Three Poems by Edwin Markham
Preparedness
For all your days prepare,
And meet them ever alike:
When you are the anvil, Bear--
When you are the hammer, Strike.
Outwitted
He drew a circle that shut me out--
Heretic, a rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!
Duty
When Duty comes a-knocking at your gate
Welcome him in; for if you him bid wait
He will depart only to come once more
And bring seven other duties to your door
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Why use blogs in the classroom?
Throughout the course of this semester, we have incorporated the use of blogs into our course work. This is the first time I have ever done anything like this. Now that I have done this myself and have had time to reflect on how blogs are used, I like the ideas of using blogs very much. I have found that there are many possible instructional uses for blogs in the classroom. For example, many teachers require students to hand in hard copies of journal entries. This creates a lot of loose paper a teacher must keep track of. Instead of using this traditional method, blog entries could function the same way without the hassle, plus they would be posted online for future reference. Blogs also show the date and time of which they are posted, therefore the teacher would be able to tell if the assignment was completed on time. Another example would be for students to present certain assignments as a blog. In this way students can change the colors, design, and publish their work. Students are allotted more options for aesthetic presentation and are able to publish their work on the Internet. Blogs provide many advantages over traditional forms. However, before teachers decide to use blogs, or any other types of media in the classroom, they must be sure all students have equal access to computers and the internet. They must not assume all students have equal computer knowledge. In addition, teachers must have the right motives for using blogs. They should not use blogs because they are the latest fad, or to cut corners in instruction, or because using blogs is something the teacher enjoys. Blogs should be used because it is one way to bring out the best in students’ writing.
Overall, I think the use of blogs in the classroom has proven to be a key tool in integrating technology and improving aspects for both students and teachers.
Overall, I think the use of blogs in the classroom has proven to be a key tool in integrating technology and improving aspects for both students and teachers.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
La Bella Figura
In Italy, the philosophy of La Bella Figura rules the land, especially in the south. Bella Figura means “the beautiful figure” but is actually a way of life emphasizing beauty, good image, aesthetics and proper behavior.
But La Bella Figura is more than merely dressing well, looking good and admiring fine art. It is an etiquette system as well. La Bella Figura also means acting properly, knowing the rules of etiquette, presenting oneself with, and being aware of, the proper nuances Italian society demands. It is how to act and how to behave under particular circumstances. It is knowing what is appropriate and when, it is knowing what is of high quality and taste versus what is too cheap.
La Bella Figura is also loyalty. Italians have a strong sense of loyalty to their family, friends, neighbors and business partners. Behaving properly, appropriately and respectfully is crucial to maintaining the right air of Bella Figura both in family situations as well as in the business world.
La Bella Figura is both a demureness and formality and is thoroughly entrenched in the culture of Italy, especially in the southern portion of the country. It is believed that practicing La Bella Figura enhances beauty and peace in the world.
Friday, April 24, 2009
So you think you can type?
Friday, April 17, 2009
What are three things very few people know about you?
Here's my list....
1. I love to paint. I have sold some paintings for amounts that were more than my yearly salary as a teacher.
2. I can play the piano, the accordion, and the xylophone.
3. I once owned a restaurant.
Now........... your turn!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Where will our writers come from?
In order to close the achievement gap for socioeconomically disadvantaged and culturally
diverse students, we must know the statistics.
• Of every 100 Asian kindergartners, 94 will graduate from high school, 80 will complete
some college, and 49 will obtain at least a bachelor’s degree.
• Of every 100 Black kindergartners, 87 will graduate from high school, 54 will complete
at least some college, and 16 will earn a bachelor’s degree.
• Of every 100 Latino kindergartners, 62 will graduate from high school, 29 will complete
some college, and 6 will obtain a bachelor’s degree.
• Of every 100 white kindergartners, 91 will graduate from high school, 62 will complete
at least some college, and 30 will obtain at least a bachelor’s degree.
Three major factors are listed that will improve the educational opportunities for students.
They are caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for participation and
contribution. Within these factors, students need access to challenging curriculum and
instruction, high quality teachers, and extra supports.
Williams, Belinda. Closing the Achievement Gap, ASCD 2003
diverse students, we must know the statistics.
• Of every 100 Asian kindergartners, 94 will graduate from high school, 80 will complete
some college, and 49 will obtain at least a bachelor’s degree.
• Of every 100 Black kindergartners, 87 will graduate from high school, 54 will complete
at least some college, and 16 will earn a bachelor’s degree.
• Of every 100 Latino kindergartners, 62 will graduate from high school, 29 will complete
some college, and 6 will obtain a bachelor’s degree.
• Of every 100 white kindergartners, 91 will graduate from high school, 62 will complete
at least some college, and 30 will obtain at least a bachelor’s degree.
Three major factors are listed that will improve the educational opportunities for students.
They are caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for participation and
contribution. Within these factors, students need access to challenging curriculum and
instruction, high quality teachers, and extra supports.
Williams, Belinda. Closing the Achievement Gap, ASCD 2003
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thinking of all the work I need to do!
The Hindu Bhagavad Gita says "what is work and what is not work are questions which perplex the wisest of men." Music great Bob Geldof stated "the purpose of life must be more than going to work, coming home, and going back. I don't believe the rich man, poor man dignity of labor. There is no more dignity in labor than in not working. I never felt ashamed to be out of work. I just felt broke." Booker T. Washington said "no race can prosper until it learns there is as much dignity tilling a field as in writing a poem." Jerome K. Jerome states "it's impossible to enjoy idling thoroughly unless one has plenty of work to do." Finally, Henry W. Becker writes "work is not the curse but drudgery is."
