My Philosophy of Teaching

I wrote this for a Teaching Role Newsletter for another grad class, but I felt that it was something that was important to share with any teachers or future teachers of adolescent readers!

When I look back to my younger days, I realize that the times that I learned the most, was when I had fun.  I am not saying that the goofiest teachers were the best teachers, I am stating the fact that the teachers that went out of their way to create engaging lessons were the teachers that I remember the most fondly.  Their lessons stick with me, because they were memorable and enjoyable to learn.  The brings me to my philosophy of teaching.  I believe that students should enjoy their education.  If we want students to enjoy learning, then we need to create lessons that truly engage and enthrall our students.

We all know that it is nearly impossible to truly hold the attention of each and every student, but that does not mean that we cannot try.  It is my goal to have my students leave my classroom and have them tell others about how much fun they had while learning with me.  Now that is not to say that I want them leaving and saying that they love my class because they sat around and talked to their friends.  I want them to share what they learned with their parents, and profess that they actually had fun learning the information that they were sharing at the dinner table. 

I teach intensive students, students that have already given up on themselves, and that feel that the education system has given up on them.  My goal is to let them know that I care about their education, I care about their futures, and that I will show I care by working as hard as I can to teach them the concepts that they need to know in order to be successful in their futures. 

Engaging students is not about tricking them into enjoying learning, it is teaching them that learning can be fun if they are willing to try. 

So this is my philosophy: Have fun in class with your students, help them to learn to love education, not dread going to school.   Like reading, when we model our love for learning, we help students to do the same. 

 

The Importance of Reading at Home...

I am an 8th grade Intensive Reading teacher.  By that, I mean that I work with students that, on the whole, hate reading and do not comprehend what they have read in a meaningful manner.  The majority of my students are also ELL as well.  Because of this, my students are at a major deficit when it comes to reading and language acquisition.  You may ask, what does this have to do with adolescent literature?  If a student cannot understand what they are reading, they will not enjoy what they are reading, and if they do not enjoy it, then they will avoid it.  So in order to get our adolescents to read the many wonderful books that are available, we have to help them find the enjoyment in reading! 

So, how do we do that??  The first step is the easiest...read with them!!  There is nothing wrong, no matter what the age of your child, with reading along or with your child.  Your ability to model proper reading is so helpful in their ability to strengthen their reading skills!  Second step...read to yourself!  Yes!  Just by sitting at home and choosing to read, instead of firing up the television for an evening of "Must See TV", can make all the difference in the world!

When our children are growing up, they watch everything that we do and completely emulate us!  They want to act like grown-ups and do all that we do.  So why not choose something that can truly improve their quality of life and future!  Sit down, grab a book, start a family reading night!  Anything to have your child understand that reading should be an everyday event and that it is something that should be enjoyed, not dreaded!!

When it comes to discussing the best practices in teaching, I feel that one of the most important is communication with family.  Parents want to know what they can do to help their child, and in order for our students to learn, they must have the appropriate modeling at home.  Letting parents know that reading in front of or with their kids will help their children to truly appreciate literacy and education.  The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)  note that there are three ways that parents can read with their children.  They can have the child read to them, they can read to the child, and the parents and children can read together.  On the same topic, The International Reading Association (IRA) comments that “family involvement can be a powerful element of effective literacy instruction” and because of this, we should do all that we can to open the lines of communication between ourselves and parents. 

Books to Movies - Helping or Hindering Young Readers?

