Response to B&B Chapter 1

Sorry for my late post…

I believe the goal of any responsible writing teacher is to create an environment, which is inviting and comfortable for their students to produce good writing pieces. I just want to ask one question here: what are you going to do with a class with over 60 students (,which is commonplace in most English classes in Asian counties)? How will you build the community there? It is for sure that students won’t write freely and express their ideas clearly when they feel uncomfortable, but facing such a huge class often makes the teachers uncomfortable (, and this is just one of their classes through the semester), not being able to know each one of their students well enough even till the end of the semester.

As for the red-ink marks on the students’ writings, many people think it means “stop” and looks scary (because of the traffic lights?), however, red is somehow the representative color of Chinese culture. We wear in red and decorate most stuffs around the house in red when it's important festival, and I’ve got used to the red marks on my exercise notebooks because I’ve seen them since elementary school. For me, those marks mean that I need to pay more attention to the particular places in my writing. Just suppose, if we return the students’ work without any marking on it, will they think that our teachers are not doing our job well? If we conduct teacher-students writing conference that will surely help them a lot, but how long will it last concerning just one piece of writing? Two weeks, or one month? What about the other elements of English learning, such as speaking, reading and listening? Maybe peer-writer conferences would be time-consuming, but who are going to monitor (maybe it’s not an appropriate word to use here) them? What if they learn from each other’s errors, say the wrong expressions and the usages of words?

Response to Ch. I

There were two main themes that really struck me from this first chapter. The first was at the beginning of the chapter, when the authors talked about student apprehension and ways to try and combat that as a teacher. It is not unusual for a high school student to be full of emotion and self-doubt, and if teachers want to see their students progress as writers, they need to be careful to grade and critique subjective assignments on the grammar and style of the student’s work, not the content. As the later part of the chapter mentioning physical and cognitive development explores, students are still working to identify “who they are” at this stage in their life and can be vulnerable to unwarranted criticism. Teachers must make sure that they, and other students who may peer-review works, avoid challenging students and rather work to let them explore their own ideas.

Secondly, around page 11 of the chapter, the authors mention the importance of immersing students in other works of literature. This seems like one of the best ways to help students develop as writers. By exploring different styles, voices, and themes, students will hopefully work to identify what other writers do well (or poorly) and try to emulate and develop these traits to fit their own intentions.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Without doubt, one of the most important aspects to teaching is learning is everyone being comfortable in their environment. Whenever someone tells me to think back on my best class in high school their is always one that stands out. It was a social studies class my sophomore year and was so much fun. There are things i would do different than the teacher i had, but overall the atmosphere he had is something i will strive for. 

Every student knew upon entering this social studies class that they were going to have fun. the teacher was able to make the students feel comfortable no matter what their background which caused a great community atmosphere in the classroom. One of the things i remember about him was that he made us feel like he was one of us, while still having authority. He told us stories made us realize that he was human like us and not just a teacher. Although it is dangerous to straddle the line between friend and teacher, i think you can build a relationship with your students that will lead to a feeling of comfort in the classroom and ultimately to a better learning atmosphere.

In my first few days as a teacher i want to get my students laughing, sharing stories, and embracing their differences. There is so much that we can learn from each other as long as we are not afraid or uncomfortable. The quote on page 7 from Ralph Waldo Emerson says, "The secret of education lies in respecting the pupil." I think the key hear is the idea of repect. Not only must we as teachers respect our students, but they must learn to respect us and each other. This starts by getting the students talking to one another about their differences and experiences, and not trying to hide them.

Extra: Doesn't B&B mean "Boiled & Baked," as in the best way to cook a bagel is to boil it then bake it? I don't know, i still prefer Panera.

Jared

B&B insights...

Having read all your posts, I'm wondering what many of you would do on your first few days of school. Some of you aren't on board with many of the B&B philosophies, and many of you are. But talking about them in theory is just that...theory. Building community is probably THE most important lesson a teacher teaches. How would you do it?

