Learning Leter

Dr. Sean Agriss

Well here we are, the end of what looks like my last quarter here at EWU on campus. I am preparing for my student teaching and trying to get a grasp on all that has occurred over not only the last quarter but also the last year and a half. When I talked with you and Dr. Valeo and I allowed you two to talk me into getting a minor in English, I never really quite knew the path that it would take me. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think about taking my love for literature and going out and teaching it. I am completely comfortable standing in front of a classroom and talking about the Crimean War or the Ratification of the Constitution, the concept of trying to express my passion for the likes of Tolstoy, Hemingway, Faulkner and King and then getting students to find that passion and write about it scared the ever loving crap out of me. After the last two quarters having taken your courses on Lit and Comp, I feel more at ease now with my ability to teach English and am looking forward to the challenge.

This class was incredible, being able to develop lessons for books and stories that I loved was great. The mini lesson assignment allowed me to go outside the box and create a lesson that would allow students to express themselves in an alternative medium, express my love for a book that has resounding impact on the way a student looks at themselves and their situation. I was able to share with my peers my all time favorite book and the reasons that it was impact-full to me not only as a student in high school but as an adult when I went back and reread it. By listening to my classmates I was able to compile a whole list of books that I want to not only read but to introduce to my students. The unit plan was one of the most difficult assignments that I have had to accomplish so far, but when I was done and looked back at it, I became excited to know that this was something that I did and will have the opportunity to teach.

One of the greatest aspects of your class is that it is an open discussion amongst peers. I cannot tell you how beneficial it was to be able to present ideas and gain feedback from those who are traveling down the same path as myself. You set an incredible example for how productive a classroom can be an in allowing us the freedom to push the envelope and try new things.

You have pushed me to be better, provided me guidance and support as I struggled and have mentored me in my journey. The classes I have taken from you over the past year have been some of the most rewarding in my college experience and I look forward to continuing my adventure and being able to learn from you. I now feel more prepared to go out and teach Lit to students, I feel that this class has given me the tools to guide students into the understanding and appreciation of great works of art.

Thank you for all you have done for me here at Eastern, I look forward to many more great conversations.

Sean

p.s. I loved the whole reading to the class bit you did. Not only do I feel that it might be something I would try, the story you chose was incredible.

American Born Chinese

This book was great. It was fun to be able to grab a book that really falls outside the norm for most of our students. I think that this book would be a great read for students to give them a bit of a break from standard format and still get some great content that can focus on issues like individuality, cultural history, discrimination, identity and acceptance. The story was great and flowed real well, the shifting from the different stories was pretty smooth and I liked how everything tied in at the end. I think that this could be a fun book to teach and get feedback from students.

Night

Over the years I have read quite a few books and accounts of the horrors that ocured in Nazi Germany and the concentration camps, Elie Wiesel's book was by far one of the best tellings of what happened. The level of detail, the shear emotion and the exceptional story telling make this an incredible read. This is a book that I can see using stand alone in an English curriculum or even using parts or the whole book in a Social Studies classroom during the discussion of WWII and the atrocities performed by Germany during the Holocaust.

That being said there are some very graphic details and situations in this book and it will require a lot of discussion in class prior to reading it and also during the course of the book. Because of the sensitive nature of this topic it will be important to remember that there could possibly be students that this topic will directly affect.

Great read though and I think that most anybody should sit down and take the 3 to 4 hours it takes to read this and expand their mind and knowledge.

Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo

For all of us Shakespeare, especially the play Romeo and Juliet, has been done in so many ways and in so many different mediums that the whole idea of teaching it to our students is almost mind numbing. Now I am by no means minimizing the artistic quality and excellent prose that WS put down on paper to be performed. The story in itself is ancient and has been retold over and over again, but the problem lies in the fact that everyone knows this play.

I think that to teach WS you will need to find a way to get the kids involved with the history of the play, understand the context in which the play is written and allow them to find meaning in what is going on without being told. Utilizing modern versions of the story and even some strong media examples may make this more relevant and enjoyable for the students.

The TPA

I will be the first one to say that the process for doing the TPA is redundant and frustrating. At times it feels as though it takes longer to compose your lesson plan than to teach it. That being said I have to admit that there are practical uses for the TPA and I understand the reasons behind the state of Washington in adopting this process. The focus that it provides, especially for areas such as assessment and differentiated instruction are valuable tools and helps the instructor focus on the needs of the class as a whole and how to reach them. When I first started using the TPA many of the sections didn't quite make sense to me and now as I sit down to write out lesson plans I tend to focus more on things like Student Voice and Assessment.

Differentiated Instruction

Classrooms are an ever changing environment. Over the years we have gone from classrooms that were set up for students of certain abilities and skills, to classrooms that are filled with kids of all different levels of understanding and education. As a teacher of Social Studies and English, I feel that Differentiated Instruction, when applied correctly, allows the teacher to create lessons that will connect in one way or another with their students, understanding the material and how it is being used. I spent some time on the website www.differentiatedinstruction.net and was able to get a better understanding of the the philosophy and the concept around differentiated instruction. I really enjoyed how it broke down what the program does and doesn't do and addresses a lot of the misconceptions that both teachers and parents can have in regards to the program.

The resource page provides great information to instructors as far as teaching manuals and literature that can be printed off and used at no cost. All in all as we move towards the TPA and teaching in a classroom this is a great resource.

