There is an expectation that as an English Language Arts teacher, reading will, no doubt, be one of the most important focuses in my classroom. When I picture the type of class I will have, I imagine being able to get my students engaged, just as these educators did with the topic of fast-food! When I started chapter 1 I was so engaged that I failed to make one notation or highlight a single word or sentence for the first few pages. The first line I stopped to highlight was something I never wanted to forget: "They had learned things that really got them thinking, got them agitated, got the activated."(5) That is my goal as an educator...to get students "activated". There will be students who are motivated by other factors, such as wanting to please the teacher, their parents, wanting a good grade, etc. There will also be students that are unmotivated by those things and will want to sit in the back row and disappear. To get a student activated through something they have learned, is an incredible accomplishment.
It reminded me of the experience I had at the HS last week. When I asked one of the students why he chose Diabetes as his topic, he explained that it was something anyone can get and if he could learn more about it, he could maybe prevent himself from getting the disease. I was really impressed by that. After reading this one line I realized that was what I was so impressed with, that this student made his study personally enriching. He didn't choose the topic because it was easy or because he already knew about it. I can think of the many times I have made topic choices based on what I know the most about. When I think back to a time when I chose a topic based on what I really wanted to know more about, I realize that it was because it was something important to me. Last semester in 406 we had to construct our own lesson plan and then teach it to our peers. I chose poetry, specifically the sonnet. I made this choice because I have had a feeling that using poetry is going to be an important tool to teaching students about reading. (After reading Wilhelm I think my hunch is right!) However, I didn't feel as if my memory was as strong as I wanted it to be in this area, so I chose it to get some real working knowledge. The point is, when a student chooses a topic based on their desire to know more about something to help them in the future, they will remember what they learned. It will impact their life in some way. That is the ultimate goal: To let the knowledge impact the student.
When I read the metaphor about the classroom full of students resembling "rows of deeply impacted, unpulled teeth" (7) I laughed out loud (for real) and shuddered at the same time. It is THE nightmare.
For that reason, I really appreciated the exercise in chapter 2 when they had us read about Cricket. It was one of the most eye-opening experiences I've had as an education student. As an English Major I have an upper hand in reading a text, even one that I'm not completely sure about. Even when I read the information on RNA Interaction, I was able to make some small sense of what was going on. I recognized some of the information but not all. With cricket I was completely unfamiliar with the terms. I got a vague idea that a game was going on, but I ultimately thought that the writers had just created whatever this example was. This exercise really impressed upon me the need to be aware of the students prior knowledge, especially in a culturally diverse school such as CFHS.
The overall lesson I learned from the reading was that if I want to "activate" students I need to start small. I need to get to know the basics: my students abilities, strengths, as well as, deficits. As the educator I need to choose topics that are beneficial but also engaging and useful to my students. Allowing them the opportunity to choose from a variety of topics is one way to get to know what they are interested in. I plan to use that idea!
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