As I write this I have to remind myself that work, for me, has always been ever changing. Change is good. It creates discomfort but is part of direction.
As I write this I have to remind myself that work, for me, has always been ever changing. Change is good. It creates discomfort but is part of direction.
New film
Audrey Tautou's New Film
I think all the world fell in love with Audrey Tautou when the film Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, Le (or Amelie as it is better known) arrived in 2001. Not only was her character cute and adorable the film was wonderfully written and directed and beautifully photographed. It's on my list of favorite films
Audrey has a new film due out in April, Coco Avant Chanel, I'm hoping to see but doubt I'll get to until the DVD is released. Until then I'l just watch the trailer over and over.
Here's the link for a preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEtwpSVSBKM&eurl=
Review of Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain,
At first glance it would seem that “Amelie” has been made before. Perhaps in “Pollyanna” or in any novel-turned movie by Jane Austen, or even Flora in ”Cold Comfort Farm”, might be considered a forerunner to the character in “Amelie”. But, “Amelie” is different. It is a French film and teaches values other similar films lack. This film has that certain “ je ne sais quoi”---that particular way of showing French aesthetics in the manner that only the French can do. This film shows in an exceptional fashion a French woman taking time to understand who she is and to develop her own personal style and sense of mystic and whimsy with a cleverness and charm that is pure “la Parisienne”.
The popularity of “Amelie” speaks directly to the fascination American women tend to have with all things French. The word “French” being a superlative with anything that is elegant and refined and that has a well-deserved reputation of quality. There are lessons in “Amelie” that American women should take to heart.
At the beginning of the film the narrator makes a point of mentioning that Amelie becomes an observer of life. She learns to see things that other don’t see. Amelie sees so many things one really needs to watch the movie many times to see all the things she sees. She likes to eat berries off her fingers and coax music from wine glass rims. She experiences life through her senses. She catches small details in life. She sees the pain in others because she herself is wrapped in it.
Yet, she doesn’t seem unduly unhappy in her solitude she has accepted its inevitability. She learns tragedy can bring change, sometimes change for the better. Amelie rises above her calamities like a nice soufflé. She doesn’t remain childish, but child-like which she develops into spunk and spirit.
As an adult, Amelie does not hold a grudge against her father. She visits him every week and encourages him to grow—to travel. She doesn’t lecture him, or fight with him or try to appeal to his logic in typical American manner. She makes arrangements for his alter-ego, his gnome, to travel in his stead; thus allowing her father to see what he is missing.
In the event that changes Amelie life (the death of Lady Di and the finding of a childhood box), it would be easy to miss an important aspect. There is Amelie is perfectly fitted lingerie—a beautiful white full slip applying perfume. Amelie is probably more Monoprix, than Faubourg St. Honore, yet, like a true Parisienne she is attentive to detail, to look good and smell good, even if one is alone.
It is interesting to note, that Amelie never wears slacks or shorts. Her quirky off beat fashion sense, which is not quite vintage or retro, is timeless. When she goes to work her hair is neat and her look is polished.
Throughout the film, inwardly, Amelie is troubled but outwardly she is all poise. When she sits with Monsieur Dufayel (who cleverly helps Amelie take a reflective look at herself through the Renoir painting) her posture is straight and steady. She is not nervous personality. She is unique and she sees herself as such.
Amelie is typically French is her shopping habits. There is not a giant refrigerator in her neat and tidy tiny apartment. She shops daily, buying only what is needed. Being in the kitchen is creative and refreshing to her. She loves the feel of beans, and to crack the crust of the crème brulee and she carefully grates cheese over her hot pasta as she sits down to eat with a lovely place setting. She bakes bread and grows herbs on the window sill.
There have been comparisons of Audrey Tautou to the other famous Audrey—Audrey Hepburn. The comparison is rightly deserved. The Audrey of the 1950’s had the great sense not to follow the dictates of her era, but to follow she own gamine style. She didn’t fall into sex symbol hype and try to become something she wasn’t. Fifty years later when the 1950’s and elegance are spoken in the same sentence, no one says Marilyn or Jayne, but simple doe-eyed Audrey.
In the United States “Le Fabuleux Destin D’Amelie Poulain” is retitled either “Amelie” or “Amelie from Montmartre”. The Parisian backdrop is essential to this film because this isn’t the Paris of American travel brochures. The Paris of this film takes The City of Lights to a virtuoso level both literally and figuratively to the high hill of Montmartre. This bohemian section of Paris, which is home to both La Basilique du Sacre -Coeur and La Pigalle, provides its twisted streets for all the twists in “Amelie”. Montmartre is the only character in this film to appear as itself.
Perhaps the best advice to an American women watching this film is not watch it as a movie, but to view it like the colors in an impressionistic painting, a canvas that unleashes joy and style. For what do Parisians see when they look out the window? Not the Eiffel Tower, as American advertisements show, but each other.
I think all the world fell in love with Audrey Tautou when the film Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, Le (or Amelie as it is better known) arrived in 2001. Not only was her character cute and adorable the film was wonderfully written and directed and beautifully photographed. It's on my list of favorite films
Audrey has a new film due out in April, Coco Avant Chanel, I'm hoping to see but doubt I'll get to until the DVD is released. Until then I'l just watch the trailer over and over.
