Learning Letter

Anna Papst

Engl. 493

Learning Letter

            Dear Dr. Agriss,

Where to begin? This course was jammed packed with information. I have turned in so many assignments and feel like I have gone through the motions however, I have learned so much from the work I have done. There is a certain quality about your class that forces me to apply myself to my fullest capacity. The first assignment was the book talk. I decided to read and present my book talk on The Giver. This book is a study that eighth graders read at Garry Middle School. I started reading it last year during the end of my observation quarter in the spring. I wanted to pick it up again and read it. There is a plethora of wealth and knowledge in this book and it is a vital piece of curriculum for students to read and learn from. The lessons that the students can learn from Jonas and the other characters in the novel are lessons that will be taken with them through their lives. I felt like I but a great amount of work into my book study. I read the entire novel and answered the questions honestly and with the information that I thought would be the most beneficial for the students to learn from and take away from the novel. The peers in the classroom seemed to be interested from the responses that I got after class. One of the classmates came up to me after and said she wanted to read the Giver because of the interesting talk that I gave that was quite informative. So I gave my best effort and was successful.

            My mini lesson was on American Born Chinese. I was really excited about teaching my lesson and was very prepared. I have read the novel several times so it was difficult to decide what part I wanted to teach on. I used one of the teaching techniques that my teacher used as an activity. It worked really well. I had many activities to aid with my teaching. It is difficult to teach to my peers. The feedback part was extremely hard because I couldn’t defend myself and felt like a lot of it was useful. However, some of the feedback I have reflected upon and can sift through to work on what I need help with. It is a learning experience in itself to teach to peers. I need to work on my transitions and my time management the most.

            The Unit Plan that I worked on focused the novel Tangerine. I spent time planning in my head before even starting writing anything down. I put my best effort into this three week unit plan. I wanted to add as much on my own personality into this work as I could. I added many videos and differentiated instruction into my unit plan.

            The readings and reflections at the beginning of the quarter were difficult to read but I put my best effort into each assignment that I read and wrote on. The words were difficult to understand but after reflecting together as a class, I began to understand the concepts that we were learning through each reading. After finishing each discussion I understood the details and specific theories that would apply to teaching. The clarification and insight that I gained through the discussions allowed much comprehension. I made sure that I finished each assignment so I could engage in the discussion as much as I could.

            I feel successful at the end of the quarter. I applied myself as much as time allowed and did not half do any assignment. I have learned a plethora of information through the readings and reflections that I completed. Your class has allowed me and forced me to grow. Your expectations create a high bar that I strive to meet and surpass. I wanted to please you through the assignments that I submitted on time and by this, I have surprised myself and am proud of the work that I have done. I have learned that if I apply myself fully that I can accomplish much. I am feeling prepared to go into the Capstone with the work that I have done during this quarter.

            I am thrilled to have done so much work. I am extremely exhausted however; I feel great leaving this quarter. The knowledge that I have learned during this quarter will carry into next quarter and into my teaching career. Your classes with the discussion and readings have prepared me to be more confident as a person as well as a teacher. Thank you for the expectations that you have given to me and my peers. Your instruction style has given me a new excitement for learning and for being a better learner and educator.

 

Thanks,

            Anna Karin Papst!

American Born Chinese Mini Lesson Reflection!!!

Anna Papst   

Engl. 493

Dr. Sean Agriss

11.30.2013

 American Born Chinese

Reflection

            For starters I thought I was going to be a lot more nervous than I was. I knew that I would be teaching to my peers and that made it seem more difficult but all in all it wasn’t. I was extremely prepared and had gone over my lesson many times before teaching it. My classroom management was effective. They did not get off task and when they did for a second, then I reigned them back in. One of our classroom rules, the only one actually is that you do not talk while the teacher is talking. It ruins the educational dynamic and atmosphere that the teacher is creating. There are plenty of other times that the students get to talk in class. It slows down the pace a lot when the teacher has to stop and deal with each problem as it arises. I stuck to my guns and was not going to allow them to walk on me.

            Next time I teach this lesson, I will connect the learning targets to the lesson. I will also make sure the students meet the learning target by the end of the lesson. I should’ve tied the entry task and the Quickwrite more to the standards or at least gone back and referred to the learning targets for the day. I could’ve also asked how the activities linked back to the learning target and the concept of Social Justice that I had mapped out in my head for them to understand. I need to be more sensitive that they aren’t necessarily picking up everything just because I wrote the lesson that way.

