Shannon+Walklet

I'm a senior at Clemson University majoring in Secondary Education English. I recently completed my minor in Spanish while studying in Costa Rica during Spring 2011 and it's pretty safe to I've been bit my the travel bug. Culture has always fascinated me, but now having lived abroad and come back it's fun to recognize similarities and differences as well as the universality of human nature. Being in Costa Rica also confirmed my love for the outdoors-- hiking, rafting, laying on a beach. Which is great because for the past five summers I've worked for a YMCA summer camp and being surrounded by children there definitely sent me down the path towards pursuing education as a career path. This past summer, I coordinated a leadership development program within the camp setting which gave me some great insight into working with teens. I settled on English education because I've had a passion for reading since my dad used to read my brother and sister and I to sleep most nights as children. While my friends in high school were complaining about not having finished this or that novel, I was usually nodding along even though I had read them all and enjoyed most. I love getting lost in other worlds and the way there is a chance for every reader to be right, to have a different opinion or interpretation. I love the way that books convey history and cultural norms and I love that both are often challenged.

=EdSec 424=

//Shannon Walklet November 2, 2012//

PEG

**Performance Expectations Guide (PEG)**

**Narrative Knowing** **Examining Coming-of-Age in //Romeo and Juliet//**
 * Overview**

Welcome, budding Shakespeareans! Over the next four weeks we will enter into Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, //Romeo and Juliet.// Together, we will explore the language, love and drama that has made this play so famous through activities that will make us critical readers, performers and reflective writers. As we read the play, we will focus our attention on the play’s hero and heroine, Romeo and Juliet, as they grow and come-of-age. Tracing their growth and maturation through the play will then allow us to reflect on similar experiences of our own. These reflections will be compiled at the close of our study of //Romeo and Juliet// into a narrative essay, relating our personal coming-of-age to Romeo and Juliet’s. In this unit we will read, perform, discuss and write as we reach a deep and rich sense of what it means to come-of-age.


 * Narrative Knowing**

As we prepare to write our narrative essays, we will become familiar with the concept of coming-of-age. We will read excerpts from critical essays written by leading Shakespeare scholars (yes, those exist!) as well as conduct our own inquiry into the maturation Romeo and Juliet undergo. To further help our sense of what it means to come-of-age develop, we will read several of Shakespeare’s sonnets which also touch on youth and growing up. As we progress through the play, we will periodically write journal responses that will help up flesh out our own personal thoughts and experiences about coming-of-age. Your final essay will be a culmination of our work with the play and will showcase your findings from our inquiry, relating personal experience to the play. We will conduct writers’ workshops as we compose our essays in order to craft well-written, professional pieces, making multiple drafts. Final drafts will be compiled presented. Presentations will consist of small groups deciding which essay to act out or perform.


 * Common Core Standards That Are Addressed in This Project**

RSL RSIT
 * Students will identify and analyze themes in the play.
 * Students will be able to analyze complex character development throughout the play.
 * Students will analyze how leading scholars on Shakespeare make and develop their points.

WS
 * Students will edit and revise writing in writing workshops.
 * Students will write informal, reflective pieces throughout the unit.

SLS LS
 * Students will participate in discussions about //Romeo and Juliet// and other works, focusing on themes and character development.
 * Students will read //Romeo and Juliet// out loud to enhance comprehension.


 * Students will show their understanding of language through their choices of form and style in their critiques.
 * Students will demonstrate their understanding of figurative language present in the play in their writing and during discussions.


 * Calendar**

Week 1: Week 2: Week 3: Week 4:
 * Watch introductory clips about //Romeo and Juliet//
 * Begin reading Shakespeare’s //Romeo and Juliet//—Acts I - II.
 * Read and analyze work of Shakespeare scholars
 * Perform key scenes as a class.
 * Reflect in journals
 * Read //Romeo and Juliet//—Act III.
 * Mini grammar lessons based on journal responses
 * Begin discussion circles to develop coming-of-age definition
 * Watch and analyze segments of film and theater that treat these Acts.
 * Perform key scenes as a class.
 * Reflect in journals.
 * Read //Romeo and Juliet//—Acts IV-V.
 * Perform key scenes as a class.
 * Mini grammar lessons based on journal responses.
 * Discuss and analyze models of narrative essays.
 * Reflect in journals.
 * Begin drafting narrative essays.
 * Continue writing narrative essays.
 * Meet with writing workshop group to edit and polish.
 * Meet with performance group to discuss which essay to present and how.
 * Practice presentations.
 * Presentations.