Here's the link for a preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEtwpSVSBKM&eurl=
Review of Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain,
At first glance it would seem that “Amelie” has been made before. Perhaps in “Pollyanna” or in any novel-turned movie by Jane Austen, or even Flora in ”Cold Comfort Farm”, might be considered a forerunner to the character in “Amelie”. But, “Amelie” is different. It is a French film and teaches values other similar films lack. This film has that certain “ je ne sais quoi”---that particular way of showing French aesthetics in the manner that only the French can do. This film shows in an exceptional fashion a French woman taking time to understand who she is and to develop her own personal style and sense of mystic and whimsy with a cleverness and charm that is pure “la Parisienne”.
The popularity of “Amelie” speaks directly to the fascination American women tend to have with all things French. The word “French” being a superlative with anything that is elegant and refined and that has a well-deserved reputation of quality. There are lessons in “Amelie” that American women should take to heart.
At the beginning of the film the narrator makes a point of mentioning that Amelie becomes an observer of life. She learns to see things that other don’t see. Amelie sees so many things one really needs to watch the movie many times to see all the things she sees. She likes to eat berries off her fingers and coax music from wine glass rims. She experiences life through her senses. She catches small details in life. She sees the pain in others because she herself is wrapped in it.
Yet, she doesn’t seem unduly unhappy in her solitude she has accepted its inevitability. She learns tragedy can bring change, sometimes change for the better. Amelie rises above her calamities like a nice soufflé. She doesn’t remain childish, but child-like which she develops into spunk and spirit.
As an adult, Amelie does not hold a grudge against her father. She visits him every week and encourages him to grow—to travel. She doesn’t lecture him, or fight with him or try to appeal to his logic in typical American manner. She makes arrangements for his alter-ego, his gnome, to travel in his stead; thus allowing her father to see what he is missing.
In the event that changes Amelie life (the death of Lady Di and the finding of a childhood box), it would be easy to miss an important aspect. There is Amelie is perfectly fitted lingerie—a beautiful white full slip applying perfume. Amelie is probably more Monoprix, than Faubourg St. Honore, yet, like a true Parisienne she is attentive to detail, to look good and smell good, even if one is alone.
It is interesting to note, that Amelie never wears slacks or shorts. Her quirky off beat fashion sense, which is not quite vintage or retro, is timeless. When she goes to work her hair is neat and her look is polished.
Throughout the film, inwardly, Amelie is troubled but outwardly she is all poise. When she sits with Monsieur Dufayel (who cleverly helps Amelie take a reflective look at herself through the Renoir painting) her posture is straight and steady. She is not nervous personality. She is unique and she sees herself as such.
Amelie is typically French is her shopping habits. There is not a giant refrigerator in her neat and tidy tiny apartment. She shops daily, buying only what is needed. Being in the kitchen is creative and refreshing to her. She loves the feel of beans, and to crack the crust of the crème brulee and she carefully grates cheese over her hot pasta as she sits down to eat with a lovely place setting. She bakes bread and grows herbs on the window sill.
There have been comparisons of Audrey Tautou to the other famous Audrey—Audrey Hepburn. The comparison is rightly deserved. The Audrey of the 1950’s had the great sense not to follow the dictates of her era, but to follow she own gamine style. She didn’t fall into sex symbol hype and try to become something she wasn’t. Fifty years later when the 1950’s and elegance are spoken in the same sentence, no one says Marilyn or Jayne, but simple doe-eyed Audrey.
In the United States “Le Fabuleux Destin D’Amelie Poulain” is retitled either “Amelie” or “Amelie from Montmartre”. The Parisian backdrop is essential to this film because this isn’t the Paris of American travel brochures. The Paris of this film takes The City of Lights to a virtuoso level both literally and figuratively to the high hill of Montmartre. This bohemian section of Paris, which is home to both La Basilique du Sacre -Coeur and La Pigalle, provides its twisted streets for all the twists in “Amelie”. Montmartre is the only character in this film to appear as itself.
Perhaps the best advice to an American women watching this film is not watch it as a movie, but to view it like the colors in an impressionistic painting, a canvas that unleashes joy and style. For what do Parisians see when they look out the window? Not the Eiffel Tower, as American advertisements show, but each other.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Conclusion
3:30 pm
Drizzle
I didn’t get back to see Ilma and her brothers. I felt really bad about that. I had made a promise. I called Ilma’s teacher and asked her how the rest of the day went.
“Did you know they count to ten in Guatemala just like we do?”
I almost started to laugh, and then I realized she was serious. They told the teacher that Ilma couldn’t speak English. She couldn’t. Yet, sometime that day, Ilma, in an effort to show the teacher she knew something must have counted to ten to her as she had done for me.
As I was hanging up the phone, another teacher told me she needed to speak to me.
“I had two years of Spanish in college. I don’t remember a word. Well, you know, adios, taco, burrito, stuff like that. Now, about Gustavo, he’s been here six weeks already and isn’t speaking any English. What is wrong with him? I think we need to test him for Special Ed. Don’t you.”
“No, I told her. “Let’s give him some time.”
Another teacher stopped me in the hall and asked how everything was.
“Just fine,” I told her.
