Contact

If anyone wants to get in contact with me, here is my contact information.

Chris Byron
15955 South Canaan Rd
Athens, OH 45701
cbyron@thecareercenter.net
740-438-3614

annotated bibliographies

Your Annotated Bibliographies are now available on the OU AWP website under resources for research.


I will miss you all. I hope the rest of your summer is restful.

The Survey You Have to Complete

Here is the link to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3X8738N

Babble On.

Loved today.

What a day! Mary Ann's lesson set the perfect tone for the afternoon's powerful narrative readings, didn't it? Wow. Walking down the hill to my car, I got all teary thinking about the impact of everyone's personal narratives...until my backpack unzipped itself and all its contents cascaded to the sidewalk for all to see, then I felt like an extremely self-conscious middle schooler, frantically scooping it all up, looking around to see who was watching (Hi, Lena! The new laptop survived!) inspecting my Land's End panda backpack zipper for breakage. If that had happened when I was 13 in front a cute boy or perhaps the popular girls I would have run straight home and written to my diary about how humiliating the whole event was! (I guess I'm doing that now, aren't I?) Some things never change.

Off to work on the annotated bib, which is not nearly as entertaining as rereading another diary from 1977 that I JUST found an hour ago while cleaning out my messy briefcase. I promise I won't subject you to any more after this, but just for fun, here's an entry on my first teaching gig ever:

January 11, 1977 (age 10)
Dear Diary,
Guess what? I am an official piano teacher! Yes, that's right, I gave Marsha Williams her very first piano lesson at 4:00 this afternoon. Aren't you proud of me? Well, I hope so. After the lesson, Mommy and I planted some dwarf trees.
Love, Cathy

Mimi Hughes

Mary Ann- Great demo! And wonderful ideas! You are an awesome teacher and make it look so easy.

Also, great stories today everyone. Wow. I felt like we all needed a hug at the end of the day today. Intense and amazing stories. They left me kind of speechless. Whew...

Love you guys.

Mary Ann's Poetry Demo

I believe that Mary Ann has a great love and devotion to her students and their overall well-being, and she strives to help them to build self-esteem through positive awareness.  Mary Ann has shown us how we can reinforce caring for one another in her demo, and she did it in a fun and non-threatening way by creating a scenario by using  the post-its that the students could build upon.  I loved her use of the "I Am Poem" because even though poetry is not my forte, this lesson does help to introduce the concepts of poetry in a class. This could be a fun way to begin a unit on poetry, and this could be the framework for maybe using the same poem to create multiple styles of poetry; for instance, take the idea from free verse, to ballads, to even sonnets (but form would have to be seriously revised to fit into a 14 line sonnet, but the concept could still shine through)!  I loved the lesson, and though I really am not into country music at all, that song was interesting and relevant to the lesson.  Job well done!

Finally...

This just in! Don is reading us his twitters right now.

This morning's discussion on the inquiry paper and rhetorical analysis was really helpful. We all seem to have this deep-seated fear of doing it wrong because we have been so programmed to write research papers and essays with an idea and a plan before we get started. I'm really fighting this urge to start with my opinion first because I DO have an opinion about my inquiry but I am trying to ignore it and open myself up a bit more to be more questioning. Things seem to be coming together, thankfully!

Annotated Bib and Inquiry Paper

I think that the discussions we had before lunch were helpful with giving these two assignments some sort of direction. Before, I was just floating somewhere out in cyberspace hoping to catch a wave that would take me in some of direction. Now, I think I at least have some place to begin my journey.

Tuesday

Ethel did a great job on her lesson. I like the fact that she made Dr. Seuss a person instead of a name on the cover of a book.

I also found Don's explanations helpful. The six terms should come in handy when I'm writing. I found that time well spent. As I'm writing my bib, I find that I have to stop and look different examples of how to credit one author, multiple authors. OWL was helpful. thanks! :)

Inquiry Paper and the Annotated Bib

While I didn't have any questions or concerns about the annotated bibliography, I was thankful for the discussion of the inquiry paper. I knew the basic difference between a traditional research paper and an inquiry paper, but I wasn't quite sure about how we should structure it. After this morning, I think I've got it now for how this beast should work. :) My only problem right now is trying to get a grasp on all the ideas floating around in my head and how to channel that into the paper. I am researching the uses of digital writing, especially digital storytelling, in the classroom and how it can help struggling writers, but how I want that to look on paper is eluding me. As I read my articles, my mind starts thinking about what I can do in the fall to incorporate all of this into my classroom. I have a running list of things I want to try and change in regards to technology but that isn't helping me with getting this paper done....argh! Time to face the first challenge in this jumble of my mind....the annotated bibliography.

Big message, small lecture

Ethel-

What a brilliant lesson! I wish that I could be in your class every March. What fun! I was amazed at how much we learned and how little that you actually had to lecture. Brilliant, I say! And multi-media WOW! You taught us through the PowerPoint, google video, and think-pair-share. I loved all of that. I sometimes do an Earth Day program in April and will definately be stealing the Lorax lesson. Thanks for the awesome lesson!

12 July: Annotated Bib and Seuss

Don, thank you for taking time to clarify so many items this morning. I've done annotated bibliographies before, but sometimes the expectations vary somewhat beyond the summary component. It was beneficial, too, to dialogue about the inquiry paper. My question is still evolving--I just hope I sort it all out before the deadline ;-( I also liked your explanation of the rhetorical triangle, ethos, pathos, and logos. I could probably have given you definitions had you asked, but your analogy gave a much deeper understanding of the concepts. Now, I'm wondering, how do I address those in the classroom?????? Lots to think about......

Ethel, I really enjoyed your demo this morning. I appreciated the background information delivered in the power point...so many things I did not know about Dr. Seuss! I think The Lorax could be a powerful vehicle for discussion and persuasion in the high school setting; I think students would really respond to the message of the piece. Thanks for exposing us to it. You had a great variety of delivery options for your lesson. Well done!

Great Job, Ethel!

Ethel, you did a great job today! I would love to use, Oh the Places You'll Go, in my high school choir class. I'm toying with the idea of reading them a page a day and then having them do a short journal entry at the beginning of class or maybe at the end. We shall see. I also loved your "think, pair, share" activity. It was fun, useful, and will work with my choir students as well. I enjoyed the short movie...I'm really inspired now to go plant some trees (and educate my students about conserving our environment)!

Ethel's Demonstration

Great job Ethel! I really never considered how useful Dr. Seuss could be in my classroom in addition to the think pair share. So once agian thanks for great new ideas from the demos. I appreciate that Ethel believes that children's literature can have great power. She believes that one of the many definitions of teaching includes being a social awareness advocate. I also thought she did a great job of honoring different learning styles of her students by using the books, PowerPoint, video, collaborative activity, etc. I also thought that she showed her belief that writing is a community activity meant to be shared at times. The part I best liked was the second and third column. The second column really required the student to listen to their partner and record. I like the form that makes the students really listen to each other, which is a skill. Finally the third column was a chance to further the discussion and make decisions on what ideas they felt were worth sharing. The basic concept of think, pair, share is entirely applicable in my classroom. I can see it as a quick entrance to the room, "What was a reaction you had to last night's reading?" and pair and share to focus students into the class. I can see it as a bigger context such as "Come to class with an informal one page analysis of the chapter..." So the basic concept is easily applicable.

Ethel's Demonstration

What an amazing multimedia presentation/lesson!  I believe that this presentation is absolutely geared to hook the audience from the get-go and get students excited about reading!  I can imagine a room full of excited, but deeply interested, children eager to learn all about Dr. Seuss and his fun and easy to read books.  Ethel really believes in creating the perfect environment for her students to encourage reading.  I was absolutely impressed with all of the books she had set up and passed around so that students could consider which book they might most like to read.  I found myself wanting to buy the collection for my little four year old as a result of Ethel's lesson.  I would bet that she has many students excited about reading after this lesson has been presented, and I would also believe that there are many more learning activities that could stem from this, such as a recycling program or planting trees within the community.  Either way, Ethel is making learning fun - and she's doing it with social consciousness.  Very well done!

Seuss,Seuss, Turn Us Loose

Ethel has a passion and love for children! This was an amazing lesson. There was enough variety that
kept each of us engaged. Adults often forget that WE STILL LOVE picture books. It amazes me still today what a POWERFUL voice
Dr. Seuss has. His ability to approach difficult issues in this way is BRILLIANT. I can't wait to revisit this author within my classroom not just as a Unit, but will remember to examine and look for his work throughout the year as we encounter social issues. I also can't wait to research and learn more about the Think/Pair/Share strategy. Great job Ethel

Annotated Bibliography and Rhetorical Analysis?

I am embarrassed to be admitting this (beause I have apparently been out of school for so long), but at no time have I ever created an annotated bibliography in my educational career, which includes two bachelor's degrees, one master's degree, and another master's started but stopped, and I've never been asked to write one.  I have, as the resident English teacher, been asked to help others create one, and I've helped colleagues by referencing The University of Wisconsin at Madison's Writer's Handbook and Purdue's OWL.  I'll admit that I'm anxious about writing a research paper and the annotated bibliography.  I've just been out of school for so long I wonder if i remember how to do write in this way. 

