While reading the Langer 1990 they talked a lot about the fact that there has been little improvement in Literature within the last 25 years. I'd have to say I do notice this. In high school, we read the same stories as my friends who had graduated years ahead of me, and my younger sister in high school took the same classes I did, with little change to the syllabus. My sister was able to use all of my old work and readings in the class because of the lack of change to the course. It's sad that the teachers are failing to improve and adapt to current things, and rather make us read the same boring stuff they had to read in school. Langer spoke about a term called envisionment, which he describes as what the reader understands about the text, and what questions they may have about the short story or poem. He uses the term Final envisionment to describe after they have read the text. What they took from it now, and their responses to the work. This is subject to change with time. Bringing in the approaches, "Being out, and stepping in," "Being in and moving through," "Being in and stepping out," & "stepping out and objectifying the experience." These were approaches in how to interpret the short readings, and get more involved in the work. It gives you more options on how to retrieve the meaning from the story. The last thing this reading talked about was the teacher's role in the language arts discussions. They described the teachers role as aiding the discussion, yet not dominating it. Having the ability to allow discussion to evolve from what the students are saying, and letting the conversation flow. This is hard to do, letting go of the lesson while still having control. Let the conversation flow but keep it on track by offering open ended questions. This is what I plan on bringing to my future classroom. I admire teachers who have the confidence to give up some control of the lesson, while still having classroom management. This would be a great way to incorporate literature into the curriculum, by having more discussions about modern pieces the students enjoy.
I have discussed a lot about the Langer reading, but the The last two readings, Leland and Hasset, discussed that teachers need to make Language arts more meaningful, and engaging. They need to bring in new forms of texts, and understand how to engage the readers. Bring in modern and meaningful texts and works, especially cultural readings. Give your students a larger range of readings, and guide them to become more well rounded. You have a great responsibility as a teacher, choosing which works to read, the meaning, and more. Choosing works that are meaningful, and connecting the kids to it is a tough challenge, but knowing your students and their interests will allow you to do this.
Going off of what you said about the Langer article I have to agree that there has not been that much improvement within literature over the past 25 years. I like how you brought up your own personal life to defend your point, and while I agree with your evidence, and also find it to be true, I do think however there has been some improvement. This could be a bias opinion because I have taken several classes here at Michigan State that discuss exemplary pieces of literature that have been written within the last decade.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Langer's Final Envisionment concept, and really liked how you said a goal of yours was to as a teacher add to the discussion and not "dominate" it. Also, in the last two articles it talked about making Language Arts more meaningful, and I couldn't agree more. As a possible future Language Arts teacher I hope to make reading more influentially and pick novels that students can relate to. I am currently taking a class that teaches us how to incorporate dramatic arts into teaching, which is something I'm very excited about.
I also agree with Langer and both of you when he said there has been little improvement and change in literature over the past 25 years. This needs to be changed, we need to not be afraid of going against the norm for the good of our students. Gabe, I totally agree with you when you said, "They described the teachers role as aiding the discussion, yet not dominating it," which is the way classrooms should be ran. I also found it interesting and sad that "Studies of assessment instruments indicate that almost all assessment instruments- informal and formal alike, treat literature as content- seeking a predetermined right answer. Such tests rarely tap students' abilities to move toward deeper understandings through the exploration of possibilities or critical explanations and analysis." I feel this is all too true, that teachers are always asking close-ended questions in all subject areas, but particularly literature. By doing this, teachers are taking the students' marvelous ability to think critically about what they've read away. We need to introduce new ways of assessment, to make literature more meaningful and helpful in students' lives because right now they are at a disconnect with the content we are teaching them, which does them and society a huge disfavor. I agree with you Rose, that we need to make language arts more meaningful. I plan on picking stories that my students can relate to well, as well as giving them choices in what they would like to read.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I completely agree with Leland's perspective and pedagogical processes of teaching students pressing information on social topics such as racism, homelessness, inequalities and dominance in society. I do not think a child is ever too young to start hearing and discussing real world issues. Lastly, I want to comment on the last reading, where Hassett and Curwood talk about the importance of our ever changing world of communication and how we must incorporate these changes into our classroom. I though a great quote from this article was the following: "After all, if the world of communication is not standing
ReplyDeletestill, why would our pedagogical practices?"