Three Students

A Loner

            This student was obviously different than many of his classmates, sporting an army fatigue jacket, long black hair, and a reserved, yet focused demeanor. Other students were more colorful in action and dress, interacting with each other whenever possible, squeezing in conversations between bullet points and vocab words. However, he seemed to interact with no one and only spoke to add to the history discussion. He seemed to be rather intelligent and was well-versed in the unit material, World War II and the Holocaust. Following this class, my co-op asked if I noticed this student and how knowledgeable he was about the lesson. She then told me that this student is a white supremacist who has made racist comments about the Hispanic students (who make up about half of the student population) and believes that they are not as educationally capable as himself due to their ethnicity. This would explain why he was not interacting with anyone, as many of those surrounding him are of a race that he would not want to associate.

A Struggling Student

            This student was rather endearing, constantly making conversation with the teacher and offering to help around the class room. He has a lot of trouble maintaining focus – which is probably horrific for him during standardized tests – but does not seem to be incapable of learning and applying the material. I was informed that he has a high-functioning form of autism that allows him to be mainstreamed, but still requires him to receive special attention for him to get the most out of his scholastic experience. My co-op reminded him several times to focus on his work and, upon completion of the work, then gave him several menial tasks to perform around the classroom while the other students finished. She informed me that it is necessary to keep him busy because it is nearly impossible for him to sit still and quiet so that other students are not disturbed. However, he was enthusiastic to help and to participate in class.

A High-Performing Student

            This student was not only high performing, but was also quite sociable both with peers and with the teacher. His work was finished quickly, correctly, and without much question or difficulty. Only about half of the class time had gone by the time he was finished with his work and my co-op did not force him to work on the computer-based learning program as many of the other students had to do upon finishing their work because she knew that he was capable and familiar with the material. Instead, she allowed him to “soothe his ‘ADHD’” (as she called it) by cutting paper into confetti while she gave him trivia questions about the material, with which he did rather well. He spent the rest of his time playing games on his iPad and talking with the teacher and other high-performing students who had also finished their assignment early. He and the other students in this group seemed to learn and apply material easily, especially since the worksheet contained simple regurgitation questions about the book.

            Although this is not an English class, the students were reading a novel to facilitate their history unit. Although most of them did not complain about having to read a book, none of them seemed to be very engaged with it either. They saw it as another task to complete for a grade, and I must say that the structure of its presentation didn’t do much to display the contrary. I think the students would have benefitted from some critical thinking questions and perhaps a more creative method of keeping pace with the story rather than just surface questions on a worksheet. The concepts of ethnic diversity, supremacy, friendship, and governmental corruption are relevant themes in their own lives and connections between the text and reality would facilitate a much deeper curriculum/unit for them. There are so many opportunities with this unit (WWII and the Holocaust) and I hope to explore them while shaping a summative assessment. Hopefully this will engage the students more and allow the big ideas to stick and become relevant.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Invitation to Reflection 1-3

1 & 3. I can’t fairly determine if ‘What is English?’ could be answered like ‘What is Algebra?’ or ‘What is American History?’ because I don’t know these subjects as intimately as I know English. I know that English is not just grammar, syntax, spelling, the thematic symbolism of Big Brother, or the relentless five-paragraph essay. It is a study that encompasses the worlds of psychology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, critical thought, politics, advertising, business, music, and on and on. It is a subject that does not limit teachers of English or their students, but rather swings open the door to deep thought and consideration, to analyzing ourselves and the world around us. I don’t want to teach my students WHAT to think, but rather HOW to think, how to see, feel, hear, touch, and taste more vividly, and to understand the purpose that this serves. Of course, I want (and, in the case of job security, need) my students to also have a working knowledge of grammar, reading comprehension, and effective writing; these things are important to their success in the real world, especially one that is becoming more and more knowledge- and education-based. Literacy is deeply important. However, English also provides me with the means to impart the invaluable skills of critical thought and a widespread, multi-discipline literacy. I hope to give my students the opportunity to do “English-y” things alongside broad, interdisciplinary critical thinking activities that can connect to their lives outside of the English classroom.

2. Each and every one of these content areas are appropriate for the English classroom, as they all relate to literacy and communication. We are not just limited to books, poems, and grammar worksheets, but should also be embracing other forms of communication, especially when there are so many genres of such surrounding us and our students. Students should not just be familiar with classic written texts and mechanics, but also with film, television, advertising, news, blogs, social media, speech, music, etc. Learning how to effective use, decode, analyze, and interpret these means of communication will create a more comprehensive literacy and greater mobility in our fast-paced, communication-centric society.

4. The fact that English never leaves our students’ curriculum is symbolic of the fact that it also never leaves their lives and therefore should never leave their attention and concentration. Reading, writing, and other dimensions of communication and meaning-making will always surround (or, in the case of the resistant student, haunt) them, and it is essential that they are constantly becoming more and more equipped to utilize the skills that English instruction can facilitate.

5. There are certain nuggets of English knowledge that are “transmitted” in the traditional sense of education. The parts of speech, where to put commas and semi-colons, and proper MLA format are objective and are, in essence, transmitted. However, many of the aspects that require critical thought and can be applied in a much broader sense to students’ lives are explored rather than transmitted. I can’t (or shouldn’t) transmit my interpretations of a text, its meaning, its significance, and its quality to students, but rather should provide them with the space to think, decipher, analyze, and interpret the text as it applies and speaks to them; this type of knowledge comes about subjectively.