            I will not be snappy with my comments. I assigned the Quickwrite and then went on and I totally had spaced the Prompt for the Quickwrite. I was embarrassed. When I ask students to expand more on their answers, I need to be more hospitable in the way I talk to them and not be so short sounding. For this lesson I needed to make more of a connection between the characters in the book and the students’ individual identities. For them to learn the connection, I need to make it clear in my teaching and questioning.

            While students are reading, I need to have them actively reading the text by marking it up and writing key phrases or circling words and key phrases. How is reading and focusing on characters going to help students write about themselves? I should have incorporated this question into my lesson planning. I needed to make my purpose and meaning more explicit for the students so that I make sure that they are understanding and getting to where I want them to or at least making progress towards the goal and targets for the lesson.

            Also I need to work on my Exit Tasks to make sure that it is more academic, because the students did not take it seriously. I try to make it random every time to get to know my kids outside of the academic, classroom environment, and I try to pick a question that every student does not have to think so hard going out the door, and that every student can answer.

            I thought overall that my lesson was okay and that the feedback will allow me to do a better, more thorough job in the future. The feedback that I received was appropriate and allowed me to view my lesson through my students’ eyes. I need all the feedback that I can get to improve because it is not about me it is about student learning and success!   

Night By Anna Papst

Night was an emotional rollercoaster for me. I couldn’t read the entire book in one sitting. I understand why this book was chosen for a unit on the Holocaust because it gives the personal perspective of a person who went through this history. There are many opportunities and teaching moments that you can pull from this text. Students would feel a connection with the main character due to the fact that he is their ages. The family ties also would allow you to direct thoughtful discussions in the classroom. Even if students do not know too much about this history, through this book, they would be able to get that deeper understanding.

I would also use the different characters in the book as case studies. Each student could take a different character and write a paper with the perspective of the individual that they chose. This would allow deeper discussions and meanings to come out of the text. Also, I would have students read the book in groups and aloud if they wanted to for extra credit. The book is well written and the language is emotional and impactful.

This is definitely a book that I would also want to read aloud to my students. I would take parts out of the book and create a lesson around the language that he has chosen. I would not want the students to read the book at home, due to the emotions that it could create. It would be better to read it in class and then discuss as we go along. There are multiple themes of loss, hardship, striving, and even dignity that one could pull out and teach on. This book is definitely needed to understand the holocaust in an unusual way from the perspective of a boy who went through, lived it and survived to tell the story today.

Romeo Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo?

 

Romeo and Juliet is a classic tragedy love story. The story of two lovers that will do anything to be together. They both defy their families and will stop at nothing to become one. I have read this play so many times and have studied it a number of times as well. It never seizes to amaze me how much I learn and gain from this story every time I encounter it. There are numerous themes that a teacher can pull out of this story to use in a classroom setting. Some of the themes are as follows; coming of age, defying the norm, holding true to your own hopes and dreams, risk, family  issues and of course the overall theme of undying love. Tragedy is also not a common theme to use in the classroom but one that can lead to interesting discussions and even possible paper topics.

This play would be extremely fun and impactful to act out in an in-class reading. You can break up the scenes or characters amongst the students. You could also break up pages or lines to include as many of the students as possible or who want to participate. There are many adaptations and remakes of this play. However, I believe that the strongest portrayal is the hard copy of the play itself. It has so much to offer any person who picks it up the read it. As a high school student acting out the part of Juliet, it was heartbreaking to read the lines. There is so much sorrow and beauty in this single play that it is almost impossible to never partake in the reading of it. For many teenagers it would provide a foundation for the symbol and understanding of true love is, but with that understanding would allow for teaching about the proper waiting for this love to happen because then it wouldn’t be so difficult to pull off. It also allows for discussions about families and how a person’s individual identity is wrapped up in your last name and the weight that it carries. There is background and history that is found in heritage and this would also provide an interesting topic for discussion.

This post is all over the place. There is so much to say about this play. There is so much to say about the lives in this story. To top it all off, there is so much to say about the theme of love that can pull people together but in the process, can cause much heartache, strife and much tragedy!

 

“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.”

 

“Don't waste your love on somebody, who doesn't value it.”  

