Ebonics

Today in class our group had an awesome discussion about the chapter "What Should Teachers Do?" The chapter was very interesting - it really exposed the issue of "Standard English" and how the dialect that students speak that enhances their personality and their culture (otherwise known as Ebonics). It's important to realize that language is a comfort zone - the way you speak at home is typically ingrained as "normal" to younger children. When they are confronted with a reason to change and to forget who they are (so to speak), students face a decision. There are students who will refuse to change and become deviant as a result. And there are others who want to conform and start to resent who they are and hate their culture. 

Our group had a great representation of that repressed feeling: although not all of us necessarily speak in dialect deemed as “Ebonics” we all felt that we have had to hold back a part of us in order to fit in, whether it be with peers, job interviews, in classes we’ve taken, and in our every day lives. Stephen brought his grades as his prop, proving that he is nearly a 4.0 student, yet he is unsure if he will be able to land a job after he is done earning his license and degree. What was interesting is that our entire group empathized with Stephen in our own different ways. We feel as if we must hide who we are in certain situations to gain entry into this world we are about to be in (or already are!). It’s frustrating to see that we are feeling this pressure to conform underneath it all.

The article was an excellent way to expose this issue of Ebonics and how it truly can be detrimental to students when teachers handle it the wrong way. It can cause students to curl up and never want to participate or develop a hatred for school. We all have our own unique way of being an individual – it is crucial to keep that individuality alive in our future students! 

Common School and Whigs and Things

I thought today's class was a lot of information thrown at us all at once. I liked how each group got to explore one section in depth to make sense of everything. It was difficult to sort each group on the scale of liberal and conservative, but made me think really carefully at the same time about how to interpret it in the context of the time period.

Specifically, I was in the group that discussed the Whigs. In comparison to the Jacksonian Democrats, the Whig-Democrat debate essentially reflected a "general concern about how schools should be controlled and whose values should be taught in a school's curriculum" (Spring 96). It really put into perspective how much the idea of education has been pulled in different directions over the past couple of centuries. It reflects how we interpret government involvement, who has control over schools, and what curriculum should entail. It's so difficult to regulate curriculum and what constitutes a college degree, high school diploma, and what it all means to emerge an educated person from the United States.

I definitely agree that there should be some sort of standard throughout the country. If a state like Texas has a proficiency rate on a test of 30% and Massachusetts at 85%, then Texas looks like it has a "smarter" state in terms of education. However, the standard that the students are being held to is much lower than that of Massachusetts. It doesn't make sense to me that a high school diploma might mean something different in one state than in another. However, I do not believe that teachers and schools should be held completely accountable (in terms of their job and pay) based on standardized tests that the students take. The teachers can be monitored by other standards, like observation. Their jobs should not rely completely on a standardized test that doesn't penalize the students for poor results.

I liked how the reading traced back to the beginning origins of this debate in terms of who determines what a school is, what standards it has, and how it's funded. It helps to show just how controversial this issue is and how much the educational system in this country is turned in circles every few years with attempts to reform it for the better. Maybe some day we'll get it right!

Response to the First Week of Class

I wanted to group the entire first week's response together just as a reaction to the new atmosphere of the class and the exciting topics we are beginning to uncover. Our discussions as a class have been very interesting - the part I love most about the graduate program is the fact that everyone is at a different stage in their lives. It's so great to be able to generate this incredible amount of feedback from such a wide variety of people and to hear so many different ideas and interpretations of experiences and ideas inside our books.

Specifically, I think today's class (Thursday, June 23) was exceptionally interesting. In a follow-up to yesterday's discussion, I thought it was great that we received the chance to branch out and use a creative outlet to express the themes and topics at large from our readings. It was very beneficial to use a group presentation rather than a class discussion. I felt our representations of the text were very deep and had many emotional and real-life ties to the material.

As a future educator in the field of English, class discussion is very important. It is a central idea of the curriculum, to be able to discuss passages from a text and analyze its purpose. However, the idea of picking out key quotes and identifying certain themes, motifs, and character analysis of a text can be repetitive and boring. Although it is important to know how to do it, class discussion should not be overused. In fact, I've learned in a year of graduate school that there are an infinite amount of ways to convey these ideas to a class. It's crucial to keep students' minds working and exploring new material. I love the idea of using technology in a classroom, using the arts to express ideas in a different forum, and enhancing peer-to-peer relationships through close work with a classmate.

In my experiences, the best classes were those that allowed me to explore the material in the way that I felt most comfortable or a way that was in some way or another different from the usual lecture. I had an English class in college that was an in-depth study of Dylan Thomas during the month of January. This intensive class included several different ways to explore the Welsh author's writing. We listened to his poetry in his unmistakable voice, old recordings that our professor played on her ipod. We were assigned parts in his play for voices, "Under Milk Wood" and we recorded our parts, added in sound effects, and broadcast our version of his play on our school radio station. We performed close readings and recited his poetry aloud. It was an excellent exploration of Thomas. I was so engaged in the class that the month flew by. We worked so hard on developing our analysis without even knowing it. Our professor made it relevant to us and we were allowed to take it wherever we wanted.

