The Politcs of Language
Christensen #4

YES!!! I love the beginning of this chapter, bringing my two favorite subjects together, history and English. "When i taught literature without examining the social and historical framework, i condoned the biased social messages students absorbed." (106). YES, YES, YES, my thoughts exactly. This is why I chose my minor and major, they are so closely intermingled that it is so easy and fun to think of ways to build off a topic for both subjects. You can learn a great deal as a student if you can develop your English skills through history and vise verse. I know if a class were to read "Huck Finn" without discussing the social standings and southern culture of the time period students will be lost or be subjected to biases. I love the idea of teaching history through classical fictional literature, i think students can learn so much that way. Frankly I feel students might enjoy learning history and English through historical fictional literature. Another great thing about incorporating not politcally correct literature pieces to discuss in class may jump start many students' excitement for writing. Granted a teacher has to careful on what books to select... these are PUBLIC schools.

Writing About Literature
Chapter #4 Jago

I am a talker plain and simple. I can talk and talk and talk all day if i could and if someone would listen. I guess i am lucky in that sense because I never get stuck on what to write about. i just start writing down everything that I am thinking about and something comes up worth explaining. Introductions are not that hard, even though i hear that it is the most difficult for some people. I am not saying this to brag, but i am saying this because it was good for me to read this chapter. I have learned ways to help students that do struggle, or at least how to actually teach a logical way of how to start writing.
Not all essays are opinion questions, because if they were then they would be the easiest questions on the exams and everyone would do well. I really enjoy the simplicity and the graph on page 75. It breaks down how to write and essay on a piece of literature the way i enjoy to write. It starts with a quote and then an opinion. That is where i think people stop, but that isn't the case, sorry one persons opinion is not a well developed answer. Jago adds two more columns: What the quote says about the literature piece and what the quote says about the rest of the world. WOW! perfect... if every student can produce an answer with each of these columns filled out, their paper or essay is almost already written for them.

Teaching Narrative Writing
Chapter #3 Jago

My absolute favorite style of writing has to be creative writing. Creative writing is a way for me to express my thoughts. Sense I was real young I wrote mysteries and plays. I have no idea what got be started or what inspired me to start this kind of writing at such a young age, but I do know i had an incredible imagination and writing was actually fun. Just to put it out there and to admit it... I AM NOT A GREAT WRITER. I never have been a good writer and i will never claim to be a great writer either. I am horrible with gramme and sometimes runons and fragments insert themselves within my train of thought. I always got defeated with writing in school because of these problems. However, when i went home I could write down my own thoughts, plots, and ideas in a way that was comfortable to me, and they were good. Unfortunately, in school we do more than just creative writing and i lost a lot of my writing confidence.
I like what Jago said in the very beginning of chapter 3, "offering constructive criticism on a piece of writing so close to a student's heart is like navigating a minefield." With all the plays and stories i wrote i never let anyone read them, specifically for this reason. I had lost my confidence in school and lost my passion for writing because of the criticism, but i still possessed my passion for my own personal creativity, and i didn't want anyone to take that away from me.
All i have to say now is THANK GOD I AM GOING TO BE A TEACHER! I know i am not the best writer, but i love that about my writing, there is always room for improvement and it has nothing to do with my creativity in anyway, it is only the way i express it. I can teach that idea everyday in my class... it is OK not to be perfect, but if you have something brilliant to say and you are excited to share it, make sure it gets heard clearly.

Writing the Word and the World
Christensen Chapter #3

Wow, what a chapter. Now there were three parts to the chapter, there was a section on the read around method of class discussion, forgiveness poems, and then essay writing. Out of the three i really enjoyed the essay writing section. Which is strange to a certain extent, because i love poetry so I assumed that that section would hold my interests, however on the other hand, i am a history major so essay writing should be my forte.
The possible reason of why i enjoyed reading about how to teach essay writing the most, was because i love persuasive writing. I am a very stubborn, opinionated individual that loves to write about what makes me tick, and essay writing allows me to express this socially awkward quality. How I would start the class is finding out what each student is passionate about, what things make them tick. I believe the best way to get a student excited and motivated to write is to allow them to express their beliefs effectively. I would have them pick their own topic but I would provide examples, in case there are some students who believe they are not passionate about anything. Politics, social issues, famous people, a movie, a song, cars, make up, sports, etc... the list can go on and on, but there is always that one thing that someone can just stand up and rant and rave about something, and in this exercises students would be able to research this topic and learn how to express it in effective writing.
I did enjoy the poetry section of the chapter as well. I enjoyed reading the poems for one, they were very interesting to learn so much about the author with not so many words. I think it is important to give different strategies of how to write one kind of poem, this way the students have multiple ways to choose to structure their poem. Every teenager has at least one problem on their mind, at least one problem. Either it is a friend or family member a teacher or teammate or school or jobs there has to be someone in one of those categories that may need to be forgiven or just written about. This is also another tool for students to express themselves effectively, and frankly, that is one of the main reasons of why i love English. There are so many tools that can be used to express your thoughts and emotions so that others can read more into who you really are, it is an amazing thing!

"Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us: Critiquing Cartoons and Society"
- Christensen, Chapter #2

I have a father who will be turning 62 in May. He is a man that has lived his life to the fullest. He has built multiple cars, he has fought in a war, he owns his own business, and he is a great father to his family. Now, because this man has lived through so many experiences that when he starts to tell about the good ole days i sit straight up and pay close attention. He tells his stories of growing up in a small town where there was a soda shop where they went after school, he has shown me his paper route that he had that helped him pay for his first car when he was 12, he has shown me the multiple scars he has from car races and car crashes in old 1932 coups or 1953 trucks. I am convinced my dad grew up in a place like Mayberry, where everyone new your name and life was simple. Life was very simple back then, people didn't worry about lead base paint or how many germs are running through the water in your garden hose and where wearing your hair longer than your ears was being rebellious. ... life was simple.
Now you are probably thinking what does my fathers life have to do with this chapter... everything! People these days have gotten so incredibly caught up in changing things or finding things wrong with something. There are parents that would like to keep their 2 year old in a plastic bubble then let them play outside in the dirt, where god knows how many bugs and animals and germs they might touch or consume. But the fact is that is life... these experiences are what makes people and children who they are. As a result, i read this chapter with a humorous mind. I literally laughed out loud when the lady went up to the clerk in a toy store for none racist and none sexist toys. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! You have got to be joking. They are just toys, kids play with them they have fun with them they are their friends. Cinderella was my favorite! I am not kidding i had her barbie, her sheets, her blankets, her cups, plates, spoons, movie, swimsuit, etc... if my parents had not let me watch Cinderella, because there were no characters of different ethnicity, then i would have missed out on a great childhood friend. I respect peoples concern with the subject and i do believe, nowadays, cartoons need to shift to be more multicultural. However, life is too short and precious to be so analytical about everything that makes up our society.

Cohesive Writing: Teaching Informational and Persuasive Writing-- Jago Chapter 2

I really really enjoyed this chapter, mainly for the reason that I absolutely love writing persuasively. Right next to creative writing, persuasive writing is another way i can express myself. My mom has told me before I enjoy persuasive writing only because i am so stubborn and opinionated. I 100% agree with her statement as well. I believe my political, religious, and moral beliefs are a huge part of who I am, as a result, I can use these methods to achieve a great many things with my students. I, number one, will get a great outlook on who each student is individually and at the same time find out what they are most interested in. If a student is like me, and feels very passionate about something then the paper might be the best piece of literature they ever wrote. Most importantly, if that same student enjoyed expressing their opinion, then I just helped a student that might not have enjoyed writing previous, enjoy the powerful expression of literature.
Secondly, i would like to discuss her suggestion of using newspapers to help students with topics for writing. This is great in many ways. One way it helps them with a topic they would be more interested in finding out more about, secondly, it gets kids reading the paper. Current events is very helpful in English as well as History classes. So many lessons can begin or be carried out with the information that exists within newspapers, and getting a student to enjoy reading certain parts of the newspaper would help with their literacy skills.

Cohesive Writing: Jago Chapter 1

I really enjoy the set up in this book. In comparison to Christensen though, I would have to agree with Christensen a little more on how she has her own way of writing and communicating her ideas. It was interesting to have the assignment to find 3 resources and put them on our wiki spaces, because almost all of the really good websites i found had to do with jump starting your paper. Jago explains in her chapter the difficulties students have with the beginning of a paper. Starting a paper is the hardest point in writing, actually for any type of writing such as informative, essay, persuasive, and even creative writing. Jago gave ideas for prompts and different strategies to jump start a students creativity for their introductions. She came up with the idea to start the class with a free write proceeded by small group discussions. This would help so many students to receive peer ideas and further brainstorming.
Jago also explained a certain kind of paper writing to help students start writing. This is called the question paper. A question paper starts with a question and then the rest of the paper is dedicated to answering the question. This is a good method in the beginning... but as the year progresses, i believe they need to learn the correct structures of writing.

BUILDING COMMUNITY OUT OF CHAOS - Christensen, Chapter #1

I grew up in a small community and i lived amongst the middle class. My parents were and are still together and no tradegy engulfed my traditional American lifestyle. I have always known that I have been severely lucky in regards to my childhood and upbringing, however, my knowledge of this typical childhood is in some way a hindrance for my future. As i read chapter 1, just within the introduction, i sat wide eyed and shaken about wars between class culture lines, violence at home,within the school, and the on streets. The realization of one teacher knowing what is happening, but struggled to change the way it was brought into her classroom grabbed my attention. The author seemed to mirror how I continuously feel might happen to a white middle class girl with aspirations to become a teacher such as myself. But, the final line in the introduction kept me interested and blanketed my anxiety and fears. Christensen states that "...Students need more than an upbeat, supportive teacher; they need a curriculum that encourages them to empathize with others." (2).

Curriculum of Empathy
"Empathy is key in community building" (Christensen, 6). I 100% agree with the authors thoughts on methods to help these troubled students recognize the difference of circumstances in others, and the ending response not resulting in laughter but actual learning and empathizing. If i at some point in my career as a teacher I am able to have a class with these concerns, I most definitly will follow the authors suggestions and select literature that will show culture differences, hardships, and struggles like she did with the Filipino writer. In addition, the author explained that the students would keep a daily journal to write responses, and in my opinion is a great way for the troubled students to write about thier struggles in comparison to the characters within the literature piece. I strongly believe, amongst other suggestions, would help communicate and realate with a troubled classroom rather than just being a another teacher that struggles to understand and continuously supportive.