 

 

 

Things Fall Apart Response

This book would definitely open the door for culture explorations of other countries and people. Part of students’ development and maturity come with learning about other cultures and customs. It allows their world and the knowledge of their immediate surroundings to be tested and stretched. The enrichment factor from other cultures also helps with the deepening on their own individual identity and can help them appreciate their own life more. Also, to understand historical aspects, it is vital to study cultures and families that live differently. Students would also be able to recognize that people from around the world struggle just like they do but in different ways and due to different factors. Everyone has struggles. Everyone has to deal with issues that are challenging. With great strife come the most meaningful learning opportunities. Students would then learn how to accept other cultures more because they have studied them and learned how they live, what they have to deal with and how they come out of situations.

The traditional aspect of changing the way that you live according to the environment around you would be difficult to understand and coup with. However, there are many pros and cons that can be dealt with around this subject. Change can be good and bad at the same time. Change is very uncomfortable because it puts you into uncomfortable positions, but can allow for great growth. I think that most people do not like change because they are afraid of the risk. People get into their own grooves in life and when change is on the horizon they are afraid to take the plunge, to do something new, and grow in the process. This happens to the Protagonist in the novel. He is put up against opportunities where he is forced to change. His lifestyle is changing also. Is he going to risk his comfortable lifestyle for this new way of life? This book is enriched with learning lessons in life and culture.

I think this book would be a great tool to use in the classroom. Students would find it difficult at times, but would be able to  sympathize with the Protagonist.

TPA TEMPLATE: ANNA PAPST

     I have used the TPA quite a bit at this point in my educational journey. At first I didn’t enjoy answering every question. It felt like it was so repetitive and the answers seemed to be the same throughout each section. But now that I am in the classroom it has prepared me to stay focused throughout the period. I am answering the same questions however; I know what is following each step. I have written down the same learning target many times in different forms all the way through the lesson. I am able to stay focused and keep a fluid pace because I have gone through the lesson so many times and know exactly where I am going. The student voice section tripped me up for the longest time until it was finally clarified for me. I believe it to be the part of the lesson where I am continually checking in with my students for clarification. The students also need a chance to give me feedback throughout the lesson, and this is the point that I check in with them and see that they are getting it. It has allowed for me time to think through the different methods and planning that I have already done. When I have the TPA in front of me it acts as a form of checklist where I just go bing, bing, bing, down the list and make sure that I am not leaving anything out. Yes, it can become monotonous, but I don’t know where I would be without it. My field advisor told me that my lesson was completely concise because I had the academic language all the way throughout my TPA and it was all aligned. Yes it is a pain to fill out, but after you go through the motions, making sure everything is accounted for; it makes for a complete, concise lesson. Plus I could probably do the lesson without it at this point, but having the TPA in front of me allows for a quick reference. This way I make sure that I do not leave anything out.  

Differentiated Instruction: www.ascd.ord

By:Anna Papst

Content, process, and product. Start with one student and differentiate only the content – take baby steps. Make activities and avoid just duplicating the same ones. The best way to meet the needs of a gifted student is to raise the bar for everyone. Discovering what makes your students tick is going to be of so much value in the classroom.

“Objective: to offer students individualized learning experiences during an independent study unit so that the students might sustain or create an interest, showcase their interests, and develop their skills in language arts”

Different projects, even though they seem weird, offer a wide range for student learning. Like creating a poster about mythology that is based off of a fairy tale, might seem a little nontraditional, but it offers for a wide range of learning to occur. I think that the way to make differentiated instruction a reality is that we need to continue to learn about what is out there and what is available. We need to not close our minds to the world that is changing around us right and left. We need to adapt those skills and tactics into our classrooms. We also should not be afraid of change. Change will only make us better teachers.

Students want to be challenged. Instead of finding something easier, challenge each one with variations of the same assignment, if you have an over achieving student. This allows for the class to keep on the same track, but gives permission to that one student to not worry about moving ahead of the class because he/she has a special task that they are working on that will challenge them just as much as everyone else in the classroom.

We need to get energized and we need to step out of our comfort zones and be the teachers that our students need and want. We need to appeal to them and to the world that they live in.

I Read it But Don't Get it ACCESS ACTIVITY

By Anna Papst

Tips for Reading a Poem pg. 122

1.   Read the poem all the way through, twice.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens

 

 

2.   Think about any background knowledge that you have that will help you connect to the people, animals or objects in the poem.