On p. 3, writing apprehension is attributed to two factors, one of which is 'the lack of a positive classroom climate.' On p. 7, the psychological environment a teacher creates is primary among the 'cultivation of an attitude of openness to new thoughts, feelings, and insights about their own teaching.' So for both the student and the teacher, atmosphere and climate are a top priority. Murray motivates us to be facilitors, not teachers. So the answer is for all of you to create a safe environment in which learning can occur...

How will you accomplish that?

Confidence in the Classroom

The overall theme that I extracted from this chapter is probably the importance of the factors that contribute to successful writing—mainly that of students feeling comfortable in the classroom. I think back to my favorite classes in high school and I find that they were classes in which I felt comfortable being myself. The classes in which everyone gets along and laughs at the same things and everyone is free to speak his or her mind are the classes that stick out to us.

 This chapter presents different ways in which to create an environment that would support success and unity in the classroom. Those classes that stick out in my mind displayed life and interest, even though there were no windows. There were posters, photographs of trips my teachers had taken around the world, senior pictures, quotations, newspaper clippings, books that weren’t required reading, etc. There was also more to my teachers than just the curriculum. They truly were interested in who we were as people. I still remember in my sixth grade class, every Monday we would sit in a circle and each person would share what he or she did that weekend. It sounds like a time-filler but we got to know what people liked to do, what their families were like, and what problems they were going through. I really think it made us all closer. Other students from that class, and even my teacher, still talk about what a unique year that was for all of us. Chapter One outlines some activities teachers can use in their classes to create a sense of unity among their students. If students feel comfortable around one another, they will be more comfortable writing and sharing. I really like the idea of incorporating that unity into class everyday, whether it’s mixing up the seating arrangement, talking about our weekends, going to the sporting events they’re in, or facilitating Socratic Seminars.

 It also touched briefly on the editing process. In my senior English class, we would peer edit in groups of three by reading our papers aloud. This process contributed to our writing skills in a way that just having the teacher mark up the paper would not have. Listening to someone’s personal narrative really gave insight into who they were as a person and a writer. Just as reading literature benefits students’ writing, listening to each other is another way of improving those skills.

B&B makes it happen

So on the first or second day of school we'd get into a big circle and throw a nerf ball at each other and ask "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?" or we'd have to fill out a get-to-know-your-classmates survey with questions like "who's eyes are blue?" and "find someone who went out of the country for summer vacation." My gosh, that stuff made me gag. And I still find myself doing them in some college classes (though rarely are they as juvinile). They still annoy me. I never feel much more secure with my classmates and I don't feel like I really get to know them. I'm not willing to put it all out there in the first few days of class. I like that (most of) the options B&B offer are more geared toward helping the teacher get to know the student. Student interactivity, in my opinion, doesn't happen in those artificial get-to-know-you exercizes. I happens gradually. Quickly establishing a rapport with the students is valuable, but I am not a big fan of ice-breaker type activities.

I think an effective tool to have students get to know one another (which will take time) is to regularly change the seating arrangement, make students step outside their comfort zone. I think it helps if all the students are at least a little bit uncomfortable (or partially apprehensive in new territory) so no one feels isolated and that everyone begins to sympathize with eachother. I think it's important for teachers to identify what cliques have been established in the class, who gravitates toward whom, and to make sure (probably after a few weeks of class) that students get a fair amount of exposure to all their classmates (even the "annoying" ones). Kids will make sure to run into their best friend before and after class but they won't always make a concerted effort to sit next to or talk to someone outside their circle of friends. I think an important step toward establishing a writing environment would be to help students gain a comprehensive understanding of their classmates. Obviously this is bigger than just a seating arrangement, but it's a start, I think.

