A little culture talk

Today I came across a paper that I wrote last fall. I was asked to write my own cultural autobiography and these are some of my concluding thoughts that I thought I would share with you all. My experience teaching at an international school has really sparked my interest in culturally competent teaching and I feel like I have come a long way since I first started teaching, yet I still have a lot to learn. I always enjoy going back to read something I have written and it is interesting to see if my ideas have stayed the same or changed since the piece was written.

Except from my paper-->

At this point, I feel like I am operating at a certain level of understanding with regards to multicultural education that has not yet fully translated into my practice. I have an awareness that contributes greatly to how I see my role as an educator, yet I am still working hard to become that educator. I feel like I am on a journey, but I have only just begun. I am just now starting to acutely examine my own cultural understanding and I believe that I still have a lot of work to do, both personally and professionally.  I have read countless books on multicultural education and I would feel safe to say I am developing a passion for the ideas, strategies, and results associated with transforming traditional pedagogy into something more inspired.

One of the most poignant realizations has have taken hold is that I do not need to have all of the answers. I am the owner of my own culture, but I cannot possibly have first hand understanding of every experience every student has had thus far. I need to learn to rely on others as a rich source of knowledge and that begins with asking questions. Earlier I reflected on how I never gained a sense of my own culture because my family rarely shared stories of our ancestors. Had I been more curious as a child, wondering, asking, and trying to take it all in, perhaps I would have grown up with a different awareness of my place in this world. I didn’t ask the questions that would have elicited the stories that were begging to be told. Fortunately, it’s not too late to start asking those questions now.

Certainly becoming this kind of teacher, an open-minded warrior for equity and social justice in education, is not an easy task. It necessitates vulnerability, bravery, critical thinking, awareness, and a lot of hard work. It often means going against the grain, turning around on the escalator and running up the stairs that continue to move downwards which just might feel like going nowhere. To be this type of teacher takes commitment to not only my values and beliefs, but commitment to listen to and learn from the values and beliefs of others without judging one or the other as superior. I often feel intimated by how small my own bundle of life experiences seems in comparison to others. My privileged life has not presented me with hard trials like many of the students I might come across throughout my teaching career. As much as I want to know what it’s like to be in their shoes, I never truly will. That doesn’t mean that I can’t foster a relationship with those students, and a community among all students, where they feel comfortable to share what makes them who they are so that I can get as close as possible to knowing what it’s like to be them.

We each have our own story. Some are filled with happiness and success, others are not. Regardless of the details of our story, we each have the right to be proud of who we are and the cultures from which we come. It is my hope that our educational system begins to view those diverse backgrounds and different languages not as deficits, but as the treasures that they are. Without the diversity that is derived from individuals with differences coming together for a common purpose, we are left with a cookie cutter world where difference and change are feared and education fails.

What are your teaching goals?

Mini

Just a mini post to say how happy I am that I just submitted my last paper of spring term and I am officially done with year one of my doctoral program! 1 more to go plus a year of dissertating and I am set!

:) Now, sunshine and children's novels are calling my name!

Completed today: Stargirl and Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing
Next Up: Bridge to Terabithia (read this one in 6th...vague recollections and never saw the movie that came out recently)

Don't forget to read my post below about the great webinar I participated in this morning!

Webinar

 This morning I participated in a webinar on selecting and using core reading programs.

My evaluation: LOVED it! 

Although I was pretty tired because I didn't get much sleep prior to the start of the webinar, I thought it was absolutely fabulous. So many things that were discussed were exactly on par with what I have been thinking about core reading programs. There was some technical difficulty with the sound throughout the hour long presentation, but it was completely worth waking up for and I am even more excited to get my hands on the book written by the presenter Peter Dewitz.

What is a webinar you might ask? Good question. I didn't know either until I took part in one. But I have to say, it was pretty cool!

I was imagining that it would be a video presentation that I would get to watch, but it was actually a lot different than I anticipated. It was better because it actually allowed the participants to utilize a chat function in order to ask questions and make comments throughout the presentation rather than simply listening. Instead of viewing a video of the presenter, we were viewing his power point presentation and we could hear his voice. I tried to take some photos of what the screen looked like so I could post about it.

Here is a close up of the chat window

I found it hard to focus on both the presenter and the chat conversation so I mostly just listened and viewed the slides because  I was more interested in his research than what the other participants were discussing. This interactive chat feature was great though because it allowed us to ask questions which were then answered at the end of the presentation.

 Twice during the presentation, an additional window popped up asking us to answer a question. We were given about a minute to respond. then the group results were posted.

I thought that was a really cool feature as well. 

By no means was this presentation meant to discredit the value of core reading programs, but the Mr. Detwitz did share research indicating that this type of program is best if not used with fidelity. 

Go figure. 