“It must be so boring. Flipping flashcards all day Dog. Cat. This is a pencil. This is a desk. You must have the most monotonous job in the world. “
If you only knew I thought . If you only knew.
Drizzle
I didn’t get back to see Ilma and her brothers. I felt really bad about that. I had made a promise. I called Ilma’s teacher and asked her how the rest of the day went.
“Did you know they count to ten in Guatemala just like we do?”
I almost started to laugh, and then I realized she was serious. They told the teacher that Ilma couldn’t speak English. She couldn’t. Yet, sometime that day, Ilma, in an effort to show the teacher she knew something must have counted to ten to her as she had done for me.
As I was hanging up the phone, another teacher told me she needed to speak to me.
“I had two years of Spanish in college. I don’t remember a word. Well, you know, adios, taco, burrito, stuff like that. Now, about Gustavo, he’s been here six weeks already and isn’t speaking any English. What is wrong with him? I think we need to test him for Special Ed. Don’t you.”
“No, I told her. “Let’s give him some time.”
Another teacher stopped me in the hall and asked how everything was.
“Just fine,” I told her.
“It must be so boring. Flipping flashcards all day Dog. Cat. This is a pencil. This is a desk. You must have the most monotonous job in the world. “
If you only knew I thought . If you only knew.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Part III
Noon
Storm warning
The high school was buzzing with high school noise and everybody was taller than me.
Maria, my 11th grade student had only one thing on her mind today. “What is the recipe for baked potatoes?”She wanted to know. She had one for lunch and now wanted to know just how that was done. I told her how. “No, please, the truth, how is it done?” I think she wanted the procedure to be difficult.
“You’ll believe me when you try it,” I told her. That she told me was the most sense I had made all day.
Ramon, my senior, had a more perplexing problem. “AM is morning, right? And PM is afternoon, right? The why is there AM and FM on a radio? Is AM for listening in the morning and PM for listening in the afternoon?”
I liked his reasoning on this, and told him so. Then I tried to explain something about radio waves and having more stations that could be heard at further distances, not that, I really understood it either.
He listened intently and then asked why his logic appeared so much more reasonable than mine.
2:15 pm
Rain and Wind
Felipe was in trouble with the bus driver at Central Elementary. It seems he threw a dead cat into the bus. Mrs. McCall, the vice principal, explained to me the seriousness of this action
“The dead cat had worms.”
“Worms?”
“Maggots, lots and lots of maggots. You must go talk to his father.”
I went to trailer park where Felipe and his family lived. I knew his family well because all of his brothers and sisters were also my students. As was the case, a lot of my students were related to each other.
“Hola, Ricardo, Como le va?” Hi Ricardo, how is it going.? We talked about the weather and food and the glories of his home state of Guanajuato, Mexico. I asked him if he had heard about the cat and the bus driver.
“Ah si,,yes”, he said, “the cat had worms.”
“Maggots”, I said.
“Whose cat was it? The bus driver had a cat?”
“I don’t know”
“Why did the cat get on the bus?”
“Felipe threw the cat into the bus.”
“The cat was hurt?”
“The cat was dead.”
About that time Felipe’s uncle comes out of the front door. “I knew that cat. That cat was not well.”
Felipe had arrived home and turned the corner of the trailer. “Is this about the cat? It is OK about the cat.”
“What do you mean?” the father, the uncle, and I ask all at the same time.
“The cat didn’t have a head.”
Storm warning
The high school was buzzing with high school noise and everybody was taller than me.
Maria, my 11th grade student had only one thing on her mind today. “What is the recipe for baked potatoes?”She wanted to know. She had one for lunch and now wanted to know just how that was done. I told her how. “No, please, the truth, how is it done?” I think she wanted the procedure to be difficult.
“You’ll believe me when you try it,” I told her. That she told me was the most sense I had made all day.
Ramon, my senior, had a more perplexing problem. “AM is morning, right? And PM is afternoon, right? The why is there AM and FM on a radio? Is AM for listening in the morning and PM for listening in the afternoon?”
I liked his reasoning on this, and told him so. Then I tried to explain something about radio waves and having more stations that could be heard at further distances, not that, I really understood it either.
He listened intently and then asked why his logic appeared so much more reasonable than mine.
2:15 pm
Rain and Wind
Felipe was in trouble with the bus driver at Central Elementary. It seems he threw a dead cat into the bus. Mrs. McCall, the vice principal, explained to me the seriousness of this action
“The dead cat had worms.”
“Worms?”
“Maggots, lots and lots of maggots. You must go talk to his father.”
I went to trailer park where Felipe and his family lived. I knew his family well because all of his brothers and sisters were also my students. As was the case, a lot of my students were related to each other.
“Hola, Ricardo, Como le va?” Hi Ricardo, how is it going.? We talked about the weather and food and the glories of his home state of Guanajuato, Mexico. I asked him if he had heard about the cat and the bus driver.
“Ah si,,yes”, he said, “the cat had worms.”
“Maggots”, I said.
“Whose cat was it? The bus driver had a cat?”
“I don’t know”
“Why did the cat get on the bus?”
“Felipe threw the cat into the bus.”
“The cat was hurt?”
“The cat was dead.”
About that time Felipe’s uncle comes out of the front door. “I knew that cat. That cat was not well.”
Felipe had arrived home and turned the corner of the trailer. “Is this about the cat? It is OK about the cat.”
“What do you mean?” the father, the uncle, and I ask all at the same time.
