#notetaking!

In response to Langwitches' tweet.......here is one of my most successful ways to teach notetaking to my honors junior British Literature students. (To be fair, I attack notetaking throughout the year and introduce different methods to mesh with different learning styles. This one, used late in the year, seems to have an impact across the all the learning styles). I use a powerpoint that is filled with text on the Romantics introduction--it's an awful powerpoint, but perfect for the notetaking practice. As I put on each slide, I announce that there are a certain number of critical facts on the slide, and that they should jot those facts down in a limited time frame. If there are 3 facts they need to know, then they have one minute. It changes with each slide. Some of the slides have graphics or music as well--which they need to absorb as well.
By the end of the ppt, the "facts" are more observations on possible themes and motifs present in Romantic poetry. It makes these higher level students focus, read carefully, and make decisions quickly. The conversation after becomes the centerpiece of what is always one of their favorite units, since we are already arguing about what is most important about the Romantics. Each of them then approaches the poetry with a point of view, which makes for great class discussion. And of course, we always discuss the pros and cons of powerpoint as a presentation tool. ( I am not a big fan, though they do not realize it when they make their judgments.)

Here's what I hate about blogging

If I write a post and publish it the same day, there are sure to be at least 4 typos or sentences that make no sense. How do I know this? Because I just did it. ARGH. How do so many teachers blog weekly, no, daily, and still post error-free writing? It just can't happen for me. Most of my blogs are written weeks after the project or problem that inspired them. It takes me that long to think it through and then write it. 2011 resolution: no more rushing to make my self-imposed quota of blogging.  It gets done when it gets done. I guess that's why they call it reflection.

What will we accomplish with our blogs this quarter?

 We are starting the second quarter of "personal" blogging with my honors seniors. So far, three of the ten students seem to have found a real voice, and I am ecstatic.Today we discussed where to go next. I am trying not to teacher this to death, but it is hard. They talked about their problems, and I suggested some answers. Some questions still remain. So...here is our list for January-March.
*Blog for quality and followers this quarter. Aim for once a week. We'll keep talking more strategies to add readers. Let's start by adding a counter....

*Curb appeal strategies: add graphics, video or music to your posts.  review your theme & design--clean it up.

*Add at least three blogs of personal interest, besides the people you follow in the class, to your blogroll. 
*Complete your profiles—follow the steps provided by Blogger. Maybe link to your other online presences?

*Consider thematic focus for Q3—as John and Mark have done. Why are some of blogs easier to respond to than others? Consider the unique appeal of each person's blog--what's yours?

*Respond to everyone else at least once this quarter. I will as well.
Now comes the hard part. I have to sit and watch.

I've got chills: Macbeth and the iPad

About three weeks ago, a student in my study hall arrived with his brand new iPad. For me, part of the excitement was that he had saved up the money from his job so he could buy it himself. Since my school is personal electronica-free in the classroom, he asked if he could get it out and read his homework assignment. OF COURSE!!! So the next half hour was a wonder for all of us. Those 30 kids spent the entire study hall  playing with Macbeth--highlighting, making notes, looking up words, and in general having a great time. There was a short hiatus for the artist in the class to draw (Macbeth?)  for about 5 minutes. I cannot emphasize enough that we were looking at Macbeth for that half hour.  Someone started reading aloud from the tablet. I got chills.
We have two computer labs with 60 computers, a library with another 30 computers, and at least 5 mobile classrooms with 15 laptops apiece at my school. We have a set of Flip cameras and iTouches, among other tools. I use them all with my classes. But nothing prepared me for the instant reaction to the iPad. Just as I grew to love the touch of paper and the smell of a book as a kid, I watched 30 children fall under the spell of the touchscreen, the color, the personality of that iPad--all while loving what they were reading. I do not want my school or my students (parochial school) to spend another dime on a textbook that they do not read. I want a tablet in the hands of every bright, open mind in my room. How long will it take?

