Reaction to Group 2's Teach

The issue of social justice in todays classroom is a big issue to handle. By making activities open and free it allows students to have an atmosphere that allows them to see what stereotypes are and how we can recognize them, so we can prevent ourselves from believe them. Todays classrooms are becoming more and more diverse and it is up to the teacher to teach everyone one in his or her class the importance of equality and embracing differences good and bad. If a teacher is successful in doing this they can change the world for many students who have been discriminated and brought down because of their differences.
In witnessing their teach, I have encountered many new ways of handling social justice issues in the classroom and I hope to practice these activities in my future classroom. it seems like they tackled a lot of issues that are present for students in society and it is an important aspect of teaching that is often overlooked.

Letter to Disney

Dear Disney Motion Pictures,

After viewing many of you're movies with my children I have found that you have stereotyped various minority groups within the stories of the films. I find this to be very inappropriate for movies that are geared for younger viewers. These stereotypes of African Americans, Native Americans, as well as Arab Americans can not stand in a country as diverse as ours. These stereotypes demean women, show native Americans as the color "red" and stereotype broken English. In the movie Dumbo, african american's were portrayed as slaves and impersonal by not showing their faces. I demand that you change these stereotypes in order for my children to grow up with an equal view of all people no matter their race or ethnic background. These movies should be made to embrace differences not to make them a focal point of humor. Disney I say to you, please rewrite you're scripts and scenes to show equality of the races and everyone sharing in experiences, so that my children can see the value of a country that views differences as a good thing and not a means of stereotyping.

Sincerely,

An angry Parent of misled children!

Reflection on Social Justice Activities

The activities of group three's teaching were very important for teachers and students to experience and learn from. The activities showed how everyone in the classroom is affected by stereotypes and that as a teacher your teaching might be affected by this social issue. After seeing how the media impacts students, I feel that as a teacher we must try and combat those stereotypes and issues by changing our methods of teaching. This could be in the form of a lot of interesting lessons and texts that break down stereotypes. Introducing texts that have main characters that aren't popular, jocks, or similar to this. Students have to see that everyone in the classroom has things in common and can work together and can even be friends. Many people have a world view today that states if you play sports or wear nice clothes or are smarter than other people you are better than them. This just can not stand in the classroom and as a teacher I feel it is your job to eliminate this belief.

Stereotypes in the Classroom

As a future teacher teaching in a middle school or high school, it is important to look at stereotypes that students face in and outside the classroom. To be an effective teacher in todays classroom I feel that you must know your students in order to reach them. Knowing interests of the students in your classroom and how they interact with each other is very important. Students are impacted by their peers to a great extent, this is very important for a teacher to know when forming class discussions and assignments. Questions for a teacher to think about would be, "How do I impact everyone from all different cliques in class discussion?" or "Do your teaching methods change with different groups of students?" Stereotypes would be a great lesson to teach students in writing because it is a great way for students to think about how similarities in groups make everyone different but can also cause groups of students to side with each other. With the class uniting, it will become a lot easier for your students to work together and embrace each others differences and similarities.

Advertisements I Find Appealing!

While thinking about Group 3's assignment in which I had to find and reflect on an advertisement that I found appealing, I found out a lot about what I value and look for in a products ad campaign. While looking through many magazines adds and commercials on TV I found out that adds that are funny or eye catching definitly appeal to me and make me feel like I have to buy their product. While driving in my car, i heard a lot of comercials, but one in particular struck me as a very appealing ad. I have heard this kind of add before but, it has always appealed to me when considering a beverage choice. The Bud Light adds that start out with "Real Men of Genius..." are by far the greatest adds i've heard. They are funny and appeal to every day people and situations that people can relate to. The one in particular that I heard was "We salute you Mr. Humongous Pumpkin Grower Guy," this commercial pretty much has nothing to do with the product it is advertising, but it is funny and you can remember it.

My Thoughts on "But When Do You Teach Grammar?" Allaying Community Concerns about Pedagogy

When researching scholarly articles for this post I came across a lot of interesting articles that conveyed a lot of new techniques I should consider when looking at grammar instruction. The article I was most interested in gaining knowledge from was in the English Journal this article contained some pretty worthwhile advice on grammar instruction. The article is called, "But When Do You Teach Grammar?" Allaying Community Concerns about Pedagogy by, David Gold (High School Edition). Urbana July 2006. Vol 95, issue 6, pg. 42-6. This article outlines the problems David Gold encountered when trying to set up an English program at a new private high school. Some teaching techniques that David Gold described proved to be very responsive in the new high school. One such technique, was described as "teach writing as a reflexive and reflective process, emphasizing the importance of multiple revisions through conferences, class workshops, and peer reviews in a supportive class community (Brooke, Mirtz, and Evans; Elbow; Murray). i think this strategy is very helpful in a classroom enviroment, where students can get feedback and learn from each other.
Gold also points out another strategy that I found to be against go teaching grammar. "Teach grammar, usage, and mechanics rhetorically, in the context of students' writing, not as separate "formal" subjects (Andrews et al.; Hartwell; Kolln; Weaver). " This statement I don't agree with fully, grammar should be taught in the context of student writing but there also should be some time devoted to formal lessons on grammar and how to use it, but they must be done right and with the students being engaged and motivated, this would prove to be a little difficult.
The last strategy i found to be a great asset was the "use (of) portfolio evaluations for each assignment, requiring students to turn in not only final papers but also their work at each stage in the process, including metacognitive essays that require students to reflect on their work as readers and writers (Hillocks; Raphael, Englert, and Kirschner; Yancey)." This I feel is a great way to approach assessment and to teach writing to students. As a teacher you can grade students work as a progression as well as seeing how and what your students are learning.

Image Grammar: The Writer as Artist

The concepts written about in this chapter I found very interesting to discuss with friends and fellow colleagues. Writing as Seeing, is something I have never thought about before. Images in writing are very important to me as a reader and if I read something I have made it a point to visualize all I can. If a writer uses images and words that evoke pictures in my mind I can relate more to what I read. If I can teach my students to show me something, rather than tell me something I think that I have done my job as a teacher of writing. Words that describe actions always enhance my writing and when grading students papers it seems to me that the students who explore more with descriptive words tend to write papers that I enjoy reading and in turn get better grades. The process of revision is a teaching strategy that I fully support and hope to use in my classroom. Positive comments on students papers and their ability to realize their mistakes and strengths is one aspect of teaching writing I enjoy. Building students confidence in their writing is important and through revision I think this can be accomplished.