Invisible Children Screening

What an amazing experience! I am glad we were given the opportunity to read our poems before the screening. I like to think that the combined forces of the Campus Poetry Society and Poets Anonymous added to the event. However, I was changed by the documentary. I've been to Uganda, and I never realized how bad it was in the displacement camps. I also was unaware that the Ugandan government had forced people to move to the camps. Anyone left in the villages was considered a rebel.

Anyone who doesn't believe that activism can help change the world needs to learn about the story of a group of Americans who helped convince the U.S. goverment to pressure Uganda to end its 21 year war. Peace talks are happening now.

www.invisiblechildren.com

Real Time at Bright Ideas 2008

I thought it would be interesting to keep a conference log - and to try to do it as close to real time as possible. It may look a little bit like notes, because that's largely what it will be.






9:00-9-50. Get to Know Chris Crutcher.
Chris Crutcher is an YA author. He has a website: Author, Chris Crutcher

I thought the introduction was very unique. Rather than the traditional introduction where an authority goes through a litany of accolades, an Okemos high school teacher and two of her students created a short kit based on a scene from Sarah Byrns. After the skit, they discussed what they liked about his Crutcher's books, and finally introduced him.

I haven't read any of Crutcher's books, but I now feel I should get to it. His stories actually come from his own experiences, although his young self usually plays minor roles.

10:00-10:50. Authentic Writing in a Digital World. Christina Helsel, MSU; Michelle Rafferty, MSU; Daniel Babcock, MSU.

They have a website for the presentation: Authentic Writing in a Digital World.

The need to give students a real purpose and a real audience for their writing. One way to meet this need is via digital means.
Problems: getting students to recognize when to use formal and informal writing.

The identity of a writer is separate from the physical self (like an avatar). On-line writers are not necessarily the same as the person writing.

Pros

• Authentic audience and purpose


• Intertextuality


• Greater risk-taking in writing


• Continued communication in academic environment outside school boundaries


• Potential increase in reflection


• Connection with student interests


• Content standard requirement
  

Cons

• New boundaries between student and teacher


• Inequity in technology


• Time-consuming nature


• Potential threats to privacy and propriety


• Technological difficulties


• Programatic backfires

Using Blogs

Helsel used blogs as a method of peer review. It forces students to learn a holisitic approach to peer review since they can't just mark up a paper for mechanical errors.

Helsel found students were excited to see their work published. Students already are used to interacting online. Students did, indeed, learn to use a holistic approach to peer review. Not all ths students enjoyed blogging, however.

Using Message Boards

Can be formatted and customized to meet needs of teacher and classroom. Can use filters for language. Boards can named and customized for various instructional purposes.

The teacher created two boards: one for academic discussion and on for general discussion.

The students engaged in authentic discussion. They re-identifiied themselves outside of the class walls as class members.

Students were asked to post twice a week. The teacher is able to maintain communication with the students outside of class.

Flaws: Requires prior experience with the message board. Requires about two hours per week of maintenance.

11:00-11:50. Social Networking, Teacher Education, and English Language Arts. Robert Rozema, GVSU; Troy Hicks, CMU.

Rozema opened with a short video about social networking and how teachers can use it especially since it is so transparent and allows everyone to view your activities.

Use group to allow you to communicate with your students through Facebook.

We were instructed to jot down an observation or question.

How creepy is it when professors are on Facebook? Can we create both an academic and a private identity?

Facebook was created for students, not faculty. If faculty uses it, we need to monitor how we use it. One suggestion, don't befriend current students. Another, use caution when posting.

Teachers should be up to date with what students are doing, but we need to use balance.

At a secondary level - how to use it even if you're not willing to use it.
Character study. Teachers have students create a paper-based "Facebook profile" for characters in literature you are studying. Rozema gave us an example from a class that was reading Much Ado about Nothing.

Another option would be to use Ning.com to create a private social network for students in a class. You can create networks across institutions, and you still own your work, unlike institution-run networks and sites.

