tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:18:43 +0000Kristin's Blognoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)Blogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-2673573368040522616Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:10:00 +00002009-11-24T14:17:07.277-07:00Blogging with Afghanistan<a href=" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407781871492360658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="; border="0" /></a><br /><div>As our English 10 class picked up their <em>Kite Runner</em> books for the first time this semester, I mentioned that we had a “friend in Afghanistan” who was eagerly awaiting their questions and comments. About five hands went up immediately. “Who is it?” “How do you know him?” And of course, “Why does he care about our class?”</div><br /><div><br />I explained that our contact, Rob Dodson, had contacted me last year after reading my class blogs, and that he was a military officer stationed in Afghanistan. I had invited him to become a part of our discussion this year, and he immediately accepted the invitation. </div><br /><div><br />Sending us pictures (I've included one above), responding to question after question, and guiding us with patience, he walked us through our endless inquiries about the mysterious, somewhat veiled country in the background of <em>The Kite Runner</em>—Afghanistan. Before our inner circle had even started discussing the assigned chapters in <em>The Kite Runner</em>, the outer circle was on fire with question after question, many directed to Rob. Here is an example from the very beginning of one of our blogs:</div><br /><div><br /><a href="; said...<br />Rob-Are women allowed to go to school and get an education or is that considered something that only men can do?<br /><a name="c1179221846892950027"></a><a href=" /><a href="; said...<br />Rob-What are the language boundaries in Afghanistan? Do most people speak the same language or are there local languages?<br /><br /><a name="c5447520814310167794"></a><a href=" /><a href=" fo show122</a> said...<br />Rob-Thank you for answering my question about the realations of the Middle East and other countries. Your explanation really helped me see what was going on in "The Kite Runner".Are the taliban still in control over in Afghanistan?And have you personally seen violence ocure between a Taliban member and a civilian?<br /><a name="c8496233279576443321"></a><a href=" /><a href="; said...<br />Rob-Who do the men and boys become a part of the Taliban?All-How has the Taliban influenced the people in Kabul? Have the people changed because of fear or because they like living under Taliban rule?<br /><a name="c1973182286731892117"></a></div><br /><div>And Rob would take the time to write paragraphs back to each individual student, validating their questions and guiding them (and me) through which stereotypes are unsubstantiated, which ones are true, and how history plays a role in this country's complicated dynamics. Consequently, our class started many days with question after question about Afghanistan. For the first time in my teaching of <em>The Kite Runner</em>, students were genuinely, authentically interested in the cultural background of this book. There were days when I had to tell them to put their hands down because their questions were far beyond my ken, and so they eagerly redirected them to Rob. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Many students eagerly checked the blog as soon as they walked in to see if Rob had responded to any of their questions from the day before, which of course, he always had. Moreover, he answered their questions with interest, patience, knowledge, and eloquence. Here is an example of one his responses:</div><br /><div><br /><a href="; said...<br />Hi,I will try to answer your questions...I think the discussion was very good by the way...</div><br /><div>mgardner - girls are allowed to go to school, but not across the country. In the South, it is discouraged and the Taliban tend to burn down girl's schools. In Kabul, the girls go to one school the boys to another.ericaw- there are two national languages - Pashtu and Dari. Dari is a version of Persian Farsi. In addition, there is Urdu, Uzbek, French, English, German, and Turkish spoken. Most Afghans speak at least two languages, either Pashtu or Dari and then one of the others. Most Pashtuns refuse to learn Dari and the Tajiks and Uzbeks in the North refuse to speak Pashtu. Dari would be understood by most of the people in the country, however, it was discouraged by the Taliban since it is so close to what is spoken in Iran and the Taliban did not get along with the Iranians (the Taliban are Sunni Muslims, Iran is a Shia Muslim country).moe - the Taliban have a great deal of influence over a large part of the country, at least where there are Pashtuns. Yes, I have seen some of violence that is the result of the Taliban. I know a number of Hazaras and know that they are treated very poorly.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>KristinW - People join the Taliban for a number of reasons. After 9/11 and during the first part of the conflict most of the Taliban were refugees from Pakistan that wanted to return to Afghanistan. Boys and men join for a number of reasons, some because the pay they are given is more than they can earn in Afghanistan (the Taliban pays $250 a month - an Afghan solider makes $160 a month). Some join because of their religious beliefs (you can erase your sins - something from the movie Kingdom of Heaven), others because there is little else for them to do.erica - there are two courts in Afghanistan, depending upon the crime. One court is similar to our system and they put people in jail. The other, for crimes against religion, the punishment is generally very harsh. Recently an Afghan converted from Islam and was sentenced to death. The Taliban only use Sharia Law for their courts, so punishment is very severe....death, cutting off of hands, etc.travis - in those areas that the Taliban control, most women do not venture out of the house. If they do they must be in the company of a male family member. The age of majority comes into play here, so the son would have to be over 14 (the age of manhood in Afghanistan).</div><br /><div><br />In short, he offered us a close-up view of Afghanistan and <em>The Kite Runner</em> that no essay, article or video could ever give us. The results? Ask any of my 4th hour students how they liked The Kite Runner, and their faces actually light up as they respond with an enthusiastic, “It was amazing.” And it was. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>If you would like to look at our other discussions with Rob, here is the link to our class blog:</div><div><a href=" /><div></div>2009/11/blogging-with-afghanistan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-1897191920487556543Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:36:00 +00002009-03-18T16:42:04.911-06:00Empty Chair“Tell Jason I said hi,” I say casually to his mother when I conference with her on a Thursday night. It is an afterthought; our conference is about Vickie, and Jason, now a college student, has moved out of my orbit.<br /><br />The next Monday morning at 7 am, my fellow CSAP proctor and I distribute the Writing/Reading booklets alphabetically to the empty seats of my English 10 class. But she frowns as she puts down the last booklet. “This girl won’t be here today,” she says with weight in her voice, pointing to a yellow sticky note with Vickie’s name on it. “She won’t be here this week.” I look up at her quizzically. In response, she tells me sadly, “Her brother died this weekend.”<br /><br />My thoughts race like slides being fastforwarded, each one with a cut-off thought: Her only brother is Jason--Jason sat on the right side of my English 10 class--Jason sat in the left front of my American Lit class--His backwards white hat always looked dingy—He had a happy, open-mouthed smile when he said “Hi Ms. Kakos” in the hallway--He had a note in the back sleeve of his binder that said “I love you,” presumably from Channing, his girlfriend.<br /><br />He lounged in a chair-desk in room C-10, and it is impossible that he is dead.<br /><br />At the funeral one week later, I am anxious to see Vickie. I finally spot her standing near the open casket, and her friends are holding her up. When I get my chance to hug her, she crumples, and it is the first time I notice how small she is. She sobs openly, the way children do, and I feel her pain physically shake its way in and out of her.<br /><br />A little later, I move through the reception in search of Jason’s mother. I finally find her, and she is tiny. Her eyes are unfocused, and she nods absently as people tell her how wonderful her son was. But she really looks at me, I think, for a second as I try to tell her that I will make sure Vickie is taken care of when she returns to school. This is the best thing I can think to offer her.<br /><br />I notice as I step outside the huge church that it’s a beautiful spring day. I need to breathe in as much of this air as I can, knowing that when I return to school I will have to face what I’m dreading most—a temporarily empty chair, and resting invisibly behind it, a permanently empty one. And I know that all my students can see these chairs, too.<br /><br />So the next day, I sit right down in that chair at the beginning of my English 10 class. John, on my left side, is sadly without his iPod. I almost don’t recognize him without those white little earphones draped inside his gray hoodie, but I learn that John’s dad has confiscated this prized possession in response to some recent “poor decisions” on John’s part. Kaleigh, on my right side, is squinting at her laptop while biting the nails on her right hand. John is hurting without his iPod because he’s an industrial rock addict, and Kaleigh, who lost her mother just a year ago, asks me quietly about the funeral, and I know that she’s feeling more than she’s letting on.<br /><br />Kids are starting to move around for peer editing, and as another boy walks behind us, John pleads to him, “Hey—can I borrow your headphones?” No dice.<br /><br />John looks almost comically defeated, so I tell him cheerfully, “I’d be happy to sing for you while you work on your Macbeth essay if that helps ease the pain.”<br /><br />Both he and Kaleigh give me huge grins, and John laughs as he mumbles, “No thanks.”<br /><br />I’m not really that funny, but these are nice kids, and I think this will be a good spot for Vickie when she returns.2009/03/empty-chair.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-5342583947406211050Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:01:00 +00002009-02-28T18:15:14.489-07:00Joy to the Wordle“This is seriously the weirdest story I’ve ever read,” my students inform me, somewhat accusingly, as they enter the room after reading Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.” For the most part, they are confused and somewhat angry about it. It is, after all, a hazy story told by an unreliable narrator whose mind either deteriorates or finds lucidity (depending on how you read it) as disturbing designs start to emerge in the wallpaper of her room.<br /><br />The one thing I made them promise to me as they read the story was not to turn to any outside resources as they read; I want us, as a class, to puzzle the story together instead of reaching for an easy answer. But they want an answer, and they want it now.<br /><br />So how do we work through the story in a constructivist way without sacrificing efficient interpretation-seeking?<br /><br />First, we made a list as a class of all of our questions. They had...a lot.<br /><br />Then, every student picked one question that intrigued him/her and spend a few minutes brainstorming possible responses and follow-up questions. At the end of this brainstorming, they seemed even angrier and more confused. Some of them were holding their foreheads as if their brains physically hurt.<br /><br />What happened next? Wordle to the rescue, and this is no exaggeration. If you haven’t tried <a href=";, you should exit this blog to try it out right now. And then please come back, because they way that we used it was, in the words of my students, really cool.<br /><br />What is wordle? It’s a site in which you can paste in a text, and it quickly designs a word collage in which the words on the original text that appear the most frequently show up largest in size in the word collage. It requires no login, no password, nothing, and it’s practically instantaneous. And there are many different collage designs that students can play with, of course.<br /><br />So, we took “The Yellow Wallpaper,” page by page, and wordled it. And here’s what happened: <div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307959088800244994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="; border="0" /><br />On the first page, the words “John” (the narrator’s husband), “physician” (the husband’s occupation) and “one” were the largest, and there many negative smaller words like “haunting” and “anxiety” surrounding them.<br /></div><br /><div><br />As the story continued, “John” got smaller and smaller as the narrator grew independent of him, and the “wallpaper” grew larger. The word “standing” was replaced with word “creeping,” and “daylight” words were replaced with “night.” Words like “one” were replaced with “we,” and many of the words grew more positive. Also, verbs jumped into the present tense and increased in their sense of urgency. By the way--I didn't notice any of these things. My students did.