Overall Class Reaction

I really didn't know what to expect when I signed up for this class. I was curious to see how things were going to be set up, and how we were going to learn about teaching literature to students. After taking 4790, I wasn't entirely out of the loop, but was very excited to see how that class can be tied into 4800.

I am so relieved that we went over the literary theories and got to know them much better in this class. Although I am no professional, I feel like I've scratched the surface of what can become a great learning experience for adolescents. Additionally, I have decided to keep all three of the texts we had for this course. I sat in my room looking through each of them trying to figure out which one I could live without. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that would not be useful for my in the future. It's definitely a good source to have but I won't be getting any money back in return for them. Oh well. I figured I would regret it later if I didn't take advantage of all the sources, activities, and information each of these books contained.

Overall, I feel this was a great experience for me as a near future educator. I glad this class was my last English course to take before my student teaching as well. This way, everything will be fresh and ready to use in the classroom I intern for.

Todd, you were also a great teacher. I like how you set up our classroom atmosphere and made it comfortable for everyone from day 1. You really treated us like professionals, and because of that we all were able to get as much out of your class as possible, and learn many new things to bring to the classroom.

The Giver presentation

I think this presentation went very well today. I thought our class discussion was very helpful and insightful to the novel, The Giver. This group's opening activity was very motivating and enabled the students to use their imagination. This is a great way to get students thinking about the novel and about their own perceptions of things as well.
My favorite part of the presentation was the Crossing the line activity. I was really intrigued when I first saw this done in the movie Freedom Writers. Actually doing this activity was fun and I felt a sense of connectedness with the rest of the class. I think this is a great way for students to open up to each other and to create a safe, comfortable, classroom atmosphere.
I also enjoyed the YouTube clip. The student who played out the ending to The Giver gave me hope for my future students to put just as much thought and effort into literature and the classroom.
Overall, this group's presentation helped me develop how I might want to teach this novel if given the opportunity in the future. I really liked the idea as a whole to provide the entire class with a Unit Plan to use when teaching each of the novels presented. These will serve as great resources for new teachers.

The Bell Jar Presentation

Throughout this project I found that we all learned from each other in different ways. I enjoyed working on this project as a group because it gave each of us a chance to work as a team and to gain different ideas from one another. Among the 5 of us, we all worked very well together and developed a concise, organized unit on this novel. I especially found the 5 different subtopics we taught to the class to be very useful and helpful in all aspects of our lesson. We touched on crucial parts of the novel that will enhance any student's knowledge and thinking when it comes to literature.
I am not sure I would really change much on the way we went about this project. I kind of felt this project snuck up on us, but we managed to put together a reliable unit plan on The Bell Jar. I think by each of us teaching different parts we wanted to discuss provided the class with variety, a chance to apply their knowledge, and discuss their own interpretations of the novel as well. Since our presentation included these three things I feel that our colleagues learned a lot on how to teach this novel as well as explore other aspects of the novel that may enhance their own learning as well.

Text Debriefing-Webb

I think Literature & Lives by Allen Webb is an enjoyable text. It is interesting to read and fun to read some of the experiences he had as a teacher. I think this is a great text for English 4800 because I think each student can find something useful within the book. It was not the average text that most students are used to here at WMU.
I like how we discussed each chapter in this book within the class period. I am not sure how you could do things differently but it would be cool to see that happen next semester for parts of it. I personally did not like the last chapter of the book. It was boring and didn't really close out the book too well. I was a little disappointed that we ended this book with that particular chapter.
I do not think I will be keeping this book as a resource for my teaching. I think Webb has some great insight in this book, although I think it mostly serves its purpose in an undergraduate class like this, instead of the actual teaching world. I will say that the only reason I would keep it is because of the chapter on Homelessness. I really enjoyed reading this chapter and I think it is a great theme to teach in a high school classroom setting.
Overall, great book for class, not so much to put on my book shelves in my own classroom.

