Technology

Like most of us, I have a love/hate relationship with technology. This week I am leaning towards hate. My students submit everything on-line, with the exception of in-class writing assignments. I sat down to respond to student writing on Sunday afternoon, and low and behold my screen went blank. Luckily, my computer is not quite a year old- in fact we are getting a new hard drive on Monday just under the wire. the warranty expires on 12/13, so in that respect Im lucky. I email everything to myself and back most things up on an exteranl hard drive, but it was still inconvenient. Iwent upstairs to use my husband's computer, and that worked for two days, then it became infected with a virus and CRASH!. The laptop has a broken screen ( my son dropped it off of a balcony at the beach- I don't want to know details) , so we hooked up the screen to the upstairs computer to the laptop so Icould grade. It was extremely annoying, but I managed. Istarted thinking about all the students who don't have a computer at home, much less a back up plan, who don't have transportation or access to a library or other computers. After all, I could hop into my car , go to the library or to one of my two offices. As we become an increasingly technologically dependent society are we leaving students with limited financial resources futher behind? Sadly, Ithink this may be the case. Something to think about as we wrap up a rewarding and informative english/Education class.

Blogging

Well, Ihaven't been on here in a few weeks. Ihave a personal blog and I do a pretty good job of keeping it updated, but I tend to forget about this one for class. To be honest, Iprefer posting to a forum which is more private, and I get to see my classmates posts immediately. I have forgotten about this one especially in the push to wrap things up at the end of the semester. Fall semester always seems particularly stressful, not only am I dealing with freshpeople who have to meet deadlines in all their classes before Christmas for the first time, and they have a habit of going home for Thanksgiving and forgetting about school which adds to the stress when they return, you also have the addded stress of the holiday season. I try to wrap up the semester while cooking Thanksgiving dinner, getting decorations out for Christmas, and participating in the holiday festivities. Enough excuses. I am very pleased with my classes this semester,they are developing into a fine group of writers. I always say if I can teach them how to do a works cited page and spell definitely ( instead of defiantly) I consider my job well done ( just joking). This semester I have several students who plan to major in English and they are well on their way to developing into competent fiction writers. I have used several of the concepts and strategies from this class, one of which is the overarching concept for a unit more than Ihave done in the past and I do see a difference, so I plan to incorporate more strategies next semester. Enough for now. Im on my way to work to listen to presentations, something I do look forward to at the end of the semester!

Continuation of Unit Concepts

I like the idea of overarching concepts. It reminds of a book by Neil Postman I read years ago, I can't recall the name off hand, but he wrote about the vacination theory of education, you know once you took American lit, you were vacinated against it and never had to take it again. Unlike life we compartmentalize subjects in school, and thus do students a great disservice as far as guiding them to think of large concepts, and interconnectedness. When we can make connections between, say, science and history and then see the connection to literature we begin to open up to broader perspectives. Iwould like to see projets where students explored a theme ,say, identity and researched the idea across the spectrum of science, history, and literature to search for meaning. don't think it's going to happen, but isn't one of the goals of education to give students tools to make these kinds of connections and begin to expand their horizons and solve porblems, or is it just to pass multiple choice tests? Sorry, I got on my badwagon for a minute. I think the biggest education hoax around today is the emphasis on standarized testing. we are not educating people, we are training them to circle A,B, or C.
Units I would use are:
Identity: Coming to Know One's Self through Literature (2002) - Shawn Pate
Recognizing and Resolving Problems: Connecting Students to their World (2006)- Helene Halstead
Should I Take a Stand - Amanda Tyndall

Unit Concepts

To what extent should students choose what they learn about and choose the form in which they represent their learning?
I think that a good deal would depend on the age of the child. Obviously elementary school age children need to learn the basics, but as children mature and reach high school age, I believe they should have some control over their intake of knowledge.Students learn at different rates, and have different learning styles. One student may not be a ble to grasp a concept in Physics when presented in a lecture, but by building a skate board ramp and working out formulas for maximum dynamics, the concepts of time/ motion become clear. I am a visual learner, I need to see something in order to tryly understand it. If a student wants to produce a play about the civil war , who's to say they won't learn as much or more as if they read some dry historical text. When students get to college, and then the "real" world they are able to choose their interests and the method in which they want to learn more about those interests, likewise students should be given a certain amount of freedom to make their own choices. Of course with such a structured curriculum now, I think this could pose some problems, but I have seen it done by creative teachers and students.
to be continued!

Grammar lesson

forgot to post the link to one of the grammar lessons I used with my students.
http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons.lesson_view.asp?id=168

Grammar Lesson

Grammar Unit

i apologize for being somewhat behind. I went out of town this past weekend for parents weekend at NC State, and have been playing catch up ever since. I have 126 papers to respond to this week, and so far I've read 18. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

After reading over the units in Imaging Grammar, I chose three I liked.

