"PERSUASIVE" Paper - Final

 

The best advice given to me in regards to teaching 9^th grade English in a depressed neighborhood came from a colleague who teetered between ‘burn out’ and ‘frustration’ from years of bureaucratic red tape that hindered her from seeing the students achieve the greatness she knew existed within them. Her guidance and counsel aided in my mental preparation for what lie ahead. She told me “If your students are prompt to their seats, the conversations over-heard are mutually respectful or smiles warm up even the coldest corner of the room, it is a safe bet that you are among a rare group of people that will, more then likely, make our job as an educator a bit easier. However, if you walk into the classroom and your students are standing on the desks, disrespecting one another with verbal assaults and snarls ring from the rafters, your job description as an educator just included that of ‘juvenile delinquent warden’ and you are in for a challenging year.” She went on to advise “If the later of the two presents itself, have a plan to regain control of your room by strategically combining a ‘shock and awe’ approach that will help maintain classroom focus as well as ‘out of the box’ antics that will ignite an acute interest in subjects the students may find less enthralling.”

As wise as my friend was, in that moment I was having a difficult time understanding “why” anyone would find it necessary to use a tactic that, according to encyclopedia.com was used by the military,  to “achieve rapid dominance over an adversary by the initial imposition of overwhelming force and firepower.” After all, these were just kids. Albeit most came from broken, unstable homes but they were children never the less. Still, she was a seasoned educator worth her weight in salt, so I made up my mind to do a little more research on instructors who opted to use ‘Shock and awe.” To my surprise, I found a few examples of teachers implementing a rapid dominance plan in their efforts to gain control of their classroom environment. One such illustration presented itself in “Stand and Deliver,” a movie based on a real life teacher, Mr. Escalante and the triumphs over social, physical and emotional challenges his students faced in their depressed neighborhood. On the first day of school, Escalante ‘shocks and awes’ his students by saying “There will be no free rides, no excuses. You already have two strikes against you: your name and your complexion. Because of those two strikes, there are some people in this world who will assume that you know less than you do. *Math* is the great equalizer...” I believe this direct and blunt  / shock and awe statement built an immediate report with the students because they knew he understood where they were coming from and although they were not sure in the moment, they knew, on a sub-conscious level that his ‘statement bomb’ was truth and in that truth, he earned their respect.

Another example that I happened upon was the story of LouAnne Johnson, a U.S. Marine (retired) who accepted a position as an educator in an underprivileged high school in California. On her first day teaching, she faced a class full of tough and aggressive teenagers who showed zero respect or interest in their new teacher despite her efforts to win them over in the traditional manner. Realizing she was not gaining favor among the students, LouAnne responded by returning to school the next day in street clothes rather then typical ‘business attire’ and proceeded to teach, unconventionally, karate. Her ‘Shock and Awe” approach worked, temporarily, because the students showed some interest in the activity, thus opening the door to the realization that said tactic could work on a grander scale provided she was able to hone in on the needs and wants of the students.

Upon reflection of the examples of ‘Shock and Awe,” I realized having this weapon in my mental arsenal would be a necessary tool should I ever need to grab the attention of students who were otherwise disengaged from the material I was presenting. However, it occurred to me that once I got their attention, I was going to need to keep said attention. Had it not been for my colleagues second suggestion on maintaining order, I may have wasted time fretting over my options, but she was right thus far with her ‘grab and go’ method, so perhaps there was credence in her ‘out of the box’ approach to retaining information. When I was in school, a common stance for teaching “required material” was the “Banking Method.”  The Banking Method is the process of passing on a cornucopias amount of data and trusting the student will regurgitate enough of the information to pass state standardized tests. As I do not subscribe to such application, “Out of the Box” thinking was a strategy I was very comfortable with, but would it fair well in an actual hostile classroom environment? Once again, I found myself seeking my references further experience to validate if such an approach may work and found that both Mr. Escalante and Mrs. Johnson coupled their personal ‘shock and awe’ with ‘out of the box thinking; and found great success.

Once Mr. Escalante addressed the social, economical and cultural biases with his students and shocked them into the idea of an alternative outcome to their futures, he determined the ‘out of the box’ approach best suited to his individual teaching style would be to speak a language the kids understood, slang and sarcasm. An example of his wit came when he was trying to explain negative numbers. A student, Raquel, posed the question “Can you have negative girlfriends?” To which Escalante replied “No, only negative boyfriends. Forgive us for we know not what we do.” By chiming in with, tongue in cheek sarcasm; he elicited a chuckle as well as admiration from his students. After time, the playful antics of bantering built a solid report between teacher and student, the end result, a group of student who sought to make their teacher proud. We know his approach was successful because his students went on to, not only take, but pass the AP Calculus exam and most went on to college. Something the majority of his students would have never done had he not thought, critically, out of the box.

