In all honesty, I think that "Beyond Tolerance" was my favorite article that we have read so far. I admired Rachel Cook's ideas and viewpoints about taking a personal tragedy and usinng in education of others. I loved how she defined education as "learning to live in a world community, about communicating and questioning and listening" (19). I actually wrote this quote on a sticky note and placed next to my six points to be an exceptional teacher from my ELL class.
One of the teaching strageties that I liked was the photographs where she gave them pictures and had students write up responses. I think that giving students the ability to think for themselves with guidelines makes students into learners instead of receivers. I found it almost amusing that the students were upset with their teacher about how governments can lie through the media. These students have began to analyze and critique the written accounts with the pictures. The trasformation from being receivers to learners allows students to make these connections.
A book that I would be interested in using this specific method would be Persepolis. I think it would be interesting to look at the novel and also read Iranian news reports from the time. By seeing the difference between what the Iranian government was saying versus Marjane's experience would be interesting. In addition, a teacher could also use parts of the film as another media outlet to examine.
Also, I love how she included history with English. The only thing I liked about my freshman English class in high school was that we did a brief Russian history unit before reading Animal Farm. It made it more interesting to read book because I understood the references. One of the factors on why I am an elementary education major is because I could not specialize in one subject. I enjoy learning, discussing and teaching a variety of material. According to Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory, people natuarly have different ways of learning and processing. As educators, we need to make sure that students are able to function in our classes by including other subjects to play into students' abilities. I liked how Cook was able to have her students discuss everything from economics to gay rights in her English class.
If you are unfamilar with Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory, here is a link to read more about it and how it affects education
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm
I really enjoyed Cook's piece too. In fact, I commented on some similar subject matter. You write "I love how she included history with English. The only thing I liked about my freshman English class in high school was that we did a brief Russian history unit before reading Animal Farm. It made it more interesting to read book because I understood the references. One of the factors on why I am an elementary education major is because I could not specialize in one subject. I enjoy learning, discussing and teaching a variety of material." I understand that sentiment well, and I think the best teaching should cross subject areas. In fact, the most exciting moments in my own educational experiences have always been when I was able to make connections across courses, and to see the overarching relevance of what I was studying. If Cook is correct in her definition of "education," then these cross-content connections, where students are really understanding the complex world of another time period, or another culture, as they understand the complexity of their own modern world, are of utmost importance. And in fact, they may help students to see some of the complexities of their own world with clearer lenses, as they did with the media segment in Cook's lesson.
ReplyDeleteIt is really important to properly introduce topics prior to reading texts sometimes, especially a read like Animal Farm, do to references that students will not get if they are not familar with the material. I think it is important to incorporate outside material in order to give students as much information as they can recieve. It is especially important to this in various ways, touching on all of your students intellegiences like you touch base on. I also really like the picture idea to get the students involved with their thoughts prior to a group discussion etc.
ReplyDeleteI like how your teacher gave you background before you read Animal Farm. I read Animal Farm in ninth grade and I honestly could not tell you what it was about other than the fact that there were farm animals who spoke with one another. I think it is absolutely necessary for the students to understand and that the teachers should provide the students with the tools to do so. I really wish my teacher would have given us some background information. That would have helped my understanding and would have possibly helped me to make a personal connection to the novel in some way.
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