Friendship, Identity, and Adolescent Conflict with Authority.

I chose these because I think they have a universal appeal that reaches from elemetary school , past college and into the workforce. Students don't always like class, but they might like going to school. There are days I don't always like my job, but I enjoy coming to work to socialize with colleagues and see friends.

I think students are always interested in the social aspects of language, and as a teacher if I can tie the social aspect into the Learning aspect i have their attention.

The concepts of frieinship can cut across all three of these units as well. What is friendship? How do we choose friends, why do we keep them, and what happens to friendships? Why do so many fade over time? In this construct we can discuss things like cliques, both in and out of the classroom, ostracism, meanness, and the concept of aceptance and belonging.

Identity- who are we? How do we define ourselves, and crossing over, do we define ourselves by the number and type of reinds we have, or do we define ourselves in a larger cultural context, family, ethnicity, etc.

Adolescent Conflict with Authority- adolescents naturally have conflict with authority and the burecratic set up of middle and high school only perpetuate the animosity between students and adminstration at times. Adolescents question authority as part of the growth process, in order to break away from parental influence.

Each unit laid out a plan to accomplish specific goals, why each unit was planned in a certain manner, and provided materials to help instructores fulfill the objectives of the unit. The units also provided information as to the relevance of the activities.

The Friendship Unit by Scott Morgan and Maria Sciara explores the reasons students form friendships and how they develop relationships at this point in their lives and genavbles themn to relate passages from literasture to their own lives.

The identity Unit by Shawn Pace encourage students to look at themselves and establish their own identity.

Adolescent conflict with Authorty talks abotu struggles students have with authority, how they fit into the larger world and how to navigate that tricky period between childhood andf adulthood.

some unique resources that interested me were a letter to the author about a letter a character wrote in a novel, and Dr. Phil ( which surprised me as I am not a fan)

Blogging

I have had a blog for several years now, and enjoy having a place to post my thoughts, etc. Considering what we as teachers are told about media literacy and the importance of social media, I decided to talk with my students about blogging and other forms of media this week. Imagine my surprise when a good number of my students didn't know what a blog was, had never heard of twitter, and were shocked when I told them I got headline news daily from The New York Times via my facebook page. I think we put more emphais on these alternate forms of communication than young people do. I know they text, email is a thing of the past to them, and they are on facebook, but I don't think they make use of social media and other media sources in the numbers we give them credit for. This week they had two assignments. One , to go online and read a blog, (I gave them some links), and then write a sample one to turn in in class, and the second was to interview a classmate, or contemporary about their use of social media, then interview an older family member, and compare the two. I am interested to see the results, and i'll share next week.

Beliefs about Writing

As an English teacher Iam a firm believer in writing and the writing process. I know we now lead such busy lives that many people don't place much emphasis on writing. I was reading an article severl weeks ago believe it or not in People Magazine and Andrea Lunsford who is world renowned in the field of Rhetoric and Composition remarked on a study done over the past few years that showed people writing more than ever. Between blogs, text messages, emails, twitter, and facebook, the average person now writes the equivalent of two to three pages a day compared to thirty years ago when the average person rarely wrote any thing more than a shooping list or a qucik note once they graduated from school. I believe that giving my students the skills necessary to become a competent writer ( not necessarily a great writer) can only help them , not only in their chosen career, but in all aspectrs of life.
I am a firm believer in the writing process. In my class my students discuss ideas for each essay, we talk them through as a class, and discuss different strategies for each type of essay they write over the course of the semester. The next step is a "junk draft" or outline that they can work on in class with a partner, getting feedback from each other. Then onto the peer review workshop which often meets with resistance at first as students are uncomfortable letting others read and critique their work. Before we begin, I go over the guidelines, positive comments only, ideas to help them improve etc. Most students find this process helpful once they become familiar with it, and often begin to recognize problems with their drafts that they first see in other students work. Next in the process come Individual conferences where students meet with me to discuss their draft, any problems they are having and plans for revision. I am there as a guide, they own their work and they are free to take suggestions or not as they move forward. Next the revised essay is handed in along with a post writing reflection where they write about what worked with their essay, any problems they encountered, and strategies learned for the next assignment. Finally as I use a portfolio system they have until the last day of class to revise any essay they would like. It's more work for me, but sometimes a fresh look at a draft will give them new ideas. I also share my writing with them and talk about my struggles. Right now I am working on a short story and am happy with everything but the ending. This week I plan to read it aloud in class and see what alternative endings they can come up with. It should be an interesting experiment. Overall, Ibelieve that writing is an on going process, and any student willing to work on their writing is capable of becoming a competent writer.
this is my fourth year as a comp teacher and I am just beginning to feel like I know what I'm doing. I am trying several new ideas this semester such as a final group project and look forward to finding out if it will be a success