 * Evaluation Standards**

To Earn an A+ You Must: _____ turn in your narrative essay on time _____ answer prompts fully in essay (see essay PEG and Rubric) _____ participate actively in writers workshops _____ final submissions reflect changes/edits made through workshops _____ presentation is rehearsed and effective

EdSec 424

//Shannon Walklet October 18, 2012//


 * //Rationale//**

As a teacher candidate, I stand for growth and support—for the growing that happens during self-exploration, new experiences and new viewpoints and for the support of a community of equals. As a teacher candidate, I stand for constant learning and improvement, whether that learning is teacher or student directed and whether that improvement is within oneself or within the larger community. I stand for the challenges in creating, teaching and achieving these goals and I hope always remain loyal to them.

Education is based on giving; it is the exchange of ideas from one individual to another. Sometimes this giving happens unintentionally, as we grow and mature, watch television and how others interact. Other times it is structured, as in a classroom. Regardless, it is the giving over of information that drives one’s education. As a teacher, I believe that everyone has something to give, and that through this giving, students receive meaning.

As students come together in a classroom, the notion of giving is essential. I believe that each student, every day, has something to offer his or her classmates. Every one of them comes to me with a unique view of the world and thus a unique approach to literature. I am not, and never will be, the only one in my classroom with knowledge or perspective to give. Instead, learning involves the interplay and building of ideas that cannot survive on the knowledge of just one person. Students cannot effectively learn without tapping into their prior knowledge. This is what students have to give and from this gift, they are able to make meaning. Constructivism emphasizes the importance of making meaning in the learning process, using cooperative learning and inquiry techniques to achieve this end.it is through the implementation of these techniques that students are able to realize their own gifts and that they find new ways of thinking and understanding themselves and their world.

As students come to rely on one another as sources of knowledge through cooperative learning and inquiry, they develop a respect for the gifts of others. This respect helps to create an environment in which giving is a natural community act. I believe deeply in the power of respect and respect is a goal that shapes all of my teaching.I hope to respect my students as my teachers and in return that they respect me as theirs, fostering a community-oriented classroom. I want my lessons to allow for the respectful celebration of personal differences and similarities, cultivating a sense of respect and camaraderie among my students will help them feel more comfortable giving. Out of this classroom environment, it is important to me that my students gain confidence in their abilities and that they enjoy some aspect of their learning. I want my students to recognize their gifts and gain a sense of autonomy in their learning.

I hope to always remember, too, that because each of my students has something to give, I should never give up on them. There will inevitably be students who are apathetic towards school and learning and with such students my wish to is to not write them off as failures and to always keep their best interests at heart. I hope to always be willing to find the gift that all my students have to offer. They are always capable of learning, even if they do not do it in the exact way I plan for them to. I do not ever want my students to feel like they are helplessly failing, that they cannot ask for help. I do not want to give up on my students or blame them for not succeeding, instead I want to take that time to evaluate my own practices and find how I can improve.

I believe in the importance of giving because it also means that students are being challenged. As students transact with literature, it is important for them to feel that they are active participants in the literary world. I believe it is important for students to understand and value their contributions to academia through discussion and critique. In my unit, students will be fully immersed in this world through their work as literary critics. My students will use the classic Shakespearean tragedy, //Romeo and Juliet//, as a platform from which they can produce critiques of film, literary, theatrical and artistic adaptations of Shakespeare’s transcendent work, creating a portfolio of their achievements that will comprise a journal of literary criticism. Shakespeare's tragedy lends itself to this sort of work because of the universal themes of love and filial disobedience which are highly relatable to high school freshmen. Using lessons which correlate closely to these themes will connect students to their work as critics.

