I am currently feeling a little
overwhelmed. It is the end of March and I have two GAME plans that I would like
to implement, but I am not sure if I have the time. I still am really
passionate about both of my plans, but I feel that I would be doing a
disservice to my students and the assignment if I rush into them too quickly. I
have decided to put the Kony 2012 letter writing to legislation on the back
burner right now. I need to make sure that I approach this cause with multiple
options for students. I know another teacher was trying to get something
started at our school and a parent complained that this teacher had a political
agenda. I need to make sure that this does not become an issue. I will still
give my students the option to write to our legislature about Kony, but I want
to give them more options to write about as well. The main point of this
assignment is to get my students to write persuasively about something that
they are passionate about. As a class we need to make a list of what they are
passionate about and then do research on that. They could even write about something
that is going on in our community/town.
This activity could actually be
combined with my other GAME plan, to create a blog. I still am really excited
about doing this and was just today able to sign up for more computer lab time
next week. My sophomores LOVE to argue, as do most teenagers, and I feel that
teaching them to persuade in a respectable way will help them go far. I know
this will be a struggle as many students (and people in general) take things personally
when trying to convince someone to agree with them, but I think this is a skill
that all students need to master. I think I will start with giving them a list of
possible persuasive topics and having them get into partners. I feel that
having groups of three will lead to one person feeling like the third-wheel and
he/she will not participate as much. I know that I will need computers for the blogging
part of this assignment, but I can also just utilize our school library for the
research part of the assignment. I want my students to use at least two
outside, reliable resources to back-up their opinion. That also means that I
need to help guide them in formulating their argument. I have a feeling that
some students will get too broad with their topic and will need a little guidance.
After getting some feedback from colleagues and fellow Walden classmates, I am
re-thinking having other teachers log in. In my mind the idea was to challenge
the students, but I can just log in a challenge them myself. I may still talk
to another teacher who is working on persuasive essays and have him pick a
student or two to log in and blog with my students. That might be interesting
and get more students involved and thinking. And getting used to blogging.
Okay, so the first step will be
picking persuasive topics, researching and becoming knowledgeable about the
subject. Then I will have to teach them blogging etiquette and finally let them
lose to blog. I like this idea. I hope it works as well in real-life as it does
in my head!
JenZ
Jennifer, I just realized that my initial response was to a prior post; however, here it is again along with an addendum to your new post. We share similar feelings of being overwhelmed and I applaud you for narrowing down your focus to one do-able goal. I did the same thing, as I honestly know I cannot succeed to the best of my ability when I am spread too thinly.
ReplyDeleteI like your thought provoking blog project on persuasive topics. I do have a question though have you considered how you will teach blog etiquette and respect for another person’s opinions, so that the level of academic engagement topic does not fall short of expectations. In addition, will you require your students to integrate outside sources into their writing as means for supporting arguments? I am just curious as I wonder if you will follow some of the same guidelines as those set for the before us by Walden. I definitely have learned many things from my coursework with Walden on best practices for integrating technology and upholding rigorous academic standards for utilizing such.
On a personal note, I wish you the greatest success in all you do and/or are attempting to do. Spring is on its way. Jennifer
p.s. here is my first post to you..
Hi Jennifer,
I must admit as an avid believer in social justice I love appreciate your letter writing project. I think it is a positive that you have options for the students to choose from. In order to engage students, I think it is important that they are the ones to decide what issue they want to respond too. As controversial as Kony is, so is the topic of gay marriages. I little side note, DO NOT do anything to promote “Cover the Night” within the school setting. It could be taken as promoting “Civil Disobedience.” Trust me on this one, I speak from recent experience. Heaven forbid we actually teach students to research, take a stand, and speak up on an issue. I do not remember who said, “If we don’t stand for something we will fall for nothing.” Honestly, I feel that I would be doing a disservice to my students if I did not foster this disposition. One of the greatest compliments I remember receiving as a teacher came from a graduating senior who I had as a sophomore. He wrote me a letter recalling a comment that I made to him as sophomore. I asked him: “What are you all about?” Little did I know that this comment actually caused him to begin searching for an answer and ultimately shaped his identity in a very positive way. His letter thanked me. It is moments like these that make me delighted to be able to work with students.
I like your blogging idea; however, as someone else said I do not understand why you would need and or want another teacher to participate. I am confused on this aspect. What is your reasoning behind it? Just curious. I have to say, I really like your real world, authentic approach to achieving your goals and I wish you the greatest success. Jennifer
JenZ,
DeleteI was just reading a fellow classmate's, Jason's, blog. He essentially came to the same conclusion: he needs to reduce his goals in order to be effective. I agree. It seems that as teachers, we often feel the need (or possibly desire?) to change instantaneously. However, we have to realize that in order to be effective, we need to limit ourselves sometimes.
While I think it is extremely important and interesting to be aware and become involved in this Kony project, I also think that this is the better goal to focus on later. I often find myself, like you, focused on a topic that I want students to be interested in. When I teach a story regarding the Holocaust or WWII or slavery, I always want students to be as interested in the topic as I am in. However, as we are reminded in our resources, we have to force ourselves to remember to focus on the learning objectives, rather than the content. Therefore, if you turn more to the persuasive writing focus, some of the students might even choose to learn more about the Kony topic, but you will not have to devote other time to it. You would still be able to guide them through the important topics and highlight the necessary methods of persuasive writing.
I agree that students love to argue! The problem that I face is they like to argue without proof or evidence. One of the keys to teaching persuasive writing is to get them to understand how to use evidence to support their point and refute the other. As you pointed out, it is this that will truly prepare students for using this skill in the real world.
Good luck moving forward!
Caitlin