so...how does my research or reflection still matter in my current classroom? well, i think it's still relevant because every year, the students i meet hate, hate, hate poetry and find it either too boring or too hard for them to understand....and forget, forget about writing it! no way jose! that stuff stinks and i have nothing to say and wouldn't say it that way, anyway...
it makes me sad but then excited to show them the coolness of poetry (and maybe some of my slight, but totally under-control obsession with it--totally normal--i know lots of people with poe and shakespeare action figures that TALK to them when no one is around...what?)
i think this question of mine about the skills kids getting poetry is important also because they never seem to realize how cool they think, that they think in such an out-of-order (but not wrong) way that some things come totally easy to them. when they say some things, they don't get why it's so awesome and i try to stop to tell them that. sometimes i tell white lies (but maybe they're not) about something being "advanced" or "high level". i don't think i'm lying, but i might not be exact or 100% accurate if, say, some educational theorist were to walk into my classroom (thank goodness i don't know any).
i guess what i'm saying is that this is important because kids are. i get new kids every year. i don't see them the year after i have them because they go to another building and i really can't know how they're doing unless they come to visit. i think a lot of kids need someone to tell them how smart they are, even if it looks different. i think i work with a lot of people who do this or who want to do this, but it's easy for me to remember to tell them since poetry is #1 on everyone's "i hate to write this stuff" list. i don't know.
why would it be important to someone in my session at the conference? maybe because some people who teach were like my kids and it's on their list of "i hate to teach this stuff" list. or maybe they were the types of student who fished for the right answer for everything. i like the idea of coming up with more questions with every guess made....i think it's hard for some folks to not have a right answer. i'm not sure. it's not like i don't "quiz" kids on lit terms and examples of things....i just never ask "what's the poem all about" on a quiz, really, unless it's a short answer type of thing....hmmm...i think i need more journaling on this or something...i don't seem to be getting anywhere with this week's focus for the deadline draft!
sorry for the "freewrite" here....any thoughts? what about the situation in your own schools? how do the kids respond to poetry? how about the skills kids? how do the teachers approach it? i realize i may be a little fanatical, but...some people i work with actually like teaching grammar and root words! yuck, i say! so, it seems to be the same...we all have our favorite things...hmmm....more later...
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
what DID i do? gooooood question.
so. this week i'm supposed to tell you what i did in the hopes of furthering my question. well, i guess i've taken a closer look at what the heck i actually DO. this is what i have so far. tell me if there's something missing or if this is not at all what is helpful to someone at our conference.
for poetry in the 3rd quarter, i begin convincing the kids that they can do poetry during the first week of school with a little creative writing, most of which i have shamelessly stolen from hundreds of unsuspecting colleagues over the course of several years. nice. the kids do all sorts of writing about themselves and what they think about things for about 1-2 weeks. already, having no rules upsets many of them. when drawing something, they panic and blurt out random things like, "what does it have to look like? what color? which way should my paper go? can i color it in?" these are poetry questions pretending to be writing questions. a poetry question would sound like, "how many comments do you want me to make in the margins? how many metaphors should there be? does it have to rhyme? (gag)" and the ever dreaded, "what is this poem about?" YOU TELL ME! already so much panic all over the place. so i guess i start off with the kind of abstract thinking required 3-4 months down the road right off the bat. (it's also kind of fun to freak them out with no rules about writing....fun to see their faces try to figure out what you secretly MEAN by that.....hahahahahahaha!). sorry. obviously, it's been a long day.
so throughout the year, we vote on answers as a class tries to agree on the climax of a story/movie, we debate about censorship, we write a lot of weirdo abstract daily pages and about art, we yell, we draw, sometimes we sit and take notes (yucky, but reality), we move around a bit here and there and eventually, magically, thinking happens. boundaries are formed (redirecting what is appropriate banter in a debate might sound like, "ok. no. you can't call him stupid an ugly and throw a pen at him just because he thinks censorship is a good idea. that's a no. try this......")
i don't know how it happens. i think i may have to really pour over some lesson plans (sticky notes and lists all over the place) to see what we're doing cognitively. this year, since we're kind of required to use curriculum maps, some of this is set for us, so i'm supposed to be covering certain things in preparation for poetry during 3rd quarter. maybe i'll look those maps over. maybe i'll just ask some kids....though it might be too late for the conference to direct my questions at poetry in isolation....maybe i'll just ask about the pace, set up, and expectations of the class in terms of the things we read and do and write about in here? interest poll?
not very detailed, i'm afraid. but, there is some direction in terms of reviewing past lessons, calendars, and notes i've taken over the last few years to see what exactly prepares some of the kids to think for themselves in poetry settings. overall, i try to brainwash them into believing they know a lot and ought to use it and use it often....i may have to think more about how that happens. it's just something i always do, i think. this is a good metacognition activity! (so, now it's been a long day AND i'm having a irreversible nerd moment. sorry.)
any suggestions? what would be helpful if YOU were sitting in my session (good luck there! ha!)....? what kinds of things are helpful? should i include all the crazy data, data, data i pour over to see where the kids are with reading and writing, etc., sort of? hmmmmmmm........
for poetry in the 3rd quarter, i begin convincing the kids that they can do poetry during the first week of school with a little creative writing, most of which i have shamelessly stolen from hundreds of unsuspecting colleagues over the course of several years. nice. the kids do all sorts of writing about themselves and what they think about things for about 1-2 weeks. already, having no rules upsets many of them. when drawing something, they panic and blurt out random things like, "what does it have to look like? what color? which way should my paper go? can i color it in?" these are poetry questions pretending to be writing questions. a poetry question would sound like, "how many comments do you want me to make in the margins? how many metaphors should there be? does it have to rhyme? (gag)" and the ever dreaded, "what is this poem about?" YOU TELL ME! already so much panic all over the place. so i guess i start off with the kind of abstract thinking required 3-4 months down the road right off the bat. (it's also kind of fun to freak them out with no rules about writing....fun to see their faces try to figure out what you secretly MEAN by that.....hahahahahahaha!). sorry. obviously, it's been a long day.
