't love it like I love my subject. At least at this juncture, I have a much deeper intense love for my subject than my profession. Anyway, this was a very circumlocutious way of explaining why what I teach is very personal to me and therefore, often very biased. 

Reading has provided me with a deeper sense of identity, purpose and strength than I had prior to my infatuation with literature, and I want my students to be able to have that same opportunity if they want it; therefore, I often present material in class that challenges our society's hegemonic thinking: I ask students to become very aware of the various messages (and the motivation behind such messages) that they receive on a daily basis. I want them to try and find a part of themselves, that inherently good and beautiful part, that is somebody without a Coach purse, iPod, cell phone, or Hollister wardrobe. Inherently, asking them to do this, asks them to look critically at things like big business, consumerism and capitalism. We frequently talk about student loans, systematically privileged groups, advertising, media conglomerates and what are typically considered "liberal" agendas. I'm not really interested in politics all that much and I don't know all that much about the topic, which helps me reaffirm to myself that I am not intentionally pushing any political agenda; I simply want to teach my students how to understand the world from multiple view points and in the process, become a bit more tolerant and unafraid of exploring unconventional modes of thinking. I hope that by doing this they will have the tools to identify a part of themselves that is so much more than all that surface stuff that is so important to high schoolers, and let's face it, most people in our contemporary society.

I know others would see some of the topics that we discuss in class as typically "liberal," and I'm just beginning to wonder is there a line and have I crossed it? I honestly feel like I am trying to teach students to become more responsible, self-educated individuals, but I know my gun-owning co-worker a few doors down probably wouldn't see my classes in such a positive light. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm having a personal conflict with my job. Do teachers have a responsibility to be completely objective? And does objectivity require us to sacrifice some of our passions? I think the simple answer is probably "Yes," but I have trouble believing that is actually the correct answer.