Reflection- Pytash

I have really enjoyed this class this past semester. After having Dr.Pytash's class in the Fall semester I was excited to see what the Spring semester would bring. I was really excited to learn more valuable skills for my future classroom, and was even more excited to be back in the school setting at Firestone High School.  It was really rewarding to see the progress that my student had been making, and I loved being able to help him even more.  We had not previously worked on his essay writing skills that in-depth, and I believe he really benefited from the even further one on one tutoring. 
I also really enjoyed our analysis of The Great Gatsby.  I had a lot of concerns when it came to creating lesson plans, and after this class I feel a little more comfortable with them.  Working with just one text helped me conceptualize the ideas and organization styles of writing lesson plans.  I also learned a lot more different reading strategies to implement into classrooms and found the wiki project to be very enlightening. I was amazed at how many different lesson plans were accessible online.
Finally, I really learned some valuable ideas from Carol Jago's Classics in the Classroom.  When I first began reading this book, I was not sure if I agreed with Jago's views on some points.  As the book progressed, I was able to understand Jago's perspectives in her standards for her students.  She wanted to challenge them, not to make them struggle, because she wanted them to relate and interpret the text to the best of their ability.

Ch. 7 Literature, Knowledge, and the High School Graduate Pytash

I have always had mixed feelings about standardized testing.  Students should be assessed on the education that they have attained, but standardized testing is not the best solution.  It is not fair for the students who have difficulty taking tests during time constraints, and sometimes students are just poor test takers because of the stress it exerts on them.  While the ability for the students to take the test are important negative factors, it is also important to recognize the effects it has on the curriculum.  Teachers are forced to prepare students for various tests, and this can take away from the core material that needs to be covered.  Units can be lost and students are deprived of these lessons just because of test preparation. 
Even though I do not agree with standardized testing, students should still be able to display good test taking skills.  They should know how to answer various questions to display the knowledge that they have gained from the teacher.  It is vital for students to know how to write a nicely structured essay and support their ideas with quotes from different texts.  What I really liked in this chapter was the way Jago applied the classics to students lives, to add relevance.  I also thought it was a good idea to give students options for the questions they answered on their tests.  By giving students options they are able to choose the question that they are able to answer and best, and this give students the perfect opportunity to show off their writing abilities.  When students feel like they are able to answer a question completely and fully, the more confident they are in writing their response, and the better it becomes.

Graphic Novels Kist

Text and Dialogue
Both graphic novels had narration, captions, and balloons.  The majority of the narration was within rectangular boxes in the top of the panel.  The writing was both relatively small and in all capital letters.  There were different signs in each novel.  In Pinocchio Vampire Slayer most labeling was on different business signs.  Naruto used various Japanese symbols, enhancing the cultural tones of the novel.  Both novels used a lot of different sound effects.  These words were often larger and bold. 
Visual Features
Pinocchio Vampire Slayer was an interesting adaption of the original novel.  Pinocchio has a nose that grows when he lies, and he is faced with having to defeat Gepetto, his creator.  Pinocchio's nose also makes for a deathly weapon.  There is an interesting threat of vampires and wolves that Pinocchio has to face.  The characters have plain white eyes and the "bad guys" are often portrayed in cloaks.  The novel takes place in an older town, and it almost has a Western feel with the cobblestone town center.  Naruto is quite different when comparing the visual features.  Naruto's characters are Japanese ninjas and fight using magical forces and different weapons.  Naruto is also commonly associated with the head piece that the warriors wear.  There are a lot of scenes that incorporate forests and nature, but it primarily takes place in a Samurai village.
General Layout and Design
Pinocchio reads like a typical book from left to right, while Naruto reads right to left.  In Pinocchio there are clear borders in the beginning to give the reader some background knowledge, but as the story progresses the borders become less structured.  Sometimes the images are an entire page, and there are also many open panels.  The different ideas are expressed within other images, but it is still easy to understand.  It was really hard for me to read Naruto because I was not used to the style it was written in.  I would become confused with the plot, and read the ideas out of order.  I think it was my inexperience that was the problem, but I cannot say this for sure.  Naruto has some borders that are not defined but for the most part it is very structured.  Images do not go into others.  They are all separate panels, and the gutters are small.
Angles and Frames
Pinocchio and Naruto both have a wide variety of shots.  The novels incorporate all of the different shots, allowing the reader to see all different angles and perspectives.  The majority of the close-up shots are used to express facial features, either in defeat or jubilation.  The longer shots were used to depict the action scenes. 
Rhetorical techniques
There are a lot of different emotions involved in Pinocchio Vampire Slayer.  The reader sympathizes with Pinocchio because of his family and social struggles.  The tone is anxious and suspenseful, with the reader curious as to what will happen to Pinocchio.  There is also a lot of exaggeration within the plot.  Vampires are make believe creatures and it is not possible for a nose to grow when lying.  It is also not possible for that nose to slay these vampires.  There is no sense of realism in this story at all.  Naruto also has a similar tone.  The reader empathizes with Naruto because of the way society treats him. I also did not like the breaks in the story.  The author added tidbits of information about the story throughout the novel, and it took away from the story.  It would have served a better purpose at the very beginning or end of the book. 