Some of the more salient points that really resonated with me were:

• core programs do not allow the gradual release of responsibility that is most beneficial to students
• most of the stories are not written by actual children's authors.
• the programs are research based, yet some of this research is market research conducted with teachers to see if they like the lessons and the program design. 
• one slide showed the average number of minutes that students who are below grade level readers spend actually engaging in the act of reading during a 90 minute core lesson and it was astounding. For the Treasures program that my district uses, the figure was about 10 minutes. TEN minutes a day spent reading!
• the basic design of core reading programs has barely changed in the past 20 years despite the ever increasing diversity of our student populations.

At one point, Mr. Dewitz shared an example of the vocabulary that was selected for the book Thunder Cake.

On the left you can see the words designated by the reading program to be the "vocabulary" words for instruction, yet the left column shows 9 more words that most likely would also be challenging for students, but are not considered vocabulary words for this text. He emphasized that a scripted program cannot gauge where your students are in their vocabulary knowledge, therefore it is very appropriate for the teacher to select vocabulary words and stopping points based on your knowledge of your particular students. Also, he mentioned that the vocabulary words selected for study should have relevance outside of the particular text being read so students grasp a more universal understanding and can apply the words elsewhere in their lives. 

I love that he validates teacher knowledge and skills, don't you?

Overall, I was really pleased with this presentation. I was told the power point would be posted on the IRA website, but I don't think that has been done yet. When it is, I will try to attach it in a different post so you can read through the entire presentation. It was really informative and made me feel confident that my misgivings about using core programs with fidelity are warranted and quite common among teachers. He actually cited four research studies about fidelity that I will try to track down and post for you as well.

Although the sound was a little sketchy throughout due to a storm in VA where Mr. Dewitz was located, the quality of the webinar was very good and it provided me with lots to think about! My amazement with technology continues to grow and I feel so fortunate to be teaching and studying in a time when there is so much potential for the use of technology to increase learning.

Free Bird

Mr. Sneaker is in the U.S and I have been a reading machine. Yesterday I finished Anne of Green Gables, then I read Because of Winn Dixie, Are You There, God? It's me Margaret, and James and the Giant Peach. I desperately needed a break from all things policy, politics, and project, so I just holed up on the couch and read...and read...and read. Now I am onto Maniac Magee and I am almost done.  I am already 27 books into the list...maybe I can be halfway done by the time school lets out. It's really easy to get through a few of the shorter books in a day, but some (like the mammoth Anne of Green Gables) take several days to read.

A few favorite quotes from yesterday's readathon:

                                                                                                                                           "Have you though about it, God? About my growing, I mean. I've got a bra now. It would be nice if I had something to put in it."

"Why you could go through twenty words without bumping into some of the shyer consonants, but it seemed as if you  couldn't tiptoe past a syllable without waking up a vowel."                                                                                                                                                            

...and one from a kiddo that I work with...
                                                                                                                                               

 "School is such a boring place. I'm trapped here for 8 hours a day with nothing to do."

 Every teacher's dream to hear that statement....yikes. Then about 5 minutes later he started rocking out on his math problems and was so into it and proud of himself.  As much as his teacher and I struggle to understand him at times, I really adore him. He's too funny.

***

My last 3 am class was this morning and despite my impression that I couldn't put two coherent sentences together during my presentation, I just skyped with my professor and he gave me good feedback. He said the members of my group said great things about working with me and that he has been really pleased with how the use of skype has worked out throughout this year. He also said I have really grown as a writer and am very clear and detailed in my papers. (snaps for me!). Everybody loves a compliment. Despite my elation that my early morning wake up calls for class are done, I do have one more tomorrow because I am watching the IRA webinar on core reading programs from 2-3. Then I will officially be non-psychotic for awhile...promise! I am excited to hear more about the history and evaluation of core reading programs and I will share if there are any golden nuggets of wisdom!

I helped my friend work on her applications today and we enjoyed a lovely rainy walk to Starbucks downtown. It's a religious holiday here in Germany today, but Starbucks wasn't observing, so we still got to enjoy some hot coffee in the chilly rain. Did June miss the memo about shining some hot sun down on me because the weather we are having is not birthday month worthy! Thank goodness I will be in Cali on my bday because a cloudy birthday is not cool. June babies deserve the sweet sensation of sun for their birthday celebrations. Speaking of weather, I love how the author describes the weather in Maniac Magee. "During the night, March doubled back and grabbed April by the scruff of the neck and flung it another week or two down the road." Great words! Great image.

It is already almost 10, so I am going to head to bed shortly with my book and finish it off. I will probably bring one more...just in case. I am looking forward to knocking out my last paper tomorrow morning so I have the rest of the weekend to hibernate, read, and RELAX!

L.O.V.E

Doing research and writing papers always reminds me of my love affair with office supplies and just how handy they are.

These beauties are currently on my mind and on my shopping list for must haves when I return to the states. 