Tovani - Reading In Flanders Field

1. Read the poem all the way through, twice

2. Think about any background knowledge that you have that will help you connect to the people, animals, or objects in the poem

     In Flanders Field was written by Lt.Cnl John McCrae, a Canadian physician during WWI. This was his attempt to paint a picture of the Second Battle of Ypres, where it was believed the Germans used poison gas for the first time. After the battle Dr. McCrae was burying his friend at Essex Farm just North of Ypres, when he noticed the vast amounts of poppies that grew among the battlefield. 

3. Try to make a picture in our head of what's happening in the poem

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands, we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

 

4. What  do you think the poem is about?

When I read this poem I feel that it is the voice of the fallen. They ask for those still fighting to fight the good fight, remember them with honor and do them proud. For this is the only way that they may rest in piece on this hallowed ground. 

 

Textual Evidence                                                                      Background Knowlege

Take up our quarrel with the foe:                                              Dr. In WWI

To you from falling hands, we throw                                        Beside medicine was an avid poet

The torch; be yours to hold it high                                            

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders fields.

Chris Tovani rocks

Wow..... from the very get go on this book, it was as though Tovani had taken a look at my life and struggles I had when I was a young reader. Her insight to reading difficulties and ideas to work around them were fantastic. I loved the way that she interacted with the kids in her class and answered their fears and apprehensions regarding not only reading but what to expect in her class. Gaining knowledge from her students and how they had survived up till this point in their education allowed her to directly address each one and discuss a technique that might work for them as they progressed. Even when she met opposition from students, it didn't deter her or set her back, instead it provided more focus and how she would work with this student to overcome the barriers that had been placed in front of them. One of my favorite quotes from the book has to be "Too many bright kids are wasting time sitting in back of the classroom expecting to be filled with knowledge. It's time to pull the plug on this type of behavior and begin teaching adolescents of all ages and reading abilities how to understand what they read so they can begin constructing meaning on their own." There are so many tools out there to help kids to day and there is no excuse for teachers to just let students slide by and fake read their way through school and life.

A Response to A Response Based Approach to Reading Literature

Loved this article. For me books and reading has always been about taking the words written by the author and finding my own meaning and purpose. I have had classes that have taken the approach of teaching classic lit and giving a traditional interpretation that has been used for years in the classroom. But for me and teaching lit I feel that it is important to allow kids to develop their own interpretations of  the text. 

I really appreciated the introduction to

SUPPORTING THE LITERARY EXPERIENCE:

THE FOCUS OF INSTRUCTION

The thought-provoking literature class is an environment where students

are encouraged to negotiate their own meanings by exploring possibilities,

consider understandings from multiple perspectives, sharpen their own

interpretations, and learn about features of literary style and analysis through the

insights of their own responses. Responses are based as much on readers' own

personal and cultural experiences as on the particular text and its author. 

To me this will allow the student to get the fullest opportunity to not only learn but to develop a manner of thought that will benefit them in years to come. 

Social Justice - My take

So when I started this assignment I had in mind my own idea of social justice, one from the point of view of  a former military combat soldier, a father and someone who believes in standing up for the little guy. I looked around quite a bit trying to find a very impartial view of Social Justice and it seems that everything that I found was either from the right wing or left wing political party. Here is the funny thing though, the basis of their definition was pretty close.
"Social Justice is teaching kids to question whoever happens to hold the reins of power at a particular moment. It is about seeing yourself not just as a consumer of information, but as an actor-critic"(Bill Bigelow Rethinking Columbus"

From the conservative voice "social justice teaching is shorthand of opposition to American traditions of individual justice and free market economics, it teaches students that American society is an inherently oppressive society that is systemically racist, sexist and classist and thus discriminates institutionally against women, nonwhites, working Americans and the poor."

The more I read about what different people considered social justice and their extreme views it made me feel that in my classroom I want to teach my own version of social justice. My definition is as follows: Social Justice is the ability for one man to look at the wrong and right of what is going on without looking at differences in race, color, sexual identity or religion, and make the best decision that will benefit all and attempt to exclude or alienate none"

This may seem kind of a rose color view but in my experience and my beliefs you teach young men and women to be fair, be honest and not judgmental to one another, For young men being a gentlemen is proper and young women should learn to be a lady, We are never all going to get along but if you can find a common ground you will be able to find a way to make thing work.

Critical Petagogy

For me, in today's classroom if you are not taking advantage of modern media and technology to grab the attention and introduce today's youth to classical text you are missing out. I feel that there are so many incredible mediums out there and reworkings of the classics that allow students to relate to them without struggling with language barriers.

The article presented me with some ideas on how to incorporate modern renditions of classics and even how to use current music and pop culture to relate to some of the concepts of reading, writing and understanding poetry. I feel that as a teacher you must be able to look at your class and understand that not everyone is going to be able to pick up a text of say "The Great Gatsby" and in their mind be able to understand the picture of this man and his struggles the way that Fitzgerald meant for them to. But if you were to include parts of the current version of Gatsby and have them correlate the movie with the book you would have more success.

Critical Pedagogy

I grew up in a small farming and logging community in central Idaho. It was a town where you were expected to work, go to school and play sports. There were very little, if at all any, minorities in our school and to me it seamed as if everyone wore one of two styles of dress. You were either into rock and roll t-shirts or the more conservative prep look. Dress and appearance guidelines were specifically spelled out and for us students it appeared the norm.