<br /><br />The best part? It's what happens on the final page. As Austin, sophomore student, wordles the last page on his laptop, he gasps, "Oh my God! On the last page--" "Don't give it away! Don't give it away!" Shannan, another student, snaps back at him. It's last period on Friday, and you'd think that they were watching <em>The Sixth Sense</em>, not examining the diction of a feminist story written in the late 1800s. </div><div></div><div>If you're wondering what actually happens when you wordle the last page, here it is: The largest words on the very last page were “door” and “key,” replacing the earlier emphasis on “windows” and “walls."</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307959526643796178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="; border="0" /><br /><div>We then came back to the questions we brainstormed at the beginning of class and discussed what story the words tell. Of course, the ambiguity still remains…while the door is a way out for the socially trapped narrator, it’s still closed and locked at the end of the story. But, wordle, aside from the fact that it is really cool (several students claimed that they were going to spend their entire weekends wordling) opened up a door for us. It wasn’t just fun and fluffy; it sparked intense discussion and allowed us a concrete way to analyze abstract, elusive themes. Just as the design of the wallpaper emerged to the narrator, the design of the story revealed itself to us.<br /><br />They left class, I think, realizing that their confusion was not a reflection of a story poorly told, but a story carefully designed to be nebulous.<br /><br />And, more importantly, they were happy because wordle really <em>is</em> cool.</div></div>2009/02/joy-to-wordle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-2653860770541848850Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:52:00 +00002009-02-11T20:46:08.947-07:00Back of the ClassI put my green backpack in the back corner and take a seat between two boys in my English 10 class, watching Randon, my student teacher, put up his PowerPoint during 3rd hour announcements. I feel a bit like an invader-- a giant trying to blend in among midgets. A little self conscious, I open my laptop and attempt to make casual conversation with Shay, the quiet, strawberry blonde soccer player on my left: “So how’s Macbeth going for you?”<br /><br />Shay does not wish to make direct eye contact with me. “Umm…fine, I guess,” he responds, eyes fixated on his glowing laptop.<br /><br />Aaron, on my right side, throws me a bone. “So you’re sitting back here with us, Ms. Leclaire?”<br />“Yep,” I reply, trying to sound enthusiastic as the reality sinks in: I am no longer in charge of this classroom. For the next ten weeks, I am not their teacher. So what happens to my role now that my student teacher has taken over?<br /><br />First, I should clarify that this is not a blog about Randon. He’s having all the proud accomplishments and grueling struggles that a student teacher should have. If you'd like to read more about him, please visit <em>his </em>blog.<br /><br />No. This is a blog about me.<br /><br />So what exactly do I do here, in the back corner of the classroom, sitting amongst the masses? Here is what I’ve tried so far:<br />1. Typing pages of highly detailed feedback to Randon<br />2. Grading something easy, like vocabulary quizzes<br />3. Jumping into discussion every now and then when I can’t hold myself back<br />4. Giving quiet but dirty looks to disruptive children; even though their backs are to me, I’m hoping they can feel the silent, angry vibes of my fury and will alter their behavior accordingly<br /><br />Sadly, none of this is doing it for me.<br /><br />Here’s what I do now: I observe. And I mean really observe—not just Randon, but the individual students and the larger-than-life collective being that they form as a class. And I have to say that I have learned more about this class in the past four weeks of observing than I learned all of last semester.<br /><br />My English 10 class is the deity of creativity and performs beautifully when engaged in activities based on performance and/or competition. My American Literature class is a slightly more volatile spirit that growls when asked to do anything to menial and cheers when given avenues for its aggressive passion, such as debates, and it is also a highly visual learner.<br /><br />As for getting to know the individuals, I’ve noticed that the boy in the middle of my American Literature class who always seems to making snide comments is actually making very smart, constructive comments—it turns out that he’s just not that into raising his hand. I’ve been surprised by the fact that most students actually do talk about what they’re supposed to talk about when put into partners and groups. I saw that the quiet girl in the back who got a D last semester actually is annotating her copy of <em>Frederick Douglass</em> and is desperately trying to make sense of it. Actually, now that I think about it, all of the individual surprises have been happy ones. And sad ones, too, because I can’t believe how quickly I wrote these kids off last semester.<br /><br />It’s a lot harder to write someone off when you sit next to him or her every day.<br /><br />How do they perceive me, once so tall in the front of the room, now lounging in a chair-desk with the best of them? The only way I can describe it is like this:<br /><br />At first, they were kind of like fish swimming around toward the bottom of the ocean, and I was a big snorkeler passing over them. They acknowledged me mostly through their peripheral vision, and they silently accepted my foreign presence without openly welcoming it.<br /><br />But now, they’re letting me in a little, realizing that I’m not suddenly going to turn on them. They can hold a discussion with me just like I’m anyone else, and no, we’re not equals, but I can dive down a little from the surface, they can rise up a bit, and we can get close enough.<br /><br />Today, I videotaped my English 10 class’s <em>Macbeth</em> performances, and I told Shay that he’d better step it up because I was going to zoom in on him the whole time. He shook his head as he reluctantly made his way to the front of the class.<br /><br />As Shay was typing his notes, I told him that he needed to spice them up a little—they looked boring. I grabbed his laptop, set his background color to black and his font color to red. "See? Doesn't that look more Macbeth-like?" He rolled his eyes, but I'm pretty sure he agreed with me deep down.