“The cat didn’t have a head.”
Monday, March 9, 2009
Part II
9:00 am
More rain
I had to cut short my visit to Westside because some non-English speaking children and their parents had showed up at Northside and I was needed to help them enroll. When I arrived I found Ilma, Jorge, and Oscar Lopez and their parents in the school office. As soon as they heard my greetings to them in Spanish all five faces softened and big smiles filled the entire room. There was a lot of paper work to go over and forms to fill out and be signed, questions to be asked and answers to be given. It seemed to take an unusually long amount of time. The parents left and the three students and I set off the find their classes. First, Jorge went to the second grade, next Oscar to the third, and then Ilma to the sixth. At Ilma’s class the students were taking a test. So, Ilma and I stood in the hall while the class finished and talked.
She told me about Guatemala, and how she would go to the main store in the next village and watch CNN Internacional on a satellite the store keeper had rigged up. She could discuss world events extremely well. I asked her if she knew any English and she slowly and perfectly counted to ten. I told her I would try and get back before school ended and we would talk some more.
10:30 am
Raining harder
I drove to my third school that morning and saw two police cars. The principal, Mr. Rivers and some other people I didn’t know were standing on the embankment that overlooked a drainage ditch. There in the culvert that went under the road was my student, Pedro. Apparently, Pedro has tried to run away from school and some people who lived close to the school had called the police. Mr. Rivers asked me if I could get Pedro back into the building. I knew that Pedro distrusted authority and that this was going to be an awkward situation. I told the principal that I thought everyone should leave, including the police and their cars. Their presence was only making matters worse.
The look on his face told me that he questioned my judgment on this matter: but, not having any answers of his own, he agreed to have the police cars go in front of the
building out of sight, but still ready.
I walked in the ditch and down to the end, “Well, hey what’s new?” I asked him in my best colloquial Spanish, like I just happened to run into him there. I stepped inside the giant culvert to get out of the rain. Pedro was looking down and not talking. I knew he would talk when he was ready.
After a long silence filled with thunder and spattering rain, Pedro pleaded his case. “I had to get out of there. In Mexico, my school was outside. I could see birds and feel the sun.
The teachers don’t like me because I don’t speak English.”
After talking some more and explaining that running away was not the answer. I knew there would have to be some sort of win-win situation for both Pedro and Mr. Rivers- for Pedro because he didn’t need a rebel image and for Mr. Rivers because after all, the police were at his school. Pedro spent the rest of the day in school detention. The police left. Mr. Rivers was satisfied.
I went to my next school
to be continued......
More rain
I had to cut short my visit to Westside because some non-English speaking children and their parents had showed up at Northside and I was needed to help them enroll. When I arrived I found Ilma, Jorge, and Oscar Lopez and their parents in the school office. As soon as they heard my greetings to them in Spanish all five faces softened and big smiles filled the entire room. There was a lot of paper work to go over and forms to fill out and be signed, questions to be asked and answers to be given. It seemed to take an unusually long amount of time. The parents left and the three students and I set off the find their classes. First, Jorge went to the second grade, next Oscar to the third, and then Ilma to the sixth. At Ilma’s class the students were taking a test. So, Ilma and I stood in the hall while the class finished and talked.
She told me about Guatemala, and how she would go to the main store in the next village and watch CNN Internacional on a satellite the store keeper had rigged up. She could discuss world events extremely well. I asked her if she knew any English and she slowly and perfectly counted to ten. I told her I would try and get back before school ended and we would talk some more.
10:30 am
Raining harder
I drove to my third school that morning and saw two police cars. The principal, Mr. Rivers and some other people I didn’t know were standing on the embankment that overlooked a drainage ditch. There in the culvert that went under the road was my student, Pedro. Apparently, Pedro has tried to run away from school and some people who lived close to the school had called the police. Mr. Rivers asked me if I could get Pedro back into the building. I knew that Pedro distrusted authority and that this was going to be an awkward situation. I told the principal that I thought everyone should leave, including the police and their cars. Their presence was only making matters worse.
The look on his face told me that he questioned my judgment on this matter: but, not having any answers of his own, he agreed to have the police cars go in front of the
building out of sight, but still ready.
I walked in the ditch and down to the end, “Well, hey what’s new?” I asked him in my best colloquial Spanish, like I just happened to run into him there. I stepped inside the giant culvert to get out of the rain. Pedro was looking down and not talking. I knew he would talk when he was ready.
After a long silence filled with thunder and spattering rain, Pedro pleaded his case. “I had to get out of there. In Mexico, my school was outside. I could see birds and feel the sun.
The teachers don’t like me because I don’t speak English.”
After talking some more and explaining that running away was not the answer. I knew there would have to be some sort of win-win situation for both Pedro and Mr. Rivers- for Pedro because he didn’t need a rebel image and for Mr. Rivers because after all, the police were at his school. Pedro spent the rest of the day in school detention. The police left. Mr. Rivers was satisfied.
I went to my next school
to be continued......
Saturday, March 7, 2009
A day in the life of English as a Second Language Teacher Part One
Somewhere - another state - several years ago
8:00 am
Raining
I was going to see a new student that morning. I went to Westside Elementary School to Mrs. Smith’s class. I knocked softly on the opened door and gave my apologies for the interruption. I asked to see Jose. Mrs. Smith looked at Jose, looked at me, looked at Jose and said, “Jose, your mother is here.” Jose jumped out of his chair, ran to me and said, “Mama,’ I smiled at Jose and said, “Mijo.” Then we walked out into the hall.