I like that this class is a follow up from last semesters reading-intensive class, because good reading fosters good writing. Imitation as a form of teaching resonates across several different mediums (ex: music, art). If students are active readers (like B&B say) they will be pretty decent writers because they have a reference point. After reading Franney and Zooey last semester, I wrote a short story for my fiction class trying to imitate Salinger's writing style. I can't say I was completely successful but it helped me get past that feeling (the feeling we all feel before writing) that I had nothing to say or no distinct voice to say it in. Building a good reading catalogue opens your eyes to certain techniques that make writiting worth-while. Students can easily establish their own voice because no one read exactly the same material (that is, if they are reading outside of class).

B&B reminded me of Bagel & Bagel...

Although the title of this entry has nothing to do with Chapter 1, it sparked some ideas of mine as I am thinking about what I've read and responded to. What really triggered my mind during this chapter was the section about Room Decor, on pages 6 and 7. I think back to some of my own high school classrooms and it is clearly obvious that the classrooms that had the neatest and most student-oriented decorations were the classes that I performed the best in, learned the most in, and grew to be my favorites. This section from chapter 1 dealt with temperature, lighting, decorations, seating, and everything else that SHOULD BE conducive (or serve as a super-catalyst) for student learning in this case - writing! And it's so true. My classes in college now are so boring to look at that they are boring to be in. The chairs are squeaky, it's often too hot or too chilly. And it's true. In none of these classrooms would I want to snuggle up with a pen and paper to write.

As I think about how I'd like my classroom to be, I invision color. Lots of posters and inspiration and artwork - most from which I want to be from the students. If they see student work all around them, how can it not induce learning?! I want their to be chairs and bean bags that are comfy for my students. Just like we talked about the classroom environment for reading workshop, students should be able to be comfortable when they write as well. And back to my observation about Bagel & Bagel - maybe have a snack or a warm drink for the students. Everyone likes to eat, so this too would help in the writing process.

My goal is to have everything available for student learning. If they don't want to be in my classroom (like the physical atmosphere) they surely won't want to contribute. So if I can create a place that students enjoy being and feel comfortable in, then student learning will most definitely happen!

-Lacy Donaldson

Call me crazy, but...

I love classical literature.  I love analyzing the social contexts of the time to see how it influenced writers and their writings.  I also got a kick out of my History of the English Language class.  What can I say?  I'm a nerd.  Anyways, I had no doubt in my mind that I would take this passion I have for literature and carry it over into my classroom.  However, I have been steadily realizing that that is not at all realistic, and my students hate me already.  I have also come to the realization that part of building a community in my classroom must be grounded in what I teach.  As much as I love Austen, many of my readers (and writers) will have troubles relating to her and the social context of the time.  Don't get me wrong, I still think that it is important for students to understand literature through history and vice versa, but that can no longer be my focus.  My focus needs to be on the needs of my students.  I need to use more contemporary literature from various backgrounds.  I loved The House on Mango Street because it gave insight into a life and culture that is not my own.  I can see using it in my classroom, and I can also see more students relating to it as opposed to Pride and Prejudice (I hope they still read it though!).  I also loved how she addressed gender issues as well as class and culture issues.  This book is captivating, insightful, and completely relevant to our cause.

Community Building Activities for High School

I really liked how this chapter started off with talking about the community of students within a classroom, because I think that this is the key for so many things, including improving students' writing. The classes that I loved the best in high school (and, looking back, the ones I actually learned the most in) were the classes that offered this sense of community--everyone became friends in the class, and it just had that atmosphere that is so ideal for a classroom, one in which everyone feels comfortable with themselves and with each other, and this cultivated awesome learning. The B & B chapter called this a "positive/nurturing classroom climate," and this is what every classroom needs. But I think it is up to the teacher to set the tone for this, and I think it is going to be really tricky.

I didn't really like some of the activities/examples the book offered, like the backpacking activity and the "yarn and stuff" activity. I don't think I would have liked to do these in high school; they almost seem as if they are more something that we would have done in middle school or even elementary school. I don't really know what the best way is to cultivate this community, but I think it will be interesting to see how that develops in the classroom. Being laid back and personable I think will go a long way in encouraging this.