Was this my schools attempt to control us, to only allow certain manners of dress, to forbid students from having facial hair and from the boys in the school having pierced ears. For the teachers school was there for us to learn and expand our minds, not to grow our social circle or gain our next conquest. Were the teachers mindfully attempting to oppress us or were they more or less dictating an environment that they felt was the most productive and helpful to us in our quest to become educated.

Now 26 years later I look at the struggles and conflicts within the schools and how the teachers are forced to pick their battles as to not offend someone or some culture. The environment within the schools has changed drastically and in such it is necessary as an educator to change with them and adjust to continue to educate students and prepare them for life after high school

CHAPTER 1 OF PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED

Wow, this was one of the most difficult articles that I have read in quite a while. Not just with the manner in which it was written but the intensity of the subject matter was pretty heavy. I will be honest the first time that I read through it, I was exhausted and to really delve into the information I had to go back and reread and do a bit of research on some of the quotes.

This is a pretty heavy subject, especially when you start taking the content and applying it to the environment we are in and in dealing with a diverse group of students that come from varying social and economic backgrounds.

The premiss of this article deals with oppression and how it is the responsibility of the oppressed to rise up and remove themselves from the situation. The oppressor cannot fix the oppressed. In this manner we look at bullying and it is the responsibility of the bullied to stand up and make a difference in what is going on their lives and they cannot rely on those who do the bullying to change the situation.

I will need to reread this a few times to get the full gist of it, but from what I am understanding at this point, I think that this theory has some valid points and can be used as the basis for change.

Discussion in a Democratic Society.....

I love a good discussion and getting students to take a look at their own values and opinions and have a forum where they can have an open discussion with only a prompt from the teacher and no bias as to the instructors feelings. I grew up in classrooms where discussions were not very prevalent and teachers had a way of throwing in their opinion to their out and influencing students. We never had a great venue to talk about issues and when the teacher would provide prompts for discussion it was to be written and not talked about.

When teaching lit to young adults there are always going to be subject matters that arise that are going to have varying opinions and where students will have questions and are looking to have meaningful talks. It is my desire for my classroom, whether it be Social Studies or English, to be a venue for discussion and debate. I feel that this environment is critical for student growth and development. I want to keep my views and opinions to a minimum and allow the students the opportunity to find their own voice. I hope that as in the case of teacher Steve, I too will be surprised and proud as my students pave their own way.

Pleased to meet y'all......

Good morning my name is Sean Pelfrey and I currently a student in English 493, fall quarter at Eastern Washington University. This quarter I am enrolled in 25 credits, in addition to 493 I am also enrolled in English 350 (Shakespeare), English 270 (Intro to Fiction), English 459 (Grammar) and CTED 300 which is for my CTE endorsement. This is my last quarter of classes before student teaching which I will be doing at West Valley High School. My major is Social Studies and I am also getting a English and CTE minor. I am very comfortable with my ability to teach Social Studies and CTE primarily because of my military and engineering background. English though, I will admit, makes me a bit nervous. I feel that I have a good grasp on the literature aspect, but even after taking my comp course, teaching the writing aspect still gives me a bit of apprehension. Growing up I enjoyed writing until I had a teacher who made me feel that my ability to write was sub-par, and I for one doe not want to do that to a student. Though there are some aspects of teaching English that have me cautious, I am looking forward to taking on the challenge. With this course I am really looking forward to getting some great ideas from my peers on good quality YA lit that I can introduce to my students and also looking at some of the mini lessons and also the 15 day lesson plans and stealing them for my own personnel toolbox.

As for the rest of my life, I was carer military for 23 years as a combat engineer in the United States Navy. I have traveled extensively throughout the world and have completed numerous combat tours. I am married to my wife who is a first grad teacher at University Elementary in the CV school district, I have an almost 11 year old son who is in the 5th grade, plays Lacrosse and is pretty fun to hang out with and loves going on random road trips and adventures with me. I have competed competitively in sports since I was about 10. I started out in martial arts and moved on to team sports such as football and baseball, I also steer wrestled and rode saddle bronc in the rodeo, played rugby and now compete in the Scottish Highland Games. I am a avid reader and am always looking for that next great book, and though I have read volumes and volumes, I have yet to find that one book that has given Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird  as my all time favorite book.

Interview with Anna Pabst

Today I was given the opportunity to sit down and speak with a local icon , veterinarian Anna Pabst. Anna is a third generation veterinarian following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, and began her love of caring for animals at a very young age. In fact Anna feels that she was born to be a vet when I asked her how long she had been vet she replied "Going on 25 years". We discussed the pros and cons of being a vet and for Anna there are some very rewarding times especially when she comes across a difficult case and is able to help the animal recover. But she stated that there are some difficult times also and she doesn't like it when she has to put a family animal down. When asked about her favorite animal Anna told me "I love horses, they are relaxing and really help me unwind." Dr. Anna Pabst a local treasure who is ready and willing to care for the animals in the community.

Free Write

I love it when we get the opportunity to just sit down and write. No expectations, no themes, nothing holding us back except our own minds and imaginations. Unfortunetly this Monday morning I seem to be at a loss for words. It has been a long last couple of weeks and I would really love nothing more than to be back in bed only contimplating getting my ass up and motivated. The whole premiss of taking summer school was to get done a bit sooner so I could student teach this Winter quarter, but there are time that I feel that I am just exahsted and would like to take a break and hell even go back to work. I want to teach and I want to be able to say that I completed my degree but at times I am afraid that I have put myself in a hole that I will never get out of. I am tired of being broke and behind on all my bills. The fear of letting my family down just bites at me. It is not supposed to be this difficult at 44. I should be well into my career with money in the bank, the ability to take my family on vacation or to do things without worrying about how I am going to pay for it. I really hope that all this pays off in the end and I haven't made a major mistake in my choice of returning to school.
Whew, now that I got that off my chest I feel a bit better. I am doing good and I know that at times the anxiety is horrific but this is the right thing to do and I know that it is a means to the end and I will just keep moving along and keeping my head above water.