Reflection-Kist

This past semester has been filled with interesting experiences and some stressful schoolwork.  One of my favorite parts of this past semester was going to Firestone High School.  Any time that I get to be involved in the school setting I become very excited.  I really enjoyed working with my student again and I believe the students really valued our time spent there, helping them with their OGT's.  I was able to see different methods of test preparation and I was able to attain more hours of individual tutoring.
I also really liked our Multi genre Autobiography project.  One of my favorite class days was when everyone presented their projects to the class.  It was interesting to see what books, movies, television shows, etc. we had in common.  It was also really interesting to see what modalities I had forgot about to put into my own power point.  I have always recognized and respected the impact that several books and music have had on my life, but I never really thought about the impact that they ALL have.  I really wish that I would have started this project earlier, so I could have a record of everything that I have read, watched, listened to throughout my life.  I would definitely implement this project into my class in the future. 
One of my favorite sections that we covered was the film unit.  It was a very cultural experience to go to the Cleveland Film Festival, and I wish that I would have been able to see more films there.  It was humbling to  hear what the people had to say about the various films, and it really set the tone for the audience before viewing each particular movie.  What I did not like about this unit was the shot-by-shot analysis.  I understand that directors, editors, and so forth devote a lot of time to shooting and editing movies, but analyzing each shot became very redundant for me.  I respected the scene just as much as I did before I completed this assignment. 
The project that I will probably most benefit from is the canonical wiki project.  It was time consuming to put together, but I really believe that we all use this site one day to help in our future classrooms.  There were a lot of really creative and fun ideas that I had never even thought about.  The wiki is so easily accessible it would be a waste not to use.

Movie-Book Kist

Some of my favorite movies are movies that have been based off of books.  The first time I saw "A Walk to Remember" I fell completely in love.  I watched it four times in a matter of two days, and then I instantly went out and bought the book.  I started to notice a pattern when I started seeing movies such as "Twilight", "The Notebook", "Requiem for a Dream", and "Lovely Bones".  They were all exceptional movies and when I read the books they were just as good.  Then movies started coming out for books that I have already read and I was very eager to watch them.  They were all really good but I noticed that I typically liked the book more than I liked the movie.  I pictured certain characters and settings in very specific ways, and when they did not look how I envisioned them it was a little bit upsetting.  My entire vision was altered and some aspects of the movie were not as enthralling as I expected them to be. 
This made me start thinking that it would be interesting to possibly take films and then turn them into books.  I do not know if it has ever been done before but I believe it could work.  There could be books that depicted the same movie with more details, or there could be a book that discussed what happened before or after the movie's plot.  I think it would be an interesting project for students to complete and it would really exercise their creative writing skills.  This would also incorporate different multi-modalities.  They would have to view different films and analyze what messages the directors were trying to convey.  One film that I think would be very interesting to see transferred from film to literature is "Sucker Punch".  There were a lot of different graphics that were very appealing, and the plot was thick with multiple plots going on at one time.  It would be great for a graphic novel, and it could be a fun project for the class to work on as a whole.

