Content Knowledge (Course II)

Content Knowledge (Course II)

Session One Blog

  1. Saint Augustine once said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Growing up in a small town in California, I always knew I loved to read, but it wasn’t until I got to travel that I understood why. Books have always been my salvation. As a child I read about a lanky animal that convinced me green eggs might not be that bad. As a young adult, whose parents were separating, I became fascinated with the different family structures each novel presented. In college, I immersed myself in the knowledge and insight my professors had on the novels we covered. But it wasn’t until I got to travel to Spain that the reason for my love of literature became clear. The first few nights in Spain were exhilarating and petrifying. I didn’t know the culture or the layout of the city. In addition, the language that I thought I knew from my small classroom at SMC didn’t resemble the mash of words and thick accent the locals were throwing at me. I felt alone. I felt like I didn’t belong. That feeling of dread quickly took a back seat to the feeling of excitement. Those feeling of isolation were because no one I had ever known got to be where I was. I was no longer reading about characters from a far off land; I was living the story. I was somewhere different. After that realization I focused on filling every minute of my trip with getting to know this different way of life. I talked to locals (with a lot of basic words and hand gestures) and I began to see a whole new existence. This excitement for meeting new people and seeing new places has always been the reason I love literature. The world is too vast to simply sit back and read my one page over and over again.  

  2.  Being a good teacher is difficult. According to Ball’s “The Subject Matter Preparation of Teachers” most teachers leave the role of student to become the teacher with inadequate subject matter knowledge. Ball states “teachers are themselves products of elementary and secondary schools in which, research has shown, pupils rarely develop deep understanding of the subject matter they encounter, we should not be surprised by teachers’ inadequate subject matter preparation” (20). Overall, our class discussion seemed to agree with Ball’s claims. We need to teach our students (not only with passion and a vast knowledge of pedagogy) correct information. We need to be or become experts in our fields. I feel that most of us agree with this concept because we have all elected to further our own education. We are all enrolled in a program that challenges us to study subject matter not just pedagogy. I want to show this paper to my administration. I wish that we could spend our staff development days expanding our subject matter knowledge. That would be a good use of time.  

3. I am truly excited about my question. I want to explore how to teach plays in an English classroom. I want to understand how to take a performing art and translate it into the English curriculum. There is a vast amount of information regarding Drama teachers teaching plays in high school. What I am currently looking for is research that shows the benefits of combining some of these techniques in the English classroom. Like I wrote before, I look forward to interviewing local actors. I want to ask them about their craft and get some ideas and techniques I can share with my students.  My focus for this program is going to be how I can successfully bring plays to life in my classroom.

Research:

• Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance (Routledge 2012)

• Miracles are Happening: Beyond the Rhetoric of Transformation in the Western Traditions of Drama Education (University of Warwick 2004)

• Berkeley Repertory
• Aurora Theater
• Cal Shakes
• Lesher Center for the Arts
• Eugene O’Neill House

     4. “Acted drama requires surrender of one's self, sympathetic absorption in the play as it develops” George P. Baker

Reflection on Course I

                I want to read something other than Lord of the Flies, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Animal Farm. I want to read like I did when I was in college. I want to read something to increase my own personal knowledge. As an English major I got to read all the time. Michael Cunningham, Nikki Giovanni, and David Sedaris were a part of my daily life. Now, as a mom of two and a teacher with 150 students, the time to read for pleasure has been taken away and I am left wishing that I had time to read that one book that everyone is talking about. I enter this program looking to become a student again. I want to seek answers not just to give them to my students, but to better myself as an educator and a person. I want to have time to be an intellectual again.

                My focus is going to be about teaching plays in an English classroom. I am thinking that I will create a unit that can be used before my honors students start Macbeth. Basically, I want to understand how to take a performing art and translate it into the English curriculum. I look forward to interviewing local actors and reading materials about drama and acting. The current push to make students “test ready” is taking away the beauty and power that can be found in a classroom that honors the arts. I still remember how I felt when I read A Long Day’s Journey into Night as a junior in high school. I remember thinking about the characters as if they were real people that I might run into on my way to my next class. The play came to life for me and 15 years later I still remember that experience. My focus for this program is going to be how I can successfully bring plays to life in my classroom. I want to ask actors for tips and research different methods that are currently used in Drama and English classrooms. I look forward to contacting local theaters such as Berkeley Repertory and the Lesher Center for the Arts and seeing what resources they offer. At this point, I am excited to really start my research. I have no doubt that allowing myself to become a student again will make me a better teacher, mom and person.

5 Questions

1.       I am wondering if I have selected a topic that is suitable for this program. My topic is how to teach a play in an English classroom. I am fascinated by the complexity that most plays weave in to just a few acts and with just a few stage directions. At my high school we teach a play at every level and I continuously question if the integrity of the play is honored when the unit is covered in an English classroom. Basically, I want to understand how to take a performing art and translate it into an English curriculum. 

2.       I am not sure exactly how to do field research for this topic. I want to interview local actors and ask them about what must be done during the unit to fully understand the dramatic foundation of the play we are covering. I want to see some local productions and also create a list of low cost theaters that my students can attend. After that, I’m not sure where else to go. 

3.       I am also not sure what materials I should look for. I did a basic (no help from a Librarian) search and did not come up with a considerable amount of articles that relate to my specific topic. 

4.       Are we going to write our own qualitative and/or quantitative arguments?  I’m curious because when I read the argument that I analyzed for homework I truly enjoyed and agreed with its presentation. However, after answering the questions, I quickly found out that I agreed with the argument because I have always agreed with what was presented. The article was not written well and did not follow the appropriate guidelines. I wonder if I could conduct a case study in my classes next year and present my findings in my final product.

5.       Finally, I am questioning what I am going to do for my final product. I always like to know what I am working towards and at this point I am not sure. The idea of a website or documentary is fascinating but I don’t know if I want to turn this experience into a technology cram.