Teaching Literature: Classics in the Classroom, Chapter 1

Before reading Chapter 1 of Classics in the Classroom, by Carol Jago, I had mixed opinions on teaching only the classics. I thought that there was merit to canonical texts, but I had little basis for that opinion other than that they have stood the test of time, and thus, earned their right to still be around and still be taught. However, after reading the first chapter of this book, I see that there are many more positives.

• One, they enrich students' vocabulary. It seems that so many authors use simplistic vocabulary in order to reach a more diverse audience. If they are using words that half of their potential audience will not understand, the likelihood of their book selling and/or being enjoyed goes down.
• Second, these books teach metaphorical thinking. This is something Carol Jago points out that is used daily in dialogue among us, but usually goes so unnoticed. If a teacher can make that relation from a student's every day dialogue with their friends to the metaphors and symbols used in the canonical text they are studying in class, they will be doing a great deal to help students relate to and enjoy the text.
• Third, many of the classics taught in high schools are drama, such as Shakespeare. Things like that just don't happen anymore. Normal, sane people do not go around avenging family members' deaths or killing themselves because they cannot be with their one true love. The fact that so many of these books are very dramatic, and outdated, as the students may see it, makes students find it even harder to relate to them. But Carol Jago made a great point when she said they our students will be voting on whether or not to go to war at some point in the future, or serving on a jury for a murder trial, and by reading these books, they are learning knowledge about the world and the basis for those future decisions.

Those are just the main three points I liked from Chapter 1 about why canonical texts are so important. These texts increase vocabulary, but also teach students about the world in which they live and about politics.

Multi-Modal Literacies: The Socially Networked Classroom, Chapter 4

Out of all the activities throughout The Socially Networked Classroom the one I really liked the most and would love to incorporate into my own classroom, even though it may be a bit difficult in a Literature class, was the Great Debate of 2008 project on pg. 86. I'm a big believer that high school is not simply for learning academic skills, but also life skills and how to become a contributing member of society. So many high schoolers, and people in general, are not up to date on current events or even aware of some of the political issues that are ongoing. I myself am even guilty of this in some instances. If I don't find something interesting, I find it hard to go looking for information on it or to convince myself to read the latest newspaper article describing the newest developments.

This project, on the other hand, makes learning about political issues fun. First, it is based on the web, which automatically makes it more interesting to students. Second, it involves students from schools other than just their own. In this case, the project ended up including students from 8 different states. The project opens students up to other parts of the country, and thus, other viewpoints. Finally, the students have a certain level of freedom in regards to this assignment, which Dr. Hutchison taught us last semester is one of the top motivators for high school students.

I imagine it would be hard to keep up with the monitoring and assessment of an assignment that is so large, but if I could manage it, I can't think of another way to merge politics, writing, internet, social networking, and researching all into one large project that students will find challenging and fun.

Multi-Modal Literacies: "How the Web Was Won"

I thought this article was an absolutely perfect assignment for a class titled "Multi-Modal Literacies." Never before had I read an article online, that included print (in interview form), photos, and audio. Because the article was so lengthy, even with it being broken up by sub titles, the photography and audio were necessary to keep a reader's attention. It seems to me that this is where the future of journalism is heading anyways. Nearly all magazines have their own web site that offers some of their feature stories, additional stories, interactive quizzes and activities, etc. Journalism is heading from print, to the internet. As these articles, and the news, as a major example, become so available on the internet and on devices such as the iTouch, consumers are going to be so much less likely to purchase subscriptions to these magazines and newspapers. It is great that the article was about the history of the internet, as the article was making even further history of the internet.

Like Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, some of the technical terms and references went right over my head. That aside, though, a lot of it was so easy to relate to because I did grow up during this. They talk about Earthlink, and I remember when my family got our first laptop and we would take turns using it to keep in touch with our friends from a summer camp my family was involved in that was located in Ontario, Canada. The e-mail service was Earthlink; it seems like so long ago.

I also found it fascinating to read about the specific people who started different online businesses, such as Craig's List and eBay. On a day-to-day basis we just take the fact that these sites exist for granted, but we don't even think about what a creative, ingenious idea they were when they were first invented. The article is one that everyone could benefit from. My age group can benefit from it because we can not only learn from it about the history, but relate to aspects of it. Those who are younger than myself can benefit from it because it reminds them that the internet is an invention that became popular not so long ago. And finally, our parents can learn from it because some of them still see the internet as such a foreign concept and "How the Web Was Won" is written in a way that is enjoyable and educational, and shows how far the web has come in it's layout, too.

Multi-Modal Literacies: Little Brother

I really enjoyed reading Little Brother by Cory Doctorow for many reasons. First, it is a book that I would never have picked out for myself, or read for long enough to actually enjoy, had I not been assigned it for class. I can use computers and do some basic HTML and things like that, but I have never understood anything more in depth than those basic understandings. I don't understand anything about hacking or coding or the way governments can survey us beyond cameras and tracking our spending, so this book was a really different type of read for me. I didn't understand a lot of what I read, but it was eye-opening in that I can enjoy books that are typically catered towards tech-savvy boys. If I simply skim over those parts, or try not to get frustrated when I don't understand them, then I can still enjoy the book for the other plot points and the characters that it has to offer.