What does teaching rhetorical analysis me to me?  I think this gets at the heart of a text, speech, or conversation (hereby referred to as "the message") of examining not just what was said, but how it was said, and what was the intent of the message.   Mom used to say this, "It's not what you said, it was how she took (interpreted) it.  I think rhetorical analysis is something, like that.  The process of decoding the message/content.

Judy Demo

I like that Judy really exhibited Palmer's call that the students are the driving the force behind the lesson without being the center of attention for the lesson. She spoke very little in the early stages and instead let the us as the students lead the activity. In the discussion she even mentioned that she should not be the hardest working person in the room and that is real education in a nutshell. Thanks for the reminder Judy! I also really liked that the lesson taught the value of being concise. Students need to truly consider what each word means. Opens up doors on why to avoid cliches and to be verbs when the writer wants to really carry a message. I can't wait to use this in my classroom. Seriously, I want to use it in so many ways that the students can start calling me the 3 by 3 teacher. I like the idea of using this as an exit ticket-- 3 by 3 to summarize what we learned in class today. I also liked the group work of this to try out word. My favorite implications is for revision. Take a piece of writing that students feels needs work, use the group to get the essence of the paper into a 3 by 3 and then use that to evaluate a how the paper is developing/content. I additionally liked the idea of a formative teacher moment to guide instruction. Thanks for a great job Judy!

3 X 3

Judy - Thank you so much for such a wonderful lesson. What a wonderful idea - 3 X 3. I can't wait to use it in my class.

Times ticking away....

Yikes! It's exciting, sad, and scary to think that these are our last few days together in class. Exciting because we'll get to enjoy some summer! (I know Tracy is ready for a much needed break from classes.) Sad because we have become so close in such a short amount of time. And scary because each second that passes is one second closer to the Inquiry Paper deadline. Eek! So we must all keep in touch. I want you all to watch your inbox on your email accounts. If I get the nerve up to write a novel (like I have always wanted to do) then you all will be the first ones to get to critique it. You all have such special gifts. I'm so glad that I got to spend the summer with each of you. You all are amazing!

Tick, tick, tick...Argh! There it is again! That blasted inquiry paper keeps peeking at me from around the corner. Quick! Somebody lock the door!!!

Tick, tick, tick...

Judy's Demo

Wow! What a cool lesson! I just could not imagine what I could possible say in three words. It simply amazed me what I was able to do with those three sentences and three words.

I think that students would really like this exercise. It just looks so non-intimidating. I mean, how can three words hurt you, but it really makes you think and reach beyond what you ever thought you would.

I can see how this could be adapted for most any other subject. It could be used for any type of story or article or topic in any subject. Great Job!

3x3's

Great job today, Judy! I totally enjoyed this lesson. It was mind-stretching and I could really see how I could use this in my classroom. I would like to have a listening lab and then try the 3x3 idea for the students to describe what they have heard in the music. I appreciate this very useful lesson. It was excellent!

Teacher research

Today's partner activity was so beneficial, and I thank Chris B for his ability to help me articulate some of my ideas as we talked about our research possibilities. The irony was not lost on me that introverts often struggle greatly with articulating their thoughts verbally (even among friends in a safe space!), especially if those thoughts are still fresh and not completely formed. So when it came time to share those very ideas about introverted issues, I already knew my own thoughts were still so churned up that they wouldn't make much sense unless I had more time to process them - so Chris did an excellent job of sharing what we talked about and I feel much more clarified! (I think I used "irony" correctly in a sentence -haven't taught literary terms in years).

You all have to watch the Ken Robinson clip I posted - it connects beautifully to what we were talking about this morning about how when we are little we are sure we dance, sing and draw, but that gets sucked out of us with each passing year of school. It's also extremely funny - enjoy!

Hope everyone made it home safely - see you tomorrow!

Today's Reading Group

Our reading group today was great. We discussed the letter writing of children. Newkirk uses his daughter Sarah in his study. He found that children find letter writing appealing. They love to give letters as gifts and love to decorate them. Even more important to them is maintaining friendships. They need to confirm, renegotiate or repair friendships. Sometimes the letters don't have to be sent or received by anyone. The primary interest was writing the letter, then they lose interest. Thank you letters were big too. They love to thank and then they want to chat. Children like to role play in their letters and use language and voice of teachers, adults and famous people. They do this because they might get notes from teachers and letters from parents so therefore, they are familiar with the language used and mimic it. Finally, they love to give advice to both adults and children and then discuss their "plan". I find all of this fascinating because I see all of these behaviors in my class all the time. I get the decorated letters and the thank you letters with their reasons to thank me. I see the friendship letters--especially the ones where plans are made for who is playing with who out on recess. Sometimes I hear "my voice" in the letters they write whether it's to me or someone else. However, I don't see too much of the advice letters. Most of the time, they like to give advice in person.

early morning demo

Judy, you did a great job today. I really believe I can use this format in my classroom. I enjoy your teaching demeanor because it brings about a non-threatening environment. Thanks for the lesson.

research

There is a good chance that I'm actually going to do my little experiment. To review, I'm going to have students write about their days instead of just talking about it. I'm considering modifying this to allow time for talking for those who write slowly and poorly. My goal is to build up length and comfort in writing with out actually teaching a class. I do have some burn out concerns and I feel that some students won't tell me something because they are too lazy to write it. I'm also concerned about attitude problems that come with this type of assignment. It will be an up hill fight.

Make up blog

I owe a blog to the program so here it goes. Going way to back to Sherrie's discussion of systems and how, by doing nothing or following the mainstream, people actually support an agenda. You hear about the scary gay lesbian agenda but you never hear about the straight agenda. One concept just opened up an entire world to reinterpretation. scary.

Judy's demo

I likes that Judy really exhibited Palmer's call that the students are the driving the force behind the lesson without being the center of attention for the lesson. She spoke very little in the early stages and instead let the us as the students lead the activity. In the discussion she even mentioned that she should not be the hardest working person in the room and that is real education in a nutshell. Thanks for the reminder Judy! I also really liked that the lesson taught the value of being concise. Students need to truly consider what each word means. Opens up doors on why to avoid cliches and to be verbs when the writer wants to really carry a message. I can't wait to use this in my classroom. Seriously, I want to use it in so many ways that the students can start calling me the 3 by 3 teacher. I like the idea of using this as an exit ticket-- 3 by 3 to summarize what we learned in class today. I also liked the group work of this to try out word. My favorite implications is for revision. Take a piece of writing that students feels needs work, use the group to get the essence of the paper into a 3 by 3 and then use that to evaluate a how the paper is developing/content. I additionally liked the idea of a formative teacher moment to guide instruction. Thanks for a great job Judy!

Judy Groff's Demo: Cion Revisited

I believe that Judy values her students' thoughts, and she encourages positive interaction in her classroom.  By having students work in comfortable pairs or trios, students will feel more at ease in sharing and presenting their ideas, which also establishes a positive and non-threatening learning environment.  By establishing clear instructions, this lesson seems more like a very creative game versus the traditional lecture/review/discussion.  Suddenly students' creative ingenuity is allowed to shine through, and even if a group makes errors - everyone learns!

Judy's lesson is sly because it will fly in under students radar and make learning fun by sneaking in:  Students learn a major concept in English:  BREVITY!  Students will learn that short powerful sentences can maximize meaning.  Too often students believe that "they have to write a whole bunch of stuff."  This lesson focuses on the essentials.  Students will be aware of effective word order, strong word choices (with both verbs and adjectives), review on proper nouns and pronouns, word repetition awareness, "to be" verbs, cliches, and articles. 

This is a lesson that could be modified for use in any lesson in any class.  I loved it!