<br /><br />After the bell rang, while Shay was packing up his bag, I said to him, “Set the standard high in your other classes today, Shay. Ask some good questions. Challenge yourself.” He finally abandoned his “no eye contact” rule and looked me squarely in the face. With a smile playing at the edges of his mouth, he asked, “Why are you picking on me?”<br /><br />To which I responded, “Because I sit next to you.”2009/02/back-of-class.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-1688312293332897968Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:14:00 +00002008-10-09T08:32:55.404-06:00Quantifying a HeartFor the second year in a row, I'm asking all of my students to develop a personal philosophy to guide their own learning this semester. They're using wikispaces to organize their ideas, to make connections to texts and to the rest of the outside world, and most importantly, to complicate their perceptions.<br /><br />So here's the problem: I have no idea how to grade them. I've tried several different rubrics, and none of them have done justice to this personal project. Part of the issue is that the guidelines are loose; I give my students a basic outline, suggestions, and examples, but the rest is really up to them because I want their wikispaces to be unique, not formulaic. I don't want to "ruin" this project for them by giving them a long checklist of requirements, and I think they appreciate that. But when it comes down to making a rubric and to offering meaningful feedback, I struggle. I've tried making a list of what I'd like them to get out of this project and what they would like to get out of this project, but it always feels artificial to assign a point value to something that comes from their hearts.<br /><br />Ideas?2008/10/quantifying-heart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-2314149252523290177Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:47:00 +00002008-03-06T15:00:41.889-07:00Quiet StudentsI was speaking with Terry Sale and some of the A.P. Literature teachers about grading practices the other day, and Terry gave me a new idea...<br /><br />When his students participate in Socratic seminar, the ones who don't speak receive a non-grade instead of a zero. Since I've been doing fishbowl discussion with my sophomores lately, I started thinking about whether a zero or a nongrade more aptly fits a student who simply chooses not to participate. I have many smart students who are terribly shy, and there's a part of me that feels like someone needs to "force" them to participate, however uncomfortable it may for them at first; the idea is that hopefully, they'll grow increasingly confident when it comes to class discussion once they get through the embarrassment of speaking out loud. But there's another part of me that respects the quiet, cerebral student who learns by listening, thinking, and reflecting through writing.<br /><br />While students usually have the option to write for credit instead of discussion, there are two times in the unit when they must come into the inner circle and discuss. Still, there are always a few students who enter the inner circle on their assigned days with the same enthusiasm with which they might approach a root canal, and they sit mutely (and awkwardly) throughout the entire discussion without offering a word. In the gradebook, this tranlates into a zero out of ten. However, judging by the pained expressions on some of their faces, they probably were <span style="font-style: italic;">trying</span> to participate...maybe. In any case, they weren't detracting from the discussion, which makes me wonder why they should receive a failing grade. They were, instead, a non-factor, which might be better represented by a non-grade.<br /><br />How should this be handled? What's more important--encouraging students to participate, or creating grades that reflect their roles as accurately as possilbe?2008/03/quiet-students.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-728453447803675394Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:31:00 +00002007-10-18T11:25:12.580-06:00The Not-So-Intimidating World of WikiOne challenge that faces me each year is how to achieve cohesion between in-class activities, homework assignments, class discussions, creative projects, and essays (not to mention cohesion between units and semesters). With the guidance of the brilliant and charming Mike Porter, my students and I have discovered the glory of wikispaces.<br /><br />In my American Literature classes, my students each formed a personal philosophy statement that will form the focus for the semester, and perhaps even for the year. Many of their philosophy statements explore the root of evil, the impetus for rebellion and/or obedience, the destructive force of fear, the significance of vulnerability, and other concepts that emerge from early American literature.<br /><br />They then connect their philosophy statements to selected readings for the semester, as well their writings, notes, annotations, and blog comments. Also, they develop their own "creative" project exploring their philosophy, and this project should emerge from one of their strengths. Some students, for example, are writing songs that revolve around their philosophy, and then performing and podcasting them. Other students are using photostory, creative writing, photojournals, and even sportscasting to express their ideas.<br /><br />I like using wikispaces because the technology doesn't get in the way; a wikispace is essentially a 21st century folder that allows for almost any type of media, emphasizes professionalism, encourages feedback, and lasts as long as you want it to, unlike a notebook that you clear out at the end of each semester. We'll keep coming back to the wikispaces throughout the semester and adding to them, and hopefully by the end of the semester they'll be able to look over their work and their ideas say, "THIS is the little piece of my soul that grew in American Literature," whether they focused on hope, goodness, evil, or any other personal topic that found its way out of a seemingly boring Puritan text.<br /><br />Their first version isn't due until Monday, but here are a few links to wikispaces that are pretty well under way. Be sure to click on the links they have on the left side of the page ("Personal Philosophy," "In-class Work," and "Creative Connections"), and feel free to leave comments on the "discussion" tabs of their pages!<br /><br /><a href=" Wiki</a><br /><a href=" Wiki</a><br /><a href=" Wiki</a><br /><a href=" Wiki</a>2007/10/not-so-intimidating-world-of-wiki.