"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my whole life!"

The title of this blog entry is a quote delivered by one of my students today when asked to create AP style multiple-choice questions for a text. It was music to my ears because I knew both how seriously she was taking the assignment and how much she understood her goal. It IS one of the most difficult activities they complete, but it provides insight into the test creation process and teaches them how to anticipate what questions may be asked as they read texts.

With the AP test right around the corner, I know how lucky I am to have kids who take their academic success seriously. And whether their motivation to learn critical reading is an A in the class or a 5 on the AP exam is not as important to me than the fact that they ARE learning to read critically. Days like today make me LOVE my job!

Only the Starting Point

Yesterday I received the following email from one of my students:

Just wanted to let you know I finished And Then There Were None, and it was probably one of my favorite books ever! For two nights in a row I was up until 1:30 a.m. pushing myself to read until at least the next murder because I was so curious. I just couldn't put the book down. I'm so glad you offered us to read that book and it was optional. I love the class!

Well, needless to say, that student COMPLETELY made my day! I have always had some reservation about offering an easy read such as And Then, but I keep coming back to the issue of engagement and motivation to read. Now what that student must do is analyze the book, which provides the depth in thought that simply discerning vocabulary in more difficult reads requires. He will have to select an analytical angle, a lens from which to view the writing, the writer, the themes, the topics--the possibilities are endless. In my mind, the text is only the starting point; where the student goes from there is where my interests lie.

Student Choice of Format: Preparing Them for the College Experience

Recently I read some research that described an issue that college writing teachers have been dealing with in teaching first-year students how to write, and it has made me more cognizant of how much I instruct the students versus how much I let them learn. In an effort to prepare them for what they will likely experience in mere months, I have been trying to provide general direction and letting them decide specifics for themselves. The latest project, a banned book project, was left wide open for students to write in any format they chose, and I fear the students were somewhat confused by the lack of direction. My goal is to get them to the point that they can find their own ways without much direction. My fear is that when they encounter college professors from several different courses, disciplines, ages, schools of thought, they will be unprepared to think for themselves. This is my goal--to teach them where to go to find what they need and feel confident in their decisions. We'll see how it goes!!!

General Consensus Among the Students: We Should Ban Banning Books

Today I learned how articulate my students can be. Their Banned Book Projects were due today and they presented a brief synopsis to the class. I was SO PROUD of how they expressed their thoughts, how much research they did in regard to the topic, and the overall interest they demonstrated with their individual books and the process of banning in general.

Their maturity was evident, and because of students like these, such classics as were present on the list certainly are of merit and should not be banned. The students agreed that most of the listed books should be presented as choices and only to upper classmen who are capable of understanding the contexts that surround them.   

What I learned from my boyfriend, Geoffrey Chaucer

My students are analyzing lines from the general prologue of "The Canterbury Tales." What I learned today is that students are so accustomed to reading texts literally that it is difficult for them to perceive irony and the masterful sarcasm written by Geoffrey Chaucer, who I like to refer to as my boyfriend (I checked with my husband, and he doesn't mind). One of the reasons for my love of Chaucer is that he can insult people to their faces and they will not even be aware that a back-handed compliment has even been delivered. He is the expert of euphemistic speaking and my idol!

However, his wit is lost to many of the students until they read, reread, and consider--sometimes with some guiding questions--what the actual intentions in his statements are. At first the process frustrates the kids, but once they discover Chaucer's between-the-lines meanings, they understand him, and I think they are growing toward appreciation, maybe even admiration????

Because they say you learn something new every day...

I''m going to make an effort to post what I have learned about students and their reading or writing each day. I have a new resolve for writing at least a small post every day. We'll see if I can keep the pace :)

What I learned today is that students appreciate receiving feedback from their peers, and peers are often brutally honest in that feedback. As the juniors were delivering their persuasive speeches, many were thrilled to leaf through the comments provided by their classmates. Most were pleased with their evaluations; however, some were as shocked as I was at the crtiquing abilities of those around them. The majority of the criticism was constructive but at times was more vague than I would have liked for it to have been. I think if I'd have allowed more time to reflect upon the speeches, students would have provided more directed comments.

