Archive for year: 2015

Mara Casey and StephanI. Hemenway

Summary

Mara and Nina, a former student and currently a 3rd grade teacher, are conducting a longitudinal study about the writing program provided in the education system. They started with third graders and following the same students all the way through twelfth grade. During the study the student would be interviewed at the starting point, third grade, and again in sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth grade. The writing program that Mara and Nina designed there work around was based on the work of Donald Murray and Donald Graves, which made assumptions about children and writing.

• Children can write, but they must first learn to be careful observers of their surroundings.
• Writers should choose their own subjects
• Teachers should model the writing process by writing along with their students and showing that writing is revision
• Teachers should establish a regular time for writing and support it by providing real audiences and purposes for writers and opportunities for lots of writing and publication
• When children enjoy writing and discover they have something to say to a real audience, their skills will improve.

Little research on American schooling had been based on perspectives of student and teachers. During the interviews that were placed every two years, Mara would ask the same series of questions.

• What is writing like to you?
• What do you think writing is like to your teachers (students)?
• What do good writers do when they write?
• What do you do when you write?
• What kind of a teacher do you need (do your students need) to be a good writer?

The Third Grade Interview

“I can do writing good” she said confidently. “But sometimes it’s boring, like combing your hair.” She hated combing her long, snarly blonde hair, but “then I keep on combing it, and that’s like revising it more and more times. Then, once I’m done combing my hair, or once I’m done writing my story, it’s fun, and I feel proud of myself, and I get a lot compliment.”

The Sixth Grade Interview

“It doesn’t take that much energy to write when you don’t have an assignment. You can just let your mind go free. You just let your imagination go wild. There’s no right way to write any kind of story.”

Writing essays “don’t let kids think about what they want to write about and give them the chance to do it themselves.”

First Draft. Go through it to see if that’s the way you like your writing to be.

Second Draft.

Third Draft.

Proofread it.

“I did better writing in third grade than I do now because of all the revising we did. It made you think about what you were writing. We went over our final drafts for the class about sixteen times. It made the story good at the end, like you could publish this now.”

The Eighth Grade Interview

“I used to really like English, writing in journals and stuff, but I don’t like writing anymore. Everything’s so lined up in the junior high, kinda like a checker board. She gives you an assignment,  you hand it in, and you get it back. No one ever talks about it. Groups that give constructive criticism would help. If you talk about it, then you understand what you can do to make it more what you want it to be.”

The Tenth Grade Interview

“I wish they could have a universal format that would be structured enough, but still give you the freedom to express yourself. Then you still can get out what you want to say and still think that you’re gonna do all right on it.”

The Twelfth Grade Interview

“Teachers should get experience from everywhere, listen to how your students respond to what they’re writing about, and incorporate the free type of writing.”

Personal Connection 

I honestly can understand the struggles that Page went through during writing in her lower education. I did not have the experience of learning about revising so young, but knowing how to do it know I wish I had learned earlier in my education so I had more time to practice it. I can understand that all teachers methods are different and you have to change they way you write to be able to get good grade in school. I know that the five paragraph essay was what you did in all English courses. And when I reached high education, five paragraph essays don’t even exist. I really wish that I could have been taught other forms of writing. I would be great to be able to write about things that you are passionate about it and be able to express yourself within your writing. I hope that when I become a teacher that things are different and I as a future educator of English, that I will have a good balance of being structured but still letting my students have freedom in their writing, just as Page wanted all through out her education of writing.

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Questions

Look back on your 3-12 grade writing experience. Where you haunted with the five paragraph essay? If so, in what ways did you feel pressured to please your teacher with these essays? Were you bored like most of the students in Page’s class were?

How do you think student’s view’s on writing would change if teachers incorporated revising and other forms of writing styles in the lower education setting?

Page struggled with having the knowledge of revising and how to be a good writer, but forced to do barely the minimum asked of her writing. Why do you believe teachers in middle and high school do not focus on revising and minimal peer and instructor feedback? How could revising and feedback help these students with future writing skills?

I cannot believe that this semester is already almost over! There is so much to do between now and the end of the semseter. I am looking forward to getting more of my capstone research done and also to attending the Marine Mammal Conference in San Fransisco as soon as the semester ends. So far I have surveyed all of my Santa Rosa sites as well as Ormond Beach, 5th Street in Oxnard Shores, the Santa Clara River Mouth, and Hueneme Beach.

Chapter 9 on Alcohol:

I found this section of chapter 9 most interesting because I can see how college students can relate to the statistics about alcohol usage. However, it’s still surprising to know how much the percentage of teen drinking has dropped. “It is more than popular culture that encourages young people to think drinking is normal”(Sternheimer, 2013, p. 229). I personally do not believe a drink on a special occasion is not normal. I do however agree that the percentages rise with age regardless of popular culture. The majority of young adults living with their parents and under the age of twenty one may not drink as much as desired due to their living situation. Getting home to your parents drunk may not result in a good conversation with them. Especially if you are not twenty one and older.

“The peak age group for binge drinking was twenty-one to twenty- five, and rates only gradually level off for people in their thirties and forties” (Sternheimer, 2013, p. 229). I was surprised at this statistic because I can’t image being a binge drinker. I do have a drink on special occasions and I do not live with my parents, so to fit into this statistic I would have to drink a whole lot more. However, there are those who feel they need to drink to release stress and not only because they don’t live with their parents.  In addition, I don’t believe we should blame media for encouraging kids to drink because like mentioned in this chapter parents influence their children the most. Parents who drink often are most  likely to encourage their kids to drink heavily. Kids may not drink while their parents drink; however, once these kids are old enough to drink they may drink heavily like their parents once did.