In my classroom, students will be learning and interacting with the purpose to sustain and develop their gifts. Based on the work of Jeffery Wilhelm and Bruce Novak in //Teaching Literacy for Love and Wisdom//, my teaching aims to engage students especially in the connective and evocative dimensions. In this unit, students will be challenged to create portfolios of literary criticism of Shakespeare’s //Romeo and Juliet.// They will come understand the technique of language, the play’s plot, themes and character development. As they begin their journey towards literary criticism, they will gain a working understanding of the literary vocabulary necessary to creating critiques. This understanding will be directly connected to the creative process they are undertaking as literary critics. They will largely gain this vocabulary through transactions with model critiques in the literary world. My students will further employ critical listening and viewing skills as they assess and analyze films, plays and works of art. By exploring Shakespeare through these diverse mediums, my students will put themselves in the place of authors, assessing their choices and effectiveness, transacting and connecting deeply. As Novak and Wilhelm suggest, I hope that through their creations, my students will come to see themselves as authors contributing to the literary canon of criticism.

The creation of my students’ portfolio will help establish the “gift culture” mentioned in //Teaching Literature for Love and Wisdom//. As they write, they will participate in writer’s workshops where they will gather research about the particular works they will critique. They will also read and help refine each other’s work, building a community of authorial support and appreciation. They will place themselves in the critic’s shoes and see how they, too, can contribute as experts in the field.


 * //Overview//**

Students will explore William Shakespeare’s famous play //Romeo and Juliet// in its original form and as it is portrayed through various mediums such as theater, film, art and text adaptations. Their exploration will lead them to examine the differences and similarities of the themes between the original and the decisions made by authors, directors and actors. In order to write their critiques, students will gain an understanding of the themes present in //Romeo and Juliet// as well as characters’ development through the play. As students progress through the unit, they will learn to critique these works and their exploration will culminate in a portfolio of literary, film and theater critiques. Students will write critiques throughout the unit, using appropriate jargon and arguing how and why these works are or are not effective. To help them formulate their opinions and arguments, the class will engage in discussions of all the works and work to connect to the texts and their authors. As students create their critiques, they will engage in writing workshops which students will help one another grow in their writing.

//**Objectives**//

RSL

Students will identify and analyze themes in the play.

Students will be able to analyze complex character development throughout the play.

Students will be able to analyze the representation of key themes through different mediums.

RSIT

Students will be able to determine the central idea of informational texts.

Students will analyze how authors of critiques make and develop their points.

Students will determine and analyze author’s point of view.

WS

Students will be able to argue for the effectiveness of a production of //Romeo and Juliet// through writing their own critiques.

Students will participate in writing workshops to edit and revise their writing.

Students will write short, critique pieces throughout the unit.

SLP

Students will participate in discussions about //Romeo and Juliet// and other works, focusing on themes and character development.

LS

Students will show their understanding of language through their choices of form and style in their critiques.

Students will demonstrate their understanding of figurative language present in the play in their writing and during discussions.

EdSec 324

//Shannon Walklet August 31, 2011//
The idea of teaching literacy for love and wisdom took me a second to grasp because I think it is one that popularly assumed. Why do we teach literacy in the first place? I think the most practical answer would be so that we may all get by in the world, in school and beyond. Literacy affords a connection between all people who understand language (thank you, Google Translate) and for me, teaching literacy for love goes beyond simply finding what you love to read and extends into gaining love and wisdom for people and experiences different from your own. I think by now most of us have taken Ethnic American Literature and hopefully got as much out of it as I did. I was able to gain an understanding of people and experiences I did not know much about that I do not think I could have gained without reading. Literacy allows for cross-cultural connections and learning, it brings people together and allows readers to learn from, or at least observe characters' mistakes. All of that said, teaching literacy with love and wisdom as goals strikes me as a very possible and very worthy endeavor. I look forward so much to being a person who opens my students' eyes to the world around them and inspires love and wisdom for that world.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet September 7, 2011//
What is English? Please share in your own words how the field of high school English has evolved over the years. What were the major conferences and/or leaders who have influenced the field. What is it today? Do you think we should change the title of our discipline to Personal Studies? Why or why not? What would you like to see the field of English become in the years ahead?

When I think of English, I generally gravitate towards the study and discussion of works of literature. To understand and derive meaning from literature requires literacy, a knowledge of literary devices and grammar as well as critical thinking and interpretive skills. So to me, English is a process of acquiring these skills and putting them to use inside and outside of the classroom environment. I think this definition is surprisingly in line with the Board of Education's Newbolt Report when it said that English should provide "a liberal education for all English students" (22). "English" as a qualifier has no become outdated, but the meaning is still the same, that English as a subject should give students a liberal education.