KINDLE vs NOOK

   I love gadgets, electronica, devices. I want them all. Now. Thousands of ideas for my classes pop into my head every time I see an iPad ad, watch my students geek out on our iTouch Words with Friends tournaments, or give the student with the iPad the floor, as he shows everyone else how easy it is to "get" Macbeth while I stand by superfluous, for once. And I have always been an input junkie. What could be better than more ways to read and digest the world?
   So I am lucky that my husband has a calmer head and works through the pro/con list very time I see a bright shiny toy and cry "now!" He decided on a Kindle for Christmas and I love it. I bounced over to my sister's house to show it off, but was met by TWO nieces (8 and 14 years) with their brand new Nooks, even more sparkly than my Kindle. So I spent the evening working through the Nook details with the  8-year-old while inwardly comparing her toy to mine. I am still pleased with husband's choice for me, but am also dazzled by the power that the Nook already exhibits over the girls' reading patterns.
1. Readability: I have weak eyes, so as a reader, there is no comparison; the Kindle wins. The e-paper is much easier on the eyes, so I can read longer. The Nook sights like my MacBook, and I felt the eyestrain just as quickly. I will miss the physical experience of a book with the Kindle. I have always loved the feel of the page in my hand, and still identify the smell of a book as a great selling point. I still remember the first time my grandmother let me touch her small red leatherbound Gold Bug by Poe that had goldleafed page edges. I have that book now, and it is one of my prized possessions. So neither reader can come close to that sense experience.
2. Color & Touchscreen: The Nook color is great, high resolution, and the touchscreen is almost as good as an iPad or iPhone.  It is hard to look away, great for the second grader. If you are getting a reader only to read, then the color is not that important. But both nieces were mesmerized. They needed very little help to navigate the first time. They read for a while, but then started setting up their "desktops." That personalization is a big plus for kids. The Kindle can't do much of that in comparison.
3. New Reading Skill Development: Watching my niece read the Magic Tree House Christmas in Camelot (good choice for her first book, sis) with all the illustrations intact, and the potential for live links to other King Arthur resources, made me see the advantages for new readers. I look forward to teaching Macbeth to kids with the choice of  clicking on videos of the Olivier or MacLellan performances of the scene we're reading right in the middle of class. And for the first time, my second grade niece sat for an hour with no prompting to read. The 14-year-old mastered the highlighting and dictionary functions right away, so we know that the Nook will be a great school aid as well as fun toy. 

4. WiFi vs 3G: I have WiFi only on my Kindle. The techy side of me wants 3G, but I think I will forgo it for now. I don't need it to read, and it may just be another distraction. The girls have unmonitored internet access on their Nooks, and though that is an opportunity for the 14-year-old to learn web management skills, we are all thinking about the usefulness of that feature for a 8-year-old's incipient reading habits. I did notice that the Pandora feature on the Nook caught both girls up--for the 14-year-old, reading and listening to music at the same time seemed natural. I'm not sure if that is a great idea for the second grader. And my sister is considering the wisdom of  her daughter listening to whatever Pandora thinks is appropriate. It is a valid point.

   Overall, I am pleased as an obsessive reader to have the Kindle. As a teacher , the Nook offers an intoxicating look at the future of teaching reading strategies. The metacognitive strategy poster in my classroom is already changing as I write this.  And I still want an iPad. Now.

I AM IN SMS SO STEPPED...

I am encountering some digital problems these days in my junior Macbeth classes. The standards of courteous behavior are changing so quickly in all aspects of our culture that my head is spinning. It is no longer impolite to check your phone while conversing in person, or let the door slam in the face of the person behind you. And my students do not seem to know how to enter and exit elevators without creating a tangle of backpacks and arms and legs that slows everyone down.  I also cannot expect that they understand the convenience of one person speaking at a time; this simple lesson has become a week one routine for me over the past 5 years. But the change that has become most confusing, exhilarating and irritating all at the same time is texting.