Establishing a Writing Environment

The section that stood out to me the most was "Reading Aloud." Last semester, my Curriculum and Instruction teacher, Jill Ostrow (who I absolutely loved), suggested that we avoid asking our students to read aloud at all costs. This threw me for a loop, because I was the student who jumped at the chance to read aloud. I got tired of hearing my teacher read all the time, but also became frustrated when a slower reader was picked over me! This is where Jill's experience provided a great explanation: Many students become anxious/uncomfortable/embarassed when asked to read aloud due to their reading abilility or speaking in front of a group in general. B&B uses Hall and Moats' list of six benefits for reading aloud, one being that, "The child identifies reading as a pleasurable activity" (13). I have to disagree; not all children enjoy reading aloud. Jill also admitted that asking for volunteers becomes problematic, too, because the reader focuses solely on accuracy instead of comprehension. This rang especially true for me, since I would have to go back and re-read what I had just read aloud to the class for understanding.

B&B goes on to suggest that children should be read TO for many reasons with which I totally agree. But I wonder, How do we incorporate reading aloud in the classroom where the students can also participate?

Scared to Share

I did my inquiry paper at the end of last semester on students' apprehension to writing so I am familiar with a lot of the information contained in this chapter. One question I still had that this chapter answered was whether students are more apprehensive to write formal essays or informal writing that contains personal experience. I was kind of surprised to learn that Blasingame and Bushman say students are more apprehensive to write personal narratives. This is so interesting because it makes me think that students aren't reluctant to the activity of writing as much as they are to sharing their own personal feelings and ideas. Realizing this shows me how important it is to establish a safe, comfortable writing environment.

In a way, I think The House on Mango Street ties in with this idea of being scared to share who you really are with others. In the novel, Esperanza is so ashamed of not living in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. She is ashamed of being poor and different than how she thinks she should be. In her introduction, Sandra Cisneros describes how, in a way, she is Esperanza. She was ashamed to be the poor, hispanic female. She also describes how she realized her differences and turned her shame into celebration. She used her differences to find her own unique voice and write about things no one else could write about. I think that this is what many of us want for our students. We want them to realize their differences but to celebrate them and not be scared to share them in writing. Being the Caucasian, middle-class female that I am, I don't often feel like I am unique or have the heritage of people like Sandra Cisneros. I realize now that I've still had different experiences than others and I can develop my own unique voice and write about things that others cannot. As writers, we need only to dig for the things that make us unique, not be scared to "break the rules," and not be scared to share our feelings, experiences and ideas with others.

B-Squared Response

"In many classrooms, students write with very little frequency;therefore, they often have a negative attitude about the process of writing" (B & B 5).

I couldn't have said it better myself. Growing up, I was under the impression that reading was a lost art. Everywhere I looked, no one seemed to be reading, yet it was constantly being encouraged. But unless it was a required text, no one I knew read books. Looking back on my public education upbringing, I wish I would have read more often, but instead, I took pleasure in writing. I'd pour my thoughts on paper and approach every sentence searching for perfection. Each sentence was a puzzle to me. A puzzle that required ten to twenty pieces, but I had thousands of pieces to choose from. I always wanted to find the perfect combination to make it sound just right. With that said, I plan to bring back the art of writing in my classrooms. Before anyone makes any assumptions about me forgetting how important reading is, which is bad because when you assume, you make a....well never mind, I'll keep it PG. But anyways, I do recognize that there is a huge amount of importance in reading. Reading and writing basically go hand in hand. Without one, you can't improve on the other.

From this chapter, I enjoyed the section on how beneficial a "letter to the teacher" can be. I have used this technique before and enjoyed it. I feel that it is a great way for a teacher to better understand the backgrounds of his or her students and get a better overall feeling of where the class stands as writers. This technique should be used throughout the year to increase communication between teacher and student which will hopefully lead to a more comfortable classroom atmosphere.