(and if you are anything like me these images will invoke a warm fuzziness within)

 anything that comes in a rainbow of colors has my name all over it...including sneakers!

 oh the pretty colors....

It's not like these items don't exist in Germany, but I wasn't quite willing to pay 14 Euros for Post Its...well, I was willing, but I thought Mr. Sneaker just might have a H.A. so I declined.

status update:

• group project- check (hopefully my team members won't come back with any major overhauls to what I worked on tonight
• slides for presentation-check (I did mine but we are waiting on slides from one more person)
• other paper-partial check (worked on it today and I have 5 complete pages. It needs some editing, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel)
• pile of books waiting to be read- still waiting

Are you really surprised?

Yesterday while perusing the selection of books that the International Reading Association offers, I came across a book that I just had to have. 

(Hence the post title...bought yet another teaching book? who me?)

The Essential Guide to Selecting and Using Core Reading Programs

Peter Dewitz, Susan B. Leahy, Jennifer Jones, and Pamela Maslin Sullivan

I have been narrowing down my ideas for what I might like to do for my doctoral research because over the course of this year and next year I have to write a lot of papers for a lot of different classes and it behooves me to have an idea of what question my dissertation will be investigating because all of the work that I put into all the "small" papers ( and that is relative because the small papers are about 30 pages) can lead to the final ginormous dissertation if I play my cards right (meaning I need to have my act together and choose a topic now so I don't end up having to do a ton more work down the road!).

I decided that I am really interested in investigating scripted reading programs with a  multicultural lens to see if these programs hold up to the principles/values of multicultural education that speak to the importance of connecting to students' background knowledge and engaging students in learning through instruction that is meaningful and pertinent to their lives.

 Tangent ===> I have some opinions about scripted programs that are percolating and I am still processing how I feel about them. I welcome the idea that the lessons are research based and incorporate the big five components of reading instruction, yet I feel as though when it comes to great literature, providing students with enough time to actually engage in reading and writing, and addressing the needs of students from diverse cultural backgrounds, perhaps these programs do not make the grade. Not to mention, they can be quite mind-numbing for teachers because they include a "teacher script" as if we would not know intuitively what to say without the special blue font that dictates word for word what we should say, "think aloud," and ask the students. Like many other things in life, I feel like scripted programs have their place, yet good instruction requires a balance of the research based, sequential, skill-focused lessons and the natural teaching that comes naturally to great teachers. 

What's your opinion on scripted programs? Necessary or nuisance?

======>end tangent

 (what a cute little reading components umbrella!)

Anyway, I was excited to come across this book because upon glancing at the table of contents, it appears as though it will be very informative with regards to the idea I am toying with using. There are chapters on the history of core reading programs and how they are created in addition to chapters that talk about how each type of reading skill is taught in this type of program. It sounds pretty interesting and I think that reading this book will give me a better idea of whether or not my research idea is feasible.

When I went to purchase the book, I saw that the IRA is offering a free webinar presented by one of the book's authors. I have never participated in a "webinar" before and I honestly don't quite know what it is, but it sounds pretty cool and I think that it allows me watch a presenter from the comfort and privacy of my own home. (These days I am all about professional development in my pajamas.)  And similar to my routine wee-hours-of-the-morning class, this webinar begins at 2:00 am in Germany because it is being presented from the US at 8:00 EST. I have always considered myself a morning person but this is getting crazy! The webinar is on Friday morning, so the good news is that I won't have to go to work afterward.  I figure I will get up, enjoy some learnin', then go back to bed. No biggie. I still have to wait and make sure my registration was confirmed because there are only 100 spots and I don't know if it has already been filled.  Here is the link in case anyone else is interested. If you're on the west coast it's still pretty late but 11:00 is better than 2:00! 

Have you ever attended a webinar?

If so, do share!

Group Project

Welcome to my sharing circle...today's topic...

Intimidation.

 
I am so stressed out about the project that I am currently working on with two other members of my politics and policy class. I realize there is no reason whatsoever to be feeling this way, yet I can't help it. I think I have always struggled with group work.

When I was in school, I was often paired with people who simply didn't care about school (and grades) as much as I did. I was the member of the group doing more than her share to ensure that the group work reflected the quality that I wanted it to. I guess I was under the impression that others in the group would bring me down...not because they weren't smart, but because they didn't put in as much effort as I did. I can even recall getting really frustrated about some group work in grad school because other members of the group did not even read the required material.

I feel like I am good at working with others, cooperation, and collaboration, yet when it comes to an assignment, suddenly the stakes are higher. I am trying to be less attached to my obsession with getting A's because I realize that throughout most of my schooling, despite the fact that I earned A's, I don't think I truly learned and internalized as much as I should have. I am trying to exist in this doctoral program with the attitude that I am learning a ton and if my grade is not an A that is just an indicator of an area where I need to learn some more and where I need to continue growing. So far, I have gotten A's in all of my courses, yet this politics and policy is the first time where I have felt entirely out of my element quite often. The tables have turned and I am no longer the one in the lead.