Three years ago, there was never any reason to accept texting as polite behavior in the company of others. But in those three years, texting has exploded across all strata of our culture. I see people fingering their phones as they walk down city streets, drive their cars, converse with others, worship in church, read to their children, sleep, and eat. My own children felt that it was always rude not to return a text immediately, even as I demanded that phones be left behind as we ate dinner or they went upstairs to sleep. And that is what makes the nonstop communication by SMS so difficult to manage in a classroom: not only do my students feel it is rude not to return a text, but there are often real social consequences for them if they do not maintain a constant stream of conversation with their friends all day long.  And I have caught more than one student answering a text from a parent, who must also know that their child is sitting in a classroom?????? Whose interest does that parent have in mind?
It also creates an adversarial relationship with me, their teacher. I want to use their devices in class, and hopefully that will become possible at my school someday soon. But now I am supposed to be on the lookout for texting, and then confiscate the offender's phone and write a demerit, all while I am teaching, or facilitating group work, or listening to their poems aloud.  I cannot do all this efficiently. And even some students admit that when they are engaged in texting, they have no idea what is going on in class--though there are those that can do it. (I know, I did it as a kid. I read a book on my lap, while listening to what was going on with one ear. ) So what do I do?
Shakespeare is hard--at least at first. You have to concentrate to begin to enjoy it. He is NOT boring. I am NOT boring. It is NOT irrelevant. Attention must be paid. Critical thinking skills cannot be developed in a social context 100% of the time. Close reading of literature requires a single mindedness that becomes easier and enjoyable with time, but it must be practiced. But what are we to do when they risk social suicide by engaging in class instead of texting their anxiety away?

CAREFUL: STUDENTS IN CHARGE!

   I  have felt choked lately: so  much to say, no place to say it. So much rising up in my throat that maybe should not be said, if only because the emphasis that blogging would give it is not useful. Partly this is because I am not at NCTE right now. I stopped looking at Twitter yesterday, cause I just feel left out, like I did in middle school. I am left out, but just accidentally: not that big a deal. There is always another conference, and it is not like I have nothing to fill my time. Another part of my frustration leads back to my isolation. I just taught The Allegory of the Cave to the seniors, and I feel that same confusion and pain when confronted with a new world...we want what we had,  and are afraid of losing the old in favor of the new. Can't forget what you know, though, so I  am back to what I can write...what I am finding exciting these days. How can I  use my altered sense of my purpose with the tools at hand? Does it really matter that I can't talk about new ideas with my colleagues? No, it doesn't change a thing about what I will do with my kids.
   Once again,  I find myself torn between the plans I have made for my classes, and the plans that arise when I let myself relinquish control to my students. It requires so much more time and confidence...but I am discovering that I cannot just do things the same ways I used to, when confronted with the power and purity of their ideas, their youth, their openness. So when I tossed off a quick extra credit blog entry about music, I did not think through what I would do with their responses.....and they gift me with a list of songs that speaks eloquently in its simplicity to their beliefs, hopes, ambitions and anxieties.  So I posted their self-created, self-creating playlist, and there must be a second chapter! It has to fit into something we're doing in class, so Macbeth it is. Could they compose a playlist for Macbeth? What would he play to get pumped to murder his friend and lord? What would Banquo's playlist sound like after that first meeting with the witches? I do not WANT to imagine Lady Macbeth's playlist once the murder is done.......Gotta go. Let's put their plan into place.
UPDATE: lesson plan for Macbeth's playlist
UPDATE: blog post with all the students' choices

I'm LEARNING! I'm LEARNING!

I am fascinated by the move to include gaming in mainstream curriculum. My Delicious tag is getting out of control. There are several TED talks that explain it even for the uninitiated. While I am not exactly sure how I would use it in a high school literature class, I can see that my students arrive every September with deep skills and enthusiasms that I cannot even fathom when I hear them talk about their games. It does seem to matter which games they play, and I have tried a few on their recommendations--like Assassin's Creed, which unfortunately had much less to do with the Crusades than the boys led me to believe (guess that depended on what prior knowledge you bring to the table, mine vs theirs).  So far, I have not seen anything in the Halo series or Grand Theft Auto type games which would develop skills I need them to practice. But World of Warcraft roleplay for a creative writing assignment--WOW! Look at some of the topics on the  "All the World's a Stage" page: writing what you know, characterization, oh the drama!, adding flesh to your character, joining the right circle, roleplaying with class, the inside layer...it goes on and on.  I have no idea how I would ever develop enough skill to work this in my class, but this last week or so, I have begun to FEEL what power this could have. And the first time I saw Inanimate Alice, I was speechless--I wanted to play NOW.
I am a dilettante, for sure, but I am also addicted to Snood, Angry Birds (which is teaching me about physics and gravity) and most recently, Plants vs Zombies. My kids tell me these are "mom" games, but I do not care.  With each new level of Plants vs Zombies, I find myself becoming more methodical about my approach to the zombies and which tools I will use. I have an abstract random style, so my learning is not as fast as it might be. I do reach critical mass of knowledge, though, and I am reducing my moves to code, almost. I experiment until I conquer a level, and then use those skills to get a good start on the next level. So, I want to start thinking about my teaching style as a gaming style. I'd like to label my style by the end of the next quarter. I'll keep reading dean groom's blog to see how the edges of the envelope are being pushed--or ripped. So far, I have ID'ed two kids in my classes who I could tap as my experts. Are you thinking about gaming?