so throughout the year, we vote on answers as a class tries to agree on the climax of a story/movie, we debate about censorship, we write a lot of weirdo abstract daily pages and about art, we yell, we draw, sometimes we sit and take notes (yucky, but reality), we move around a bit here and there and eventually, magically, thinking happens. boundaries are formed (redirecting what is appropriate banter in a debate might sound like, "ok. no. you can't call him stupid an ugly and throw a pen at him just because he thinks censorship is a good idea. that's a no. try this......")
i don't know how it happens. i think i may have to really pour over some lesson plans (sticky notes and lists all over the place) to see what we're doing cognitively. this year, since we're kind of required to use curriculum maps, some of this is set for us, so i'm supposed to be covering certain things in preparation for poetry during 3rd quarter. maybe i'll look those maps over. maybe i'll just ask some kids....though it might be too late for the conference to direct my questions at poetry in isolation....maybe i'll just ask about the pace, set up, and expectations of the class in terms of the things we read and do and write about in here? interest poll?
not very detailed, i'm afraid. but, there is some direction in terms of reviewing past lessons, calendars, and notes i've taken over the last few years to see what exactly prepares some of the kids to think for themselves in poetry settings. overall, i try to brainwash them into believing they know a lot and ought to use it and use it often....i may have to think more about how that happens. it's just something i always do, i think. this is a good metacognition activity! (so, now it's been a long day AND i'm having a irreversible nerd moment. sorry.)
any suggestions? what would be helpful if YOU were sitting in my session (good luck there! ha!)....? what kinds of things are helpful? should i include all the crazy data, data, data i pour over to see where the kids are with reading and writing, etc., sort of? hmmmmmmm........
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
How I became interested in my topic
I became interested in my topic years ago when I figured out middle school kids somehow got into poetry when I gave them some. I think I also got really interested when the kids I gave it to years ago moaned and groaned, etc. and said, "Poetry is stupid. It's only for the smart kids. I hate it. I don't get it. It's crazy writing no one understands. Don't even get me started on Shakespeare!" I was so sad to hear this, considering my totally harmless but nonetheless unhealthy obsession with some specific poets (Poe, Kerouac, Ginsberg, Hughes, Dickinson, Whitman).
I thought maybe if I showed them what I liked about the poets, they could develop the same if not even more unsettling obsession with them, too! I thought, like many others, that music and poetry were the same, one with, one without music behind it. That alone seemed like my easy way in---hook them with stuff they already do and slip in the stuff I do, which they would totally enjoy if they'd just relax about it for a second. (This could easily be said of the entire USA though.)
In regards to the "skills" population of kids, I became super interested in what they had to say because though I may have already taught the same poem 2, 3, or 4 times in the same day, when those guys read it, I had to reread and pause during our discussions several more times than in my other classes. This is SO not to say that my other classes didn't think critically or in an outstanding way with the poetry---they often did. But, more times than not, the class that sent me for a complete loop was the team-taught, "skills" class.
When a kid asked me to rotate a piece of Picasso's art on the overhead 90 degrees, "just to see what happens", I became over-interested in researching what all these ocurrances had to do with one another: what's up with the lower-level reading kids making crazy brilliant statements, observations, and guesses (or..."inferences"...or whatever the professional term may be) at poetry I thought I really had a handle on. One year, I had a kid explicate a poem for me that I had to do for a grad school assignment (He knew way more about the black death and the song "ring around the rosie" was in the poem a few times---he had to teach me what they had to do with one another and I took notes!). I totally got an A on the assignment (yes, I told the teacher and handed in my OWN work...don't freak out!). But I did get an A and I think the kid's help is the reason.
So...I love poetry. I love to teach. I love to teach the "skills" kids who think so far out of the box, they wouldn't know what to do with the box if it knocked them over (ahem...CSAP---hello!?) with a hammer....and I love to learn from my kids (selfishly, but, hey)....so I am finally wondering how that happens, I guess....how's that for short and to the point!? Ha! (I think of the blog as a place to draft....Now...how the heck do I put this in some sort of professional, concise manner??? Ha!)
I thought maybe if I showed them what I liked about the poets, they could develop the same if not even more unsettling obsession with them, too! I thought, like many others, that music and poetry were the same, one with, one without music behind it. That alone seemed like my easy way in---hook them with stuff they already do and slip in the stuff I do, which they would totally enjoy if they'd just relax about it for a second. (This could easily be said of the entire USA though.)
In regards to the "skills" population of kids, I became super interested in what they had to say because though I may have already taught the same poem 2, 3, or 4 times in the same day, when those guys read it, I had to reread and pause during our discussions several more times than in my other classes. This is SO not to say that my other classes didn't think critically or in an outstanding way with the poetry---they often did. But, more times than not, the class that sent me for a complete loop was the team-taught, "skills" class.
When a kid asked me to rotate a piece of Picasso's art on the overhead 90 degrees, "just to see what happens", I became over-interested in researching what all these ocurrances had to do with one another: what's up with the lower-level reading kids making crazy brilliant statements, observations, and guesses (or..."inferences"...or whatever the professional term may be) at poetry I thought I really had a handle on. One year, I had a kid explicate a poem for me that I had to do for a grad school assignment (He knew way more about the black death and the song "ring around the rosie" was in the poem a few times---he had to teach me what they had to do with one another and I took notes!). I totally got an A on the assignment (yes, I told the teacher and handed in my OWN work...don't freak out!). But I did get an A and I think the kid's help is the reason.
So...I love poetry. I love to teach. I love to teach the "skills" kids who think so far out of the box, they wouldn't know what to do with the box if it knocked them over (ahem...CSAP---hello!?) with a hammer....and I love to learn from my kids (selfishly, but, hey)....so I am finally wondering how that happens, I guess....how's that for short and to the point!? Ha! (I think of the blog as a place to draft....Now...how the heck do I put this in some sort of professional, concise manner??? Ha!)
