"Can we redefine and reestablish school-based learning so that it's engaging, enlightening, and inspiring?" (Gura, 2014, p. 5)
I find these two quotes to be very inspirational, and they are motivating me to reevaluate some of the things that I do in the classroom.
When I first started teaching, I was a little bit hesitant to try new things that were not a part of the "established" curriculum. Even though I knew that part of the reason I was hired was the fact that I was young and willing to be innovative, I was reluctant to be too daring. I had this sense that my department head and the administrators at the school would be happier if I didn't stray too far from the status quo. I now realize that when I was planning for that first year, I had the wrong set of people in mind. I was planning my curriculum based on the demands of my bosses. It's now obvious to me that I should have been more concerned about the demands of my students. Fortunately my approach started to change the very first day that I walked into the classroom, and I have tried to adjust to the needs of my students over the past four years. This week's readings reminded me that I can still do a lot more.
The Five Paragraph Theme and Other Monsters
I have tried with all of my might to combat my students' desires to write 5-paragraph essays for every assignment. However, when advising a student on a paper, I sometimes lead them down that path, and they don't realize why it's okay in some cases. I try to tell them that form should not determine content, rather content should determine form. Occasionally, content warrants a 5-paragraph essay, but that should not be the default form for every paper.
However, I feel like my aversion to pigeon-holing students into a certain type of essay could be expanded to an aversion to forcing them to do a certain type of assignment. At least twice a year, I require my students to write a traditional argumentative essay or paper. I feel pressure from administrators and parents to make sure that students know how to handle this traditional assignment, and I drag them kicking and screaming through the process. Hicks (2012) perfectly describes the educational landscape that I am experiencing, "we now find ourselves with core standards that value argumentative writing over informational writing and informational writing over narrative," (p. 156). It seems that we as educators value things that our students do not. Why don't they value these same skills? Because THEIR EXPERIENCES in life do not warrant acquisition of these skills. Until teachers find a way to correlate lessons to life, students will struggle to find value in what is going on in the classroom.
I really like how Hicks advocates for this correlation between life and lesson planning. Digital tools provide an amazing resource that can connect education to a student's experience of life. If this connection is strong, student interest will be higher, and the final product will be much more impressive. Why am I still so afraid to stray from the standard assignments?
When It Works
I wanted to share one success story that I have had in experimentation in my first few years of teaching. I teach The Catcher in the Rye to my sophomore class.
Hey- I was intrigued when you said that your students gravitate towards the five-paragraph essay. Is this because they are so accustomed to it that expressing themselves in other genres seems too intimidating? I'm grappling with this right now during my Practicum (teaching 9th grade). We just finished Night by Elie Wiesel and for their final assessment I'm having them right a reflection in the form of a letter to Wiesel (who lives in Boston). I have to admit that trying to find standards that back up this writing project is really hard, because they really focus on argumentative writing. But honestly, I feel like writing in this genre and having the content be more reflective in nature is a more useful assessment for a text like this. I'll find out tomorrow how willing they are to participate in this genre, but I'm hoping that, because they're only 9th graders, that they don't feel any special allegiance to the 5 parapaph essay. I love your sound track idea! And having them write a rationale for it is both argumentative AND creative writing. Keep up the good work! Also, I'm stealing that idea!
ReplyDeleteHi Brick,
ReplyDeleteThis is nexusreadwrite. I understand where you are coming from with the frustration you feel with the system and being caught between two opposing ideas - your bosses, who evaluate you and your students who need you to push the envelope. I am glad you are reflective and realize that your actual clientele is your students and that your bosses actually want you to innovate. Your example of "The Catcher in the Rye" shows that - it allows the students to involve critically with the text - they have to identify themes in songs that connect to the text, as well as creatively - the create an album cover with track titles. Kudos.
I liked the graphics that you used for the five paragraph essay. I wish my students were committed to writing in any form. They tend to resist writing and reading as if it were a disease. I was really encourage my this course and the many ways it provide mentor texts and discussions of how to incorporate technology and writing together in ways that "engage, inspire and enlighten" (Gura, 2014). It also push me to reconsider the theory and practice of my classroom and like you makes me want to remove the ceilings of the standards and the expected practice. One final point, I believe that the students should be conversant in all types of writing - argumentative, narrative, informational, etc and we should encourage students to write widely, just as we encourage them to read widely, as this prevents them from being stuck in one mode. Just because they may not see the benefit of a task right now, should not be the only reason not to engage in it, this is analogous to us eating a variety of foods - vegetables, starch, protein, etc we benefit from.