Weaver Chapter 6

What I liked about chapter 6 in the Weaver text was great overview of the different teaching tools or styles that can be used to teach grammar. She does a good job of breaking it down into various methods to teach students weather it is a whole class, small groups or even individuals. Each technique is written showing both the pros and the cons to that style and gives the teaching candidate some great incite as they develop their own style.

I was particularly interested in use of the Mini-Lesson, as it allows the students to develop their own style and has the teacher there as a guide. Great for small groups or individual instruction and does not take away from the students ability to write or develop.

Write about something that you think people should know about but don't

We talk about how great the US is and how we value our military service men and women, but there is a side to this that most people are unaware of. For most people the concept of the US is the 50 states and Washington DC, I think most people are unaware that the US still has teritories such as Guam, Puerto Rico, The Virgin Island and Northern Marianas. A territory is an area of land under the jurisdiction of a ruler or state: "enemy territory". Since these areas are under US control the men and women that reside there are able to serve in the US Military. The issue arises when the service member completes his or hers obligated service and wishes to remain in the US. They are allowed to stay here conditionally, as long they do not get into any trouble with the law. This can mean that even a simple speeding ticket can be turned into a reason for deportation as well as the loss of their military benefits. I have seen cases where men from the Philippines have served for more than 20 years and have retired from the US Navy and upon completion of their service have been denied citizenship and sent back to the PI

We are halfway through the course. What has been most valuable so far? What do you still feel like you need?

For me and my anxiety with sharing my writing, hell even just writing, the fact that we have had to share our work with others and revive feedback has been eye opening. Even though I have written stories, kept a journal, and at times just broke into random writing, I have always felt apprehensive about sharing my work. For me my writing is very personal and to allow someone else the latitude to read it and critique it is gut wrenching.  Having grown up in the days of the dreaded red pen and getting papers back that were unrecognizable because of all the marks and notes, I have always felt that writing was a chore and not fun.

As far a still needing, I am looking forward to sharing teaching ideas and concepts with my classmates. As we are almost all going into the education profession, I feel that it will be valuable to hear how they plan on teaching writing to their students and see if I can utilize any of their practices into my lessons.

reflection

A Whole New Perspective On My Writing

When we started this assignment I was pretty nervous about having to share my writing with not only my class but also with my instructor. I have never been real confident in my ability to write a story let alone a narrative of my own. As I progressed and received feedback from my peers and found my own way with the written word the assignment became easier.

The first draft allowed me to find my voice and allow me a way to tell my story in a manner that felt right and painted a strong picture. With the second draft I was able to reach a point where I felt all emotions were clear and the beginning and end were well tied.

Again the feedback that I received from my peers allowed me to review and rethink if all the details were there. With a bit of compromise here and there and a few additions and just a little dab of color on the brush strokes, I created a visual that I hoped all would be able to enjoy.

The final review that I got from my peer made me smile at what I had accomplished but also what I was able to do with my writing and a lot of the trepidation began to leave.

Free write.......

....This is the first time that we got a prompt that told us to just write what ever we wanted to. I like this idea for many reasons. In the teaching world it can be at times difficult to inspire or motivate students to write in their logs or journals if you are being specific. To allow the student to just be able to write whatever is on their minds allows the creative juices to start to flow and hopefully that will be transferred into other aspects of their learning.

For me the world has been moving a million miles an hours lately and at times I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed. I thrive in stressful situations and have never had an issue at completing a task or taking care of a situation. But over the last two weeks I have wanted to just crawl into a dark room close out the rest of the world turn on some Jimmy Buffett and just checkout for a while. I am taking  a full load this summer and that is not so bad in itself, I am also working 25 hours a week and trying to get a whole lot of stuff done around the house on a limited budget. On July 3rd my Grandmother passed away at the age of 92 and my entire family is gathering to bury her in Southern California next week. It is hard because with my going to school full time I just don't have the money to spend on a plane ticket down there. I know that there are going to be some hurt feelings and even some resentment and that hurts. I love my family but have always lived a great distance from them and that has caused some friction in the past. It is hard to get them to understand just because I am not around does not mean that I do not love them. I loved my grandmother and cherish the gifts that she has given me over the years, my love of music, reading and art came from her, as did the stubborn streak that I have and the strong desire to succeed. It will be what it will be and I will roll with the punches. I just wish that at 44 my life was a bit easier and not so hectic. 

Teaching Grammar in Context, by Constance Weaver Chapter 2 response

Wow what a difference from our other text. Instaead of bringing the student in and enveloping them iwth the possiblities of writing and expression, this text and this chapter to be exact was brutal. The whole chapter was on how teaching grammer did not enhance the writing process and how studdies that were being conducted since the 1930's dispelled the credibility of teaching grammer. Now I am not dispelling the findings of these studies or what this chapter is trying to get across. It is my oppijnon though that the wording and the dry tone of this chapter will prevent the student from understanding why the teaching of grammer is so contriveral. For me growing up in the 70 and early 80's, I struggled with grammer and identifying parts of a sentence, that  did in no way prevent me from enjoying the writing process. After reading the studdies and oppinions of the learned schoolars in this text, I still feel that there is some basis for teaching a foundation of grammer but not to the extent that we teach it. The writing process will continue to grow and fourish without the hammering in of nouns pronouns and adjectives.

