Crossing the Rubricon

Here's how this works.

If you follow the hyperlinks in each Section you will land at the page in this blog that satisfies the rubric's requirement. Another feature to be aware of is how each of the particular entries in Section C link to literacy tenets as discussed in the course text book (Literacy in the Secondary English Classroom: Strategies for Teaching the Way Kids Learn), or during class. What you will see preceding each entry is a section in square brackets ([]) titled Making Connections hopefully that's what it will do.


Section A: Philosophy of Literacy Teaching and Learning (Value 10%)

Students will provide an articulation of their philosophy of literacy teaching and learning in an essay of approximately 300 - 500 words. This project will grow out of a reflective journal entry.

Section B: Reflective Journal (Value 20%)

Students will keep a journal in which they will reflect on teaching experiences, lessons and / or units they prepared and taught, and issues raised in the course. A minimum of four (4) entries will be expected. Sometimes topics will be assigned; other times students will choose their own topics. Generally, there will be an entry assigned in each week or as preparation for the next week. Student suggested topics are welcome.

Section C: Journal/Web search, Teaching and Learning Plans and Activities, Other (20%)

A minimum of four (4) entries will be expected. Some examples include:

· Two sample lesson plans which coordinate with topics discussed, with commentary, integrating technology an option
· One critique of an article from a professional journal plus annotations
· Other information deemed relevant by the student such as current and original rubrics and other instruments.
· Collection of teacher generated exemplars for students.
· Bibliographies and Web links to resources for English language arts teachers and students, with introductions/annotations.
· A video clip of your teaching, with commentary
Other

My literacy philosophy

this post wants to be an astronaut.
currently it is taking up space.

Effective Literacy (remix)

i have always been interested in parataxis and how we read.

I took a list of, i guess, outcomes for effective litaracy and scrambled it. The original source follows the detournment. What is detournment?

The two fundamental laws of detournment are the loss of importance of each autonomous element – which may go so far as to lose its original sense completely – and at the same time the organisation of another meaningful ensemble that confers on each element its new scope and effect.

So here is the new text:

Effective literacy draws on a repertoire of practices that allow learners, as they engage in reading and writing activities, to:

activities, to: meaningful features and a architecture of written texts including: alphabet, so draws on repertoire of practices that allow learners, as they, communities, nation writing and unds in words, and c e, of view, engage in reading and: reco gnising and using the visual spoken texts break the shape and conventions;: traversith of,; and that cultures, institutions families influence Effective l s: that meaning systems of the code of texts -states and sostructured, their tone, degree, that they represent different cultural and social fundamental structure from within particular that various omposing; knowing about and acting on th texts perform writtenparticular views ngand use and iteracy inside and outside acting school spelling, of formality and their sequence functions boforth texts functionally silence their and transform text patterns of text: unders ng the social relations around texts neutral funcanalyse of sentence other points people's components; their designs ideasunderstanding and disctions texts are not the way texts are tandi and knowing that these on the knowledge and text participate in the meanings critically ourses can be critiqued and redesigned, in novel and hybrid ways.

Luke, A. and Freebody, P. Practically Primary Volume 4 Number 2 June 1999

Reflection: All subjects should correct spelling and grammar.

Of course. I could end it there but I have had some conversations with colleagues about this and I seem to come across some pretty bad writing in my travails. First off, in the spirit of disclosure, I don't spell very well. For instance, I will need the spell checker to spell necessary correctly. But, I have never let not knowing how to spell a word stop me from using it. And, I certainly haven't let not knowing what it means stop me either. But that's a vanity thing. Anyway, when I'm writing a test (which I'm doing a fair bit of for this program and I hadn't done in six years) I will always have a crack at it and put (sp?) next to it. Now for a test, I don't expect to be marked down but I would expect it to be noted as well as any other mistakes in spelling. But, tests are a bit different. There are other anxieties at play there.

But should they be corrected in anything that a student has the time to proofread and actually prepare? Sure. For all subjects? You bet. For me, I solve the spelling problem by always having m-w.com running. Unfortunately that usually sends me off trying to find a way to use words like prolegomena. Anyway, I do try to spell every word correctly and I would expect my students to do the same. To limit your written lexicon to what you can spell would be a pretty short leash. This is why I think that you have to be clear why something is wrong. I got a paper back this year that got docked marks for grammar but the prof didn't signify to me where the transgressions had occurred. Also, I think that sometimes grammar is confused with register or style. I also think that you can use spelling and grammar mistakes to gauge where a student is weak. (parenthetically, is a difficulty with homonyms a spelling or a diction error?) But the remediation has to be delivered with a velvet glove. You still have to encourage risk taking with the writing. And reading. I'm sure there are mountains of work on the correlation between how much a person reads and their grammar proficiency (and I'm sure they have a sexier term than grammar proficiency). Modeling too. Challenge with interesting vocabulary.

