Sound engineering: Shipka

I found the explicitness of the multi-modal theory of composing refreshing. The fact that this theory "privileges purposeful choosing,experimentation, and communicative flexibility" makes me wonder what the goals of classical composing are and if they are so clearly spelled out. I can see how these goals apply to written composition but I don't remember having the goals of written expression being explicit except for the mechanics part of writing. Although I thought that these assignments were beneficial and creative I had to really fight my panic while reading just thinking that I might have to take a class like this at one time. Creating activity based multi-modal projects seems very revealing to me and I would have to work to overcome that in a way that I am not troubled by when turning in compositions. When writing a paper I try to prioritize my learning over the teacher's opinion (this is still a struggle)but if I had to expose myself to the whole class with my work it would be extremely challenging. This must mean that I privilege written composition in my work since I am more at ease with that expression. Always something to work on.

Residential Interior Design/Smagorinsky,Zoss,Reed

Interior design is one of those gifts I thought you either have or you don't. Having the complexity of the decision making process revealed was enlightening. It was fascinating to me that the authors revealed her layers of schematic cultures and fields from which she draws information to make decisions. This process I would have described as talent. I am stuck on the devaluation of this multi-faceted process as "womens work". It does remind me a little of the devaluation of mothers in this country and how difficult it is to identify yourself as as a stay at home mom without using the word "just" in front of it. The vast number of solutions necessary in a given day that are required to satisfy the goals and motives of family members, and the social organizations involved with child raising, demand confident split second decision making abilities,continue throughout the day without ceasing, and in many cases have long lasting implications. I think teachers fall into the same category as mothers and this effects teacher pay and teacher morale.

Becoming Literate in the Information Age by Hawisher and Selfe

I enjoyed this article. I found myself admiring Melissa and her ability to move into the digital age. I thought it showed great confidence to cheat on her job application. My sister has had several job interviews in which she was asked if she knew a certain program or computer language and her standard response is "Does it come with a manual?"

Although I am a couple of years older than Melissa my computer upbringing was quite similar. And just like Amy's mom I had to type all of my college papers on an old fashioned typewriter, although I was the envy of all my friends because mine was ELECTRIC. It wasn't too bad actually until you had to change a footnote. My first computer was loaned to me by the school district so I could pass the district's computer skills compentancy test.

When I read about Brittney's computer experience it made me think about the Lankshear and Knobel article and the "schoolification" of good ideas. Although I'm not familiar with high school curriculum I would be surprised if it has changed much since I was there. How challenging to re-write instructional practices asking students to complete assignments that the teacher can't complete. It is easy to keep doing what you know and because perhaps you've seen it work for years.

I have seen in many elementary school classrooms the use of computers to teach phonics skills. The reason behind this is that it makes the learning fun. But if we don't examine whether or not the phonics skill is sound teaching in the first place than animating the practice doesn't make it more beneficial.

Implications of "New" Literacies for Writing Research by Lankshear and Knobel

I am impressed with the fact that the editors let the word "shonky" (pg. 15) slide past. Although unfamiliar with the word it appears that it is an accepted Australian term used to describe used car salesmen. I agree that shonky does capture the image of curriculum movements that seem to be using surface features of what is good instruction in lieu of critical elements of good instruction. I think all the permutations we see in schools called "process writing" are a testament to Knobel and Lankshear's idea that the "schoolification" of a good idea makes it a bad idea. I loved several quotes in this piece

"In such a case it would be crucial to avoid as far as possible the "schoolification" of the practice in question, mindful of the tendency for schools and classrooms to remake all social practices in their own image."

How true this is but why? You would think that with all the focus on schools in crisis that many elements in schools would have changed.

I enjoyed the following quote as well

"For literacy education to be soundly based, we must be able to demonstrate the efficacy of any and every literacy that is taught compulsorily."

This can certainly be applied to everything we do in schools not just new literacies.