Chapter 6.....

As a teacher I am always looking for ways to engage the students and make the class captivating, challenging and fun. In this chapter Professor Murray gives some great examples of activities that can be used in the classroom. One of the great thing about the activities that he give is that not only is there a great variety in them but also the skill level and diversity is quite extensive. Once again I like how he encourages collaboration between teachers, "Design your own exercises, share them with your colleagues, steal and adapt theirs. Invite your students to make up their own."(109)

Another aspect that I really appreciated is the fact that he limits the emphasis on texts. "No text should attempt to take  the place of the students' won writing" In the classroom I have always felt that texts are a great resource but in today's electronic age there are so many supplemental texts available to the teacher and the student that limiting education to one resource is counter productive.

It has been a long week.....

...... You know, no w that I am 44 years old things should be easier to deal with and life needs to stop throwing little surprises my way. Last week started out good and it though it has been incredibly hot outside I have been enjoying the opportunity to ride my bike and get a little bit of extra exercise. On Wednesday I had to drive in to school because I had been tasked to present at the New Employees Orientation at the VA hospital and between my bike and the bus it would take forever for me to get there. As I pulled into Cheney I received a phone call from my mom letting me know that my Grandmother (92 years old) had passed away. I know that she had been slipping the past 6 months or so and that for the most part she had lost what was real and what was just her mind. After getting off the phone with my mom I started to think... Wow 92 years, what an incredible life she had lived. Born in Kansas and raised in the political world of Washington DC, she had met the love of her life while he was attending the US Naval Academy. Raised three kids and was a patron of the arts. And that is just a short snippet of the life of my Grandmother. The life she led was full of adventure and mishaps. Friends and family, she was never an idle soul and was always looking for a project to be involved with. 
I will always value the gifts that she gave me, my love for reading, the arts and a strong sense of individualism. It is hard to think that she will not be around, but I know that she is no longer wondering who she is and what is real and that she is back with my grandfather and those who loved her.

On the 4th, my family and I went over and rode the Hiawatha trail. It is 15 mile that runs along an old railroad line. You start out in a 1.7 mile tunnel and from there you move along some of the most beautiful landscape you will find. The trail take you through numerous railroad tunnels over tressels and winds you down to the bottom of the valley where you are picked up and taken back to the top. A wonderful little adventure located in our back yard.

Patricia "Teeka" Clark

So I got a phone call this morning from my mother letting me know that after 92 years on this earth my grandmother had decided she was done and passed away. I know that sounds a little crass, but what I mean by that is my grandmother was a woman who lived life by her own rules. She was a member of the Houston family and her father was a Senator from Kansas, he was an appointee by FDR as the chair to the National Labor Relations Board, my grandmother grew up in surrounded by political families and had many friends in the DC circle. She married my grandfather, a young Annapolis Midshipman, and watched as he was commissioned and sent of to serve in the Pacific as a second lieutenant in the Marines. She was widowed with three young children and fought the military when they tried to put the blame for my Grandfathers death on him rather than equipment failure. She lived her life for her children giving them a love for music and art, always carrying herself in a proper manner. She married Ken Clarke, a well know concert pianist and continued to be active in arts and culture. My grandmother was a woman who influenced me in so many ways and gave me an appreciation for reading and music that has stayed with me through out my life. I will miss her with all my heart and will always remember her with love and honor.

What are the qualities of a good narrative...

For me a good narrative must be engaging,
tell a story
paint a picture
give the reader some insight into the writer.
complete (beginning, middle end)
personal touch, believable
consistent in content and context
considers audience
has a strong tone/voice
fluid
characters
elements of plot
something must happen for narrative to evolve

The writing process......

1. Prewriting - brainstorming, mapping, research, thinking, discussion, freewrting

2. Drafting

3. Revision /Editing

4. Repeete #2 and #3 as many times as needed

5. Publication

If I could change one thing about mysel, what would ti be and why.......

.... If there were one thing that I could change about myself I would stop being a procrastinator. For some reason I seem to always wait until the last possible minute to accomplish something, perform a a task or even pay a bill. If something is due at 9am it usually gets done about 8:55. If my power bill is due by the 5th of the month then it gets paid on the 5th. I tend to thrive under pressure and it never seems to bother me to wait until the last minute but there are times when that comes and bites me in the ass. I forget an assignment , I miss making a payment on time simple little shit like that. For me if this were something that I changed it more than likely make my life a bit easier, less stressful and less complicated.

Chapter 5 and 9 Writer Teaches Writng....

.... One of the things that I am really enjoying about this book is that the author does not talk down to the reader and brings the perspective of teaching composition to students into a non threatening manner.

In chapter 5 he discusses ways of motivating students what he calls inviting writing. What I really like about this is the way that he breaks down what is necessary for the student to become a writer and within each topic why it is an important part of the writing process. From the Need to Craft each step is a poinent and important aspect of the writing process.

I really enjoyed the section on the Syllabus and how the examples he gave of ones that he used and also how he gives the students options of using his syllabus or creating their own, It made me chuckle when he gave the anecdote about giving the students this options and 19 of them wrote their own and the ones that they came up with were more demanding than the one that he gave them.