BRIT LIT REMIXED

The first year teaching BritLit is ROUGH. Nothing is written "in English" for the first half of the year, and the pop references to Beowulf, Chaucer, Shakespeare are so culturally pervasive that it is hard to convince students that they are actually reading the original references. (If I was really good, I'd use this to teach allusion.) Today I was thinking about one of my colleagues teaching her first year of BritLit and realizing that if she doesn't get through Macbeth by Christmas, she'll never get to  the 20th century by 4th quarter. How do I know this? Because it took me three years to get to the 20th century in BritLit.  I  myself am mired in Canterbury right now and am looking longingly at the unit on Shakespeare, if only to get myself out of the quicksand that Chaucer can be with a class who is resolute in their hatred of all things medieval.

Some years I feel like Victor Frankenstein, trying to invent a way to stave off the pain and anguish all human beings suffer.  Of course, Victor's misunderstanding of human nature was the real problem  in his sad story: we are not human if we don't hurt.  But it's not my job to teach that, is it?
It's all good, though, cause the pressure of the kids saying  "really, Ms. Healey?"  is when the good ideas come. What if I skipped the Prologue next year and just read the Wife of Bath's Tale with them? She's funny and likeable, and she's got a good story. Then my love of all things Arthurian and chivalric would be satisfied for once, and they would still learn about the Middle Ages and start spouting what they already knew from movies. AND they'll remember the name of the Father of English Poetry, and I could probably talk about the Green Man for once.  And we could build a wiki about medieval coolness instead of the Black Death (though I do love a good plague now and then).
 But of course, that still does not solve the 20th century. Last year, we did Literature Circles for short fiction (Conrad, Joyce, Mansfield, Greene, etc). It was successful--but they agreed as a group that no one should ever have to read The Rocking Horse Winner again. I agreed--I had forgotten how odd and creepy it was. I love DH Lawrence, but there has to be a better example. So what to read instead?  Does it have to be him? (I miss teaching Greene's The Tenth Man, which is out of print. Love it, too long anyway) And why I am always researching the same problems over and over again? I'm not the one suffering through BritLit for the first time, remember?

Because I forget my greatest resource--my kids.  I happen to teach some of the students who panned Rocking Horse Winner last year in my senior World Lit classes. Time for extra credit second quarter, people. Research contemporary British short fiction, already judged worthy by history, and find me a new story for the juniors.  Write me an argument for the story you choose. Hey, maybe they could work in Lit circles again to handle this job for me. BWWWAAAHHHH! Dr. Frankenstein finally gets it right.

OUT OF SYNC?

   It is Year 6 for me, Year 5 at this school, my only high school.  I LOVE teaching teens, I  LOVE my school. I LOVE my tech. But I have hit a wall. I have completed two years of the Technology Immersion Program (TIP) program at school, working one on one with a coach to integrate technology tools into my teaching. And that has been great--I have learned many tools, chosen some favorites, and am able to add new ones without much drama. I believe I am a better teacher/learner, and my students are not only learning new ways to create and learn, but  also how to teach and mentor each other. The balance between us has shifted, and I like it. Since I do not have a single "tech instinct" in my body, I consider all this a great accomplishment.
   But something unexpected has come along with all these new tools: the new tools have brought an entirely new attitude as well. It is not about tools for me anymore. My thinking about teaching and learning has changed, and I do not want to go back to the old way of learning about students, reading, writing, teaching, all of it. Everyone seems pleased by my work, but no one has read my lessons, or looked at the wikis my classes have built, or even checked out the wordle galleries or video podcasts. I am naive, I know:  I am fascinated by my how colleagues' students interpret their lessons, and the English Department is always noisy with our conversations about how we do what we do, ideas we offer each other for those problem texts, and sharing what really worked.  Aren't other teachers looking to get ideas from me as well?And let's not forget, teens are remarkable in their drama, their creativity, their humor, their vulnerability and their outrageousness.  What's not to love about this whole set-up?
   So this year, I find myself investigating new methods rather than new tools. I know that this has been the master plan of my Tech Director all along, but I am dying to talk to someone (besides her) about gaming, to throw out ways to create stories maybe with augmented reality for World Lit, to get better at using the collaborative spaces on our wiki. But the reality is that there is no one who wants to wade through this kind of stuff with me. The environment at school is cautious and concerned more with protecting children than teaching them to protect themselves. It is not a bad approach, I just feel like it is a wall between me and my students now.  I know there is twitter, and the EC ning, and all the teachers whose blogs I read, and who read mine, but that is not the same as my community here, who all know my kids and teach them too. I feel out of sync with them now, and am wondering if I am reinventing the wheel.