Hicks provided a link to his wiki page on social networking for educational purposes: Social Networking, Teacher Education, and English Language Arts. It has a ton of links you can check out if you're considering using a social networking tool in your classroom.

Teaching with Technology

Feeling frustrated at having to repost this right now.... My own fault....


The purpose of today's class was to get everyone a little more comfortable with using technology in teaching English. I wanted to go beyond Gilmore's use of technology in the revision process. Instead, I wanted to show that technology can be used creatively by Language Arts instructors. I can't stress enough that these technologies do not require a "dumbing down" of the curriculum. In fact, using these technologies actually emcompass more state standards than traditional writing instruction.

You're already familiar with wikis and blogs, so I will leave those out of this discussion.

Digital Storytelling
Digital storytelling is a multimodal (multimedia?) production using a combination of text, images, voice narration, perhaps video, and usually music to tell a story. Digital storytelling has become a very popular way for pre-interns to explain why they went into teaching. However, digital storytelling can be a powerful took in the language arts classroom because of its dual role of presentation and production. Students can use digital storytelling to present poetry, biographies, autobiographies, book reports, ethnographies, and even research projects.

Center for Digital Storytelling
Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
Digital Storytelling at Electronic Portfolio.org


Podcasting
Podcasts are video or audio productions meant to be uploaded to a portable device on demand. Much like digital storytelling, podcasts are a creative way for students to express themselves. Even the common book report is more interesting when done as a podcast.

Examples of student podcasts at MSU
Amphitheater High School podcasts
Marion Beat


e-Portfolios
E-Portfolios allow students to maintain and organize their work over the course of a semester, a year, or even their high school careers. The advantage that e-portfolios have over hard copy portfolios is the ease of incorporating multimedia content. Students can include essays, yes, but also podcasts, pictures, videos, and hypertext poetry.

Electronic Portfolios.Org
ePortfolios Portal
Beacon Charter High School for the Arts


A good place to start is Allen Webb's Techno English Blog. It was based on his Teaching with Technology class.

Registration form for Linda Christensen Conference

I don't think we can upload files to Blogger. (If I'm wrong, please let me know how to do it.)

However, I have uploaded the registration form to our E-Learning site (check under content) and our Wikispace (Teaching Writing in Grades 7-12).

Please remember that attendance at the scholarly talk on Thursday, March 20th and the miniconference Friday, March 21st is mandatory. You will not have to pay to attend, however. We have money in our lab fund to cover your attendance.

If you cannot attend one or both of the conference events because of another class, please let me know so we can come up with an alternative plan.

This is me nearly every day

It's nice to know that I am not the only bad grad student out there.

At least there is one fictional cartoon character who knows my daily plight:

And I'm doing it again right now.

Poetry in Kalamazoo

It was requested of me that I post information about some local poetry events in case any of you would like to attend some.

Here you are:


A local website that has all the information you need about local poetry events is: PAKZOO.org
You can start there. There is a calendar function to keep track of shows.

Here are some locations

Every Monday from 8:00 to 10:00 PM
Papa Pete's Coffee Bar
502 South Burdick Street (corner of Cedar)
Poetry Slam and Open Mic with various hosts

The third Monday of the month from 7:00 to 9:00 PM
Papa Pete's Coffee Bar
502 South Burdick Street
Youth Poetry Slam with Chris Bullmer

The first Wednesday of the month from 8:00 to 10:00 PM
Dino's Coffee Lounge
773 West Michigan Street
Poetry Slam and Open Mic with Todd Bannon

The first Friday of the month
Fire
1249 Portage Street
Open Mic and Feature Poet
Website: Fire

ACT sample essays

I stole this from the ACT Writing Test Site. I'll probably take it down for legal reasons.

ACT Writing Test: Sample Essays

Here is their sample prompt:

Educators debate extending high school to five years because of increasing demands on students from employers and colleges to participate in extracurricular activities and community service in addition to having high grades. Some educators support extending high school to five years because they think students need more time to achieve all that is expected of them. Other educators do not support extending high school to five years because they think students would lose interest in school and attendance would drop in the fifth year. In your opinion, should high school be extended to five years?