Like Escalante, Johnson found a tool that she could use when the need for ‘out of the box’ thinking became an intricate part of maintaining focus. Desperate to reach the students, Mrs. Johnson exploited classroom exercises that taught similar principles to the prescribed work, but used themes and language that appealed to the streetwise students. By speaking to her students in the language they understood, and offering generous rewards such as candy bars and a field trip, Johnson was able to introduces the symbolism of poetry by show casing the works of Bob Dylan’s and Dylan Thomas, a subject no-one in the district would have assumed the students could ever comprehend let alone flourish in.

As a teacher in the new millennium, I have a plethora of examples from which I can pull from in an effort to engage, entertain and educate my students. In an ideal world, I will stand in the front of my classroom and captivate my audience and on their own accord, they will hear, understand and retain the breadth of information I am required to pass on. If I had my own way, I would be given free reign to creatively nourish the minds of tomorrows leaders without the bureaucracy of administrative red tape. But alas, I am a realist and I live in a society that thrives on ‘passing the buck’ with no regard to accountability to those any higher then the low man on the pole. Accordingly, my options are limited as to how far I can go in any one direction during the one hundred and ninety-six days of the academic year that I have the students. In the grand scheme of things, that is not a lot of time to hold court with an audience of adolescence, so quality of time is of the essence. Therefore, the advice given to me regarding maintaining order will not be in vein. I will implement the strategies of ‘shock and awe” to draw my students in and I will apply “out of the box thinking” to reinforce the material I am trying to pass on. Like Johnson and Escalante, my hope is that my students will find the desire to pursue higher education and perhaps, one day, find their way back to me with a report on how I made the difference between a good education and an excellent academic experience.




 

Work Cited

AMERICAN PROGRAM BUREAU. “LouAnne Johnson” APB Global Speaker

http://www.apbspeakers.com/speaker/louanne-johnson

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Shock and Awe." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 Nov. 2012 http://www.encyclopedia.com

LOUANNE JOHNSON. “My Posses Don’t Do Homework” New York: St. Martin’s, 1992

MENENDEZ, RAMON, “Stand and Deliver” Warner Home Video, 1998

PAULO FREIRE. “Pedagogy Of The Oppressed” New York: Continuum Books, 1993

http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/education/freire

ROMAGUERA, JOSE. “Dead Poets Society.” Connexions 12 June 2008 http://cnx.org/content/m16553/1.4

Children, Arts and DuBois

Creativity counts and for the child who does not find pleasure or confidence in the world of athletics, arts and humanities may very well be the trajectory forward a students needs to excel in a world that seems hell bent on harnessing brawn whilst secretly praying the brain wins out in the end.

The art programs being removed from our schools develop individual creative strengths and talents while giving them the confidence and problem-solving abilities they need to succeed in a challenging new century.

My personal observation is simple: Athletic departments in college pay big money for student athletes, but after college, said student usually does nothing in their chosen sports arena (as evident in the epidemic of obesity our nation is facing) whereas, the student who is lucky enough to be awarded an academic scholarship tends to be successful post graduation. Therefore, should it be understood that our priorities need to be rearranged? Perhaps if we start closing down athletic programs and building up humanities and arts, we may see a turn around in the tragedy that is our education system.

Boyce's Voice

So... I am not sure if the website http://www.shambhalasun.com isn't working or if I am doing something wrong, but I have not been able to watch the video assigned to us for homework. If anyone else is having an issue with the site, let me know and vice-verse... if you were able to watch the video, i would love to get an idea as to what the content is and what I can do to watch it cause like I said... I am having a bugger of a time trying to open up the video.

Handlin Our (unfinished) Bidness

I want to meet Geneva Smitherman! 

Never mind the fact that she tells it like it is (“We need to stop apologizing for the way things are and [help students] begin ..imagining the way things can be… to think…”) or the fact that she speaks a language her students understand (We just didn’t speak the same brand of English). No, never mind the fact that she saw an injustice in the system (she wasn’t allowed to teach Native Son) and decided to ‘go back to school’ to get her Ph.D. so she could become a superintendent and CHANGE the system… I want to meet this woman because she is a catalyst and advocate for THE KIDS! She  moved bureaucracy in her efforts to give the students what they need…the information to absorb and do with it as they will… and believe it or not… her plan worked because years after allowing her students a voice, they came back to her and articulated a proper THANK YOU…  When I grow up and finally find the courage to make a difference, I want to be like Geneva…

How Large's Idea may help students

From what I gathered regarding the Jerry Large article titled “Gift of grit, curiosity help kids succeed,” Large is basically writing a review of the book ““How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character” penned by author Paul Tough.

What I find amusing, if not out-right comical, is that Tough is a new father. Three years into the job and is professing to be an expert in the field of raising successful children by writing a book about character building and somehow correlates the affections (hugs and kisses) of a mother rat to that of the affections of a mother and her infant / adolescent children and how said affections will build strong character.

When my daughter was three, she was loving, tender and always happy. A place I am sure Mr. Tough is at with his own three year old. The fact that he and his wife have read ‘many books’ on the topic of child rearing is commendable, coupled with their wish for their child to be successful in their academics ranks right up there with what most parents want for their children, but a few books read and a parent of three years an expert does not one make.