Text Debriefing-Appleman

I think Appleman's book, Critical Encounters in High School English, is a tremendous and necessary book to use in this course. Without this text I do not think I would know as much as I do now about theory in the classroom. This is definitely a great resource for undergraduate students.
I like how we discussed the chapters in this book, although I wish we would have practiced using them more in the class session. This way it might have made us more comfortable going into teaching by having experience using them and implementing in specific activities. I think each chapter serves its own purpose. The deconstruction chapter is by far the most difficult chapter to discuss. Because of this I do not think a student should lead discussion on this chapter, but rather you as the instructor leading it instead.
I plan on keeping this book for reference for teaching. I think the classroom activities in the back of the book will be useful along with the chapters itself. The book is very reader friendly which allows the reader to find what they are looking for quickly.
Overall, this book was very useful and it gave me a good idea of literary theory. It will serve a great purpose if I forget what certain theories are or an idea of how to use them.

Text Debriefing-Wilhelm

Wilhelm's book, You Gotta Be the Book, is definitely a good text for English 4800. Having read this book this semester I feel like I learned a lot useful ideas for the classroom. I was not familiar with the term "Reader Response" up until this course and I now doing my final project on this theory. It is very reader friendly and quick read.
I think each chapter serves a significant purpose for any individual seeking an English Education degree. I like how the author provides real life stories within the book instead of writing a book with facts and boring text. It made the book interesting to read and I learned a lot from it as well.
I am considering keeping this book as a resource for me to use throughout my teaching. I think it serves as a great reminder of things to use in the classroom and how we can use it as teachers. Even if I do not keep the book, I think this book is definitely something I can look back on and remember key concepts.

Webb-Chapter 7

After reading Webb's chapter on testimonial and autoethnography, I found it an interesting approach and somewhat outside the norm of a traditional English classroom. I'm used to reading mostly about different novels and the theories behind each. Instead, I see varieties of novels that can be looked at through a testimonial or autoethnography way.
Webb states, "In my experience, teaching testimonial narratives leads students to ask challenging questions about the priorities of literature classes and their everyday schooling experiences" (137). Webb has had amazing responses throughout his teaching from students that we've been able to see throughout his book. Although this gives me hope for the future, I still want to know how he gets such thorough responses, especially using some of the novels that I did not read until college. As my internship soon approaches, and my career of teaching is right around the corner, I worry that although this is my ultimate goal as a teacher that I may never reach this mark. I want to be creative and touch on different aspects of literature like autoethnography and testimonials, but I feel that because the way I have been taught that these things will be overlooked based on the curriculum I am to go by. So how to I allow myself to break free of these barriers and incorporate things like this into my classroom in order to enhance the knowledge of my students, and enable them to leave my classroom with an honest learning experience? I think what Webb has done a great job throughout this entire book and has additionally been inspiring and amazing. I hope I can have the kind of impact he has had on his students along with the variety of experiences he has encountered that has made him a better teacher because of it as well. Overall, testimonials, autoethnography are only the gist of what I am interested in using from this text by Webb. I plan on saving this text and using it as a resource to guide me into become a great educator who teaches many young lives the meaning of literature and how to incorporate literature into one's own life.

Appleman-Chapter 4

I really enjoyed Webb's chapter on youth violence. This topic does not seem to be a top priority in most situations but rather lightly touched upon. As a future educator, I see more and more various issues with education. For instance, the Virginia Tech shootings, Columbine, teachers having sexual intercourse with their students, and even some close to home (Loy Norrix drive by shooting in spring 2007). I can't help but wonder how that impacts me and my safety, as well as my students safety. The fact that our society has become so unpredictable and capable of so many destructive things causing people to feel unsafe in an educational setting is surreal to me. How did our society get like this? How has education gone from a place of worth and learning to a place where every students' safety can be at risk? I worry for my own sake, my students sake, and for my future children's sake. If schools are becoming this violent now, how are schools going to be 10 years from now? 15 years? 20 years? 100 years? Scary huh?
Webb presented many novels that allow different perspectives on the media. The Giver, Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit, and Anthem. In high school, I read only one of these novels (The Giver) and cannot remember that at any given time this book was ever taught to me with a emphasis of learning perspective. I wish I had these experiences, like many I have come across in Webb's book, and I see teaching as my destiny. By this I mean I get the opportunity to teach kids things that were never taught to me and because of it may have impacted my way of learning. Hopefully by incorporating this type of learning in the classroom will generate a way of thinking and a sense of understanding for every student I come across.

