Perspective

After yesterday's discussion in class about Dorian Gray, with special attention added to the preface, I realized that most literature--how it and characters in it are perceived--is all about perspective. This adds to the extremely difficult task teachers already have of grading papers or open-ended questions on tests because there are multiple ways a person could interpret the meaning of the question and the meaning of a term used in that question.
To use an example from the discussion we had yesterday, each individual perception of what a "villain" and a "victim" are is going to differ based on experiences with characters (or people) who have been labeled as such. Many of my classmates thought Dorian was the villain, however, I argued that Lord Henry was the villain because he was imposing his own ideas upon Dorian, influencing his way of thinking which ultimately influences his actions. Another peer mentioned that Lord Henry was only saying things so, in a way, he was more like a writer while Dorian was the one acting on behalf of the words as an actor.
As you can see, the question "Is Dorian the villain or is he a victim?" can have many different answers, not one direct, clear answer. Therefore, it is difficult to grade such an answer unless you have unbiased criteria. In this situation, I would change the question a little bit so the student knows what they will be evaluated on. Facing a question like the one mentioned above could cause some students to worry about their answers not being "right" because it is unclear what the teacher is looking for. So, to clarify and ease some of my students minds, I would add: "Use three examples from the book to support your answer." This way students will know that they can answer any way they wish as long as they can support it with evidence from the book.

These kinds of open-ended questions promote different perspectives, though they might be less popular, to be equally valid. This connects back to my last post about building respect in the classroom because these questions don't have a right or wrong answer so all students can be right even though they have different opinions. Showing students multiple perspectives encourages diversity and acceptance of different, opposing view points. To point out that both stances (or a combination of stances) have supporting evidence allows students to look into each others minds and broaden their own perceptions of what a villain is or what a victim is.
To take this one step further, I would propose students apply their new definitions or perspectives on the terms of villain and victim to their previous understanding of these terms. Then I would challenge them to be critically thinking about these definitions when they categorize a character of media they come across from now on into those boxes. I want them to think about why they categorize the character this way and, further more, I want them to notice that characters (and people) don't fit into simple labels such as "victim" or "villain." Hopefully, my students will see that these characters have traits that break these categories and that there are so many more elements to a character (or to human kind) than binary labels.
Sure, there will be many times in fiction where there is a definite villain or victim who fits into the stereotype. However, in real life, and literature that reflects reality, I hope my students will notice and respect that these labels we use to classify others do not fully encapsulate the whole essence of their character.

Approaches to Keeping Students Involved

Throughout the class, we have seen many examples of and types of presentations. We have had our topic presentations and multiple group presentations. After examining and comparing everyone’s throughout the semester, it is interesting to see which ones stood out most to me. If I were teaching a high school class I would consider looking at different techniques to keep students involved and engaged if I had to lecture.

Visual Aids:

Providing visual aids keeps students engaged by giving them something to look at while they listen in order to focus their attention. PowerPoint allows a teacher to summarize their points where providing visual aids such as pictures. Too much text is distracting and makes students pay too much attention to copying text and not enough to what is being said.

Prezi is also a really good visual aid. I haven’t messed with it much, but have been impressed with others presentations that I have seen. In Prezi the pictures and text are constantly moving, zooming in and out and creatively flowing from picture to text. The movement and interesting angles keep student’s eyes focused on the presentation. Prezi also lets you easily zoom into pictures to better show something of interest, or to zoom in on a quote for emphasis.

Adding video clips or sound bytes are another good way to spice up a presentation. Giving the students a new voice or sound to listen to keeps them alert. If the sound byte or videos are interesting they will focus them back into what is being discussed. Or sometimes it’s just nice to throw in a good comic or video that allows them to have a good laugh or provide an interesting view of the topic at hand.

 (Who doesn’t like a good Calvin and Hobbes comic?)

Staying Involved:

Keeping students involved by asking questions directly to the class or asking them to discuss the topic in groups is another good way to keep them focused. By discussing with their classmates they are able to articulate their own ideas, or all admit that they in fact didn’t read the reading ( you win some you lose some).