Over the past few weeks, my students have been reading The Hunger Games.  This book is a personal favorite of mine, and absolutely stunning in description.  After personally reading the book, I was really excited about watching the movie.  Unfortunately, it was a monumental disappointment.  I found that there were useless changes made in the movie that did not have to be completely different.  The one that bothered me the most, was the change in the character of Madge...or lack thereof. 
This insignificant change made me think about how my students would or had perceived this movie...if they had seen it yet.  Many of my students already had misconceptions about the book because they had already seen the movie and this was not a surprise to me.  What bothered me was the fact that they had a skewed vision of the story before they even read it.
Yes, this is very common.  Many people see movies before they read the book, but I always worry that young readers will choose to not a read a book just because they have already seen the movie.
While reading with the students, the happiest moment that I had was when my students noted how different the book and movie were, and how the movie was not as good as the book!  I felt that it was a triumph!!  In fact, I challenged my students to read Catching Fire before the movie came out.  It is my hope that they will read the book, watch the movie, and take the time to pick out the differences in the book and the movie.  It is important to me that my students are able to pick out subtle differences and understand why the changes were made.  I only hope that they continue to want to read books even if there will not be a movie made about it!

So I ask...when books are turned into movies, do you think that this helps or hinders our adolescent readers?

A Relfection on Blogging

It is hard to believe that I am writing my final blog reflection.  I feel like I stalled at the beginning of this project and have finally picked up the speed needed to make it something amazing.  Now that we are drawing to a close, I am finally realizing what this blog could truly become. 

I have been slowly adding more information since we last met in class.  Your suggestions have shown me that I can add more than useless widgets that are just advertising for websites.  I loved that I could add links to all of the authors that I have been reading over the semester.  My plan is to continue to add to my blog in order to make it a great resource for my fellow teachers.  Once you showed me that I could add different links and labels, I decided that this blog could me more than just my thoughts about books, it could be a great place to showcase the work that I do with my students, and the lessons that I have used and created on my own.  Tonight, I was excited to share my Thematic Unit Plan on the blog, but eventually would like to create my own website to display my plan. 

When this project was first assigned, I entered it with much trepidation.  I had never created a blog before and was not sure if I could create something that met my high standards.  I am a perfectionist, and I am still trying to set up my blog to be aesthetically pleasing and user friendly. 

I think that the hardest part of this blog was knowing what was appropriate to post.  At first, I thought that I should only post full summaries, then I thought that it would be ok to just post my opinions on books as long as they were rich and full of great information, but after seeing so many blogs tonight, I find that many people have varied their post from long and rich to short opinions that they share about their books.  I want to create the best blog possible, but I do not want it to seem contrived and boring.  Since we only have a few more weeks left, I am hoping to take some time to vary the types of blog posts that I share.  I want them to all be lengthy and full of important information, but sometimes I just want to add short thoughts that I have when I am in the middle of reading my books. 

While doing this project, I also discovered that I could post on my blog from the Blogger App on my cell phone.  If I would have known that I did not always have to share extensive posts, I would have posted more often and whenever the ideas struck me.  I tend to have great ideas for my blog while I am at work, but unfortunately we are unable to access them during the day.  It is difficult to type out huge posts on a phone, so being able to share my thoughts or moments that happen during a lesson would be a great addition to my blog. 

I guess that the general thesis of my reflection is that I have been searching for the perfect way to improve my blog and make it great.  I am not sure if I will ever reach that perfect place, but I think that I have grown immensely in my ability to control, create, and change my blog.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be enjoyed by all and that it will become something useful that I can share with my co-workers and teaching friends, and that eventually strangers will access it as well in order to find information to improve their teaching as well!

Strength and Perseverance: The Cornerstone of Any Good Plot

When thinking about what type of books to read for my reading project this semester, I focused on what I would like my students to see in a main character.  The answer to me was simple; Strength and Perserverance. 
My biggest fear for my students is that they will give up when they are required to do something that is challenging, as much in school as in their life.  My students do not have the easiest lives to begin with, but what I want for them is to be able to succeed in the face of anything that could beat them down.  That is why I decided to choose the themes of Strength and Perseverance as the cornerstone of my book choices.