Ken Robinson: How Schools Kill Creativity

My Jumbled Thoughts

I was offended by the Senator's words. For him to blame homsexuality as explanation for "what's wrong with America" is an oversimplified and uneducated comment that targets a group of people. If he would have said, "Black people are what's wrong with America", people would be in an uproar. However, another minority, the lgbtiq, lacks such championing voices. The three pieces, the video, Swartz and Fecho discuss what happens when experienced teachers talk about homosexuality. Kids are hearing homosexual language in the media, with the parents, and from other students, teachers are not talking about this topic. As teachers and as community, what do we want them to think of the topic and not just mistakenly accept hallway lingo as the canon for homosexuality issues because no one is telling our students anything else. One parent expressed concern that permission slips were handed out for this topic. She made that point that this made her feel uncomfortable because why is this topic different than doing a unit on Mexican Americans? I agree with this concept; I don't send permission slips for other units that deal with minority groups, so why is my intention to teach acceptance and understanding for the lgbtiq community. The video discussed that schools need to give facts so students can decide how they feel about this topic. One of the teachers asked, are our students ready for more than we give them credit for? I don't know. I honestly don't. As Swartz said, I am afraid of handling the situation of possible namecalling and parent outrage, but I have come to the understanding that I owe all my students the chance to see themselves in my classroom, to be validated. I validate that they are valuable and that I care about them, but I don't validate this aspect of a student's identity. And oh, the misperceptions the students in the video held, Aunt was not "regular" and she was "nasty", and gays molest children. Someone made the comment that students often say "it" out of ignorance School hallways are full of "it" but why is that tolerated when bitch and nigger would not be acceptable? If we don't educate against this behavior, it won't stop. This isn't about recruiting students to be lgbtiq, it is about a healthy way to understand each other and resolve crisis, if the education system doesn't deal this and then there is bashing on the street, how much of this responsibility is mine/ours when something like that happens? How do we want them to go out into the world? Can we assume that they will learn it somewhere else? Why do we teach tolerance of religion and not homosexuality? The statistics are telling a scary story of suicide, alcohol, drugs, dropouts--don't we owe these kids something too? How would I feel if next year a student committed suicide because they didn't know how to handle being gay? What would I feel is my role in that? The truth is that I would feel guilty. I would play the "what if" game. So why am I not doing more? But what do I mean by doing more and what is my school and students ready for? I don't think I hold the heterosexuality viewpoint yet. I get Sherri's point about a size 11 shoe. I do. But I am ashamed to say that when I see a lesbian couple holding hands, I notice in a way that I don't notice a heterosexual couple holding hands. I don't get mad or angry or homophobic, but I still notice. Just like one of the earlier authors stated, just recognize that I am "racist" and though this is not the right word for the situation, it encompasses the concept I am trying to share. I guess where I am at this moment is that I want to incorporate the topic into my classroom. But I am not of the belief that I am going to teach a full unit on this topic. Rather I plan to add some short stories and poetry related to this topic to open up conversations of tolerance on this topic, but I not yet at the point of teaching that the lgbtiq is one of absolutely normalacy. What I do teach will be a part of a larger unit. I don't know if it is me I am still afraid of or my fear of administration and parents. I am not going to teach a Gay Pride Day or an Interacial Relationship Day etc. I believe the immediacy is there and I must act but I guess I am still going to wade into the water and not just jump into the water. This is my first step.

Finally!

Thanks to our in-depth discussions of Cion, I finally understand what is happening in the first 3 pages. I'm not sure if he meant for that to be as ambiguos as it was or not. I'm thinking now, that if he did, that is pretty cool. Since I didn't understand what or who the sciolist was the first 3 pages I was lost. Our discussion really helped me to understand what was going on. I agree with Sherrie that a re-read of this book is an excellent idea!

Thanks gang!

I just wanted to say thanks for being so willing to go outside of your comfort zones to make stupid sounds for the story. You guys are awesome!

For Susan and Megan

Hi friends -
This is for our music teachers - a phenomenal ensemble called Project Trio. They came to Athens last spring for a free show at Mem Aud and it blew us away. This is their take on "Peter on the Wolf." Enjoy!
Cathy

Technology in the Classroom

Here is a list of programs and websites I thought you might be interested in. Many of these I heard about at the OCTELA Spring 2011 conference. Some of them are pretty neat and I know a couple of them we've already had presentations over.

Google Lit Trips
Zooburst
Google Docs
Titanpad
Prezi
Glogster
WallWisher
Wordle
Pics4education
WordTalk

Voicethread

Photostory
Slideshare
ELGG for Moodle

Morning activity

One of the aspects that I love about this class is the ideas I get from both the instructors and classmates. Don's activity was something I want to use in my classroom. I see its value to examine a text deeply. I like the perspective angle. The students picked a passage that meant something to them. They had to articulate why they liked the piece. But then when you have to consider why someone else mighgt have been drawn to a concept is engaging them with another perspective. Then from our classmates I not only get actual lessons but I get other reminders--get the students up and outside, use crayons, music can be used to play with content. When the class is over I am going to review my notes and really look at what I want to start using in my classroom--which is everything. OCTELA puts on a conference that has me leave feeling revived and excited about teaching. I look forward to getting ready for the new year. Thanks everyone!

Susan's lesson

Thanks Susan, you did a good job! I liked the rewrite then ending part the best. When we went around the room and talked about how to modify and I am going to "borrow" for my class. I want to use the rewrite the ending for some stories and then we can look at the characters and what choices make sense for that character. I also like the idea of looking at the different endings to talk about author's choice. Finally, coloring! I need to make the art boxes available at their desks and not on a table that sets it apart from the rest of the class. Thanks for the reminder that coloring and children's books are good instructional tools.

Inquiry anxiety

So I talked with Cathy and Lydia to get some of my thoughts out regarding the inquiry paper. It helped some and thanks to both. I just feel a little time crunched. I am really looking forward to Friday's afternoon class where I can dig in a little and really feel like I have made a start. Really liked glogster. I liked the privacy options. I also liked that an online poster takes the financial burden off the family. Even though a pretty poster is not something I focus on because of money, it often comes up because some people create beautiful posters because they can and that makes others feel their projects are not as good. With glogster and in class work time provided all could create a product to be proud of. Oh Cion you made my brain hurt but I think I was getting it and thanks to Sherri Don and classmates,i was certainly getting it at a much deeper level than when I read it on my own. Productive day!

Angry Birds and Physics

Hey, science teachers!

Just saw this on facebook. Angry Birds in the physics classroom!

Just had a crazy coincidence

Hi friends -

I am trying to find some good stuff on introverted teachers for my inquiry paper, and it's not as easy as I'd hoped, but I'm still getting started. I did a google scholar search with the simple keywords "introverted" and "teacher" and up popped a paper that nails this topic like nothing I've found yet. That's good news just on its own, but here's the coincidence:

The author of this paper is an alum of my teeny tiny graduate school in Vermont, and this was her final research project - for SIT (School for International Training) - her advisor was one of my professors and the director of the teacher training program. As soon as I saw the title of the paper, I thought, "Huh, this is so perfect it's freaking me out," then I doubly freaked out when I saw where it was from: my alma mater. Seriously, this place is really small - it specializes in just a handful of programs like ESL teaching and International Development, so the chances of landing on something from there had to have been pretty slim. Thought I'd share since this is our day of coincidences!

Cion

I really enjoyed our discussion of Cion both this morning and afternoon. Even though Toloki talks of the sciolist as a real person, I'm starting the get the idea of his role in the book. We then had a really good discussion in our writing group today about Toloki's impression of Appalachian culture. Good reference points were made from what we thought. I'm intrigued to know what else I'll learn the next time I read this book.

The glogging session we had today at lunch was great. Susan gave us a wonderful demonstration of creating these posters. I'm glad I have a direction sheet to use. We have a computer lab in our building and this will be a great way for me to try this out with my class. Starting out small and then working our way up is probably how I'll do it. Great lesson Lynn!!

Sciolist

Ugh, this word drove me crazy when I was reading this book! However, after today's discussion the first 3 pages of the book now make sense to me. When I had read it originally, I was totally confused. Now I get it.

And yes, sometimes I read books again. Not all of them, just certain ones. Maybe I want to visit that world again or maybe I want to try to see the story from another characters point of view. I think the first time through a book is often magical but the second time can be more for understanding.

Good discussions today!

Would the Real Sciolist Please Stand Up?

Today in our afternoon reading group we pondered the concepts of magical realism, meta-fiction, and the identity and the role of the sciolist in Zakes Mda's Cion.  Our group had a great discussion on "Who is the sciolist?  Is he the author, Zakes, himself?"  We decided, "No, that would be too simplistic." However, none of us knew how to approach examining Cion and the concept of meta-fiction, because quite honestly, none of us knew what meta-fiction was. 
A quick search into Emory University's Department of English defined meta-fiction as:
[Begin quote]

. . . .  Patricia Waugh also provides a comprehensive definition by describing metafiction as "fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality" (2). Metafictional works, she suggests, are those which "explore a theory of writing fiction through the practice of writing fiction" (2). Mark Currie highlights current metafiction's self-critical tendency by depicting it as "a borderline discourse, a kind of writing which places itself on the border between fiction and criticism, which takes the border as its subject" (2). Yet, he too encompasses works that are marginally metafictional by proposing that, "to see the dramatized narrator or novelist as metanarrative devices is to interpret a substantial proportion of fiction as meta-fiction"(4).
Despite the subtle differences between their definitions, most theorists agree that metafiction cannot be classified as a genre nor as the definitive mode of postmodern fiction. They suggest that metafiction display, "a self-reflexivity prompted by the author's awareness of the theory underlying the construction of fictional works," without dividing contemporary metafiction from older works containing similar self-reflective techniques (Waugh 2) . . . .
[End quote]

The Department of English at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan also referenced Waugh's work on self-reflexivity within a postmodern work, such as Cion, and introduced the concept of parody (FJU) as well.  Works such as Don Quixote and even Forrest Gump entered into our dialogue (as referenced by the scholars at FJU) as we began to tackle the concept of meta-fiction and Cion.