Choice Blog-Kist

I work at Venture Data and every time I work I bring a book with me.  It keeps me entertained and helps my shift go by faster.  My best friend suggested I read Madness, the memoir of Marya Hornbacher, and I took her up on her offer.  After I read the first paragraph of the prologue I was hooked.  Her descriptions of her life and her surroundings are so vivid and clear, the reader feels like they are in the room with her.  She opens up stating, "I am numb.  I am in the bathroom of my apartment in Minneapolis, twenty years old, drunk, and out of my mind.  I am cutting patterns in my arm, a leaf and a snake." 
Marya is a bi-polar woman who suffers from extreme extreme manic-depression.  She lives in a whirlwind of a life and has experienced more in her lifetime than most people can even imagine.  She suffers from alcoholism, eating disorders, manic shopping sprees, unhealthy sexual relationships, and so much more. 
She has her highs and her lows, and she immediately reminded me of Ben's mother from Deadline.  I chose to read this book for the literature circles, and I believe having read Madness previously helped me relate to Ben.  Ben only describes his mother in two ways.  She is either hysterical and all over the place, or completely depressed and isolated in her room.  On one occasion he says, "Mom would wear out and I'd go to my room, believing I had saved her.  Within days the bedroom door would close and Cody and Doc Wagner would come over and get Mom on meds and she'd start to float back up."  This instantly reminded me of Marya's experiences and struggles with her depression.  When she introduces her years of hospitalization she states, "Madness strips you of memory and leaves you scrabbling around on the floor of your brain...traveling from my bed at home to a bed on a locked ward, the weird world of the ward becoming more familiar to me than the one outside."  Both of these women are strong women, but their disease eats away at them, and secludes them into their own world.  It is quite sad to read about, and it really broke my heart thinking about the effect Ben's decision would have on his mom. 
I always knew that depression was a horrible disease, but I never knew how severe it was.  Some people jump to the conclusion of all mentally ill people being crazy, and that is not the case.  I believe that this is a subject matter that could be very relevant in classroom's today, and people should be more educated about it.   Treatment Advocacy Center is a group dedicated in the correct treatment for those with mental illnesses.  This site has some great facts, and really encourages people to expand their state of mind, when thinking about those with different mental illnesses.

Ch. 6 Lesson Design for Classical Literature

I firmly believe that you can learn anything from anyone.  Just because one is a teacher in a concentrated subject, it does not mean that he/she knows everything about that particular subject.    Many times, when I think about my future classroom, I think about my senior English class with Mr. Geschke and how knowledgeable he was.  I think about how I could possibly one day teach like him and effect my students the way he effected me.  This goes back to Jago's theory that, "the truth is that most of what new teachers know about teaching has come from their own experience of schooling"(96).  This then brings up the question; How can one improve classrooms if they are teaching in a style that was implemented years ago?  I think this can be solved by compiling all of the other teachers knowledge into one style that can be used effectively and creatively; it can be adapted to each individuals style. Lessons must appeal to the teachers style and the students needs. 
I also really like the idea of Lesson Study.  I think it could be really beneficial to future lessons that could be taught.  The only thing that can come from lesson study is improvement.  In some ways this concept reminded me of the wikis that we have to create for the canonical literature.  The wikis provide us with a space to share lesson plans and a space to comment on each others posts.  This gets teachers to collaboratively work together, which is very helpful to each other. 
One of the lessons shared was the use of character webs.  I definitely think that I would use this activity in my classroom.  When stories have numerous characters or characters with complex names, the story can become very confusing.  I really like that the students have an easily accessible list of characters right in the book.  This provides great organization.

Ch. 4 How Stories Work Pytash

Jago brought up a lot of good points about teaching literature in the classroom.  I completely agree with her idea that assumes when students say that they hate a book, it really means that they did not understand it.  When students struggle with different texts it is not uncommon for them to just give up reading and just look up what it means on SparkNotes.  As teachers we need to guide them through the novels so they can understand the meaning of the text with our help.  Gradually, as students read more and begin to understand how the author uses literary devices, the less guidance they will need.  One thing she stated that really resonated with me was, "As a teacher I try to dispel all illusion of magic and make my own process of thinking about a story transparent"(61).  Students should not be guessing at what they are expected to know and what thought process they could possibly be using to make the story more clear.  Students should know how language works and a teachers job is to do exactly that.  We are supposed to show our students how an authors words can convey numerous themes and messages. 
I also agree with her point that the more often you use a word the more recognizable it becomes.  If you teach literature using proper literary terminology students will see this language as natural and not something foreign. This would also mean that because this language is used regularly there is no  need for vocabulary tests, which often don't benefit students anyways.  By knowing literary devices and how they are used you can read a text much more efficiently and deeply.  In Jago's words, "Knowing these terms makes students more articulate"(68).

