Portfolios

Here is a link to my Writing and Multi-Genre Portfolios.

An Elegy

So, though I put little stock in prefaces like this: here is an incredibly rough draft of my unfamiliar genre.

I.
Third Sunday of June,
and I'm caught in the dark
arranging my emotions
like any man should.

The images on the screen
are stirring what I had long
laid to rest. Or so
I had convinced myself.

II.
I've been confirmed then,
years ago, that what I
had begun to think of as a
dream was experience.

Conviction--first--then
dwindling to an absence--void--
unclear distinction of what is
now growing.

III.
Stirred from bed, I arise
and lay my hand against brown,
winged, insects that paint the wall,
moving only slightly my touch.

Outside, tail lights cut through the darkness
leaving me it their wake, ushered
back inside by strangers
before the engine dies, or understanding--

Twitter and New Media in the Classroom

It seems like a bit of a trick question: Does this have relevance for you in your classroom? Is there space for this shape of learning? The question refers to the introduction of new literacies (twitter, online platforms, etc.) that are quickly becoming fixtures in the world--if they are not already. The trick is that, though in the world outside of the classroom these mediums are acknowledged--often through force--and used regularly, the K-12 classroom does not readily accept it. The reason behind this, however, has less to do with the classroom teachers, and more to do with the environment that education is currently in.

Before I say anything else, let me note that there are exceptions. There are always exceptions. There are the teachers posting to Digital IS; there are those with incredibly innovative lesson plans that somehow merge the old, current, and new teaching expectations. And yet, we call them exceptions for a reason--not everything is applicable/measured by these occurrences.

I recognize that in order for my students to be successful in the future--once they've left the relative safety of my classroom, and school, that they need to be able to participate in the world. Not only so that they can earn an income, but so that their voices can be heard by others. Or for the very least, so that they can compose (read: think) their own responses to what they experience in the world. The world is going digital, and regardless of what post-apocalyptic movie you may watch, this is not changing anytime soon. And yet, the K-12 classroom as note entirely adjusted, and neither have I.

In my classroom, I currently use platforms such as Schoology to get students to start having discussions online. And yet, they aren't "authentic" discussions. They are discussions that must meet the rubric that I have provided them with. There will be no rubric in their future. Yes, I work to have something in place now so that they do not need it later, but there seems to be an inherent argument in all of this that gets ignored. Where does the organic, natural, autonomous learning occur? A great deal of my personal knowledge of technology is self-taught. I determine my own parameters, product, and expectations. Yes, I have old models that I can rely on, but a the majority does not rely on this at all. For this reason, I think that what really needs to happen, is not just to embrace some "new" mode of communication, but get back to the root of education and teaching--the more abstract, essential knowledge, that these new literacies would inevitably fall under.

Reading Reflection

There's so many readings to write about, that's it's difficult for me to select specific readings to respond to. The academic readings, even the more anecdotal research ones, were interesting in hat I'm an English teacher, but face the same trouble that most academic writing does: dryness. It's rare that I've found academic writing with "life" in it. However, I'll attempt to address those two here, though I'd rather be discussing the King or Lamott pieces.

In the first week's readings I found myself grappling a lot with the Nagin article, "Learning to Write." I found its description of the history of writing instruction to be worthwhile and good reflection for me as a former K-12 student, and current educator. However, my notes in the margins were often in response to what I saw occurring in my own classroom. What are my students struggling with? Does it align itself with what Nagin is describing? Furthermore, what is Nagin discussing that I myself have tried to articulate or teach, but did it have access to the current discourse at the time. Referencing Hillocks, Nagin poses the argument that "writing should be a form of inquiry" and that approaching it this way has the biggest gains for students. This idea is something that I've been working to incorporate into my curriculum planning more--making sure that there is a larger, investigatory process, that students are addressing that is the actual driver of the unit of study.

There are many ideas to consider in Write Beside Them but the one hat stuck out to me is the idea of story. I mentioned in an earlier class session (and my brief intro) that I often view life as a narrative. What we (humans) are engaging with in life is the living out of a narrative that overlaps, crashes, and merges, diverges, etc. from other narratives. I find this idea present in the idea that when we are writing, what we are actually doing is attempting to tell a story, and that this is the case regardless of the type of writing we are doing. I'd like for this to be something that I can bring to my students--an idea that we are writing our stories and so have a great deal of say in what happens. 

Process Narrative

I had a difficult time coming up with how I wanted to do my process narrative. I knew that I wanted to examine the fact that what I was doing was a memoir, so I did a lot of playing around with the idea that I wanted to create a image to accompany the creation of my text. Below is the image and brainstorming process of what I've done. I think the way I'd like to see this evolve is to either create a Show Me transition screen, perhaps creating the same process in real time, or do something using the same format Professor Stepanian used in class.

Evocative Draft

­­­I've had the luxury of forgetting. A student approached me asking me about a point of history that stood out in his reading. “They keep mentioning it. What is it?” It had meant so much to my adolescent self. And yet, my words fumbled. I closed my mouth, perhaps I smiled, and attempted a response. How ashamed of myself I would have been. Was it a hate crime? Not by legal definition. It had occurred in New York City, yes. In a tucked away section ignored, hopefully, on better days, but not forgotten. Oh, no, it was a police raid. Yes, that’s it. Policemen barreled in beating patrons bloody and throwing them in the back of wagons. Perhaps I should exclude this? I’ve picked up inklings. But the world is such a dark place—prepare him as of now. He may—will—need as much of a head start as possible. More than your luxury requires of you. He’ll be alone for a time—but, with offerings, spit, and faith in the night, not too long. 

Education Philosophy

Below is a draft of my educational philosophy statement. Ideally, I'd like to draft this to include specific statements for instruction of reading and writing.

Overview:
Teachers are students. This aphorism is perhaps the best way to sum my expectations as an educator. My primary role is to educate my students, whether it is as a “guide on the side” or “sage on the stage.” Ideally, educators must vacillate between these two paradigms, keeping enough of a balance so that our students are never bystanders as a part of the educational process. They must always be at the center of the work that we do. However, a secondary role (perhaps more essential in ranking) that educators must always keep in mind is that we should always be in a position to learn—especially from our students. Though we may have achieved a certain modicum of success, our goal is to transfer this ability to our students. We can only do this if we are constantly working to improve our practices, learn from one another, and continue searching always. We must learn to combine the abstract with the present details in order to create the change we seek to see in our students, and the world at large.