“We’re sort’a like 7/11, we’re not always doing business…
…but we’re always open.” I thought it was appropriate in my concluding post to bring the topic back to Boondock Saints, since that’s where I got the idea for my name. I really like the quote about the 7/11 for a few reasons. I think that it, shamefully, voices my opinion about this blog in general. I compare it to a 7/11, not because it is frequently robbed, but because I think I held it in the light of something that was there for when I needed it (for example, the day it’s due), but it wasn’t anything that I really looked forward to doing. I’m sorry I felt that way and I do think that was my own attitude that was the problem not the assignment. The assignment in itself is a good way to get students interested in current events. I would be willing to use an RSS blog in future classrooms, provided it’s okay with the district.
As far as accomplishing the goals I had for this blog, I don’t think I did. I say that because at first I didn’t really have any goals for it, so it’s hard to accomplish them if you don’t have them. I honestly just wanted to do what I had to for a grade. As I went on with my Google Reader searches however, I started to get more interested in a defined topic. My opening post said that I wanted to find articles about teaching writing in a foreign language. It turned out that was too narrow of a topic. The articles I did end up finding (none of them from major news sources such as the NY Times, or CNN) were more about why schools should have foreign languages. At last! A purpose! That is a topic about which I feel strongly (and not just for the sake of job security). I think that studying a foreign language, even if you don’t feel very successful in learning the actual language, can be very helpful in learning about different cultures. Why is that important? I think that it is important to understand other people in an effort to understand your own culture and to be more successful in world relationships. That may sound like bs, but seriously, if you can realize that your culture is not the only one that has something valid to offer the world, then your off to a good start when interacting with different people. I think that the articles I did find illustrated this idea and schools’ willingness to undertake foreign language education for the benefit of their students. I’d like to leave you with yet another quote, but I really couldn’t find one that was clean or fitting, so that’s the end I guess.
Bright Ideas Conference Review
I would like to start off by saying that although I was not really looking forward to the Conference at first, I enjoyed it and I’m glad I went. Really I think that the main reason I wasn’t looking forward to it was because I would have to get up early on a Saturday (oh horrors), but once I got past my laziness I really was excited to go. Anways, I know we only have to review three sessions, but I went to four and I have something to say about each one (some less than others).
The Keynote: Once Jacqueline Woodson started speaking, I was very glad that I didn’t get so lost that I would have missed her. She was a very energetic, funny, and interesting speaker. She made several points about writing that I found especially interesting. The point which challenged me most was when she said that she reads everything out loud to make sure it works. I hate doing that, but I know it’s helpful. That just served to remind that I should think a little harder about how what I write sounds when it’s read. Another point that she made, and I had never really thought about, was just a small one about giving criticism. She said that the word “and” was a better word than “but” when responding to writing. As soon as she said that I understood why. But contridicts all the positive praise, while and puts the suggestions for improvement in a positive light. I think that idea is something small, but (intentional contradiction here) something very valuable when responding to student work.
“Virtual Worlds for Teaching Literature”: This session was one of the more interesting to me. I just visited the virtual world for myself after I wrote that last sentence, and I am extremely intrigued. I don’t really understand what a MOO is, but it’s really cool. I think that students could easily get very interested in the virtual worlds offered there, and consequently more interested in the literature from which they are derived. During the presentation they talked about several different ways they use their site. The ones that were the most interesting to me were the ones that were interactive and not just a museum. The only criticism I have for this session is merely typographical, which comes from living with a type-face obsessed sister. Papyrus is the font used for the Portal. This font is a throw-away font, found on anything from movie credits to coffee labels to baby diapers. A basic principle is that papyrus is not a good choice for anything that is new and exciting. Setting the slight obsessive complusive attitude aside, I was really excited about this session and look forward to integrating the virtual worlds into potential classrooms. Frankly, if I didn’t have lots to do before the end of the semester, I would probably spend a lot of time in that place.
“macBeth: Using Technology to Enhance the Teaching of Shakespeare”: I chose this session mainly because the title made me curious. I think it was an interesting follow up to the first session. I liked the videos that the presenters showed of some of their students interpretations of Macbeth. One group did a mock episode of the Real World. Another showed the three witches as a psychic hotline. Altogether, it was fun to see what students would come up with when given the creative reins. Also I thought that the idea to start a myspace (through a power point saved on a network to avoid objections) for the characters in the play. I think that idea would really help students read into the characters more easily since they are trying to figure out what that person would say on their blog and who they would be friends with.