THOSE WHO CAN, TEACH

   I am not perfect: and today, I mean specifically the teacher-me is not perfect.  There are so many things that I should do, that I don't.  One of the traits of many good teachers is our need to tweak our lessons, to reflect on the little details that made it work, to always assume that we can do it better next time. And I sure could spend more time organizing and adminstrating myself!  But my career began in marketing and public relations, not teaching, so I also see so many paths for myself as a teacher. I could use Twitter more efficiently as a tool to bring readers to my blog. I could blog topics that I know are hot buttons for my tweeps and colleagues.  I could use my blog to outline chapters on the book I should be writing about about my teaching adventures. The list goes on and on.
   And then I just read Richard Byrnes' article in the School Library Journal (saw it on twitter) and it was great. I LOVE to see these young teachers synthesize all they learn so quickly and use it for their students and then give it to us as well.  And there go the " I SHOULDs" again.  I know my strengths in the classroom, and I have seen my enthusiasm spark my colleagues (some of the time. Most of the time they wonder why I care about all this "tech" stuff). So I could feel guilty, trying not to grab my phone and tweet my improvements as I drive home (I don't do this, but I think about doing it EVERY DAY. It never gets easier). I could be using my ever racing mind to write the stream of consciousness novel in my head, though as time goes on I am not sure it is a novel; I think it might be some genre without a name yet.
   BUT...then I remember that all the time reading Twitter and retweeting things I should have said myself (or did), or reading someone else's blog, or cruising that never-ending thread on the EC Ning about books that English teachers love to hate (quite enjoyable, really), means that I am forgetting for a moment my own genius. And it is genius.
   To sit in a circle with 10 young people who think they know exactly what you think they should think, and to throw out an idea that stops them short, THAT rocks. Because you're a teacher, and you know that in the next breath, they are all going to start talking and throwing it right back at you, and it will be better than you imagined and those light bulbs showing up over their heads sends chills down your spine--not because they have figured you out, but because they have figured themselves out. Sometimes they won't tell you, but you can see it happen anyway. And all the followers on a blog or direct responses to a tweet cannot compare to how good that feels. It even feels good to bring someone down a notch, gently, so they can get out of their own way. And that has already happened this year too. Kids sign up for my classes when they get the choice because I read and I love it, and I teach and I love it. My genius?  I make sure they know that loving books and loving them is as good as anybody ever gets it.

My multitasking drive just broke!

I recently participated in my first Twitter #engchat (using the term euphemistically here) and my brain exploded within 5 minutes. Too many ideas, too many people, too much too fast. Good to see your own limits, I think.

Archetypal session of Archetypes

Archetypes are easy to spot, hard to describe. My Honors World Lit class was not getting it, so today I went old school and wrote types of archetypes across the top of  the whiteboard. I warned them about the difference between  generic archetypes (gunslinger)  and icons (Clint Eastwood) and then let them have at it.  It was great! the mistakes worked as well as the ones that hit the target. And we had fun. They finally gelled as a class and we are ready to talk archetypes first in Things Fall Apart and next Gilgamesh. They are set for the year, I think. Sigh. I love my kids.