So, my lesson for myself today:
authenticity of audience=good
rushing through reflection=bad

Brave New World? 1984? Both? Neither?

This weekend I read the final drafts of the Accelerated English III essays in which students could recommend Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and/or George Orwell's 1984 or recommend that people NOT read one, the other, or both. The audience was to be teachers who would assign novels or students deciding what to read. Two students recommended neither be assigned or read, and some students recommended one novel over the other (with compelling reasons). The majority, however, wrote that they thought the two novels should BOTH be read and in conjuntion with each other. They did a fine job at comparing and contrasting the fictional societies that ultimately resulted in a similar effect. Most of them made credible connections between the events in the books and contemporary society. Some of the students, who chose teachers as their audience, provided specifics including how the novels could be used to augment curriculum and included topics teachers could introduce to encourage discussion.

Reading these essays confirmed what research indicates and what I'd thought but never asked my students in such a pointed manner: thematic instruction makes reading more enjoyable and themes more obvious and meaningful. Also, when students are asked to, they can display an impressive level of metacognition. My goals now: seek out more thematically connected literature and encourage more purposeful metacognition. Wish me luck!

As I was reading the most recent issue of Time magazine yesterday, I came across the following snippet:

The Couch-Potato Generation
A Kaiser Family Foundation study found that U.S. kids ages 8 to 18 are consuming more media than ever before. According to the survey, children and teens are now using their phones, computers, TVs and video game systems for a total of 7.5 hours a day, or 52.5 hours a week. The authors explain that multitasking and dual-use devices such as cell phones that play video push those figures even higher. In the past decade, listening to music has increased the most--up nearly an hour per day.

The only leisure activity that has become less popular is reading.

I must report that I was not thoroughly disheartened, as one might imagine an English teacher who is attempting to inspire a love for reading would be. I was instead intrigued and more determined than ever--not necessarily to buck this trend, but to capitalize on it. How can I use cell phones for good rather than EVIL (pronounced E-ville)? Is there a place for them in the modern English classroom? How can I get kids who CONSTANTLY read "junk" on the Internet read some "non-junk?" How can a knowledge of video games with their imaginative characters and complicated plot lines be incorporated into some type of analysis or writing assignment?

These are the questions that crowd my metaphorical inbox :) 

Hmmm. Maybe I am more like my students than I thought.

I have had this blog set up for a couple of weeks. I have known I needed to post a post, and I have actually been excited about it because I like to write. However, it is Monday night and the due date for the post is Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. Could it be that some of the kids' habits of waiting till the last minute are rubbing off on me?

Considering this possibility, I started to think about reasons my students and I procrastinate. Here are a few good excuses I found for not completing homework on time:

• I was at a rally last night demanding better pay and conditions for our hardworking teachers 
• I left my brain in my locker last night. 
• It's against my religion to do homework on a day ending in a "y"
• I was being followed on the way to school by spies so I had to eat it to avoid it falling into enemy hands
• I got carried away with my origami class and my home work is currently floating around in our pond as paper Canadian geese
• My dog ate it, then my science project ate my dog.
• I'm motivationally challenged.
• Oh, you meant this week !
• I forgot to remember
• It was too complex for the ideas of the school.  
• There has been a shortage of food in my house, and paper contains necessary dietary fibres.
• I feel I should rewrite it as there may be some difficulty in comprehending it.
• It has progressed on my list of priorities.
• I am an atheist and a pessimist. I don't believe in anything.

I have actually heard versions of these, but most of my students are so honest that they usually just say they forgot it or weren't able to complete it. I appreciate honesty, so I'll reveal the real reason why I have waited so long to post this first post:

I had it all written out but then some aliens took it back to Betelgeuse as an example of fine Earth literature.