In analyizing Mda's Toloki, we agreed that he (Toloki) acknowledged his creator, but we didn't believe that the sciolist was Zakes himself.  Given the working definition of meta-fiction, as presented by Waugh, and the concept of parody introduced via FJU, we suggested that Zakes sciolist was possibly a construct, a character entity, perhaps a literary persona of Mda, who created Toloki - especially since the sciolist was previously described as having brown skin.  Was that Zakes poking fun at his own creation?  A tease to pique the minds of the curious?  A hint?

We questioned the concepts of literary personas that authors may allow to develop, and we gave consideration to the idea that characters suddenly take on a life of their own. We discussed the commentary of Stephen King and how he has said that sometimes he does not know what a character will do (my loose paraphrase of our discussion) until the moment comes.  We believe that just as their are many layers in Cion there are many "levels of being" that the sciolist passes through as we look into this world through Toloki's eyes.  Toloki wants and needs to be free.  We think he is about to step out, and we are waiting!

We were enjoying our discussion, but we realize that  we were only getting started on this idea when we had to report back to our whole group discussion. 

Thoughts?

Relevant Links:

Emory
FJU

The sciolist...

The sciolist drove me nuts until this afternoon. During the first reading before the Summer Institute started, I grew irritated at Zakes Mda for throwing such a puzzle into this book that I trying very hard to enjoy. In fact, the first time I read the first sentence, I shut the book on the whole word and gave up for several weeks. When I made my second attempt, I decided to ignore any references to the sciolist because it kept interrupting my reading. I loved everything else about the book except that damn sciolist.

That is how I felt until today, when our small group and large group discussion changed everything and now I must say this book has placed us in the middle of something absolutely brilliant

Cion

By nature, training, and experience, I'm a broad thinker. I find it very difficult to think as deeply as we did today about Cion. It is good that I'm exposed to this type of work, but growth is painful and I think I'm going to take a nap when I get home. I'm glad that we are pushed in this program and I very glad that I'm not bored. Thanks AWP!

Metafiction- A Whole New World!!!

Prior to today I had never heard of this type of fiction! I am now fascinated with this whole idea. What an amazing tool author's use. I have probably read works of this type before but alas didn't know I was!!! The book Cion was an amazing piece and YES I am going to put it aside and then venture back in at later date! I really am anxious also to get a hold of our tech. coordinator and dive into GLOGGING! I was very frustrated with my ipad it wouldn't allow me to play today. So hint, hint to anyone who is considering one IF YOU KNOW WHY IT WASN'T CAN YOU FILL ME IN???? As we enter hump day closure I am finding myself in panic mode about my research topic. I know that Sherri is telling me to become Nancy Drew but I am struggling so much with my topic that I think perhaps I am in a holding pattern. I need to get some clarity soon!
Again I want to shout out to all of you.....WHAT AN AMAZING BOND WE HAVE ALL CREATED! It is surreal to me that we will be parting ways next week. I sincerely hope we all stay in contact after the institute.

Value of Rereading

I really liked that Sherrie mentioned the want and the need to reread a text again and again. I tell my students all the time that they should reread. The problem I run into is getting my students to see the benefit from it. My AP Lit students understand it and some even grasp it. Some will borrow copies of the novels and plays we read a month or two before the big test and reread them or at least sections of a text to further their understanding of the complexities within it. But I often struggle with it in my sophomore classes.

Now that I think about it, we could do that with other texts in the classroom. For a smaller piece, like a short story or a section in a science textbook, we could have them reread the entire thing for depth. For a larger piece, like a novel, we could have students reread a difficult chapter, scene, or paragraph for depth and clarity. I'm thinking of this with A Lesson before Dying in my sophomore classes. There is one chapter early on where Grant is talking to his former teacher, Matthew Antoine, about teaching. Antoine mentions the "blanket of ignorance" that has been laid over the quarter (think 1940's Louisiana). My students struggle with this, so we will reread the section, breaking it down to help them understand the connections within the section.

I also reread for pure enjoyment as well. I have read the Dragonlance Chronicles at least four times (all three books) and I've read other books over and over because I enjoy being in the worlds. Sure there are other books I want to read, but sometimes if I find myself thinking about a book I've read in the past, I will pick it up and read it again. I know that in time I will get to the other books, even if it is twenty years down the road! :)

I enjoyed the lesson this morning dealing with coincidence. The Cion book gives us great insight on this concept. I liked our discussion groups on Cion even though it makes my head hurt at times. I can relate to this book very well because my it reminds me of my background and life in Appalachia.

Discussions on Cion

Lynn did a great job on his lesson today! I also really enjoyed how we got to write about a coincidence and how we related that back to Cion. I was amazed at how many stories that started to come to my mind once I started tinking and listening to others discuss it. I also like our small discussions about Cion, my group had to think about the characteristics of Appalachia, and it reminded me of many themes I have seen in my own life growing up.

Golfing is educational and fun!

Lynn, I could see your love and passion for sports in this lesson! You were so encouraging for even the most non-athletic to try and be successful at making a shot at a golf swing. You showed such enthusiasm and excitement for teaching--you are a great teacher. The hands-on activity outside was fun! It was nice to get a breath of fresh air! I loved that we were able to write creatively in science and really enjoyed the commercial idea. Thank you! Great job!

Lynn's Demo

Great Job Lynn! I think the Lynn feels that writing is very important. He uses it in a way that incorporates very important scientific concepts into writing in a subject area that normally one would not think of incorporating writing.

I think that the group comparisons were helpful and I think that students would like those as well. It allowed the students to work alone, but also allowed them to have some sort of check and balance to their work by seeing what their neighbors had written. I think that the hands-on activity that then lead into the writing activity made the writing seem more real life and the students would see it as a more worthwhile activity.

I think that this hands-on activity leading into a writing activity could be adapted for any type of subject area. I really liked this a lot. Lynn did a very good job, and I think that most any teacher could use this for any subject. I can think of many ways that I could have used this in my business classes and it would have been useful because of the immediacy of the writing response after the activity.

The largest cheating scandal in US history: Standardized Testing (Yahoo News)

On Standardized Testing:
America's Biggest Teacher-Principal Cheating Scandal Unfolds in Atlanta, GA

Lynn's Presentation

Lynn believes that to study physics and the laws of motion that in order to best demonstrate these concepts, his students should see and experience how these laws are applied.  Through hands-on learning, the students can not only see these laws in action, but they can also feel them, too.  This lesson is great for kinesthetic learners!

I love how Lynn integrated writing into this assignment.  He had his students stop to think how those laws functioned and then asked them to transfer that knowledge into the written word.  Some students used diagrams to help illustrate the laws of motion with the given props.

I thought this was an excellent demonstration, and it could perhaps be modified for students with disabilities if there was some way to use sound to help mark the distance of the swing. 

Intersting Article from CNN

As I was reading my nightly dose of news websites, I came across this article from CNN and I thought it tied in to some of the discussion we had today. It's an interesting perspective on race in America.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/05/farr.mixed.race.couples/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8

Diversity

In our readings and our discussions today I really have lived a very sheltered life. I have not had much experience with diversity. I was always taught that you cannot judge a book by its cover and that how people look or what they believed did not matter. In conversations with my grandparents I don't think they have such an open minded way of thinking. I do agree with what Brea said concerning the events of 9-11. I do think twice when I see people of that background but that is more propelled by fear. It is a lot to take in in one day of conversation.

Our Reading Group Rocks!

I thoroughly enjoyed our reading group today (well, I should clarify that I have enjoyed it in the past as well). It totally cleared up some misconceptions I have had. As we bounced all over the board in topics (we got to the book-yet even through the bouncing around, it was all tied to the reading--more subtext--no, I'm not brown-nosing), it literally gave me new perspectives. Thank you friends, for sharing openly so that I could learn from you and your experiences. You are wonderful, insightful people. I'm so happy to be experiencing this summer with you!

thoughtful discussion

Social Justice - Well, half of the time I want to chime right in and half of the time I sit reflecting on my actions or inactions to situations that I have observed. I think that a lot of the prejudices we carry with us are a result of influences from people that we have come into contact with while growing up. I'm not saying they are the reasons for all of our beliefs (like a cop-out) but an influence on at least some of them. Something someone said, did, or their reaction to a situation influenced our own views in one way or another. To make a change, I think as teachers we should plant seeds. Give students access to both sides of the argument and allow them to later make a decision as to where they stand or what they feel. I don't know. This is usually not a big issue with the little ones. They are often much more accepting than the older students. Why is that I wonder?

Today's Discussion

I feel that a lot of where your early attitudes come from about other cultures depend on where you acquire those attitudes and how you feel about the person who tries to impart them to you. A lot of my early negative exposures to other races came from my grandmother who I did not respect very much, so I did not put much credence on her negative opinion of other races. On the other hand, my mother, who I respected very much, had an experience where she was not served in a restaurant in Portsmouth because she was there with a friend who just happened to be black from nurse's training. She got up and left with her friend. She didn't realize it at the time, but she was a rebel in the fight for equality. I always felt very proud of my mother for her forward-thinking ways for the 1950's in southern Ohio, and I took on her views of race relations as a young child. So, I think you probably listen more to the people you respect more.

