Blog 10

I have lightly considered teaching because I'm not really an outgoing person when it comes to speaking in front of people, you will all soon experience this personally. However when I read things like the Aleandro part, it really does inspire me like Danielle said. I respect ANY teacher that would teach underprivileged children, I can remember a select few teachers that really helped me. I can't say I was underprivileged but I know how it feels. I never excelled in ANY subject in school so most teachers would just glance over me and not "waste" their time trying to help me. I think that trust in the real world and trust in the classroom is something that should be treated completely separate. I know a lot of people don't trust people from day to day out in the streets, but in the classroom, it is our duty to trust all students. Trust the students that they will do good if given some help and guidance.

I think at a young age, the idea of art to inspire writing would work. However, what is the age limit? I don't think it would work for all ages, it might become debilitating. If a student is used to seeing what they want to write about, what happens to their creativity? It's just like the 5 paragraph format, it's been force fed to us with a rusty fork! If we had some variation I don't think people would have such a hard time writing other formats.

"Variation is the key to nurturing someones creativity!"
-Justin Michael Weidman

Blog 10 or Boo! Standardized Testing, Hooray! Art

Did Ms. Andrews move to Alaska to pursue ballet or teaching? Seems an odd place to go to be a ballerina but I suppose if that's what you really want to do you will go where they have a job. Nice of the Anchorage Daily News to step up and accept the student work. The incentive to get published surely can make an impact on the work. I like to write with the idea that someone might read it even if that never happens. It helps. For me at least.

Ooh that mean old Ann Alejandro tricking those poor little urchins into learning by using art and pictures and writing and such. The cruel injustice of actually making learning into something fun and enjoyable so much so that the poor defenseless little children wouldn't even realize they were gaining knowledge until it was too late. She should be ashamed of herself for duping those naive previous underachievers into bettering themselves in spite of how the world would see them. Shocking, just shocking. I am appalled. Bad, bad teacher. She should just stick to her test preparation and allow the school to go down the tubes like the rest of them. The unmitigated gall. The nerve of some people. I . . . I . . . I can't deal with this, I need a spot of Sherry.

Blog 10

Good articles for our final blog. First, I need to say that I found the Aleandro piece very inspiring- it almost made me want to become a teacher! I thought reading her accounts of teaching underprivilidged elementary students were fascinating. If only all educators could be so passionate about their work and desire to make a difference in students' lives. My favorite quote from Aleandro was "Treat students as if they were all gifted and talented, and they will show you that in some way or in many ways, they are" (WTL 144). Aleandro has both trust and faith in her students, regardless of how young they are, and as we discussed with previous readings teachers need to trust students more and have faith in their ability to surprise and excel in their work. Aleandro's classrooms are a great example of what happens when teachers trust students.

I loved her interdisciplinary idea of bringing the world of art into the world of writing. I agree with her statement that "most writing is visually dependent" (133) and the art world is a great way to demonstrate this idea with young kids, or any age students for that matter. More importantly, Aleandro discusses that she wants to teach her students to learn 'how to see' and how to interpret data from the world around them. This is what writing is supposed to do, but it often gets neglected (in my opinion). I think it's wonderful that she teaches this to her students at such a young age, giving them the necessary tools to become strong writers. I loved when she was talking about how she doubted any of her young students had witnessed anything beautiful in their lives "because nobody had shown them how to see it" (133). What a sad concept. I think bringing the visual arts into writing is great because it not only expands the students knowledge to a wider scope, but also because it teaches how everything is connected and writing is one way to explore that. Interdisciplinary techniques are also a good approach to writing because every student is able to find something they connect with, which we know fuels good writing.

The Andrews piece was also good- another way of integrating the arts (this time performance) into writing. The analogy of writing being like a dance rehearsal was a good comparison. I think it was important that she mentioned that writing should not be a competition, rather an individual challenge. This helps to take the pressure off the writers and allow them to produce their very best work without comparision to others. Writing is supposed to make us feel a sense of achievement in that we have reached a personal best without being judged by others. The idea that everyone should be published (in some format) to increase a sense of self confidence is a good one. Everyone should have their moment to shine and feel proud of their work since writing is supposed to be an enjoyable and fulfilling experience.