When Large or Tough are grandparents, then I might listen to what they have to say about successful child-rearing. Tell then, I am not sure I would trust the man who thinks rat-kisses made up the good characteristics of a mouse.

Final: Thesis Driven Essey Comparative Paper Nov 10, 2012

One of the most controversial and emotionally driven concepts to explore in the world of education are the characteristics’ that make up ‘good’ teachers and according to much discussion within the English 101 classroom at Olympic College, most students agree that a ‘good’ teacher is an ‘effective’ educator. “Self-confidante,” “excellent communicator,” “compassionate” and “inspirational” are but a few of the characteristics discussed at length. All of which, undoubtedly have their merit, but for me, the most important aspects of a good teacher are the ability to identify a problem within the system, implement the necessary changes, and display a willingness to ‘get involved’ outside of the classroom by becoming an active advocate for the children within the class / school. Interestingly enough, I have encountered two educators in my life that I feel exude the ‘total package’ of what make a good teacher. One, Mrs. Kingsbury, I have had the privilege to ‘study under.’ While the other, Mr. Escalante, is the main character in a fact-based movie that I watched in class.

In 1978, I asked Mrs. Kingsbury what she thought she was to me and she replied, “My role is to inspire you to become the person you have yet to imagine for yourself. I will dare you to dream beyond the scope of your imagination and I won’t let you give into the temptation of giving up when the odds are not in your favor.” I can remember thinking that I had never heard anything more poetic. My next few thoughts were “what” “why” and “how.”  ‘What’ would I dare to imagine if I couldn’t read beautiful words? Yes, I was dyslexic. Ink on paper looked more like stagnate ants then identifiable words therefore ‘seeing’ with my imagination wasn’t much of an option. Then came the ‘why.’ Why did this woman care whether I could comprehend the hieroglyphics as they presented themselves? I mean, she was going to be paid whether or not I understood the lessons, right? Finally the how… How was she going to hold fast to the conviction of not letting me give up, when I was not convinced pushing through was an option? Little did I know, Mrs. Kingsbury had a passion for the under-dog and one of her pet projects was to impart her enthusiasm for learning onto her students. To do so, she figured out individual curriculums that melded the strengths around the area of weakness, thus creating a fusion of sorts that nurtured the brain until it was able to make the necessary adjustments conducive to comprehension. For her part, she developed a reading program that allowed students with dyslexia an opportunity to ‘hear’ the story aloud before ‘reading’ it so that the brain had an opportunity to process the letters in a way that aided comprehension through the disability. What this meant for me was an introduction to the world of imagination. I ‘heard’ the story she read aloud. I imagined every detail and formulated a motion picture in my mind that I could relate too. After I listened to all of her words, I was asked to read, aloud, the same text and if my words did not mirror what I already had envisioned, then I was asked to go back and re-read the material until it correlated with what I knew to be true. Just as Mrs. Kingsbury recognized and adopted a progressive method to overcoming a learning challenge, so too, did Mr. Escalante, although his challenge was more cultural bias then academic he handled the adversity in an equally, if not more so, impressive manor. There is a line in the movie where he says to his students “There will be no free rides, no excuses. You already have two strikes against you: your name and your complexion. Because of those two strikes, there are some people in this world who will assume that you know less than you do. *Math* is the great equalizer...” I believe this direct and blunt statement built an immediate report with the students because they knew he understood where they were coming from and although they were not sure in the moment, they knew that what he was offering was somehow going to be their ‘way out.’ Mr. Escalante went on to develop one of the largest and most successful Advanced Placement programs in the nation.

By taking action to implement the programs designed to assist students in progressing forward in their academics, both teachers chose to ‘get involved” and thus became advocates for ‘keeping the students in class.’ For Mrs. Kingsbury, this meant ‘off the clock home visits’ that allowed her to become part of the extended family. In doing so, she was able to address any ‘home challenges’ she may have stumbled across and by default, head off potential reasons why a child might side step or forgo their education. Her gentle, yet honest demeanor often times put the parents in a state of ease, thus allowing Mrs. Kingsbury an insight into the ‘need’ of the family to which she would frequently find ‘creative solutions’ to meet said needs. An example of her vested interest took place when a young man in one of her classes posed the possibility of dropping out of school to provide for his family. After she listened to the situation she was able to assist the family with immediate relief (food and one months rent) thus enabling the boy to refocus on his academics and not the worries of 'life.' Her problem solving skills and solution oriented approach gave credence therefore the end result was the students willingness to trust that solutions were abound.  Like Mrs. Kingsbury, Mr. Escalante also partook in the advocacy of students 'staying in school' by taking appropriate action when one of his students, Anna, faced outside pressures to ‘quit’ school due to hardship within the family business. According to an interview conducted in April 2012 by Jay Mathews, of the Los Angeles Times, the ‘real’ Anna is  a girl names Leticia Rodriguez and the dramatized version of Escalante confronting Anna's father, Mr. Rodriguez, was an actually event. As the interview detailed Leticia's recollection of her time with Mr. Escalante, Mathew's writes: “The [actual] confrontation was as dramatic as the movie [depicted]." Rodriguez continued "Women are just here to get married and have kids and that's all, her father told the teachers. She [Leticia] has to work.~ Escalante exploded with rage, threatening to turn him [Anna's father] in for violating child labor laws. The teachers left El Farolito [feeling] defeated. Only the next morning did they learn from Rodriguez, flashing a rare smile that her father had cut her work duties to two nights a week and promised to put a desk in the restaurant for her.” 

