Bird By Bird

I just finished the reading in Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and I have to say I think it caused a bit of anxiety in me.  That woman comes off a little neurotic for sure.  Still, I can somewhat relate to some of the things she is saying.  Although I don't know why anyone would ever want to write after listening to her.

Still, some of her points are very valid and her advice is sound.  I think this reading is important in the context of teaching literacy because I think some students get so worked up over what to write or get overly concerned about getting everything right that they can't write at all.  I think we need to teach students  how to write by teaching them to enjoy writing and not think of it as a daunting task to be performed to meet certain ends.  If we place too much emphasis on spelling, punctuation and other semantics of writing we will be increasing childrens anxiety of writing and clearly that is counter productive to the creative process.

In some sick way, Lamott's book makes me want to pick up recreational writing again (not that it is something I have time for at the moment).  I am curious to try her strategies as I have experienced many of the same struggles.  Even sitting down to write this blog is a challenge each week because I know it's accessible to anyone and I have a much harder time then when I am writing a journal for the professor's eyes only.

I've got nothing creative ;)

I want to start my blog out this week by addressing the ROC article.  Thinking about racism and sexism has been prominent in my education here as a undergrad at UWB, especially in the courses I took for my ed minor.  This kind of critical thinking is not new to me but it is something I still grapple with.  I want to expose my kids to fair and diverse materials that represent a multitude of people in a positive light but I am overwhelmed by the many considerations that go into such an undertaking.  Whenever I read something about the prominent racism and/or sexism in media I am familiar with and had not previously noticed I feel discouraged.  I question whether I am fit to be making the decisions on what materials to bring into the classroom or teach.  For example, I read an article a while back addressing the issue of stereotyping in Disney movies.  Now I get how the princess movies can be sexist, that much is obvious but the Lion King as a racist movie?  It makes me wonder if people are just apt to over analyze things these days or if there really is something there and I just am to blinded by my white privilege?  On the other side of the coin, does everything have to fit these guidelines?  Can we never use materials that have a white, male protagonist for fear of reinforcing stereotypes?  I know they will see an abundance of this in the media they are exposed to at home so it probably wouldn't be a bad thing to over emphasize minority groups in the classroom but there are some great classic stories out there and I would hate to  dismiss them.  I have to admit, if I have kids of my own someday they will probably watch Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty but maybe I'll balance it out with Mulan or something of that nature.  Maybe that's the answer, its just about learning to find the right balance.

And the introduction to phonics begins

I just finally finished the reading for the week and what can I say- I'm a bit overwhelmed.  I am fairly certain that I was not taught to read using phonics so it is pretty foreign to me.  I am thankful for Fox's book because she outlines everything in a very clear way and her activity suggestions are fantastic.  I've seen phonics being taught in the classroom but I've never really understood more than the very basic concepts like letter sounds.  There is so much to it and I kind of feel like I am learning to read all over again.  The hardest part for me will be the terminology they use like blending for instance.  I need to get these terms down so I can take better notes when I am working with kids on literacy.  I also feel the need to get all the different strategies down so I have all the tools in my belt to really help my students.  Like Fox so aptly puts it, "When you, the teacher, are familiar with the stages and understand the knowledge and abilities that underpin the use of strategies in the different stages, you can make decisions that will help children move from one stage to the next." (20).  I feel like I need to have all the terminology and strategies down immediately but I know that is unrealistic and it will come to me as I work with my students and utilize them daily.

My thoughts on video and blog

The video, Web 2.0... the web is us/ing us was pretty cool.  It really makes you think about how crazy all this technology is.  It really is seemingly limitless.  I knew a little about html back in the day but it is overall pretty confusing stuff.  I am thankful that we no longer need to be experts in it to publish stuff on the web.  The video highlights the importance of organizing information on the web and how it is everyone's job who publishes to the web.  I know I have a lot to learn but I find technology fascinating and love to play around with new things so I think I might just like this after I get over having to make a part of myself public- I have always been a very private person so it might take me a little while to adjust to this new tool.