Post-FOKI!!! bookhenge

"My goal is to continually prepare my “professional” self by every means available to me. I don’t just want to hit the classrooms as an enthusiastic teacher that has his positive attitude bubble burst because he wasn’t prepared for the many challenges that face teachers every day. I want to use these classes and all the technology and information outside of these classes to equip myself for the task that is ahead."

1) I am pretty sure that I did this. "Every means available" had a lot to do with the technology involved in the class and how you constantly stretched us to use things we didn't know how to use. I feel like my growth using bookcasts aided me as a teacher to my students in the ALP process and that my professional self continually grew throughout our time together. I feel more prepared for a number of different genres, questions, and technologies as a teacher. My enthusiasm has been applied to new types of learning and for that I am very thankful. At the end of this goal, I state that I want to equip myself for the task that is ahead and I think that that definitely happened during this class.

"My goal in this class is to continue adapting my style to teaching the literature that I love. It is a simple task for me to read and soak in a great novel, but how do I share it with others? I certainly have friends that ask me about books and will bring out my opinions, and those are enriching experiences. However, it is my goal in this classroom to meet others who want the same kind of feedback and are willing to constantly challenge my literate self to not rest in stagnancy."

2) Bookcasts, book clubs, and other activities in this class certainly answered the question "but how do I share it with others?" I've always loved to read and enjoyed the process, but teaching is about sharing what I know with others and learning alongside them as we read. I feel like I learned a number of different ways for organizing my class' ability to share about what they read as well as techniques for myself in teaching the books that I love. I seriously can't wait to teach now that I have a number of options for informing students of why they should love novels. I don't believe that I "rested in stagnancy' this semester, so this goal feels accomplished.

"These games teach a number of modern skills and require a large amount of preparation and organization when you reach end-game content. The result was that I learned valuable skills while simultaneously growing to love fantasy even more. Every dungeon has a new story behind it. However, I have done very little research or implementation with these worlds and education. I see them as avenues to network and enjoy myself, but it makes perfect sense that these convenient technologies could enhance the learning experience. I can’t wait to find out more about this."

3) I enjoyed Second Life so much. I got to see what a classroom looks like inside a virtual world as well as getting a taste of author interviews in the virtual realm. Both of these stretched my understanding of what works in the virtual world and what doesn't. I won't go awkwardly into these technologies now when I understand that Second Life has a slight wait time when people are responding to a question. I also saw how much the teacher had to implement and explain and be patient with students who were struggling to use the technology. I love the idea of using virtual worlds to stretch teaching, but I have a much better understanding of the difficulties involved in doing that and wouldn't just jump into a virtual/technological undertaking without proper preparation and sincerity.

All in all, the class did wonders for me as a teacher and has me more anxious than ever to actually get into a classroom and start teaching. I learned so much and feel like I accomplished even more goals than I have listed above. Thanks again, Dr. Crissman!

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Radical Blogging- bookhenge

I understand the idea of Radical Change. I know that the shifting world will constantly shift how literature is being produced, published, and distributed. A lot of our classes at NC State manage to challenge us to teach in light of these changes. I think that is a good thing. However, when it comes to literature, to poetry and prose, I am not particularly open to "Radical Change". This was only further confirmed by my reading of "Skeleton Sky". My reaction was honestly, "who cares?". I know this isn't the most open perspective to have, but I can't really help how I read something. I'm so used to artistic productions of literature. To reading Seamus Heaney's poetry and watching how he artistically breaks the rules involved, that this particular poem was just noise to me. I clicked, and clicked, and clicked. It seemed to lead me no where.
What does this mean for me?

1) I personally won't make too much poetry or prose that is under the radical category. Do I want to write a multigenre book one day? Yes, I have it planned out. But this poetry accessing digital tools so that it can be viewed in that format was just odd to me.
2) Would I use this as a tool in a classroom? Absolutely. I'd probably have to read a lot more literature and figure out what that poetry is supposed to look like/express/be. I thought about Skeleton Sky from two perspectives... As a creator, I didn't really find it that appealing. As a teacher, I would have no idea how to grade a work like that. I suppose I need to know the person, and knowing them would help, but I just had no reference for hw good/bad or acceptable it is.
     