As you can see, both Mrs. Kingsbury and Mr. Escalante went ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ to encourage and inspire. They identified challenges, posed applicable solutions and followed through with their commitments to guide their students past adversities. These educators are an example of what every child deserves when they go to school each day and if we had more teachers like them, then perhaps George W. Bush’s now infamous coined phrase would hold merit… "Leave No Child Behind!" 

Footnote: Sadly in May 2010, Mr. Escalante succumbed to his battle with cancer and in August 2012, Mrs. Kingsbury passed away from natural causes, thus rendering neither available for further comments. The impact these two teachers have had on countless people is immeasurable and, unfortunately, we will never know how many more lives will be positively impacted because of their innovations, dedication and heroic efforts in becoming ‘great’ teachers.

Work Cited

Bush, George “Patriot Act” April 2005

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_w_bush

Mathews, Jay  “Lessons For A Lifetime”  LA Times

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/04/opinion/la-oe-mathews4-2010apr04 

Woo, Elaine “Obituaries” LA Times

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/31/local/la-me-jaime-escalante31-2010mar31  

“Stand and Deliver,”  Ramon Menendez    Warner Brothers, 1988, DVD

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094027/quotes

Freire and the Banking Methos

Am I the only one who got lost while reading Freire’s “The Banking Concept of Education” from Pedagogy of the Oppressed – Chapter 2?

When I first read the handout (four days ago) I thought I struggled with it because I had a horrid head-cold and sifting through the material was like trying to read hieroglyphics off the pyramids in Gaza without any working knowledge of what the pictures mean. So, imagine my surprise when I re-read the paper and still found it difficult to follow along with any real proficiency.  

From what I am able to intelligently piece together, Paulo Freire is an author, educator and advocate for liberation. He believed that children today (in the 1097's) have been force-fed information and data in the collective efforts to ‘fill the students with the contents of [his] narration – contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engenders them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become hollow, alienated and alienating verbosity.” In other words, the kids are being taught nothing more then facts and data with little or no real understanding as to ‘how’ or ‘why’ they need to ‘know’ the information.

If my understanding of what I read is correct, and Paulo was privy to the new state mandates regarding the increase in standardized tests to assess the aptitude of our youth, I believe he would probably roll over in his grave, shake his fists in the air and shout his disbelief and outrage at the atrocities that are a direct result of the ‘banking method.’

Compare / Contrast the Schools -

The setting in any story is crucial when conveying the over-all tone and message. Such is definitely true when comparing the Welton Academy and Garfield High School in the movies “Dead Poets Society” and “Stand and Deliver.”

Aesthetically speaking, Welton Academy is pleasing to the eye. Set in the posh mountains of Vermont, the architecture, framed by the beautiful landscape, offers an inviting and comfortable environment conducive to both a living and an educational experience.  One understands, immediately, the level of expectations of the residence and the students that frequent the school and it is evident that pride, commitment and an expectation to succeed wafts from every aspect of the location.  

In stark contrast to Welton Academy, Garfield High-School in East Los Angeles is dark, dirty and notably ‘shady,’ not just in physicality, but in character and resident. One immediately understands the level of expectation is that of ‘survival’ and not in the enrichment of the over-all academic experience. Comfort, physically, emotionally and mentally, eludes the students, faculty and community therefor stress becomes a companion that inhibits the over-all growth of the local participants. Therefore the location is not conducive to a proper, supportive and nurturing experience.

Compare Escalante and MacFarland

As far as teaching styles go, both Mr. Escalante and Mr. MacFarland had unwavering faith in the students they had the privilege of teaching. Yes, I said privilege and even though I did not have the opportunity to sit down with or interview the teachers, I can imagine their words of wisdom sound something like this:

It was an honor to witness first hand, the personal growth and development of each and every one of my students. They taught me more then I could have ever taught them because, no matter what life threw their way, THEY made the decision to push through. They are the hero’s, not me.

Again, my italicized comments are an assumption as to what the two teachers might say, but based on their characters, it seems like an accurate conclusion as to how I believe they would describe their experiences teaching the students in their lives.

In addition to shared ‘faith’, both teachers believed college was an attainable possibility for each student. To help them achieve the ambitious goal, Mr. Escalante became the driving force behind the concept of ‘hard work and dedication.’ While Mr. MacFarland went above-and-beyond the call of duty while assisting Rose with college applications and financial aid forms.