For the most part, I was quite successful.  Many of my characters had to make difficult choices and deal with events that would otherwise cause them to quit, if they were not strong.  One of the best examples would be the character of Sahara in the book Sahara Special.  Sahara is a an introvert and has been hurt in the past, but is now just trying to be a normal student.  She aches to fit in, but is so afraid to be herself in front of others that she just pushes others away.  After her new teacher arrives, Sahara finds that she finally has someone that she may be able to trust.  She begins to harness her strength and slowly come out of her shell.  She turns from a wallflower into a normal young girl with ambitions and many dreams.

Strength and Perserverance is not just about rising to challenges, but dealing with the hardships of every day life.  Sometimes it takes a lot just to make it through the day and still survive.  Characters throughout history are forced to deal with events that are bound to destroy them, but they are able to find their strength and inner desires and overcome what has been put in front of them. 

It is my dream to share the strongest of characters with my students, in the hopes that they will connect with at least one, and that it will help them to be brave. 

A Response to: Young Adult Fiction: Let Teens Choose

Young Adult Fiction: Let Teens Choose

As I work with my students, I have been thinking more and more about how they choose their books.  I have been focused on the types of books that they read, but not so much about how they choose them.  Recently, I happened to find an article, on The Huffington Post, that discusses a point that I feel is quite interesting.

The author, Chris Crutcher, discusses how many parents have been complaining about the "dark" nature of books these days.  That idea started me thinking about the type of books that I see my students reading.  I understand that many parents see the book covers and assume that darkness will follow, but I will admit that most young adult novels are just about teen life and the issues that they face everday.

One of the biggest problems that kids have is choosing a book that is interesting to them, and the second is that their parents buy books for them that are not something that can hold their attention.  Kids today do not have a desire to read.  They would prefer to watch TV, go to the movies, text, or just hang out with their friends.  Where most people would say, "Well of course!  Kids have always avoided reading!", but I say that the number is growing. 

Kids need to be able to figure out what books they want on their own.  I applaud the parent that takes their child to the library or bookstore, and encourages them to sit and read through different books...not just choose their books by the cover.

I agree with Chris Crutcher, he says that kids should choose their own books, not have books given to them.  If we want to our kids to start reading again, we have to show them that they have to trust their interests when picking their own books. 

Notes from the Midnight Driver

Notes from the Midnight Driver
By Jordan Sonnenblick
Lexile 930

Alex has made mistakes in his life and does not deal well with the problems with his family.  After having to deal with a cheating father, and a mother that does not condone his negative behavior, Alex goes for a drunken joyride to numb his pain.  His mother’s car is his weapon, and his victim is an innocent, $500 gnome.  Because of his wild ride, he is now given the task of committing to 100 hours of community service with a cross old man, Sol, in a nursing home. Though Alex tries to not care about Sol, over time he finds that they have the common love of music, and the pain of family problems. 

Alex is a guitar player, as Sol once was as well. Bonding over their love of music, Alex finds out that Sol was not always so irritated and angry.  He once had a life filled with the love of his life and daughter.  Much like Alex, he lost all of those things and regressed into a life filled with misery.  A side story includes Alex’s love of his best Laurie.  He does not realize how much he cares about her until Sol starts cracking jokes and tries to make Alex jealous by calling Laurie his wife.  By the end of the book, Alex and Sol have become close friends whom care about one another very much.  On the evening of a dance that Alex is attending, Sol becomes ill and is taken to the hospital.  Before dying, Sol gives Alex his old guitar as a sign of their friendship.  The story closes with Alex discovering that the judge that issued his community service was actually Sol’s daughter…

After reading this book, I felt that it was actually fantastic for my students.  Though there were some allusions of sexual activity between Alex and Laurie, it never crossed the line of being inappropriate.  Honestly, I felt like a lot of my students could understand where Alex was coming from in this story.  A lot of my students have unresolved anger issues, and they also get in trouble with the law.  I almost wish that some of them would be assigned community service so that they could also learn kindness and understanding for others.  I enjoyed reading this book, and found that it was hard to put down. 

