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.