Appleman-Chapter 8

After reading Appleman's chapter on Critical Encounters: Reading the World, I find that critical encounters and theory go quite well together. Specifically, I agree with Appleman where she states on page 138, "Critical encounters with theory help students and teachers re-evaluate what counts as knowing in the literature classroom. Contemporary literary theory helps students reshape their knowledge of texts, of themselves, and of the worlds in which both reside." Critical encounters and theory mesh well together in a sense that it enables not just students, but teachers as well understand literature. These two combined also allow people, especially students, to see things in society in a different light and from different perspectives. Since critical encounters and theory allow such things, students and teachers will have an adventurous and knowledgeable experience with literature and with each other.
Additionally, I really like the journal entries on multiple perspectives from various students. The entry I found to be most meaningful is the very first entry on page 142: "Every person sees things a little differently, through different eyes, and while it is not unusual for different people to look at the same thing differently, sometimes the same person can also look from different perspectives. The latter is aided by the use of critical lenses which help a reader to focus on different issues in the same book." This student's response, to me, defines perfectly what multiple perspectives entails. This student appears to have a thorough understanding of perspective which obviously came from great teachings from his/her instructor. I hope I can accomplish and teach to my students about theory and perspective that these students have learned and achieved understanding from as well.

Appleman-Chapter 7

After reading Appleman's chapter 7 on Poststructuralist, I was quite intrigued by Martha's story. I find it relieving to know that a teacher who at one time was teaching by the book (text-centered), was able to transition her classroom instruction by allowing change. Her change was to welcome literary theory into her classroom. Appleman states, "Theory can be especially powerful for those students who feel the most powerless, students whose performance in school, family background, or other factors put them on the margins of the academic and social life of the school" (125). Based on Appleman's statement here, I believe this can be a significant role literary theory can play in an individual's life. Throughout the chapter, Appleman also makes note of how literary theory can be useful outside of school and into real life.
Another quote Appleman states that I wish I could relate to is, "Literary theory may help students to "read" the factors that contribute to their status in school, may help them reflect on their own investment in learning, and may give them additional interpretive authority" (125). This quote really hit home with me and my experiences in high school. When I first declared my major at Western as English Education I was not prepared for what I was in for. I didn't know anything about literary theory (which I am no professional at now). I felt, compared to my colleagues, that my high school English education was taken from me. I felt steps behind everyone else who apparently had knowledge of theory in their high school classrooms. My point is that teachers need to better prepare their students for college. Using an aspect of literature like literary theory is not only beneficial for those pursuing English education, but also for those going to pursue their education in general. Learning literary theory forces you to think about what you are reading and how to think about literature in different ways and points of view. I wish I had this experience in English, not just because I am an English Ed major, but for the simple fact that I may have been more wiser now having learned it earlier.

Appleman-Chapter 6

After reading Appleman's chapter on deconstruction I am feeling a little uneasy about teaching it to students. For part of the chapter, Appleman explains how to use deconstruction, what it is, and approaches to using it; however, he then goes on to explain the dangers associated with deconstruction and adolescents. In particular, Appleman states that deconstruction, "teaches them to examine the very structure of the systems that oppress them and, in doing so, to intellectually dismantle them, thus making adolescents rebels with a cause" (106). I find this specific statement to be a good experience for students in the case that students can understand what deconstruction is and how to use it in literature. Appleman also places examples of student responses using deconstruction that I find will not be the results of every classroom.
I think that the use of deconstruction could be effective in an English classroom if the teacher uses a proper approach and the classroom environment is appropriate. If a class has bad chemistry, or has a hard time discussing literature in general, I do not think deconstruction would be effective. However, like in Appleman's chapter, he discusses the use the deconstruction in an AP English class where the student responses resulted very successfully. I am skeptical if the same results becoming of general education students. Maybe there is an approach to incorporating deconstruction into instruction without it being the entire focus?