In your essay, take a position on this question. You may write about either one of the two points of view given, or you may present a different point of view on this question. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

How would you score the following essays on a 1-6 rubric?

SAMPLE A:

SAMPLE B

SAMPLE C

Christensen, Chapter 3

Christensen, Chapter 3: Writing the Word and the World

This was a huge chapter with a wide variety of content. I'd like to comment on everything, but I wouldn't do it justice without writing for two hours (and I have company arriving an hour from now). Since I was a slacker and didn't get the blog in before class today, I think I'll talk about a few parts of the chapter that we didn't get to talk about.

Standardized Testing
I could almost imagine students' eyes brightening as they started to discover that just maybe the cause of their problems with standardized tests was in the test itself and not because they weren't smart enough. Educators have been talking about the biased nature of standardized tests for decades, and it's even been discussed in the popular media. (I remember a Diff'rent Strokes episode where the kids prove to a prep school administrator that standardized tests are biased.) However, these conversation doesn't always filter down to our students. This is an important conversation and realization for students to have. It might end up being a bitter pill to swallow, though, if you can't do anything about it.

Essays with Attitude
Christensen has some great advice in this section for teaching kids to write essays. Hers is an excellent model. I like that she has students writing introductions fairly late in the process of writing. Too many students get stuck in their introduction and never mind their way out of it. Even me - when I write my introduction first, without fail I end up scrapping it or moving it to the conclusion and having to write a new introduction anyway.

Acting for Justice
Christensen is big on getting students to understand each other - to see things from another's perspective. I love the role play Christensen designs for this purpose. Someone mentioned in class today that part of the process of becoming an adult is understanding that the people around your are also humans with emotions. How much better off would our schools be if everyone had one other student who stood up for him an advocate? No one should have to go through school alone.

Privilege Exercise

We'll be doing this exercise in class today.

I stole this exercise from Barbara Lesch McCaffry of the American Multi-Cultural Studies, Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies atSonoma State University. However, there are many similar exercises out there.

Have students stand in a straight line (quite close together).
Request that they hold hands with the person on either side of them for as long as possible and refrain from speaking during the exercise.

Privilege Exercise

• If your ancestors were forced to come to the USA, not by choice, take one step back.
• If your primary ethnic identity is American, take one step forward.
• If you were ever called names because of your race, class, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If there were people of color who worked in your household as servants, gardeners, etc., take one step forward.
• If your parents were professional, doctors, lawyers, etc., take one step forward.
• If you were raised in an area where there was prostitution, drug activity, etc. take one step back.
• If you ever tried to change you appearance, mannerisms, or behavior to avoid being judged or ridiculed, take one step back.
• If you studied the culture of your ancestors in elementary school, take one step forward.
• If you went to a school speaking a language other than English, take one step back.
• If there were more than 50 books in your house when you grew up, take one step forward.
• If you ever had to skip a meal or were hungry because there was not enough money to buy food when you were growing up, take one step back.
• If you were brought to art galleries or plays by your parents, take one step forward.
• If one of your parents were unemployed or laid off, not by choice, take one step back.
• If you attended a private school or summer camp, take one step forward.
• If your family ever had to move because they could not afford the rent, take one step back.
• If you were told that you were beautiful, smart, and capable by your parents, take one step forward.
• If you were ever discouraged from academic or jobs because of race, class, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If you were ever encouraged to attend a college by your parents, take one step forward.
• If prior to age 18, you took a vacation out of the country, take one step forward.
• If one of your parents did not complete high school, take one step back.
• If your family owned your own house, take one step forward.
• If you saw members of your race, ethnic group, gender, or sexual orientation were portrayed on television in degrading roles, take one step back.
• If you were ever offered a good job because of your association with a friend or family member, take one step forward.
• If you were ever denied employment because of your race, ethnicity,
  gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If you were ever paid less, treated less fairly because of your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If you were ever accused of cheating or lying because of your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If you ever inherited money or property, take a step forward.
• If you had to rely primarily on public transportation, take one step back.
• If you were ever stopped or questioned by the police because of your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If you were ever afraid of violence because of your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If you were generally able to avoid places that were dangerous, take one step forward.
• If you ever felt uncomfortable about a joke related to your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If you were ever a victim of violence related to your race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
• If your parents did not grow up in the United States, take one step back.
• If your parents told you that you could be anything you wanted to be, take one step forward.
  

