Common Core State Standards

I chose to focus on the Common Core State Standards for ELA. I think that these standards apply to the general goals of education as it relates to English as a subject matter. It also points out that we, as educators, are trying to develop students who are college and career ready while also being functioning and literate members of a modern society. To me these are the basic goals of education, though they are not the only ones.

I think I can differentiate instruction in order to cater to different learning styles in many ways. For instance, some people will learn better through a video than through listening to audio of a play or story. Also, I believe that students can act out scenes from plays and novels to make them more personal and relevant. While there will always be certain standards to meet, teachers can use their own creativity to foster the creativity of their own students. For instance, required reading versus reading where students have a choice usually represents  a sharp contrast in the interest of the student. Students generally dislike required reading because it is things they have trouble relating to or simply find boring. It is my job to make these required readings and writing activities relevant and exciting. If a story's language or content seems outdated, I need to find a way to make it relevant and exciting to people of all backgrounds in order for them to complete the tasks necessary to meet these standards.

Teddy Bears and The Use of Blogs in a Classroom

After reading "Teddy Bears Go Blogging" by Brenda Sherry, my belief in the integration of technology and education has only been strengthened. While I am not ready to say that typing is the same thing as writing, this exercise still seemed valuable in the sense that the kids were interested and in control to a certain extent. I am a big believer in anything that allows students to take control of a project themselves and let it be their own. I think it is great that they write something that can be seen by so many people that can also comment with their own thoughts and ideas. It also forces them to learn about the process of editing and understanding that when they write, they need to think of their text as something that will be seen by an audience.

While I think blogging is an excellent tool to get students to write, it is important to also emphasize the traditional writing process. That process involves three main phases: pre-writing, writing and post-writing. Blogging does touch upon all of these steps, it concentrates mostly on typing. Jim Burke would agree with me when he says typing and writing are different in his post from December 27th, 2010: http://jimburke.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/12/typing-is-not-writing.html. While blogging requires students to use the whole writing process, it should be used as another tool but not the only tool.

Jim Burke: The English Teacher's Companion

As I looked through the extensive lists of recommended blogs, I decided I wanted something that related to my own experiences and field of concentration. With experience as a high school english teacher and a concentration in secondary english, it was easy to choose. I chose "Jim Burke: The English Teacher's Companion". I already knew the name because of Professor Winslow mentioning Mr. Burke as a "must read" in our first Reading/Writing class.

As I have read through Mr. Burke's blog, I have already found posts and ideas that are both practical and helpful. For instance, his latest post deals with happiness as it relates to education and raising children. As educators, we often struggle to find answers. We want to solve problems regarding students and even our own lives. Burke points out many alternate points of view before coming to his own. He says:

"Dealt the brain we are, born into the family we are, into the era and culture we can only claim as our own, we must make our own way forward, becoming as Hesse's Siddhartha says, our own teachers, taking from those we meet along the way what words, what wisdom will help us make sense of the world and find our place and purpose in that world." (http://jimburke.typepad.com/, Jan 23,2011)

We spend so much time as a society complaining about different generations, particularly how technology has affected youth in a negative way. While I am only 27 years old, I have seen how kids are more reluctant to pick up a book than a computer, and it has frustrated me. But I think what Burke is talking about here is embracing our society and culture. For instance, instead of cursing technology, learn how to use it. While I understand how to use a certain amount of technology and have grown up with the internet, I am looking forward to learning more. I feel that it can be used as a bridge between what I want to accomplish as an english teacher and the different generations of students I will teach in the future.