Webb-Chapter 3

After reading Webb's chapter 3 on gender, I was a little disappointed. As always, I enjoy Webb's personal experiences within each chapter, however I didn't find this particular chapter very useful to me. I don't know if maybe it is because I have taken a Women in Literature course here at Western, or the fact that I am a female but I was not intrigued. I can relate to the fact that taking a course based on women in literature takes a different spin than the average literature course. Since it is based on women, the idea of gender roles, feminism, and women's rights issues do come about throughout discussion.
When it comes to teaching women in literature in the secondary schools I am definitely not against it. Although, I do think there should be a great deal of literature written by men as well. Basically, I want to find a happy medium within my classroom setting where the class can read a certain amount of literature by women, as well as a certain amount of literature written by men. This is allow students to see both sides of the spectrum from a woman's perspective as well as a man's perspective in writing.
As far as gay and lesbian studies go, I definitely want to promote this type of literature in my classroom as well (in a safe and comfortable manner that is). The way I feel about teaching women in literature, is exactly the way I feel about teaching gay and lesbian literature. It is a good learning experience and to have a healthy, diverse balance of homosexual themes in the classroom is something that can also be controversial, but a good education for many in the process.

Appleman-Chapter 5

When is comes to feminist theory, I agreed mostly with a particular quote that Appleman states in chapter 5.

"As students read and interpret literary text, feminist theory can help them to notice salient issues of gender--the portrayal of women in the world of the novel, the gender of the author and what relevance it may bear to how the work is both written and received, the ways in which the text embraces or confronts prevailing ideologies of how men and women are situated in the 'real world,' and the ways in which our own interpretations as individual reader are gendered" (Appleman, 76-77).

I think this particular statement in the chapter serves as a feminist theory mission statement when using it with young adolescent readers. Each thing that Appleman states as helpful when it comes to feminist theory creates different approaches and angles that can be done in an English classroom. Having this many approaches into feminist theory may be good to have for classroom environments that may not feel comfortable addressing each of these angles. However, it is good to touch base with each of these when reading a novel that displays feminist theory.

I really enjoyed Appleman's examples of student responses using a feminist perspective. Some of the conversations between the females in the class and the males in the class were quite intriguing. It was a bit of a reality check for me in terms of what issues and verbal attacks that can occur when discussing a theory like feminist theory. I think that allowing these conversations in the classroom, as long as they stay appropriate, is a great learning experience for both parties to gain perspective.

Since feminist theory can obviously become a controversial issue in the classroom, I think it is an important theory to teach in order for young adolescents to understand different points of view. This will then expand their horizons and allow each student to find deeper meanings in the text relating to the feminist theory.

Webb-Chapter 6

Webb's chapter 6 deals with issues of race in the classroom using an American literary classic Huckleberry Finn, as a prime example. Although the main focus is on this literary work, I want to touch base with something that really causes room for debate, which is the issue of censorship and teacher freedom. Instead of sitting here and preaching about all the reasons teachers should be able to do certain things, I am going to present Webb's specific quotes which I think speaks for most people who are opposed to censorship in the classroom.
The first point that I found the most inspiring is when Webb says, "Cultural studies teachers need to remind students, probably on the syllabus and on the first day of class, that controversial issues are part of the learning process, and they need to inform students that diverse points of view will be welcomed and explored" (109). Webb's point here is something for us future educators to keep in mind. By announcing this verbally and in writing for students will open up the doors for interpretation, perspective, and diversity. This way students will have a more comfortable atmosphere to learn in whereas with censorship, students may be alienated and/or isolated (walking on egg shells during classroom discussion).
The second point supports the previous quote by Webb where this may be a great suggestion for teachers to use during the school year to create a serious learning atmosphere for students and their families. "As a high school teacher, I found it useful to invite administrators, colleagues, and parents to my classroom to participate in the discussions my students and I were engaged in. These invitations helped create trust and freedom" (109). By doing this it may show these different groups of people that you as the instructor, are not going to portray and influence opinions on the students, but rather have a classroom setting where everyone can learn from one another and be comfortable with it in return.
The third point deals with self-censorship. Webb says, "self-censorship is probably more damaging to students than open censorship because it specifically avoids public discussion of the constitutional freedoms on which democracy is based" (110). This sentence as a whole, speaks for itself and a mission statement all of us should consider teaching by. We as educators need to uphold our rights as American citizens and condone that to our students as well. In doing so, our students will be more reluctant to have an open-mind and live their lives with independence and great knowledge of diversity.

