For my Composition and Rhetoric class, I gave a presentation about how people turn to The Bible for justification for certain beliefs. I talked a lot about how people will say that The Bible is law and will use it to justify their prejudices towards gay people, yet they disregard what The Bible says about divorce, working on Sunday, and women being on their period. Anyways, I digress.
Over Thanksgiving my Aunt, who is a teacher, was telling us about her one coworker to always says "God bless" to her students as they leave the classroom. My cousins and I were talking about our thoughts on this. As we all know, religion is not supposed to be brought into the classroom in a public school. I think this teacher is out of place for saying this. I think it is a kind gesture, but an inappropriate setting. I know that as a student, and as a person who is not overly religious, I would not like this teacher's actions. Am I over-reacting? Am I justified? What do you guys think, future educators?
Monday, November 26, 2012
Drama Unit
I have been acting since I was nine years old. I've done tons of community theatre, I've had leading roles in high school, and I had a lead role in the SRU production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Drama and theatre always has been and always will be a huge part of my life, and I look forward to teaching it to my students.
I really enjoyed our class session last week on the Drama Unit. It was funny to hear about all of the theatre games that I used to do when I was in Theatre Arts I in high school. I think that drama and theatre is a very good way to get students involved and interested. It gets the students out of their seats and engages them in "fun" ways of learning.
While many people argue that learning and school should not be "fun," there are so many values to a drama unit. I think the largest and most important value is that it brings students out of their shells and helps them with their public speaking abilities. This could definitely be a great way to reach shy students and help them overcome their fears of getting up in front of classmates.
I really enjoyed our class session last week on the Drama Unit. It was funny to hear about all of the theatre games that I used to do when I was in Theatre Arts I in high school. I think that drama and theatre is a very good way to get students involved and interested. It gets the students out of their seats and engages them in "fun" ways of learning.
While many people argue that learning and school should not be "fun," there are so many values to a drama unit. I think the largest and most important value is that it brings students out of their shells and helps them with their public speaking abilities. This could definitely be a great way to reach shy students and help them overcome their fears of getting up in front of classmates.
Friday, November 9, 2012
No One Is Alone
In my American Literature I class we are currently talking about Transcendentalism and all of the ideas behind it. I think that it is a very important concept to grasp because it has a very peaceful message that everyone should try to relate to. Basically, Transcendentalism is the idea that we are all connected through nature and spiritual things and you can be alone without being lonely and you should try to abandon the materialistic aspects of your life. While it may be a very hard thing to practice every day I think that it is something that you should try to think about, especially when you are feeling down and alone, and I think it is a good way to run your classroom — keep everything connected and peaceful.
Graphic Novels
I think that out of everything we had read for this week, the argument for incorporating graphic novels was the most compelling.
I think there is a HUGE grey area. Obviously, there are two arguments for this case. The first argument is the one made by the author and the one made by multiple classmates: graphic novels are essential. Through the pictures, they are much more relatable and enjoyable for the students and therefore the students are able to comprehend them better and remember them better. Yes, this all fine and dandy and I do think there is obviously truth behind it. And I also think it stays clear from the people who argue that school and education should not be fun because, let's be honest, no matter how many pictures there are, if the student doesn't care about the plot, etc. they are not going to find the novel fun.
The second argument is that we should stick to the classics. The classics are what is important to the classroom, in my opinion. Yes, Maus is EXTREMELY important and is an excellent read. However, I do not think there should be a split of classics and graphic novels. Classic novels serve the purpose of teaching us about the literary greats and examining what makes a piece of literature a masterpiece, whereas graphic novels do not hold the same esteem. Until we have The Graphic Gatsby, I think that we need to stick to limiting the number of graphic novels in the classroom.
I think there is a HUGE grey area. Obviously, there are two arguments for this case. The first argument is the one made by the author and the one made by multiple classmates: graphic novels are essential. Through the pictures, they are much more relatable and enjoyable for the students and therefore the students are able to comprehend them better and remember them better. Yes, this all fine and dandy and I do think there is obviously truth behind it. And I also think it stays clear from the people who argue that school and education should not be fun because, let's be honest, no matter how many pictures there are, if the student doesn't care about the plot, etc. they are not going to find the novel fun.
The second argument is that we should stick to the classics. The classics are what is important to the classroom, in my opinion. Yes, Maus is EXTREMELY important and is an excellent read. However, I do not think there should be a split of classics and graphic novels. Classic novels serve the purpose of teaching us about the literary greats and examining what makes a piece of literature a masterpiece, whereas graphic novels do not hold the same esteem. Until we have The Graphic Gatsby, I think that we need to stick to limiting the number of graphic novels in the classroom.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Beauty Pageants (Ew)
Today in my Composition and Rhetoric class one of my classmates presented on Beauty Pageants for young girls. We talked about the fine line there is between doing it for fun and doing it out of a sick obsession. I do believe that there are people who do it just for the fun of getting all dressed up and looking pretty, etc. However, I think that more often than not it is horrible stage moms putting their daughters through hell because they live vicariously through their children.
A prime example of why girls shouldn't do pageants and get involved in that life style: Alicia Guastaferro. While most of you probably do not know who that is, it is a girl my roommate went to high school with. Google her name and you will be shocked. This girl and her family were on Wife Swap and to say that their lives were laughable is an understatement.
Here is a link to what happened to her after all of the pageants and being spoiled. I suggest you take a read. It's very sad, but it's a lesson learned.
PAGEANTS ARE MORE BAD THAN GOOD!
A prime example of why girls shouldn't do pageants and get involved in that life style: Alicia Guastaferro. While most of you probably do not know who that is, it is a girl my roommate went to high school with. Google her name and you will be shocked. This girl and her family were on Wife Swap and to say that their lives were laughable is an understatement.
Here is a link to what happened to her after all of the pageants and being spoiled. I suggest you take a read. It's very sad, but it's a lesson learned.
PAGEANTS ARE MORE BAD THAN GOOD!
Making the Video
First of all, I think it is important to note — we filmed our video in Hurricane Sandy. Our video was shot 100% outside in the gazebo in the Quad. BAM!
Anyways, we had a great time filming our video. I did a lot of stuff like this in high school so this really brought me back to my junior and senior year. I also think that there is value in it as well. You have to read the story and understand it, and then you have to seriously think about the plot, etc. in order to storyboard it. As you film it you have to get into the characters and act the story out. I also think that video production is important to English classes. It is good to know about film techniques and all that good stuff because film is a form of literature and art and is definitely a healthy aspect to add to an English class.
Overall I had a great time doing it and it is definitely something I want to do when I am a teacher.
Anyways, we had a great time filming our video. I did a lot of stuff like this in high school so this really brought me back to my junior and senior year. I also think that there is value in it as well. You have to read the story and understand it, and then you have to seriously think about the plot, etc. in order to storyboard it. As you film it you have to get into the characters and act the story out. I also think that video production is important to English classes. It is good to know about film techniques and all that good stuff because film is a form of literature and art and is definitely a healthy aspect to add to an English class.
Overall I had a great time doing it and it is definitely something I want to do when I am a teacher.
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