To trace this idea through the evolution of English in the high school grades, one can see how this liberality came in the form of a democratic, unifying tradition under guidance from the Newbolt report (22). Then as society grew and evolved, so did the meaning behind a liberal education. That is, it entered upon "times of globalism, multiculturalism," which emphasized a "shared knowledge base" among different cultures present in the United States (23, 29). This led to the use of English or "language arts" as mode understanding and appreciating "diversity" (29). With the addition of "student-centered" learning and instruction, English deepened it's definition of itself (30). As a recent and continued student of English in education systems, I think this is largely where English education stands today. With a large canon of American literature, it attempts to unify students while also exposing them to the works of various cultures or ethnicities in an appreciation of the diversity present in our nation and it emphasizes student centered learning in discussions and writing exercises.

While I understand the logic behind changing the title of English to "Personal Studies," I do not fully agree with the choice in words. I believe that calling English, "English" limits the subject and connotes ideas and topics beyond just "English." However, I also believe that renaming it "Personal Studies" would be detrimental. For me, "Personal Studies" has no meaning behind it, it seems like another name for a study hall. I think that calling all English classes Language Arts classes is more fitting and encompassing. It implies all modes and techniques employed in the study and use of language, any and all language which I think is more fitting of a description of most English classes. That is where I would like English to go in the future, to a place where all teachers and students learn how to properly use and understand language, spoken and written, of diverse backgrounds.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet September 14, 2011//
What is meant by the evocative dimension of a literary transaction? Explain what this is and give examples. Then, begin to imagine at least two ways that you could encourage the evocative dimension within your future English classes. Do you see any evidence within the field that the evocative dimensions is being encouraged within literary transactions and instruction? Please share.

The evocative dimension of a literary transaction is the most important part of teaching literature to students. It involves the evocation of "students' lives," "students' sense of life," and "life itself" through the simple act of reading (77). Literature does this by immersing students into the worlds created by authors, but one has to be prepared and allow for this to happen to his or herself, first. If this preparation has taken place through frontloading activities, such as sharing items one finds personally humorous for a unit on humor, then this immersion into the worlds created by literature can happen (78). This shared immersion in worlds created by literature allows for literary transaction when "various understandings and the people holding them...come into play" (89). This play is essential to life and to learning. Through evoking this emotion of playfulness and connecting to students' lives, learning is made enjoyable.

I think that frontloading activities, as pointed out by our text, are a great way to begin the process of "'world making'" (88). In a future class unit on Gothic literature, I might have students watch scenes from popular or classic scary movies and then discuss what contributed to their own feelings of fear while watching. I could also have students write down childhood fears (snakes, the dark, etc.) and then examine why they were, or still are, afraid of these things. This would then prepare for readings and discussions of the rhetoric and imagery used by Gothic authors to create terror.

Aside from the examples in our text, I do not see much evidence from the field that this evocative dimension is widely encouraged. When I was in high school, I am fairly certain I was never prepared to be immersed in a text's world in a formal sense, it was something that I had been doing from an early age. Nevertheless, there were texts that I enjoyed in high school, but these were accompanied with those from which, perhaps if I had been properly introduced to, I would have gotten more meaning. Today was my first day going to my assigned high school and though I did not see any frontloading or evidence of an evocative dimension, I am very hopeful that some will appear in the near future.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet September 22, 2011//

 * Do you agree with the Harold Brodkey quote at the beginning of Chapter 5? Here is is again so that you can copy and paste it into your own wiki page:
 * Reading is an intimate act, perhaps more intimate than any other human act, I say this because of the prolonged (or intense) exposure of one mind to another. Brodkey
 * As you think about this quote, please reflect on how the Connective Dimension of the Aesthetic, Transactional Response relates to it if at all. Please share at least two ways that you might encourage your future students to connect to the implied authors of texts. Are you seeing examples of ways that English teachers help students connect to authors? Please share.

I find a lot of meaning in Brodkey's quote. Reading allows the curiosities, questions, fears and loves of another human being to be made more palpable. Authors lay all of this and more onto the pages of their books and I think this is why many people are such avid readers. Relationships with people are hard and somehow it's easier through the medium of the written word to convey emotion than it would be to express verbally. I'm not a confrontational person and I would much rather write a letter or some note to a person that forces me to put my feelings down into a physical space. Authors do just this in the form of stories and that's what makes reading so intimate I think. This intimacy is made even more special through reciprocation between author and reader in which both "attempt to fully recognize and appreciate each other, to hear on another in the language and terms that one uses to define oneself and to communicate" (114).