July 5, 2011

Today was an interesting day and the readings made each of us individually confront our feelings about difficult subjects. I found myself and as I shared today not wanting to put myself into the "Racist Arena". As we discussed our readings and commented on them it was interesting to me how you could almost feel the tension within the room. When I say tension I don't mean that we were getting angry about our readings, but the inner-tension that was battling within each of us. The stigmas, and the preconceived feelings that whether we want to or not to fully understand are wove in our lives, and heritage. I sit back and remember as a child those thoughts, feelings, word pictures, etc that we were being put into me, yet I still find myself not wanting to acknowledge that they are there. As I look at my daughter and her choice to date the young man she has chosen and my inner struggles. I still think of my younger daughter calling me a Racist, and how I adamantly declared that I was not. This class has taken my thinking, and analysis abilities to a higher level and has forced me to approach and look at things in a much deeper way than ever before. Hmmmm.........the drive home will have me battling within as I process what we have discussed today. Thanks
everyone for the thought provoking discussions!

Mary Ann

Social Injustice

The issues we discussed this afternoon on our beginning encounters of race was really interesting. We had a few students in our high school who were African-Americans and completely accepted in our school as one of us. They were treated respectfully and to my knowledge, not treated as being different.

Many interesting comments were made today in regards to social justice, especially when most of our post-it notes mainly focused on race and sexual preference, but not on any other issues of social injustice. I do believe that discussing racial issues in the classroom are more common than discussions of sexual preference. I think it is an uncomfortable subject to most, that people just sweep it under the rug.

Social Injustice

I really enjoyed our discussion on racial issues today. I think as educators it is important to consider the idea of another person's story. One of the things this class has confirmed for me is that everyone has a story. We need to be cognizant of that particular story when we make decisions in our classroom and we also have to be ready to handle somewhat potentially volatile situations. I think our discussions can lead to a stronger community but they can lead to some emotionally charged responses that can have an adverse effect. These are chances we must take if we are going to cause people to think and become reflexive.

Social Justice

The activity from this morning and the discussion this afternoon showed me that we have a long way to go when addressing issues of social justice, either personally or in the classroom. It is not an easy subject to bring up and can often result in some very strong opinions and heated debate. I really liked the micro-theme activity from this morning because it allowed everyone to express an opinion without much fear. Sure some of us could make guesses as to who wrote what, but for the most part it was very open. I could definitely use this in my classroom this fall as an introduction to A Lesson before Dying. I am looking forward to the discussions the rest of the week on this topic because it is something I feel very passionately about.

The Concept of Social Justice in the Classroom

"How do we build awareness in the classroom?"

I really enjoyed the "Art Show by SS#" activity in this morning's session, and this is a strategy that I would like to use in my own classroom to assist in teaching writing. The form of the activity was anonymous so that we could get at understanding one another's ideas without knowing whose idea we were reading/evaluating/commenting upon. Having said that, I found myself in agreement with Agents 125 and 081 (whoever they were):

Agent 125 suggested that "awareness is key." I wish I had the time to have carefully noted his/her total quip, but my take their stance was that, "Anything and everything we do helps us to increase awareness and understanding of any given value - if we just open ourselves up to that experience", and I believe that is what education is all about.

Similarly, I was also impressed with Agent 081's thoughts, which evoked this response in me: "I absolutely agree! Given common knowledge on an issue (any issue) helps us to present ideas on WHAT WE CAN WRITE ABOUT and helps to put every participant on an even footing. Even students who fear writing, who may say, "but I don't know WHAT to write about" - that common knowledge presented and shared on a subject helps each of us to get at good dialogue on any given issue, and with that [we hope] comes understanding.

I believe that awareness (or the raising of awareness - of any issue) is the main ingredient in the process of educating our youth. Be the awareness as simple as what "homework assignment is due when" or the in-depth examination of a particular unit of study or even a major concept of a research paper/project. Without awareness, how can there be any education at all? Too often today too many people exist as automatons. They simply aren't "aware" at all. Now, then, how to build awareness? Comedians use sarcasm or satire, but to us, as teachers, we can raise awareness in the classroom through active engagement and discussion. Most especially, in writing.

I believe that the concept of social justice helps to build awareness in the classroom, and by choosing to study literature - and in making an attempt to actively respond to that literature (or concept within the literature) that we are helping our students to learn to take a pro-active stance to deliberately and consciously interact with their thoughts and ideas that they may have never before considered. By selecting issues in social justice, we are helping to pave the way for even the most reclusive student to have an equal footing on sharing his/her thoughts on a given issue.

Social Justice

I'm glad that we were able to broach such difficult and complex issues with the respect that is necessary to hear the voices of those who are otherwise often silenced.  There are often issues that arise in our classrooms in which we are expected to react with professionalism, but we may not be able to immediately know what that is.  No matter how much we read and how much experience we have, we may not know the "right" thing to say in any given situation or circumstance.  We must rely on our intentions to be good teachers to help guide us as we listen to the concerns of both the people who have more power than we do and the people who have less.

racism

I found the reading we did last night more interesting than I thought I would. The McIntosh article and the 50 questions really sealed it for me. I do live in a racial environment. So I got to thinking, do I know what it is like to benefit from living in a "white" society? Yes, those benefits were made clear to me by McIntosh. Then I ask, do I know what it is like to run against the current of discrimination. I think I might. Sure, I'm a white male, that in and of itself should guarantee a home run. But I'm also over weight. How many doors has that closed? I have a learning disability, how many doors has that closed? I'm from South Eastern Ohio, how many doors has that closed? One foot is a half size bigger than the other, how many doors has that closed? I now have a better understanding of how racism is woven into the fabric of our society. Please understand, I'm not trying to deny its existence, influence, and power. What I'm trying to understand is this, what do we do next? Where do we go from here. I've recognized the problem, at least to a degree. McIntosh have some suggestions for the individual, and that's all great stuff, but as a group, where do we go.

I'll admit it. I have many students who's post secondary plans involved sitting at home waiting for a check they didn't earn to come in the mail and nothing I say or do can convince them to try for a better future. I try to teach that while you can survive for a while that way, the world is changing and that may not be an option for too many more years. At some point, it comes down to personal responsibility. Take what you have and go with it. Build up both your strengths and weaknesses. The harder it is, the sweeter the reward. This is the old bootstraps idea. I don't know, in terms of racism, where society's responsibilities' end and individual responsibilities begin. I just don't know, I used to believe that I knew, but now I'm so unsure. Should I give up my job and the ability to support my family because I'm white and I've had an unfair advantage. Should I have to score higher on a test for the same scholarship because I'm white? Maybe I should have to do these things. Maybe that is fair. More importantly, what should I be teaching my students. I've decided to teach them that they need to understand the issues and make an intelligent, well informed decision. That's what I'm going to have to do.

Social Justice

I really liked using the post-its for sharing definitions of social justice. It was an effective catalyst for guiding our thinking in a nonthreatening and safe way. I think viewing the posts around the room as a critic added a valuable dimension in how we internalized the various writings. Writing and then discussing, of course, were great reinforcers of the information. I'm eager to adapt this format in my classroom--great applications for introducing or concluding many stories as well as some writing assignments.

Social Injustice discussions

We had some really good discussions today about social injustices. Loved the art gallery idea that we did this morning, thought that exercise would be great and effective for students. The morning discussion started my mind thinking about those issues, and it continued throughout the day. I really like the exercise where we had to think about our first encounters with race. I hadn't really put all the different stories before into a perspective like that. So many issues come to mind when I think about social injustices....from the our beginnings in this country as a democracy, to issues on racism, gender and even immigration. It is hard to recognize our own stereotypes, or even to admit that we have them. You could even feel tension in some of our discussions today, which is a good thing, because it puts many issues on the table. I really liked how Sherrie discussed how important it was to recognize those feelings and to not have shame about them.

