“Mind the Gap”
Blog for Session Two
- “Free of direct government control, the schools
would be innovative, hire only the best teachers, get rid of incompetent
teachers, set their own pay scale, compete for students (customers), and be
judged solely by their results (test scores and graduation rates)”(Ravitch,
2010, pp. 9-10). I am fascinated by this quote because it angers, confuses, and
in some ways agrees with me. Teaching is not for everyone. Over the last 8
years I have seen amazing teachers that captivate their students and impart
knowledge on a daily basis. I have also seen teachers that hide behind their
desks and write lengthy assignments on the whiteboard so that students will not
bother them. We need to help or fire the second type of teacher. This is not a
part time job that you do because you want to leave at 2:45 each day. We need
to get incompetent teachers out of the classroom. My confusion comes in to play
when Ravitch writes “set their own pay scale.” I am not sure exactly what that
would look like. I am angered by the concept that teacher success can only be
seen in test scores. My honors students will do well on almost any standards
based test they take. At this point in their education they know how to take a
test like that. What I am truly proud of is when a student walks into my room
at a 4th grade reading level and leaves my class having read, and to
some degree, understood Steinbeck and Shakespeare. “As I watched both movements gain momentum
across the nation, I concluded that curriculum and instruction were far more
important than choice and accountability” (Ravitch, 2010, p.12). I could not
agree more. Nothing matters more to me as an educator than what I am teaching
and what my students are learning. There will always be politics involved in
education. There will always be new movements, philosophies, and ways of
thinking but at the end of the day; nothing matters more than what the students
are learning in each room.
-
A well educated person has knowledge about the
past, an active role in the present, and the ability to plan for the future. In
today’s society a well-educated person must have a strong foundation in history
and literature and the imagination to use that foundation to create a new path.
-
I enjoyed our class discussion about the first
few chapters of the book. I love to talk
in seminars so I don’t think there was anything that I personally didn’t get to
say. I would have enjoyed looking closely at the radical school reforms that
were taking place when A Nation at Risk
was published. I laughed out loud when I read “Let the English teachers teach
math” (Ravitch, 2010, p.23). If our goal
is student learning, no one wants me teaching Calculus. The idea of liberating
students to learn only what they want is another frightening idea. School is
not supposed to be free time. School should be where a child goes to get the educational
foundation he/she will need to start adulthood. I have never loved the subject
of math but I look back at the hours I spent pushing myself to understand and I
am proud of my accomplishment. Although I do not use the math problems I
struggled with back then, I do face difficult situations that I have to figure
out on my own.
-
Literary Response and Analysis 3.12. Analyze the way in which a
work of literature is related to the themes and issues of its historical
period. (Historical approach)
·
World War II History.com (for Lord of the Flies)
·
The Great Depression (for Of Mice and Men)
·
The Trial of the Scottsboro Boys (for To Kill a Mockingbird)
I have always done an introduction unit with To Kill a Mockingbird that focuses on the Jim Crow Laws. That
serves as my introduction to the time period that the novel was written
about. After finding this website, I am
going to add another historical unit about the Scottsboro Boys trial. This
website offers an introduction, photos, quotes from the trial, and additional
links to other educational websites. This Scottsboro trial has a lot of
similarities to the trail that takes place in the novel. I found an addition
site for my students that will help them make the connections between the novel
and some original sources from the Scottsboro trail. The National Endowment for
the Humanities http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/kill-mockingbird-and-scottsboro-boys-trial-profiles-courage#sect-introduction.
5. Anderson, Christopher. (2004, Autumn). Learning
in “As-If” Worlds: Cognition in Drama in Education. Theory into Practice, 43, Number 4, 281-286).
This
article taught me about a theory that might work with my topic. The article
looked at how powerful drama in education can be for students that take roles
in a simulated experience. The article points out how drama techniques foster
metacognition in the classroom learning. Although the article is not addressing
teaching plays specifically, it is looking at bringing in drama techniques to
all subjects and I feel like I can apply some of Anderson’s finding to my
overall focus. The most useful parts in this article are the references. I now
have over ten new sources that I can examine in regards to the connection
between drama techniques and classroom learning. Here is an example that
Anderson used: “The starting point for examining the link between psychology
and drama in education is the work of Courtney” (p.282). Anderson also
discusses the research of Brown, Collins, and Dugiud where they conducted “cognitive
psychology studies of the nature of learning in authentic contexts under the
umbrella of situated learning” (p.283).
His list of references has now become a part of my own.
Ackroyd-Pilkington, Judith. (2001). Acting,
Representation and Role. Research in
Drama Education, 6,1, 9-22.
This article focuses on the teacher in the drama
classroom. Ackroyd-Pilkington suggests that teachers should embrace the role of
actor in the plays that are covered in class. She explains that the role of
teacher and the role of actor have many similarities. She writes that both:
·
Have the job of creating a fiction; function in
the ‘as if’;
·
Interact with those with whom they share the space;
function as communicators employing external features in order to hint at internal
concerns;
·
Function with consideration of the voice in
delivering lines;
·
Must be in the moment, responding to whatever
comes from those deemed audience of fellow actors.
I agree with her reasons. I play a
role every time I ask my students a question about the play or novel we are covering.
I am not asking a question because I am confused. My questions are used to
guide my student’s understanding of the text. I am asking them about the parts
I want them to understand and focus on. In essence, I am not asking a question;
I am giving directions. Although I try to avoid telling my students what to
think about the story, I do want them to understand what is happening so that
they can make their own educated decisions. Ackroyd-Pilkington rebuts a part in
Morgan and Saxton’s Teaching Drama
that states,“ The teacher must remember that the class is not her audience. It
is not you as a performer or entertainer that is important (Morgan &
Saxton, 1987, p.49). Ackroyd-Pilkington responds with “While the teacher may
not be focusing on being an entertainer, it may be that she or he is performing
a certain sequence of gestures and nuances in order to ensure maximized learning
opportunities” (2001,p.15). I never really thought about myself as an actor in
my classroom until I read this article.
6.
Question for Joan. Can I start looking at
websites and books that get into actual drama techniques? At this point I am reading about what people
think about different techniques (articles) but I want to start looking at some
for myself. Would the websites and books be considered primary sources being
that my topic is about teaching drama in an English classroom?
I responded to: Jocelyn Brodear, Sarah Uhler, and Karen Vigna.