Ch. 2 All About Words- Pytash

I really liked Jago's chapter about vocabulary.  I found that she had a lot of useful insights on how to teach vocabulary effectively to students.  What I liked best about this chapter was her idea that, "The key learning that I try to achieve is that learning new words is a natural act"(27).  One of the biggest ways for students to learn new words is through reading new and various texts, and that is what they should be doing in and out of the English classroom.  So many people choose not to read and they are only hurting themselves.  If students knew all of the benefits from reading I believe students would read more, and therefore, increase their vocabulary.  It was stated in the text, "Children making good progress as readers add 3,000 to 5,000 new words to their vocabulary"(22), this is quite a staggering difference compared to the lesser 300-400 words that can be taught in a year.  I really want to encourage the students in my class to reading different texts whether they be novels, magazines, comics, etc.
When I did my tutoring at Firestone I found that one of my students biggest struggles was vocabulary.  He constantly was fumbling on words that I thought were simple for some at the sophomore level.  I first wanted to make flashcards off of the vocab list that his teacher supplied him with but then I decided that further action needed to be taken.  I started having him make a list of words that he didn't know from the chapter he read each night for homework.  Then together we would use context clues to create our own definitions for each word.  I believe that this benefitted him much more because these were the words that he needed to be focusing on.  They weren't just meaninglessly assigned by the teacher for him to memorize. 
Also, I really liked how she had lists of vocabulary displayed throughout her classroom.  I believe the more you see a word and its definition, the more likely you will be able to remember what it means and how to use it properly.  I could definitely see me using this strategy in my future classroom.  I think the class would benefit a lot from coming up with our own lists of unknown words and then defining them together.  The easier a definition is to understand, the more likely you will use it correctly, and by creating your own definition it makes it that much easier. 

Contemporary Film Review-Kist

The film that I chose to go see at the Cleveland International Film Festival was "If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle".  I was really excited about going to the film festival because I had never been to one before.  I was kind of surprised that it was in the Tower City Cinema.  When I first arrived I didn't really know where to go, I was just wandering around the building hoping to find some signs.  Eventually I found some volunteers who were also just walking around and followed them to where I needed to be going.  The people were extremely nice and once I was in the cinema section of Tower City it was a lot easier to know where I needed to be going.  Before the film began the son of the former Romanian Counsel spoke on his deceased father's behalf.  It was very emotional and helped set the tone for the film that was about to be viewed. 
A.  Personal Issues
I wish that the audience was given more background information on Silviu.  There was no specific reason  addressed as to why he was in prison, and I believe that this is important information.  There are countless reasons as to why someone could be sentenced to serve time in jail, and the crime committed can really reflect one's character.  Someone would view someone who robbed a bank a lot differently than they would person who murdered a person.  This also could explain why he reacts the way he does in the last few scenes of the film.  The audience watches Silvui struggle with making the right decisions the entire movie but for the most part he does not stray too far from the right path; so why does he choose to do so at such a crucial time?    
B. Technique
One element of the movie that I found startling impacting was the use of no background music.  The only time that music was played during the film was when it was physically being played out of a stereo shown in the film.  It added a very lonely and depressing tone.  It really benefited the film by showing how alone these men were in these prisons.  The dialogue was also very simple for the most part, but the simple language was able to convey a lot. It was direct and to the point.  There wasn't much guessing of what was going on in the film.  It was presented right in front of you.  Some of the editing was a little choppy, but what goes smoothly when in jail? I do not know if this was done on purpose, but from the little knowledge I have on movies I believe that was.  The whole movie tried to represent the uncertainties of the lives of men in jail.  Also, I do not know this for sure but there was a shakiness to the picture that reminded me of it being shot with a camcorder or hand held video recorder.  It really added to the tone of it being almost a home movie.  It added a really intimate feeling to the story being told. 
C. Acting
The main roles consisted of Silvui, a boy serving time in prison after his mother abandoned him, the warden who is in charge of the penitentiary, and Ana, an intern who is helping tutoring the inmates.  When I was researching the film after I watched it, I was shocked to discover that the inmates who were cast were actual, real-life convicts.  They did a sensational job of portraying their role in the film.  It was very convincing and I would have never guessed that they were not trained actors. 
D. Plot
The film takes place in a Romanian jail in which young male adults are serving time for their crimes.  Silvui, the main character, has fifteen days left of his sentence when his brother comes to visit him with some upsetting news.  Their mother has come back, from wherever she has been, and wants to take his younger brother away from him.  She plans on taking his younger brother to Italy with her, and this causes for Silvui to fall into a downward spiral.  Silvui's mother has been quick and notorious for abandoning her sons and has relied on Silvui to raise his younger brother for eight long years.  He is infuriated by this proposition and quickly begins making foolish mistakes.  In a last attempt to stop his mother from taking away his brother he assaults an officer and holds his woman of interest hostage.  While watching the movie I could not relate it to any other film that I had previously seen.  I really enjoyed its originality of trying to incorporate the struggles of trying to deal with outside world from behind bars. 
E. Themes
I would have to say that the theme of this film is best described as a complex theme.  The theme actually reminded me a lot of the themes that were found in my film study guide for "The Matrix".  It is based on the issues of perceptions and having everything not be as it seems.  Silvui is a boy who appears to be defying the legal systems but really he is only trying to help provide and protect for him and his brother.  The question then is, at what cost and extremes should we go to to fight for what we believe in?  The message is completely integrated into the whole film from beginning to end.  It reflects why he is in jail in the first place.  It reflects why he is picked on, and why he picks on others.  It reflects why he chooses to stand by the fence to see who dropped off his brother.  It reflects why he holds Ana hostage and why he wants to take her to coffee. 
F.  It is really hard for me to pinpoint a genre for this film to be placed in.  I went over several different genres in my head and none of them really did this movie justice.  I saw the film with both of my parents and brother so I presented the question to them too.  After talking about the film amongst ourselves, I asked them if they could place the film into one specific genre and they all looked at me like I was nuts.  We tried breaking it down and the best description we could pick for it is a fictional documentary.  It was not a true story but that does not mean that these stories could not have happened at some point in the past, or even future.  It goes through all of the notions that one would go through in a typical day in jail and there is an undertone of realness that is undeniable.  It is completely unique and I'm really happy that out of all the films at the festival I chose to see this one.
G. Representation
This film represents the men and women of Romania and the struggles that they must overcome in their lives.  We do not know much about their social status, level of education, religious beliefs, and so forth, but we do know that they have questionable character and that some of them are trying to better themselves.  I believe they are represented this way to convey to the audience that it doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, good or evil, it just matters that you use your resources to the best of your abilities to overcome your weaknesses.
H.Ideology
One major ideology that I noticed in this film was the desire for love.  This was mentioned several times amongst the inmates.  The scenes with dialogue were all very purposeful and intentive and the talk of girls is no exception.  Silvui's desire to take a girl out for a cup of coffee is very prominent.  I think this is so important to him because of the lack of love he got from his mother.  No matter what part of the world one is in, it is still important to feel loved and wanted.