Webb-Chapter 2

I was quite intrigued by Webb's chapter on homelessness. I was most inspired by his introductory story on the man he discusses in the beginning. I feel that because Webb came across a homeless man the way he did, that is inspired him to reflect and influence his own students to learn more about it from different angles. I really like the idea of teaching homelessness in the classroom, especially using some of the references Webb leaves for the readers throughout the chapter, as well as in the end. Some of these resources are things many people have heard of before, but have they ever really thought to base a unit around a theme like homelessness? I sure have not. The responses from his students in the beginning where some were unsure of homeless people, and a particular student who wanted to drop the class because he thought they would be learning "character, and plot", were interesting to read and even more exciting when Webb got "sharper" analytical papers after their findings and readings. Turns out most students were more interested than they perceived to be in the beginning.
One quote in particular is what I hope to be true above all when it comes to student responses in class, "If involvement with real-world issues and events developed consciousness, it also led to better written projects, extended and deepened reading, and provided a basis for passionate oral reports and intense class discussion" (20). This proves that having themes like homelessness create curiosity to young adolescents and in spite of their doubts, they may actually learn something and enjoy learning in the process. I hope to have this type of impact on my students in my own English classroom one day, where I can find the spot where each individual can find something we are doing in class to be useful and a great learning experience.

Appleman-Chapter 4

Chapter 4 discusses primarily the literary theory of Marxism. After completing the reading of this chapter I found 2 quotes or comments from the authors to be rather striking. The first one reads on pages 60,"In order for students to be able to understand themselves and each other, they need to be able to contextualize their knowledge in terms larger than themselves; in other words, they need to be able to place their own particular situations and the texts they read into a larger system or set of beliefs. It is for precisely this reason that the particular lens of Marxism can be useful". I found this to be quite interesting relating to the Marxism theory since I could not quite put my finger on exactly the purpose of Marxism. For students to go beyond their own personal situations like reader response, and to combine that with the text and form beliefs of their own appears to be quite productive and useful for students.
The second reads on page 72, "Some politically conservative communities may confuse the introduction of Marxist literary theory with the practice or indoctrination of communism, and teachers may receive negative reactions from parents, community members, administrators, and other teachers". This quote I found to be very irritating. I am so tired of hearing about all the things we cannot teach or things that are "risky" to teach in the classroom. I am also tired of trying to keep young adolescents so sheltered. By exposing them to things like Marxism and even GLBT themes within literary texts as well, allows students to become independent individuals, learn from other perspectives, and have their own voice instead of being influenced by everyone around them. Grrr...I say if we feel like teaching it, and it is relevant, teach it! After all it is our job to teach, and the students' job to learn.

p.s. I just went off on a tangent so hopefully that made some sort of sense.

MCTE Conference

When I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel in Lansing, I was immediately interested in what this conference had to offer. It was well organized, and filled with plenty of sessions for each time fragment. Kathy Blake Yancey opened the conference with a "Keynote Address" which I found was the perfect beginning to a English conference day. She was clever, witty, and had great metaphors for introducing English literature into the conference. However, Kathy was only the tip of the iceberg.
I was most excited to go to the sessions that I thought would be most interesting, and useful for me as an educator. The first one I went to was the session that provided advice for future teachers from new teachers. Jill VanAntwerp hosted this session and described to us how she went about developing this specific session for us most adequately. She conducted a study of teachers asking them a series of questions. The response from those questions were then advice for the audience. Jill had two sections which were "What Went Right" and "What Went Wrong". These two sections are responses from what new teachers have experienced as good things and bad things when they first began teaching. Some of the good things were, a nice room, great principal, wonderful mentor, great students, and a wonderful orientation. Some of the bad things were no room, no books, and no curriculum, which I found to be the most scary. Providing us as future educators, was a great preparation for what we may face in our first years as teachers.
The next session I thought would be most influential was teaching and implementing GLBT themes into the classroom community. I thought I needed to attend this session to get an idea of some approaches and books to read that have these types of themes. The two speakers, Susan Steffel and Laura Renzi-Keener, provided us with an Annotated Bibliography containing many novels and short stories dealing with homosexual themes for young adolescents. I appreciated this handout since many of them I have not heard of, although I may be interested in using in my classroom one day.
Overall, the conference was very influential and I believe it has made me feel less uneasy about stepping into the teaching world, and more excited than ever. It was a good experience that I feel anybody could learn to appreciate.