Final notes on on the session:
https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=14TbxOqYIkOlLev2gHa_qqX2i03LgzX-sUqx6EJVnVyk&hl=en#

BritLit Reading Journals: ePortfolios chapter 1

   I'll use any tool that works to get my kids writing and reflecting. Since I am committed to preparing them for this century, not the last, the right tool takes time. It does not always show up right away. And I also have to work within the parameters set by school.  Weeks of prep to implement my Year of Reading were finally tested today. The kids were fabulous: today we started our reading journals in BritLit. The entries are great! I have been trying to come up with a medium that will please me plus please my school. The school platform for tech work is Studywiz Spark, out of New Zealand.  Studywiz is comprehensive--I can do anything on styudywiz-blog, chat, online writing, collaborative writing, video uploads, posting projects, link lists, RSS feeds, stc. BUT it is a secure environment, so the kids miss the chance to learn to live on the internet safely. All the security slows down the process and adds many, many steps. Setting up a simple blog or in-class assignment is a multistep process sometimes complicated by things as simple as terminology (today we realized that to upload a photo from our desktop we needed the "repository" separate from the process to upload an image from the internet).  Last year, I used Studywiz voraciously, but got no sleep because of the inconvenience of trying to actually set up the projects and forums and then to assess the work. It was so tempting to use Blogger and Wikispaces exclusively, since there were so few steps to get stuff done in those platforms.

  Since  Studywiz allows students to perform many different functions in a secure environment, it cannot consider the mechanics on the teacher end. I needed something simple for them and something manageable for me (60 kids in my two junior classes). This year, Studywiz added an ePortfolio function, so today we started our portfolios, wrote personal profiles and then drafted our first of five journals for the quarter. 
   My juniors write five journals entries over the quarter and I grade their best two (they choose them). This year I am requiring three journal entries about class reading (so today I got a fair number on Beowulf) or the independent reading we do as part of SAT prep.  I wish I could show you their journals, but I can't, because Studywiz won't let me. So while this is a triumph for my classes, we still have a long way to go to join the 21st century community. Most importantly, many have come to my class without ever doing any blogging, online writing or wiki work. They have already learned to blog and enter their journals. The wiki is next!

Who Do They See As Heroes?

   Every year, each of my classes chooses a "team name" to represent themselves in Healigan's world. Most teachers name their classes by color, but I hate to give up a teachable moment.I only require that the name avoid insulting anyone, represent some heroic traits, and promote class bonding. It is an agonizing process for me, since we begin the year with very different concepts of what makes a hero. Some years they live with a name that fits them less and less as they learn more about heroes, good and evil, and archetypes. The year of the Jokers was tough: we discussed everything in terms of anti-heroes and villains. They were a oppositional group, and had chosen the right name. But it was not much fun.

   So today I was so pleased to see one group arrive and three members immediately bring up the name they had chosen, the GoodFellas. They wanted to know more about the GoodFellas, so I showed them the movie trailer. Much consternation ensued, after many realized they had given their vote away on the word of other classmates. What a great lesson about the political process! So I agreed to reconsider if they discussed amongst themselves and decided they would like a run off election Monday. I'm hoping for the Watchmen (one of the better choices). no hope for Beowulf.

Year of Reading Part 2

   If I was at all unsure of the wisdom of spending class time on SSR, my summer reading test proved that the idea is sound. I am not a huge fan of summer reading tests, but I am required to assess somehow.  Usually my assessment consists of an essay on each assigned reading with a prompt that will not allow them to summarize. I already know they can use sparknotes, and do! So the prompt allows them to focus on their reactions to the reading and how they might connect that to their LQ (lit quotient, what they know of analyzing lit after 11 years).  What I found were some great thesis statements and then jumbles of half connected thoughts and support--as if they knew what they thought but were unable to express it.  They were using 6th grade words to discuss the Picture of Dorian Gray and Taming of the Shrew. That won't work. They are not thinking 6th grade anymore, but their stash of  words and constructions failed them.
   Then I also reviewed the index cards they fill out on the first day. The front side contains their first name (for the first week while I learn all 150 names)and the reverse has their LAST favorite book. Bingo. In a class of 27, there were 6 Harry Potters, 4 Twilights,  a couple of Catcher in the Ryes/Great Gatsbys from last year's American Lit and other miscellaneous middle school books--Holes, The Outsiders, Francesca Lia Block, Nicholas Sparks,  etc. These are all good choices, but it means most of them had not read a book they liked or remembered since middle school.
   I had spent last year tracking the writing problems in my junior classes, and even in the Honors classes, I noticed that their grammar, punctuation and even their paragraphing was fine. The biggest problems seemed to be a lack of vocabulary to express their thoughts accurately, and an inability to string the words together in a coherent way. Misuse or inaccurate use of articles, adjectives, adverbs, even the confused relationship between dependent and independent clauses were obscuring what might have been fine observations. I attribute this to the lack of reading outside school. Am I right?
   We shall see. I am using some of my SAT prep time (added to my schedule in August. Surprise!) to do this SSR and I hope I am right. Their brains should be  absorbing the smooth flow of language unconsciously while on the SAT prep days we'll be teaching to the test. Wish me luck.