If I Stay

If I Stay
By: Gayle Forman
Lexile - 830

Mia is 17 and a talented cellist.  She has wonderful family whom she loves very much, but all seems lost after a terrible car accident takes away all that she loves.  The book starts with a scene that could take place in any home.  It is a snow day that closes school for Mia’s father and brother, and Mia’s mom chooses to take the day off to spend with the family.  They joke with one another and then decide to go out for a drive since the weather is clearing up.  What happens next is heartbreaking.  Mia awakes on the side of the road after the family car has been destroyed by a truck that hit them.  She struggles to get to the car wreck and finds her father and mother dead.  She starts to run to what she thinks is her brother, when she is surprised to find that the body she is looking at is her own.  Mia is out of her body and experiencing, first-hand, the horror of the accident.  She travels with her still-live body from ambulance, to hospital, to helicopter, to hospital, to surgery, and then finally the ICU in a Portland hospital. Her parents are dead, and she does not know what has happened to her 7-year-old brother, Teddy.  She knows that she is gravely wounded, and watches on as the rest of the story unfolds.  Throughout the book, we are introduced to many different characters that play a part in Mia’s life.  Through flashbacks, Mia recounts how she met these people, and events that solidified her friendships and relationships.  Most important to her are her grandparents, best friend Kim, and boyfriend Adam.  Her grandparents try their best to hold themselves together, and her grandmother tries to stay positive and wants her to hold on to life.  It is her grandfather, sitting and crying near her body in the hospital room, that tells her that he understands that she may not want to hold on after losing her family.  It is then that she knows that her brother has died too.  In the wake of this tragedy, Kim has been trying to get Adam in to see Mia, though it has not been successful.  Adam and Kim never got along, but their love of Mia helped them to work together to ensure that Adam would see her again.  Willow, a nurse, and personal friend of the family, takes charge of the hospital and is able to get Adam in to see Mia.  He loves her and brings cello music for her to listen to while she is in a coma.  He explains that he does not care if she comes back and never wants to see any of them again, but that he just wants her to live.  The book ends with the idea that Mia may be waking up from her coma. 

This book is definitely one that I would share with my students.  It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.  The idea that Mia is in a coma, but still able to wander around and see how much her family and friends care about her explains why she has such a hard time deciding whether to fight to stay alive or to let go and be with her parents and brother.  I found myself wiping back tears many times during this book.  One thing kept coming to me though, what would I do if I were in the same situation.  If I had lost everything, would I choose to live or die?  It is a hard notion to even think of, especially thinking of losing my family.  This book would be appropriate for my students in many ways.  It has appropriate language, challenging vocabulary that would not be too far above an 8^th grade level, and it has a plot that draws the reader in completely.  You want to continue reading so that you can see what will bring Mia out of her coma, or if she will decide to die.  I think that a great project to go along with this book would be for students to think about how they met the people that they loved the most.  Most of the time, we do not think about or appreciate how we acquire the love and friendships that we have in our lives, but I think that students would enjoy trying to recount what it was that led them to these people. 

Salvage the Bones

Salvage the Bones
By: Jesmyn Ward

Esche is a young girl living with her family in an area of Louisiana that is about to be hit by Hurricane Katrina.  She is the only girl in a large African-American family, and has just discovered that she is pregnant.  Esche is just a teenager, about 14 yrs old, and is not prepared for life with a child.  When the book starts, we share in the birthing process that China, the dog of Esche’s brother Skeetah, is going through at the moment.  She is a fighting dog and Skeetah has bred her with another fighting dog so that he can sell the puppies for a lot of money.  Skeetah loves China and will do all that he can to protect her.  Esche sees a lot of herself in China…and identifies with the dog when it comes to her pregnancy.  Esche has spent a lot of time sleeping with other boys that live around her town, but she is in love with Manny, one of her brothers’ friends, and a boy that has little interest in her, save for sex.  Manny ends his friendship with Esche and her brothers when he takes the side of his cousin in a dog-fight against China.  He showed his true colors and that he really only cares about himself. 