Since I am skyping in with the actual class instead of just skyping with my adviser, I am getting to know the other members of my cohort that are supposed to serve as this amazing support system as we all go through the program together. I have missed over 2/3 of that bonding time, so I don't have the same level of connection with the other members of the group. I feel part of the group, but it's not the same to be a face on a screen rather than an actual body in the classroom. Since most of the classes consists of guest speakers and group discussions, I have not had too much interaction with specific members of the group on a more personal or small group level...with the exception of this current project.

I was paired with two people who are fantastic. They are well spoken, intelligent, motivated, passionate, and full of ideas. They are constantly asking questions as I sometimes struggle to just sort out the information that was presented. Now, rather than feeling like I am doing more than my share in an effort to compensate for others, I feel like they are having to compensate for me!

Bottom line...I am intimidated! 

I know that I am doing well in this program and I was selected for a reason, but up until this term, I was pretty much getting through it on my own which allowed me to to focus entirely on my learning, my understanding, and my work. Now that I am in class and working on a project with other members of the group, I have gone to this place of comparison and intimidation. I have started to doubt whether or not I have enough experience to be doing this now and whether or not I have a broad enough perspective on education to truly "get" everything that we are learning about. The group as a whole is pretty young, but I think I am the youngest. I feel like I am Elle Woods amidst the high brow elite of Harvard Law School. Everyone seems to be so sure and confident and they seem to know exactly where they are going with their ideas and research. I am feeling unsure and nervous that my skills and educational knowledge do not compare.

My group is working on a policy change paper involving the issue of high school dropouts. Both of my partners work in secondary/higher education which leaves me the resident non-expert on our topic. When we got together to discuss, they discussed programs I had never heard of and I had to ask for help in locating the proper resources for my part of the paper. I don't want to be this way, but I am in this self deprecating place where I am convincing myself that I am not as worthy a member of our team as they are. I am frustrated that despite many compliments from others about my technologically enhanced role in the class that I can still feel so small in comparison to my larger than life superstar colleagues.

Despite these feelings that I am trying to shake, I am realizing that working with people who have entirely different experiences than I have does not diminish me and the path I have taken, rather it provides me with a fabulous opportunity to learn from them and gather knowledge in many different areas. I don't claim to be an expert in anything, yet if we were doing a project involving students with special needs, ELL students, or elementary aged students, I would have tons to share. I am intimidated because I don't know everything they know, but that is the point.


We learn from people who know what we don't. 

Maybe in this situation I am not the one getting to help someone else make learning gains and fantastic realizations, but that's okay.

Most often it is the situations that make us feel most uncomfortable that truly stretch our character and help us come out stronger on the other end. I have felt confused, uninformed, and overwhelmed at various point during this class, yet I will guarantee that when I am all done with my program it will stand out as one of the classes in which I learned the most. Policy and politics are not areas in which I know a lot, yet through taking this course, I have really broadened my perspective on education as whole and I am happy about that.

I am happy with the final result of the piece I have written and I am sure my team members will be too. I am tired of my main focus being on feelings of inferiority because it doesn't get me anywhere.  Recognizing that when something is difficult it means I am learning and broadening my understanding is more in alignment with the person and educator I want to be.

Do you compare yourself to others?

Cocktail Anyone?!

Today was a rough day.

Remember when I shared that I was in the process of making a tough decision and have been under a lot of stress recently? Well today, that all came to a head.

As you may know, I have been working on my doctorate here in Germany. I have a wonderful advisor/professor who has been helping me to stay afloat in my program by means of skyping and completing the coursework as independent study. The program basically has three phases which consist of core work, electives/specialty courses, and the dissertation. I have been working somewhat out of order because I am supposed to be doing core courses this year, but I have been fulfilling the requirements for electives and my curriculum & instruction courses instead due to the fact that I am in Germany. I was really hopeful that based on the success of my remote work during my first year, that I would be able to complete the core courses from Germany as well. I was wrong.

There are 5 courses that I need to be in Portland to take and those courses need to be completed before I can move forward in the program. Do you see where this is going?

I am going back to Portland for a bit.

Not right away, but I will return in August to complete these courses beginning in the fall term of 2010. My husband is staying in Germany. Can you see why I have been so stressed out?! My husband is probably the most supportive person I will ever meet. He was the one who encouraged me to even apply for the program because I thought I would never get accepted. He is amazingly supportive of all the time I spend reading and writing papers and he continues to be supportive of this decision. We made it together and he is happy that I am going after what I want. Of course I will miss him, but we both know that this period of being away from one another is not forever and that we have many many more years to grow old together once I am Dr. T. :0)

The lucky part of this is that I am on a leave of absence from my job in Portland right now. If I return for next school year, I am guaranteed a full time teaching position, which is hard to come by these days in that area. I will not get to return to my same first grade position or at my same school necessarily, but I will be sure to have a position in the district. Knowing that I will have a job makes it a lot easier and makes it more pertinent that this hiatus from Germany takes place starting next year or else I would not have a job to go back to.