Firestone Experience-Kist

After working at Firestone High School last semester, I was really excited to go back and tutor my student.  When I previously worked with my student, we focused a lot on science and language arts.  These two subjects gave my student the most troubles, and I really wanted to see if he had made any progress or not.  Together we discussed his classes, teachers, homework and so forth.  After talking to him for the first few minutes of arriving at Firestone, I asked him if I could see his grades.  His grades were substantially lower than what I would have liked them to be.  He did not show that much improvement from the last time that I had been there to tutor him, and his grades had practically stayed the same, or actually worsened, from the last time I had seen him. 

I asked him why his grades were so poor and at first he resorted to blaming his teachers.  My student said it was because his teachers were boring and didn’t know how to teach.  Then it was because they did not calculate his grades correctly, and that they were actually higher than what was being shown.  I asked him why he thought his classes were so boring and he could not put his finger on just one problem.  The problems that he described to me were dry, unrelateable novels in the classroom, repetitive assignments, and uninteresting class discussions.   Once we discussed his day-to-day classroom activities, I asked him what he had been doing to prepare for the OGT’s.  It was not a big surprise to me when he told me that the only preparations that he had been doing was what was done in class.  I flipped through his prep books and found that about only half of each test was actually completed.  Every question that was not multiple choice was left unanswered.  He told me that he felt that it was unnecessary to answer these questions because the practice tests were not the ones being scored; basically he was just being extremely lazy. 

These issues that we discussed, really made wonder what could be done to make English classes and test prep more intriguing.  This was difficult for me because while it is important to prepare for standardized testing, I don’t believe it should take away from the overall school year’s curriculum.  From traveling to other schools and reflecting back on my own high school experiences, I believe that some teachers become way to involved with test preparation, and forget about their actual purpose of teaching their designated subject.  While it is important for students to score well on these tests, it cannot become our sole focus.  As teachers we still need to teach and interpret different texts and strengthen our students writing skills, and not just focus on the best way to answer a multiple question from a short reading. 

After contemplating what could be done to incorporate multi-modalities with test preparations, I realized it would be harder than expected. The first idea that I had was to play music during the times that the students were supposed to be doing the practice tests.  My student and I discussed how we sometimes struggle in super quiet environments, so if there was music playing in the background, then maybe we would be able to think clearer and concentrate more easily.  When determining what music should be played, I thought it would maybe be a good idea for each student to suggest one or two songs, making sure they are classroom appropriate, of their own choice to be made into a classroom playlist. 