YEAR of READING, YEAR of WAITING

    I announced the Year of Reading to my juniors yesterday. We are doing SSR at least one day a cycle. Because my school is a "no social media" school, I am not sure where this will go--for instance, the first time someone asks me if they can do their SSR on a kindle, nook, or their phone, I think I have to say no.  (it even hurts to type it!) I cannot fault administration for putting safety first, but am growing confused with  the vagueness of the term "social media." It seems to mean different things to different people, and am not sure how far it goes. Most teachers in my school are assuming it just means no facebook friending of students. I get that. I never friended them anyway. I am not their friend, I am their teacher, and want to stay in their memory that way--with the learning they experienced in my class. But I would have liked to start a private facebook page for my courses, which would create a central place for homework and project updates. And they might actually chat with each other about Beowulf!!!! Some of my other tools I would like to introduce to my colleagues include:

wallwisher

screenjelly, jing

diigo, delicious, digg, stumble upon, reddit

glogster, prezi

google docs; google scholar, evernote

aviary, audacity, garage band

reader, bloglines, RSS reader, feedburner

librivox, google books, Project Gutenberg, scribd

wikispaces or PBWiki

blogger or tumblr,  edublogs

voicethread

 garage band

wordle, quizlet

http://labs.google.com/sets

   All of these promote reading and writing, creativity and collaboration. They support some of the fundamental ways that kids' learning is changing. And yes, most of them are social. I have used many of them with the blessing of my school. But the line between useful, essential and dangerous is getting blurrier by the minute. I  am not sure where it is anymore.

   So this year's challenge for me is shaping up to be about social media. How do we define it at my school? What is our mission as we prepare students for their world? I think I need to step lightly, but continue the journey started when I first encountered a blog four years ago and saw the potential for my kids.

This will also be the year I begin to market to my colleagues (not just the poor English department, who hears about it constantly) more aggressively the essential changes that are happening in our students, in our culture and to our futures. I am starting with a diigo group for the English Department at my school. If we teachers bow out of the process that is evolving all around us, we have made ourselves obsolete. They will not need us to learn and we will not be able to teach them anyway. This year's challenge is to take the long view, and know that it will just take a little longer than I planned to lead my students to their futures.

UPDATE: Just saw this: speaks to the question at hand!

Beowulf may have to wait: taking care of our kids

I have spent the last few weeks preparing for my new students, working through what they will ask the first day, dreaming about the chemistry of each class, redesigning my classroom and their reactions to it. And just when I think I have exactly what they need the very first day, something happens to remind me of my real role in their lives.
One of my colleagues, one of the students' favorite teachers, died unexpectedly at the end of last week. It is hard for me to picture the school without her, to be honest. So I am preparing for her funeral tomorrow instead of the first day of school. I did not know her well: we taught different subjects, and she was a coach-type person, while I am a club-type person. She taught here for 20 years, while I am still a newbie with only four years.  But all I can think about are the students we share, and I have been thinking of them and how this is so much harder for them to understand than it is for me. And how some of them will need a hug, but others may want to talk. And still others are going to make the connection immediately that she and I were close in age. So, they will not just miss her, but they will have an early reminder that nothing is for sure, it could all change tomorrow. This generation is certainly more savvy about the transience of life and experience than mine was, but when it comes to a tragedy like this, they are still children who deserve to be nurtured and loved. So my first few days of school will be about listening to them, letting them see my feelings and still providing some foundation for absorbing the sadness and remembering a much beloved teacher, colleague and coach. This is the hard stuff, the most important stuff.  Beowulf may have to wait. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

SOMETHING LEFT TO CHANCE: to burn in hell or not?

