One of the portfolios we looked at for class was by Jason Ceynar from Bonnie Sunstein's The Portfolio Standard (Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH: 2000). He wrote about always writing to impress a teacher or to sounds scholarly.

He wrote:
I can't even remember what the paper is about.
I didn't want to reread it because I was afraid
that I'd discover I was given the A unjustly.
This paper represents my tendency to value the
grade I get on a paper mroe than the content of
the paper and the learning that I achieve through
the process of writing it (227).

Wow, I totally understand what he is talking about! I think we have all started papers with a mindset of finishing, doing little revisions, and submitting asap. I know I have "held my breath" before submitting papers with last minute doubts as to its quality or purpose. But, I know that I have done this with nonacademic writing before, too.

I have kept a journal for years, ever since my first diary back in 3rd grade. Looking back at my journal entries, even from a year ago, can be surprising. Even though I don't share my journals with others, I sometimes think I sound like I'm trying to impress someone. Who would this unknown audience be? Am I concerned about writing my true feelings down because someone might find it and read it (like when I was younger and felt a need to lock my diary)? I guess age and time has made me more aware of how powerful writing can be. I can remember certain experiences better after reading journal entries--the words have meaning behind them that help me remember. Not everything I have written is gradeable, but different formats have definitely had their reasons for being important. I will continue to write, not only for scholarly purposes, but also for me so I can continue to remember where I came from.

Paradigms are shifting!

Like many of you, love fun words. To me, using them seems like some sort of small pleasure in my day. I don't really tell anyone I get a little giggle inside everytime I use one of these words, but they probably wouldn't understand like a group of writers would. I first discovered the word paradigm back in freshman year at Wartburg during a Humanities-type required class. This concept was hard for me to grasp then, but I have been a part of my own paradigm shifting ever since. Thomas Kuhn wasn't interested in slow changes (The Winds of Change, Maxine Hairston, 1982). Instead he was passionate about using theory and practicality together to create science solutions to ongoing problems. Ignoring there is a problem doesn't get the work done, leaving thinking static.

There are certain things I strongly believe about teaching, but I can never say it will stay the same forever--my philosophy has changed from "textbook" teaching in college to "real" teaching in a third grade classroom of my own. Kids don't want to hear about what I believe, they want to know how to use the manipulatives to make a quadrilateral or if spelling is really important on the assignment. As my philosophy of teaching paradigm continually shifts, I have to be careful not to simply throw out the old thoughts/methods as outdated. Instead, I have to reflect and research to keep my teaching current for the students in my classroom. Maybe my being an outsider by doing lots of read alouds and writing with students, instead of test prep, will help someone else consider their practices. There will always be new methods in teaching, but what is popular at the time isn't always best if it works against my beliefs about an aspect of teaching.

Closing thought: Hairston posed crucial questions
eternally plaguing writing teachers--
What is the basic flaw in the traditional paradigm for teaching writing? Why doesn't it work?
(and I would add) How do we change writing for students to make it more neccessary for them?

Building a community of writers!

I think that being able to share and help classmates with their writing is an amazing exercise in trust. No one wants to be considered a weirdo or "bad writer." After all of the time we spend writing our masterpieces, the next step seems to be one of sharing! One of the things I strongly believe is from my experiences teaching elementary kids. Kids, like adults, want an audience--it gives their writing more meaning and purpose. You are right that there has to be a high level of communication and trust between writers. When kids feel a part of a writing community, so many things can happen. I love reading kids' creative writing, either by themselves or in groups. You can really start to see the wheels turning and confidence building in their chest as they successfully create meaning together.

Approaches to Writing

I have been reading and writing ever since I was a little girl. I always had a diary, wrote notes to friends, and began epic novels on my old Macintosh Classic. I have struggled with helping students discover their voice in their writing and am hoping to learn more this term. I liked the energy from class on Monday, it seemed to be a buzz with good work and dedicated writers. In all of my classes we always talk about how much we teach literacy, but never give students a chance to read or write in class. I liked that we did just that, we discussed, wrote, discussed, and began developing new ideas for our drafts. Friends have been telling me for the last several years that I should write a book and maybe this class will help motivate me enough to actively find time and energy to write my book! Here's to a class full of exploring the art and craft of writing, metacognitive viewing of writing, and real strategies for the classroom.

Final Reflection

I can't believe this semester is almost over (I guess I should since it is already Thanksgiving)! I have enjoyed being immersed by so many children's books. I don't always have time to sit down and read quality literature for young kids and this class gave me that chance. I also had a chance to evaluate illustrations and their connections to text--I never realized that most authors and illustrators don't work in tandem. I guess I thought they worked together bringing their stories to life. There were lots of interesting books at the library that I couldn't possibly hope to have discovered a fraction of the great picture books out there.

Having focus weeks on certain genres and types of picture books was a good chance to read outside my normal selections. I don't often read poetry anymore, so being reconnected with Shel Silverstein and other poets was fun. I was also able to revisit several of my childhood favorite authors and their newer books--James Howe and Roald Dahl in particular.

Having the blog was a great idea because being an educator is often secluded, so being able to share great books made me feel more connected to other educators. Seeing selections from other students in the class also helped expose me to new books to read! One of my favorite things about this blog was when an author thanked me for writing a nice review for her book--it was a real reminder that people actually read what you write on these things.

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat edited by Nikki Giowanni

This poetry collection has a huge list of famous influential authors. Starting with Hip Hop's stars, poems by Common, Young MC, Tupac, Mos Def, Kanye West, Queen Latifah, and Lauren Hill were included. Many of these are artists our young students are familiar with--songs and poetry share so much in common.

I have long thought that using modern hip hop lyrics would be a great way to reach reluctant readers. As I am not an avid hip hop listener, I appreciate the editing Nikki Giovanni did in creating such a eclectic mix. Paired with a CD, several of the poems are read aloud by their authors, giving students another way to experience the genre.

Once readers have been lured in by the hip hop artists' work, real poetic talent can be explored by reading Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Some of these poems can be hard to read as they deal with difficult subjects ranging from race relations to MLK's I Have A Dream Speech.

I was pleasantly surprised how many different styles and text difficulty were included. The poems range from very short to quite long and complex. Illustrations are included with each selection and add to the book's meaning and beauty. Colorful illustrations paired with rich text, make this a very enjoyable read. This would be a great book for using as a read-aloud or paired reading. Reading the poems aloud would be fun for the kids and the natural beats of the lines would be expressed.

I have to admit I laughed out-loud when I came across Rapper's Delight by the Sugarhill Gang. Such a silly song as this would be hilarious to listen to in an elementary classroom, read by young poets.

Dirt On My Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy

I know, I know Jeff Foxworthy as a poet? I am not a redneck, but have always thought his good natured jabs were well intended and funny. I saw that he had written a book of poetry and was pleasantly surprised to find it pretty good.

I enjoyed the quick, sharp stanzas about various humerous topics close to his own childhood experiences. The watercolor pictures went along with the text wonderfully and helped increase meaning. The words used were simple, but the rhyming made them enjoyable. The light tone of these poems would be appealing to many readers, but probably best for beginning readers as the vocabulary isn't very intense.

I think my favorite poem was entitled Snakes Alive! It talks about a boy seeing a snake out in the backyard and sending his dad out to look. Dad didn't find it and the boy concluded that he hadn't looked that hard (I wouldn't either). The watercolor illustration on that page was a fun addition.