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-5600613051972550983Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:36:00 +00002007-09-21T12:46:27.992-06:00A Unit of One's OwnI'm trying to figure out ways for my students to develop meaningful "portfolios" at the end of each unit. As my American Literature students have been reading <em>The Crucible</em>, for example, we've covered a way array of topics. However, they each wrote on five personal philosophy statements at the beginning of the unit, and I'd like them to use <em>The Crucible </em>to complicate and strengthen at least one of these initial personal philosophies so that months or years from now, they can say "<em>This </em>is what I took from <em>The Crucible</em>."<br /><br />I'm thinking they can pick one personal philosophy statement as a focus and then support it with a selection of blogs, in-class writing prompts, pieces of essays, and other work they've done with the play; I'd also like them to extend their understanding by doing something "creative" with this focus, such as producing a short story, song, photo album, etc.<br /><br />What I really need help with is finding a tool that would bring together mixed media and help organize these bits and pieces into a thematic whole that could be shared not only with me but with the rest of class and possibly linked from our class blog.<br /><br />Any ideas?2007/09/unit-of-ones-own.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-6458657045042718302Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:52:00 +00002007-08-30T10:10:46.177-06:00Miles Ahead but Miles To GoAfter spending a little less than two weeks with my new classes of sophomores and juniors, I'm impressed at how far ahead of the game they already are in terms of technological proficiency. Nearly all of my students already had working blogger account before coming to class this year, and I didn't have to spend much time reviewing blogging expectations because they already knew the rules. Although many of my students did not come from laptop classrooms, the ones who did are infinitely helpful with helping their classmates troubleshoot. It's exciting not to have to revisit so many issues that seemed to dominate class last year.<br /><br />Of course, this means that it's time for the bar to be raised. My goal this year to have one unit in each class in which my students are using Blogger to communicate with people outside of class. I'd love to find another class, such as an A.P. class here or a class in a different school (or even a different state or country!) that would be willing to collaborate with one of my classes. I think my classes need to start communicating with people outside of the Littleton community when discussing current controversial issues. I'd also like to expand our peer editing so that students of different ages and backgrounds can offer each other feedback. Think about how much my Honors sophomores, for example, might benefit from A.P. Literature students editing their essays. I'd like to see my juniors communicating academically with college freshmen so that they know what their professors will expect of their critical thinking and writing skills.<br /><br />Any takers?2007/08/miles-ahead-but-miles-to-go.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-8461718027761135714Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:51:00 +00002007-08-13T11:11:21.573-06:00Stretch, take the nets down, and blogTaking a bunch of sweaty volleyball players into my clean laptop classroom at first seems to cross a boundary that is not necessarily meant to be crossed. However, as I face this week of volleyball tryouts thinking about what tools I can offer my team to give them an edge, I see blogging as a possibility. <br /><br />Consider this: The strongest volleyball teams I’ve ever coached have had two things in common: (1) The players’ ability to communicate with each other, and<br /><br />(2) their willingness to communicate with me. Blogging has significantly improved communication in all of my classes throughout the past two years—why not try it in the realm of coaching?<br /><br />The fact that I coach a freshman team also makes blogging an interesting tool. Many of these girls have not found a group of friends or are watching their former middle school cliques deteriorate. Some of them are simply trying to cope with their new (and much harder) high school classes. Last year, I gave each girl on my team a little journal and had them write it in a few times; they could give it to me, and I would then write back. It was a great (though time-consuming) way for me to see what was going on in their heads, and since I would argue that volleyball is about 75% mind and 25% pure physical skill, and that the vast majority of volleyball practice is focused only on physical skill, these little journals became significant to me. I remember wishing on multiple occasions that I could show the girls each other’s journals and thinking that they could play together so much better if they could only get out of their heads and into each other’s. Anyone who has ever played or coached a team sport before knows that a player who puts herself before the rest of her team can be that team’s downfall.<br /><br />I think that blogging could be a safe and inviting space for my team to talk not only about practice, games, team feeds, and other volleyball-related issues, but also how their first week of school went, how they’re balancing class with sports, and other topics that might help them build a more authentic camaraderie that will hopefully carry over to the court.<br /><br />I’m thinking that I’ll only take them into the classroom just one time to get their blogs set up; the rest of the blogging will happen at home, perhaps a minimum of once a week. Any ideas or feedback? I don’t know if there are any other coaches out there who have tried this, or if I’m just overly blog-happy.2007/08/stretch-take-nets-down-and-blog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-7946846664424458687Wed, 14 Feb 2007 02:26:00 +00002007-02-13T19:41:31.736-07:00If you surrendered...Today I found a quote by Toni Morrison (my favorite author and personal hero), that helped me realize why my American Literature classes have been so boring and lifeless lately. She writes, "<strong>If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it</strong>." But the air this semester has been cold and indifferent, and I haven't been willing to make myself vulnerable enough to surrender to it. <br /><br />For the past two weeks in American Lit, I've been forcing my students to attempt a New Historicist reading of <em>Huck Finn. "</em>Why?" you ask? Because I like New Historicism, that's why. But I probably wouldn't have liked it in high school, and I can tell you that my students find it difficult, restrictive, and repetitive. So I'm going to gently let it go, and hopefully they're proficient enough with it that they will be able to use when and if they ever want to.