Reading “The Silent Stage” really made me think, not so much about the use of giving students another imaginative creative outlet with which to express themselves, but more about how we interpret kids’ feelings. For one, I hope that everyone realizes that new students often go through the same stages as immigrant children and may need for us as teachers to help them adjust to their new surroundings. Also, I wonder if the author has a degree in psychiatry. While I’m not completely doubting that she was able read such subtleties in the students’ stories, I’m concerned that teachers may try to do the same thing and be completely off base. For example, sometimes a dog in a tutu is just that – a silly picture of a dog in a tutu. It does not mean that the student’s gay. I realize that the students were not completely capable or willing to openly communicate, but I would hate to read too much into something to the point that it creates the wrong impression of how the student really feels. Please proceed with caution!
On a completely different note, while reading the other two articles, it became blazingly obvious that I am not even remotely a techno-geek. Yes, I can type efficiently, produce documents when necessary using Word, pay my bills on-line, and download photos from my camera to the computer but that about sums up my use of technology. I did take all of the adult ed computer classes offered by MCCSC when my son first started school six years ago, but you lose is you don’t use it, and, really, I’ve not found it necessary to expand my personal use of all that’s out there. Therefore, I am very interested to learn about incorporating these new tools into the classroom because I do agree with Ms. Evans that students not only are more motivated when given the opportunity to use these tools but also will be expected to use them in the real world.
The whole multimodal thing has really piqued my interest. It makes me think of the book “The DaVinci Code”, which I had a hard time putting down while reading the original version, other than to Google the specific pieces of art referred to throughout the book. When the illustrated version came out, I was thrilled and bought that, too. How wonderful to have access to the pictures to help clarify the text! Then, sadly, the movie came out. I was not a fan. I feel that it completely omitted the suspense I felt while reading the book. It just felt rushed and empty to me. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have a much easier time understanding concepts in P540: Learning and Cognition in Education when I watch the YouTube videos that Dr. Bonk suggests each week. They just seem to make more sense to me than the textbook does most of the time. There are so many ways to communicate, and it’s interesting to be going into such depth about it through these articles.
Hi Jill! I'm a little confused about your gay dog in a tutu example. Please clarify in class if possible. As for the DaVinci Code, I've never seen it or read it, but I will definitely read the book first. I imagine the one with pictures would be more engaging...maybe a christmas list item for me!
ReplyDeleteOK - so the example is a bit brash and over-exaggerated, and I realized that when I typed it, but it was just what was going through my head at the moment. I could have simplified by saying if a male student draws pictures of flowers, hearts, or ballerinas, we don't need to necessarily jump to conclusions about his masculinity. Sometimes, there really isn't a deeper meaning to what a student chooses to express - sometimes, they're just kids being kids!
ReplyDeleteJill, I agree with your point that we do not always need to deeply analyze every piece of student writing and jump to overarching conclusions. I think oftentimes student writing can give us deep insights into that child, but does not necessarily tell us everything that child is trying to express. I feel that following up with students about their writing is a critical piece of teaching as well. This way you can make sure you grasp what your students are writing about. I do realize that one-on-one conversations are difficult to have with every student due to time constraints, but discussing a student's writing with them seems to have great value as well as just reading it!
ReplyDeleteI agree that as teachers we may have more of a tendency to read behind the lines and ponder about the meaning behind the work,but at the same time, I think it is important that we are aware that we can really gain a lot of insight by reading student writing.
ReplyDeleteI think it's tempting to read a lot into kids' art. But if we cannot communicate with them any other way, it's a little presumptuous, I think. And it's not fair, because they have no way of clarifying what they were really thinking to us.
ReplyDeleteNo offense to anyone, but I really disliked _The DaVinci_Code_, mostly because of glaring factual errors and awkward pacing. I typically read all the way through books no matter how bad I think they are, but I couldn't finish it. I saw the movie and Tom Hank's bad hair made the whole affair difficult to watch. Ick.