Esche lost her mother when she was just 7, her mother was giving birth to Junior, Esche’s youngest brother.  Having lost her mother, Esche loses herself in books dealing with mythology and romance.  She sees herself in the roles of many goddesses, and when she is having sex, she imagines herself to be a mythological goddess that all men love.  Unfortunately, this is only in her head, and this leads to her pregnancy.  This book takes place in the time right before and when Katrina hits.  Many neighbors think that Esche’s father is crazy for boarding up the house and preparing for a hurricane, but in the end, their family is nearly destroyed when Katrina wipes away their home.  Esche and her family must start over, but she now knows that she will not be alone and that she has many people she can trust to help her.   

I picked this book from the same list that had “The Night Circus” listed on it, so I was hoping for a book that would similarly be great for my students.  However, though the book was really good, it would not be a book that I would choose for my students.  There was a lot of sex and violence within the book, and it would not have been the best to teach in class.  The underlying theme of strength is present in the character of Esche.  She has to deal with being the only girl in a very male-dominated southern home, becoming pregnant by a boy who has no interest in her, and has to survive a hurricane.  I do love the strength that she portrays, but the irresponsibility is not something that I would share with any middle-school aged student.  This book would be more appropriate for college-age students that are taking undergrad literature courses.  I did think that this book would be great for cross-curricular activities.  There is so much front-loading that could be done with the subject of Katrina, Fight-Dogs, Teen Pregnancy, and the aftermath of a catastrophic storm. 

Why Aren't There Rating Systems for YA Novels?

After reading so many YA novels this semester, I spent a lot of time thinking of the different plots and themes that I encountered during my reading journey.  I made a point to try and find books that showed empowered teens and how they overcame the hardships and difficult events in their lives.  Book after book, I read, and found myself gasping at the crude content and language.  I kept saying to myself, “I could never put this in my classroom or recommend these to my students for reading!” 

So many books, that I thought would show the strength and character that I wanted my students to read about, were filled with violence, obscenities, and sex!  I do not know why this bothered me so much, as I was reading novels filled with the same things when I was in middle school.  However, the difference between then and now is that I was reading adult-age novels and my students are reading YA novels.  I think that my point is that what was once considered too taboo for young eyes, has now become commonplace in YA reading!  I have never been one for censorship, and in fact I feel that we all have freedom of speech, but there is something to be said by making readers aware of the content of a book before you read it. 

When buying these books, I was under the misconception that when you bought a YA novel, it was the PG-13 version of an adult-age book.  I WAS WRONG!  When I read The D.U.F.F., I was completely enthralled as an adult, but completely disgusted as a teacher of 8^th graders.  I was hoping for a young girl that found herself in a love/hate relationship with a boy that she ended up having in more in common with than she originally thought, while also discovering her own personal strength.  What I got, was a young girl that locked in her emotions by having an inappropriately sexual relationship with the school player.  As I have said before, I look at these books with different eyes.  From the eyes of a student, I see something intriguing and risqué, as an adult I find it an easy read that is basically like an R-rated movie, but as a teacher, I see it as a book that teaches my teenage students that it is better to suppress your emotions and practically prostitute yourself in order to fit-in with the rest of the world. 

I believe that there should be something, like a TV/Movie rating system, that is used for YA novels.  Too many parents pick up books for their kids that they think looks great because of a pretty cover, yet it ends up having content that hurts their self-esteem or their perception of life.  Yes, this may seem over-the-top, but we live in a world where kids are growing up so much faster than they should be at this age.  It may be hard to get them to read, but there should be some subjects that are left for the adult-age sections.  When I was in 6^th grade, I started reading adult-age books because I found YA novels to be too dull for me.  Now, if I compare YA novels from my past to the ones today…I would consider these new books to be adult!  Maybe I am over-reacting, but I think that there should be a level of maturity, intelligence, and understanding needed before reading content that is intended for older eyes. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Lexile 890