“Reading, Writing, and Eurythmics: Infusing Popular Music and New Media in the ELA Classroom”: This session was about using popular music in a lit class. The reason that was given for doing that was that most kids have an iPod or something similar (the presenters said that you’ll even see kids on free lunches with iPods), so it’s a good way to bring something they know into the literature they have to read. They gave lots of examples of “literary allusions” in band names, album names, song names, etc. They also gave a wiki site (password is the name of the conference, case sensitive) that contains a list of many allusions, which you can search for by literary work, the music, or common themes.
Conclusion: Hooray for Bright Ideas and hooray for the coffee they had. There wasn’t anything that I found disappointing about the conference and I need to remember April 12th for next year.
Foreign Language in the “Top News Stories?”
The article that my Google Reader brought up said that it was a “top news story.” I was astonished at long last to find an article about my passion in the top news. Until this article, I had had some difficulty finding stories about language that were not in the editorial section. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find this one, so now I’m going to post about it. The Laramie Boomerang (out of Wyoming) published a special article about Julie Sellers, a woman who teaches people to teach languages. Sellers began studying Spanish in high school and now has her doctorate. What I found most interesting about her experiences with language is how she now uses Spanish (besides helping others teach it). Sellers became a court interpreter. The reason that this interested me is because I think it’s great to see how studying languages benefits other people. Sellers clearly understands one way to help people with her knowledge when she says:
“I enjoy being a service to the people,” Sellers said. “I think about how frightened they must be not to understand what’s going on.”
I like the idea that language can be used to help people on so basic a level. When I decided to study Spanish, many of my friends and family were sceptical. They told me that it would be pretty useless and a waste of time. I disagree for a number of reasons. One reason being that the knowledge of another language is obviously helping some people through court interpreters. I had a professor at community college who was also a court interpreter and she said that it was one of the hardest, but most rewarding things to do since she could help people who were scared and confused to understand what was going on. So, the fact that language can be so helpful is one more reason that I want to teach other people a second language.
The Reward for Dedication
I recently ran across an article in the Daily Beacon, the University of Tennessee’s student newspaper. This article interested me because it was about a French major who had just earned the prestigious Joseph Yedlicka scholarship for students studying French. The scholarship enables students to study abroad by paying for all their expenses. This scholarship is awarded once a year to four French majors throughout the country. The fact that only four students a year receive this award is one reason I admire Kim Bartholomew (one of this year’s recipients and the focus of the article I read). I also admire Bartholomew’s choice to study language when many people do not seem to think that it is important. The Daily Beacon points out some facts about foreign language education in the United States:
Some states do not consider teaching a second language a necessity. Thirty states do not require students to take a foreign language class to graduate high school. Georgia is currently debating the requirement.
The twenty states that require a foreign language in high school are an encouragement to me and I sincerely hope that Georgia keeps that requirement. Bartholomew and I agree on the reason that schools should teach a foreign language. I think that it is an important part of understanding other people’s views and cultures. As Bartholomew said:
“I think learning another language and studying abroad are great ways to learn about a culture that is very different from my own. It makes me see things from a different perspective, and I think it’s important to be able to experience firsthand that not everyone has the same way of life as I do.”
That statement illustrates what I want to be able to accomplish with my future students and why I think it is important that schools have foreign languages available. Bartholomew’s opinion in those two sentences is encouraging in light of the fact that thirty states do not require any foreign language for graduation.
Hope on the East Coast
I was recently seized by the fear that maybe I should change my major. People kept telling me that nobody wants Spanish teachers because they’re too specialized, or for some other reason. I have discovered a solution, however, I could move to Maine. An article in the Portland Press Herald, it was stated that there was a desperate need for Spanish teachers in Maine’s schools. This need is based on the premise that for students to function in today’s increasingly global economy, they need to have at least a rudimentary knowledge of other cultures. Such a knowledge would increase their likelihood of getting a well-paying job. There are problems in Maine though, according to the Portland Press.
…as career opportunities for multilingual graduates increase, opportunities for Maine students wanting to learn a foreign language are languishing. Maine universities are graduating few foreign-language teachers, and high schools are unable to attract the teachers they need to satisfy demand.
As I said before, I might move to Maine, if that’s really the case.
I think that the schools in Maine have the right idea about giving their kids foreign language skills. There is the oft repeated idea that if a student knows another language, then they’ll be more a more desirable employee, and therefore more successful in whatever their life goals happen to be. I agree that a degree of understanding of other cultures is important, especially in today’s society, and I look forward to being part of giving that knowledge.
“It’s not personal, it’s business.”
At least, that’s what the Arizona Education Committee hopes. There is a new bill in Arizona’s House that is designed to help students be fluent in two languages and acquire international business skills.
