Questions for Harry and Heather and You

"Both efforts threatened the right of children to participate within the imaginative world of Harry Potter..." (p.170) To what extent do we threaten the rights of students to participate within any worlds other than the ones we dictate in the reading and writing curricula we design for them? How diverse are we in selecting texts, themes and worlds for our students? What subliminal messages do we send them through the texts we choose for them? I am, for example, admittedly appalled and somewhat embarrassed by the dominant theme of death and suicide that permeates the novels and plays we have chosen for our IB English curriculum. How do we transition from a world that is comfortable for us to one that is both comfortable and "cool" for our charges? (Here I use comfortable in the sense that I am knowledgeable about the present works we use, not that I am necessarily comfortable with the repetitive themes)Would I be comfortable with Harry Potter somewhere in our curriculum?

I have nothing against Harry Potter. Okay, so I haven't read Harry Potter, but I'm just sayin' when it comes to book choices, to what extent do we pay attention to what students really want to read? We push the "great books" but not always with students and their tastes in mind. I found it quite interesting that when I assigned my British Authors Novel of the Year Project, only a few students chose books from the extensive list of British authors provided by the librarian. That, of course, meant I had to do some fast cheat reading to verify their titles, but it was a welcome exercise in teacher/teen taste in novels.

I like Jenkins statement that "None of us really knows how to live in this era of media convergence, collective intelligence, and participatory culture." I am probably one of the best examples of this phenomenon. Although I do put forth efforts to learn about and even use some of the new methods and technology, I do not necessarily enjoy them. There are times when I experience information overload. Extensive media coverage of breaking news such as Hurricane Katrina, Columbine, 9/11, and recently,the death of Michael Jackson, at some points just becomes noise and clutter to me.There were moments, for example, when I longed for the days when all I would have known, all I would have needed to know, was that Michael Jackson died. Just that and nothing more. No collective intelligence, no participatory culture. What does one do with all the excessive information? As I talked to others, I saw how these changes, this excess, produced "anxieties, uncertainties, and panic." I stand uncomfortably between the groups that"'embrace the potentials of the new participatory culture" and those who fear them. Where do you stand?

Safe House in Urban Environment

That title from one of last year's articles comes to mind along with questions and concerns I have about infringing upon the rights and rites of our students as we try to impress them with our knowledge of technology. I do not mean to imply that they have the exclusive rights to technology, but I do cringe at the idea of using their apparent need for constant interconnectedness as a tool for learning. They frequent MySpace and Face Book and an intruder, such as myself, often cringes at the things they dare share in a public forum. When reading such information, I constantly remind myself that I am not the intended audience. The fact that many have requested and accepted me as a "Friend" indicates that they feel they own those arenas and that they can write on them without fear of criticism. That, I feel, involves a certain amount of trust, trust that the "friends" are not the critics, that they will not impose their lessons of grammar and moral judgements.
They write without being prompted. Does their love for posting and tagging translate to a love for blogging? Must they blog? Is this our version of finding them where they are and taking them (reluctantly) where we want them to go? They do not enjoy blogging! Blogging, for many, has the same effect as being in a book club has for others. Like many, I like to read, but being in a book club was not as enjoyable, because the rules changed. I had to finish books by a certain date, articulate an opinion.

Tower of Babel Lesson Plan

Without warning, my P.E.O.P.L.E writing students started comparing terms they use when communicating with their peers in social settings. The initiator of the conversation commented on the diversity of the campus and the difficulty he perceived would exist if he had to room with someone from a different country. I listened without feeling that I was intruding in their space since they were openly discussing this while delaying the completion of ther writing assignment. People in Madison get "treated" while those in Milwaukee are more likely to get "dissed" or "ribbed" for failing to conform or doing something that's unacceptable. Parties are either "off the hook" or "crackin' " depending on where you live. They laughed at each others terminology and asked for explanations.

"Why do you say someone gets ribbed? What sense does that make?"

"What sense does it make to say someone got treated if they're not sick or if you didn't buy them a candy bar?"