I love the song “Blackbird”. I lived on a farm and we had blackbirds flying around all the time. If you picture mountains in your head that are all white, the blackbird will stick out. The bird flies around and can be anywhere at any time. In the movie “Mary Poppins”, I always picture the birds that are around the bird woman’s feet to be blackbirds. Also the funny birds in “Dumbo” are all blackbirds.

 

3.   Try to make a picture in your head about what’s happening in the poem.

 

“Among twenty snowy mountains,

The only moving thing

Was the eye of the blackbird.

 

I was of three minds,

Like a tree

In which there are three blackbirds.

 

The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds,

It was a small part of the pantomime.

 

A man and a woman

Are one.

A man and a woman and a blackbird

Are one.

 

I do not know which to prefer,

The beauty of inflections

Or the beauty of innuendos,

The blackbird whistling

Or just after.

 

Icicles filled the long window

With barbaric glass.

The shadow of the blackbird

Crossed it, to and fro.

The mood

Traced in the shadow

An indecipherable cause.

 

O thin med of Haddam,

Why do you imagine golden birds?

Do you not see how the blackbird

Walks around the feet

Of the women about you?

 

I know noble accents

And lucid, inescapable rhythms;

But I know, too,

That the blackbird is involved

In what I know.

 

When the blackbird flew out of sight,

It marked the edge

Of one of many circles.

 

At the sight of blackbirds

Flying in a green light,

Even the bawds of euphony

Would cry out sharply.

 

He rode over Connecticut

In a glass coach,

Once, a fear pierced him,

In that he mistook

The shadow of his equipage

For blackbirds.

 

The river is moving.

The blackbird must be flying.

 

It was evening all afternoon.

It was snowing

And it was going to snow.

The blackbird sat

In the cedar-limbs.”

 

4.   What do you think this poem is about?

 

The poem has to do with all aspects of how the blackbird is viewed. Each stanza has to do with another viewpoint that blackbirds have. Blackbirds have always been kind of mystery birds. Songs have been written about them, witches in movies always have them, and so they set off a vibe that I think Wallace Stevens wanted to encompass but also bring light to their other sides.

 

TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

 

“It was a small part of the pantomime”

·         As you watch the blackbird, it is putting on a show in a matter of speaking because of the graceful flying and the black coloring that would make it look like it is a part of a pantomime.

 

“Why do you imagine golden birds? Do you not see how the blackbird walks around the feet of the women around you?”

·         Blackbirds can be seen as romantic birds. They are gracing the feet of women and so men should pick up on this tip.

 

“Even the bawds of euphony would cry out sharply”

·         Even the sweet sound of the women in brothels would cry out so sharply and be filled with fear.

“The river is moving. The blackbird must be flying”

·         When the river is moving then the blackbird is around and nearby. I think that this poem is definitely the wonderings of Wallace Stevens and his creativity about blackbirds. Maybe he has always been curious about them and why they are a popular bird for songs and for scary happenings.

I read it But I DON'T GET IT!!!

I Read It But I Don’t Get It.

CHAPTERS 1-5

There were many extremely good points to take away from this reading. Questioning your students to get them to figure out the answer was a huge point that jumped out at me. You simply wouldn’t spoon feed the answer to them, but ask them questions so to point them in the right direction. Students want to be challenged. When a student has a question or a point of confusion, that’s a valid place to stop and address that question and turn that into a teaching moment.

Anna Papst

Ask the students, not only are they confused, but what is confusing them about the reading. Teaching isn’t just teaching the material or the content that you are required to teach, it’s about teaching your students how to be good learners. You want each student to leave your literature class with some knowledge about reading and the comprehension that reading encompasses. The assignment that talked about confusion really spoke to me. Students will be confused at different stages of their educational journeys, but what opens up the area for teaching, is when the student can tell you what is confusing. This is the moment when they can open up and let you know what they are having problems with and being able to be vulnerable to let you know. Learning is about not understanding all the time. Most of the time students will learn the most from the difficult challenges in education. It’s ok to fail from time to time, and they need to realize that just because other students seem to get it doesn’t have to affect their educational goals.

Students need to get rid of that peer influence and learn for themselves. Each student is on their own path to success in their own way. They need to ask questions, have patterns, do anything that they have to in order to find meaning in the reading that they are doing. You can’t have reading without comprehension. What would be the point of reading if you don’t remember anything or apply any of that knowledge to your life.