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
my question
so....we figured out that if we broke down (not HAVE a breakdown) the conference's deadline draft into parts, blogging once a week on each part would take us to the next meeting! thanks stacey for figuring that out! what an easy way to force me to a.) blog and b.) get this deadline draft underway.....very cool.
my question is: why do the "skills" kids excel at reading when reading poetry when these are the kids labelled "poor readers"?
what i think i'll do with this is make it the core of my presentation, but not really answer it exactly. (tell me what you think...?) i think it will be my motivation and ultimately what causes me to reflect and review what steps i take at school to prepare the kids for the third quarter poetry unit. i do the same prep with all my classes, but i think i may do more "coaching" or motivating with my "skills" kids in my team-taught class.
i need to review what lessons i have used in the past. i need to review the interview i emailed my teaching partner for the class in question. i need to maybe think about things i tell my classes about the ways they learn and think that may be motivating them somehow.
i have a hunch that by telling the kids what i see them doing, i connect with them because i get the feeling that they're saying "hey, she gets it...she gets me" somehow? sounds a little cheesy at this stage....i'll keep working on it though.....
so, even though i still have pretty much the same question i had in the summer, i think i will be taking a different path towards answering it---i think using research is good, but i think i will use the things i do already to attempt an answer....hmmmm.....
my question is: why do the "skills" kids excel at reading when reading poetry when these are the kids labelled "poor readers"?
what i think i'll do with this is make it the core of my presentation, but not really answer it exactly. (tell me what you think...?) i think it will be my motivation and ultimately what causes me to reflect and review what steps i take at school to prepare the kids for the third quarter poetry unit. i do the same prep with all my classes, but i think i may do more "coaching" or motivating with my "skills" kids in my team-taught class.
i need to review what lessons i have used in the past. i need to review the interview i emailed my teaching partner for the class in question. i need to maybe think about things i tell my classes about the ways they learn and think that may be motivating them somehow.
i have a hunch that by telling the kids what i see them doing, i connect with them because i get the feeling that they're saying "hey, she gets it...she gets me" somehow? sounds a little cheesy at this stage....i'll keep working on it though.....
so, even though i still have pretty much the same question i had in the summer, i think i will be taking a different path towards answering it---i think using research is good, but i think i will use the things i do already to attempt an answer....hmmmm.....
Saturday, September 15, 2007
No. I wasn't kidnapped---just busy!!!
so far, i've just been spending my time reading and getting to know my own students. i am ready to focus on data collection right about now, though, according to my timeline, i should be pretty much done with that now. woops. ha!
i have to admit i am just loving my students this year. i have laughed so much already. i've laughed to the point where i am hunched over and have to take a pause. selfishly, this has been my complete focus so far this year. i used to have that a lot, and last year, i got that maybe once or twice, but not often. i am adjusting to my district's new curriculum maps, our school's crazy pace in first quarter, and my getting up with an alarm again.
luckily, i team teach with a brilliant special ed professional who is always an advocate for the kids. i am learning a lot from her this year, like i used to be able to do, since the kids enjoy being there and are not a problem, rather a partner in class. my team teacher for our skills class is also a part time "instructional coach" for our building, which is another crazy district-mandated, (though not clearly defined), position where she can share her research and experience with the rest of the staff. basically, it frees up some of her day to help the rest of us improve our own teaching, since we rarely are able to do so alone.
so, this week, she taught my first two sections, modeling a new way of reading text as a group. for my last two sections of the day, i tried it and she watched me. every class loved it! i was also free to watch our team-taught class try it and scribe the events of that section. so i hope this is useful info/data for my research, too. i am pretty sure it is. i just need to go through it and maybe categorize it or match it to some of the things i am reading about special ed kids and reading/poetry/self-efficacy, etc....i think the more organic model of team-teaching will help me with my research, too. we are modifying the other district-mandated way of teaching our classes and visiting with the computerized reading program less this year, only to use it as a starting point, supporting it with what we know works with our kids.
so, i am having a killer year so far and am refreshed by that. i laugh every day, which is something i missed so dearly last year (kids last year were largely neglected, mistreated, misbehaved, missing skills, and lost....sad, sad, sad). i am excited to include research and data collection into my classes this year. the kids this year have positive intentions and will try in earnest, i think, to aide my research.
so, inquiry group, i think i just maybe need to bounce ideas off of you and, again, just hear what you would do as far as data collection---maybe brainstorm some more so that i can try all sorts of new, crazy things in my classroom!!! i think i lost momentum and your ideas and energy should push me right back into research mode! i look forward to hearing what you're up to and telling you what i find out. oh---one concern i have is that our poetry unit (isolated unit, though i throw poetry in class all year long) won't start this year until third quarter, which does NOT cooperate with the CSUWP conference, so i may need your ideas about THAT! thanks ahead of time! :)
i have to admit i am just loving my students this year. i have laughed so much already. i've laughed to the point where i am hunched over and have to take a pause. selfishly, this has been my complete focus so far this year. i used to have that a lot, and last year, i got that maybe once or twice, but not often. i am adjusting to my district's new curriculum maps, our school's crazy pace in first quarter, and my getting up with an alarm again.
luckily, i team teach with a brilliant special ed professional who is always an advocate for the kids. i am learning a lot from her this year, like i used to be able to do, since the kids enjoy being there and are not a problem, rather a partner in class. my team teacher for our skills class is also a part time "instructional coach" for our building, which is another crazy district-mandated, (though not clearly defined), position where she can share her research and experience with the rest of the staff. basically, it frees up some of her day to help the rest of us improve our own teaching, since we rarely are able to do so alone.
so, this week, she taught my first two sections, modeling a new way of reading text as a group. for my last two sections of the day, i tried it and she watched me. every class loved it! i was also free to watch our team-taught class try it and scribe the events of that section. so i hope this is useful info/data for my research, too. i am pretty sure it is. i just need to go through it and maybe categorize it or match it to some of the things i am reading about special ed kids and reading/poetry/self-efficacy, etc....i think the more organic model of team-teaching will help me with my research, too. we are modifying the other district-mandated way of teaching our classes and visiting with the computerized reading program less this year, only to use it as a starting point, supporting it with what we know works with our kids.
so, i am having a killer year so far and am refreshed by that. i laugh every day, which is something i missed so dearly last year (kids last year were largely neglected, mistreated, misbehaved, missing skills, and lost....sad, sad, sad). i am excited to include research and data collection into my classes this year. the kids this year have positive intentions and will try in earnest, i think, to aide my research.
so, inquiry group, i think i just maybe need to bounce ideas off of you and, again, just hear what you would do as far as data collection---maybe brainstorm some more so that i can try all sorts of new, crazy things in my classroom!!! i think i lost momentum and your ideas and energy should push me right back into research mode! i look forward to hearing what you're up to and telling you what i find out. oh---one concern i have is that our poetry unit (isolated unit, though i throw poetry in class all year long) won't start this year until third quarter, which does NOT cooperate with the CSUWP conference, so i may need your ideas about THAT! thanks ahead of time! :)
Thursday, July 5, 2007
morning page 7/3
7/3/07 Morning Page
Think of your future demo (CSUWP conference) from the perspective of an audience member…thoughts, impressions, disappointments, questions….