Ask participants to remain where they are to look at their position in the room or space in relation to the positions of the other participants. Ask participants to pick someone from an opposite position with which to process the exercise.

Questions:

What are your thoughts and feelings about this exercise?

Were you surprised? Why?

If time permits or if relevant:

Would your placement have been different if the exercise included questions about disability or religion?

How could affirmative action impact these issues?

Take about 10 minutes for the pairs to process and then have them report back to the group as a whole.

MLK Events

Sorry I didn't post this earlier. This is from The WMU News link. If you go towards the bottom of the article, you can find the events that will happen today through Monday. I've bolded the names and times of events you can still participate in.

Variety of events pay tribute to King's legacy

Jan. 9, 2008

KALAMAZOO--Speeches, discussions, film presentations, artistic performances and a march are all on tap at Western Michigan University and across the Kalamazoo community starting Sunday, Jan. 13, during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Communitywide Celebration.
Events will be spread over nine days and continue through Monday, Jan. 21, the national holiday honoring the slain civil rights giant. The events, nearly all free and open to the public, are offered through a partnership between WMU, Kalamazoo College, the Northside Ministerial Alliance and the city of Kalamazoo.

Activities are highlighted by five key events: The MLK Kick-Off Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 13; the MLK Multicultural Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 20; and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, MLK Communitywide Day of Service and march to MLK Memorial Park, all on Monday, Jan. 21. The march begins at WMU's Kanley Chapel and proceeds to Kalamazoo College and the Radisson Hotel and Suites before ending at MLK Memorial Park on North Rose Street.

The theme of this year's celebration is "What King Wrought: Stand Up for Justice, Stand Up for Truth." Visit http://www.wmich.edu/mlk/ for more information.

MLK Celebration events
"MLK Kick-Off Celebration" at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13, at Galilee Baptist Church, 1216 N. Westnedge Ave. This inaugural worship service celebrates King's life and legacy and features Dr. Johnny Young, senior presiding bishop of the Church of God Pentecostal Inc. in Inglewood, Calif., as well as the 100-voice MLK Celebration Choir.

"Student Life in the U.S.: African Perspectives" from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, in Room 3301 of WMU's Friedmann Hall. Students from different African countries will speak about their experiences as students in the United States African student life.

"Martin Luther King: The Fierce Urgency of Now!" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, in the Olmsted Room of Kalamazoo College's Mandelle Hall. Dr. Grace Lee Boggs, an activist, writer and speaker with more than 60 years experience working in major U.S. movements, will reflect on her work with King.

"Keep the Justice Coming" at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 15, in WMU's Bernhard Center. This movie on justice and action will move attendees to remember and learn more about social justice issues that were, and still may be present.

"Reading Together Kick-Off: What's Your Dream? Voices Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech" from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, in the Van Duesen Room, Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St. "Animal Dreams" by Barbara Kingsolver is this year's Reading Together book. Springing from the inspiration of the book's title, Reading Together encourages people to think about their own dreams.

"Poverty Simulation Workshop" from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Jan. 16, at the Douglass Community Association, 117 W. Paterson Ave. The Poverty Simulation workshop is an interactive and sensitizing experience in which participants actively discover the realities and effects of living in poverty.