Chapter One

I enjoyed reading this chapter, because I think it was easy reading; it was easy to follow and digest. However, I am a little apprehensive about some of the activities, especially the team building ones. Sometimes when I read suggestions for class activities in texts that I encounter in the teacher prep program, I think, wow that's a great idea, but it seems like a great idea for sixth graders, not high school students. When I think back to high school, I always hated being made to do activities like that. There are lots of other good ways for students to get into the class or to build a sense of classroom community - ways that make students feel as though they are being treated as young adults.

It is important to avoid burdening a student with a returned essay full of red marks, but at the same time, I think it is dangerous to take this idea to far. I know teachers in grad. classes I've had who say they even refuse to use red pen - they use purple or green, with the idea that this will be less hurtful to students who don't write well. This seems a little ridiculous; sometimes I think we over-worry about hurting students "self-esteem". At the same time, there are lots of good ways to critique a student's writing without making them feel terrible or reluctant to write. It would be a good idea to meet with students who aren't strong writers, even if it has to be outside of class time, and to discuss their papers personally. One of my college professors did this, and I really liked it, because we had the opportunity to explain what we were thinking during the writing process, and if something came out awful on paper, we could clarify it, or at least work with the professor to understand how we might re-work it. It made me feel like the teacher really had an interest in helping me write better.

Response to Ch. 1

I feel like chapter one reiterated multiple points I have been familiarized with over and over again. It seems obvious to me that the more apprehensive a student is about their writing, the lower the quality of the writing is going to be. It also seems obvious that reading helps promote good writers and that the two come hand in hand. I can not really imagine an English classroom without reading or writing. The question that I have is if marking a student's essay up with red pen heightens their anxiety towards writing then how do we express to the students what they did wrong and right within their essays? Perhaps we could return the essays unmarked, talk over a few key points that the students had difficulties with and then give them the opportunity to redo them? I'm not really sure, but it seems to me that corrections do need to be made. Perhaps we can focus on the positive as well as the negative when returning papers and also have some writing which is simply for completion points that only receives positive feedback?
Another issue I had with the chapter was the activites that were suggested for team building. I don't know if you all agree or not but they seemed a little young for high school students. I remember when we would do some of these activities it was more moan and groan for a lot of students because many of them are activites that seem to be designed for ten year olds. I think there are better ways to build community such as students interviewing each other and presenting information on each other to the class or bringing songs they feel represent themselves. I do like the letter to the teacher idea though.

Ch. 1 Response

I had the same problem with this reading that I have with most educational textbooks. Although I agree with with the majority of the ideas presented, I'm also kind of overwhelmed. This first chapter covered a lot of material which seems almost impossible to remember, let alone incorporate into the classroom. Texts like this that try to offer too much information at one time cause me question my ability to become a good teaher. I admit this is a bit of an extreme reaction to one chapter of one textbook but I worry about not being able to put all these ideas together to create an encouraging and effective teaching style.
However, despite the insecurities that arose from the text, I did really like some ideas. Specifically, the point that it is important to incorporate age appropriate literature to help student become more comfortable with their writing. It's obvious that students must develope an interest in literature to see the value of writing, but more importantly that the are exposed to literature geared toward them. It's unreasonable to expect a student to write like a classical author therefore it's unreasonable for classical works of literature to be the only reading students are exposed to. As a result students will start to see that writing is not a talent that only some possess; everyone can write in their own way.

Chapt 1

I really enjoyed reading the first chapter and I think that is saying something because I usually can't stand reading textbooks. B&B did a good job incorporating different ideas that a teacher can use in the classroom. I really liked the section "Making it Happen in the Classroom" I think that a teacher's first day can be so nerve racking, both for the students and for the teacher, that it allows everyone to open up and get to know each other. The different ideas listed also allows for me to see how the students write without being intimidating. For an example, the idea of having the students writing an autobiography about themselves will allow me to get to know who they are as well as allowing the students to write without being pressured about a grade. Or the idea of "Who Am I", I can use that at anytime during the school year. It will allow the students to explore who they really are and I can make it an assignment-a poetic assignment!