I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while since I’ve started researching. I wonder if someone in special ed would think, “Does she think she’s just discovered something totally new? We’ve known that for years. Who does she think she is?” I wonder if someone who teaches middle school English would think, “No way am I teaching that! The kids don’t need that poetry! I hated poetry and I skip teaching it every year. I’d rather teach something else that I’m passionate about. Who does she think she is?”
I’d want to know of other areas or subjects where this research was applicable. Does my research easily translate into the art classroom? Science? How would this maybe help a History teacher?
Ideally, I’d like an audience member to say, “Wow! This is interesting brain research or research about the ways our students think. I bet that would help me with ___________ in my class! This presenter should be Miss America. I will do my part to vote for her.” But I’m just not sure my demo will have quite that affect.
Think of your future demo (CSUWP conference) from the perspective of an audience member…thoughts, impressions, disappointments, questions….
I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while since I’ve started researching. I wonder if someone in special ed would think, “Does she think she’s just discovered something totally new? We’ve known that for years. Who does she think she is?” I wonder if someone who teaches middle school English would think, “No way am I teaching that! The kids don’t need that poetry! I hated poetry and I skip teaching it every year. I’d rather teach something else that I’m passionate about. Who does she think she is?”
I’d want to know of other areas or subjects where this research was applicable. Does my research easily translate into the art classroom? Science? How would this maybe help a History teacher?
Ideally, I’d like an audience member to say, “Wow! This is interesting brain research or research about the ways our students think. I bet that would help me with ___________ in my class! This presenter should be Miss America. I will do my part to vote for her.” But I’m just not sure my demo will have quite that affect.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Morning Page/Research Chair Questions 7/2/07
7/2/07 Morning Pages/Plea for help with Researcher’s Chair
At this point in your research, how could you most benefit from the people in AI during the last 3 days together?
The thing I guess I could use the most would be more questions from the group. As teachers or as researchers (or both!), how could I make my research more relevant or worthy of your reading time? I wonder if there is an element to my question that could be used in the classrooms of everyone here. Most of us are English teachers, but not all of us. And not all of us teach the same population of kids. So I wonder if I can provide even the smallest bit of new information for those included here.
If you could imagine yourselves reading my research, what do you think you’d write in the margins as you read? What would be redundant or unnecessary to know? What background would you want to know? What research findings would you want to know more about? Would a reference list at the end suffice or would you want me to expand on something in the actual article?
Also, I wonder what you would consider unreliable information or sources. What kinds of data would you want to see in an article like mine? Would you want to hear from the kids themselves? Would you want to know a lot about my school and principal and staff? As the author and teacher, what information about myself can I provide (there isn’t much!)?
Most of all, from the people in AI, I would need to know what experience you have with my subject and any information you can give me, almost as a resource in and of itself. What do you already know about this that would bore you if you read it again in my finished piece? What can you tell me about what’s happened in your own classrooms with poetry and/or special ed kids? Do you have any background on brain research or the thinking of special ed vs. regular ed kids? Maybe you could write it for me and I could owe you! I could maybe mow your lawns or watch your kids and you could whip up a little article of some sort and submit it for me. That’d be most helpful! Ha!
Other Ideas from discussion:
Define some terms (w/in scope of TMS???)
Clarify ideas!!!! Be succinct! Cut words!
What is my finished product? Article? Demo? Other options?
What data to get??? Method of collection?
Permission slips? (At beginning of year?)
Deadline drafts? Dates?
“God grant that I desire more than I can achieve.” Michelangelo
Primary v. secondary data? (Specific examples? Types? Organization?)
Too contextual? Anecdotal to my class & experience?
Critical thinking & pushing someone beyond one’s comfort level? (definition??)
Issues of culture, race, gender? Include?
At this point in your research, how could you most benefit from the people in AI during the last 3 days together?
The thing I guess I could use the most would be more questions from the group. As teachers or as researchers (or both!), how could I make my research more relevant or worthy of your reading time? I wonder if there is an element to my question that could be used in the classrooms of everyone here. Most of us are English teachers, but not all of us. And not all of us teach the same population of kids. So I wonder if I can provide even the smallest bit of new information for those included here.
If you could imagine yourselves reading my research, what do you think you’d write in the margins as you read? What would be redundant or unnecessary to know? What background would you want to know? What research findings would you want to know more about? Would a reference list at the end suffice or would you want me to expand on something in the actual article?
Also, I wonder what you would consider unreliable information or sources. What kinds of data would you want to see in an article like mine? Would you want to hear from the kids themselves? Would you want to know a lot about my school and principal and staff? As the author and teacher, what information about myself can I provide (there isn’t much!)?
Most of all, from the people in AI, I would need to know what experience you have with my subject and any information you can give me, almost as a resource in and of itself. What do you already know about this that would bore you if you read it again in my finished piece? What can you tell me about what’s happened in your own classrooms with poetry and/or special ed kids? Do you have any background on brain research or the thinking of special ed vs. regular ed kids? Maybe you could write it for me and I could owe you! I could maybe mow your lawns or watch your kids and you could whip up a little article of some sort and submit it for me. That’d be most helpful! Ha!
Other Ideas from discussion:
Define some terms (w/in scope of TMS???)
Clarify ideas!!!! Be succinct! Cut words!
What is my finished product? Article? Demo? Other options?
What data to get??? Method of collection?
Permission slips? (At beginning of year?)
Deadline drafts? Dates?
