Reading Responses
Submitted by ofulmer on 21 September, 2006 - 20:45Day four of intensive comprehension instruction--discouraged. . . . and discouraging, especially regarding the B day classes. Looking at the MAP results just briefly, the two B day classes are among the lowest of the students I teach. They do have a high frustration level.
So, here's the results of the reading I've done, most of it rereading. Both Tovani and Harvey and Goudvis advocate teaching students how to monitor their comprehension even before teaching reading strategies. Harvey and Goudvis use post-it notes and have students write their thinking on the notes and then share their thinking in pairs and then with the class. Tovani uses a four-quadrant "chart" for students to record their thinking during reading. Tovani teaches students to listen to their "inner voices" and to identify whether the voice is interacting and conversational or distracting and reciting.
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New school year, new students, old issues
Submitted by ofulmer on 16 September, 2006 - 12:13Four weeks into the new school year. I'm tired already. I feel as though I'm fighting a losing battle against the "culture" of school, or at least the culture of my school. We want students to succeed, but what if the students don't want to succeed because it costs too much? You have to risk a great deal in order to succeed because you almost always have to fail first.
So, I'm thinking--What do I do to turn things around for those kids of mine who are not passing? How do I change the culture of the class to make "work" a positive thing instead of a weakness? How do I convince them that in order to pass, in order to succeed, you have to take risks, especially of failure? I don't know.
Talkie T-Shirt Designs for 2006
Submitted by eric on 10 September, 2006 - 14:45Here are the T-shirt designs Georgia has come up with so far. There is a poll to vote for which one you like best.
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Talkie T-Shirt Designs
Submitted by eric on 10 September, 2006 - 14:16Does snottiness ever go away?
Submitted by eric on 20 August, 2006 - 09:29It's as eternal as the first day of school. Every year some few teachers or pundits or politicians or some combination of them commences to provide a meal for their own voracious egos by trashing the intellectual capacities of "kids these days."
The latest installment appears on the Washington Post website today, "Writing Off Reading" by Michael Skube.
I wouldn't have guessed that impetus was a 25-cent word. But I also wouldn't have guessed that "ramshackle" and "lucid" were exactly recondite, either. I've had to explain both. You can be dead certain that today's college students carry a weekly planner. But they may or may not own a dictionary, and if they do own one, it doesn't get much use. ("Why do you need a dictionary when you can just go online?" more than one student has asked me.)
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bad fed behaviorism
Submitted by eric on 9 July, 2006 - 09:16CNN.com has a story up now, Most states fall short on testing, government says about how a number of states still aren't toeing the NCLB line, failing to do some things that really ought to be done if you're going to fashion an education system around standardized testing, like making sure students are tested over what they've actually been given an opportunity to learn, etc.
But of course the means of bringing states up to standard is, er, problematic. They get docked pay. Fix your tests or lose part of your funding, is the message from feds to states.
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Possible instructor position at the University of South Florida
Submitted by Kim Murray on 19 June, 2006 - 14:07I am writing to see if you or someone you know may be interested in a possible position at the University of South Florida. My department may have two, one-year instructor appointments available next year with the possibility of renewal for up to three years. If these positions become available, we will be seeking specialists in rhetoric and composition and may consider doctoral students.
We would be looking for someone with 1) strong background in rhet/comp theory and pedagogy; 2) effectiveness in teaching first-year composition; 3) successful integration of new technologies in computers and composition; 4) research pursuits appropriate to a 4/4 teaching load; 5) the ability to assume leadership and/or mentoring responsibilities in an evolving composition program as called upon by the director.
college textbook reform
Submitted by tlon7 on 26 March, 2006 - 09:38Issues regarding making the teaching of humanities in higher education relevant to you and your students; finding ways to lower the cost of education for your students.
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I wish...
Submitted by frstbrn24 on 26 March, 2006 - 00:24I believe that every English and Literacy teacher has an "I wish" list that goes on forever...
It has been some time since I have been able to sit and write here... my very first mistake was thinking that I need to have yet another blog. Well, that was simply out of admiration... not practicality. Obviously, I am not equipped to reach out in so many directions.... I have to be content for ONE art project and ONE computer project during the school year. The greenhouse is my salvation, but it cannot serve its purpose if I overextend my time online. (after all, there is only so much time in a day)
Ideas Needed
Submitted by dinnaeken30 on 1 March, 2006 - 18:27I am a first year English teacher, and I am writing curriculum for a course entitle, "Minnesota Writers." I was just wondering if you have any ideas for lessons, authors, projects, books, activities, or anything that could be adapted for this course. It is all about writers of MN, Minnesotan themes, and eventually, because they are living in MN, will become MN writers. If I come off as a little desperate...well...I guess I am...but I have a feeling that we have all been there! Thank you for any nugget of wisdom you share. I look forward to hearing your responses!