Also, since I noticed that my student was skipping over the short answer questions I thought that maybe we could incorporate different writing techniques in the classroom to get students more comfortable with written responses.  My first thought was just to have them focus on free writing.  If I were to have my own class I would like to find various writing prompts through different movie or television clips that could possibly relate to the class’s lesson for the day.  I would show the clip that would ideally be between two to five minutes and then have the class free write for about ten minutes.  Once they were done free writing, for homework they could proofread what they wrote and then turn in an edited copy.  This incorporates different modalities and also helps practice their writing skills for both short answer questions and the writing portion of the test. 

The writing section of the test is what I really wanted to focus on with my student, and I believe I would feel the same exact way if I had my own classroom.   I asked my student to look at one of the writing prompts from his practice tests and select one to work on.  After making his selection, I gave him as much time as he needed to complete what he believed to be sufficient work.  I was quite astonished when he handed me a one paragraph essay for his eighteen point essay.  His paragraph was loosely structured, had poor grammar, and overall did not really answer the question that was being asked.  Together we went over the basic five-paragraph essay format, and discussed some points that he could address in his essay.  After we did this, I encouraged him to make a second attempt at his prompt.  Another twenty minutes passed, and once again he turned in one paragraph.  It was both shocking and disheartening to see my student struggle so much with this portion of the test.  We attempted the same prompt for a third time after making yet another outline and really discussing what makes a well written essay.  This time he nailed it.  There were still some very prominent mistakes, but at least his organization and structure was much more clear and concise.  His ideas were coherent and his words were more fluid than what they had been previously. 

I was very impressed with the progress that my student had made in such a short period of time, but I do know that this tutoring was not as sufficient as it could have been.  If we were given more time to work with our students I deeply believe that a lot more could have been accomplished.   I also worry that since we were only able to work on the writing portion for two days, that he might forget what we went over and discussed.  It is imperative that students develop good writing skills and as teachers we must make sure that no student slips through the crack.  While most students despise writing formal papers, I believe my idea for free writing could work.  It allows students to be creative and work on their skills, especially when they go back through and proofread.  This activity also not only benefits students just for standardized testing, but it also can benefit their daily writing skills. 

Readings- Kist

There were a lot of really interesting points that were brought up in the assigned readings.  There was loads of information about various, new technologies and ideas that completely took me by surprise.  Each article I read resonated with me differently, leaving me with more knowledge and a state of surprise.  The articles made me wonder about how different classrooms will be in the future as technology keeps advancing and what kind of impact, whether it be positive or negative, this will have on the teachers, students, parents, etc.
This made me think about how we had to set up Facebook and Twitter accounts for our class.  I have also heard of other classes and schools requiring students to make accounts for these social networking websites.  In the article "I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You", it states that generally speaking most people age 30 and older find these sites to be insane.  This would then mean that the parents of the students who are making these accounts find what they are doing to be completely irrelevant.  How do these parents really feel about schools requiring their students to make these profiles? As generations pass I believe it will be completely acceptable, but right now I wonder how controversial this is.  This less than traditional method also made me think about the article "Video Games in the Classroom".  It is rather compelling to think about a classroom being transformed into a typical living room, including gaming systems, films, and computers.  In this setting and environment, while it may seem a bit odd, I believe it could really work.  Students learn best when they are able to relate to the lessons that are being taught, and students can easily relate to technology because it is such a major part of their daily lives.  "Salen’s theory goes like this: building a game — even the kind of simple game a sixth grader might build — is equivalent to building a miniworld, a dynamic system governed by a set of rules, complete with challenges, obstacles and goals. At its best, game design can be an interdisciplinary exercise involving math, writing, art, computer programming, deductive reasoning and critical thinking skills. If children can build, play and understand games that work, it’s possible that someday they will understand and design systems that work. And the world is full of complicated systems."  Even though they are gaming, they are also learning important lessons, ranging in all subject areas.  I do not know if I would necessarily use gaming because I am not that well versed in that field, but I do believe we could incorporate movies, music, different websites, etc.
One of the most shocking things that I read was from the article "Publish or Perish".  In the article Steve Jobs states, "40% of people in the U.S. read one book or less last year."  This was extremely shocking and depressing to me. I cannot even imagine reading only one book for an entire year.  It is so important for people to read and to read for all purposes. Whether it be for education or pleasure, people need to be reading.  I am not necessarily a fan of kindles or iPads, just because I enjoy physically turning the pages, but I do believe it is a great new technology to get people to read more.  Russ Grandinetti, Amazon's Vice President, states "people buy 3.1 times as many books as they did 12 months ago".  This is really incouraging.  If making books easily accessible online, gets people to read more, I am totally for it.  The problem here, is that this probably only works for those who have access to these tablets, which cost hundreds of dollars.  I see these tablets more for personal purposes opposed to being implemented into schools.  Some school districts just simply don't have the funding for these tablets. 
With technology always upgrading and changing it is impossible to predict how our class's will be conducted in the years to come, but I know that technology will have a very prominent role.