I also got a lot out of the section on writing assignments and how he stated that he prefers open assignments to closed assignments as it allows the student more control in their writing. It was interesting when he was talking about handouts and how he creates new ones for each class and at the end of the class he throws them away along with his notes.

Chapter 9 was dealing with workshops and it gave me a new perspective, actually it completely changed my perspective on how and what a workshop for students was. I like the fact the he broke down how to deal with different issues and different types of students and even the different styles of workshops that can be used. 

Waking up to thunderstorms.....

I took yesterday off from writing because I am have been reading a few other blogs and online journals to see what others write and kind of look at their styles. I wasn't sure that I was putting in enough information and maybe my entries were to short. Then I went back and reread some of our text and realized this is my blog, there is no right or wrong style it is only my style so I shall now move on and just enjoy my writing.

I had the day off yesterday from school and work and it was nice to be able to sleep in a bit and get some stuff done around the house, but damn it was hot and by the middle of the day I was having flashbacks to the middle east. I know it is summer time but if my memory serves me correct just a few days ago it was cool and rainy. It is all good though. wend and did some shopping for the BBQ this weekend and am looking forward to hanging with some good friends and grubbin out to some ribs and brauts.

I woke up this morning to the roll of thunder and as I bolted up the first thing that was on my mind was "Holly Shit the top is down on the convertible" so I ran outside and just as the first few drops were coming down I was able to get the top up and didn't have to worry about trying to dry it out latter. I love a good summer thunder storm and hope the ones that are supposed to roll through today are some good ones. No offense to the people down at Hoopfest, but I am glad I'm not down there.

Have a great weekend all and talk with you soon

27 June 2013

So yesterday was my 44th birthday and I had a real good day. My wife made me a great dinner and then my son and I went and watched Star Trek. Today there was no class and I was at work at the Veterans Outreach Center all day. Normally there is not a lot out of the ordinary that goes on. We get Vets that come in for services and assistance, but today we had a gentleman that came in who was from the Governor's Veterans advisory board and they are interested in having us host their September conference on Veterans issues with the Governor which is a real honor as we have only been in our new location for just over a year. Later in the day I received a phone call from the French Embassy in Seattle, and they want to award the French Legion of Merit to a WWII veteran that lives here in Spokane. He was part of the D-Day landings at Normandy and apparently was very instrumental in the success. One of my favorite things about my job is the interesting people that I get to meet and the stories I get to hear. Have a great evening all

Self directed writing .....

For this quarter we have been asked to establish a self directed writing proposal that we will perform throughout the quarter. I have been mulling this over for the past couple of days and am not sure if this is going to work but I think that I would like to continue my journal that I started while in Iraq that is basically a look at my day and events that have impacted my life. I will transfer my journal to here on my blog and give a break down of my life throughout the quarter and maybe beyond

A time in my life when I had magical powers. ....

For those who read my blog I will be doing our morning writing prompts on here just to get my thoughts out and to practice my writing style.

When I left for Iraq in 2006 my son was not quite 4 years old. It was a whole new feeling for me to be leaving my family and heading into a dangerous situation knowing that there were those at home who depended on me. For my son he was proud to tell everyone that his dad was a soldier and was going off to fight for freedom and help those who were hurting. In his eyes I was invincible and stronger than any hero out there. For nine long months I left my family behind and struggled everyday with the emotions that flowed through my body. When I got the chance to call home and talk with my wife and son, Colton would always tell me how proud he was of me and wanted to know about all the people I was helping and about the bad guys we were getting rid of. At one point I had come back after being out on mission for quite a while and when I got back to base I sat down in front of a video camera and read a story to my son so I could send it to him and he could see me and hear my voice. Apparently I was so exhausted that three or four times during the story I nodded off.  Colton would tell his mom that daddy must be tired from helping all the people in Iraq and he just needed to recharge for a few minutes before finishing. I had made my son a promise that I would come home safe and sound to make sure that he would grow up to be a good man and that I would be there for him because he was the most important person in my life along with his mom. Colton told me that he knew I would be ok and wasn't worried about me being hurt because I was his dad and nothing could hurt me and I was going to be able to help all those people that were living in a bad place get better and have good lives. 5 years later I still see the magic I hold in my sons eyes.

Writer teaches writing first three chapters

So I am working on my English minor this summer and I am taking a course on English comp. Now I have some real fears about this course because I have always struggled with the composition process and with instructors trying to tell me how to write and what I write is not done properly or in the right format. So the text that we are using is called Writer Teaches Writing and I have to tell you what I have read so far has really opened my eyes and made me start taking a different view of writing. 
I love the opening line in the first chapter "It is time to give away the secret: teaching writing is fun."
For me, with all my apprehensions about my limits with writing, teaching it to high school students doesn't sound like a fun time, and I don't usually get anxiety. 
What I really liked about this book is that it really makes the reader feel ok  about having their own writing style and how important it is to allow students to develop their style. 
As the book moves into chapter two the author starts to break down the aspects of writing and it even provides a model of the writing process. It then breaks down each aspect of the writing process in a way that is easily understandable.
Chapter three starts out "The writer's moment of truth arrives when all the collecting and planning are completed and the writer faces the blank page" It really takes the process and preparation of the writer  and puts it into the development stage. It talks about the importance of preparing a draft, the art of revision and what it takes to edit your work. This process, this design puts the concept of writing in a much clearer light.
I am pleased with this book and feel that it is going to be a great guide for not only this class but as I move forward into a classroom.  I am looking forward to putting some of the ideas and techniques into my writing and seeing if I feel more comfortable with putting words down on paper and also with teaching students how to find their technique and become better more fluid writers.