“God grant that I desire more than I can achieve.” Michelangelo
Primary v. secondary data? (Specific examples? Types? Organization?)
Too contextual? Anecdotal to my class & experience?
Critical thinking & pushing someone beyond one’s comfort level? (definition??)
Issues of culture, race, gender? Include?
Friday, June 29, 2007
Morning Page 6/28
Morning Page: Thursday, 6/28/07
How does your investment in your research question and the students’ BK about your topic affect the research?
I wonder about this topic because I was typing up questions for some of my colleagues this morning over email. It occurred to me as I was typing that it is a possibility that my own enthusiasm for my topic might in some way skew how the kids react to it. At first, I thought this would be a good thing, that a teacher’s enthusiasm should be evident in her teaching. Anything else would be boring, wouldn’t it, on the part of the student and, I would imagine, the teacher. Who wants to sit in that class? But, the concern I have for that regards the actual research. Does it taint it? Influence it?
I often feel troubled somehow about how the kids enter my class thinking about poetry, or worse yet, not thinking about it at all. That sort of sounds awful, but some teachers just don’t like poetry and either teach it because they’re told to or don’t teach it at all. I’m that way with certain things. I skim over grammar and root words, I’ll admit it. I’d rather get to the more fun things to teach for me. And maybe that’s where the enthusiasm element comes in. It’s more than possible that the kids pick up which things I’m more enthused about teaching and then it’s contagious. This is not to imply that all kids live for poetry once they’ve read it in my class---quite the opposite. Though, I would have to say the kids seem to have at the very least a different appreciation for it and for what they, themselves, can do with it. Many do really get into it, however. I think that maybe they’ve also only been exposed to the basics of poetry in their short 14 years (limericks, haiku, etc.) and the crazy, abstract things appeal to them somehow. Or maybe it’s all of the above: they’ve only seen a little poetry so far, other teachers are not as comfortable teaching it as I am, and I am overly enthusiastic about it.
All of these elements intrigue me almost as much as what the kids actually do with the weird stuff I put in front of them. Once they settle in with the rule-less environment, they find they have some degree of investment in sharing their ideas about it and passion or conviction can be heard in their discussions. Not every day, certainly. But it’s there. And I just wonder why. What can I do to ensure it’s always there? Can I transfer that kind of feeling into everything I teach, including (gulp) grammar, etc.?
How does your investment in your research question and the students’ BK about your topic affect the research?
I wonder about this topic because I was typing up questions for some of my colleagues this morning over email. It occurred to me as I was typing that it is a possibility that my own enthusiasm for my topic might in some way skew how the kids react to it. At first, I thought this would be a good thing, that a teacher’s enthusiasm should be evident in her teaching. Anything else would be boring, wouldn’t it, on the part of the student and, I would imagine, the teacher. Who wants to sit in that class? But, the concern I have for that regards the actual research. Does it taint it? Influence it?
I often feel troubled somehow about how the kids enter my class thinking about poetry, or worse yet, not thinking about it at all. That sort of sounds awful, but some teachers just don’t like poetry and either teach it because they’re told to or don’t teach it at all. I’m that way with certain things. I skim over grammar and root words, I’ll admit it. I’d rather get to the more fun things to teach for me. And maybe that’s where the enthusiasm element comes in. It’s more than possible that the kids pick up which things I’m more enthused about teaching and then it’s contagious. This is not to imply that all kids live for poetry once they’ve read it in my class---quite the opposite. Though, I would have to say the kids seem to have at the very least a different appreciation for it and for what they, themselves, can do with it. Many do really get into it, however. I think that maybe they’ve also only been exposed to the basics of poetry in their short 14 years (limericks, haiku, etc.) and the crazy, abstract things appeal to them somehow. Or maybe it’s all of the above: they’ve only seen a little poetry so far, other teachers are not as comfortable teaching it as I am, and I am overly enthusiastic about it.
All of these elements intrigue me almost as much as what the kids actually do with the weird stuff I put in front of them. Once they settle in with the rule-less environment, they find they have some degree of investment in sharing their ideas about it and passion or conviction can be heard in their discussions. Not every day, certainly. But it’s there. And I just wonder why. What can I do to ensure it’s always there? Can I transfer that kind of feeling into everything I teach, including (gulp) grammar, etc.?
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, 6.27 morning pages
Wednesday, 6/27/07
If my research were a car, it’d be an old-school, original VW bug….small, not totally safe, full of personality, weird to look at, and something that can be used for years (I hope!)…
If my topic were a color, it’d be yellow…..I don’t really know why, but that’s the color I think of when I think of the kids that intrigue me…
If my topic were a weather pattern, it’d be…..a flood….insert obvious metaphor here (flood of information, flood of inspiration….flood….lots of everything all at once….overpowering)
If my topic were food, it would be an anchovy pizza…everyone likes pizza but hates the gross anchovies….everyone who teaches loves to teach their passion but not everyone can enjoy teaching special needs kids
If my topic were an animal, it would be…my cat…she is tiny but totally the boss of our house….she is moody and unpredictable and can take down a dog of any size….i think this research is unpredictable (as is the nature of our profession which is the coolest part of it) but and mysterious to me and I enjoy reading more and more about it, just like I love to watch my cat leap off the couch onto our poor, unsuspecting chocolate lab….I'm the lab
If my topic were a TV show/movie…it’d be the Odd Couple….one of my all time favorite shows….the kids I’m curious about the most are a mix of both Oscar and Felix from one minute to the next and crack me up as they try to fight it out internally right in front of me as they earnestly ask a question or make a comment….their thinking reminds me of that show too because it is unconventional and something some might consider safe to just get by with and not edgy or possessing any hidden spunk
If your topic were a famous person…it would be Mattie Stepanek….a child poet who passed away from the genetic disease he knew from the start would kill him…his peaceful words and wise insight into the world are startling and prophetic…they have a hauntingly precise tone to them that innocently strikes one’s core
If your topic were a country…it’d be Germany----once divided ideologically and politically but reunited now. Not all Germans are totally happy with it, but can at least see the some of the reasons for the reunification and all can speak the same language and share the same history and culture now.:???? Special and regular ed sharing ideology and methodology…????? This metaphor is still under construction……….
