Indy Teach: "The Skin That We Speak"

I'd like to blur the lines between black and white, right and wrong, standard and non-standard english. In my lesson I hope to deconstruct the negative connotations often associated with certain American dialects. There is a quiz that I'd like my students to take called "Do You Speak American?"

Another aspect of my indy teach will be to discuss things like "white privledge", language in the context of culture, and sociolinguistic identity.

Possible essential questions:

• What is standard english?

• How do we prepare students in the classroom for the professional world of "standard english" while still embracing cultural ties to non-standard english?

• What are the effects of "code switching"?

Red Pens

This teacher seems to be in need of a vacation. It was a real turn off when the author kept refering to "free time" as something to be considered when intensively grading students' papers. I don't doubt that the lack of free time is a serious reality for many teachers, however, it seems a bit unprofessional to continuously mention it in an academic essay. Maybe next time don't come off so jaded.

No one wants to receive a paper that's reflective of a crime scene. I get that. And for the most part I could relate to the feelings of being overwhelmed and defeated. Turned off to writing. It can't be easy to get a paper back that you poured good ideas into and see it marked to hell with that nasty red ink. What students need is positive feedback. The comments that explain what needs to be changed in order to make something grammatically correct. Comments that encourage a student's thoughtful insights. Content is what matters. What we are trying to teach them is how to explain things, how to put opinions on paper, how to tell a story. What they are saying is important; we can work out the details later.

resources online

Last night I spent some time trying to find helpful resources for open minded teachers such as ourselves. I shied away from the university sites and sites centered around selling something. Education World was significantly helpful regarding the various content areas, writing across the curriculum and integrating new technology.

I'm From a Hungry Home of God and Drugs

I am from the tire swing,
Flintstones vitamins and food stamps.
I'm from stuffed green peppers, mom's heavy musk
and hairspray. Barbie birthday cake and
a bunny named Brian.

I am the exhaust of a million cars rushing past,
tables dusted with drugs and a man saying,
"I'll shoot".
I am from a pounding on the door and
"It's only 28 days hunny".

I am from the onions I was forced to try,
the cookies stolen before dinner
and the best mashed potatoes you ever had.
I'm from jack-o-lanterns, "Where the Wild Things Are," and
footprints to be followed in the snow.

I'm from scared, sleepless nights
I was sure "Chucky" lay under my bed; to
fearless days playing pirates under the overpass.
I'm from curious, frog catching hands and eyes infatuated
with a beautiful mother.
I'm from wide eyes and a blonde pony tail thinking,
"I'm just a little girl; it's too hard to understand this yet."

Raising Writers

Nothing could be more important. Writing forces you to think a bit more critically about your personal experiences or insights. When you write you turn information into art. Along the way your story becomes like a child; you now have a responsibility to raise and produce something of value.
The best thing we can do is write what we know. In every paper, poem or essay I have always exposed myself in small doses. Christensen has the right idea in getting her students to open up their lives as they transform into writers. The read-around is a great technique that I could have only dreamed of for my high school. It seems to be an effective catalyst in blurring the boundaries of race, status and gender, but serious energy and persistence must be applied. When Christensen discusses the "class from hell" I am reminded of my own experience as a high school student. There were some grudges that God himself could not have broken. The read-around is a good tool, but may not be for the faint of heart or easily discouraged teacher.
My favorite section of this reading was the "I Am From" portion. Lyons' poem is so poignant and serves as an amazing ice breaker into poetry for these young students. It not only teaches them a writing technique, but it also opens the door to who they are. By revealing these memories, secrets and personal artifacts students share themselves and begin to understand one another. "Classroom life should, to the greatest extend possible, pre-figure the kind of democratic and just society we envision, and thus contribute to building that society."- Bigelow, Rethinking Our Classrooms: Teaching for Equity and Justice.

Writing

"Crafting a Life" was especially helpful to me, professionally and personally. I have been writing since I was five years old and for the past six months I have been banging the proverbial head against the wall. Murray said, "...In the act of exposure, writers discover themselves." This has been an undeniable truth for me. In writing I realize more accurately what I think and why. I sincerely appreciated his view that writing is "a celebration of loneliness" as much as it is an act rising from the condition.
The most helpful of Murray's suggestions was that writing is like a job. You cannot wait for inspiration, you must practice. It is a responsibility to ourselves. This suggestion in itself was inspiration for me to realize the dedication and love that are necessary to becoming a better writer.