That's the easy bit. Now the 'for all subjects' part. Still yes. All disciplines have a body of texts around it. Literacy skills are just as important for those too. The Bristol board science fair projects should be held to the same technical standards for language too. I don't know what the grading is like for lab reports in university science courses but if a kid gets there and has never had an honest evaluation about his writing skill, his teachers have done him a great disservice. And that's what I think it is, being honest. If you don't correct spelling and grammar you are colluding with the enemies of discourse.

[Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches]

Some Handy Links for Young Writers

Bob's Poetic Byway

http://www.poeticbyway.com/

This site features a unique Glossary of Poetic Terms, plus Examples of Poetic Terms from the works of prominent poets, Tips for the Enjoyment of Poetry and A selection of Bob's Poems. Also, you will find helpful links to relevant poetic, literary, and reference websites.

Writenet

http://www.twc.org/forums/index.html

WriteNet: an unbelievably valuable resource for writers and teachers interested in teaching imaginative writing. Spend some time looking at this web-site -- enjoy our exclusive interview series, learn how real-life artists-in-residence teach imaginative writing, and more!

Canadian Student Writing Contests and Resources

http://www3.sympatico.ca/susanio/WWCcomp.html

The Claremont Review: The International Journal of Young Adult Writers

http://www.theclaremontreview.com/

Young Poets is sponsored by the League of Canadian Poets

http://www.youngpoets.ca/

How to Sew a Chapbook

http://www.wildhoneypress.com/BOOKS/Stitching%20Brochure.pdf

Poetry Experiments

http://epc.buffalo.edu/authors/bernstein/experiments.html

Compiled by Charles Bernstein from Bernadette by Poets' Ludicrously Aimless Yearning (PLAY). Dispense only as appropriate and under the supervision of an attending reader. Individual experiments are not liable for injury or failure resulting from improper use of appliance. Any profits accrued as a direct or indirect result of the use of these formulas shall be redistributed to the language at large. Management assumes no responsibility for damages that may result consequent to the use of this material in educational institutions or individual writing projects.

Lost in Translation

http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/

What happens when an English phrase is translated (by computer) back and forth between 5 different languages?

Tiger of luminous that is burned of the tiger

now, now, what's all this then?

So, I better get on this eh?

I have had a bit of misunderstanding with the person who will be evaluating this blog. This is because I had originally wanted to present "The Blog as Pedagogical Device" as an assignment. I have realized that I would have to do too much background work to make that work with my class.

So, for one class assignment I will be developing some curricular materials for the documentary My Ancestors Were Rogues and Murderers.

This blog is my portfolio. I've posted the assignment (above).
This is mainly for me to keep it all in order and saves me from fishing through my book bag to find the assignment every time I want to add something to this.

Global Learning

Here are four fantastic photos taken by my brother Conor. Of course they could be used as writing prompts or for reminding students that the educational grass is a similar green wherever you go. Or is it?

What are the similarities and differences between the educational experiences in the pictures and in your classroom?

Jamaican Schoolgirl




Fez, Morocco




Rajasthan Province, India




China

Metaphors be with you!

Clever Manitoban poet Dennis Cooley calls a metaphor "a Greek taxi". I like that.

This is another old chestnut that lives on the interweb. Not only do students love this but they also come out of the exercise with a pretty good understanding of the difference between a metaphor and a simile. By taking some time to go through these you can introduce the concepts of a metaphors' tenor and vehicle and have the students identify them for each example. Each student could then make up their own.

Ok, here's a list that I use (like I typed above, there are variations of this all over the net).

• Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two other sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
• His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a tumble dryer.
• The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
• McMurphy fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a paper bag filled with vegetable soup.
• Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
• Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the centre.
• Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
• He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
• The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
• Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left York at 6:36 p.m. travelling at 55 mph, the other from Peterborough at 4:19p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
• The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the full stop after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.
• John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
• The thunder was ominous sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.
• The red brick wall was the colour of a brick-red crayon.
• Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long it had rusted shut.
• Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
• The plan was simple, like my mate Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
• The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for while.
• "Oh, Jason, take me!" she panted, her breasts heaving like a student on 31p-a-pint night.
• He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck either, but a real duck that was actually lame. Maybe from stepping on a landmine or something.
• Her artistic sense was exquisitely refined, like someone who can tell butter from "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter."
• She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
• The ballerina rose gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a lamppost.
• The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free cashpoint.
• The dandelion swayed in the gentle breeze like an oscillating electric fan set on medium.
• It was a working class tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with their power tools.
• He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a dustcart reversing.
• She was as easy as the Daily Star crossword.
• She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli and he was room-temperature British beef.
• She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
• Her voice had that tense, grating quality, like a first-generation thermal paper fax machine that needed a band tightened.
• It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

Taken from student essays and found at

http://www.jardmail.co.uk/misc/studentessays.shtml

dunkle und stürmische Nächte

Every year this comes around and every year it's great.