<br /><br />On the flip side, I've been loving my English 10 class lately because it's full of dramatic kids, and we're performing dramatic interpretations of <em>Macbeth</em>. I finally surrendered to their energy a little, so we're all riding along just fine. I think with my honors students I feel more pressure to familiarize them with every possible tool they'll need in their A.P. classes, and so their creative, fun sides get pushed aside too often. When I spend hours and hours lesson planning, I sometimes find that perfect, fun way to trick students into learning without their feeling a thing--much like an expert nurse gives a painless shot. And yes, it almost always centers on constructivist learning.<br /><br />I'd like to surrender to the energy of my American Literature students and let them excel, but I just can't seem to tap into them this semester. Some of them seem to have no energy, and others shut me out. Some of them sit quietly and give me this look as if to say, "YOU figure it out. I'm full of undisclosed talents, but I'll be damned if I'm going to just come out and tell you about them. It's your job, lady, so step up already." But how do I begin?2007/02/if-you-surrendered.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-116908073424195612Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:19:00 +00002007-01-17T17:38:54.263-07:00Too Personal?Stealing the idea from Blogger tag, I asked my first hour class last night to post a comment to the class blog in which they named five things about themselves that they wanted the class to know. I set an example by doing it myself first, and here's what I posted:<br /><br />1. I am a terrible sport and throw a fit when I lose--especially when it comes to board and card games.<br />2. I hate it when people crack their knuckles or burp in public. It's disgusting.<br />3. I like to watch one rerun of "Scrubs" before going to bed because I find it relaxing.<br />4. Sometimes I'd rather curl up in bed and read a book than go out and socialize. I would have never admitted this in high school because I used to think that it made me a dork. Now I'm automatically a dork because I'm old and a teacher, so I don't really care.<br />5. My mother is very, very sick, and I get upset about it everytime I'm in my car by myself.<br /><br />I have to admit that it felt cathartic to get this stuff out there--especially number 5. I think that my students must have felt the same way because their posts were intensely personal. I found out that one of my students had colon cancer, while another has a father in jail, another had a friend who was raped, and someone else had a drinking problem, and about 100% of the girls in my class obsess over whether they're too fat or too thin, and fun things, too--one girl is a double-dutch expert, while another guy sleepwalks, and someone else has a true phobia of fish, and someone else wants to be a country singer, and nobody wants to be judged, and nobody likes a fake.<br /><br />When I read their posts last night for the first time, little alarm bells starting ringing in my head. What if their parents read their blogs? Well, so what if their parents read their blogs? Is this my students' passive aggressive way of letting the world know that these kinds of issues need some adult attention? But what if some pedophile reads these blogs and takes advantage of the situation? What have I just invited in?<br /><br />The idea behind this activity was to get my class to get to know each other, respect each other, and to inspire each other with the next piece of personal writing we're working on. As far as the class goes, I'm thrilled that they want to be honest with each other. The blog seemed like the ideal medium to get the ball rolling--it offers a much larger comfort zone than does class discussion, but unlike an essay, it's interactive. However, I'm toying with the idea of deleting the post (along with their comments) at the end of the week. After all, it's served its purpose. Why leave the door to our little classroom with all of our private battles open to the world?<br /><br />Any advice/opinions?2007/01/too-personal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-116604810702461573Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:10:00 +00002006-12-13T15:15:07.043-07:00An Old Fashioned Girl After All<p>Perhaps I've read one too many Bradbury stories, but I do worry about growing increasingly dependent on technology. For all technology's advantages--and it has more potential than my brain could ever consider-- it has a certain coldness to it. A detachment. And it's not even this cold indifference that scares me--it's that future generations might not recognize this quality because they won't know the warm confusion of getting lost in a library or the privacy of writing in a journal with a wobbly lock or sleepy comfort of dozing with your sister's well-creased novel in your hand. Wikipedia can't hold a candle to the brownish-red, well-worn leather dictionary my father kept in high school--the one my parents kept in the study and forced me to use each time I didn't understand a word they used.</p><p>Looking up words in books takes time, journals can't spell check, and novels don't have links for you to click on. But despite the fact that Amazon.com knows my birthday, credit card numbers, every book, film, and CD I've ever purchased, my last four addresses, and the addresses and names of my friends and family, it's impersonal. Storing my name is not the same as carrying a stain on page 84 of <em>Pride and Prejudice</em> from a red popsicle I ate while sitting by the pool one late afternoon.</p><p>Lysander in <em>A Midsummer Night's Dream</em> comforts Hermia by reminding her that "The course of true love never did run smooth." For me, at least, love cannot exist in a realm of logic or predictability. To be the constructivist learner, the student in classroom that's not education as usual, to be a creative thinker and a problem solver and an innovative, active contributor to society, I think you must be a lover of knowledge. And this love, by nature, must be breathtakingly inefficient.</p>2006/12/old-fashioned-girl-after-all.