Role of Teaching Social Justices

I feel that social justice should be taught in the classroom. I teach about the Khmer Rouge Cambodian genocide, some years I use the text If You Don't Like it Change it, and others. But I have such an internal war with myself on this topic. Palmer talked about the guilt when he teaches in a subject centered classroom and that guilt resonates with me. When I teach the Khmer Rouge unit it is "messy". The lessons don't go together in a perfect linear manner. We have circles of understanding, backtracking, etc. I feel like I lose my balance sometimes. Did I focus enough on my standards? Did I effectively use my social justice approach as a vehicle to teach the standards? The standards must be put into a context. I believe that using social justice as a context can be done. That guilt gets to me. Three years ago my class was filled with social justice topics, then the next two years I sacrificed that for other material. Once again I am looking at the approaching school year and wanting to add them back in as an integral part of my class. Again Palmer said that we have to let go and when we are doing that, we might not be very good teachers. And there lies my problem. When I teach essay form, grammar, etc. etc. I know I'm doing it in the traditional definition of "right." But in my heart I know that is not the case, but to admit that a class didn't go well, I didn't do it right is really hard for me. Now we have added Trainor to the mix. What harm might my good intentions do? How can I teach social injustices without creating a "token" representative of an entire issue? Gere discussed it is hard to write and not colonize the other voices, does Trainor have a similar message? Using one text to teach one-multi cultural issue may overshadow other voices. So then what is my job in this as teacher. Sherri discussed the need to analyze the "whiteness" of text in the same way "Elizabeth" set up a classroom to analyze Angelou's piece. That is an idea to start with, but there are still so many unanswered questions. DO NO HARM vs. DO NOTHING is a scary question that I have to consider when I want to teach. Doing nothing isn't an option for me. I want to teach social justices! I want my students to have deep conversations to promote growth. And yet the process for doing that is so unclear still. Like Sherri said, she doesn't have the answers. Going into the classroom without the answers is scary. And now on to the inquiry paper, today's post actually has no final answers. All I have is more questions about how to incorporate social justice, what I can do as a teacher to do it right, and what the heck does "doing it right" even mean? Like Don said, we're doing this all week, maybe I can grab onto some clarity later on.

Social Justice talk

I really, really liked this morning's microtheme activity on social justice. One thing I want to share (that I wrote on my sticky note) is that I highly recommend the movie, "Rabbit Proof Fence," the true story about a time period in Australian history very people know about. Mixed race children were forcefully taken from their Aboriginal mothers to be trained in finishing schools and sent to white homes to be domestic servants. They never saw their mothers again. The government's eventual goal was to "breed out" the Aboriginal blood with the goal of turning Australia completely white over several generations. Please watch it if you get a chance (and Peter Gabriel does the soundtrack).

This afternoon's discussion kept bringing me back to the feelings I had in the Peace Corps when I was the only white and only female teacher in my school. There were so many complicated emotions to address - stereotypes, gender roles, religious and cultural differences, discrimination - I felt like these issues came from all sides and they were so very hard to process.

<b>Cathy's Demo</b>

I loved Cathy's demonstration today!  I love how she made the concept of delivering bad news real - and how to do so with both class and style!  It was a wonderful thing to see how bad news can typically be delivered, but also how we can show how bad news can be structured so that relationships can be  kept intact - or even improved.  The examples (handouts) were perfect for discussion and review prior to asking students to actual,y begin their own writing.

Well done!  I would absolutely use this plan in my teaching of business letter writing!

Letter assignment

I loved the warm-up exercise of passing the letter around and each person adding to it. Nice dimension to the lesson.

Cathy

Cathy, you did a great job with your lesson. I also like the demeanor in which you conducted your lesson. This class is very beneficial to me because I also have business letters I have to write in relation to rental issues. This lesson will also help me for the new assistant principal duties I will encounter next year. Thank you for the valuable lesson.

Cathy did a fabulous lesson today. I loved the beginning with the chain letter. My students would absolutely love doing an activity like this. It gets everyone involved, even those that do not like to write and the creativity that would come out of the letter would be fabulous. I'm glad to also have the information on creating a better "bad news" letter. This will probably be useful to me in the future. Good Job!

Great job Cathy!

Cathy did a great job with her lesson today. I really enjoyed learning the correct format for sending bad news, as I think many of us are unaware of how that should be given. I loved how she brought in real world examples, that made me really want to know more about how to write things like this professionally.

Cathy - the good news letter

Dear Cathy -

It has been a pleasure to work with you on a daily basis. You are an inspiration to co-workers around the room. Your work ethic is above reproach.

I appreciated the way that you approached the idea of the chain letter. It was non-threatening and very fun. Let's do it again! I also appreciated the way that you gave the info about the bad news letter with the real example. It gave the group a very powerful message that words can hurt and it is import to be tactful.

As a result, your pay will be increased 15% retroactive to January 2011. Good job! You are worth every penny.

Sincerely,

Susan

Great job Cathy! Before I was a librarian, I was a business teacher, and one of the hardest things to teach was how to write a good letter. Most of the time the students' letters turned out to be one or two lines of "get to the point" text with no buffers whatsoever. I like this method of teaching how to write a letter, and if I would ever have to teach how to write letters again, I would like to use this in the classroom.

I think this shows that you value writing in any discipline. Most times, people don't think about business writing as being valuable writing or of it having any feeling or thought being put into it. I'm glad that you dispelled that myth today.

I loved the activity of building on someone else's writing. That could be adapted into most any other discipline. I loved it.

Cathy's Demo

Cathy you did a great job with your demo today! I really like the chain letter activity!! I think I could even use that in science. I enjoyed the rest of the lesson too! It is always helpful to brush up skills in this type of writing because we all may use this from time to time. Great Job!!

Cathy's Demo

Cathy,
I loved your demo. You have such a sweet, calming voice that "lulled" us into being a captive audience. I feel that this lesson is extremely valuable and would be very useful in the classroom. Letter writing is a skill that I personally feel has been abandoned with use of the blogs, comment boxes, and the overall use of technology. Students today do not realize the impact of their "word choice" when it is put in print. Dialogue is a difficult concept to teach and appropriateness of the format needs to be taught so that they convey what needs to be told. I feel that you also bring your "heart" into teaching when you shared the story of Julie and the inappropriateness that her boss used when dismissing her from her job. I really appreciate your sensitivity and compassion when you shared. You definitely "care" about your students.

Mary Ann

Cathy's demo

Cathy, I enjoyed your demo very much. I think the first activity is a great ice-breaker and way into the topic. It is low stakes and fun. I also think working as a group on the last assignment helps it to be low stakes also. The real-life example was illuminating.

I have taught writing and rhetoric int he professions before, and I think this assignment would be a great addition. I would additionally discuss how rhetorical choices are fundamental to any work communication. I might also expand this to a discussion of e-mail etiquette and the rhetorical choices available through email. Often these kinds of communication are now electronic and students have not thought through the rhetorical messages they send in their hasty emails.

Lydia

Cathy

It's brilliant, brilliant I tell you. Genus I say! I loved the chain letter idea and all the fun that was. I also enjoyed writing the bad news letter and the struggle my group had keeping it serious. I'll use this in my class, several times I would imagine. Clearly, you are serious about your student's competence, and their feelings as well. I like the connections you made to real life and bringing in Julie's letter shows that this is a serious issue that can effect anyone. I also like the fact that students are experiencing this from both sides of the letter. A very powerful lesson. Thanks for teaching it. Chris

For once I can actually say that I love chain letters!

Wow, Cathy, today was fun! What a great, creative, and useful way to teach professional writing. I appreciate your help and very thoughtful way of presenting this information. I have learned a lot from you today!

Bad News Letters

I really liked this demonstration today. I loved the introductory writing activity and am thinking of how to adapt this in both of my classes when teaching tone in writing. I think it might be good to tie in Letters from a Nut when I do this. I already have read some of the letters to my students and after today, I think they may like doing something with this in class. My sophomores struggle with letter writing and my AP students struggle with incorporating tone in their essays. This will help them.

I liked the style of introducing a random letter about anything with only one rule: it has to be negative. This allows students to focus on their thoughts and work out any kinks in their writing before tackling a more professional letter.

Cathy's lesson

Cathy, I loved the way you started with the fun bad letter to engage the students. I thought it was fun and interesting. When you taught the lesson I was wondering how it was going to truly tie to the lesson and not just be an extra hook. I loved that when we practiced the skill we were able to look at that letter as a starting point. You took away the fear so many students have of the blank page. You actually did this two times. First when one person did not have to write a full letter, it was a collaborative effort. Then you addressed this fear with the revise of the letter. I really liked this concept. I could do this in my class in many ways, but in the most specific manner, I teach this exact skill and I can take this straight into the classroom. I also liked that you talk about "feelings" that the negative letters can create. This gave a face to a sterile concept of letter writing. Thanks! I really enjoyed it.

Cathy

December 25, 2011

Dr. Squeekers, Head Clown

Big Top Productions

123 Floopy Shoes ln.

Des Moines, IA. 65421

Dear Dr. Squeekers,

It has been our privilege to have you on our staff for the past fifty years. We have found that the relationship has been profitable for everyone.

Over the last few years, several aspiring clowns have filled the role of ghost students as a form of evaluation of your classes. While these evaluations have been upbeat, they show some signs that your teaching style may not be compatible with our modern approach. Your knock knock jokes are out of date and spraying people with seltzer water flowers is now considered juvenile by today’s forward thinking audiences. Your striped costumes are reminiscent of prison attire and as such degrading to Incarcerated Americans.

We have decided to let you keep your prop boxes and have contributed enough money to your retirement fund so that you can retire with full benefits.

If you have any questions, please call Bobo, in human resources.

Sincerely,

The Top Hat Board of Clowns

Mr. Poet

July 5, 2011

Mr. Poet
396 Tier Way
Marietta, OH 45750

Dear Mr. Poet:

We would like to thank you for your submission of poetry our journal Esteemed Poetry Journal. We appreciate your readership of our publication and hope that you will continue to patronize our publication.