Hands on activities are also a great way to let students express their ideas. Any type of drawing, creating, even molding things out of clay helps keep students engaged. It also gives them a break from continuous listening and note taking. I had a teacher once in high school place giant pieces of clay on our desks. He then asked us to either to make a large figure or a small figure based on where we were sitting. Once made, he picked his favorite creations and reenacted a whole battle with them. I can remember almost every detail and it’s been six years. Random is always good, same with fresh and new ideas. 

Cooperation between Teachers

 A complaint I’ve often heard about the educational system in K-12 is the lack of cooperation between teachers in different subjects. This has come from teachers who have suggested that certain topics would be more interesting for the students and who believe the students would not only be more engaged in the process, but also maintain the information better.

Several of the texts we’ve recently read have evolved around colonialism, imperialism, race and class. The narrators have been from various sides of these controversial issues, which have given us as readers an appreciation of how different the experiences must have been. I believe the range of topics provide an opportunity for teachers of different subjects to cooperate to further the education of students.

            In the context of 19^th century literature, I think the most obvious subject to combine a project or lesson with is history. While many will claim that the 20^th century saw more change to the way of human life than any other, I would argue the 19^th century was of at least, if not greater, importance. The Industrial Revolution is considered the most significant advancement since the Agricultural Revolution with how it tremendously improved efficiency of manufacturing and changed the dynamics of human settlement from rural to urban. The texts we read during the “Ecology and Industrialism” section could be a starting point for a project about how the changes were viewed at the time by having students read original texts and analysis of them.

             As we dove further into the semester, the texts have been focusing more on the interaction between people of different race and class. Psychology, sociology and anthropology are subjects that come to mind in order to further explore the issues. “How does a character’s race affect his or her interaction with the people around” is an example of incorporating sociology into an assignment. Although one could say that it’s up to the narrator to decide on how characters interact, it’s likely that the narrator was influenced by his or her surroundings and trend.

            A potential challenge with joint projects is that each subject has a common core of standards the students have to meet during the year. Time is often the biggest challenge for a teacher when planning a semester or year’s curriculum. However, with the proper communication between teachers, projects or assignments can be well developed and meet the common core for multiple subjects at once.

The Importance of Respect in the Classroom

With all of the culturally charged literature we've been reading lately, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about how it is important to develop a respectful air in the classroom, especially with this type of content. 

One way to be respectful of the culture represented through the language of these texts is to find official recordings of readings. That way, students will be able to hear an accurate representation of that dialect or the language being used. 

For example, this clip from Song of the South could be used with stories from Uncle Remus, His Songs and Sayings which also allows us to analyze the original text along with the film representation of it.

Another approach to promoting respect is explaining the context of the text that is read. I think this really helps students grasp the culture of the time period and understand the reason for the style or language that is used.

In the case of Huck Finn and the use of the "n" word, whether or not it is spoken while quoting or discussing the text will have to depend on the maturity of students in the class. Not all students will be able to handle the use of that word with the respect it demands. However, because it is a representation of the cultural language of the time period, it would be an injustice to purchase censored books and require the immature student to read that version as opposed to the original text. It robs those students of an accurate experience with the time period and culture. If we deny them this, we deny them the opportunity to observe how culture and language changes over time.

I appreciate the way Dr. Campbell encourages engagement by asking for student voices to read and I think she approached the matter of being respectful appropriately by asking us not to try reading in any funny accents or voices but instead to paraphrase what we read. I also appreciate that she didn't force only one student to read it and struggle alone by not silencing the other students who attempted to help in translating. I know that, at least for the portion of the story I read, it was rather difficult in some parts and I felt comfortable enough to stumble while others filled in my blanks.