This is a fine exercise for getting stories started. I suggest getting a couple of good ones . I like to have the students pretend that they are publishers who have decide whether to publish a book based on the opening line. We all know that publishers are busy and only have time to read one line. Have the class make up a bunch and put them in the hat with the "real" ones. Then read them out and have the class decide who gets a career as a writer and who doesn't.

Dear Mr. Melville,

Don't call us. We'll call you.

Sincerely,
Oprah

Have the class think about what makes a successful opening line. Not only is this fun but it reinscribes how constructed the texts are and opens the door into the craft of writing.

Favourite Poem from High School

A green lowland of pianos

Text by Czeslaw Milosz, after the Polish of Jerzy Harasymowicz
Set by Samuel Barber

in the evening
as far as the eye can see
herds
of black pianos

up to their knees
in the mire
they listen to the frogs

they gurgle in water
with chords of rapture

they are entranced
by froggish, moonish spontaneity

after the vacation
they cause scandals
in a concert hall
during the artistic milking
suddenly they lie down
like cows

looking with indifference
at the white flowers
of the audience

at the gesticulating
of the ushers

(comments forthcoming)

Reflection Topics

Here are a few of the things I might be reflecting on in the future:

What is the most important strand of the language process?

Agree/Disagree: Literacy teachers are the key to a successful school system.

My best/worst English Language Arts teacher.

All subjects should correct spelling and grammar.

I just wanted to get them down here so I can just 'plug and play', as it were.

Great resource site

My dad sent me this. Thanks Dad!

(parenthetically, the BBC is a great resource for all kinds of things musical too. I always listen to live show recordings on BBC Radio)

BBC Open News Archive

For the first time in its history BBC News is opening its archives to the UK
public for a trial period. You can download nearly 80 news reports covering
iconic events of the past 50 years including the fall of the Berlin Wall,
crowds ejecting soldiers from Beijing's Tiananmen Square and
behind-the-scenes footage of the England team prior to their victory over
West Germany in 1966.

Reflection: I Am

I am Kevin
I wonder I wander I wish
I hear my grandparents calling from graves over the ocean
I see thing I don't understand
I want to leave my doors unlocked
I am not Canadian
I feel therefore I am
I touch (sorry, this isn't that kind of poem)
I worry that I worry
I am in constant flux
I understand this
I say that I care
I hope still
I am open

Reflection: What is Knowledge?

To know is to utilize information. If thinking is a physical phenomenon then knowledge is the game ball. It is the basic building block for decision making. It is a commodity that can be given or kept. Sold or stolen. There are many metaphors to mix. We have different theories of knowledge. Different people will ask different questions. Foucault says that knowledge is power. I agree. In an age when we can’t beat our students, knowledge may be the only hope for classroom containment.

What distinguishes teachers from other professions?

Teachers are front line civil servants who have two masters. As part of the ideological state apparatus they are contracted to deliver services and information (knowledge) vetted and sanctioned by the provincial government. The other master is the collective expectation of parents and students. The two masters live miles apart, spatially and figuratively but manage to exert pressure on the teacher.

If you get paid to teach in the public system then you don’t get paid to be a social worker, a coach, a truant officer, a computer technician and a parent. I also think that teachers get a bad rap in the press. I saw in Ontario, during the late 90s, a provincial Tory government vilify teachers in the press in what was clearly a union busting move. I don’t think the profession ever recovered.

Changing provincial governments makes teaching prone to drastic shifts in social programming. The plumbing industry doesn’t just make all plumbers learn new tools and abandon old ones as some kind of expensive experiment. Plumbers also don’t find out about decisions that affect their livelihood on the NTV News. Even the poor fish plant workers are called to the plant for the bad news.

Every parent has had some schooling and has had experiences with teachers. Can you ever out live them? I’ll bet a lot of parents bring bad memories of teachers to parent-teacher night. That doesn’t happen with bus drivers.