I was surprised to read in Melody's blog that she was unfamiliar with some of these websites. I know I am out of touch but I thought I was one of the few (I actually feel better Melody, thanks). I just don't take the time to explore much on the computer. I know what I know and when I need to learn more I do. I regard my computer as an office tool much like a stapler. I'm really glad to have it but I don't want to get one for Christmas.

Boys and Reading/ Martino 2001 and Gender and Genre / Kamler 1994

It seems to me that some of the boys just needed to read different material than they were being offered. Surely there are many books that encompass themes that are "relevant" and that tap into their "cultural experiences". I like the author's idea of using texts to engage boys, or young men, in the interrogation of masculinity. Seems like a topic that would encourage involvement in the discussion for males and females. Might be kind of tough for the gays/lesbians/ and transgender kids.

Regarding the Kamler article I am most disheartened by the lack of teaching in the classroom. I think these days most teachers feel they use the "process" method of teaching writing, regardless of what they are actually teaching. My kids have been in such different settings as they progress through elementary school. All their teachers feel that they use the process approach. Even if they give them a prompt and make them proof-read it before they re-copy their final draft. That's process!

I am not sure I agree with the categorization of returning to drawing and labelling as a "regression" . Most experts in emergent writing (Clay, Dyson, Rowe) will state that writing does not develop as a linear model. Children try on roles as authors and audience. These roles influence their own writing. If students are demonstrating drawing and labeling, and students are appropriating these ideas this may not be a regression as much as an experimentation. However, it does seem that students should be able to draw upon expertise from the teacher as well as their peers. The lack of influence from conferences and teacher modeling seems to provide the students with less information and guidance and would of course expose them to fewer genres.

When I read the statistics about Peter's use of the event element vs. Zoe's use of the event element I wonder how much of this is just the way we are. I wonder is this just a natural way that boys position themselves in the world? Is Zoe's passivity bad or just stereotypical?
I wonder if Peter had been encouraged to comment would he have included more? Or is Kamler saying that it is only because Zoe is a female that she feels comfortable expressing her emotions? I guess what I'm wondering is if the teacher spent more time conferencing with students would the artifacts have been more geder neutral? I am interested in the concept of free choice actually meaning no choice to kids who will fall back on their limited gender experiences.

The Loft/ Blackburn 2003

OK, am I the only person who thought "queer" was a derogatory term? Looked up queer theory and I'm still not clear on what exactly it means except that we should look at people as having individual sets of traits instead of grouping them together into classifications. Isn't that what we all want? Anyway, I thought almost three years was a fantastic amount of time to collect data at the Loft. As an employee and member of the decision making body she unquestionably lost some objectivity. I find it interesting that the same people who are marginalized in the schools are able to be powerful at the loft. It would seem to me that trans-gender individuals would have more difficulty hiding their identities at school or finding acceptance at schools than the gay/lesbian people. Therefore, they would be lower in the pecking order at schools. Maybe it is this unspoken marginalized order that surfaces at the Loft. With straight people out of the mix the order is still maintained. I admire the group (Speakers Bureau) that was able to question their behavior and disrupt the dynamics.