I actually read a lot of the books on Dresang's list. I remember liking a lot of the books listed because of the reasons described for making them an agent for "radical change" at a given point in history. I thought of Will Grayson, Will Grayson as a representative of radical change. The way the two authors incorporate facebook posts, IM, etc. It brings the true high school experience further into the picture by accessing something that is digital. I also thought of Persepolis. Graphica continues to enhance literature by adding a second sense (that of sight) and appealing to a new way to read something. I really enjoyed the read because it was no longer just on me to imagine what the author had to go through. It enhanced the comedy AND sincerity of the work in my opinion. I thought Angela's surveys were very telling... For whatever reason, I assumed that most students would have read a graphic novel. I figured they were a popular feature of that generation and thus were very common amongst students. It seems clear that a lot of students have heard about and want to read graphic novels, but some don't even understand the concept. Still others have attempted to read them, but found them confusing and unenjoyable. For the most part, however, students wanted them to be incorporated in curriculum.

The key to me in Angela's article is the general belief that graphic novels bring out desires to read in "reluctant readers, especially males." Say no more. If getting guys to read is a particularly challenging part of English classes across the nation, why aren't we implementing the things they respond best to? Also, I love the thought taht most graphic novels are redos of classic stories. We don't have to jump to something completely new and foreign that way. It acts as a way to ease into adding these to the curriculum. I just think we should constantly strive to include things that make reading more attractive to our students. If that means incorporating graphic novels into our classroom, then it needs to happen.

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The Non-Fiction Thing bookhenge

 Aronson's ideas on the subject of non-fiction were compelling certainly. I must admit that I come from a love of fiction. I have always desired to write fiction, and excelled at things that involve my creativity with other worlds; as opposed to the creativity that non-fiction requires of people and how they present us with facts about our world/life/experience. The result? I read a lot of fiction, I wrote a lot of fiction, but non-fiction got ignored.

Enter college. I became an English major and ended up reading an incredible amount of both fiction and non-fiction writing. One of my favorite classes was taught by Professor Susan Irons, and it was our The History of American Literature. Wonderful class that really did a great job of searching for literature that covered the full spectrum of American history. Our teacher did a great job of acknowledging the fact that our view of history has a lot to do with who was the victor. We have, therefore, very little record of Indian literature and historical research that speaks to their side of the issue. She did a wonderful job of being a historian and a teacher of literature. She remains one of the shining examples against all of the atrocities that Aronson spoke of today in our historical/literature approach. Aronson talked about covering history from a variety of angles and that we can really figure out something by looking at all of the historical perspectives involved. My teacher emphasizes this when she suggested I read the book Killer Angels by Michael Sahara. It covers the battle of Gettysburgh from a multitude of angles. Another book she suggested was The March, about Sherman's march. The first does a great job of allowing us to see a battle from many different military perspectives. The March does a great job of fictionalizing the perspective of slaves as well as soldiers and southern ladies of leisure.
         The majority of the English classes I had emphasized and successfully incorporated non-fiction writing. My favorite was food writing class. You can find topics that students love learning about through non-fiction because it covers real things that they deal with and see in their everyday life. What student wouldn't love a non-fiction writing assignment on food? What if you brought in a certain food at the end of the week? Kids respond to the way we plan and prepare for them. I think history and other non-fiction topics are an easy way to remind/teach them things we can't accomplish through simple fiction.

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Multicultural Book Awards- bookhenge

I have to be honest. Book awards? I understand them, appreciate them, but nothing could be further from my mind. I rarely notice stickers of achievement on books or put much store in anything other than the opinions of well-read friends. Now, would I appreciate an award for a piece of my writing? Yes, the more the merrier. For right now, though, as my writing career falls behind for a more dramatic victory, I feel very distanced from the world of book awards. I feel like there are certain circles and audiences that will view the novels that win certain prestigious awards in a new light and base their reading schedules on those same awards, but that is not that case for this guy.

                Thus, Aronson’s initial essay struck me as more of a social commentary than a commentary on the state of book awards within the ALA. However, I chose to put myself in the shoes of someone who had worked incredibly hard on an African American character. Maybe I poured over library books about the deep south and did my best to extract quotes and voice and tension from old articles, pictures, and newspapers. I really did my homework and the character I created really jumps off the page. I love the way he moves through the plot, the way he grows as a person, and how authentic he feels. Let’s go crazy and say I capture this perspective better than any other writer in a given time frame (a year, a decade, whatever). I’d be very upset that my character, who reflects a certain people from a certain time in a particularly genuine way, cannot be up for an award like the Coretta Scott King. Aronson’s point about their being multiple awards that require someone to be a specific race for eligibility being similar to two dot’s forming a line (a line that can include an infinite number of points) seems sensible. I agree that awards, no matter how distanced I feel from their significance, cannot exclude author’s based on their race. If you are excluding characters or genres in the hopes of honoring specific features of literary quality, than by all means. But, as a writer, I would be incredibly disparaged by the idea of exclusion through skin color. Aronson honors the origination of such awards and the necessity for facilitating literature within and for races that had not previously been recognized, but we are at a new place in literature. These “racially based awards” seem like a step backwards instead of a pathway to honoring authors who deserve it. While the awards may really seek out spectacular literature, it seems tainted by the lack of availability to others who wish to create stories and characters deserving of consideration.