Langer's Response Based Approach to Reading Literature

By Anna Papst

This has been another fascinating reading with provoking, challenging, and compelling strategies for teachers to use in the classroom. I am finding more and more that I am printing off selections of the reading, highlighting and taking extensive notes, so I won’t forget the points that I have read and want to put into practice. The point that stood out to me the most is the goal. The goal was stated after the explanation of what was going to happen through the new instructional approaches. But I love how it states “The thought-provoking class is an environment”. It is saying that the classroom is striving to be up to par with this well defined, well thought out approach. It is about the attack at the goal that will make it a success. They are aiming right for it and then follow it up with practical steps that they are taking towards making the goal a reality. The point of using class time for students to explore possibilities really stood out to me because I just had a conversation with one of my colleagues about that very same topic. She said that she gives the instructions and then lets the kids do whatever they want to in class. She said that she is tired of not having them do their work, while she is babysitting them during the period. I think this is a direct example of what we just read. Students need to be challenged in class. There needs to be prompts, discussions and something for them to do at all time. The kids want to be challenged. It is not fair for them to use the class time for their own personal agendas. The teacher is greatly reducing their chance at being successful, because their hardly is any instruction going on after directions are given.

Keep students’ understandings at the center of focus – This is huge in the classroom. Always be looking for understanding and confusions. As long as they aren’t learning, then our job isn’t at its potential or nearly where it should be. We need to be concentrating our lectures and discussions with our students’ in mind at all times. Teachers do learn in the process, but the instruction time in the classroom allows for the light bulbs to go on and for that clarification process to occur.

Social Justice

By:Anna Papst

The link between universal human rights and education is confirmed by Benjamin Franklin 1789 who said, “God grant, that not only the Love of Liberty, but a thorough knowledge of the Rights of Man, may pervade all the Nations of the Earth, so that a Philosopher may set his Foot anywhere on its Surface, and say, This is my Country.”

I wanted to start with this quote because it is the heart of what the article was addressing. How are we going to reach our students, when many feel like they do not belong? We need to create the environment that each student, child, boy and girl can feel like they belong and that they can take ownership in their school. The years that a child is in school, is definitely a process. It is going to be carefully monitored and is going to be a struggle. Anything in life that is worth doing will be a challenge.

There are so many factors that go on in the school setting. These factors are, the teachers teaching, the environment that the school possesses, and the lives of the individual students. We need to understand that we give only a piece of this equation to the students every day. They have so many other things that go on, that can either increase or decrease their participation and success rate in the schooling realm. Part of social justice, is paying attention and now being ignorant to what is going on around you. We need to be educated about the different circumstances and situations that are going on around us, this keeps us honest to our kids and to our responsibility as an educator.

We often have high ideals for our students, but then are hit smack in the face with reality. We over plan our lessons and are determined to get to a specific spot, and then a student speaks out about something that is affecting them in their home life. We need to live everyday in the reality. Outside the walls of our building is the world. We need to make everyday count for our children because we might be the only positive influence that they come in close proximity to.  

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ewu.edu/docview/216832992/14115945A8C5C345281/17?accountid=7305#

Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom

By: Anna Papst

Through reading Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture, I was taken back by the unique offering of this media piece to education. It is so important to offer different mediums to our students in order for them to understand and for education to be applicable to them. There are so many students who see life so differently from where teachers or other students see it. In order for all of our students to pass, it is important to offer new techniques and try new things in our classrooms. One student might not understand what the lesson is trying to convey by simply reading it in a textbook or hearing a lecture about it, but as soon as a video comes on, then the student is suddenly engaged or is understanding what is going on.

I think in this day and age with all the technology, students have become lazy. There is something to be said for the reading of literature and learning from the written word. Your imaginations take over when one reads. In this day and age, a lot of reading isn’t being done by the younger generation. We need to find a way to make reading appealing to our students. Our world is so fast paced these days that it is a challenge to have to sit down and be quiet and read a book. We need to be teaching them discipline and the value that comes with reading literature of any kind. There are so many different mediums, for different purposes and attached to many different messages.

The study that was done about this particular classroom was phenomenal. One of the most important aspects of this article showed that the teacher knew the students. They knew what the students needed to be successful in school and in their learning. We need to know how to reach our students and what will be the most important tool for them to get engaged. I am so excited to reach the unreachable. Teachers can take any difficult student and turn that relationship into a project and a positive challenge. When a student finally clicks with a concept or idea, the teacher feels so confident and encouraged in his or her skills. This article truly got me to think about the different possibilities of education and the opportunity teachers have to reach kids in a way that not many other people get.  