If my research were a car, it’d be an old-school, original VW bug….small, not totally safe, full of personality, weird to look at, and something that can be used for years (I hope!)…
If my topic were a color, it’d be yellow…..I don’t really know why, but that’s the color I think of when I think of the kids that intrigue me…
If my topic were a weather pattern, it’d be…..a flood….insert obvious metaphor here (flood of information, flood of inspiration….flood….lots of everything all at once….overpowering)
If my topic were food, it would be an anchovy pizza…everyone likes pizza but hates the gross anchovies….everyone who teaches loves to teach their passion but not everyone can enjoy teaching special needs kids
If my topic were an animal, it would be…my cat…she is tiny but totally the boss of our house….she is moody and unpredictable and can take down a dog of any size….i think this research is unpredictable (as is the nature of our profession which is the coolest part of it) but and mysterious to me and I enjoy reading more and more about it, just like I love to watch my cat leap off the couch onto our poor, unsuspecting chocolate lab….I'm the lab
If my topic were a TV show/movie…it’d be the Odd Couple….one of my all time favorite shows….the kids I’m curious about the most are a mix of both Oscar and Felix from one minute to the next and crack me up as they try to fight it out internally right in front of me as they earnestly ask a question or make a comment….their thinking reminds me of that show too because it is unconventional and something some might consider safe to just get by with and not edgy or possessing any hidden spunk
If your topic were a famous person…it would be Mattie Stepanek….a child poet who passed away from the genetic disease he knew from the start would kill him…his peaceful words and wise insight into the world are startling and prophetic…they have a hauntingly precise tone to them that innocently strikes one’s core
If your topic were a country…it’d be Germany----once divided ideologically and politically but reunited now. Not all Germans are totally happy with it, but can at least see the some of the reasons for the reunification and all can speak the same language and share the same history and culture now.:???? Special and regular ed sharing ideology and methodology…????? This metaphor is still under construction……….
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
6/26 tuesday morning page
Artist Keith Haring began his career as a graffiti artist….who many people didn’t think would amount to much….Have I given any thought to looking at any research models in the other arts to help develop your own research question?
Wow. This is an insightful prompt, which comes as no surprise to me, considering the author. Well, I think Albert Einstein flunked out of high school, and I know Bill Gates dropped out of college. I really, really like the idea of people who other people doubt really hitting something out of the park, whether it’s CSAP, a test, a presentation, a football game, or whatever. I try to give my kids examples of this kind of stuff as often as I can and some of the posters in my classroom are about failure (Michael Jordan has a really good one) and what can come of it. I think kids just don’t get taught “life” much and therefore are so busy figuring that out that they forget to see themselves in it; therefore, I feel they don’t understand their own potential. Or at least some kids that I tend to fixate on early in the year. I think my own personal experiences have made me ultra-observant to kids in that predicament. They are overburdened too early and I sometimes take time in class to teach them that it doesn’t really have to be that way, that it’s not that way for everyone and that if they could see into other kids’ homes, they’d see more comfortable, functional dynamics.
So I love the idea of using models in other arts to develop my research question. I just don’t know of many and wonder if I’m versed well enough in other arts to do them justice? But I like it. I like the idea of it. I use a lot of art in my class, as do many of us, I would imagine. Sometimes we make the art, but in terms of poetry especially, we try to explicate a piece of art as we would a poem (Can one really explicate a piece of art? What is the verb for what one does to a work of art? Explain? Tell the story of it?). It certainly feels natural to include art in a literacy class. I often think of my class as more of a humanities class, which I also try my best to explain to my kids. We talk about ethical and political issues often as a result of looking at Picasso’s “Gernica” or reading one of many of Ginsberg or
Whitman’s poems. It’s interesting. The kids have a lot of ideas and are often willing to support them, once they can take a temporary leave of all the other garbage they’re worried about and just put it out there and see what happens. They know full well they’re safe to do so in my class and that saying or doing anything to just please me makes me want to vomit or throw a temper tantrum, so that is never an issue.
Should I try to incorporate more artistic research in my own? Or musical research? Would that be broadening my scope too far or would it be a nice companion topic to what I’m already doing? Thanks for the idea! I would imagine that I’d come across different disciplines along the way anyway, but now I am more open to including it!
Wow. This is an insightful prompt, which comes as no surprise to me, considering the author. Well, I think Albert Einstein flunked out of high school, and I know Bill Gates dropped out of college. I really, really like the idea of people who other people doubt really hitting something out of the park, whether it’s CSAP, a test, a presentation, a football game, or whatever. I try to give my kids examples of this kind of stuff as often as I can and some of the posters in my classroom are about failure (Michael Jordan has a really good one) and what can come of it. I think kids just don’t get taught “life” much and therefore are so busy figuring that out that they forget to see themselves in it; therefore, I feel they don’t understand their own potential. Or at least some kids that I tend to fixate on early in the year. I think my own personal experiences have made me ultra-observant to kids in that predicament. They are overburdened too early and I sometimes take time in class to teach them that it doesn’t really have to be that way, that it’s not that way for everyone and that if they could see into other kids’ homes, they’d see more comfortable, functional dynamics.
So I love the idea of using models in other arts to develop my research question. I just don’t know of many and wonder if I’m versed well enough in other arts to do them justice? But I like it. I like the idea of it. I use a lot of art in my class, as do many of us, I would imagine. Sometimes we make the art, but in terms of poetry especially, we try to explicate a piece of art as we would a poem (Can one really explicate a piece of art? What is the verb for what one does to a work of art? Explain? Tell the story of it?). It certainly feels natural to include art in a literacy class. I often think of my class as more of a humanities class, which I also try my best to explain to my kids. We talk about ethical and political issues often as a result of looking at Picasso’s “Gernica” or reading one of many of Ginsberg or
Whitman’s poems. It’s interesting. The kids have a lot of ideas and are often willing to support them, once they can take a temporary leave of all the other garbage they’re worried about and just put it out there and see what happens. They know full well they’re safe to do so in my class and that saying or doing anything to just please me makes me want to vomit or throw a temper tantrum, so that is never an issue.