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-116406184831688685Mon, 20 Nov 2006 21:58:00 +00002006-11-20T15:30:48.363-07:00The Lights Are on AND There's Somebody HomeThis is just a little post about a little topic. One challenge I've always faced in American Literature is how to teach the literary movements. In the past I've given overviews and short letters and had the students search for elements of these movements in their reading. This year they performed independent studies in which they figured out Romanticism for themselves and then used<a href="; target="_blank"> Photostory</a> to present their discoveries. As they watched each other's Photostories, they created their own definitions of Romanticism by taking notes on the Photostories' themes. When we finished, they kept their notes out and read a Rationalist piece by Ben Franklin. I asked them to keep sticky notes on the differences between Franklin's piece and Romanticism, and then we created a Romanticism v. Rationalism t-chart on the board. I was blown away by what they were able to come up with in just five minutes; it far exceeded every lecture, overhead, and worksheet I'd given in the past. Instead of moving from whole to part, we moved from whole to part and back to whole again. I know that this constructivist business is old news by now, but I get so caught up sometimes in the technology that I forget that it's the little changes that sometimes make the difference.2006/11/lights-are-on-and-theres-somebody-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-115983443949008280Mon, 02 Oct 2006 23:56:00 +00002006-10-02T18:13:59.526-06:00Under PressureFirst I should say that having laptops in the classroom has transformed my students' projects, engagement, and organization in positive ways that I hadn't anticipated, and I'm extraordinarily grateful for this.<br /><br />But next I need to address some of the struggles I face almost daily because of being in a "laptop classroom." I feel some days that I'm letting down both my students and the other technology teachers because I'm not using the laptops daily in my classes. The only class that has used them each period has been my first hour class, but this will probably change once we start <em>Fahrenheit 451</em>. In my Honors American Literature classes, I use the laptops for only part of the period, maybe 2-3 times per week. I know that the technology has endless potential (not to mention that it was quite expensive), but I can't bring myself to make my class revolve around the laptops. Should I make this more of a priority? I hate to waste opportunities.<br /><br />For example, I'm at the point in the semester where I'm beginning to introduce the philosophy book project to my sophomores. Last year, one of the greatest parts of this project was the freedom and individuality it encouraged. This year, I'm tempted to give them a little more structure for this project so that they use the technology at their fingertips. Between the blog, photostory, wikispaces, etc. etc. there is a plethora of exciting opportunities. But would this limit them or open new doors? Am I old fashioned for shutting my door to the laptops 2 days a week and having old fashioned activities?<br /><br />One other confession...I love books. And I'm not talking about electronic books that talk to you and look up your vocabulary words. I love how paperback books feel in my hands. I love getting lost in libraries. I like falling asleep with a book open on top of my stomach or loosely clutched in my right hand. I am wary of a world where people like me are just getting older, and everyone else is content with the efficiency of their online texts. As much as embrace and value what the classroom set of laptops has brought to the classroom, and I would never want to go back to a classroom without them, I am scared of the holes that they leave.2006/10/under-pressure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-115854811872290771Mon, 18 Sep 2006 02:26:00 +00002006-09-17T20:57:55.333-06:00After School SkillsConstructivism has been spreading gradually into my coaching philosophy lately. After a frustrating four consecutive losses, I decided that my freshman volleyball team needed to regroup. As individuals, they each showed skill and athleticism that should have made it easy for them to challenge and beat the teams that we had played. But the problem is that volleyball has little to do with individual skill--it's about three touches on a play, team movement, and constant communication. In short, we were playing like six individuals instead of as a single team.<br /><br />I think that trusting your teammates is something you have to practice; esepcially for freshman girls, learning how to treat each other is a skill to be learned as much as passing, setting, or hitting. Since I'm not there to monitor how to they behave towards each other in the locker room before and after practice, or in the hallways during the way, nor do I remember very clearly what it's like to be a 14-year-old girl (I think I've repressed most of my 8th and 9th grade years as a survival mechanism), I decided that they needed to come up with their own pre- and post-practice rules.<br /><br />We had a meeting in a classroom during practice last week where I told them what I had been observing in the past two weeks, and then I set down two rules: (1) That they treat each member of the team with respect at all times, and (2) That each player must believe deep down that we can win, and that she must show that belief through her intensity and attitude at practice.<br /><br />Then, I left them in the classroom to create their own specific expectations for how to treat each other on and off the court. About 30 minutes later, they emerged with a typed list of seven very specific expectations. Their list made it so clear what they needed of each other and of me--I could never have anticipated nor articulated their feelings and ambitions as well as they did. I asked the captains to explain each one, then after we agreed that they were fair, we all signed them. I read them again aloud at the end of practice, and I intend to keep reading them at the end of every practice.<br /><br />The next day we had our next match, and we played like a team--that was our greatest victory. And yes, we did score our first official win. It was a start.<br /><br />Our biggest challenge will be to uphold these expectations instead of giving into the old ways ingrained in them by the big middle school bullies--Gossip and Insecurity. I really want our team to be a safe little circle for them where they know they can be themselves, and they feel protected from the darker side of high school.<br /><br />In volleyball and many sports, it's easy for the coach to dominate. Two girls walk instead of run to get balls? Ten pushups. One girl's late to practice? Three sets of stairs. And all of those strict rules for keeping intensity high are important. But why not let the players establish and enforce them? If we want them to be aggressive, confident, and self-disciplined, then why not let them be the creators and enforcers instead of just the recipients?