Revision Week

This has been an interesing week in my classroom. Last week I held individual conferences with all of my students. I think conferences are very valuable, but they are exhausting, and at times frustrating as well. My students fill out a pre-conference worksheet, and they are supposed to come to their conference with a revision plan outlined on the worksheet, any specific questions about their draft, and questions they may have about the assignment, or writing in general.
Over half of my students came with the form, but they didn't fill it out, they had no plan for revision, and they came to the conference so I could "tell" them how to "fix' their draft. I have spent a good deal of time telling them that it is not my job to "fix" their writing, but rather to show them strategies to help with their writing, to offer suggestions along the way, and guide them in the right direction. I emphasize the point that they 'own" their work, so they are free to take my suggestions, or those of their peers and whether to use them in their drafts or not as they see fit. However, I strongly urge them to correct grammar, mechanical, and spelling errors that have been marked on their drafts.
This week I handed back their first papers, and over all most of them did well. We still need to work on the concept of revision, with many students just correcting grammar errors, etc. While I see the value in revision, and spending time on multiple drafts, I also realize that many of my students especially at UNCC, go to school full time, work full time, and have other obligations as well. I'm sure this is also true for many high school students. Many don't have time to submit multiple drafts, and are happy to receive a grade and move on.
I use a portfolio system, so they have until the last day of the semester to revise for a higher grade. I have found in the past that generally students who get a B and want an A will revise. Students with a C usually don't bother, and many students have such a poor concept of their writing skills that they are thrilled to get a C on a paper and think they've done well.

What's My Story

My name is Marion Bruner, and like Dr. Coffey, I am that rare and wonderful creature, a Charlotte native! I grew up in charlotte when it was a relatively small town, before liquor by the drink, professional sports teams, or the era of the mega-bank.
I have a husband, three children, and since our house was very quiet when the youngest child left for college, we added a golden retriever puppy named Bailey.
My oldest daughter graduated from UNCC, and works as promotions coordinator for a local radio station. She gets us fgree tickets for concerts and shows, so I love her job! Thanks to her, we have seen Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, the circus,
Avenue Q, The Phantom of the Opera, and Wicked.
My middle daughter is a junior at Appalachian State, majoring in International Business. She will spend six months in Spain beginning January 2010, so she is very excited.
My son is a sophomore at NC State where he shares a house with four other guys, and enjoys all that Raleigh has to offer. He recently bought his first car, and took care of all the details on his own ( with numerous text messages along the way.)
I am a product of CMS schools attending Myers Park Elementary (before it was traditional), A.G, Junior High, and Myers Park high School. I went to East Carolina for a year and hated it. I came back to Charlotte and finished my degree at UNCC. I tell my students stories about the good old days, $100.00a semester tuition, parking right outside Macy, and other wonderful tales of UNCC. There are still a few professors around from when I was an undergrad the first time around.
I graduated from UNCC, and taught elementary school until my second child was born. I stayed at home for two years, then when the younger kids went to pre-school Iwent with them. I taught four year old preschool for about sixteen years, until my middle child started middle school. I decided I need a change, so I went back to UNCC for a second degree in English with the goal of teaching high school English. Along the way I was encouraged to go to Grad School, so while in the school mode, I earned a Master's in English Literature in 2007. I became an adjunct instructor in the English department at both UNCC and Queens University in Septemeber , 2007. The job market for adjuncts is notorious iffy, so I returended to UNCC to work on a graduate certificate in Secondary English as a career back-up. This is my last class before student teaching. I don't know if I will participate in the student teaching sequence, as I am now a 3/4 time instructor at Queens, so have some measure of job security. College teaching is my love, and I want to continue teaching at this level for the rest of my career. I am exploring the option ofeither pursuing a PhD in English, or perhaps working on a MFA in Creative Writing. I do like the idea of the certificate as a back-up, so we'll see what develops over the course of the semester.
As I said, I teach at both Queens University and UNCC. I teach Freshman Composition and in the American Studies dept. One of the favorite things about my job is watching young men and women arrrive on campus in august unsure of their ability to write, to read, and to think critivcally, and to help them develop the skills they need to progress in their chosen academic career.
I chose English because I love to rewad and write. I have written several articles, presented a paper at the Southern Writer's Symposium, have a personal blog, and will read a short piece of fiction at the SAMLA convention in Novemeber, 2009. I read between 4-6 novels a week, so I guess that's my hobby. I also enjoy walking, swimming cooking and trips to the beach. I also love college football, and cheering on my children's teams. Go ASU and State!
I look forward to reading my classmates blogs,and working on strategies for teaching English.