Our publication tends seek material on themes related to academia, scholarship and classical values. The traditional forms of poetry have what made our publication such a long-standing entity in this region. However, in reviewing your poetry we have found that your type of poetry does not meet our submission guidelines.

Although we will not be publishing your poetry we would like to recommend other publishing houses that may be more appropriate to your style of poetry. Freestyle Poety.com and PoetswithPassion.com are two websites to research.

We look forward to seeing your poetry in print sometime in the near future.

Sincerely,



EditorX

Business Letter

July 5, 2011

Frito Lay Corporation
Sun Chips


To Whom It May Concern:

I have been a loyal consumer of the Sun Chip Brand for many years, and you have satisfied many late night cravings. In recent years you have conformed to the bio-degradable era which I fully agree with, however, the material that you now use to package your product is extremely disruptive while sneaking in a late night snack.

Recently while indulging this passion for your product I woke up my entire house due to the noise that was created by opening the bag. We have small children and it was very difficult to get them back to sleep.

So unfortunately, I regret to inform you that we will no longer be purchasing Sun Chips. If at some point you could change the material that you use to create your packaging we will consider patronizing and consuming your product once again.

Sincerely,

BAD NEWS LETTER:AMIGO

Dear Amigo,

Hola! I knew you would appreciate the Spanish, as it is a love we share. I appreciate all of the hard work you have put forth while minding my class when I was away. I am very happy to hear that you taught my students vodoo, and threw away my Spanish books. I am sure the kids enjoyed this year of running amuck. However, I am sincerely ecstatic to inform you that...I AM BACK!

Please let me know if I can assist you with a letter of reference to a job far far away.

Kindness regards,

Senior LOCO

Cyndi's Demo

I like the level of involvement that doing the background research invites. Certainly, it invests students in the process far more than a powerpoint, irrespective of how artistic it is. I would love to have the rubric and "student roles" sheet as a model. Since I teach CTs, I will borrow heavily from this. Thanks, Cyndi.

cyndi's demo

Great job! I would love to be in your class. I learned so much just from the little bit that we got to do today. I really felt like we were being immersed into the time period. Also, nice way to "set the stage" by using Orff. Cool! I would think many kids would recognize that as something they've heard somewhere before. It is used for so many movies and commercials. Good job woman! You are awesome.

Cyndi Demo

Bravo! This was outstanding. I am curious to know if this is a correlation standard with your students and their History content.
That would be amazing. I can see from your style that you recognize that we are teaching and educating a group of children who thrive in the hands-on world. It is extremely evident that you value voice, creativity, exploration and importance of being able to get up in front of a group and present. I would have loved to have been in your class. I am thinking about going back to school and collaborating with the teacher who will have my students for Social Studies and developing a unit that we could do together.
HMMMMMM.......this gives me a some great correlations to what my research is going to be about. Wonderful, wonderful!

Mary Ann

Cyndi

Great job Cyndi. I really like how you used music to bring us into the time frame. I also like how the students research the historical aspect of this time period. I think this would make literature more interesting. You seem to have a love for your profession and I think students could learn in your class.

Cyndi's Lesson

Shout out to Cyndi for a great lesson!! I enjoyed working in the groups and learning info about the Medieval Times. I think you value the engagement of your students in the lesson and that this was a great way to have them actively engaged in the project. I think this could be used in any type of class! Great Job!!

Way to go, Cindy!

I loved the draw of the music in the beginning. What a great and fun lesson. I could totally have the choir students come dressed in an era and have them report about them. What a fun and engaging time. You are awesome!

Cyndi,

What a neat lesson. I never looked at trying to find credible websites because I only limit my students to the websites I know. I think that our computer lab teacher is teaching those things to the kids. It was interesting to hear about life back then. The Old English video at first was fascinating. I wasn't aware that it was pronounced so differently from Middle English.

Cyndi's demo

I thought the informal nature of this research project was great. Also it is probably fun for the students to research these cultural aspects of medieval life and present on them in the context of reading Chaucer. Of course discussing credibility is important and I liked your handling of this.

I wonder in what ways some fun informal writing could be incorporated into this research project? Writing scripts for small skits? Descriptions of events or locations? I could see this really being a good long unit using multiple resources and facilitating a lot of learning styles.

Cindy

Cyndi's lesson was so much fun because she let students find information that was interesting to them and share it with the group. She was tight enough to make the lesson meaningful and loose enough for students to have a great time with it. I also found her grading system to exceedingly organized and precise. I would love to be in her class. THANKS! Cyndi

Cyndi's Demo

Great Job Cyndi! I've been with you all the way through this lesson at school, so I know the kids love it. They really get into this lesson. They put a lot of effort into getting all of the research and putting the papers together as well as putting on a good show for the class.

I know that Cyndi thinks that writing is very important in her classroom. She has the kids do it often, and it is usually something fun like this lesson. I think that a lesson like this could be adapted to any time period that you are studying.

Informal Research

I like the idea of informal research. Maybe formal research and inquiry would be less intimidating if students have done a variety of informal research. I also like the implications for prework here. If on Thursday I want to begin a novel, I can ask the students to search, find and informally share as we did today. They can provide the background info which is needed but not the integral part of my lesson. Thanks for the ideas Cindi.

Middle Aged Menswear

Cyndi-

For the rest of my life I will remember that during the middle ages, only upper class men were allowed to wear super-short buttocks-revealing gowns!

What struck me the most about your lesson is how completely in tune you are with your audience (students) and how you so beautifully help them relate to the subject matter. I absolutely love how you brought in modern references and used your knowledge and passion to keep us engaged and excited about this time period. When you shared about how you'd heard something on NPR(?) and immediately took it to the classroom, all I could think of was, "Wow! What a fabulous teacher to recognize and grab these teachable moments and take them right into school with her!"

Great job and thank you.

Great lesson Cyndi

Cyndi did a really cool lesson today! I learned many things that I didn't know. I can tell how enthusiastic she is about her topic. I imagine that her students really get into this research and have a lot of fun while they are learning. I liked her research approach, and how just listening to all of the other peoples topics I too will walk away with new knowledge.

The Middle Ages

Being someone who does a huge research project with my sophomores, it was refreshing to have the reinforcement of using "credible research." I had never thought of using the smart search to limit their sites. I usually tell them that it must end in .gov .edu or .org. I will have to try this in the fall with their multigenre projects.

I like how this lesson layers on the idea that even though it was centuries ago, it can still be relevant today. I think that students are more likely to "listen" to us when technology is involved. They will still find interesting details, like Cathy and I with the showing of mens' buttocks in clothing....HA!

Sometimes fewer words say more

"Buddy has been lost for some time, his wipers whisking the thick Maine snow, when he spots a missed turn in his rearview and brakes. The car fishtails, rocketing into a spin. the faster it pivots, the slower time moves. Buddy is the fixed point, the world careening around him.

He takes a young maple with him into the gully. A few stubborn leaves cling to the branches that protrude through the windshield. Everything is abruptly quiet. He sees bits of sky. A lone heron. The car is resting on its side with Buddy somehow in the passenger seat, his back to the window and his foot beneath the crushed steering wheel. The angle is impossible; it appears to be someone else's leg. The dead engine ticks; he smells gasoline and sap, freshly split wood, his sister's griddlecakes."

April & Oliver by Tess Callahan

This is an excerpt from the prologue. This author says so much with so few words. I really enjoyed this book and thought you guys might want to check it out. Some authors rattle on forever to really say just one word. She says a book full with just a few.

This book is a roller coaster ride but I think you'll enjoy it if you're willing to take the risk.

Good job Chris

I think Chris did an excellent job today with her demo. My feelings on cut and paste have not wavered . However, it is time to move on and get things done. I really enjoyed our reading group today as always. It is an interesting group of people and it makes discussions about Palmer worthwhile.

Story Time!

Great job today, Chris! Excellent use of technology--I can't wait to try out the Elmo in my room! I loved the card idea and also the story time today. Thank you for a useful and helpful way to share information with students!

June 30

Chris, nice job on your presentation today. You certainly planted many seeds for interesting ideas for writing in different genres. I hadn't thought of Christmas cards, and, of course, that generated so many great ideas from the group with sympathy cards, invitations, thank yous...

The cut-and-paste activity surprised me in the variety of emotions and perspectives it elicited. I might have used it without any expectation of a reaction other than another tool for revision. Thank you, Brea and Lynn, for opening my eyes to the sensitivity and awareness that needs to accompany all our choices.

Today

Chris, you did a great job on your demo and as others responded to your lesson, I got more ideas on how to modify this lesson for others books, holidays, seasons, or other subject areas for my students.

After I left yesterday, I found myself unhappy with the question I posted up on the wall. I'm not sure what kind of use it will have for me in my classroom. As I reflected on this, I decided to change the question. I was talking to Kelly and told her what I was hoping to find out. After some clarification, she told me what she heard me saying so now I have a focus for my research. Thank you Kelly! Now, that problem is slightly solved.