Some final thoughts ........

........ Because of  my commitment to the US Government my education has taken a bit longer than I would have liked. The 10 year break in school was quite overwhelming and when I got back into school I felt like a fish out of water. You, my peers, were quite a bit younger than I was and for the most part had no real understanding of the life that I had led or where I had been. But I have to tell you all that the past two quarters, between Vince's and Sean's class, I have developed a major amount of respect and admiration for all of you. I enjoy some great new friendships, and as a father I feel real comfortable knowing that you are all going to be part of the education system, I have been amazed at the amount of the growth that I have witnessed not only in myself buy in each of you. It has been cool as all get out watching you become the teachers you were meant to be. 
We have but a short time left at EWU and for most of us next fall will be the final class we have together and that just seems kind of weird. This journey has taught me quite a bit about myself and has really helped erase some of the doubts that I had transitioning from the military to the classroom. I want to thank everyone for the encouragement and great feedback along the way.
Sean, dude you have a great gift as an educator. I love the fact that you really try and know your students and you try and minimize the gap that exists between student and professor. I have enjoyed talking to your class for the past two years and I hope to continue in the future. I know that your focus is English but you have so much to impart on future teachers I hope you continue with some of the education classes. 
Everyday I  become more and more excited regarding the possibility of one day having my own classroom where I can create an environment that will excite students and help them realize that subjects such as History, Government and Civics are not just boring facts but lessons that have helped shape the world as we know it today and every event that is occurring out there that we see on the news or on a blog somewhere may very well wind up being taught in a classroom someday and again be a major contributor to the how the world operates.
This summer I am again pushing the boundaries and trying to cram 18 credits down my throat with the hopes to finish up this English Minor that I thought was a great idea to add. I am also going to start the CTE (Career Tech) endorsement process in hopes that I can use some of the skills I learned in my years in the military and in private industry to help make me more marketable in this very competitive job market. 
I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful summer and I hope to see you around. I am always up for some Golf or going out and grabbing a beer, I look forward to next fall and seeing everyone in 420 and continuing on in this journey.

Have  a great summer all.

Sean 

My school.

So I have been going through my blogs and seeing where I have missed some and I came across the fact that I had written a couple of my blogs and they were still in draft form and never published. So I will go back and try and catch up.
So I am placed at West Valley High School with a teacher that has been there for the past 12 years. I have two sophomore Western Civ classes and one Senior Econ class. My Econ class has 9 students in it and it is an elective course while my Western Civ classes have 23 and 25 students respectively. The classroom is set up in a modified horseshoe so that all students have clear visual to classroom technology. My cooop teacher has done a good job of ensuring that the classroom has the latest technology available for the kids. There are three computers available for in class research. There are also 15 I-pod touches that are linked into the schools wireless system.
Classes at WVHS run 55 minutes a day three days a week and then there is a block schedule on Wednesday and Thursday where classes are 90 minutes long and there is late start On Wednesday so that teachers can have staff meetings, training and collaboration. Students have access to teachers before and after school and the school provides extra help for students that are struggling in class.

Man I have been slacking

I just realized that I have been completly slacking on my blog posts. Two weeks ago I was in Utah at a Wounded Warriors Retreat and forgot to post. Last week I got caught up in catching up with all that I had missed the week I was gone and now here I am trying to catch up. Things in school have been going great and I got both my evaluations done and got some great feedback. I am looking forward to the summer break and have talked with my coop teacher and we are going to get together a couple of times and look at what I will need to have ready for Winter Quarter and my student teaching.

In class we have finished up WWII and have begun talking about the Marshall Plan and the rise of communism in Eastern Europe. I was real proud of the kids these past few weeks as we have thrown a whole lot at them getting ready for the end of the year. The time line going from WWI to WWII and all the information that is included was extremely short and now this week we have to get through the cold ward and prep for the cumulative final next week.

My classes have never really posed any problems and the few moments where I had student act out were actually pretty easy to deal with. I feel pretty lucky to be in WVSD and I really like the atmosphere there.

I am going to try and keep this going throughout the school year next fall so stay tuned.

What a full week (actually two)

So I got so caught up over the last couple of weeks that I forgot to post an update last week. Class has been in full swing and we are trying to cram a lot of information down the throats of the students. I have been real lucky to be placed at WVHS with my co-op teacher, he has allowed me to take an active part in developing the lessons and teaching a majority of them. The great thing is that there is so much information available for this time period and region. I have been able to find some great videos and cartoons on the web to include in my lessons and it makes a great activity getting the kids to look at and interpret the political cartoons. I have heard some great answers for symbols in the cartoons.
I had to laugh the other day we were starting to talk about the first and second Balkan Wars and I had asked the kids where the Balkan region in Europe was and one of the girls in my second period class looked me straight in the eye and said "in Balkania"
Well I finally heard from my observer and was lucky enough to get my first observation in and it went real well. I got some real valuable feedback and he gave me some things to work on. I am looking forward to getting the next one out of the way, but I am also looking forward to working closely with my observer over the next few quarters till I move into my student teaching and pulling from his 25 plus years of teaching experience.
I hope everyone has been having great experiences in their classroom as we get closer to the end of the school year.

See y'all in class.