I think one of the best ways to introduce this atmosphere of respect is through the use of student's home language through a narrative poem or short story. This can help students relate to the different dialects, slang, or culture of these old stories because every student will have different cultural home life experiences. Before starting on these texts, I would have students share their personal experiences with the class so we can observe the spectrum of cultures and perspectives represented in our classroom. I plan to do many other activities like this that build a strong sense of connection and understanding among my students throughout the school year. I believe these elements greatly influence the amount of respect in the classroom because the more students understand and connect to each other, the more they will respect each other.

Teaching "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

        In class today we discussed why many of us were not excited by the prospect of rereading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Some spoke of flat out not liking the book, others spoke of bad experiences, and many articulated the point that the book has simply been over done. We have been talking about this book for years and years, and we have simply lost any sense of fascination that perhaps it once, or never sparked. I agreed that I hadn’t been very excited in rereading the book, not because I don’t think it doesn’t have value, or that I can’t learn more from it, but because it has been overdone in many of my classes. I have read multiple articles on it, written multiple essays on its themes, and included it as supporting evidence for many other writings in my classes. I felt I understood the book, the themes, and why it was important, and it for some reason wasn’t as intriguing anymore. This made me begin to think if I would or wouldn’t teach this book in high school.

When reading the book in high school, I enjoyed it well enough. However, I do think it is a hard book to teach simply because it’s hard for most high school students to relate to. Most students can’t identify with a teenage boy who just learned to write, who lives in a house that owns a slave. They can’t imagine ever being put in that type of situation, only because nowadays it wouldn’t even be a possibility. We are encouraged in America to not see color, so it is hard to promote a discussion on racial problems with high school students who aren’t used to talking about it, and also equally hard to make sure no one is hurt or uncomfortable because of any of the discussions.

A large part of me says it is important that the book is taught, because it gives a depiction of what America used to be, same with To Kill a Mockingbird. It also is depicted as a classic, and is mentioned in numerous works. I think because it is so prevalent in other writings it makes a student well rounded to have knowledge on the book. However, I was also curious what the book has to offer a student. So I looked up the essays I wrote to try and see what I got out of the book my first time reading it, and I was actually presently surprised.  From simply rereading the book it is easy to identify themes of friendship, abuse, racism, rebellion against adults, etc. However, I really liked the point I made in my essay in high school, that didn’t even pop into my head when we were discussing the book. A large problem that people have with the book is the way Jim, the only main black character in the book, is depicted. He is illiterate, superstitious and not portrayed as person of much intelligence. For this, the book is criticized, because it paints the only African American in the novel as not being smart. In my paper, I argued that Mark Twain actually made Jim the most sincere and likable character in the book. Throughout the book, Twain continually points out the flaws in every social group and family. He criticizes he hypocritical religious values of Miss Watson and Widow Douglass. He shows the ugliness of Huckleberry’s abusive father. He points out the scheming and unethical ways of the duke and dauphin. He mocks the family honor that the Grangerfords and Shepherdsons have placed upon themselves that leads to a spree of never ending deaths. And in the end, he mocks the childhood excuses of Tom and Huckleberry, who are willing to sacrifice potentially the life of Jim in order to have an adventure. In the end, only Jim is left with his morals. He is the only character who never betrays his friends, or tries to harm them.

I think this book does have a lot to give that can expand a student’s thoughts and give them a better understanding of humanity. 

More than Facts

Perceived by many as the dark side of a teaching job, grading can be a time-consuming task. When teachers create an assignment they also need to have in mind how they are going to assess the students’ work. Although it creates more work up front, attaching a well-made rubric with the assignment will most often make the grading easier because it increases the chances of a good response.

            One of the main characters in Charles Dickens’ Hard Times, Thomas Gradgrind, is a schoolteacher who strongly believes in facts. In the start of the novel he embarrasses girl number twenty after her attempt of explaining what a horse is; Gradgrind then turns to Bitzer who can provide detailed information—facts—about a horse. Gradgrind applauds Bitzer, and continues his lecture about the importance about facts and how that is all he wants. His teaching philosophy in the beginning of the story could possibly work today if he was a math or science teacher; however, I think his assessment was too one-minded.