Both MacFarland and Escalante refused to take ‘NO’ for an answer. When challenges arose, they became like mack-trucks and bull dozed down the doors that blocked their passageways into a enough to reach out on the limb and grasp the possibilities that Escalante and MacFarland knew where there. brighter future. Escalante did so by challenging the school board while MacFarland took the ‘behind the scenes’ approach with the logistics and paperwork.

Over-all, I believe that both educators demonstrated their belief in their students and in doing so, their students felt it was safe

Stand and Deliver Part Two

In the beginning of the movie, Stand and Deliver, we are introduced to the main character, Mr. Escalante, who is a vested teacher into the progression of his calculus students. He understands the real hardships his students face and he empowers them to overcome said hardships through hard-work and rising to the occasion. His direct approach puts ‘control’ back into the hands of the students and he raises the level of expectations with no excuse for not meeting or beating the challenges that lay ahead (in personal life as well as in academics). His dedication comes at a price though and it causes one to ponder “what is a price ‘too high’ to pay when your’ chosen career is designed to impact the entire lifespan of a child?”

Escalante sacrifices the relationships with his wife, his children and even his own self when he exercises all of his times, energy and available resources to into the development of his students. The cost is a strain on his marriage, frustration from his son and ultimately, his physical self because he has a heart attack. By not following the doctors’ orders to rest and take it easy, he puts himself into long term harm’s way.

To further his ‘stress’ the state reviews the test results of his students college level calculus scores and sends an investigation committee to determine whether or not ‘cheating’ took place because all of his student (former slackers, dead-beats and youth with little expectation to succeed) pass.

As one could imaging, moral and esteem are challenged while tensions flare to boiling point for Mr. Escalante, the students and the administration departments at the school, but truth prevails and through a re-exam the state drops the charges of cheating and all of the students are able to move forward with honor.

Stand and Deliver Part 1 Oct 25 2012

     Don’t you just hate it when someone says something and for the next five minutes, repeats him or herself with the same point, just in a multitude of ways? I know I do and that’s why I will spare you the ‘movie review’ of a movie all of us are watching together. Because in all truthfulness, it’s my opinion, there’s not much more to add to the observations about the movie itself that our classmates are blogging about and, perhaps it’s the over-stressed mood I’m in right now, but I just don’t think I’ll offer any further ‘insight’ without sounding patronizing. However, that’s said, I will contribute my thoughts about the movie thus far and in doing so, perhaps ‘brainstorm’ some of the qualities I would like to compare in my up-coming Thesis driven paper.

     When following up on the first half of the movie with a little research on my own, I came across a review that eloquently summarized the plot and I don’t think I can write it out any clearer then Murray Chapman did when he wrote, “Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a Hispanic neighborhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods, help gang members and no-hopers pass the rigorous Advanced Placement exam in calculus.”  

     Through the use of creative solutions to varied challenges that arose for the students in his classes, Escalante build a level of trust with the students and in return, the students felt ‘safe’ enough to let their defenses (physical, emotional and mental) down. The end result was the student’s willingness to rise to the challenges set before them.

*** I responded to a fellow students blog regarding the 'contract' Mr. Escalante had his students sign. I read her post after I had written my own and I realized as I was responding  to her with something I truly felt about the beginning part of the movie so I wanted to add it to my own post. ***

"... You have made an interesting point when you brought up the ‘contract’ that Mr. Escalante drew up for his math students to sign. I think that putting his words, expectations and consequences down in written form, he left little room for 'excuses’ and a lot of room for ‘potential.’

He knew and understood that these young adults all had one thing in common and that was: they all felt like their ‘power’ was always being taken from them. Someone was always dictating the outcome of their lives and by offering them something they could control, he was offering the world, but it had to be the students choice otherwise, he knew what he offered to them was little more then lip-service. By signing the form, they took responsibility for their: classwork, education, extra-curriculum activities, input into their educational experience and in the end, their futures.

He empowered his students to make a choice and then to follow through with that decision, regardless of what challenges may arise. He outlined and detailed what his expectations were and then left it in the hands of those who he had enough faith in to make a decision they would benefit from for the rest of their lives."

Lorde Post

    

I think that author Audre Lorde presented an excellent account of her experiences in “From Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” as a child with ‘special needs’ and the interactions with the ‘teachers’ upon her path who were there to both teach academics as well as life lessons.

One particular teacher who had a negative impact on the developing child was her Kindergarten teacher.  A woman who had a very ‘toe the line’ approach to teaching and who squished the creative license a child may take as they experience pride in expanding their intellectual mind.  In the example Audre gave, she was excited to write her full name out and the teacher found very little tolerance for the accelerated ambitions and scolded the child for progressing faster than her tutelage.