Peter McLaren's "Critical Pedagogy A Look at the Major Concepts"

By: Anna Papst
In this article I was struct with the concept of open ended questioning. We are taught as educators to teach our students knowledge that will carry them to the next grade and beyond into their adult and career filled lives. But what are we exactly teaching them? Are we giving them ways to pass each assignment and test? Or are we teaching them life skills that will be useful to them throughout their lives? I think that this reading was trying to get us to go down deeper in our thinking about education and how we go about teaching out students. We need to be teaching our students not just how to ask questions like who and what, but which kind, where, why and the other questions that penetrate the soul and get people to think about the deeper, more intricate situations and events in life. If students had the conviction to learn, there would be no stopping them from taking over the classroom, running discussion groups on their own and learning so much that they couldn't wait to come everyday to school. This is the kind of conviction that can pull the oppressed out of their oppressed state and get them to move milestones in their lives. With just one simple question or idea, there could be some great changes happening. Challenging our students makes the difference between a body in class and an active participant. We want our students to be hungry to learn, but we have to do our job to get them on the right track. We have to be asking the difficult, brain busting questions that are going to get their minds flowing in a positively educational realm. 
Students do not know the potential that they have. We as teachers are the ones that need to be the driving forces in our classrooms. We need to stretch the students's imaginations and capabilities to the max potential. They are going to benefit from whatever we risk with their futures in mind. Let's stop underestimating what they can and cannot do. Their home lives and ways that they have been victimized often determine to them how they are going to end up, but with hard work and determination and with a single change and shift, the oppression is gone. A new way of thinking overtakes one's body and soul. They start to think in a polar opposite way and this leads to a changed life. 

The Pedagogy of the Oppressed CH 2

I am gripped by the words that we have read through this reading. Educating our students by talking to them like we are supposed to fill them with the knowledge that we have is not the reason to be a teacher. I was taught by many of these types of educators and their classes were by far the worst that I encountered or took part in. It is difficult to be a part of that learning environment, because the teacher is lecturing the entire time and does not ask for feedback or discussion at all during the talk. It’s almost as if I was just a body in the class that was supposed to resuscitate all the information back to the teacher and then therefore it would be called getting an education. The students need the push and pull concept of education. Give the students information and then ask to discuss it amongst themselves, to toss around the ideas and see what they get out of it. The teacher should prompt the students to get ideas flowing in their brains and then formulate a response back. We need to teach them how to think and question on their own and in this way they will learn how to be learners. Conversations should be an ever pressing method that is used in the classroom. Yes students learn from the teacher but the teacher can be taught by the students as well. Teachers need to open up their knowledge banks, create lessons around discussion and prepare students with the tools to be successful in this kind of setting. Students need the tools to become good thinkers on their own to make it successfully through their education career but also throughout their life. Discussion and conversation skills are vital and invaluable throughout life and in any and every situation. There is not enough verbalizations going on in the classroom today. Teachers do not want to teach the students what is merely in their heads, but they want to pass on the skills to be able to function, question, debate and form opinions of their own and then be able to back those opinions up by their own thoughts and ideas. I am so convinced that this is the way I want to teach. I want to invest in my students’ lives by means of educating them in the way to be successful in my classroom and then onto the next chapter. I want to prepare them as best as I can, right where they are at, but to the potential that they can reach. I want them to leave my classroom knowing that I invested in them and that it wasn’t about me forcing my agenda onto them. The point about the world and humanity was so interesting. Communication and thinking are blessings in disguise. What if we didn’t have the ability to communicate? This is a gift that has been given to humans. Since humans have the ability to talk to each other, a person would be greatly missing out if they didn’t share what they were thinking and feeling with other people. It is a part of our development and is imbedded into our souls. We want someone to care and to ask us our opinion. Why don’t more people put conversation out there and then wait for a response. If it is a human’s desire to communicate why don’t we as talkers make a habit of it? I want to create this atmosphere in my classroom. I want to facilitate, to prompt, to ignite and to encourage discussion, thinking, learning and debating life in my classroom. It is my students’ education but I hope to learn from them as they learn from me as well. There was such a plethora of information in this reading that I have taken to heart and that will add to my maturing into a teacher but also as a learning and growing individual. This meant a lot to read. I will take it with me, meditate on the concepts and put them into practice as much as I can. After all what am I afraid of? Taking risks to become the best teacher that I can is this girl’s agenda.  