“In the 21st century, international studies have become much more important,” said Tom Horne, state superintendent of public instruction. “International trade has become a greater part of our economy, and we need to be knowledgeable if we are to succeed.”
Sounds good to me. I think that it’s great to encourage students to learn about and understand other cultures. I can also see how such an understanding would make someone more likely to be employed by companies who deal a lot with businesses in other countries. Only one representative opposed the bill.
“I have a hard time seeing why it should cost $2.3 million to do what should already be done in our school districts,” Clark said.
A valid point, considering that that funding would only be going to 10 schools in the state. Three elementary schools and seven highschools will be starting this new foreign language education. Although, $230,000 per school seems reasonable when one considers that to start any program like that would probably involve at least one more teacher salary, new text books, and probably new technology as well; all those costs could sure add up. What I wonder though, is how is the state going to come up with funding if they want to make the program state-wide, as Mr. Horne said they would. I do think that it’s a great idea, and I wish Arizona the best of luck in that endeavor.
Thoughts about “Supersize Me”
I found the film “Supersize Me,” to be very interesting. I thought that the main message of the film came through clearly, even though the maker, Morgan Spurlock, used fairly extreme measures. I can’t imagine eating MacDonald’s every day for every meal for a month. Although, the mere fact that he did gain so much weight and have so many health problems was enought to convince me of what I already thought about fast food. I’ll admit that I’m not always the healthiest eater, but I do know how to exercise self-control when it really comes down to it. Which brings me to one of the quotes from the movie which I found interesting.
You can’t argue that people should exercise personal responsibilty and then not give them the information to do it.
That was said by one of the people interviewed by Spurlock. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name, but I wrote down that quote in my notes because I was rather surprised at it. It sounds like very common sense at first. Of course people need to know the nutrition facts to know what’s good for them or not. But now I’ve started to wonder, does anyone seriously think that MacDonald’s is good for them? Really, do they honestly believe that there aren’t any effects to their health if they eat fast food regularly? I can see why people would be unwilling to admit that their lifestyle needs to change, but I really hope that they are not completely unaware that there might be some problems with it.
In the context of Linda Christensen’s writing, “Supersize Me” is also interesting. It’s a film about getting around the social norms that have caused problems in our society. The way that Spurlock mentions the statistics about fast and junk food advertising fits right in with Christensen’s ideas of examining the media to see what causes the perpetuation of such problems. On the other hand, while watching the film, I couldn’t help wondering what was in it for Spurlock. Why did he care and what was his slant? I do think that he was earnestly interested in trying to present the facts honestly, but there was an attitude to the film that made me wonder how serious he was about that. On the whole, I think that Spurlock’s film was evocative and that it was pretty well related to Christensen’s ideas.
Katie Wood Who?
That seems to be the question when you read the Content Expectations for high school. How do you have a writing workshop like Katie Wood Ray’s and also meet all the content expectations. It seemed nearly impossible to meet both of those ideas at the same time. Further discussion in class made it seem more possible though. You have to meet the content standards when you’re teaching, but I think that can be done through a workshop, you just might have to compromise a little on Wood Ray’s ideals. For instance, instead of being so free with the idea of topic selection, you could let the students pick an idea that they really care about, and then ask them to write about it to persuade someone else to care about it. That way they still would be interested in their topic and it would meet several content standards. Although really, if the workshop is really as effective as Wood Ray says it is, then it should be meeting all the standards with out a problem, right?
¿Qué Ha Ocurriendo en Nashville?
Spanish immersion is what’s been happening in Nashville. An article explaining this program recently appeared on a local Nashville news channel’s website.
The Abintra Montessori School’s Spanish Immersion Program is taught entirely in Spanish and is based on the idea that the more exposure young children have to a foreign language during the developmental period, the better equipped they are to become fluent later in life.
This kind of language education is interesting to me because I used to wish that my dad had spoken to me more often in Spanish so that I could be more fluent. In fact, Karen DeBord, a professor at North Carolina State University, says that research supports the idea that:
children whose parents speak Spanish and English create two maps and strengthen their use of both languages when both these areas of the brain are used in childhood.
From her research then, it sounds as if the Abintra school has the right idea. I like the idea of immersion because so many people will testify to the fact that if you want to be truly fluent in another language, you have to be forced to learn it. The program at the school is conducted entirely in Spanish. That immersion essentially is what forces kids to learn. The children in the program are ages 3 to 6, so the instruction is mainly what they would be recieving at that age anyways. They play games, sing songs, but in Spanish. I think that to give kids a fun and thorough base in a language is a great way to encourage fluency when they continue to study that language throughout their lives. ¡Hasta el martes!