“For never seeing each other before we improvise very well,” I told him in Spanish.
I don’t think he understood improvise, but he squeezed my hand and said, “I didn’t want you to be embarrassed.”
8:00 am
Raining
I was going to see a new student that morning. I went to Westside Elementary School to Mrs. Smith’s class. I knocked softly on the opened door and gave my apologies for the interruption. I asked to see Jose. Mrs. Smith looked at Jose, looked at me, looked at Jose and said, “Jose, your mother is here.” Jose jumped out of his chair, ran to me and said, “Mama,’ I smiled at Jose and said, “Mijo.” Then we walked out into the hall.
“For never seeing each other before we improvise very well,” I told him in Spanish.
I don’t think he understood improvise, but he squeezed my hand and said, “I didn’t want you to be embarrassed.”
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Teacher Expectations
Teacher and Student Expectation
Teachers are part entertainers, part intellectuals, part soothsayers. Many teachers believe that they can predict how students will achieve and behave just by fleeting first impressions on the first day of school.
What causes teacher to form such a rapid opinion? Numerous aspects like, height, weight, gender, race, ethnicity, first name, last name, attractiveness, dialect, first language, class, and parent occupation, all contribute to teacher expectations.
If then indeed, first impressions are lasting impressions, how do teachers express their expectations? By the climate they create in the classroom, by the feedback they give to the students, by the way they teach, and by the responses they elicit.
This kind of self-fulfilling prophecy can be a two-way street. Students form expectations of teachers. Students want teachers who give them a chance. Students want teachers who don’t judge them without merit. Students want teachers who are patience, knowledgeable, organized, and fair.
To test yourself on what kind of a teacher you are, ask yourself this question:
Who were my favorites students and why?
To test yourself on what kind of a student you are, ask yourself this question:
Who was my favorite teacher and why?
Teachers are part entertainers, part intellectuals, part soothsayers. Many teachers believe that they can predict how students will achieve and behave just by fleeting first impressions on the first day of school.
What causes teacher to form such a rapid opinion? Numerous aspects like, height, weight, gender, race, ethnicity, first name, last name, attractiveness, dialect, first language, class, and parent occupation, all contribute to teacher expectations.
If then indeed, first impressions are lasting impressions, how do teachers express their expectations? By the climate they create in the classroom, by the feedback they give to the students, by the way they teach, and by the responses they elicit.
This kind of self-fulfilling prophecy can be a two-way street. Students form expectations of teachers. Students want teachers who give them a chance. Students want teachers who don’t judge them without merit. Students want teachers who are patience, knowledgeable, organized, and fair.
To test yourself on what kind of a teacher you are, ask yourself this question:
Who were my favorites students and why?
To test yourself on what kind of a student you are, ask yourself this question:
Who was my favorite teacher and why?
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Stone Soup
Three soldiers trudged down a road in a strange country. they were on their way home from the wars. Besides being tired, they were hungry. In fact, they had eaten nothing for two days. "How I would like a good dinner tonight," said the first. "And a bed to sleep in," added the second. "But that is impossible," said the third. On they marched, until suddenly, ahead of them, they saw the lights of a village. "Maybe we'll find a bite to eat and a bed to sleep in," they thought.
Now the peasants of the place feared strangers. When they heard that three soldiers were coming down the road, they talked among themselves. "Here come three soldiers," they said. "Soldiers are always hungry. But we have so little for ourselves." And they hurried to hide their food. They hid the barley in hay lofts, carrots under quilts, and buckets of milk down the wells. They hid all they had to eat. Then they waited.
The soldiers stopped at the first house. "Good evening to you," they said. "Could you spare a bit of food for three hungry soldiers?" "We have no food for ourselves," the residents lied. "It has been a poor harvest."
The soldiers went to the next house. "Could you spare a bit of food?" they asked. "And do you have a corner where we could sleep for the night?" "Oh, no," the man said. "We gave all we could spare to the soldiers who came before you." "And our beds are full," lied the woman.
At each house, the response was the same -- no one had food or a place for the soldiers to stay. The peasants had very good reasons, like feeding the sick and children. The villagers stood in the street and sighed. They looked as hungry as they could. The soldiers talked together. The first soldier called out, "Good people! We are three hungry soldiers in a strange land. We have asked you for food and you have no food. Well, we will have to make stone soup." The peasants stared.
The soldiers asked for a big iron pot, water to fill it, and a fire to heat it. "And now, if you please, three round smooth stones." The soldiers dropped the stones into the pot. "Any soup needs salt and pepper," the first soldker said, so children ran to fetch salt and pepper.
"Stones make good soup, but carrots would make it so much better," the second soldier added. One woman said, "Why, I think I have a carrot or two!" She ran to get the carrots.
"A good stone soup should have some cabbage, but no use asking for what we don't have!" said the third soldier. Another woman said, "I think I can probably find some cabbage," and off she scurried.
"If only we had a bit of beef and some potatoes, this soup would be fit for a rich man's table." The peasants thought it over, then ran to fetch what they had hidden in their cellars. A rich man's soup, and all from a few stones! It seemed like magic!
The soldiers said, "If only we had a bit of barley and some milk, this soup would be fit for a king!" And so the peasants managed to retrieve some barley and milk.