Webb-Chapter 5

Webb's chapter 5 relates to Shakespeare and other multicultural literature. In my perspective, Shakespeare is a very important genre to study throughout middle school and high school. Unfortunately, I was only exposed to Shakespeare in my 9th grade English class where we read the usual, Romeo and Juliet. I think most students are intimidated by reading Shakespeare seeing that the English language has dramatically changed since Shakespearean times. While reading Shakespeare, much emotion has to be displayed to get the full effect of the characters and themes of the text. I wish I had not been so resilient to read Shakespeare on my own growing up considering that it can be fun to read, and there are plenty of resources to guide anyone who is struggling with the language or overall comprehension. Webb states, "As with any of Shakespeare's plays, approaches such as reading the text in class, listening to recordings, viewing taped performances (of which there are many), and enacting scenes are necessary in order to help students of all levels appreciate Shakespeare's language and stagecraft" (87). Using all these approaches when teaching Shakespeare can significantly impact anyones comprehension and understanding Shakespeare and also make it fun.

Webb also discusses a few African American literature novels like, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. I was fortunate enough to read this novel in my African American Literature course about a year ago and I found it to be very interesting. I would like to say that veering away from the typical classic novels of American Literature was a nice change. It really broadens your horizons and exposes you to what different cultures are like. I think a novel like Things Fall Apart, can be used most definitely to influence, and teach young adolescents about different cultures they really do not have much knowledge about. As a near future English educator, I would sincerely enjoy teaching multicultural novels to my students. This way students have a higher chance of engaging in the readings since we can touch on several different cultures throughout literature.

Webb-Chapter 1

Throughout my reading of Webb's first chapter in Literature and Lives, I found that teaching a historical event like the Holocaust, would be an extraordinary unit to teach. I really found that some of his ideas that he displayed, especially the guest speaker, are things that students will find most interesting and educational. When Webb had Mrs. Golden come in I was astonished to hear about his students' reactions and interest in a old woman's experiences. I find that having events like these taking place in the classroom is beneficial and gives a different light, or perspective, for students to learn from.

Webb also discussed reader response and cultural studies. I am most familiar with reader response which we have touched base on over the past couple weeks; however, cultural studies is something new and interesting to bring to the classroom. Webb states, "cultural studies spurs us also to consider how the establishment of genres and disciplines has functioned historically" (8). English and History, unfortunately for me, go hand-in-hand. However, I find events like the Holocaust to be a great genre of study to bring into the English classroom where cultural studies and reader response can both be used by the students. There are many approaches to teaching the Holocaust with varieties of literature that could be a great experience for students to do in literature circles.

Additionally, the most useful information I got out of this chapter, is the many resources Webb leaves at the end of the chapter. He provides several genres and approaches to teaching the Holocaust which will be very useful to me if I were to ever teach a unit based on this historical event. I look forward to reading more in this book, as it seems to be a very reliable resource for new teachers.

Appleman-Chapter 3

In the beginning of chapter 3, Appleman discusses reader response and how it effects making meaning of literature when it becomes to individuals. On page 29 Appleman quotes Bonnycastle's work where he says, "If each of us only pays attention to the individual experience, the communal basis for the discipline will disappear and literature classes will have nothing to hold them together." I have to say I agree most definitely with this particular quotation because I can see many students losing focus of the actual text, and focusing more on how they have actually experienced something similar. I can see this causing many problems in the classroom where literature will become less important in the classroom atmosphere, and students like Leah in chapter 3, will use it as a venting session. However, I do feel that the teacher should have full control of reader response, and incorporating personal responses is not entirely wrong, but should not be the main focus of those responses.
Appleman then briefly discusses those who are uncomfortable with personal response. Again, although personal response is not the focus of a literature class, it does help in discussions, relating to the texts, understanding character perspectives, and so on. For those students who are uncomfortable with personal response may have trouble with this part of an English classroom. I feel that personal response should be an option in reader response since there are those students who are uncomfortable. Maybe instead of relating the texts to their own lives and experiences, they could relate it to our society. For example, if a character in a book is a young teenage girl who gets pregnant, comes from a broken home, does drugs, etc, we could ask students if they believe there are young teens in our society that can relate to these types of issues and they could expand off of that if they do not want to talk about themselves.
Overall, I like the discussion of personal reader response in the classroom. I gave me a good idea of what may happen if you allow too much leeway in personal response as well as considering those who may not feel comfortable doing them.