Today I tackled my syllabi: it is time to make a stand and decide what I'm really going to teach each year. I always leave this task until last because it is the impossible task, at least for me. My school provides my mission and I can look at other teachers' plans from earlier years. Jeez, I have already taught each of these classes at least once before. But every year, I get a little agita because I cannot finalize my choices. And if I charge ahead and print out the syllabus with final choices, I invariably cross off numerous texts on the list as I start the year. So what is it that makes it impossible to choose? A teacher should be in charge of her content, shouldn't she? I have been doing this for years, I should know how to choose.

This year, the sticking point is Dante's Inferno. I know there is no time to read the entire Divine Comedy, but the last time I read the Inferno with my Honors Senior World Lit class, they loved it--and we referenced it throughout the year. And, let's face it, Hell is defined by Dante, and in a parochial school, we like our discussions of the ultimate evil.  But I have devoted myself to including more modern and contemporary works in my World Lit syllabus--I don't have too many restrictions as to what I teach, and students always seems to think that modern is good (though there are some who have informed me that modern means "written in my lifetime" and then they want to watch a movie from the 80s, and I've got them!) So, I believe that the Inferno is one of those "things we all oughta know, " but at the expense of something more "modern," say--Saramago's Blindness or Gaiman's American Gods? I think I will fall back on the best counselors I have--my students. I will leave room in the syllabus, and  learn my students' personalities and interests. Some choices will have to wait for my class.

TEACHING IS A CONTACT SPORT

  I have been quiet on Twitter the past three weeks, have only skimmed my Reader files, stopped most posting to my delicious and diigo accounts, even forgot to check facebook (!) One week of that was vacation, so I was doing much more interesting stuff, but for the other two weeks I needed the noise in my head to go away as I hold my breath before school starts. And I am about to write a post for me,  without bullitts and and way too long.
  I don't know a teacher anywhere who doesn't hold his/her breath in those last days before the onslaught: I live inside my head more than most people (my family tells me so), so once school starts, I will spend some of the next nine months missing the time to think, savor, reflect, READ, make connections, explore any flights of fantasy that appear as I tackle each new text for the umpteenth time, and generally, let my abstract random learning style take my mind where it wants to go without considering the practical aspects of the time I am spending on non-school work. I am not going to write a book that will make it all clear for every single teacher who ever walks into a classroom. Don't want to.  Can't: it has become clear to me that it will take my whole career for me to develop the wisdom to teach anyone other than my students. And though this is certainly not the attitude I "should" have in this collaborative learning age: I know things my students need to know.
   For all of history, learned people have passed knowledge to the young. Methods have differed, but there it is. I have read anything I could get my hands on for 45 years, and this experience makes me invaluable to the kids I am about to meet. My enthusiasm for what I do makes me invaluable. We had a good laugh during one class last year, when someone asked if I slept. Surprised, I said "well, yeah, but not much--I can sleep when I'm dead." (They did not get the Warren Zevon allusion. Point to Healigan) They all laughed uproariously, and I realized that they wanted to know how I taught them, had three teens of my own, read books they would never read, stood at the movie theatre in line for both movies they wanted to see and the boring old stuff, liked both the Roots and Mozart, cared about punk art and knitted two of the hangings on my wall, noticed the weather change before they even saw it in the window, watched TV (though they do understand my lack of interest in Jersey Shore) and played video games, went to church every Sunday but admired Islam, etc. We stopped for a minute and I reminded them not to believe everything they saw on TV: regardless of the fact that I was getting older and I was living with wrinkles (horrors) and had to color my hair (toss of the head), the truth was, experience and age made people smarter, and THAT feels good. Class got more interesting for all of us after that. Sometimes kids just want to, need to, listen.
   SO.....though I have spent much of the summer getting great new ideas and techniques from my PLN on twitter and the EC Ning and a Way to Teach, and practicing how to manage a social life on the internet (not too good at it. Still a fan of face to face), I'm done now. Teaching is a contact sport, and summer is for reflection, but September is for playing the game.
   Now is for realizing
 1) what can really be accomplished in the next nine months, and
 2) the power that my particular school environment will have on what I can do with my
    new group of personalities,
 3) it does not have to be new to work, and
 4) we all have to have fun AND work hard. Oh, and that as of September, I will have to  
     avoid mixing my metaphors.
  The best part is that I concentrate on them day to day, that the roller coaster ride that is teaching teens just has to be enjoyed. It is a Zen thing: be in the moment, Leslie. Be mindful of this second and love it, no matter what happens.