Ch. 5 How Poems Work

There were a lot of topics discussed in this chapter that I particularly liked.  Poetry has always interested me, but there is no doubt in my mind that I struggle with it.  Poetry has many purposes, depending on what the author or reader is looking for.  I really like that Jago opens the chapter by referring to music as a form of poetry.  Music plays a huge role in many teenagers lives, and it is a great way to introduce poetry.  All songs use different literary devices like rhythm, tempo, alliteration, etc. 
I also really liked that she uses think-aloud strategies to teach poetry.  In my opinion, reading poetry out loud is one of the best ways to teach poetry.  It allows the reader to hear all of the literary devices the poet purposefully added to the poem.  The more correctly a poem is read, the easier it becomes to understand what the poet is trying to convey.
Jago's section about the difficult poem was my favorite part of the chapter.  I really liked the two points that Charles Bernstein brings up.  He states, "It is not your fault that difficult poems are diffficult. In fact it is perceptive of a reader to discern that a poem may be hard to understand. Not being able to make sense of a poem on at first glance does not mean there is anything wrong with you"(88), he also says, "It is not the poem's fault that it is difficult.  Many are quick to jump to judgement and declare a poem incoherent or meaningless simply because it is hard to understand.  When a poem is difficult, there is not necessarily anything wrong with the poem"(89).  When poems are difficult it is common for people to just give up, but as readers we have to realize that one of the best parts of the poem is its challenge.  We need to look for imagery, themes, and so forth.  Poetry would not be poetry without difficulty.

Ch.3 Choosing Which Books to Teach-Pytash

I honestly agree that choosing which books to teach is highly impacting on how well a classroom will respond to the different lessons.  A book must intrigue the reader, yet still provide a challenge.  As teachers  it is our job to help students understand classic literature.  A point brought up by Jago that I really liked was how important it is for even teachers to reread texts.  She says, "I spent most of my spring break reading, rereading, and thinking about the Compson family. It is not simply a matter of generating new handouts or creating a day-by-day plan...but, rather, a deep knowledge of the book itself that I needed to acquire"(50).  Sometimes when I read a book I do not understand all of the ideas and concepts the first time.  When I go back and reread the text the ideas become simpler for me to understand, and I benefit from this a lot.  Even though we are teachers, we are not superior to the complex writings of the classics. 
I also really liked that she wanted her students to record all of the books that they read.  It reminded me of the Multigenre Autobiography project that we put together for Kist's class.  It was a really fun project and I loved seeing all of the different books, movies, and shows that influenced my life.  It really is a "cultural artifact"(45).  This also relates to number seven of Italio Calvino's definitions of a classic: "The classics are those books that come to us bearing the aura of previous interpretations, and leaving behind them the traces of the culture or cultures(or just the the languages and customs) through which they have passed"(41).  Culture is such a fascinating topic to read about in literature, and I believe that I will teach a lot of books that deal with different cultures. 

Ch.1 Seven Guiding Principles for Literature Teachers- Pytash

There were some points that I strongly agreed with from Carol Jago, but there were also some points that I strongly disagreed with.  One point that I really agreed with was, "That students can't read a book on their own doesn't mean that, with help, they can't and shouldn't read it"(7).  I believe that sometimes teachers find books to be too challenging for their students, and opt to teach another book.  It is not fair to those students who enjoy reading and like the challenge of a more difficult book.  As teachers, our ultimate goal should be to teach complex literature and have students understand and relate to it.  If we choose not to teach more difficult texts we are only hindering the growth of students knowledge.  My senior year of high school my English class read The Sound and the Fury.  It was one of the hardest books I ever read, but with the guidance of my teacher I was able to understand the book and fall in love with it and its characters. 
Another point she brought up was the use of other media to bring literature to life. Many movies, television programs, etc. can be used complimentary with books.  When students have a hard time visualizing what is going on with character, plot, and setting, these media can help.  It gives students an idea of what is going and helps trigger their own imaginations.  
One of the statements that I strongly disagreed with was, "Learning suffers when teachers squander it by taking a full class period for seventeen-year-olds to play with markers and poster board"(2).  I couldn't really believe that Jago saw working with these tools as just play time.  I am a very visual learner and whenever I did activities like this in my classes I benefited a lot from them.  While I agree the whole class period shouldn't be devoted to this, I don't see anything wrong with having students partake in these activities. 
I also disagreed with her views of young adult literature.  While they should not be the only texts taught in a classroom I believe a lot can still be learned from them.   They are great books to be read on their own, or to be paired with a classic. 