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Melinda Awards Reflection, bookhenge

Once again, I was thankful for the livestream that allows us to go back and experience the classroom setting even if we've missed it. I wish I had been there for these awards! Everyone seemed like they had a lot of fun and we could see a number of young students speaking unabashedly about the books that they've read. I highly enjoyed the fact that students, teachers, and potential teachers meshed so well during the awards. Here are some highlights from watching the archived version:

1) Hearing about all the books... If I didn't read a certain book, I now have a feel for what kind of book it is and whether or not it's worth reading. Unfortunately, a lot of the books on the list that I had wanted to read had been difficult to find in the libraries. I had really wanted to read Rot and Ruin, and from all the reports and discussion that happened at the Melinda Awards, that desire seems justified.

2) Seeing students confidently talk about literature. They didn't have to worry about what the group would think or what people watching live might think, they just had to defend why they enjoyed something. That alone made this a worthy night to me.

3) Collaboration. So many different people working together for the sake of literature.

4) It was kind of hilarious. Perhaps not with the comedic flair that backs the Oscars or Grammy's, but it was enjoyable to watch and I know I would have been laughing if I had been there.

All in all, I thought the night seemed tremendous. I'm not sure how many students were there (it seemed like a number of the same ones came up with regularity), but for those students it is sure to be a memorable experience. I think it also gives us a great idea of how to run a book club in whatever local areas we end up being teachers and the best way to try and honor those books through ceremony and fun. Thanks for the example of a good time and a good literary book club.

bookhenge , #bookhenge

Prep for Peril and Promise of YA Literature- bookhenge

         YA literature continues to remain a mystery to me. Aronson, in section 4 of Beyond the Pale, suggests that any book can be YA literature. His final quote in the chapter reads, "To return to the publishing dilemma, a YA book is one that offers art and ideas in a fashion that communicates especially well to teenagers. A book a teenager should read, is any book". We have to keep in mind that this is from the standpoint of a publisher. I look at the book that I'm working on and assume that it isn't meant directly for teenagers. Could teenagers read it? Certainly. In the same way that a teenager might pick up a book like Tolkien's and really dive into it. However, YA authors will clearly be gearing their content and work towards a YA crowd and must offer as he says "art and ideas" in a way that "communicates especially well to teenagers".
        However, in his other article, Aronson seems to struggle with what it is that really communicates and connects well with teenagers. His article addresses the disconnect we find between knowing that YA literature is popular and what it is that kids get out of these books. Aronson says, "We know that young people respond to books. And we know that authors, parents, and teachers all try hard to mold that responsiveness through the art and text in books". So there is response and there is a host of different people trying to make literature that brings out a good quality in that response. But Aronson asserts that everything else involved in the process of YA literature is somewhat of a mystery.
         I still belive that there is something in each person, some unique perspective, that is unpredictable. Based on the myriad of experiences, dreams, hopes, and passions that each person experiences, it is hard to know what they will highlight in any given work. What they find beautiful about a certain novel or piece of art is going to be different than what any of us might see. That is why we must work on what we do control as teachers and writers. One, we can help to encourage reading and writing in every high schooler/middle schooler we meet. Two, we can continually address the content of the books we write and suggest to make sure they are positively reinforcing.
        I would clearly be a little more on the literary side of the continuum. I do have a sense of morals and I know there are certain books that contain some information that is simply not appropriate for certain high school ages and certain middle school ages to read. How would I operate then? I'd give students as many opportunities to read as possible. I'd find ways to enliven texts that really do find themselves in the canon and I would also do my best to find out what students are looking for. I might not have a book like Nothing or Will Grayson, Will Grayson involved in my classroom. However, if I know it is the type of book that would relate very clearly to one of my students that is struggling to get into the text that we're currently studying, I'd suggest it just for the sake of keeping them on their literary toes.
       I also think that Aronson makes a good point about the disconnect between YA literature creation and target audiences. He seems to suggest that by the time most writers have the writing ability necessary to go back and write about their experiences, they have lost touch with what it was like to be that age. Thus, the target audience is much harder to connect with. I had the pleasure of meeting with a young writers club at Carrboro High School the other afternoon and I encouraged them to journal, journal, and then journal some more. I showed them the quotes by Aronson about how these writers struggle to really connect to young teens. I then suggested that the more they journal, the more they write down feelings, struggles, hopes, and dreams; the easier it will be for them to look back at this time and capture it with the ever-increasing writing skill they experience as they grow as writers. They seemed extremely excited about this fact.
        It is our responsibility to encourage students towards writing and reading as often as we possiblly can. I think a lot of YA literature needs to be incorporated. Certainly, some of the classics should never go untaught, but why not use literature that has managed to connect with a rising, transforming generation.
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Back to Class, bookhenge