I also thought it was real interesting how the authors make a connection with reading and writing. I think the authors make a really good point when they say on page 11, "When student writers realize that authors deliberately choose certain words and that they begin sentences and paragraphs differently depending on the effect they wish to produce, students begin to emulate and experiment, trying to find what is best for them, and thus become better writers." I think it will be a challenge to make students "want" to write but if I give them a comfortable environment and introduce them to different ways of writing, I think I can conquer that challenge. A good way to do that is just like the example in the book-where someone reads the first few paragraphs of 5 or 6 books and let the students free write or maybe create their own story around what was read aloud!

B&B Ch. 1 Response

There were several things in this chapter that I agree with, and also a couple that I’m not so sure of. First, I like the idea of creating a more relaxed reading/writing environment for the students by providing comfortable furniture in the class such as a sofa. I had a couple of class growing up that had sofas, bean bag chairs, or recliners for us to do our silent reading in and I loved it. We all know that being somewhere where we are relaxed and comfortable allows us to focus more on what we are reading and comprehend the text more fully. I’m not sure, however, that all of the ideas listed are appropriate for a high school classroom (realizing the book is for middle school as well), such as drawing a picture of a window where there is none. It seems like this idea would seem a little silly to a high school student, unless the teacher went above and beyond o make it more realistic. What, for example, did the teacher do if it was raining? Or Snowing? Having separate drawings prepared for such inclement weather could provide amusement and a topic of discussion for the class. Of course a nighttime scene would also be need for parent conferences and open house.
Something I hadn’t thought of before but agree with is the authors’ suggestion that we try to teach more at the students’ cognitive level, rather than always trying to prepare them for the next step before they have grasped the current one. I remember always hearing in junior high the phrase quoted in the book: “they’ll need it when they get to high school” and it always seemed unfair that they were trying to skim over what we needed to know then to get to what we were going to learn later anyway. Perhaps trying not to get too far ahead would allow teacher s to focus more deeply on their own curriculum and the students could master each concept before moving on to the next.

Reaction to B&B

Hey, folks. I thought I'd try to get this party started. :) What struck me in B&B is their references to the reading/writing connection. We hear this so often, but sometimes it's just glossed over. On page 13, they state, "Students who were exposed to interesting literature improved their writing skills," and then added later, "Students must read literature that speaks to them." These statements hit all the bells and whistles in my head. When students--heck, anyone!--reads something that interests him/her, it will naturally translate into what he/she is writing. When I read some authors, at times I can clearly see the evidence of what they are reading right then.

I think part of the reason B&B lit such a spark with this thread is that Dr. Fox has his class reading NEA's "To Read or Not to Read," which discusses how more and more Americans (especially teens and twenty-somethings--your age group) are reading less and less literature voluntarily. And this decrease is reflected in many elements of society--those people are making less money, thus having a lower standard of living, and are less likely to do charitable work, which is frightening when we consider how much "the poor" in our country rely on charitable institutions to survive (I used quotes because this phrase is becoming corrupted, I think, but I can't think of another term to use right now). Those characteristics are just a few of the negatives. But the real question here is--how as English teachers do we implant within our students not only the reasoning to see the benefits in reading and writing voluntarily but also the sheer pleasure in both acts?

Okay, I feel like I'm starting to ramble (is that symptomatic of blogging or just me--don't answer, rhetorical question), so I hope this makes sense.

Welcome to the class Blog!

Welcome back, everyone!
We've had wonderful time together through the past semester.
We anticipate further understandings, trust, and your unique thoughts through the communication on this blog!
Please post and share your reflections over the readings and your writings on this space:)