Little Brother Kist

There were a lot of things that I liked about Little Brother.  The entire time I was reading the book, I felt a strong connection to Marcus.  I never wanted him to give up because he was giving birth to a movement that he believed in.  It pained me when he kept all of his secrets about being tortured by the DHS.  I wanted him to tell his family and the government so he would no longer be seen as the enemy.  When he finally broke down to his mother, it was a very climactic moment.  At that point in the story, I finally started to see some light at the end of the tunnel.  He was taking the right steps to accomplish his ultimate goal of freedom.
Another particular part of the story I enjoyed was Marcus's relationship with Ange.  The beginning of Little Brother focuses primarily on tracing the source of the terrorist attacks and Marcus setting up the Xnet.  While this part is essential to the plot,  their relationship was a breath of fresh air.  It portrayed Marcus's ability to still trust people after what happened to him.  This helps support the theme of working with others and networking to accomplish goals.  By reaching out to the people of his community he is able to succeed and overcome the DHS. 

mulit genre autobiography (Kist)

I have really been enjoying putting together my multi-genre autobiography.  It's really quite interesting look at all of the types of media that have affected my life in one way or another.  At my house on Friday's we have "homework parties" during the day, and putting my autobiography has become somewhat of a group project.  All of my friends have wanted to help, or have wanted to come up with their own.  Then after we work on it for a little bit, we like to look over each others and see what we have in common.  It also triggers a lot of earlier memories of when we were little kids.  I believe we had a twenty minute conversation the one day just based on Disney and Nickelodeon shows that we grew up on. 
For my presentation, I think I am going to keep it fairly basic.  I have chosen to put mine together using power point.  For me it worked best because of its organizational structure. It easily allows me to rearrange slides into the particular order that I want them to be.  I also do not mind speaking in front of people so I decided to just narrate the slide show as it plays.  I am actually looking forward to seeing all of the presentations.  I am excited to see what everyone else was influenced by.

How the Web Was Won- Kist

When I first began reading this article I hated it.  I really tried to understand the beginning major concepts of how the Internet came to be, but the language that was used was hard for me to understand.  I do not know what packetswitching, IBM, and so forth mean. With my frustration mounting, I almost wanted to give up on the article.  Then I started to discover that it wasn't about understanding all the technical terms, but it was about understanding the epic journey of how the Internet progressed through time. 
What I really took away from this article is how the Internet is not just one man's business; it is a business that thrives on every individuals ideas and innovations.  Which then comes full circle on the concept of classrooms being their own networks.  A classroom will not excel if only one persons thoughts and opinions are taught.  When everyone is working together, however, many more ideas will be heard, and much more will be accomplished. 

Facebook Kist

Facebook is a site that I visit almost everyday; it consumes countless hours of my life.  Many people could say the exact same thing about themselves.  It is a global phenomenon.  I found the article, "The Battle for Facebook" to be extremely interesting.  The history of making this networking site is not a clear cut one.  There are many legal fights over this site, which makes it compelling to see how it all came to be.   A lot of the story triggered images from The Social Network for me.  It is fascinating to read and watch the struggles and triumphs that Mark Zuckerberg experiences.  He has such strong ambition and passion in what he does.  His motivation is inspiring to me.  Although many people see him as an arrogant ass hole, I believe he is just a young man trying to achieve his dreams. 
In some ways, Zuckerberg's attitude could be helpful in the classroom.  He fights for what he believes in, and I believe teachers should fight for what should be taught.  In several places, certain books are banned that are exceptional literature.  These books indulge in rich culture, controversies and real life issues. They could teach many lessons, but for some reason books like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Merchant of Venice have once been removed from schools.   He also does not give up; teachers should never give up on their students.  Situations will undoubtedly arise that will test us, but we can not turn our backs on the trying students.