Response to article

Critical Inquires into Language in an Urban Classroom. By, Bob Fecho. Research in the Teaching of English. Vol 34. Feb 2000.

I believe that discussing the strength and power of language is very important to talk about, but sometimes it can be taken too far, and that is what I believe that the author of this article does. I don't know if it was just that I didn't agree with Mr. Fecho's point of view or if I just didn't read it the way that he wanted it to be read, but either way I felt it very difficult to get through the article. I think that it was a great how many other sources that he sited and how he really knew what he was talking about but I think that there were ideas that he overlooked. At the very beginning he talked about putting up a facade and how these students were doing this. I personally believe that putting up a facade in front of certain people is just something that we all do! This is almost a defense mechanism to defend ourselves from being judged, we always want to try to fit in. I think that this article was an ok read, It wasn't something that I would recommend.

Paper Topic Thoughts

For my next paper in this writing class I am considering doing something about the correlation between the amount of parent involvement in their child's both academic and social lives and how that affects how they react in school. I want to know if the parents involvement in the students life will positively effect how they perform in school. When I was growing up I had a mom that was always involved in everything and I think that it helped me keep on track, but I wonder if this is accurate for all students. What is the negative effects if the parents aren't involved? But I am not exactly sure how to start, or where to go from my question.

Response to 2 more articles

Teaching English in the World. By, Rebecca Wheeler, English Journal vol 94. No 5, May 2005.

Overall I believe that this was one of the most beneficial articles that I have read that will prepare me for my occupation as a future teacher. I know that I have made the same, common mistake that was performed by the teacher, Deborah. So often when reading my peers' papers or even when I am grading for my practicum teacher, I will correct simple spelling errors or other common English writing mistakes. But normally I don't take the time to write-out why the mistake needs to be made. Flipping myself around and now becoming the student, I realize looking back that rarely did I ever get told why something needed to be changed, all that I knew what that I needed to fix it. So often I will get marks on my paper that are foreign to me, but they mean something to teachers. I think that if we, as future educators spent more time focusing on the "positive" part of "correcting" work instead of circling errors, it would be more effective. If my teachers had taken the time to explain to me why I needed to make the corrections that I made, I would be more likely not to make those mistakes in future writings.


English in the City. By, Ruthie Stern. English Journal. Vol 93. No 4. March 2004.

I enjoyed this journal because i have background knowledge in the topic of Signification vs. signification. One thing that i really did not like was how the author, Stern, kept on referring to the dialect that the African American cultures use as "their" language. This just proves that they are the oppressed and I don't like that. When she was talking about how the students that she had learned that they have to and can turn off and on their native language, I felt that this was very important. The way that someone speaks and uses their language is part of their identity. By forcing them to turn off their language and use our language is just keeping their identities and their language in the hands of their oppressor (white culture). This saddens me, because their is such an art and reason to everything, i wish that we could cherrish differences instead of squash them.

Responding to the violence articles

Responding to Students Who Disclose the Violence in Their lives. By, Douglas Fisher. English Journal vol 95, no.6, July 2006.

The first thing that really caught my attention in this article was the "Death" poem. I had a very close friend die when I was in high school, and I remember journaling about it and trying to make sense of what had happened. It is very interesting to me that for some reason, writing is a very personal thing for most people and they tend to share what the they normally wouldn't when they write. The line from Tyneeia's journal, "Sometimes I feel like I am 50," was very powerful! I think that sometimes we as educators, may get caught up in our own lives being hectic and unexplainable that we forget to understand that the things that are going on in the students lives are just as monumental. Lastly, I really enjoyed how Mr. Fisher gave ways and examples of how teachers can incorporate the writing in their classroom and how to deal with the communication after violence appears. Overall this was an effective read, recommended by me!


Teaching English in the world: The Dangerous Profession. By, Tom O'Malley. English Journal Vol. 95, No. 4. March 2006.

The 3 R's that no one likes, "Repetition. Redundant. Required." After reading this quote, I just knew that I was going to enjoy this article, and I did. In this article Mr. O'Malley referenced a book called, Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy, I think that I may have to check this book out, and according to him, you should too. But this book led into an interesting discussion topic with his students. They were discussing John Steinbeck's, "Of Mice and Men," (which I did not particularly enjoy) and the discussion turned to violence. This was a great example of how we, as teachers will have great intentions for where we think class discussions should go, but the students may and probably will have a different agenda. This just shows that we must be prepared for anything and think ahead on how we would answer such issues. Truly enjoyed the suggestions section at the end!

Aloha!

Welcome to the wonderful, tropical world of Hawaii! Haha jk! Here you can be whatever you want, whoever you want, and wherever you want! Today it is raining outside and quite possibly going to snow, so I want to be in warmth of the sun on Hawaii. Where do you want to be? I am not really sure what to say seeing that this is my first time ever blogging. So we shall see what interesting things that I come up with throughout the semester! Enjoy!