            GIRAFTS is an approach to assignment design that is taught in English 324. It’s an acronym for Goals, Intellectual process, Role of writer, Audience, Format, Task, and Scoring. The Intellectual process is where the teacher should list action verbs that cover what the students should be accomplishing while working with the assignment. Verbs further to the right on the scale of Bloom’s Taxonomy will in most cases challenge the students more as they include evaluate, analyze, and predict. On the contrary, if one stays to the left end of the scale, the students will be asked to state, name, and define—action verbs Mr. Gradgrind consistently used in his teaching.

            Although I prefer assignments that demand more analysis and evaluation, there’s a time and place for rote memorization and facts. In science fields such as medicine it is necessary for the students to memorize muscles, bones etc. before they can advance further in the field. In other words, the facts have to be in place before a student becomes a doctor. One could argue that it is similar with English because one has to learn how to read and write before attacking complex assignments that are geared towards evaluation; however, for native speakers language is intuitive and there’s usually not a need for practicing vocabulary before handing out an assignment.

             In the rubric, or the scoring part of GIRAFTS, the criteria should reflect the action verbs in intellectual process. The rubric is where the teacher informs the students about what is expected to achieve various grades. A rubric not only increases the chance of a good response, but also gives the teacher a reference while grading—which is fairer towards the students. 

Roles of the English Teacher

In my teaching and learning classes, I'm learning about lesson and unit planning and how important it is to have a hook. This is why I included this video. However, while watching Vanessa and Ivan's prezi on Edgar Allan Poe, I realized that the English teacher has more roles than just presenting literature to students. It is crucial that we also include an introduction to the author of certain works and talk about the time period so students can gain a more full understanding of the literature they're reading. Granted, this might not really interest most of your students but it might aid in them making more connections and being able to analyze why these kind of stories are considered "horror" or "scary" for the time period and also how they might still be scary today.

I have known for a long time that English teachers also facilitate discussions or debates and I believe our past few discussions, on both Frankenstein's monster being human or non-human and the protagonist of Tell-Tale Heart feeling guilty or just paranoid or nervous, have been excellently facilitated. It is important to not allow these kind of discussions to get out of hand and that a respectful tone remains throughout the class. It is sometimes difficult to give attention or respect to an opinion you disagree with, but it is also a great way to enhance your own argument if you listen and can counter the points they make. Being able to model this for students is a good way to enforce this respectful manner that you expect your students to have. Personally, I have a hard time sometimes not interrupting someone when they are saying something I disagree with, so I know I am going to have to start trying things to prevent myself from interrupting. I could see myself taking notes on what the person is saying so I can focus on what it is about what they said that I don't agree with and then write out a way I can counter their idea with evidence to support my own thoughts and ideas. This communication skill is one that very few students master by the time they leave high school (sometimes even before they leave college...) but I hope that I can provide my students with some methods of approaching this kind of discussion.

I also realized that the teacher usually is expected to stay neutral on a topic but I know I can't do that because there are some things I feel strongly about and I don't want to send a message to my students that they should censor their beliefs in certain settings. In a discussion about Tell-Tale Heart, if students are having a hard time getting started, I would prompt them with a question about whether or not they think the protagonist feels guilty. If no one wants to offer their opinion at first, I would get them started with my opinion that it isn't guilt because he doesn't seem the least bit sorry for what he has done. He seems boastful and proud, and the only thing that leads him to turn himself in is the beating heart that is driving him crazy. I guess the heartbeat that is pounding in his ears could be a sign that he feels guilt for what he has done, but I honestly think it's a sign of madness that he cannot bear to imagine is only in his head because throughout the whole story, he's trying to convince you he's not a madman. It's quite a clear sign of madness to be hearing something that no one else can hear.

I would not have elaborated that much in my classroom, I probably would have only given my first sentence, but I think that it's important to show students that it's okay to have opinions and that it is also good to hear or share opposing opinions because it challenges everybody to dig deeper into the context of their own approach to a text and also open their eyes to the other side (as well as showing them where their argument or stance is not very strong or supported).