The hardest part about this was that I had to tell people here...administrators, co-workers, and the toughest--my friends. I love Germany. I am having a wonderful time living here and I am enjoying my job a lot. I feel like I just started and I had to share the news today that I will be leaving and won't be back next school year. Not only did I have to tell the director, but also the principal, my department head, and my closest friends. Not fun. And I had to do this in rapid succession because news travels fast in our school community and I couldn't bear the thought that people would get wind of it before I shared in person.  I have only ever been on the receiving end of a breakup, but I feel like today I was the "dumper" over and over. This decision came completely out of the blue--for them and for me. It is not something I planned on AT ALL. I could tell that each person I told was really surprised and also upset that I will be leaving. Even though I feel in my heart that this is the right thing to do for me, I feel a lot of guilt about leaving. My HOD was especially upset and it was not at all easy to see the emotions that came out at the thought of not having me around. She was very supportive and completely understood my desire to see this program through, but at the same time, she is not at all happy to see me go. It is a big relief that the news is out there now and I am glad to be sharing it with you all because I know my bloggy friends are always chock full of kind words and support.

I am excited at the idea of returning to Portland and seeing my co-workers and friends that I am missing a lot right now. It will be an exciting adventure and it will get me that much closer to my goal of obtaining my doctorate. I am also excited at the thought of having my own class again! It would be great to teach first grade again, yet my experience here in Germany has given me the confidence to teach any grade level and I would love to be placed with any age group at this point. I see the benefits of each grade level and now have experience with grades 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8.

I am also excited for the point at which I come back to Germany and rejoin my friends here and hopefully rejoin the staff at my current school. I am happy to feel the stress slip away because this big secret is out in the open and is no longer something completely eating away at me.

I am really surprised that no one has told me I am crazy so far. Everyone in my family and John's family has been really really supportive and excited for me. I guess I am really embracing this whole life is an adventure mentality. I feel like I have grown up a lot since John first mentioned the prospect of moving here because I know I am strong enough to handle the hard work and the difficulty of being apart from my husband that are headed my way. Instead of balking at this challenge, I am heading straight for it.

So, to conclude my day of stress, I had some chocolate and bought myself new markers.

Office supplies can always soothe my soul....

And I may need a cocktail!

The Power of the List

I have a secret.

I have this amazing ability to be aimlessly, utterly unproductive. I'm talking still wearing pajamas and haven't brushed my hair at 5:00 unproductive. Usually that occurs on Fridays because I don't work on Fridays. I can sleep in and do what I want because I don't have anywhere to be. Despite the fact that it seems near impossible to not get in a workout and get lots of stuff accomplished on a day when I don't work....it happens.

I started to get really bothered by my lack of motivation and the increasing number of Fridays that passed without getting anything accomplished. I felt like I was wasting precious days of having the apartment to myself, yet not doing anything remotely useful.

I decided I need an intervention.

Enter: the list.

Making a list has this incredible power over me because I crave the satisfaction of passing my permanent black sharpie over an item that I have completed. I go so far as to write "extra" things on the list, like make the bed & shower,  just so I can have more to cross off. Those kinds of things should be a given, yet it feels so good to cross them off when they're done.

Yesterday I made a list of all things I wanted to get accomplished which included grocery shopping, returning bottles and getting more water from the beverage store, reading a an incredibly long and boring chapter in my text for homework, working out, taking out the trash,  cleaning the bathrooms, and doing laundry. Whew! Lots of things to get done, but I crossed off each and every one! It felt so good to have a productive day and I give all the credit to my little list.

It sucks to feel disorganized and unroductive.

It feels great to look at a list with every item crossed off, knowing that the laundry is clean folded and put away, that the fridge is full of groceries, the apartment is clean, the toilets have been scrubbed, the homework is done, my body has worked hard, and I can look back at my day and know that it was not a waste.

I love the power of the list.

Grades are in...

10762 CI 514 002 MULTICUL & URBAN ED Institutional (PSU) A

17237 CI 605 0 R&C: ISSUES IN ED Institutional (PSU) A

17238 CI 607 0 SEM: LEADERSHIP IN CI Institutional (PSU) A

14938 LIB 533 118 GLOBAL LITERATURE: K-12 Cont Ed-Education A

Woot! Woot!

advice?

I just talked with my advisor on skype and we discussed which courses I will be taking next term. I am going to do 3 courses (11 credits). He teaches two of the courses and I want to take one more that is a WEB course and completely online. My first two choices for the WEB course were a no go. The class called American Culture was restricted and the class on Minorities was full already. Boo!