Through my experience with a very interactive and creative professor, I cannot help but reflect on the readings we have perused so far. The history of our education system is one of constant change. Although it is difficult to create the "perfect" educational system for a country, the change is a positive sign. We have come a long way from the strict rows, physical punishment by teachers, and one-room school houses for a multitude of age groups. The role of a teacher is also shifting. The idea that students can function on their own in a classroom (assigning 30-40 kids to a class and assuming the teacher can teach all of them in a personal, individual manner) and that the role of a teacher is being swept under the rug like it isn't a respected profession. WHAT?! It is one of the most important professions out there! How else can we educate the next generation's doctors or scientists or businessmen? Oh, I forgot. They'll learn themselves. The frustration is unbearable at times.

Our education system will never be perfect. No one ever is. Today's class was a fantastic way to show that we learn from these imperfections and become better people from reading about the past and pinpointing mistakes. Each group was able to take a prop, a piece of them, and relate it to a past experience in relationship to the readings about education. "Why Teach?" was an excellent way to convey the reasons why we push ourselves to be the best teacher for our students. It's awesome to be able to take a piece of the past and allow it to propel you to be who you want to be for others. I'm honored to be part of such an impacting profession.

WebLog 1: Class Survey

Hello, my name is Kennan Killeen and I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so naturally attending graduate school in Cleveland was a tough choice! I begin my pre-student teaching adventure in the fall with Mrs. Spisak at Cleveland Heights High School. If given the choice, I would absolutely love to teach 11th grade English - my interests lie with American Literature (19th century) and I love the periods like the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil War because the literature is so vast and incredibly rich in culture. I attending Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, PA (about 45 minutes south of Pittsburgh) and earned my Bachelors Degree in English while playing 4 years of Division III collegiate basketball.

My "special" qualities and interests definitely lie with sports! I am the Graduate Assistant for the women's basketball team here at John Carroll and it's a great atmosphere to work in. I think that teaching is definitely taking over as my ideal job (rather than college coaching), however I would still like to remain involved in athletics, whether that be with my kids - coming far along down the road - or at the high school level where I am teaching. I love educating people and sharing knowledge. The biggest natural high I can get is with seeing the light bulb turn on with other people. The "aha" moment is something I strive to aid in creating. I also love reading great books and discussing key elements for hours with others. It's my passion and I'm excited to finally start my own teaching path using what I've learned from teachers from my own experience.

In terms of learning style, I have to be able to communicate comfortably with my peers and professor or teacher for me to learn as much as possible. I learn from mistakes and if I am afraid to make a mistake then I am not as willing to participate. I love to talk out my issues or confusion with assignments or readings, and I am a very interpersonal learner - if I can relate a reading to a personal experience or one of someone I am close to, I am able to interpret the material in my own unique way. I also have to be adequately prepared for class if I want to participate. If I have not read the material for class, I like to listen to others. Or, if I feel very confused about a reading, I like to listen first to help me interpret and understand it. As I've taken more education classes here at John Carroll, I have realized the type of learner I really am. And I always gravitate towards projects and mediums that are geared towards interpersonal learners and extroverts. It's all starting to make sense!

I have a brother with Asperger's and I've noticed that as I grew up I really liked taking care of him and helping him out with tasks - especially related to school. The experiences I share with him are what drive me to want to teach people and work to be the best and most effective teacher I can be.

As a high school student, my interest in becoming a teacher was sparked by two different experiences - one great and one terrible. My 11th grade English teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer during the summer before I entered 11th grade. She made class 4 days a week and we had a substitute (a very active and capable substitute, I may add) who helped to plug the class along when she had treatments or was too sick to come to school. Her perseverence and utter passion for teaching was honestly enough to make me cry. I'm not a very emotional person at all, but her drive was unbelievably inspiring. I wanted to make an effort to actively participate and make her job easier. I also helped her out after class and did menial tasks for her. She is healthy now and is close to retiring. I ended up, per her recommendation, following where her sons went to school (W&J) and pursuing a degree in English. My next year in high school, I tried AP English as Mrs. Booth recommended. My teacher was rude, cut throat, and very unwelcoming. It was a very rigid environment that was not at all what I envision an English classroom should be like. I was miserable. I dropped the class in three weeks and went on to take a Shakespeare class and a satire class. Although they were lower-level (not Honors or AP), I was much happier - even though I felt I was cheating myself out of a great college-level exploration of an English class. These two years combined made me love English and hate poor teachers. It drove me to educate myself to the fullest extent about new ways to teach and different mediums and ways to engage every type of learner.

That's about all I have! Any other questions, feel free to ask. I am a very outgoing individual :)