"The soup is ready," said the cooks, "and all will taste it, but first we need to set the tables." Tables and torches were set up in the square, and all sat down to eat. Some of the peasants said, "Such a great soup would be better with bread and cider," so they brought forth the last two items and the banquet was enjoyed by all. Never had there been such a feast. Never had the peasants tasted such delicious soup, and all made from stones! They ate and drank and danced well into the night.
The soldiers asked again if there was a loft where they might sleep for the night. "Oh, no!" said the townfolk. "You wise men must have the best beds in the village!" So one soldier spent the night in the priest's house, one in the baker's house, and one in the mayor's house.
In the morning, the villagers gathered to say goodbye. "Many thanks to you," the people said, "for we shall never go hungry now that you have taught us how to make soup from stones!"
----------------------------
Oh, how I've loved this story as a child.
How could we apply this story to our students to show them they have "stone soup" writing inside them?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Richard Rodriquez
Richard Rodriquez is well-known both for his multiple best-selling books and for his work on PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer and is a recognized master of the intellectual autobiography, Hunger of Memory, using aspects of his own upbringing as the son of Mexican immigrants in Sacramento, California.
Rodriguez received a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.A. from Columbia University, was a Ph.D. candidate in English Renaissance literature at the University of California, Berkeley, and attended the Warburg Institute in London on a Fulbright fellowship
.
He is the recipient of the 1993 Recipient of the Fraenkel Medal for Achievement in the Humanities and the 1997 Recipient of the George Peabody Award for Excellence in Television.
Richard Rodriquez believes that bilingual education hinders minorities from developing a public identity and is disadvantageous to their success because it does not push them to use the dominant language.
While I would agree with Rodriquez that to be successful is it necessary to understand the dominant language, I disagree with how to arrive at that place.
Rodriquez and I would probably also disagree on the definition of bilingual education.
To me bilingual education simply means: understandable instruction.
Because of their limited English skills, many people and, sadly amongst them educators, perceive ESL students as academically deficient and in need of a special remedial program to prepare them for the mainstream curriculum. The assumption is that English is prerequisite to literacy, when in fact, literacy is accessible through any language.
It is important to understand the bridge between first and second language. Learning a language is a developmental process which begins with oral development in the native language. This is followed by experiences in emergent literacy learning. With time the student becomes a reader, and later writer, and the total literacy knowledge is realized
The process of transferring native language skills into English can then occur with a minimum amount of trauma. Skills and concepts learned in the native language are manifested in English.
In other words, a students can keep learning academically while gaining English literacy.
When you speak two languages you cherish both of them.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Celebrate the differences!
I found this interesting story on the Dartmouth Writing Program website and thought it was an appropriate meditation for us as we think about teaching basic writing
Excerpt from MATERIALS FOR WRITING TUTORS: ESL
section titled: Different Rhetorical Patterns
Our values as regards linearity (and other aspects of writing) are not universal. They are relative, peculiar to our culture. Who is to say which way of thinking and writing is better? Certainly not anyone on our staff. Still, it's our job to train these writers, who are entering a Western educational institution, to write in ways that this institution deems acceptable. And so we need to explain to ESL writers why we do things the way we do. This task isn't always easy. Let me share a story with you that changed the way I taught writing to ESL writers.
Years ago, I had a Korean student who had come to America to study engineering at a prestigious university in the mid-west. His English was very limited - so limited, in fact, that it took him two years to pass the university's English requirement. I met this student late in his first year at the university. He was in my writing class, where I was teaching students how to use certain organizational strategies: compare and contrast, process analysis, cause and effect. One Friday, after a class in which I had taught and then assigned a cause and effect essay, this student approached me to talk.
"Sorry. Cannot write cause and effect essay," he said to me, smiling broadly. I took him literally, thinking that he had declared to me some lack of confidence or ability. "But of course you can!" I responded, smiling just as broadly, launching in to one of my pep talks. He listened patiently to all I had to say, and then responded, "No. You do not understand. Cannot write cause and effect essay. Cause and effect: a bullsh-- Western construct. Is no cause. Is no effect. Things happen. That's it."
Did I abandon my task of teaching this student to write cause and effect essays? No. With my help he wrote an essay that approximated the sort of essay that I (and later, many of his other teachers) were looking for. But I did come to teach these essays differently, with a sensitivity to the notion that many of the simple principles that I take for granted are neither universal, nor "true". They are simply matters of convention - a habit of mind.
Written by Karen GocsikLast modified: Tuesday, 12-Jul-2005 11:25:56 EDTCopyright © 2004 Dartmouth Collegewww.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/tutor/problems/esl.shtml
Excerpt from MATERIALS FOR WRITING TUTORS: ESL
section titled: Different Rhetorical Patterns
Our values as regards linearity (and other aspects of writing) are not universal. They are relative, peculiar to our culture. Who is to say which way of thinking and writing is better? Certainly not anyone on our staff. Still, it's our job to train these writers, who are entering a Western educational institution, to write in ways that this institution deems acceptable. And so we need to explain to ESL writers why we do things the way we do. This task isn't always easy. Let me share a story with you that changed the way I taught writing to ESL writers.