I did not stop the conversation because, for me, it was a spontaneous teaching moment that reminded me of some of the class discussions we'd had regarding empowering students and allowing them to use their own language and have their "Safe Houses." The conversation was, at first, dominated by African Americans. I kept hoping that some of the other students would "represent" by joining in the conversation, but that didn't happen until one thoughtful, or more inquisitive, student asked, "What are you? I mean, what do Indians say? Do you guys say "treated" or do you say "ribbed"?

"I'm from Milwaukee," the addresse replied. "We say ribbed." Chuckle, chuckle from the class.

My precise but abstract idea for a related lesson is to have my students do more cultural sharing, especially about their idioms and traditions. Instead of the usual icebreaking activities, students would be required to find out about their classmates' ethnic origins, backgrounds, and traditions. Since my urban classroom has a truly diverse population, I envision having my students design questions that would elicit culturally enlightening information from their peers. They would then spend time talking to each other, or better yet, participate in whole class interviews. That way, some of the stereotypes and guessing that often takes place due to lack of awareness would be eliminated. One of the objectives would be to eliminate ethnic classifications based on complexion alone. Another objective would be to gain a more indepth awareness of some of the practices and traditions of other cultures. For example, we know about Christmas and Hanukah and Cinco de Mayo. What other holidays and ceremonies are celebrated by other ethnic groups? I would even have each person teach another person or the class a few words and phrases from their native language. We know French, Spanish, German, and Latin, but what about Chinese or Vietnamese, the sometimes forgotten languages?

The follow up writing assignment would be a class profile. To assimilate academic writing, I would have them attach some kind of chart or graph depicting their findings. They would also analyze their findings in their papers. For example, they could take a look at how things are expressed differently, lenght of sentences that say basically the same thing in different cultures, use of colorful or more explicit language, etc.This extended assignment might eliminate some of the Babel like communication and cultural misunderstandings.

A Letter to Grace

Dear Grace,



I have one "Angel" of a daughter by birth and many others, including Amy, that I have adopted along the way. You see, if I adopt you (which I have; papers are in the mail), I can continue to offer you unsolicited advice about teaching (and other subjects). I shall preface my first installment of advice with stories from my past even though the stories are not really mine to claim since they have already been shaped by my culture and recorded in somebody elses' history. But this is my story. I share it with you because of your passion for (and sometimes your seemingly uncertainty of) teaching, especially in an urban classroom.

When I arrived in Milwaukee, a southern girl hundreds of miles away from home, away from all that I had ever known, no family, no friends, no "Safe House," I, too, was afraid. But not of teaching, not of classroom settings. I was confident about my subject and gave no thought to discipline. What did I know about urban schools and ghettos? I was a teacher! That was the only label I knew, the only one I needed. It is still the only one those in our profession actually need. When we start adding unnecessary labels and modifiers, we sometimes start adding doubts and often adversely affecting our own self esteem, confidence, actions, interactions, and reactions.

You may argue that it was easier for me because I was an African American teaching African American students. But what about when the tables turned and I was an African American teacher standing in front of an all white class? I stood before them, with my dialect, my southern drawl, and my pronunciations that still today defy the "standards" imposed by academia. What classes existed to instruct me on how to instruct them, how to delve into their backgrounds, how to intrude their safe spaces? Years later (Summer, 2008), some of our authors from class would imply that no such instructions were necessary.

But let me tell you another story. When my daughter was three, the two of us were returning from Chicago and I took a wrong turn onto Dundee Road. All roads do not lead immediately to Milwaukee. Angela studied me for awhile, then asked, "Mommy, are we lost?" I smiled as I admitted, "Yes, we are." "Okay," she said nonchalantly and returned to reading her book upside down. I can't help but think had I panicked or cried (loud enough for her to hear me) or cursed (no, "cussed"), she might have reacted differently. I saw myself in the realistic light as someone who was prone to get lost, but more importantly, as someone who would always find the way back. Let me idealize my story by suggesting that that is what my daughter saw in me. My point is, students, like my daughter, most often see you as you see yourself.

That is why, Grace, I want you to be ever mindful of the labels that you attach to yourself. If you see yourself as a "white teacher" in the urban classroom, your students will view you as that "white" teacher. If you deem yourself an "Oppressor," others will see you as an oppressor. Think of yourself not as "the Oppressor," nor "The Great White Hope," nor the "white teacher." Just "teacher," Grace, teacher of all students, one who enlightens, engages, and enjoys students. Let your passion for teaching and your love for students continue to guide you.