Lorde continued to share her experiences about teachers being frustrated with her for her inability to focus or stay on task, but there was one thing in particular that struck me in my core was the kindred relationship she struck with the amazing librarian who took time out of the day to read stories to her. Just like Audre Lorde, I found a lifelong love for books when a total stranger introduced me to the world of imagination. Through her patients and creative use of character voices as she read aloud, I learned to listen to a voice, not my own, but one that might mirror my thoughts, challenge my beliefs and even carry me away into a world I could never have dreamt existed had it not been for words.

What makes a good teacher / TED and Educational System Oct 22, 2012

   

    

     I took my time responding to the TED video because I really wanted a moment with the subject to ponder what it is that 'I' feel on the matter. Since it's been a quarter of a century since I sat behind the desk of a high school class room and I have very few 'active memories' as to what my 'pros' and 'cons' were in those moments, I beg forgiveness, before hand, for my aloofness on the subject. It isn't that I don't care; on the contrary, I just don't have much in the way of comparison, so having an opinion, at this moment, is strictly that... an opinion and has very little merit to substantiate my thoughts one way or the other.

     That said, I found the TED video very entertaining and somewhat enlightening. From what I understand, based on former President George W. Bush’s active program to “Leave No Child Behind” it appears that we, as a country, are focusing the teachings of academics to a sub-standard test and not to the strengths of our children. This is detrimental and a recipe for disaster since we take away the creativity of our future generations not to mention, give away our nations secrets by allowing ALL children access to the information we build our national defenses upon.

     I feel, programs that encourage ‘out of the box’ critical thinking enhances future problem solving skills that could very well ‘save us all’ in a post apocalyptic environment, or as I like to call it… life with teenaged daughters…

     In regards to what I believe makes a good teacher… hmmmmm… well, I guess that depends. Of course there are the typical standardized answers” Patients, Kindness, Compassion or Dedication, but, do those qualities truly make up a ‘good teacher?’ I’m on the fence with this question because sometimes, good teachers know when to be ‘bad’ in the efforts of driving a point or maybe even going out on a limb to provide the proverbial ‘tough love’ needed to guide a student in the right direction. A good teacher might know when to bend the rules in an effort to build a repartee with a student as well as when to tow the line for those that may need a strict regiment conducive to their learning style. Then again, a good teacher should know and understand all of the above, adapt to the child and overcome any challenge in their efforts to usher in a breadth of knowledge each and every child is entitles to.  

     I will keep you up-dated as my views change on the subject matter. Until then, remember your three “R’s”… Rest, Recount and Really Try Hard in ALL you do!

Educational Narrative Final Thoughts Oct 18, 2012

What is the main point of your paper?

     The main point of my Educational Narrative paper is to pass on a very important 'life lesson' that I learned about not letting emotions dictate the outcome of any given situation.

What is the main idea that you want your readers to come away with?

     I would like for my readers to come away with a better understanding that in any given situation, taking a moment to seperate what your logical brain is telling you and what your emotional knee jerk are often times not one in the same.

Expansion to a paragraph in Educational Narrative Paper- Oct 2012

 "I was astonished at the clarity in Kelsey’s re-telling of the tragic scenario. At the same time, I marveled in the fact that she recognized the presence of 'angelic beings' sent there to help her and that my Moms wisdom grounded her enough to follow the golden rule of letting “Logic Dictate Emotion.’ In doing so, it very well may have saved her life."   ~ excerpt from Education Narrative Paper

This weeks assignment is to clarify or detail further, a thought or paragraph in our Educational Narrative paper. I chose this paragraph because I wanted to expand on my daughter’s recollection of angelic beings being with her when the car hit the semi-truck and then rolled into the median. _________________________________________________________________________________

Throughout my life, I have heard many people share their stories about seeing 'visions of angelic beings' during a traumatic event. Thousands upon tens of thousands of people who prevail after a 'near death' event have reported seeing a 'bright and loving light' to which they felt compelled to 'go towards' and the Bible itself describes the experiences of people who saw 'beings' after said personage has crossed over to the Celestial Kingdom. Therefore it is no surprise that my curiosity was peaked when Kelsey stepped lightly into implication that she may have experienced such a phenomena and I could not help myself from probing further this topic. To my astonishment, my daughter was more then willing to share the details to which I sat in wonderment and awe as she proceeded to recant the ordeal.

"... The 30 minutes or so before the accident, all of the girls in the car (myself included) opted to turn the radio off because the topic of faith came up and we wanted no distractions as we explored the personal relationships we all have with Jesus Christ. Even though we all follow a different denomination, we had identical and exact relationships with the one we called 'our Savior.' Amanda, the girl who sat behind me referred to a verse in the Book of Mathew and she quoted "when two or more are gathered in his name, his presence will be felt.' I remember thinking 'How beautiful' because truly, in that moment, I FELT the Spirit and just knew, in my gut, that the Lord was with us in the car. It seemed like a split second later, I was being tossed around the cab of the car like a rag doll, yet I still felt like I was not alone. The moment before my head went through the window, with no explanation available, I felt like someone put a pillow to the side of my face. This feeling turned out to be a good thing because, the next thing I remember was that the window I sat next to shattered and for all intent and purpose, my head was outside [the window.] 