The other, and the main, reason that I liked this book was because it reminded me of 1984 by George Orwell. 1984 was one of my favorite books that we read in high school classes, even at the time. I think it's even more relevant to us, as people and as students, whether in high school or in college, today. After the September 11th attacks, the whole issue of freedom and personal privacy came up. Many people did not feel it was fair that the government should be able to keep tabs on us to the degree that many feel they do, in order to prevent terrorists from planning or entering the country. I think this book really puts all of those issues into perspective, and would really help high school students to understand them. One quote from the book I really liked was ""Funny, for all surveillance, Osama bin Laden is still free—and we're not. Guess who's winning the 'war on terror?'" I can't find the exact quote, but I also really liked when he called Homeland Security the terrorists, since they were scaring the citizens as much as the actual terrorists did, if not more. It seems to capture the way a lot of people felt following the attack on September 11th. This book would really make a statement, not only in literature classes, but also in government classes. I would definitely teach this book in my class if the districts would allow it because I think it's a great way to merge real life issues with the books students feel they are "forced" to read in their classes.

Multi-Modal Literacies: Multi-genre Autobiographies

The assignment of creating a multi-genre autobiography has been a really enjoyable one for me. At first, I was afraid I was not going to even be able to remember enough of the book and television that I enjoyed growing up, but as soon as I started, they just coming until I realized I had over 100 slides and was trying to condense them. It was so interesting to begin to make the connections between how all of the different genres affected my interests and personality throughout the rest of my life. It also made me realize there is a connection between so much of the things I like from all of the different genres. For example, I have always loved quotes. I keep a document on my desk top that is just page after page of saved quotes from television shows, books, movies, blogs I follow, and so on. I love the way that a few sentences can capture a specific emotion or feeling or event so perfectly, and as I was making my autobiography, I realized that was the exact reason I loved photography, and almost made it my career. Photography, like words, captures emotions and events and feelings like nothing except, in my opinion, words can. That, I feel, sums up where my love of literature comes from.

Further, this knowledge is what is going to affect my teaching so much, whether it is what I draw from the texts we read as a class, what texts I choose to begin with, or how I tie them together and into the students' individual lives. Coming to that realization was a real epiphany for me. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and that I loved literature and all forms of capturing important feelings, etc., but I never knew how that love affected the way I want to teach until now.

Dear John

On February 5th, the movie I have been dyiing to see to see for weeks comes out: Dear John. Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried star in it. I have only seen Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls as the ditzy sidekick friend, so I think it will be interesting to see her in a more serious role. The same goes for Channing Tatum, who I have only ever seen in previews for the movie Fighting or whatever it was called. I hope both of their acting abilities live up to the hype that is being created about this movie.

Dear John is based on a book by Nicholas Sparks, who most know is also the author of The Notebook. The Notebook is one of my all-time favorite movies, as cheesy as it may be. There is something about movies that are made out of books by respected authors that really make me want to see them. It is such a do or die sort of thing. These movies are either much better than the book, or so much more terrible than the book was. At least that is my opinion. Waiting to see these movies creates a sense of suspence. Is it going to be as well-liked as Nicholas Sparks' books are, or will it crash and burn.

The third reason I am looking forward to seeing this movie is for the music. The song featured in the movie's trailer, "Set Fire to the Third Bar" by Snow Patrol is one of my personal favorites, so obviously I had to look into the rest of the movie's soundtrack. It did not disappoint. There is a range of different music featured and it will be interesting how they all fit together in one movie.

Little Brother

I found Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, to be a very interesting insight into the way technology affects our lives currently, as well as the impending effects it could have in our not-so-distant futures. Last semester I took a rhetoric class, in which the teacher was constantly stressing the importance of thinking for ourselves and realizing that there is a bias to everything we see and hear, especially in the media. This book really brings this concept home in a way that everyone can understand, specifically high schoolers. For example, when Marcus finds himself being questioned by police for simply riding public transportation in a way that aroused suspicion. Another example that really disturbed me was the idea of high schools have systems that monitored students' gaits, and computers that kept tabs on them.

These things seem so far-fetched, but how far-fetched are they really? In today's society, almost everything can be achieved through technology. Just think about the itouch and skype. These are concepts that some of our parents would not have even imagined. And following the attack on 9/11, many people have already been questioning how long we will maintain our freedoms and rights, especially privacy, in the past years. High schools have been forced by school shootings to install metal detectors, while others, like my own high school, are contemplating large fences surrounding the campus to keep students in and others out. Many web sites are blocked through the schools' computers. It has already been established in the courts that students "check their rights at the school doors." Where does the line get drawn if the threats just keep coming, intimidating and scaring law enforcement and school administrators into actions such as these. This book presents examples of what our future could look like if we continue down the paths that we have chosen so far.