As I read through the chapter in “You Gotta BE the Book” I loved that Jeffrey D. Whilhelm used his experiences and research to help other aspiring teachers, and those already in the professional field. That throughout his reflective novel, he is able to use actual student accounts and his attempted research to allow the reader to understand his motifs. To him, a teacher-researcher is “a teacher who is consciously questioning, observing, theorizing, testing, adapting, and learning something every day in the classroom” which I love! (9). He understands the challenges that students present daily and yearly. Students don’t always want to read, or enjoy reading, and it is our job as English and Language Arts teachers to inspire and motivate. I liked his social contract on page thirteen that describes what his students should expect out of him as a teacher. Also, I enjoyed reading about his method of using Marilyn Manson to include a student into the daily discussions and assignments. He acknowledges that with this student, he began to realize that there were others that he let slip through the years without engaging them in the lessons like he had her. When I read though this part of the chapter, I began relating the out-casted student to others I remember in high school. Bobby, reserved in the classroom and passionate about music, found delight in doing a project about chivalry. We were supposed to compile evidence that he does or does not exist in our culture today and he decided to put together a CD with songs that supported that it does exist. This project allowed him to express his knowledge of music, while learning the importance of chivalry in our Shakespearean lesson. Wilhem’s inclusion of student journals and input really makes me want to read more about his experiences and use his book as a “mentor” while learning about the teaching specifics.
I think it is great that you can make connections between the text and something that you saw in high school. Do you have any ideas of different ways that you can allow students to come up with their own ideas but also being about to grade them the same way?
ReplyDeleteStudent journals are a fantastic way to get kids to start writing. It allows them to express different things that they might not normally advertise to everybody. You might be able to find suggestions of reading for your students by looking at their writing.
ReplyDeleteI find it is very important to connect to the students' interests just like the Marilyn Manson example you used. This can help students who do not like to read to have a connection and interest in reading. As a teacher, I would allow a non-reader student to pick a book or genre they enjoy. I feel as long as they are reading and pulling connections from a book they are achieving what I want them too. However, I would introduce other books and genres in the future.
ReplyDelete"As I read through the chapter in 'You Gotta BE the Book' I loved that Jeffrey D. Whilhelm used his experiences and research to help other aspiring teachers..."
ReplyDeleteI love your above excerpt. I think as teachers, we all need to help each other out. Students will challenge us each and every day; how to relate out content area to them will be even more of a challenge. So any help we can get as new teachers is great. In addition, I think once we are in the field for awhile and begin to develop creative and innovative ideas, we should share them with fellow colleagues and teachers. We don't all have to write a book like Wilhelm did; maybe just a blog will do!