The title of this blog is a reference to the fact that I had to go BACK to visit our class and experienced it via the transcript and going through the archives. I wasn't there for the live session, the interaction, and I missed out on that to be sure. I love being able to react live, but it was still a wonder that our class can be made so available. I did feel like I missed the portion of live interaction, but enjoyed the fact that I didn't "miss" the content and the conversation of my classmates.
         Now, to the actual class. I thought any conversation on literary quality and the value of books for our lives, and the lives of teenagers, is a worthy one. I really enjoyed the thoughts of my classmates and how well they argued for certain books, characters, and writing to be considered. I continue to see that different people just have different perspectives. That is why we read and write. Because the things we notice and see and experience will be different than anyone else. I might have felt one thing while reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson, but I'm assured that my classmates noticed something else and I can only learn about that through sharing and conversation. I made such an effort to talk about the Cardturner because I had a perspective that I thought was worth sharing. I'm glad my classmates felt the same about the various books and points they made about them. Great class leading up to the awards.
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Thoughts on the Cardturner ( bookhenge )

 

The Cardturner by Louis Sachar. When I reflected on the number of "literary quality" ramifications that I personally set for books in my blog, this seemed to be the standout choice. I mentioned that I liked a book that eludes standards cleverly and works both with and against the general framework of most novels. The cardturner was mostly linear, but it dropped back into certain memories and kept certain knowledge hidden from us throughout the book. It was a wonderful display of understanding what to tell the reader and when to tell them. I also mentioned liking an "unlikely" plot that is made interesting through creativity, style, and character. What a fine example of that process. Sachar has taken bridge, a notoriously boring card game that upon picking up the book few people of my generation would have found interesting or worthy of our time and he has made it both. The subject is bridge... BRIDGE. And yet Sachar gives us just enough information about the game and strings it out so that we stay interested. We eventually WANT to know the next card played and wish we were there, guessing Trapp's next move. I went on to mention that literary quality involved a clear voice. I think Sachar sticks very well to our image of who Alton Richards really is. The information that is given to us only further emphasizes the fact that we are hearing from our narrator. It reminded me, quite honestly, of The Great Gatsby. A narrator that seems to be surrounded by something mighty and is trying to figure out his own way in the midst of those who have already tread loftier paths than himself. I also identified the unreliability of Alton, we have a biased view of this story and we are very specifically seeing one angle and one perspective. Sachar does well to stick to this perspective. The setting acts exactly as it is supposed to; as a backdrop. I cannot remember much detail about the various house, roads, or towns. I do have an image of the bridge tournaments, of the people, etc. This is what he wanted for his setting. The real world that sticks with us is that of bridge. The last thing I'd say is that most good stories are character driven. The plot should fall into place and everything should make sense, but the characters should be the nucleus. I think that happens in this story. Sachar quickly fleshes out characters for us to love, dislike, and be unsure of. The only criticism being that some of his characters seem too set in their despicable nature. His parents, for instance, seem overly unlikeable at points. No one can be like that all the time can they? I would have liked to see at least one or two redeeming qualities (same thing with cliff)

 

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Literature as a Performing Art- bookhenge

I have to admit that I had my doubts about this feature of the class. I saw bookcasts as a way to double check that we were expanding our knowledge of and experience with YA literature. Unfortunately, the idea of making these seemed phony to me. To report a "stirring" up inside of me and to link it to past events or present thoughts just seemed phony to me. Certainly, certain books I have read make that happen and link me back to the past in a way that I couldn't experience elsewhere. However, the thought of reading these books and just forcing a response seemed like something I could not do.

However, I broke through on my second book cast and really enjoyed creating my own story from the story that we read. It just was an interesting way to have kids thinking about something other than a summary. They have to connect the characters feelings and story to their own. It was an empowering release for me, but it also presents 2 problems in my opinion.

1) Students being afraid. They haven't experienced as much as a lot of us have (though I'm aware that some might have experienced more). A lot of kids won't know what to bookcast, they won't have an experience that the literature draws them towards. What do we do about those disconnects?