Should I try to incorporate more artistic research in my own? Or musical research? Would that be broadening my scope too far or would it be a nice companion topic to what I’m already doing? Thanks for the idea! I would imagine that I’d come across different disciplines along the way anyway, but now I am more open to including it!
Monday, June 25, 2007
6/25 morning pages
topic: what's your plan for the ai and your research?
well, since i've changed my topic a million times, my plan for this summer is to get my act together. how's that? i need to research some things that i plan to look into further during the next school year. i have a book or two to read and many journals to sift through. i am excited that i messed up so weirdly and have kind of reversed the order of things (i didn't do any research last school year) because the next school year will start off more focused, i think.
my topic, simply put, is roughly about how the special ed kids in my classes excel doing things the other "regular ed" kids don't do so well. i have been lucky to work with some crazy special ed teachers who are willing to try new things with my classes and challenge their kids daily. by doing so, having some special ed kids in class has enhanced the climate and thinking going on in there. i also wonder how my "special ed" class (labels are sooo silly) can take a subject and run away with it when my other classes are okay with it, but simply don't always take my breath away like the kids who are not supposed to be able to do it.
i’m excited to find what’s already out there and hope to add something new and relevant to it all. we’ll see! (disclaimer: this is the fourth time i’ve typed this entry—it keeps erasing my stuff!!!--- and i really did have some more brilliant things in the first draft that i’ve now forgotten, but you get the idea…..)
well, since i've changed my topic a million times, my plan for this summer is to get my act together. how's that? i need to research some things that i plan to look into further during the next school year. i have a book or two to read and many journals to sift through. i am excited that i messed up so weirdly and have kind of reversed the order of things (i didn't do any research last school year) because the next school year will start off more focused, i think.
my topic, simply put, is roughly about how the special ed kids in my classes excel doing things the other "regular ed" kids don't do so well. i have been lucky to work with some crazy special ed teachers who are willing to try new things with my classes and challenge their kids daily. by doing so, having some special ed kids in class has enhanced the climate and thinking going on in there. i also wonder how my "special ed" class (labels are sooo silly) can take a subject and run away with it when my other classes are okay with it, but simply don't always take my breath away like the kids who are not supposed to be able to do it.
i’m excited to find what’s already out there and hope to add something new and relevant to it all. we’ll see! (disclaimer: this is the fourth time i’ve typed this entry—it keeps erasing my stuff!!!--- and i really did have some more brilliant things in the first draft that i’ve now forgotten, but you get the idea…..)
Saturday, May 19, 2007
new ideas???
i was just talking to someone last night about our classes and i am wondering if i ought to change directions with my t-r. my thinking for this is that i should research something i am passionate about. honestly, in april and may, i'm passionate about finishing the year and preparing my students. like the author of this week's article mentioned, i, too, really get to know my students at this time of the year and research is the absolute last thing on my mind.
here's what i was talking about with my friend for almost 3 hours yesterday (also you should know that i talk about this all the time---the problem is: is it research-able?)....i have a personal theory (that sounds even sillier on the screen here than when i tell my friends out loud) that poetry is best taught in 8th grade. here's why: i think they are not "too cool" to do the weird things i ask them, but they are just mature enough to do the weird things i ask them. next year, they will be "low man on the totem pole in high school" and obsessed with appearing cool and finding their way around their new school building to worry about trying new things in class. i am upfront and honest with the kids about this. they seem to like the theory i have of them so they try really hard to do fun and weird things, like laying under a tree to write a transcendental poem about trees or life or whatever.
also---and here's where my passion is---i teach a "special ed" class where everyone hates paper: paper is the enemy. they don't like to read what is on it and hate hate hate to put anything on it. hate hate hate it. but they do it daily for me because there are no rules for what they write (morning/daily pages). lately they even like to read them out loud and try to out-do one another. they also reeeeeally dig poetry. it, too, has no rules or right answers in my class----as long as they can explain themselves and their opinions about it. so, for instance, if they read whitman or thoreau, they can say it's about their big toe as long as they have sustantial evidence for their reading of the work. so i give them shakespeare's sonnets and e.e. cummings and kerouac and they blow----my----mind with the things they say and think and even the resource II kid (a.k.a. "gain" in our school, which is a self-contained special ed class-----usually----but the teacher is a good friend of mine and she sends me some of her kids for social reasons, usually, but when we read cummings, this kid took OVER the discussion). she corrected other kids and defended her thoughts about a short poem. and just for background knowledge, this kid used to hide in her jacket or run away any time someone even said hello to her in the hall. this is 2 years later, i understand, but she dominated the discussion. really. other kids in her resource class are autistic or have down's syndrome, etc. she is identified as "speech language"....issues talking. not the other day.
and they all did that. i heard yelling and "no...it's this way because it says this and i can imagine this in my head and i think those letters are like that and that word is on its own line because of this...." what? they read (on average) 4 years below grade level and they are tearing APART cummings and kerouac. i told them i really could only explain maybe 3-4 poems out of a packet i gave them and it was their job to tell me the rest. my "average" classes try to do this, and usually do well, but not with the passion these kids showed me the other day. towards the end of it, i thought of recording it, but it was waaay too late. i give them art to look at and they ask me to turn it 90 degrees or upside down....different way of thinking.....but these are also kids who detest abstract ideas....but they get art and poetry???
then, instead of racing out the door or somewhere else in the room at the end of class, i saw their heads in their packets as i tried to tell them one more thing before they left. i stopped mid-sentence and just shut up and watched them----all of them---even the kid who butts heads with me daily----all at-risk kids-----all of them----reading and tuning me out.
who knows? it's may. maybe they just like the change of pace from the computerized reading program (yuck) that the district purchased for them to use ad-nauseum (sp?).....i don't know...but this seems to happen every year, though i don't have much to go on as far as statistical info....maybe it's the short text they like....or knowing i don't know all the answers....or it's my own passion for the genre....who knows....but is it researchable? i could get a survey together this week and ask the kids......
my point (and there is one somewhere) is....my at-risk kids (aren't they all?) really get into poetry....they amaze me with what they say and try.....can i research why that is? or is it just something that is and isn't something to prove or anything? it's on my mind a lot and therefore something i thought i should look into further, but how? thoughts?