So I am left with two more choices:

Teaching Struggling Adolescent Readers

or

Literacy Instruction for ELL students K-12

I can't decide and I definitely don't want to do both because it's expensive and 11 credits is definitely enough.

Since I am now working with several older students who are struggling readers, I feel like that course would be very applicable to my current job. The drawback is that it is more aligned with SPED and not necessarily so much with culture or multicultural education which I am trying to focus on.

The other course on teaching reading to ELL's is more applicable to my program and my overall course of study. The drawback to that one though, is that I did a whole ESOL endorsement already and I am not sure if it will really introduce a lot of new knowledge and ideas.

I am leaning towards the class geared towards middle and high school struggling readers because it is different than other classes I have taken and I have always taken classes focused on elementary students rather than older students. I think it would be good to take a class that only focuses on older students.

Which class do you think I should take?

school is expensive

I just found out that I have an outstanding balance of $41 on my school account even though my tuition for fall term was paid in full three months ago. I called the Accounts Receivable office to ask them why there was a hold on my account (preventing me from registering for winter term) and why there is an outstanding charge in the amount of $41 after I already paid.

Apparently, this is a new charge, documented as a "Rec Center fee" which students now have to pay each term to subsidize the new buildings that are being constructed on campus.

I didn't sign up for that.

I definitely understand the need for suitable learning environments, but that will be an additional $164 a year that I have to pay on top of the already costly tuition. I guess it's just a bitter pill to swallow because at this point, I am not even setting foot on campus because of my remote learning situation. hmph!

I guess it's a necessary evil..paying for the upkeep of the campus, but for some reason I feel like that money should not come out of my pocket or any students' pockets.

Here in Germany, university is free. Well, there are some nominal costs involved, but it's not at all like handing over several thousand dollars every few months.

Doesn't it make a lot more sense for learning to be free!?

***

On a different note:

I worked in my friend's 7th Grade English class today and she was using a great writing strategy she just learned about at a conference for international schools in Hamburg last week. The acronym STAR is used to help students in the revision process. This teacher used a piece of chart paper with the letters S T A R written across the top, each with its own column underneath.

The letters in STAR stand for

Substitute/Replace

Take out

Add

Rearrange

When I came in, they had already been working on this strategy and had listed different examples under each category. The goal is for students to get rid of boring useless words that don't serve a true purpose in their writing and add vibrant, significant language that is powerful and has an impact on making their writing meaningful and entertaining.

She had also written on the board:

Rule #1

Don't fall in love with your first draft.

This strategy comes from a book called Teaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly Gallagher. I only know what I saw/learned today, but it seems like a great strategy that I would enjoy learning more about. It is really important for writers to understand the value in editing, revising, and working on a piece of writing until it is ready for publishing.

productive weekend!

I am happy to report that my 20 pager is complete! I spent a lot of time yesterday finishing it up and I have to say I think it came out pretty good. It's really difficult to write research papers that include so much of what other people have thought and said. I can write from my own perspective all day, but when it comes to rephrasing very smart things said by other people, I am often hard pressed to make it sound better than how it was phrased before.

I still have some final editing to do, but the drafting stage is done and that is the hardest part! I started out trying to cheat the margins a little (yep, I'll admit it!) but by the end of my writing, I had enough even with 1" margins. I don't think my teacher is going to be super picky about that, but I had a little bit of guilt over using bigger margins just to make the paper longer. I always teased my husband about that when he was in grad school because he would write headings that included 5 lines of information that was totally unnecessary just to make the paper longer. He would write his name, the teacher's name, the course name, the date, the assignment name...Then when he finally started the paper the first line would be about a third of the way down the page. Silly boy!

I still have two more assignments to do to finish out this quarter, but neither is that awful. The biggest is the unit plan for 10 global picture books with a common theme, but the maximum page allowance is 6, so I am not too scared of that. I already have the books and the theme, so I just need to make the annotated bibliography, and write up a few lesson ideas and goals as if I were using the books in a unit. I will post my list of books because some of them are pretty cute.

Now that my paper stress is over, I am off to the gym!

PaperPaperPaper

Nothing much to say today besides that I am trying hard to get my 20 page research paper completed this weekend. I have a little over 13 pages done at this point, which is good, but I am struggling to find the motivation to do the rest. I am getting anxious about the thought of turning it because I heard from other students in the program that they always thought they were good writers until the began the doctoral program. Apparently, they really give your stuff a beating in order to demonstrate the high standards of academic work at this level.

Fun times.

It's hard to just turn something in without having any feedback along the way. I have spoken to my advisor about the topic, but he has not checked in on the written part at all. I guess my best is all I can offer and if I end up with not great feedback, I still have plenty of program time left to improve.

