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).

Heroes

At a very young age, children are taught to identify who the hero of the story is.  He is the one who carries the sword into battle, the one who outsmarts the villain, or who saves an animal from a cruel death. He is the one who sacrifices himself to save others, the one who is smart or brave or courageous, who is able to win against all odds.  They can identify living heroes, heroes who have done something for our country, such as our soldiers, Martin Luther King Jr., or Abraham Lincoln. They can also list figures important to them as heroes. Many will list sports figures as their heroes, super heroes, or relatives.

This being said, the concept of the Greek hero falls very naturally into the minds of middle school students. They grew up on the Disney story of Hercules, and generally have some knowledge of the Greek gods. It is easy enough to present the idea of the Greek hero without much confusion. A Greek hero is one who often has divine ancestry, one who endowed with strength and courage, and who is generally seeking immortality through success and fame.  The idea is an easy one to grasp, and when presented with the novels such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, the heroes are easy to identify.  They are strong and brave, and they almost always win.  

As they move into high school they learn to stretch their views a bit (if they already haven’t). Novels, such as To Kill A Mockingbird, present them with the idea that maybe a hero isn’t necessarily the one who is strong or victorious, but is the one who is trying to do what is right. (Thank you Harper Lee for the creation of Atticus Finch). 

Then suddenly, at some point in their high school career, they are thrown a book with a completely different type of hero, the romantic hero.  They read a book such as Wuthering Heights, and suddenly are told that Heathcliff is a romantic hero. And this is where we reach roadblock. The romantic hero is unlike any hero they have seen. He is moody, self-centered, believes himself to be outside the pettiness of laws and society. He is not normally dashing or brave, nor is he victorious. In fact, nearly all romantic heroes are plagued with quite miserable or controversial lives. Frankenstein, Mr. Darcy, Rhett Butler – all these romantic heroes are nothing like any hero they have encountered. Even in my head, it seems weird to label these characters as a hero. I think in order for students to fully appreciate a romantic hero, they have to have a very clear idea of what one is, and why during the 18^th and 19^th era the idea of one became popular. Otherwise, they simply see them as tragically flawed men, given an ironic title. 

Literature Across Disciplines

Literature can be entertaining, but also very thought-provoking. I find it intriguing when a person writes to share an experience that others can learn from or tells a story with the intention of creating debate or improving someone’s life. Such texts can take the form of novels, poetry, biographies, and others—the idea is to present material in a different form than a text book.

John Rollin Ridge describes the life of a slave in 19^th century America in Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, An American Slave. This is a text that brings up topics such as slavery—quite obvious—racism, human interaction, and dynamics in a typical southern work environment for the time being. In poetry the meaning is often hidden, or less direct, and thereby demands more consciousness and interpretation from the reader. Other times it is quite direct, such as in Hubert Harrison’s The Black Man’s Burden from When Africa Awakes. He describes the suffering slaves have gone through and ends the poem with saying that it is a matter of time until justice will be done. 

             In my English 323 class it was several times said that English teachers have a responsibility that goes beyond teaching English as a language; in the texts students read during their time in school they come across a range of topics from various disciplines. One might read about climate change, human rights, war, religion, poverty or relationships. I remember thinking it was a bit overwhelming to expect English teachers to cover such a broad specter of topics, but later I realized what a great opportunity it represents. If one can show students of all interests what they can learn from reading literature, perhaps more will discover what the world of English has to offer.

            Imagine a student who is interested in going to college to study environmental science; the student is presented with Emerson’s Nature and because of the beautiful images that are described the student decides to study environmental law in grad school to help preserve nature. Another possibility is that This Lime-tree Bower my Prison could spark an interest in psychology or social work because a student recognizes the importance of providing social interaction to all people. Regardless of what direction literature might take a student, the idea is to connect it with other subjects. This will add meaning to a text and make it more enjoyable to work with compared to isolating it and only looking at it from a literary angle.   

Heroes in Middle & High School Lit