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!