The text offered some great ways for this reciprocation and connection to authors to happen in the classroom. In my future as an educator I can see myself having students reframe texts into other formats how this alteration changes a text (108). I think such an exercise is a great way for students to build connections to material and think more deeply about its meaning. I also liked the exercise of co-authorship in which students work together to create alternate endings or sub-plots based on their interpretations of an author's intentions and motives (107). Within my cooperating teacher's classroom, I have been able to see some examples of students connecting to authors through the class' unit on legend. Often the author of a legend is unknown or its existence is based on the collaboration of many through oral tradition, which the class talked about a lot. The students were also assigned to write their own legend, allowing them to step into an author's shoes.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet September 29, 2011//
After you have read and reflected up "The Reflective Dimension" of the literary transaction, please share how you would encourage the entire literary transactional approach (guiding students through the evocative, connective and reflective dimensions of the literary meaning-making process) for the book Posted! No Trespassing! that you were given in class. How could you begin to develop a unit that would help students connect their personal experiences to the text? How would you help them make connections with the author, the zoology professor at Dartmouth, Professor Griggs? Then, how would you help them use the wisdom they have accrued to transform their worlds? How will you help them "live more artfully and meaningfully in the real world?" Elaborate as fully as you desire. I'm eager to read what you have imagined! Also, don't forget to share ways that your cooperating teacher or other teachers are encouraging the reflective dimension in their literary studies.

To start my treatment of this text, I think it would be helpful to put students right into nature as Dr. Giggs put himself. An assignment might be to go out into the woods around a school and find anything alive and write about it. This writing could be creative as students follow a bug on its journey along a plant leaf or it could be meditative as they watch an insect caught in a spider's web. Such an exercise would foster discussions about the many facets of nature and they ways it exists all around us in big and small ways.

I think I would assign this text to be read out of class and completed along with questions about dealing with the connective dimension. After reading the text, I might ask students to reflect on the author's ideas about nature and land ownership and tell about the degree to which they agree or disagree. Another exercise that would connect students to the author would be to have them write an imagined or realistic narrative based around Dr. Giggs' book comparing and contrasting their own story like Dr. Giggs did with Thoreau. This would have the added advantage helping teach students how to embed quotations within their formal writing.

I think a great way to reflect on Dr. Giggs work that would also create meaning for students is to have them a lively discussion about the ways property fits into their own lives-- in an economic, worldly sense, but also look at they ways things they think belong to them may not in the same way that Giggs realized that animals had as much claim to "his" land as he did.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet October 5, 2011//
In the chapter on Aesthetic Education, what were the qualities of the four teachers who were striving to teach for love and wisdom that you most admired and would like to embody? Please explain.

When I am a teacher I sincerely hope to be able to connect with each of my students on both an academic and personal level as Sarah does. Such connections are so crucial in creating mutual respect between students and students and teachers. Respect has an enormous impact on the classroom environment in my opinion and students need to see respect coming from their teachers if they are to be expected to perform and engage in any meaningful way. Further, with many students in the same class at different skill levels, it is important to celebrate whatever student successes are achieved, as Sarah does, no matter how small.

I admired Andrew's ability to consistently alter and make new the same curriculum. One thing I do not want to do as a teacher is get stuck in a rut and I think setting oneself as an implied teacher helps to stave off repetition. By planning creative units, teachers can help their students think creatively and then both are entered into circle of originality which is inspiring. Another important aspect of implied teaching is planning lessons around student interest which I believe is an incredibly important component of teaching. Without interest, nothing is learned in a meaningful way.

One aspect of English I am being exposed to at Clemson that I'm not sure if I ever was in high school is the philosophy and inquiry aspects of teaching literature. None of my high school teachers ever posed inquiry questions to me or used books to help me know myself. Debra's objective of helping "'to attune students to their own inner lives'" in instrumental in being an implied teacher and a "good-enough" teacher. Incorporating philosophical inquiries into English is important having students value their own opinion but also the opinions of others and they can then work to create interpersonal meaning.