I work with a 3rd grade African American boy in my daughter's classroom. He has been identified as one of those kids who might not pass the test. After a rough start I enjoyed my time with him. It is clear that plays a role in the classroom of a a kid who wastes time, is very disorganized, and angers quickly. Because I like him so much I felt that I viewed him differently and could appreciate his strengths. However, one Friday night his basketball team was playing my daughter's team. This kid was great! He was obviously the star of the team. He had wonderful skills and instincts. He handled his success with grace and often encouraged his teammates when they messed up. He was the kind of player that even the parents and passers-by noticed. I felt such joy that this kid had a setting in which he was the star. Nobody there knew or cared about whether or not he passed the test. I wanted to go back to school and tell everybody "YOU DON'T KNOW HIM, HE'S REALLY REALLY GREAT!" I guess it was then that I realized how much I had bought into the kid who may not pass the test and all that the role implies. So, to tie this all together, he wasn't gay or trans-sexual but he was marginalized in a place that he spends so much time. He was marginalized by peers and teachers and people who ought to know better (me). Blackburn talks in the discussion section how important it was to conduct this study at the Loft as opposed to the school so she could see them as powerful people working against the homophobia instead of victims. I wish we could view all our students with such a well rounded view instead of through this lens of test success.When I read about the Loft I thought of how we are marginalizing people for a characteristic that we have arbitrarily designated as extremely important. It made me think about Amy's comment in class (I'm paraphrasing) when she talked about an invisible type of behavior that we no longer examine as to whether it is good or bad it is just how we do it (and how damaging that can be). I feel this high stakes testing is so damaging to students and such a powerful tool to unempower otherwise smart, funny, successful kids.

First Blog

Allright, here it is...my first blog. Today I want to write about the teaching of standard English to students whose primary language is AAVE. Specifically what teachers are currently doing and what should be done to enrich those students who currently face the challenge of using one dialect and being tested in another. I could post about the absurdity of these tests but that is for another time. The tests exist and will for awhile longer. I think the challenge of addressing the misunderstandings of teachers, and the inadequacies of the strategies they are using (in most cases have been told to use) will be a struggle that outlives this administration and their insidious testing penchant. The use of DOL in Godly, Carpenter, and Werner's article (2007) demonstrates what a serious problem this is going to be to realign teacher thinking.Werner, the high school teacher in this piece, is a 20 year veteran with a master's degree and doctoral credits as well. She is a self described "life-long learner". It speaks to her desire to improve her practice that she would take on the additional stress of a research project during what she describes as her most challenging year. Her challenges include the new curriculum and the everpresent test. When I first began reading this article I was thinking, she's one of the best. We're not talking about a 20 veteran who is flipping the calendar waiting for her retirement. She made a comment, which I will paraphrase, that when she is done learning, she is done teaching. What a great attitude to still have when you have worked in an urban high school for 17 years.However, when I examine some of her strategies at teaching the students Standard English she is clearly demeaning. Now, I would hate to be videotaped, transcribed, and served on a platter for a couple of researchers to categorize. She thinks she is doing right by her students to correct them. To imply through repetition, tone, and, position that her way of speaking is right. She clearly saw through the videotape that she was insulting. It appears that her desire for them to succeed created an end justifies the mean landscape in her classroom (That's Iraq and NCLB now). Sadly, this humiliation only results in humiliation as her end of the year mechanics scores did not improve ( at the risk of repeating myself...that's Iraq and NCLB now). And this teacher is One of the Best! What is happening in the other classrooms?More importantly, why doesn't she know better? Why are the curriculum and materials unsuccessful? DOL has been around for years. Many many teachers use this format.Have we just blinding been purchasing these materials without any research to say they work? Crazy!I read DreamKeepers by Gloria Ladson Billings last semester. I was quite surprised that in the introduction she discusses the possibility of Black students attending an all African American school. I was really shocked that after segregation that a strong leader in the community would suggest that. But in her book she talks about the power of the teacher as an involved, successful, community advocating, role model. I'm sure this would reduce the denigration of AAVE if teachers were demonstrating the beauty and appropriateness of AAVE while at the same time modelling and teaching another code (Standard English). I wonder if Black teachers would do a better job of emphasizing African-American discourse and , designing strategies for incorporating the Black imaginative storytelling style, as was suggested by the studies on the NAEP scores. After reading DreamKeepers Ladson-Billings did not come out and say only African American teachers can meet the needs of the African American students but it does raise an interesting question about who could best bring these instructional changes to the classroom.
draft
4/3/08

Delpitt

I was interested in what Lisa Delpit had to say about this week's readings regarding AAVE found this handout about the ten things teachers need to do.