Another week in the bag

Wow, what a week it has been, you can tell that both the students and the faculty have been cooped up way to long and are all jonesen for spring. My students are still real good and even though the sun shining through the windows gets a few of them ancey most are still pretty focused and glad that Napoleon has died and the first French Revolution is behind us. We had a pretty good time with the Napoleonic wars and our faux recreation of the Battle of Trafalgar. As years end is fast approaching we area starting to give the students more information and taking them pretty fast through the Industrial and Agricultural revolutions, The Crimean War, The Unification of Germany and into WWI.

I found some pretty good information on the Charge of the Light Brigade and even found a pretty good clip with the British making fun of all the mistakes that were make.



Horrible Histories - Charge of the Light Brigade

These guys have some great takes on various historical events and are worth taking a look at to use in your lessons.

Looking forward to WWI and II and the section we are developing on Russia from the Revolution to the Fall of Communism.

 

The Week in Review

This week in class we have been wrapping up the life and conquests of Napoleon Bonaparte, including his ill fated attempt at defeating the British empire at sea and his attempt to take Russia with a under provisioned army at the onset of winter. I am starting to learn my students and their study habits as well as their willingness to participate in class discussion. I do have a student who has very low self esteem and does not think that she is very smart and therefore is reluctant to put forth very much effort. I have been working with her one on one in an attempt to bring her out of her shell and demonstrate her ability to answer posted questions and participate along with the rest of her classmates. We have been making small progress but progress none the less.

In my other Western Civ class we are finishing up WWI and have been spending a lot of time discussing how the progress in weaponry and new development in technology made this war a turning point in industry. This class seems to be more interactive and asks some great leading questions as well as being more focused.

Assessment Ssrategies Article

I found a great website called Inspiring Teachers that is full of great information. I came across an article titled Getting out of the Assessment Rut. That touched on how teachers really get bogged down when it comes to Assessment Strategies. We try something new and it doesn't work exactly the way we hoped so we go back to the same old methods that we had used over and over before and this becomes a cycle and we are not challenging or motivating the students. In essence we are failing to achieve that goal which is the primary reason behind our profession and that is to educate our students.

The article talks about the necessity to vary assessment and find ways to challenge the students and not just those that are struggling but also develop ways to deal with those that seem to have a good grasp on the subject matter.

Creating Assessments can be quite frustrating for us teachers as well as for the students so make sure you are always reading up on new developments in Assessments and fine tuning your abilities, and don't let yourself get caught up reverting back to multiple choice and fill in the blank.

http://www.inspiringteachers.com/index.html

Classroom Management Strategies for Difficult Students: Promoting Change through Relationships, by Mary Ellen Beaty-O'Ferral, Alan Green & Fred Hanna.

This article looks into helping alleviating classroom issues through the development of relationships between students and teachers. There is some great ideas for redirecting students actions without making them feel that they are in trouble or that you, like most adults in their lives, are mad at them.

Some of the topics regarding empathy and admiring negative attitudes and behaviors I found quite helpful in the manner that I have found in many situations in dealing with students I have found myself reverting back to my military background and focusing on the behavior in a negative manner that is equally disruptive, rather than try to get to the root of the problem or redirecting the negative energy into something more positive.

I feel that for most teachers the most pertinent and important section is Leaving the ego at the door. It reminds us of the nature of the career that we have chosen and that we are there to help guide these students on their journey not to act or portray ourselves as somehow superior.

There is also a great section on working in a multicultural environment and ideas on how to build relationships especially where there is a language and cultural barrier.

Overall I found this article a great addition to a lot of the other techniques we have learned to deal with behavioral conditions in our classrooms.

Things have been real busy at West Valley High School since returning from Spring Break. I am currently teaching in three Western Civ courses, in two we are finishing up the French Revolution and moving on to the Napoleonic Wars and in my other class we have just started WWI, including a great lesson on the relationship that Spokane had with Archduke Ferdinand. I am starting to become more familiar with my students and some of their idiosyncrasies. I have one student who is gone quite a bit and when he is in class he is pretty disruptive. Turns out that he has a some medical issues which include a cyst inside his brain that pushes on his orbital nerve, because he is constantly at a certain pain thresh hold and he doesn't like talking pain meds he tries to keep himself busy. Unfortunately that means he tries to engage others to keep himself busy.
Having been out of high school for quite a while it is funny watching how the kids interact and what is important in their lives. I have had to separate students because they couldn't stop talking during lessons and were more focused on Prom and what they were going to wear than about Napoleons rise to power.
My cooperating teachers are both great teachers but with two completely different styles of teaching and it is a challenge to adjust my lessons to compliment each of their styles. I do feel though that with this variety of styles that I am being exposed to will help me in the development of my teaching style.

So this whole TPA thing to me is a bit of a cluster as far as I am concerned. I respect and understand the need while learning the ropes but overall, once in a classroom and teaching multiple subjects it becomes quite a daunting task. I teach in a school where I have two different history classes, one Econ class and one English class, for me to sit down and create lesson plans for each subject in the manner that is dictated by the format would consume the majority of a day. If you have an initial TPA format at the beginning of the year which answers the majority of the questions in regards to the population that you are teaching and you then maintain your expectations of each lesson or group of lessons as you work your way through the school year. For the most part the demographics of your classroom will not vary that greatly throughout the school year, and if there is a major shift it is easy to update.
For the beginning teacher I do feel that this is a valuable tool but as you progress and find what works for you and develop your own system the TPA then is only a guideline and to ensure that you have your bases covered and your system allows you to flourish in the classroom.