I think Rachel really does embody all of the qualities of a transactional teacher. She is a mentor, a facilitator and she genuinely cares about and wants to understand her students. All of these qualities do so much in terms of helping students feel loved and helping them gain wisdom that can be applied to their worlds, whatever they may look like.

=EdSec 324=

In the chapter on Aesthetic Democracy, the opening quote is this, "I've never been in a classroom that was a real community before. Is this your situation? Why or why not? What would it take for the "third space" to come into being, a space "in which the students took in one another's life"? Be as detailed as you can be at this point in your career. How do we help students move the third space from the inward to the outward world? Explain (if you dare).

By really delving into my classroom experiences, mostly in high school (it's hard to remember earlier than that sometimes...) I am not sure that I was ever part of classroom that was a true community. However, I think I was blessed with a school that prided itself on being a community, but I don't know if that ever translated into my classes. I was never pushed to "see each other in each other's eyes" and while I'm fairly confident that if I had ever needed help or support I would have gotten it, there were few attempts at creating transactions. A large part of that might have been because teachers didn't think that bonding a class was necessary, that's what lunch was for.

I think deep bonds out of respect for another's views and personal narrative are really crucial to making a "third space" come about. Helping students care for one another on a basic level will help them care for each other's dreams, fears and everything in between, but as far as concrete ways to elicit this caring, I'm at a loss at this stage of my career, though I think some of the things I've learned from my summer camp may be useful. In fact, that may be the one classroom that is a real community for me. I think one of the most important things that creates a common bond between the people there is a shared purpose and this definitely exists at camp. Perhaps creating a shared purpose in classrooms an answer to achieving "third space" and community, by valuing the contribution others can make and looking to each person within your community as a teacher and collaborator in your common purpose.

Then, once community has been established, I think the move from inward to outward is much easier for students. If their inner life is being accepted and supported it is much easier to express it outwardly. I think Erin Gruwell's words really speak to this, that in seeing people as unfinished stories, we can become vested in helping form an ending. Reflective writing and eventual sharing, I think, will be a great tool in maintaining and even forming "third space" sharing.

//Unit Rationale Draft://
Inquiry Question: How is humanness define? Who gets to be human? I see this question being the beginning of a year-long survey of American Literature, a time when the country was racially divided and gender focused. Such a question would encompass different works dealing with slavery and even early immigrants to the United States, such as the Irish. Students will read not only fictional pieces, but also analyze court cases and political art from the 17th and 18th century. Developing answers to this question is important because it requires students to delve into dark times of America’s past and consider if and how the pervasive racial notions were alive then and still continue today. This question forces students to look back and then move forward with knowledge and opinions they may not obtain otherwise. The extended text for this unit will be __Beloved__ by Toni Morrison. It raises questions of personhood as well as the claims made upon an other, whether as property or something else. I will also include some of the following: Benito Cereno by Herman Melville Po’ Sandy by Charles Chesnut Court cases—Dred Scot Political cartoons Native American poetry Puritan literature? John Smith? “Science” of racism—Blumenbach’s Centenary Man

Research—how a fiction work discussed in class addresses or is a reaction to one of the non-fiction pieces; example of people not being treated as people in the world today. Either of these projects allows students to put the pieces of humanness together and create their own definition.

End of unit narrative—students may write a personal narrative based on their definition of humanness. The assignment will be guided by provoking questions that have been posed throughout the unit, by myself as the supporting teacher and by students through their transactions. Though this is a final work and should be nuanced in style, I may encourage students to draw inspiration from Morrison’s narrational style by creating a piece that is layered and reflects their own journey to answer this question through readings and personal reflection. I imagine assigning narrative pieces such as this throughout the year that would each answer the evocative sub-question of the unit. Each paper would be collected into a sort of manifesto recording students’ growth and personal philosophy.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet October 19, 2011//
Draft Text List: //Beloved//: Toni Morrison’s novel will be a challenging but rewarding novel for students to read. It calls many aspects of humanity into question, within slavery and beyond. Its characters struggle to call themselves human and question the humanity of others. The novel brings up the responsibilities of humans towards others and themselves. Students’ greatest challenge may be in following the narrative style of the novel, as it winds and doubles back and tells stories from multiple perspectives. However, this challenge can pique student interest and build confidence in reading ability. //One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest// (film) This film raise questions of control and its ties to personhood both morally and ethically. Are we human without control over our daily lives? Can we be human if many do not think that we are? What happens to humanity under the influence of medication or other drugs? And lastly, can we be human without a brain? Court cases—Dred Scot v. Sanford and Gregson v. Gilbert: Both court cases address the issue of personhood and its denial to African enslaved in America. In many ways, the Dred Scot case shows to lengths to which many were willing to go in order to continue the slave trade. Gregson v. Gilbert was the result of slave ship that became lost at sea and threw slaves overboard to preserve water rations. It deals with the insurance practices of the time, which claim slaves as cargo. This case elaborates on slave status as “non-person” goods which can be insured. The legal jargon can at times be difficult to understand, but with an entire class period, the meaning and importance should be attainable. Blumenbach’s Centenary Man: Bluemenbach’s findings on the perfection of the Caucasian skull is crucial in shaping early American ideas about race. His evidence and categorization of skulls create racism based in science and remove ethnicities from the same species as whites. Puritan Literature: Perhaps Cotton Mather's books on possessions of witches and witch trials and other works that address the treatment of Native Americans //I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings// by Toni Morrison

