Talking, talking, talking

I really enjoy magic talks-I definitely believe that what is written is just as powerful as what is said and that written words have the same capacity as spoken words. To be seen and felt instead of heard is the difference with the magic talk and a regular talk. It is more involved and more reflective than a regular conversation. While you have to watch what you say, you also have to watch what you write. It is a good practice to get into to have these kinds of activities. It benefits those who often shy away from speaking aloud. They don’t necessarily have to worry about being ‘called-out’ by someone and embarrassed, unless they have a very distinguishable handwriting. I think that the IRF cycle is an important piece of any classroom talk. To acknowledge what someone has said makes the speaker feel validated, whether the answer was right or wrong is another question however. That’s why it is a good idea to ask a variety of types of questions so students don’t get stuck in the groove of answering the same old questions: Challenging them challenges you as a teacher. Talks can quickly become heated and people go on the defense, as we saw in the clip from Freedom Writers. I think this can be healthy as well though. That teacher would have never really known her students had that conversation not occurred. The big idea to take away from this topic is that silence does not facilitate learning! Talk it up!!

Listening and Propaganda

The first thing I think about when I hear the word listening is hearing. People often think they are the same but they are DEFINITELY not. Hearing involves just that, being able to detect a sound, a music note, a voice. Listening involves processing what is heard. I think that people take hearing and listening for granted. Like many other things, we don’t realize how precious and valuable a sense and resource these two are until, sadly sometimes we lose that ability for whatever reason. I think that our level of interest to the subject or person affects our listening/hearing sensitivity. I’m very guilty of hearing instead of listening. For example, when my mom tells me about her day but I’m more interested in the Minesweeper game I’m playing. I hear what she’s saying but I’m also trying to beat my high score, so I don’t listen. I think the assumption that because one can hear one is listening is one reason why our students are struggling the way they are. Listening is a skill that takes time to develop and mature and teachers need to make sure that the difference between these two is taught early as well as the ability to do either/both. Maybe if we listened to half of what we hear, we wouldn’t be so deceived by propaganda. I enjoyed the in-class activity. Seldom do we stop to think about what we’re seeing and being told. We may listen to the propaganda with one ear-set (instead of a mind-set) when we should be listening with a different, better, and more effective method. Critical listening instead of aesthetic listening is better suited to ensure that we aren’t hoodwinked by those things that are just too good to be true!

Field Experiences

For this class, I was at Leesville Middle School with a seventh grade language arts teacher. I enjoyed my time with her. She is a very good teacher. She is engaging and the students know that she cares about them and their work. She won't accept anything less than their best. She relates thinks back to the students to make them see things in a new light. She might be tough on them, but it only makes her students work harder. I've seen so many concepts we've covered in class during my time. The writing process, literature circles, left-handed writers, figurative language, and story elements are just a few of the numerous things that I've been able to relate from class here to class there. One of my favorite visits was when the students analyzed several different poems. I was fortunate enough to hear prosody in action and it was awesome!! I really don't think the essence of the poem would have come across if another student had read it. In this visit, I was able to see students analyze different things that together created a poem. The insights that they shared were brilliant. My least favorite visit would have to be the one when my teacher told me that she kept forgetting about my coming, until I showed up. I know she's busy but that still made me feel a little uncomfortable and kind of un-welcomed. I didn't expect to enjoy a language arts class as much as I did. My classes weren't nearly as exciting and enjoyable as the ones I observed. Perhaps if my teachers were as effective as Mrs. Rigsbee, I'd have a completely different attitude towards language arts and trust me, it'd be for the better!!

In order to make a unit plan fun, entertaining, and exciting, I have to pick a book that I enjoy as well as my students. I’ll approach this topic in two ways. First, I’ll focus on my ESL students and then think as if I were a regular classroom teacher. When I was younger, I loved reading the books that go through every letter of the alphabet and listed tons of pictures for the various sounds that letter could make. For an activity, I would introduce the long and short vowel sounds and have the students try and create their own list of examples. A book I could use in both classrooms would be, “Esperanza Rising.” For those students who had moved here, whether it is from another country or another town, it would serve as a very relatable piece of literature. The book also deals with loss and tragedy so it would be a good coping tool to use in the classroom. If I had older students, I would use Richard Rodriquez’s book, “Hunger of Memory”. This book deals with a boy who struggles between using his native Spanish and learning English. He wants to be successful in the future, but at the present, he is losing his family’s respect and sense of belonging there with them. For this book, I would have students write their examples of being torn between two cultures. Also, I think it would be a good idea to have students create a chart of the similarities and differences between their two worlds. Another good read I enjoy is “Anne of Green Gables.” For this book, I would have students invent situations where they would have to choose between an outstanding opportunity and leaving your family behind or settling for some not as great but being there for your family. This is what Anne had to do. She had to choose between going off to school to teach and staying behind to help Marilla in her failing health. Another activity I would have students participate in is sharing any stereotypes that they’ve experienced. People in Green Gables thought Anne was so unruly, because she had never been in some of the given social situations. She was also made fun of because of her red hair. I would also include how differences make us cool and interesting. I now realize that these topics can serve their designed purposes in both classroom settings. The only thing that would change would be the age range. Very young or older, it doesn’t matter because good books and engaging activities can be found and done for all!!