The paper is due the first week in December (can you believe that is next week already!?) but I am hoping to turn it in at the end of the week as opposed to the beginning. That is just satiating my stressed mind right now because that gives me 7 days instead of 3.

Blogging is so much easier than research papers!

Global Literature Week 8

I love this week's theme for my Global Literature Class. We are reading different versions of Cinderella from around the world. So fun! There are tons of versions and I wish I could read them all. Unfortunately the school library had none of the options, so I had to order a few from amazon.com. I got Yeh Shen: A Cinderella Story from China and The Korean Cinderella. We are supposed to read three different versions, but the library did have one called Rough Faced Girl which is a Native American version that my teacher said I could use even though technically that is multicultural literature and not global literature. I was even thinking that children in the classes I am working with just might have some of these different versions since they are from many different countries. It would be fun to ask them to tell me the versions they know!

Excerpt

I am working on finishing up my cultural autobiography for my multicultural education course. This is the kind of paper I love writing because I get to use my own voice rather than a "professional/technical/graduate student voice." I have written 17 pages which speak to my life experiences and speak from my heart. The end of the paper relates my cultural understanding to the implications on my teaching.

Here is an excerpt:

Throughout my first three years of teaching, I was provided adopted curriculums for reading and math, which I used as Gospel. My understanding was that the adopted curriculum was what I needed to teach; therefore I taught it with fidelity. During my first year, especially, I found that blue scripted print in the teachers’ manual to be very helpful. I followed each lesson in succession, yet I often felt uninspired because the material I was teaching was not “mine” and I did not have a sense of true ownership of the words that I spoke. Each time I had the opportunity to invest more of myself into the lessons, adding my creativity, and drawing from my own experiences and connections, I became a better teacher. If the same notion is applied to students, it becomes vibrantly clear why some students fail to become invested in their learning. Given the use of streamlined curriculum packages that are designed to meet the needs of the standards, rather than the students, we can hardly expect students from diverse backgrounds to flourish in their role as learners when the content does not sufficiently pertain to who they are. Just as I sometimes felt like a shell of the teacher I had the potential to be if only I could put more of myself into my teaching, surely students could explode to reach a whole new potential given ideas, concepts, and lessons made meaningful to them. The consequences of such curriculum use are twofold. Firstly, if teachers are not reflecting true passion for the scripted curriculum, that lack of passion will be evident and transferred to students. Also, if the curriculum does not draw upon students’ own life experiences, cultures, languages, and backgrounds, surely they will not be as enthused and motivated as they would be if those aspects were incorporated. If teachers incorporate who the students are into the lessons, based on authentic knowledge and relationships with those students and their families, I believe students will rise to the occasion in their role just as I can in mine.

Ok, this part of the paper is a little more "professional voice-ish" than others, but as I was writing it, I thought that it was a piece I wanted to share with my blog readers.

I am always thinking about you guys!

I am really interested in what experiences other teachers have and whether or not my thoughts are consistent with those of other teachers or way off base.

As always, I will eagerly await your comments!

for the love of dorkiness

Today I worked on my research for one of my doctoral papers and I got immense enjoyment out of the organizational scheme I came up with. So if you can handle the dorkiness that is about to ensue, please read on.

You might find this helpful or you might find this sickening...

I started with a huge stack of book and articles on multicultural education.

Disclaimer: I have a serious problem/obsession ordering books from amazon.de with my amazon prime shipping.

It's getting ugly.

As I read, (I have been working on getting through these texts for quite some time now), I used this handidandy highlighter, which doubles as a sticky flag dispenser.

Whoever invented that was a super smartypants!

Today, I went through the documents and typed up the important quotes/ideas that I highlighted which I think will be good to include in my paper. I typed them into a word document formatted with 2" X 4" labels and then printed them out. For each quote, I included the author's name at the bottom and/or the other researcher(s) that were being quoted and the page number from the original source. I will have to go and locate primary sources, so it's important to write down all that good stuff.

how do you like that quote teacher friends??

Once they were printed out, I cut them apart and sorted them by theme, which will become the different sub sections of my paper. You might be thinking that labels are expensive, which they are, and that using labels is a waste, which is probably is. I wanted to use index cards, but I didn't have any. I suppose I could have run on down to the grocery store, but I had to be home to receive my package from amazon.de. ( I know...it's a problem....but if I am not home, then I have to walk all the way to the post office the next day to get my book and that definitely puts a damper on the awesomeness of the overnight delivery) I also figured it would be easier, and faster, to type the quotes rather than write them out by hand. I also liked the fact that I could stick the labels onto something rather than having loose cards.

Once I got the labels cut and sorted, I stuck them onto file folders and labeled the folders with the appropriate theme or idea that corresponded with the quotes and will correspond with the sections of the paper.