However, I am not 100% happy with my narrative. Tracy worked on mine after we cut them apart. She suggested some things to make it better. During lunch, I played out events in my head of what to include and the course my new writing is going to take. While my son is playing in a baseball game tonight with the Meigs Amer. Legion team, I will have my pencil and notebook in tow. Hopefully I won't be hit on the head with a foul ball. Most recently, some have come close.

Unexpected

Well gang, I didn't expect that I would go through so many different kinds of emotions while working on the personal narrative. At times I was laughing, crying, anxious, and shocked when I made a personal connection to an event in my life now. Very unexpected. I guess I had not ever taken the time to write in this way before. I felt like I was being constantly groomed to write a research paper using perfect form and citations. The cutting apart...that brought on a whole new slew of emotions. Very interesting morning.

Reading groups help build a sense of community

I really enjoyed our reading group today. We talked about many things that are affecting us, and I actually feel a sense of community with the people in my group. Community is important to us as teachers....as sometimes that can be our only sanity. Although I didn't like the cut and paste activity with narrative writing, I do think it would be helpful with other types. Great job today Chris on your lesson! I really think that I will adapt that and use it in my room.

Revising with Scissors

I am sort of on the fence with this exercise. On one hand, I felt quite conflicted about cutting apart someone else's work. I didn't feel qualified to tell them what was and was not important to them. On the other hand, they didn't have to take my revision of the paper just as I did not have to take their revision of mine. I had the choice to take all, some or none of the suggestions the person made on my paper. I can see how, on a paper so personal, it could be gut-wrenching for some to have it cut apart as it was; however, to me, it was just a piece of paper. The emotions and feelings don't change whether they are on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of wood pulp or in my head, but I can absolutely understand and totally sympathize these feelings that some had. I hope that everyone's paper turns out to be something cathartic, and if it cannot be cathartic, I hope it is at least somewhat fun.

The Courage to Write?

Today's activity of taking our personal narratives and (essentially) chopping them up was quite an eye-opening experience. I think, many times, people are so fearful of writing that they maybe don't know how to begin? Maybe they are afraid to write, for whatever reason: fear of failure, fear of exposing the private concept of "self" to others (which in turn may raise feelings of vulnerability/inadequacy), fear of being thought of having bad grammar (why does, seemingly, everyone feel that they shouldn't say this or that because "the English teacher" will judge them harshly?). Today, some writers felt great pain when completing this exercise; yet, others, had no qualms about the process at all.

For myself, I had no qualms about chopping my work up, at all. I knew it was a draft, and I was actually just writing down a stream of thoughts, memories, experiences as I remembered them. Be they good or bad. I never stopped to process what I was writing: I just wrote. I figured I'd sort out "all of that stuff" at some later point. Having another person help me with that was, as Don says, "all good."

Stepping back a bit, I have to say that I feel so sad when I meet someone for the first time, and then they find out that I teach high school English. Suddenly, what started out as being a promising conversation/dialogue, story-telling, etc - becomes a situation in which I am "perceived" as an expert on grammar - a "judge" (if you will) and then suddenly the person begins "policing" themselves in anticipation of what they think I may be thinking about their content. They begin to flounder and wonder HOW they should say something rather than just having their true voice(s) shine through and just - say - it (whatever it is).

Similarly, writing, I believe, is much the same way. We, as tentative writers, seem to have a certain level of discomfort in sharing our work with others. A certain fearfulness or uncertainty. But, as difficult as the exercise was today, it was a very valuable learning experience because if we don't challenge our notions of how WE should write then how can we help to foster the writing process amongst our students? I like what Chris B said today (and I'm loosely paraphrasing): "Doesn't it take a small amount of pain to grow, even a little"?

today

Chris, Great job today, I liked your lessons and I have already found several uses for it in my class.

I'm also interested in how so many of our texts are personal narratives on their own. Today's readings are a prime example. Is this like a case study?

As a person who doesn't get too worked up over most stuff, I didn't mind our cutting activity today. I wish mine had been easier to work with. Sorry Judy. I usually have that safe distance between who I am and what I do. My thoughts, "It's just an assignment, learn what you can." I don't wish to take away from those who had some trouble with the activity. Clearly you had much more emotion wrapped up in your work than I did.

It would take me months to get my class to a place where I would try this. It might just be too advanced for my class, at least in many years. However, it did get me thinking about how to use peer editing and that I should try more of that. I do a little but I'm always afraid of hurt feelings. Hurt feelings in my class usually means hours of extra paperwork for me.

Scissors.

The activity today that will stick with me was our post-lunch discussion about the cutting of the essays. I'm grateful to have been the one to have re-imagined Brea's essay, for it really helped me think about how I give feedback to my students at Hocking, whose whole purpose in Comm I and Comm II is to write the personal essay. We all have these stories, pieces of our lives that are so powerful and emotional (either wonderful or painful) that putting them out there is terrifying, and I try to remember this with my Hocking students, who seem to carry with them some of the most astonishing stories I've ever heard.

Brea and I talked a little later, and both agreed that we'd have liked more time after it was over to process all of this with the person whose paper we worked on. I also wish she had had my paper so we could have spent the follow up time talking further about our the re-imagining activity. Logistically speaking, I would have liked to exchange papers with someone than pass it down, because at the end we didn't have the opportunity to share our own stories because we had one person's and another person had ours, and I really wanted to talk more with the person who had my paper and the person whose paper I had.

For me, it was a relief to give my paper to someone else because it is really bothering me right now. I was itching for some radical ideas of rearranging that might help shake things up and put me back on track (Thanks, Kelly!)

Cut and Paste Revision -Arrgh!

In thinking back on the day and taking in what everyone said about the revision activity. I can see where it could be a beneficial activity in some respects but at the same time it could really impact in a negative way some of my students. I really did not think I would be affected in the way that I was by the revisions made to my paper and I did not feel bad taking the paper I was working with and rearranging the order. I saw it as maybe helpful to the writer, but it did not feel that way when it was mine. I kinda felt like a 2 year old. Mine, mine, mine, and how dare you mess with it. But now that we are several hours away from the activity I just feel like I need to put on my big girl panties and look at it from that perspective and then move on! And I can always know that it will be all good!!!

Re-visioning My Narrative

While I know that most did not like cutting into their drafts this morning, I loved it. I felt a sense of empowerment by doing so. Cutting through it let me know that this is not the final draft and that it has a long way to go before it will get to a copy that I will feel at least somewhat comfortable about. I also liked taking another person's draft and trying to arrange in an order that made sense to me. I know that it was not the order of the original, but it gave me a different perspective on how to possibly view my own draft in that not everything has a set place.

This activity is one that I plan to use with my AP students this fall. Within the first week of school, they will write their first literary analysis essay. I usually do a revision exercise using highlighters, but it always has mixed results. I think this will help them see how their ideas connect.

I agree, though, with what a lot of you were saying in that you wouldn't use it with an assignment like this, but I won't completely throw the idea out the window. I think it's the type of thing that has to be used with caution and I think it's the type of thing that might work better with juniors or seniors rather than freshman or sophomores because of the maturity and growth level.

I will have to see how it works with my AP students before I see how to use it with my Creative Writing or General English students.

Chris's Demo

Thanks Chris for a great job! I really liked the card element. I liked the idea of the informal writing in an alternative genre of greeting cards. I loved that during the discussion people talked about using manipulatives with high school students is desirable. I know that my students enjoy these practices, and I know that by using manipulatives and creativity that students are actually more likely to retain and own the knowledge that I intend to teach. And yet I often skip right into the lesson because "I don't have time." I need to rephrase this thought into, "I don't have a choice; I must if I want retention and not just covereage. So thanks for an easy, quick manipulative that I can apply to my classroom.

I need to celebrate!

Autobiography break through! I knew I wasn't feeling my paper. So I revised it and took it even farther in the wrong direction. Lydia read my paper to me and I took notes. She had some great insights but the most helpful part was when she read and she read a sentence in the way I heard it then I knew it was a good bit. When she read it and I didn't hear me, then I knew I was going in the wrong direction. So I went home and mostly changed it, heavy deletions, and CLARITY. I'm not saying it is done, but I feel good about it. I feel like it has potentional to be a solid piece and before I just felt fear. So in relation to my class here are the insights I gained.
1. I knew that my Elbow "felt sense" was not what I wanted. But I felt it, and how do I teach that skill for my students to feel it? It is a moving, ellusive skill. Prior to the class I may have just thrown my hands in the air and said, "I don't know!" But I am starting to form an approach, informal, practice, voice activities, etc... may form the basis of my new approach. Thank you OUAWP!
2. Oh boy are my kids going to see my drafts! First snippets of what I think is important in my life, then interview and Chris's take on my life, first draft--too clinical, second draft--even more clinical and long. I got bored twice in my own paper. Third draft barely looks like draft one and two. And even now it is not done. I know it is flawed, but it is flawed in a way that has possibilites. I don't feel like crying when I read it. I feel like digging in and making it better. This is a new process for me and I am liking it, even though it is certainly more work.