The Pedagogy of the Oppressed

By Anna Papst

“And those who recognize, or begin to recognize, themselves as oppressed must be among the oppressors. The oppressed must be their own example in the struggle for their redemption.”

This is one of the only concepts that I could fully understand from the reading. The other concept came from the idea that the oppressed find in the oppressor the model of “manhood”. To think using higher level thinking concepts is difficult to wrap my mind around. I really read the chapter trying to dig down and really grasp the idea of the reading. It was extremely difficult because after leaving one concept and trying to gain knowledge on what it was trying to say, the next big concept would come.

It is amazing to me to think that there are people in this world who would be able to sit down and read this article and be able to understand all of it. I admire people like that and aspire to be a better, more learned reader myself. The concepts of humanity and the struggle for humanization are understandable. Many people struggle with the concept of existing in this world is difficult to figure out. Many people have a difficulty knowing how they fit into the world and what kind of role they can play in society.  Some don’t feel like they fit in at all. This concept of “dehumanization, although a concrete historical fact, is not a given destiny.” I think that people often drift in and out of life’s challenges because they don’t know where they exactly should go or do. They don’t have any direction. Some people haven’t had a direction because it was modeled for them, or because of certain circumstances, they haven’t been able to come to grips with reality in that way.

This was a difficult and challenging assignment to understand what was truly being presented. The struggle for humanization and finding one’s place in the world will be an ongoing battle until the end of time.

CCSS POST

BY: ANNA PAPST

I have done quite a lot of work with the CCSS already due to this being my Senior year in the Education program at Eastern. There is quite the progression that occurs from 7^th Grade to 12^th Grade. For example, 7.1 Reading: Literature states, “Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.” 8.1 Reading: Literature states, “Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.” By the time they go into high school, 9.1 Reading: Literature says, “ Site strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.”

The CCSS get students prepared to move onto the next level. It gives guidelines as to where students should be by the end of each phase in their development. By the end of the year, there are requirements that each student must meet. These standards are already in place. Each teacher in educated on what needs to be met and so therefore the teachers can prepare their students all year long with the goals in mind that need to be met along the way. It sounds like teaching to the standard, and in a way it is, but these are the standards and the teachers need to find ways for these simple, (on paper), and yet complex, (to teach and have each student retain), and then be able to test them appropriately for these skills to be shown as understood and developed.

This new wave of education is huge. The teachers are held accountable and so are the students. There has been a period in education where the students just learn what they need to, to get by, and now that simply isn’t good enough anymore. The teachers are teaching these skills, through reading and writing proficiently so that the students will be able to succeed in any and every subject that they are taking. There is much more accountability on the teacher because each one must be continually checking in with their students. The goals and standards are set and now it is the job of every classroom to meet these goals and to succeed as a class and a whole.  By the time each student reaches his/her Senior year, these skills that they have learned will make them college ready and most importantly, life ready. They will need these skills in any job or career that they face. When looking at all the standards as a whole it might seem overwhelming, but when they are broken down, it is not as scary. Each one is a building block on the next one. You must start at the beginning and work your way up to the top until one is fully prepared to leave high school. With the new standards, the students should feel more confident and have a greater desire to want to go to college and to succeed in college due to the skills that they have developed and worked so hard to accomplish.

Discussion as a Way of Teaching

By Anna Papst

 

            At the beginning of the article I was diving in and reading from the perspective of the teacher. As I continued through, I realized that I began reading as a student who has been a part of poor discussions. I began fervidly highlighting main points, phrases and issues that I have personally experienced. I remember discussions in high school where I took a stand on a particular issue and would be knocked down or belittled by other classmates and have the teacher not do or say anything on my behalf. The stronger opinion would most of the time prevail. My point really did matter to me. I had a reason for believing what I did and when I was not supported by my teacher, then what was the point of raising my hand, speaking out or giving my two cents again. This would happen over and over again, and so I decided to not give input anymore. I continually would wrestle with not agreeing with what someone else had to say but did not have the voice or the confidence to say anything.