Ransom Riggs did a great job with this book, but I am not sure how students would feel about it.  The book introduces us to a young boy named Jacob.  Jacob knew that he was different, and he thought that his grandfather was crazy, but he ended up discovering that his grandfather knew of things that he could never even dream.  Jacob’s grandfather was a “peculiar” child.  He had the power to see threatening beings that attacked other people like him.  Jacob always thought that his grandfather was eccentric, but when his grandfather was murdered in the woods, Jacob started to think otherwise.  By the suggestion of his therapist, Jacob travelled to England to see where his grandfather had come from year ago.  Jacob knew that his grandfather had been with “Miss. Peregrine”, but was not sure who she was and where she was as well.  It turned out that she and the other peculiars were living in a time loop that repeated the same day over and over again.  Jacob had discovered this loop and Miss Peregrine and the Peculiars, which included a girl that could fly, a boy that had bee’s in his stomach, and a teacher that turned herself into a bird.  The peculiars were in danger, and part of the reason was because Jacob had trusted the wrong people.  Turns out the person he trusted the most was using him to attach Miss Peregrine and The Peculiars.  In the end, the loop that they protected for so long was destroyed, and now they had to find a new loop, or die.   

At first, I really loved this book, and I continued to enjoy it as I read, but it (like the name of the kids) was quite peculiar.  The concepts were a bit crazy, but so was the whole book.  I was a bit freaked out by the pictures that were included in the book.  They were of the many peculiar children and their abilities, or interesting looks.  I was curious about the connection between the character of Emma and Jacob.  Emma basically transferred her feelings from Abe, Jacob’s grandfather, onto Jacob.  Jacob opened up this whole new world for her, but unfortunately, the time loop stopped her from leaving with Jacob.  I thought that it would be interesting for my students to think about what their lives would be like if they had to live the same day over and over again.  Would they go a little crazy, or would they enjoy it?  I think that my students would like this book, but it might be a bit confusing. 

The Night Circus - All Done!!

We are introduced to our main characters, Celia and Marco, in unconventional ways.  Before we truly understand the context of the book, we find our main characters being locked into a duel that they did not sign up for, by their “mentors.”  Celia has her father, a great magician, as her mentor.  Marco, however, was picked out of an orphanage by a mysterious man in a grey suit.  Both children were taught the ways of magic by their mentors, and informed that they would have to compete against another magician when they are ready.  Marco and Celia were never told about one another, but because of the creation of Le Cirque des Rêves, they are drawn together by this magical circus.  Though there are many side stories within this book, the lives of Marco and Celia touch every other character.  Marco takes on a job as an assistant for the Circus director, and in the process, meets Celia when she auditions for the part of a magician.  It is at the moment that he realizes that she is his competitor, but Celia does not figure it out till much later in the story.  Eventually, the two discover that what they create in the circus directly relates to the competition.  They both create tents that are more amazing every time, and that completely amaze the patrons that come to see the spectacle.  During this time, Marco and Celia begin to fall in love.  Their tents turn from spectacles for the patrons into gestures of love to one another.  Unfortunately, Marco and Celia realize that the only way for the competition to end is for one of them to die. 

I loved this book more than I ever thought that I would.  It took me awhile to get started, but as I read, I found that this book got more and more interesting.  The connection between the characters and the content drew me in, and I was so sad to finish the book.  I did not know that this would end up being a love story.  I thought that it was just a story about magic, but it ended up being this romantic story that was weaved in and out of a magical circus.  Marco and Celia just started out as pawns in a magical contest, but finding out that they were literally in a contest of  Nature vs. Nurture magic was kind of interesting.  Which is better…magic that is inherited, or magic that is taught?  I thought that this was a quite an interesting idea for the book.  It would also be a great idea for teaching my students.  They could create nature vs. nurture ideas for different talents and argue what would be better!  I only wish that there were a companion novel that I could read as well!