Now I have 4 colorful folders that each contain information for a different section of the paper. When I being the actual writing process, I will not need to keep flipping through various articles hunting for the information and quotes that I need because it's all nice

and organized in my folders.

Ta-Da!

So if you made it to the end of this post without gagging, then hopefully you are like me in that you appreciate a good organizational, timesaving system.

Thoughts?

It's a good thing I heart reading!

It's also a good thing I have this week off for fall break because I have been getting lots of work done for my courses. Yes, I am the quintessential overachiever and I am getting some work done ahead of time, but considering I am starting a new job next week, which is no longer only 3 hours a day, and time is flying by as always, I don't want to be freaking out come the end of the quarter when all my papers/assignments are due. One of the great things about this whole "independent study" doctoral stuff is that I have one big assignment for each course due at the end of the term. I am expected to keep up with readings, a lot of reading, which is why I say it's a good thing I heart reading, but as far as actual "assignments" they are not weekly. I check in via skype with my advisor once every other week and I join certain segments of his classes via skype as well, but I am on my own for the rest.

I am following the syllabi (is that the correct plural of syllabus?) for the weekly readings, but there are no weekly assignments gradually building to the final paper. Nothing to assist me in keeping on schedule, yet considering I often have to read an entire book or 3-4 long chapters from a text in a single week plus a short novel for Global Literature, it is very easy to neglect the larger written assignments! I am completely responsible for my own success or failure in this endeavor because at this level, it is expected that I can figure it out and take care of business! I think I am doing fine, but the point is I am really happy to find that everything I have to read is really interesting to me, so it doesn't feel tedious and I am really thankful to have had the last few days to really crack down on moving forward with my long projects.

I have to write a 20 page cultural autobiography (I am 9 pages in and it has been really fun to write so far because it's basically a narrative in my own voice, not an "academic voice" about my life. Who doesn't like to talk/write about themself?!) and I have to write a 20 page paper on an issue in education as well as put together an annotated bibliography of my sources which means I have to critically evaluate/explain each source rather than just listing it. Fun times!

I want to share a piece of what I read last night. A little background is that I am studying a lot about multicultural education which will probably be the general area of study for my dissertation. This is an excerp from Affirming Diversity by Sonia Nieto & Patty Bode.

"The lesson for teachers and schools is that contrary to conventional wisdom and practice, it is not students and their familes who must always do the accommodating. The misguided belief in one-way accommodation explains the tendency among educators to view unsuccessful students as either genetically inferior or culturally deprived. When students do not automatically accommodate to the school (or other) system, their intelligence or ability or that of their families or communities is questioned. The perspective of mutual accommodation allows schools and teachers to use the resources all students already have to work toward academic success. In this model, neither the students nor the teacher expects complete accommodation. Rather they work together, using the best strategies at the disposition of each. In the process of mutual accommodation, teachers and students are equally enriched. Using students' languages, identities, and experiences as the basis for student learning might mean that teachers have to expand their own repertoires of teaching. Doing so is an advantage for everyone."

Everything that I am reading seems to be woven together, but this really ties into the idea of critical pedagogy that I have been reading about in Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The relationship between the student and the teacher should reflect a reciprocity in which the teacher learns from the student in addition to helping the student learn.

Seems ideal, of course, that we can use students' backgrounds to help them learn, yet with research based, "canned," curriculums that many of us have to use, this become a bigger challenge! I have been thinking lately how frustrating it is that we cannot just teach. Just plan our own lessons rather than getting a script from a manual. I get lost in this world of fantasy about what my ideal classroom would be like, but then I get frustrated because there are constraints on what creativity and innovation we can bring to the classroom depending on expectations for fidelity in implementing programs. I am also reading Black Ants and Buddhists, written by a first/second grade teacher, which is about how she weaves cultural awareness and critical thinking into amazing units for her students. She mentions community volunteers speaking to her students, amazing field trips, letter writing activities and a mixture of innovative and creative lessons, but I can't help but wonder when she does all this. This year is a bit different, but in my previous three years teaching first grade, there was no extra time to go above and beyond the adopted programs and we were expected to follow the programs.

rock.hard place.hello

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Global Literature Week 5

This week's theme for my Global Literature course is Biography/Non-fiction. Below are the book choices. The only one from the list that my library has is Zlata's Diary, so I am going to read that one. It is the story of a ten-year-old Croatian girl's firsthand account of the changes she witnesses as her country slides into war and chaos from 1992-1996 during the Bosnian War.

Global Literature Week 4

This weeks reading theme for Global Lit. is War, Violence, Prejudice & Death. Sounds fun, huh? But the reality is that so many groups have experienced these four things throughout history, so there are many important stories to tell. The school library has The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ( I have seen that movie, so I already know the story), The Other Side of Truth, and Milkweed. I am thinking about reading Milkweed which is the story told through the eyes of a likeable orphan about the streets of a Nazi-occupied Warsaw ghetto.