            As I look ahead into the future I do not want to be the teacher who just sits back and lets the students run the show entirely. There is a time and a place for student led discussions. There are other times when the teacher must intervene, direct the discussion in a different way, or simply end it, and then start asking a question in a new way.  Discussion is a rich form of education. Teachers need to put a heavier weight on this issue and use it often in the classroom. With the technology that is so vastly taking over my generation and the next generation, teachers need to be prompting the students to talk. The students have more to say then I believe they are given credit for. We as teachers should encourage them to talk. Small groups, is a great way for students to form safety nets around them. There are those students who will never feel confident enough to share with the entire group. The quieter students might feel more open to sharing with a smaller group of students and then you can have a spokes person from that group share with the entire class. Many times I have seen the more introverted students give some of the best input. Some of those students spend most of their time in class listening and formulating great insight into whatever the issue might be. When asked to share in a smaller group, teachers would be blown away at the discussion that could arise from their input.

            Discussions are a powerful tool for teachers to use in the classroom. Teachers need to be more equipped at how to direct a conversation with their students. The relationship aspect comes first. A teacher needs to make those connections with their kids. Students will not open up if they do not trust you or know that you don’t care about them. Once this trust has been developed, watch and see how the discussions in your classroom will bloom into a rich and fervent educational setting ripe for learning. Develop those relationships early into the year and your students will be begging to give their opinions and encourage others to do the same. The students will know when you care and when your classroom has become one that they feel safe and comfortable in to just be themselves.

INTRODUCTORY LETTER ASSIGNMENT

My name is Anna Papst. I just turned 25 on June 8th. Just for starters I am one of the most random people you will probably ever meet. I guess I have all these thoughts in my head and I blurt whatever is on my mind out at random times. My friends say that I am quite entertaining. Like I said, that is the first thing that came to mind as I am writing this introduction about myself. RANDOM. 

My favorite color is pink and my second favorite color is black. I put them together as much as possible. My binder is displaying both pink and black in an artsy way!!! I also love to scrapbook. Last year I started a quilt and this year I am hoping to finish it. It's like one of those projects that you start and want to so badly finish but it gets placed on the back burner. 

I am excited for the colder weather because that means that snow is coming! I am an AVID snowboarder and I find peace going to the mountain and boarding all day long. 

I grew up on a farm in the country. I love to ride horses and enjoy being outside as much as possible. I am living in town with my mother right now but soon I will make my way out to the country again. I love the feeling of going outside, looking up and seeing the stars, and being able to hear the crickets. You have to experience this if you haven't. 

So down to the professional side of me. I work at Starbucks on 2nd & Division. I have worked there for almost 6 years. We are open til midnight so it's a great place to study late! 

I tend to be quite the procrastinator when it comes to reading assignments and reading in general. This summer I took summer classes and something inside of me clicked. I realized that I am going to actually be a teacher. This is going to be my life and my students are going to be counting on me. I am getting so excited to finish well and to learn how to learn even more. I feel like there is so much more to learn and am finding that I need to learn more. 

I am going to be working my tail off in this course. I know that I have two academic quarters left before my student teaching in the fall and I want to finish well. I am going to be disappointed in myself if I don't do everything in my power to work hard and to finish strong - and turn everything in on time, with my finest work. 

The first day at Garry Middle School was an utter blast. I met all the students, gave them their seats and sat back to enjoy. I was taking many notes but especially hearing my teacher call out their names and trying to learn them as best as I could. They were instructed to write introductions of themselves to their teachers. I was blessed by how many of the kiddos wrote to me. As they were walking out the door many notes were handed to me. I felt so honored and special. I was taken back by the fact that I am actually going to be paid to do this. 

I am going to work this year in finding a balance between reading assignments and giving out assignments. One thing my teacher said is that he only gives out work if he is going to have time to grade it. He will assign mostly in work that the students can work together to complete. He also told me that most of the homework that he assigns will be for a specific purpose. He wants the students to know why each assignment is given and for what reason. He also makes sure that the students know exactly how to do the assignment before handing it out so that the time spent on each task will be completed with the students' learning and understanding in mind. 

I am so blessed to be working under an amazing teacher. I am going to do my very best to learn everything I can and take away as many goodies as I can. The neatest thing is that he learns all of the kids' names right away and so he can call on any of them at anytime - mind you he learns them all in about 2 days because he gives them so much respect and demands that respect in return. 

Going over the syllabus in class was overwhelming at first but as I step away and realize to just take one step at a time, I realize that I can do it. It excites me that a new quarter is here. With this new quarter, I have a fresh beginning and chance to knock it out of the park and learn a ton about myself and about teaching!!!! 

Let's work together to encourage one another that we all can do it!!! We are a team and let's make sure that each one succeeds! We are gonna have a BLAST!!!!