Learning Letter

To whom it may concern,

In the past three months I have made major changes to my educational plans and my future overall. Part of that came from my time spent in my Teaching Literature to Adolescents class. This class helped me realize quite a few things about myself. The most important of which is that I am not cut out to be a teacher and that is OK! I have been struggling with this realization for well over a year now and it has been a major source of my depression and anxiety.  I found myself waking up every morning hating what I was doing. My only solace came from being a part of this class. While it's true that I never intend to become a teacher, I do find studying education to be terribly fascinating. seeing what works for teachers and what strategies are best for students has been one of the highlights of my time in the field of education.
I always enjoyed giving book reports. This was one of the few things that I remember about my learning in elementary and middle school. So I really connected with the book talk assignment. It's funny though, I always used to get into trouble for spoiling the end of the story, but for this assignment, it was a requirement. I love getting to talk about books, and delving into why I enjoy a specific book or series with people around me. However, this assignment also made me take a critical look into why I feel certain texts would be valuable in the classroom and how a teacher might go about using said text. That's what made this assignment challenging.
Over the course of this class, we discussed a variety of texts from educational theories to our favorite sci-fi novels and I thoroughly enjoyed those aspect of the course. However, it was these things that I enjoyed which ultimately made me realize the one area in which I am most lacking. When I develop a lesson, a project, or an assignment, I lack the necessary creativity to make a cohesive plan. sure, we discussed multiple texts and looked at some great theory, but I have no innate ability to put these things into practice. I simply lack the ability to connect these theories and ideas with lesson plans or how to make them applicable to students. I don't know why this is, but I just can't seem to make the necessary connections and that really bothers me. But now that i am pursuing a different career and a different degree, I can look back on this class and say that I am glad I was able to discover this about myself. I enjoyed my time in this class and I felt like I gained a lot of knowledge about myself and what I want to accomplish with my life.

Poe response

I will never forget the first time I read Poe. I was in middle school and we read The Tell-Tale Heart. I remember the teacher really built the guy up. She said his works were gruesome and horrifying! I remember being so excited about that. Like, thinking in my head that this story was going to be like the Saw series of movies, and boy was I dissapointed... I read the first page and felt completely lost! I mean, who was this guy? What was he talking about? I didn't understand a word of it and I really think that killed my love of Poe before it ever really started. Of course, this could have been a result of desensitization, as I distinctly remember that I played DOOM for the first time and I found that scary-as-all-get-out. But Poe? He didn't even register on my scare scale.

I bring this all up, because I think it says something about the human condition and what we find scary and how we, as teachers, can make Poe scary and worth reading again. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the act of cutting up a body and hiding it under floorboards just isn't scary anymore. In a world where physical violence is the norm in almost all forms of entertainment, we can't expect our students to find this horrifying anymore. They have had much worse than that described to them and have seen people ripped to shreds in stunning 1080P resolution. Many of them play video games themselves and are directly responsible for the death of their in-game characters. Subconciously, that has done something to them. Without even realizing it, they're thinking "you cut a body into pieces and hid it? So what? In Mortal Kombat 10 I shoved a man's arms into his body and proceeded to rip his head open at the jaw, and use his tongue for an ash tray". How do we make Poe scary again in a world where what I just described is literally what these students are doing as a means of entertainment in a video game? I don't have an answer, but I think it involves doing something about what we perceive as scary and what is actually scary. For instance, the scene in described above is seen by a majority of people as gruesome, but in no way scary. Most people laugh when they see it, as a matter of fact. So, instead of focusing on the physical violence, why not focus on the psychological horror that is also prevalent throughout the story? I mean, is this guy in The Tell-Tale Heart really crazy? What made him act that way? Did he have a choice? If we can somehow focus on the idea that this man is defenseless against his own insanity, we might have a better chance of returning Poe to his former glory. Or at least, get him off of the "I'm never reading this again" list that students seem to have.