I don't really remember the car flipping [twice] through the air or it landing upside down in the median. But I do recall hearing a dismembered voice coaching me, telling me that it was 'imperative' that the car be turned off because there is gas being spilled and there was a risk of an explosion. I didn't panic, I just followed the instruction given and told Rachel [the driver] to try her best to reach the key and turn off the ignition. I could hear her struggling, but somehow, she managed to do as I asked and the car was turned off. After that, I closed my eyes again and I heard the voice giving me more direction. This time, I was asked to wriggle myself out of what was supposed to be my window. My logical brain was telling me there would be no way for my body to squeeze through this extremely small opening, but the voice told me not to worry cause a way would be provided for, I just had to trust enough to not think to much about it. So, I followed direction and, even though I was upside down and belted into the seat, I somehow managed to make my way out. 

It was as though everything was in happening in slow motion. I saw people, bystander’s, running towards me. I heard, what sounded like dull and distant noises, but could not make out definitive sound and, in all honesty, I don’t think I was even in my body. I felt like I was floating or something. But that voice, the one that kept talking me through everything was ever so present and if it had not been, I am not sure I would have made the decision to stay on this Earth.”

My heart nearly stopped beating when I heard those words…. “I am not sure I would have made the decision to stay on this Earth.” ~ Did this mean Kelsey was on the verge of a life changing decision? Was Kelsey given a spiritual choice as to whether or not it was ‘her time?’ … My mind was racing and I continued to listen, with baited breath as she continued to detail the moments after the accident.

“Anyway, back to the voice, it told me I needed to go to the driver’s side of the car and bring comfort to the girl who was still pinned.  I wasn’t exactly sure what I was being asked to do, after all, a 3000 pound car was on top of her, but I followed instruction and made my way to the ground where she lay and I reached for her hand. She wasn’t moving, wasn’t saying anything and in my heart, I wasn’t 100% positive she was even alive, but I was not being asked to analyze the situation. I was being asked to bring comfort. So, I did the only thing I could think to do and that was to pray.

I prayed for a miracle, strength, peace. I prayed for guidance and for help but most of all, I prayed for each girl to find comfort in knowing that because ‘Two or more were gathered in His Name, He was present.’

I opened my eyes a moment later and it was like a dream. There were seven total strangers lifting up the car. I was still holding tight to Rachel’s hand when someone reached in the mangled mess and dragged her out. As soon as the sun light hit her face, she opened her eyes. I know I am not a mother, but I could only imagine what a mom feels the moment a new life is delivered unto her hands, because in that moment, the one where she [Rachel] opened her eyes, I KNEW beyond any shadow of doubt, that I was witnessing the birth, well.. rebirth, of a near and dear friend.

As you can imagine, by the time she was finished with her own testimony, I was all but sobbing. I had a taste of something even greater then the miracle I had prayed for, because, as I was seeing it unfold, from her perspective, I realized that the little girl I was blessed to bring into this Earth was a little girl no more. In her place stood an amazing woman that had enough strength and courage to not only listen to guidance from beyond, but also carry out the instructions to a “T” and in doing so, changed the course of her own destiny.

The Difference Between Malcolm X and Ben Franklins Difference and SimilaritiesAutobiography Papers

 

The Differences and Similarities Between Malcolm X and Ben Franklin’s Autobiography Papers

        Benjamin Franklin wrote in the language of the time. He spoke and wrote in an Old English text and for those of us in the new millennium, it is a language all but dead, therefore it is difficult to read and comprehend in its fluidity. However, had we been born and educated some one hundred years earlier, I believe his written texts would have been received with elegance and grace. Even in a foreign tongue, Franklin had an approach to writing that hand-held the reader through his thought process. An example of this is Franklin’s quote, “Under him I acquired fair writing pretty soon, but failed in the arithmetic’s, and made no progress in it.” Whereas, he could have simply stated that he learned to write but didn’t find arithmetic’s as easy, he took it upon himself to clarify that he not only failed at mathematics but made no progress in it what-so-ever.

     In stark contrast to Franklin’s writing style, Malcolm X wrote a language easier to follow and his ‘tone’ seemed a little more raw. Where Franklin hand held, Malcolm assumed the reader had a certain comprehension level that gave credence to street smarts without diminishing those who understood better from an educated point of view. In other words, Malcolm X spoke to the heart of a person and Franklin spoke to the logic of a man. 

     Both Malcolm X and Benjamin Franklin were driven men and in their efforts of connecting with their target audience, they shared their experiences with the reader. I believe this was an honest effort to show that what they wrote had credence because of the merit behind the actions. It would be difficult to accept someone’s opinion if they had no previous experience to back up what they spout. IE: It would be difficult to accept Malcolm X’s viewpoint of slavery being an atrocity if we found out that he was, himself, a slave owner who mistreated his property. 