2) Why I think the disconnect is an issue is because I think it leads to a false front. High school students don't want to dig deep emotionally most of the time. I'd say that most of them might take an assignment like this and completely make some experience up that sounds like it works. We have no way of checking if the experience is authentic and moving; or just another way for that student to bs their way for a good grade. I don't see how we can check those things.

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Literary Quality

This is an interesting term to attempt to define and seems, at best, flexible. I mean sometimes the books that we expect to hold to certain standards surprise us in the way that they avoid and elude those standards. I love books that think outside of the box in terms of story and style; they take a plot that seems unlikely but entertains us through creativity. Much like my point about good fantasy being the proper escape from reality; sometimes good literature can be the proper escape from standard formats. I do think though, that a piece of literary quality has a compelling story that is told in a clear voice (another way is to have multiple voices that are so distinctintly interesting that just one clear voice would seem silly). There must be a setting that we can see, or feel, or want to see and feel. I also think that the literary quality often revolves around a character-driven story. Certainly, a lot of books get by on a clever or creative plot; but we resonate with the character and their experiences more than we do with a plot. Thus, I think a good book contains some of these things and always, always, always... a quality piece of literature transports me. To its time and place; or its line of thinking; or any number of other possibilities. If I am completely the same after reading it; why should I have read it at all?

Three is Me, Im three-- Bookhenge entry

I have to admit that my professional self has very limited experience. I am certainly engaging in many of the topics that are listed above here; curriculum, social justice, critical literacy, and creativity… However, I have no classroom and am only taking part in the theory side of this process up to date. The closest example of me as an actual “teacher” is the bible study I have led at Riverside High School for the last two years. I found this to be a useful example in my other graduate school classes when we talked about certain reading techniques that teachers employ; as I used many of them for teaching the bible to high school students. My goal is to continually prepare my “professional” self by every means available to me. I don’t just want to hit the classrooms as an enthusiastic teacher that has his positive attitude bubble burst because he wasn’t prepared for the many challenges that face teachers every day. I want to use these classes and all the technology and information outside of these classes to equip myself for the task that is ahead.

I know that the literate self requires one to responsibly immerse in literature, both that we like and that young adults of our age like. I feel like I have done just that with regularity in the past years. People talk about how graduate school can be stressful, and you’re working harder, but I feel as if I’ve never read more in my life. At every chance, I have been diving into novels. Most recently, I read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, and before that I re-read several Harry Potter books. Believe it or not, I even read the entire Twilight series. The lore behind it is strikingly rich in how it strays from typical vampire lore, and yet that isn’t exactly why most “young adults” are enjoying the series. My literate self is constantly trying to find new and intriguing reads (whether this is based off my own interests, the suggestions of friends, or the suggestions of the general public). In spite of these efforts, my literate self is also consistently surprised by what is out there and by how little I have actually been able to read! My goal in this class is to continue adapting my style to teaching the literature that I love. It is a simple task for me to read and soak in a great novel, but how do I share it with others? I certainly have friends that ask me about books and will bring out my opinions, and those are enriching experiences. However, it is my goal in this classroom to meet others who want the same kind of feedback and are willing to constantly challenge my literate self to not rest in stagnancy.

The virtual self is particularly interesting to me. While I feel particularly available in the virtual world, it became quite clear that I’m unfamiliar with a lot of the technology that teachers out there seem to be using! I use facebook for a number of things, have played MMORPG’s like World of Warcraft, and even enjoy tweeting. This is also a field that has been particularly aided by my love for video games growing up. My brothers and I were hooked on an MMORPG called Asheron’s Call when we were in middle school. We also ran a guild together in the much more modern World of Warcraft. These games teach a number of modern skills and require a large amount of preparation and organization when you reach end-game content. The result was that I learned valuable skills while simultaneously growing to love fantasy even more. Every dungeon has a new story behind it. However, I have done very little research or implementation with these worlds and education. I see them as avenues to network and enjoy myself, but it makes perfect sense that these convenient technologies could enhance the learning experience. I can’t wait to find out more about this.

Upon reflecting over what I’ve written, I noticed that it feels as if my life has been a long preparation for teaching English. I love to read and I love to write and a long time ago I did that without the knowledge that one day I would be teaching it to others. I think I want to continually have that initial sense of wonder, where I read and write for myself and as a means of enjoyment. But I also realize now how I have to mingle that initial approach with one that hones my ability to pass this sense of wonder to others. I have to find ways to share this and to inspire young adults to find the things that are worth seeing in what I already love. Sounds fun.