Sherman Alexie reflection

Sherman Alexie is probably the most likable man in Spokane County. Really, he has done what every writer who's ever picked up a pen only dreams about. Let me just say that I don't sympathize with Mr. Alexie and the stories from his book, The absolutely true story of a part-time Indian, rather, I embody those stories. I relate so heavily to his life that sometimes I feel as if I am walking in Mr. Alexie's skin. while I never had to deal with "water on the brain" like he did when he was an infant, I suffered from almost every other malady that he mentions. Sure, my seizures are a little less extreme and my vision wasn't properly tested until I was in high school, but that doesn't stop me from connecting deeply with his words. I grew up in Spokane and lived my whole life in the valley, only setting foot outside of the confines of these mountains for a family reunion or a funeral. I don't know why I'm telling you this. Maybe it's because I want to defend myself so when people look back and say "you're nothing like Sherman Alexie!" I can confidently say that I, in fact, am just like him. Of course, maybe that's just the mark of a successful writer. they make everyone feel what they feel and go "yeah, I am just like them" when in fact they know nothing about what it was like being in their favorite author's shoes. Or maybe this is something that only a few writers can do. Even more elite than "just the good ones". But either way, I connected with Sherman Alexie's work. I was the small, skinny kid who was constantly getting beat up. I had a big head. I had huge feet that seemed to walk into a room five minutes before I did. I know those feelings. But all of my life they have been negative experiences. It is often said that happiness destroys comedy, because nothing makes people laugh like a good tragedy. In a way, I feel like this is why I connect with Mr. Alexie, because we both took a look at our shitty life circumstances and made them into laughable stories so others would smile at us for once. I have often wondered if I could ever be a standup comedian because of my depressing life, but the truth of the matter is, I have no idea how to spin my stories to make them actually funny or relatable to people. But reading Sherman Alexie's book made me realize that being brutally honest about our lives is the exactly what makes those stories so funny. I connected with the humor that radiates through Mr. Alexie's book. That, and his godly description of fried chicken.

King Solomon's Mines: A Book Review

King Solomon's Mines

written by Henry Rider Haggard

Synopsis: Allan Quatermain is an old, grizzled African hunter who is approached by two strangers, a nobleman named Sir Henry Curtis and an old sea captain named John Good. Sir Henry's brother is missing after an expedition into South Africa and Sir Henry wants Allan to us his tracking skills to find Sir Henry's brother. Incidentally, Sir Henry's brother was looking for the infamous King Solomon's mines and Allan happens to have an old map leading directly to them. The group head for Durban and begin their journey. They meet an old acquaintance of Allan's by the name of Umbopa who is described as a regal looking African man. He joins their crew and they take off for the mines. They cross a massive desert with only one oasis offering any respite from the heat. Then they climb a mountain called Sheba's breast and find a cave with the remains of the man who drew Allen's map with his own blood. They find their way down the other side into a place known as Kukuanaland where they meet the locals who have never seen a white man before. Thanks to some trickery and bluffing, they avoid being killed long enough to make it to King Twala who rules all of Kukuanaland as a tyrant. King Twala killed his brother and banished his brother's wife and infant son to become king. He holds daily "witch hunts" to root out anyone who might oppose him. King Twala's advisor is an ancient woman by the name of Gagool. She determines who is or is not a witch and whomever she selects, dies. Among others, she names Umbopa as a witch and tries to have him killed, but Allen is able to save his life. It comes out later that Umbopa is the son of King Twala's late brother and the rightful ruler of Kukuanaland which sets a spark of revolution among the local population. A war breaks out between King Twala's loyal warriors and the few men who follow Umbopa. The battle lasts a few days, but eventually Sir Henry cuts off king Twala's head making Umbopa the ruler of Kukuanaland. Gagool is captured and is forced to show Allen and the others the location of King Solomon's mines. She takes them to a cave which is filled with gold, diamonds, and various ancient artifacts and, while the group is distracted, attempts to seal them in the cave. However, Foulata, a beautiful lady who is in love with Captain Good, attacks Gagool and prevents her from escaping. Instead, Gagool is crushed beneath the stone which sealed the cave. Foulata dies from her stab wounds in Captain Good's arms and the group spends a few days trying to survive in the cave. Low on provisions and on the brink of dehydration, the group manages to find a way out of the mine through a secret passage and make their way back to the city. They say goodbye to Umbopa and head off for home with the few diamonds they managed to stuff in their pockets. They take a different, easier route back to civilization and , on the way, find Sir Henry's brother living in a hut next to an oasis with a crippled leg. Allan, Sir Henry, Captain Good, and Sir Henry's brother all return home safely.

Reasoning: When I was eleven or twelve I stumbled upon this book by accident. I think I found it online somewhere and I became so enthralled with the characters and the idea of exploring uncharted regions where anything could be discovered, that I joined the Boy Scouts of America and began a life spent outdoors in the wilderness. I feel that this fascination can be spread to students in high school. The text is appropriate for 9th and 10th grade (I was reading at a twelfth grade level by the time I entered middle school). The text is surprisingly easy to read for a book published in 1885 and I think students would respond well to that. I would definitely recommend this for 9th grade classrooms as an introduction to the more difficult literature students will be reading for the rest of their highschool career.