"Candlelight Vigil Honoring United States Service Personnel and Veterans" at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, on the Stetson Chapel steps, Kalamazoo College. This event honors the men and women of the armed forces. Veterans and current service personnel attending will receive special recognition for their dedication to the country and its freedoms.

"Stand Up for Justice, Stand Up for Truth and Stand Against Hate: A Film Review and Discussion on Nooses as Symbols of Hate" from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, Room 1110 of the WMU's Multicultural Center. Glinda Rawls and Dr. Evelyn Winfield will show the film "Nooses-An American Nightmare" and facilitate a discussion about its relevance in light of recent events.

"Let's Talk About Race" from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 17, Portage North Middle School, 5808 Oregon St. The workshop will expand on unintentional intolerance and its impact on staff, students and the larger community. The workshop will be facilitated by Crossroads, a non-profit Chicago organization dedicated to dismantling systemic racism.

"Third Annual Kalamazoo Promise Rally for Youth" at 6 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 19, at Galilee Baptist Church, 1216 N. Westnedge Ave.

"We Have a Dream" at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, in Miller Auditorium. WMU professor of theatre Dr. Von Washington will perform "New Morning for the World" by Joseph Schwantner with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. The concert will pay homage to King's life, and lobby displays will celebrate the Kalamazoo Promise. Tickets are available at a variety of prices through the Miller Auditorium Ticket Office and Epic Center Box Office. Call 387-2300.

"MLK Multicultural Celebration" at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, Miller Auditorium. WMU President Dr. John M. Dunn will be the keynote speaker for this event, which will also highlight the talents of local artists like WMU theatre professor Dr. Von Washington, Ujima and Ebony Vision Dance Troupes as well as the 100-voice MLK Celebration Choir.

"MLK Community-Wide Day of Service," registration begins at 7 a.m. Monday, Jan. 21, at the Radisson Hotel and Suites, 100 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo. Projects completed by 2:45 p.m.

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation" at 10:50 a.m., Monday, Jan. 21, in Stetson Chapel, Kalamazoo College. Kalamazoo College President Dr. Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran will speak on the theme "What King Wrought: Stand Up for Justice, Stand Up for Truth." Also featured will be the 100-voice MLK Celebration Choir.

Parade/march to MLK Park, beginning at 1:45 p.m., Monday, Jan. 21, at WMU's Kanley Chapel. The march will proceed to Kalamazoo College and then to Radisson Hotel and Suites, before ending at MLK Park.

Dispute resolution services will be provided from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 21, at Gryphon Place, 1104 S. Westnedge Ave. to help people peacefully resolve their conflicts in a way that honors King's legacy.

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu
WMU NewsOffice of University RelationsWestern Michigan University1903 W Michigan AveKalamazoo MI 49008-5433 USA(269) 387-8400www.wmich.edu/wmu/news

Christensen, Chapter 2

Christensen, Chapter 2: Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us

This chapter sets up an important sequence of events to encourage student activism:

1. Give students the tools they need to engage their analytical minds.
2. Allow the students to discover a social injustice.
3. Encourage the students to act on that social justice.

The cartoon activity and accompanying writing assignments can be powerful agents of change in students' lives if approached properly. First, it is important that this does not become a group think project. As a teacher, you may already have your ideas of stereotypes portrayed in cartoons, but that's not the point of the exercise; the point is to get students thinking analytically about the world they live in. For this to happen, they need to find the stereotypes on their own. Second, there needs to be an outlet for their discoveries. As Christensen says, without a positive outlet, you are left with a classroom of cynics. I like that she has her students use public writing as their outlet. I especially loved the pamphlet her students created and distributed at a school board meeting. I have no doubt that some parents changed their television program and movie choices because of what students wrote about cartoons.

Cartoons are really just a first step. Once students are trained to look at their world analytically - to see with open eyes - they will notice stereotypes and inequalities in every media they come in contact with. Advertisements are obvious, but they will see sitcoms, movies, even newscasts differently.