I would love some ideas for more poems and short stories!

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet October 26, 2011//
How do the teachers cited within the chapter "What Can English Become?" try to help students relate to and love authors? How will you help students do this within the context of your proposed unit?

I was really impressed with what each teacher had to say about helping students relate to and love authors. Though they each had their own words for it, I think their ideas can be synthesized into the notion of the author as a person trying to figure out the world and their place within it, just as students are doing in high school. It is such a trying time emotionally, socially and physically and helping students realize that authors want to share their own wisdom with others can help promote not only reading, but a "gift economy" as well. Debra and Sharon's ideas made the most sense to me. Debra wants her students "to see authors as people who are doing really important inquiry around the most important issues, and [she] want[s] them to see themselves as part of that work" (220). I think her statement embodies questions of authorship: What does wisdom does the author want to give to me and what am I supposed to do with that wisdom? Then, helping students find inquiry and develop answers is a crucial aspect of close and critical reading. Sharon's "focus on how authors explore the human condition and focus on how we have to do the same thing" is closely tied to Debra's. She, too, sees so much wisdom of the wisdom that authors seek to bestow on their readers but she challenges her students to do some of that work, too. This allows them to partake in the "gift economy" because they realize that they also have wisdom to give which makes them authors as well!

A lot of the texts I've chosen are authored by men and women whose wisdom is a direct result of their own experiences with humanity or its lacking. I might provide my students with biographies of selected authors before reading and then have them think about and discuss what influence the author's life will have on the text. As we read, their hypotheses may come true or not. By routinely questioning and wondering at the wisdom within the text, students will remain engaged. I might also have students reflect on the ways their own experiences have shaped their lives, even seemingly trivial ones, and how this can also translate into wisdom for others to gain from, just as they have gained from the wisdom of an "real," that is, published, author.

Draft of Resource Palette: Resource Palette Canonical Literature
 * //Beloved//by Toni Morrison
 * o Post Civil War saga of the harsh climate in which African Americans found themselves. A powerful text that looks at life before and after slavery through the eyes of Sethe a fierce and formidable mother who is objectified.
 * Dred Scot v. Sanford
 * o A pivotal court case that ruled that slaves were to be granted to rights as free men even when moved into free states.
 * Gregson v. Gilbert
 * o Court case from 1783 in which an insurance claim is filed for slaves who were thrown overboard a slave ship to conserve water. This case shows the perception of slaves as commodities.

Supplementary Texts
 * “Sympathy”
 * o This poem by Paul Lawrence Dunbar presents a caged bird as a metaphor for slavery, pining for freedom and human rights that have been taken.
 * “Centenary Man”
 * o Bluemenbach’s findings on the perfection of the Caucasian skull are crucial in shaping early American ideas about race. His evidence and categorization of skulls create racism based in science and remove ethnicities from the same species as whites.
 * //King Leopold’s Soliloquy//
 * o This short story
 * //All Summer in a Day// by Ray Bradbury
 * “The Dignity of Man”

Music
 * “What Have They Done”
 * o []

Maps Websites
 * “Immigration Explorer”
 * o []
 * § This map shows the number of foreign born residents in each county of the 50 states, showing the dispersion of immigrants from all over the globe from 1880 through 2000.
 * “Triangular Trade Routes”
 * o []
 * § An interactive map that depicts the different routes and directions of slaves and goods between 1600 and 1700.
 * []
 * o This site has manuscripts, images and other documents chronicling the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet November 2, 2011//
How could you use the // Dynamics of Writing // structured process approach to teach for love and wisdom? Please explain in rich detail. Also, explain how you might use this approach in your forthcoming unit? Begin to brainstorm. Finally, are you seeing bits and pieces of the structured process approach to writing within your field experience? Please explain.