here's what i was talking about with my friend for almost 3 hours yesterday (also you should know that i talk about this all the time---the problem is: is it research-able?)....i have a personal theory (that sounds even sillier on the screen here than when i tell my friends out loud) that poetry is best taught in 8th grade. here's why: i think they are not "too cool" to do the weird things i ask them, but they are just mature enough to do the weird things i ask them. next year, they will be "low man on the totem pole in high school" and obsessed with appearing cool and finding their way around their new school building to worry about trying new things in class. i am upfront and honest with the kids about this. they seem to like the theory i have of them so they try really hard to do fun and weird things, like laying under a tree to write a transcendental poem about trees or life or whatever.
also---and here's where my passion is---i teach a "special ed" class where everyone hates paper: paper is the enemy. they don't like to read what is on it and hate hate hate to put anything on it. hate hate hate it. but they do it daily for me because there are no rules for what they write (morning/daily pages). lately they even like to read them out loud and try to out-do one another. they also reeeeeally dig poetry. it, too, has no rules or right answers in my class----as long as they can explain themselves and their opinions about it. so, for instance, if they read whitman or thoreau, they can say it's about their big toe as long as they have sustantial evidence for their reading of the work. so i give them shakespeare's sonnets and e.e. cummings and kerouac and they blow----my----mind with the things they say and think and even the resource II kid (a.k.a. "gain" in our school, which is a self-contained special ed class-----usually----but the teacher is a good friend of mine and she sends me some of her kids for social reasons, usually, but when we read cummings, this kid took OVER the discussion). she corrected other kids and defended her thoughts about a short poem. and just for background knowledge, this kid used to hide in her jacket or run away any time someone even said hello to her in the hall. this is 2 years later, i understand, but she dominated the discussion. really. other kids in her resource class are autistic or have down's syndrome, etc. she is identified as "speech language"....issues talking. not the other day.
and they all did that. i heard yelling and "no...it's this way because it says this and i can imagine this in my head and i think those letters are like that and that word is on its own line because of this...." what? they read (on average) 4 years below grade level and they are tearing APART cummings and kerouac. i told them i really could only explain maybe 3-4 poems out of a packet i gave them and it was their job to tell me the rest. my "average" classes try to do this, and usually do well, but not with the passion these kids showed me the other day. towards the end of it, i thought of recording it, but it was waaay too late. i give them art to look at and they ask me to turn it 90 degrees or upside down....different way of thinking.....but these are also kids who detest abstract ideas....but they get art and poetry???
then, instead of racing out the door or somewhere else in the room at the end of class, i saw their heads in their packets as i tried to tell them one more thing before they left. i stopped mid-sentence and just shut up and watched them----all of them---even the kid who butts heads with me daily----all at-risk kids-----all of them----reading and tuning me out.
who knows? it's may. maybe they just like the change of pace from the computerized reading program (yuck) that the district purchased for them to use ad-nauseum (sp?).....i don't know...but this seems to happen every year, though i don't have much to go on as far as statistical info....maybe it's the short text they like....or knowing i don't know all the answers....or it's my own passion for the genre....who knows....but is it researchable? i could get a survey together this week and ask the kids......
my point (and there is one somewhere) is....my at-risk kids (aren't they all?) really get into poetry....they amaze me with what they say and try.....can i research why that is? or is it just something that is and isn't something to prove or anything? it's on my mind a lot and therefore something i thought i should look into further, but how? thoughts?
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
what the heck am i researching?
i have just a few million questions for anyone reading this about my research topic. i'm not sure what to focus on and then i have concerns about collecting field research before the end of this year.
first, i am interested in many topics. i would maybe like to research kids who enter the 8th grade unable to read or who might read significantly, significantly below their "grade level," whatever that means (1st, 2nd, 4th grade reading level). we have so many diagnostic tests that are not compatable with one another, i don't know where to begin regarding someone's actual definite level. i am curious about brain research and teaching strategies, but don't know how to collect anything from my kids. this is not the time of year we do any diagnostic things. it is also a time of year when the 8th graders who will be moving to high school do a good deal of reflecting and preparing for next year. we don't really do any new reading strategies, etc.
second, i would kind of like to know why kids don't really run their own writing groups as well as adults do, other than the obvious age issue. i didn't really do writing groups this year due to almost 30 minutes having been chopped off of each of my class periods. my adjustment to the time difference wasn't what i would call smooth. so i cut it out, but kept author's chair. i wondered last year why some kids really got into writing groups and some just hung out. my instinct is that some kids like writing and some just go through the motions until my class is over and that this is not really a researchable topic.
who knows? i have lots of concerns and i want my topic to be something i can try out in my classes next year. i would like my topic to be something that improves my teaching and that teaches me something immediately useful for my students.
so.....having no real formal research experience, what are your thoughts and what would you suggest? any comments are welcome!!! i'll keep brainstorming, too!
thanks!
first, i am interested in many topics. i would maybe like to research kids who enter the 8th grade unable to read or who might read significantly, significantly below their "grade level," whatever that means (1st, 2nd, 4th grade reading level). we have so many diagnostic tests that are not compatable with one another, i don't know where to begin regarding someone's actual definite level. i am curious about brain research and teaching strategies, but don't know how to collect anything from my kids. this is not the time of year we do any diagnostic things. it is also a time of year when the 8th graders who will be moving to high school do a good deal of reflecting and preparing for next year. we don't really do any new reading strategies, etc.
second, i would kind of like to know why kids don't really run their own writing groups as well as adults do, other than the obvious age issue. i didn't really do writing groups this year due to almost 30 minutes having been chopped off of each of my class periods. my adjustment to the time difference wasn't what i would call smooth. so i cut it out, but kept author's chair. i wondered last year why some kids really got into writing groups and some just hung out. my instinct is that some kids like writing and some just go through the motions until my class is over and that this is not really a researchable topic.
who knows? i have lots of concerns and i want my topic to be something i can try out in my classes next year. i would like my topic to be something that improves my teaching and that teaches me something immediately useful for my students.
so.....having no real formal research experience, what are your thoughts and what would you suggest? any comments are welcome!!! i'll keep brainstorming, too!
thanks!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
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