Drinking and driving is another issue I can see related to age. Many people who drink and  drive do so because they are most likely at an age to buy alcohol. In my opinion, there needs to be more education on drinking alcohol. We only know what we know about drinking based on what we see or have seen from our parents. Could there be a more positive approach to avoid drinking problems. Why is drinking so popular and why do percentages rise as we get older? Could it be that young adults are more cautious of their surroundings and see how harmful drinking can be compared to older adults.

Street Art: 

I enjoyed watching the video on Ron English. Using billboards as an expression for freedom of speech is such an awesome idea. Rather than expressing emotions about corporations and politics in pictures or drawings he expresses himself using words anyone can understand. This method is definitely helpful for media education because the majority of the billboards address many problems in society today.  Like Ron English said “Corporations don’t have the right to freedom of speech, people do.” If we can’t stop corporations from selling and advertising harmful products why should someone like Ron English be stopped for advertising how bad some products or politics are.

 

 

Ch. 9 “Does Pop Culture Promote Smoking, Toking, and Drinking?

This chapter as I have mentioned in previous posts did a good job in explaining statistically that it isn’t just the “crazy teens” who are drinking and smoking, but more so adults. The book says that people are quick to blame pop culture and the media in general because it is easy to do and is the most simple and logical explanation. However people really do become blind to other reasons when they are focused on just one of many factors. Differences in family stability, education, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, gender, peers, ads and so on all have an effect in substance use. Something that stood out for me in the book was when it said a 1998 report said “that much of the racial and ethnic differences found disappear when income is taken into account.” (Sterheimer, 2013, p. 226). I have issues with this because people compare income with race all the time, to say that these differences disappear, just sound odd when are society knowingly or unknowingly makes these connections. When the chapter moved on to the topic of alcohol I thought it was important to note that “gatherings often involve alcohol as a normal part of adults life.” (Sterheimer, 2013, p. 229).  Our society has made it such the standard to have alcohol as part of our normal life’s when it doesn’t have to be. I also found it interesting that music videos have a rather big impact on teens and their usage. There are many grey areas to understanding the hows and why of substance usage and abuse among teens and adults, however age and gender where reoccurring themes in this chapter as to who are the heaviest users. There were several points in the chapter where is spoke about men needing to be taught to handle a certain amount of alcohol and women were not as heavy of users are the men where. And back in the day when women were caught smoking they were seen as rebels. Another note away from the age and gender is that Latinos and Asians are the least likely to use drugs out of any other minorities. However “men have been and remain more likely to smoke than women”. (Sternheimer, 2013 p. 225). The book also explained that white and African Americans are the largest groups of smokers. There are various factors as to why but if anyone has possible explanations as to why they think this is I think it would be an interesting conversation. Especially when a previous report said that when looking at income the difference between race and ethnicity seem to “fade away”.

Street Art

This section was a bit difficult for me to comprehended and write about, and honestly I mix graffiti street art and any other related thing into one big group. When something is illegal I am really closed minded that it is bad and shouldn’t be looked upon as good behavior. Many of these people try to say a certain message about ads or other issues in society. As I said in a previous comment creating art for a cause, or issue to inform the public is different than just going out and doing something just because you can. What I have issue is with where the line is drawn with this repetitive behavior. I understand some look at these people’s work and think highly of it while others find it a public disturbance. These people are certainly daring and ambitious but does that make it right to do it?

Hello and good morning, as we have all heard over the radio, or seen on the news cast, there has been a horrific event taking place in France. Multiple bombings causing thousands of casualties and 129 deaths,(My heart goes out to all of the family and friends of the victims). As most of the readers of this blog know that I am involved in a university and we are digging into social media and how it can be beneficial for everyone. Facebook and Twitter got the call on Friday and they stepped up to the plate and hit one out of the park.  First, just moments after the first attack in Paris occurred, Facebook launched a new feature called the “I am safe” page. People that were in the attack zone were notified that such a page was available and could be used to notify all those friends and loved-ones that they were safe and out of danger. I was at work Friday night when a person at the bar received a notification from Facebook informing her that her friend had checked in and was indeed safe. The new setting that has been introduced by Facebook is a marvel in many ways, it notifies everyone on your friends list simultaneously saving precious time that would be taken by texting or calling each individually, thus getting the information train running much quicker. Also Twitter came through like a champ as it was a major player in the crisis.  As French government put a strict curfew in place and almost a marshal law, many were out on the streets with no-place to go or stay. With word traveling fast of multiple bombing locations, and other areas being threatened, Twitter users all over Paris sent tweets out to direct those in need of personal housing, shelters, or hotels offering shelter for the night. Those caught out in the mayhem were now finding shelter through social media. This is a prime example of how social media can be used for the good of the people and how powerful it has become. I cannot say for sure that lives were saved, but  can say that many slept better that night by either having a place to stay, or knowing that a loved one was alive and safe.

Even though terror has tried once again to break the spirit of the people, the world has shown that the free will can never be broken. The French Red White and Blue is being flown around the world in support of our friends the French, on Facebook, Twitter, lighting on national monuments, capitol buildings and religious figures. The message is clear that we stand together against fear and terror.

CDR