I like that Christensen uses literature as a springboard for writing. She allows her students to see professional examples of the writing she wants them to do. Before she has her students write their praise poems, she has them read praise poems written by writers such as Maya Angelou and Lucille Clifton.

Christensen says that the praise poem can be uncomfortable at first because we are trained not to brag. I have the same discomfort in trying to write this poem myself. Every attempt ends up being an ironic self-deprecation - a sort of false praise poem where my praises are actually backhanded compliments. I'm much better at making fun of myself than talking about what I like about myself. The "Where I'm From" poem was much easier; even though I was directly connected to the content of the poem, I wasn't writing about me specifically.

Jago, Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Teaching Informational and Persuasive Writing

Right off the bat, Jago confronts a major problem with student writing: students who don't read enough. Even students who are avid readers of fiction or poetry tend to avoid reading essays. How, then, can we expect students to write good essays without first reading reading good essays? We can't. Good writers read; it's that simple. If we want students to improve the quality of their essay writing, we need to supply them with essays to read - and a lot of them. Jago warns against just giving students examples of good student writing; this seems to have very little positive effect. Students either ignore the examples because "they're just written by another kid," or become depressed at the difference in writing quality.

As Jago mentions, many state standards now require the reading of informational texts, anyway. Michigan is no exception; the newly implemented Michigan standards in language arts includes three or four specific mentions of informational texts.

I really enjoyed Jago's opinion piece assignment where students learn to writing persuasive essays based on real news events. I believe in public writing and encouraging students to write for a real audience. By getting students interested in real world events and connecting with these events, Jago has given them the passion and the tools to write with real purpose. It shouldn't surprise anyone that student writing quality improves with the knowledge that audience has been expanded to include someone other than the instructor.

Jago, Chapter 1

Carol Jago
Cohesive Writing: Why Concept Is Not Enough

Chapter 1: Cohesive Writing--The Method

There are a lot of writing methodology texts out there; Cohesive Writing is but one of them. I want to stress this point first off, because despite the amount of talking I'll be doing about the methodologies I like in this text, I don't want to give the impression that this is the only way to teach writing. Instead, I would suggest using this text as another tool in our toolbox.

More to the point, Jago's text tackles one very specific problem with student writing - lack of cohesiveness. I think this is a great idea for an entire methodology book. Other compositionists and educators have written about cohesion in writing, but it's usually a topic for a chapter or just a section of chapter. This text will go in greater detail and will give many examples of ways to teach specific types of writing.

Jago does a great job in this chapter of discussing the importance of writing a good prompt for students and even gives instruction on how to do it. We usually blame our students for their poor writing. More often, we should look at ourselves - and not just in our instruction; we need to give them give good prompts to kick start their writing.

We'll practice this as a class.

Christensen, Chapter 1

Reading, Writing, and Rising Up, Linda Christensen
Chapter 1: Building Community Out of Chaos

This will be my fourth time reading the Christensen text. I get something new out of it every time. As I'm reading it again, I can still remember the first time, repeating to myself, "oh wow oh wow oh wow." I was completely transformed by the experience. In fact, this single text has had as much influence on my dissertation project as any ten other texts combined. Like Christensen, I believe in encouraging students to become activists.

I love that in this first chapter, Christensen emphasizes the aspects of teaching that are so often neglected in classrooms, but in the end can make all the difference: creating communities, building empathy, sharing life stories. If a student is going to succeed in a classroom, then she is going to have to feel comfortable in that classroom. Too often our classrooms are exclusionary and tend to replicate the societal hierarchies students experience outside of the school. No wonder some students question the value of a school system that ignores and punishes them, but rarely gets to know them as individuals.

Of course this chapter goes beyond community building. Christensen's classrooms are academic, first and foremost. She has some great methods for getting reluctant readers reading and reluctant writers writing. I am a big fan of the read around method she employs. I also love the poems she has students write. We'll be writing both the "Praise" poem and the "Where I'm From" poem in our class. These two poems allow students to find sources of pride and personal history. Equally important - sharing these poems shows students that they have more in common than they think.