I think society put a lot of pressure on teachers without fully understanding what they do. In fact I’m not even sure yet what they do exactly. Classroom teachers are really at the end of a very large and politicized bureaucracy. Kids bring complicated environments to school with them every morning and teachers work for a system that they are publicly at war with. And they should have a strong union. And be well paid.

Reflections of a Teacher Dad

My family has just moved. There is a subsidized housing project directly behind us called Buckmaster Circle. I know from my previous work experience as an educational researcher that completion of high school is rare for the young people of that neighbourhood.

Now, do I send my children to the neighbourhood school where the culture of finishing school isn’t supported in the students’ homes? Or, do abandon my own community and place my children in a school where I know the parents share the same socio-cultural values as me? By sending my children to another school I rob my own, local community of an involved parent and the school of children exposed to a much broader worldview.

As some one who claims to be committed to community development I know that this issue will present an ethical dilemma for my family. This reminds me of the sentiment of British singer Billy Bragg who sings, “Do I vote Green for my children or Red for my class?”

I will have to decide whether I will invest in my own community/school.

Annotated List of English Language Periodicals

Here are some resources that might be useful to the English teacher on the go. All comments are my own.


Teachers and Writers Collaborative

Quite simply the best organization for resources for teaching imaginative writing to K-12 students. While the major focus of T&W is putting poets in schools they have also published over 60 books on all aspects of teaching writing. The website offers lesson plans, interviews, book reviews and the opportunity to join writenet; an international, online community of over 800 language arts teachers. The site is well organized and easy to navigate.

SB&F (Science Books & Films)

Published bimonthly, six times a year by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This is a good guide to what kinds of resources are being produced in the world of science. It has a Features section with Best Books, Best Films and Best Software. The regular sections cover other trends and areas. For someone without a background in science this journal is valuable as its contributors are experts in the field. This is especially valuable when building a library of information books.

The Horn Book Magazine

Published bimonthly. This is a well laid out journal about the size of The Downhomer. Special issues cover particular areas of children’s literature so the back issues may be worth checking out if you have a particular interest. The latest issue is about the graphic novel so that tells me that they are current and believe that all literature is worth a critical going over. Organizationally, the large Review section compliments Columns and Features sections.

Canadian Children’s Book News

Published quarterly by the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Janet McNaughton is on the Board of Directors and that’s cool. The largest section is We Recommend. This is good for keeping abreast of what’s going on in Canadian children’s letters.

Children’s Technology Review

Published quarterly. As a Tech Ed teacher I will become the defaultsoftware ‘recommender’ if I ever get to work in a school. What makes this journal valuable is the reviews from the students who test the software and hardware. I found the language very accessible and not too jargon heavy. It is also nice that free back-issues are available for the cost of shipping.

Appraisal: Science Books for Young People (wonky link)

This is a great journal that Wade from our class turned me onto. It is published quarterly by The Children’s Science Book Review Committee. What makes this journal unique and valuable is, what one might call, a parallel reviewing procedure. Every book is reviewed by a Librarian and a Specialist. The former evaluates the language and format of the book while the latter evaluates the science.

The ALAN Review

The Alan Review is published three times a year by The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. It is a peer reviewed journal that covers every aspect of teaching literature to young adults. The website is a cluttered mess but the articles are archived and searchable, so there is some value to it.

Canadian Children’s Literature

This biannual journal is written for and by academics. I read a twenty page editorial about the future of theory in the field of literature for children. This is for teachers who miss graduate school. But, if you, like me, see literature as a social phenomenon then some of the stuff here may be of interest. You may find an article about the Disneyfication of children’s literature called “Hegemony Cricket”, but probably not.

Book Links: Connecting Books, Libraries, and Classrooms

This monthly magazine lists the grade level that the particular articles are intended for below each title. This is a great organizational feature. The magazine has a wide variety of very practical material which would be valuable to teachers, parents and librarians. The generalist nature of Book Links makes it good value for the price as it has many audiences.

youngpoets.ca

This website is maintained the League of Canadian Poets. There are two sections; one for teachers and one for students. There are a lot of resources and ideas for teaching poetry to your students. The archive of sound files is quite well organized too. The digital history of Canadian verse is the most concise and inclusive I’ve ever seen.

What is Curiosity and Joy?

I figured I better get at this thing as I have so much work to do and this blog is supposed to help me get at it.

The nicked the title for this blog from an article I read last summer.

The main purpose of this site is to collect and archive some of my thinking about education and my place in it. Most of the first posts will be 'required' by the MUN's Faculty of Education Course 4144.

There will be reflections, a list of journals and resources and other stuff as it occurs to me. Eventually I will be rollingout a lot of the material I collected when I worked researching alternative education.