Post #3: TKaM, Pt. II

First, I'll respond to Dr. Cole's comments, then I'll offer a little update on my reading of TKaM.

I agree entirely with Dr. Cole's comments on the perspective of Scout.  Due to Scout's age, Lee was able to create in innocence in her perspective that would have been otherwise unattainable.  I think that Lee would have lost a lot had she gone with Atticus, Jem, or any other character as the narrator.  As for substituting TKaM for Monster... I don't know.  TKaM is an excellent novel, no doubt, and would benefit an Adolescent Lit class, I'm sure.  The downside would be that Adolescent Lit students would miss out on reading Monster, which was a really excellent book.  It opened my eyes to a genre of YA lit to which I was previously oblivious.  Also, I've thought about the benefits monster would bring to a High School classroom (I think that its a great read, with awesome themes, and being set up like a movie script would help draw reluctant readers that dig movies).  Had we never read Monster in Adolescent Lit, there is a very good chance that I wouldn't have been exposed to it, and had I not been exposed to it, I feel like I would have missed out on something. 

Also, the intended audience of all of the texts that we read in Adolescent Lit, if I remember correctly, were young people.  I don't think that this was the case with TKaM.  Granted, TKaM has become a major work in the High-School cannon, but I wouldn't classify it as YA literature.  I really enjoyed reading the YA lit in Adolescent lit, and I'm not sure what the effect of replacing a valuable piece of YA lit with a classic high-school text would be.

In regard to why I didn't read it in high-school: I was lazy and disengaged.  I rarely read assigned work during that period of my life.  In my experience up to that point, I couldn't relate to or enjoy a lot of the assigned readings, so I gave up on it.  That isn't to say I didn't read at all; I read plenty, I just chose to read outside of class rather than for class.

So, more on TKaM. I've read 6 chapters since my last posting, and what is most notable to me, as of late, is Jem's growth.  Since the trial scene, we've seen Jem grow from a boy into an adolescent.  Lee does an excellent job in portraying the difficulties that adolescents endure during this time, as well as the struggles that every adolescent goes through when they're trying to figure the world out for themselves.  Jem's troubles deal mostly with racism, but the growth, change, and discovery are universal.  No matter where they live, or what dissatisfaction with society an adolescent might have (for everyone has problems with the way our society works), they could easily relate their struggles to Jem's.

In terms of whether or not I like the book... I like it more and more with every page I read.

Post #2: On To Kill a Mockingbird

For my "classic school text" I'm using something from another class.  As it turns out, that text is in itself a classic school text, so in a way, it still fills the criteria despite its being read for another class. 

I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird in 450 (Seminar), and so far the experience has been nothing short of excellent.  I've also taught two thirty-minute lessons on the book, both of which have went well.   The experience in teaching has been great, as the book yields a plethora of topics to discuss, themes to interpret, avenues to explore, et cetera, etc.  I remember the book being assigned reading in 11th grade... but I don't remember reading it... because I didn't.  Reflecting on that fact, I really wish I had.  If you haven't read the novel, I suggest you do, if not for its literary value, at least for its entertainment value.  This is one of the most entertaining and engaging novels I've read in a long time.  It's one of those novels that you lose sleep over, not because you can't help but think about it or because it stresses you out, but because you don't want to put it down.  Few classic high-school texts affect me in such a way, but this one's right up there with 1984 and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - two of my favorites.

As for the novel's content, I don't know where to start.  It encompasses many themes, from racism, to dehumanization, to coming of age, to "walking in another person's shoes," the list goes on.  The book has a lot of great lessons to teach, and speaking of teaching, would be a great novel to use in the classroom.  Having taught a few lessons on the novel, and observing others doing the same, its safe to say that this is a novel I would really enjoy teaching when I have a classroom of my own.  If you pick it up and read it, you'd probably feel the same way. 

Post #1: The Digital Writer's Workshop by Troy Hicks

I'm getting a late start on my blog posts, but I suppose better late than never.  Reading this book is actually getting me more excited about doing things digitally, both now and when I teach in the future.

When I started in the English Ad Ed major, I wanted to be the type of teacher that wouldn't use much technology.  I remember a specific instance during observations that I thought to myself after seeing a boring PowerPoint, "What happened to just using an Elmo and those clear pages you can write on with a Vis-a-Vis?"  Technology just didn't interest me.  All I needed was a chalkboard and a book.  I suppose that I've always viewed technology as a hindrance.  Again, to cite observations, I was in an 8th grade English classroom where all the students had been given those mini laptops to use for the year.  Class took an extra ten minutes to start because the computers had problems, and once they were started, the kids were more interested in playing mine sweeper than they were the lesson being taught.  The technology just seemed to create more problems.

As I read, and continue to read, Hicks' text, my opinions seem to be evolving.

Hicks offers some great uses for technology, and offers them in ways that will avoid the aforementioned problems.  Most importantly, at least for me, Hicks shows the reader that we can't push technology away.  Computers and the like have become such a large part of our schools, our country, and even our culture, that we have no choice but to embrace them.  Through Hicks I've discovered that the only way to combat the problems that technology can cause is to embrace it and use it to our full advantage.  Being technology savvy can only expand your abilities as a teacher, first, by putting you on the same level as the kids and showing them that you understand the technology that they are undoubtedly into, and second, by giving you more options in terms of lessons.  By understanding technology you're only expanding on your potential as a teacher.

The only thing that scares me is what technology will be like when I'm 50 or 60 years old.  I hope that I'll be able to keep up.