<br /><br />For many students at Arapahoe, their biggest lessons are not learned in the classroom. The volleyball court, the football field, the stage, the bandroom, wherever--these are the places our students <strong>choose </strong>to be. If our philosophy is to prepare these teenagers to be valuable members of a future society, then I think we need to recognize the windows of opportunity that don't open until 2:13.2006/09/after-school-skills.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-115679252977447096Mon, 28 Aug 2006 18:53:00 +00002006-08-28T13:15:29.843-06:00Laptops...Friend, or Foe?The first question my students ask now as they enter the classroom is, "Do we get to use the laptops today?" When the answer is "no," disappointed sighs ensue. While my response to the laptops is largely positive, there are still a few problem areas I need to address.<br /><br />First, any activity involving the laptops will consume at least half of the classtime, and if you think otherwise, you're just fooling yourself. Although technological difficulties are lessening each day, Blogger is still a mysterious and temperamental creature that lashes out when you're least expecting it, frustrating even the most experienced of bloggers and drawing out activities designed to be quick.<br /><br />Second, as aforementioned, the laptops seem to be addicting. Many students are turning their noses up at activities that they used to enjoy because they'd rather "blog it out." While I recognize that this is largely because the laptops (and the blogging) are exciting because they're new, and that much of this will dissipate as the laptops become routine, it's still a bit disconcerting. I hope that teachers will use the laptops with caution...call me old fashioned, but I hate to think of a classroom where blogging is valued OVER face-to-face conversation. <br /><br />Now that I've vented, I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised by the utility of the laptops each time I use them. They do shorten some activities. For example, visual collages are much more efficiently produced on the computer than the old way with scissors, paste, and magazines. It's also helpful to watch my students compose essays on the computers and to be able to model what they're doing on the overhead screen. I'm also noticing that many of the teacher web sources that I've used in the past, such as readwritethink.org, have links to interactive activities now, and the laptops will be useful for these, as for links to online literature that our anthologies are lacking.<br /><br />I also see the students treating their laptops with respect, and the focus and intensity in their eyes as they work on the computer is unmatched. There is no worksheet that will inspire that kind of attention. <br /><br />And I know of course, that all of these activities are still part of the technological dark ages, and that there are countless uses of the internet that I haven't even dreamed of, and this is more inspiring than it is frightening. But only by a small margin.2006/08/laptopsfriend-or-foe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-115610979715257932Sun, 20 Aug 2006 21:17:00 +00002006-08-20T15:36:37.190-06:00"I prefer to finish my education at a different school"And I'm not talking about Oxford. I was rereading Thoreau's "A Life Without Principle" just now for my American Literature class and found a passage that offered me a powerful reminder of what constructivist education is:<br /><br /><strong>"We rarely meet a man who can tell us any news which he has not read in a newspaper, or been told by his neighbor; and, for the most part, the only difference between us and our fellow is that he has seen the newspaper, or been out to tea, and we have not. In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the poor fellow who walks away with the greatest number of letters, proud of his extensive correspondence, has not heard from himself this long while."</strong><br /><br />I am at least as guilty as my students when it comes to trusting "authoritative" voices before trusting my own. I push my students to question information that is "fed" to them and to listen to the weight of their own voices, yet I often find myself a hypocrite in this regard. After returning from England, I have found myself increasingly critical of American culture...I find myself sucked into a system that values the neatness and ease of homogeneity over the messy authenticity of individualism. With my Starbucks in hand and SUV in the garage, it is my copy of Thoreau that seems out of place in my Mizuno bag. <br /><br />We are countering something huge here.2006/08/i-prefer-to-finish-my-education-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16942894.post-115514238241062578Wed, 09 Aug 2006 16:37:00 +00002006-08-09T10:55:02.276-06:00Back in the U.S.A.I was reminded (sometimes painfully) this summer of what it was like to be a student in a challenging class, and I found myself desperately wanting to please my professor. I sent her a barrage of e-mails as I worked on my papers, hoping to win her approval, until she gently reminded me that I was writing the paper for me, not for her. Aside from being a nice way of telling me to leave her alone,--she was a very busy woman--it also gave me a constructivist-teacher-epiphany (let's call it a CTE). To throw themselves into their work with curiosity and ambition, students need to be reminded repeatedly that they are doing their work for themselves, not for us. I wouldn't have spent hours, days, weeks in the Bodleian Library if my focus had been determined for me instead of by me. Well, I probably would have because I'm too much of a perfectionist, but I know that my final product would have been far weaker.<br /><br />I think too often that the discourse I use to teach writing revolves around me. I say things like, "I don't want you to use boring verbs," or "I don't want to find any apostrophe errors," or whatever. I have never once told my students that they were writing their essays for themselves, not for me. Writing an essay to ingratiate yourself to your teacher and writing an essay to satisfy yourself are two wholly different tasks, and the latter is clearly the one we're striving for here. That goal has always been lying quietly underneath the writing lessons, but it's been drowned out by the much louder, egotistical-teacher-voice. I like that quiet voice. While I'm sad that I've largely ignored it so far, I'm eager to refocus.<br /><br />In her comments on my final essay, my professor described my writing as displaying a "linguistic felicity." This seemed like a strange pairing of words at the time, but I truly was happy--in a tortured kind of way--as I wrote and researched, and it apparently showed. I'd like for my students to know how this feels.2006/08/back-in-usa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Kristin L)