I really like the structured process approach to writing because while I think that writing is often a deeply personal experience, setting it up in an environment that encourages sharing, peer-review and group discussion will bring about the "third space" discussed by Wilhelm and Novak. So I very much see both philosophies working together for love and wisdom. If students are creating based on their interests, sharing their work moves beyond just sharing how each student met the teacher's guidelines and becomes about taking pride in their work and sharing their personal experience. This will not only help create a "third space" but it will also contribute to a "gift economy" within the classroom. The structured process approach is also in line with Novak and Wilhelm's idea of the teacher as a supportive parent. The approach involves "activities that allow students to move through increasingly challenging problems" and with teacher guidance and support through these challenges, the teacher is becoming "good enough" (xix).

In my upcoming I might have students not only read for content and how a particular selection may answer my inquiry question, but also for any given piece's literary merit. Students will discuss and relfect upon what they think an author did well in his or her work and what they would have changed. Having discussions about rhetoric will prepare students to write their own pieces that mimic the genre we are focusing on. This might be an interesting exercise to undertake while reading "King Leopold's Soliloquy," an imagined satirical rant written by Mark Twain. Students could find something that they feel passionately about and create a fictional or real mouthpiece for their views that expresses the opposite of themselves. This would likely be a longer narrative enterprise that may span several class periods but it is one that involves student interest and group discussion and could easily include peer-review and sharing. I also like the idea of students maintaining a journal about their reactions to the pieces we cover in class, responding to prompts or free-writing as long as their entry has substance. Such a reflection journal would help them prepare for an end-of-unit discussion about their personal answers to the unit's inquiry question.

I have not seen students in my class writing much, but they are working on a book report that is likely to include some aspects of the structured writing approach.

=EdSec 324=

//Shannon Walklet November 9, 2011//
In my vision of teaching writing, I am teaching either ninth or twelfth graders because I see both years as being transitory and thus critical in the exploration of the self, especially when teaching for love and wisdom. I would want my students to have an open mind about writing so that they are receptive to its educative powers. Through expressive writing, I believe that students can learn incredible amounts about themselves and their own ability. Showing ninth or twelfth graders how to work with and wield written power is crucial in helping them cope with and address the changes that pervade both years internally and externally. I want to teach writing for personal expression because it does not so much depend on students' abilities as it does on their willingness to become authors and explore themselves.

To me, the nature of writing is highly personal but it also an important and primary mode through which we communicate with the world around us, so I want to teach students how to communicate with the self and the world. This starts by seeing an issue (internally or externally) to address or a question to answer and goes through processes of revision until the written word becomes a coherent and effective work. I envision my students composing deeply personal works as well as statement or opinion pieces that function as part of a dialogue between themselves and their worlds. To do this, students will regularly write in journals in order to discover and become familiar with their own voice. We will engage in free-writing exercises in which students react to published works, art, photographs or songs. As their authorial and narrative voices develop, students will examine the works of prominent authors of multiple genres. Instruction would take place in the critical analysis of such works, identifying what is effective about pieces and discussing the characteristics genre. This would be done both as part of group discussions as well as teacher-directed instruction.

I envision a classroom environment that prizes students' creations in an effort to create a "gift economy." I will encourage student's to share pieces they have written, whether formal or informal work. This will not only boost student self-esteem and pride but it will also help them become comfortable speaking publicly and sharing of themselves with their peers. They will be able to listen to their works as they read and see what is effective and what could be improved upon. Peer-editing will also be a frequent technique. Having students give feedback anonymously allows for grammatical corrections as well as content and rhetorical improvement.

I think that writing is a skill that many students struggle with and so students come to school with a wide-range of abilities. Having students write a beginning piece within the first week of school will create the foundations of a portfolio they will build on throughout the year. This way, I as a teacher can evaluate growth and assess subsequent writing based on this first model and students can observe their own authorial growth.