Teaching Ideas:

Discussion:  Because the text is so easy to comprehend, I would recommend discussion of the deeper themes in the text because students will have an easier time citing textual evidence in their arguments. 

Research projects: Who was King Solomon? Who were the Zulus? are any of the places mentioned in the novel real? Who was H. Rider Haggard? These kinds of questions would make for great research projects which students could then present to the class.

Point of view projects: with the wide variety of characters, it would be easy to have students write papers or act out skits involving characters like Allan Quatermain, King Twala, and Gagool.

Possible issues: Because of its age, a lot of people think that the Africans are going to be portrayed in a negative light. While the two villains, King Twala and Gagool are portrayed as barbaric, it has more to do with them being antagonists than their African heritage. Besides, it could be argued that Umbopa is the true hero of the story. Not to mention that, aside from a few tricks here and there to prevent the group from dying, Allan acknowledges and respects the African cultures and rules. 

Some parents may take issue with the excessive violence, but aside from the beheading of King Twala, the gore is kept to a minimum. The battles focus more on the brave individuals fighting for what they believe in and how the tide of battle changes.

A response to Readacide

Ok Gallagher! We get it! You don't like the education programs and curricula of today's America. That's fine. Frankly, I agree with you! There need to be major changes in our educational system. We, as teachers, owe it to our students to provide an education that focuses on the quality of teaching instead of this test-based system where the only thing that matters is how well students perform on assessments. However, students need more than reading time. Students in my classes will glue themselves to Thierry cellphones the moment they feel the teacher isn't paying attention. More and more of my students are dealing with issues like when will I get to eat again? Will I be in charge of my baby brothers and sisters tonight? I wonder how much longer we go before we realize that students are becoming increasingly jaded to school, not because of a lack of reading (I do believe that this is a major problem, however) but because survival is their greatest worry right now. Why is it that we, as teachers take a "it's not my problem" approach to the students outside of the classroom. This kills me.  We have set procedures for when the problem is absolutely critical, but aside from the extreme cases, students get swept under the rug. We need to realize that our students understand the value of their time and they are going to tune out anything that doesn't get them closer to their goals. We need to return to a system in which subject exploration is the heart of the learning. People have passions. People have dreams. We need to capitalize on this and focus on curriculum which gives them a chance to explore their respective interests. Students are clamoring for knowledge on how to pay bills, how to change a tire, how to develop a piece of pottery, I could go on. But the point is, by forcing these secondary students into classes where they learn the basics of everything. Instead, I offer this solution. We need teachers who specialize in individual fields at an advanced level and have these students follow their passions and their mentors who teach, in a specific way, all subjects within the realm of their interests. Basics in all subjects should be finished by the time students reach high school and high school should be a time for students to discover their passions and study them until they are experts. This is what I want.

Social justice in the classroom

Social justice needs to be a part of the classroom always and forever. The idea of doing what is right by the students should never fall to the wayside. To me, social justice is the practice of differentiated instruction and enacting on practices that are both interesting and relevant to the students. As future teachers, we need to be able to link our work to current, real-life situations in order for students to relate. We need to consider the breakdown of the community in which we are teaching and how that affects student performance. For instance; local slang, community diversity, signs of respect, and familial ties are all going to affect a students performance in some way, but if we as teachers prepare our lessons with a knowledge of our community, we will be better able to benefit our students and build stronger teacher-student relationships.

Social justice also means keeping things authentic in the classroom.Providing students with pointless busywork does nothing and results in no measureable amount of learning. This also ties back to keeping students engaged, because if a lesson or assessment is more real and genuine, students are more likely to put their full effort into that assessment. For instance, My master English teacher will often organize a field trip to a local community theater and have the students watch a play. Afterwards, they get to ask the actors questions about the play and about how they develop character. In this way, the students gain a better understanding of character development and how this can apply to a novel or short story. 

Social justice is a necessity. It's beneficial for students, it can help out a teacher, and it can make education a fun and relatable experience when executed properly.

Critical Pedagogy

Multiculturalism is vital in the English classroom. By exposing the students to different cultures, ideas, and beliefs we are able to give them a broader perspective of the world and perhaps of themselves. Since starting the education program, I have discussed multiple times how I would make my classroom  as culturally available as possible. However, when it comes to literature, I find that most texts offer a positive view of one culture, but ultimately alienate a vast majority of students who can't relate to the situations or conflicts. The difficulty comes from finding works of literature which are relevant to students that are also appropriate for the classroom setting. Trying to induct newer works seems to be more difficult than simply teaching the traditional works. While I love the curriculum for my students, I realize that, in a lot of ways, it just doesn't seem relevant or important enough for them to care.