Tender moments from

Tuffteacher!

Bartholomae's Conversation with Elbow

Our writing is not our own according to Bartholomae. More and more we are disillusioned then in discovering that history, culture, and other sources have already shaped the stories we write. I contend, however, that the stories are still ours, shared perhaps, ours nonetheless. So when Elbow alludes to the practice of asking students to express themselves without reproducing the thoughts of others, he gives the impression that all ideas are a form of plagiarism, in a manner of speaking. So maybe the stories our students write are not new to us, to historians, but they are new experiences for the writer. I am reminded of how often I use to point out that my students were using trite expressions. The expressions might not have been trite in their experiences, not having heard or used them as often as I have (given the age difference).
Classroom arrangement sometimes has no effect on the perceived distribution of power. Even in a circle, the teacher is most often still recognized as being in control. On rare occasions, the reverse can be true. The teacher can be front and center and still not be the one with the power. Is it really possible to disguise the "unequal distribution of power"? Actually, power and empowering in the classroom is shared in a sense. I only have the power to teach my students to the extent that they allow. Does not their behavior (mostly good) empower me to be in charge?
I am not sure to what extent classroom arrangement affects writing. Circles? Small groups? Cubicles? Today, I vote for any arrangement that ironically allows students to plug their ears against the noise created by my presence.

A & P Parking Lot

I'm not sure where lines are being drawn in the vision of the A & P Parking Lot classroom. The idea is one that I relish. The "new math" concept is now old, and the composition concept is even older. I agree with the concept, but am certain that the world of academia outside the parking lot still requires parking inside the lines. It seems that "an architecture of bold communication rather than one of subtle expression" would only be accepted in creative writing classes.
"Our universal notions of good writing become a totalizing program of design control." This implies that students only become good writers when they follow the traditions that we set forth, when they lose their exuberance, when they become us. That might explain why some excursions in urban writing goes over well and others might not. If the instructor, for example, is more in tune with urbanism, more accepting of its styles, then for that moment, the writer might be deemed a "good writer."

Betrayal in the Safe House?

Problems arise when the subordinate group becomes insubordinate. When that group, for example, refuses to accept the inequities afforded by the dominant group, the group often becomes subjects to be studied and analyzed. The resistance is in part due to the constant scrutiny, to the constant reminders that it (education) has to be this way. Like those seeking the protection of the "Safe House," which by its very nature is not safe, I have no choice but to sadly concede to the truth of those reminders. I sometimes wonder if that sadness of "having no choice but to comply" is, in part, the underlying cause of some of the discipline problems encountered in the classroom. As an educator, I am one of the oppressors who say ever so elegantly, so guardedly, that "what you know, what you enjoy, who you are," is just not good enough. Sorry. The betrayal lies in the fact that all too often what I am asking, no, telling, some of my students to give up is so much more than what I am asking their peers to give up. Since the standard of what is right was not established by the minorities, it is, in a sense, asking them to be "white" (even if it is for their own good). Hence "Blacks {and other minorities} must retire their culture so that they may be {accepted} by the majority."
I see the P.E.O.P.L.E. Program as an attempt to create somewhat of a "Safe House" for minorities. In this context, however, I see it more as an effort to acclimate students to what could easily be an overwhelming campus experience. Like the African American students in Canagarajah's observation, many of them have resorted to some minor forms of a multivocal literacy. Some have questioned every writing assignment I have presented. I have concluded that that is more a result of their not being into the program rather than anything else. It is interesting to note, however, how they have resorted to their "vernacular language" via texting, small groups, and native languages. My question is, to what extent does this Safe House (P.E.O.P.L.E.) meet the needs of the minority students when school is in its full scale session? Ideally, students in the Program will have the safety of knowing each other, being able to, if necessary, seek out members of the "Safe House," but also join other student groups.
One final issue: I sometimes wonder if in our well meaning efforts to relate to the students in the PEOPLE Program, if we do not go overboard in our selection of materials, trying too hard to let them know that "I know you have not seen enough of your self in the texts that you read in school, so let's read this story about your culture." Due to the sensitivity of some students, even such inclusions must be done in moderation.