Years ago, I had a Korean student who had come to America to study engineering at a prestigious university in the mid-west. His English was very limited - so limited, in fact, that it took him two years to pass the university's English requirement. I met this student late in his first year at the university. He was in my writing class, where I was teaching students how to use certain organizational strategies: compare and contrast, process analysis, cause and effect. One Friday, after a class in which I had taught and then assigned a cause and effect essay, this student approached me to talk.
"Sorry. Cannot write cause and effect essay," he said to me, smiling broadly. I took him literally, thinking that he had declared to me some lack of confidence or ability. "But of course you can!" I responded, smiling just as broadly, launching in to one of my pep talks. He listened patiently to all I had to say, and then responded, "No. You do not understand. Cannot write cause and effect essay. Cause and effect: a bullsh-- Western construct. Is no cause. Is no effect. Things happen. That's it."
Did I abandon my task of teaching this student to write cause and effect essays? No. With my help he wrote an essay that approximated the sort of essay that I (and later, many of his other teachers) were looking for. But I did come to teach these essays differently, with a sensitivity to the notion that many of the simple principles that I take for granted are neither universal, nor "true". They are simply matters of convention - a habit of mind.
Written by Karen GocsikLast modified: Tuesday, 12-Jul-2005 11:25:56 EDTCopyright © 2004 Dartmouth Collegewww.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/tutor/problems/esl.shtml
Monday, February 2, 2009
Wikibook
I would like to add two new sections to the Wikibook of Basic writing- Spelling and Culture.
I have noticed that there is very little in regard to the teaching to Basic Writing to ESL students.
In the area of Spelling, I could add the spelling outline I have used at the English Language Institute for the last two semesters with comments on how the class was taught.
In the area of Culture, I could add how to define Culture and how a understanding of cultural differences and similarities can impact a classroom.
I have noticed that there is very little in regard to the teaching to Basic Writing to ESL students.
In the area of Spelling, I could add the spelling outline I have used at the English Language Institute for the last two semesters with comments on how the class was taught.
In the area of Culture, I could add how to define Culture and how a understanding of cultural differences and similarities can impact a classroom.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
There was a time that the word "default" meant only something that failed, like a loan. In computer terms a default is something that is preset and goes back to that setting unless it is intentionally programmed to do otherwise. The default color for MS Word is black. I could make it blue for this blog, but the next time I create a new document it won’t be blue but will default back to black.
There is a default culture that people fall back to as it relates to behavior or practice. I have seen this concept in my class for years, but never thought about a term. When speaking of “time” I have seen that my students can learn to be “on time” if he/she has a class which requires punctuality, but since many students are notoriously late for everything outside the classroom they default back to being “event” oriented. Enculturation is a pattern of behavior set by culture and it’s a process that is deeply ingrained in a person early in life and becomes their default setting throughout their existence on earth.
Default behavior is not only cultural but is true with personalities as well. If a person has grown up where education is valued, or if a person has seen some member of the family become successful because of education then attitude towards betterment through books is quite natural.
If on the other hand, hard work is the what is prized above all else, having one’s nose in a book
will seem like a colossal waste of time.
I believe it is possible to change some cultural or behavioral tendencies as a person gets older, but precedent has been established early and few people will change basic dispositions after they are past puberty. Implications? Perhaps waiting to start basic writing in the college years is a decade or so too late. Setting students default setting early to a love of learning can’t be over emphasized.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Basic writing and the writer
Basic writing is learning how to make thinking visible. A process whereby we can inspect and reflect on what we are thinking about. If language does indeed give birth to thought then written language provides a way to refine our thoughts since, unlike speaking, it can be changed and refine until it accurately reflects our thinking.
Writing is like any other profession - you have to know your tools to really do well - simple things, like grammar rules and tense, and more complicated things, like scene development and details, dialogue tools, characterization, and themes.That is not to say that there is not a measure of instinct involved - a writer has to have that too, and all the grammar classes in the world can never make up for natural rhythm and imagination. But if all it took to be a good writer was a vivid imagination, then the world would be FULL of good writers. Anyone who has browsed the bargain bin area at Barnes and Noble lately can attest to how many truly good writers are out there—or not.
I have noticed something about my own writing - it is hard work. Sometimes when I am writing, it is pure joy. Words flow from my brain and down to my fingers as I tap out the rhythm of language onto my keyboard. Other times, it is like trying to find a diamond from a mountain of rock - painstaking, boring, and frightening. I know something great is there—somewhere. I read, re-read, and re-read again until I can’t look at the page anymore.
Being a writer and teaching writing are two different roles. I hope to share the joys and understand the frustrations.
Writing is like any other profession - you have to know your tools to really do well - simple things, like grammar rules and tense, and more complicated things, like scene development and details, dialogue tools, characterization, and themes.That is not to say that there is not a measure of instinct involved - a writer has to have that too, and all the grammar classes in the world can never make up for natural rhythm and imagination. But if all it took to be a good writer was a vivid imagination, then the world would be FULL of good writers. Anyone who has browsed the bargain bin area at Barnes and Noble lately can attest to how many truly good writers are out there—or not.
I have noticed something about my own writing - it is hard work. Sometimes when I am writing, it is pure joy. Words flow from my brain and down to my fingers as I tap out the rhythm of language onto my keyboard. Other times, it is like trying to find a diamond from a mountain of rock - painstaking, boring, and frightening. I know something great is there—somewhere. I read, re-read, and re-read again until I can’t look at the page anymore.
Being a writer and teaching writing are two different roles. I hope to share the joys and understand the frustrations.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