     In addition to both men trying to find a connection with their audience through the sharing of an experience, Malcolm and Franklin wrote in a voice of their time. A man from the early 1800 would fair little with an understanding of our current verbiage just as a man of today fairs little with the text of yesteryear

What I liked most about Malcolm X - Oct. 11, 2012

What did I enjoy or like best regarding Malcolm X?

     In truthfulness, prior to this class, I knew nothing about Mr. Malcolm Little, aka, Malcolm X so to read about his successes was rather startling. Most young men who turn to the lifestyle of hustling and gangbanging at an early age will seldom amount to anything more then the societal perception of low-life. To the credit of Malcolm Little though, he realized, albeit in prison, that to command a room takes more then quick talk and tricks. To truly ‘be heard,’ one must make sense and demand the right kind of respect. 

     To accomplish his goal of ‘commanding a room,’ Malcolm implemented an approach to learning that I have, myself, utilized. He wrote everything in the dictionary on tablet paper and then, aloud, read what he wrote. This is a combination of tactile and audio learning and, like, I mentioned earlier, it is my preferred method of learning.

     Before he even realized it, time had passed by and he was reading everything that had words such as novels, history books, philosophy and theology. He spent hours and hours educating himself and found that he was very much attracted to the philosophies taught by Elijah Muhammad as well as the injustice and brutality bestowed upon the black men, women and children during the era of slavery. He understood the importance of passing on what he knew in order to educate other African Americans and in so much as a blink of the eye, he did. He became a predominate figure in our history as America.

     To say that I admire his appetite for reading and learning is probably a gross understatement. I too have a deep seeded need to expand my horizons and I hunger for all things academic. My first love and passion has always been theology. I believe this came from an experience I had a small child where I literally stumbled upon a recently murdered man, in an alleyway, on Halloween. I was not more then 10 years old and it had such an impact on my perception of life and death that I never ‘let it go.’ Therefore, I spent nearly every waking minutes pondering what happened to and where did a person go after they expelled their last breath. Picture if you can, a child of 12 quizzing every respected religious leader in the community about their understanding of what happens to the soul upon departing the physical body.

     By the time I was 15, I had read the Torah, The Koran, the Bible and the New Age version of Gnosticism. I was fluid in nearly every argument there was for “Life after death,’ ‘Near death experiences,’ and ‘the existence of Angelic and Personage Beings,’

I was even a firm believer of some people having a special and unique ability to “see” the “Other Side.” (Please do not mistake that for people who are ‘psychic’ or who are ‘gypsies.’)

     I graduated high school when I was 16 and had very little doubt as to what I would pursue in college. Bare in mind, I have never had the desire to pursue a career in religion, as in, becoming a minister or evangelical crusader running full force to ‘save the world.’ That said, I knew I had gone as far as I could ‘on m own’ in regards the perspectives on death so the only logical choice then, was to move forward in academia with my favorite subject.

     So, in conclusion, I can relate to Malcolm X. I know the feeling of a burning need for ‘more’ and I know what it feels like to realize that sometimes, greatness can be thrust upon you and you have to decide whether or not you will ‘represent’ in a positive light, or a street savvy, albeit gangsta like, negative way.

Mike Rose - I Just Wanna Be Average Blog Assignment

1)

Mike Rose is the victim of his own circumstance. He was born in an era that didn’t focus on the potential of EVERY child so much as the focus that every child can do manual and remedial labor. To that, expectations never ran high and education was not a luxury one could afford elsewise. Add to the mix that his parents were immigrants with little or no pro-active support to his academics and the fact that teachers and staff were over worked, underappreciated or just plain old warn out and you have a recipe for low self-esteem and drive in the field of advanced academics.  

Fortunately, my personal experiences in school have never been as detrimental as Rose’s. I loved learning. I loved socializing and I loved each opportunity my education afforded me. My parents put an emphasis on the opportunities one could have with learned direction and they often played an intricate part in my class selections and after-school activities as a means of ‘showing me the way.’ Now, that said, I did bear witness to the discrimination some of my peers experienced when it became evident that they did not have outside support and the teacher became frustrated with the never ending challenge of motivating the unmotivated.

I do believe that Mike Rose expressed himself quiet well as he described his peers, the surroundings and the intensity of his situation. For that, I would like to try and use such detail in my Narrative paper.

2)

Just as kids today have advanced classes and programs such as TEAM, there are classes and programs set up to assist the student who has some sort of learning disability. In the past, people had horrid names for such programs and they carried with them the stigma that the child was ‘dumb,’ ‘stupid’ or ‘incapable.’ Being placed in such a class injured a child self-esteem and had the potential of extinguishing the fire with in the students belly.  Mike over-came some of his challenges by developing ‘short-cuts’ or ‘magic tricks’ to see him through the class. He would later go on to state that he regretted such an act, as it truly did hinder his later attempts at furthering his education.

What I am attracted to Mike’s honest approach. He is very candid with his story telling and the truth that only he can relate is relevant.

3)

Ken Harvey ran full speed into a solid brick wall. He went into the high school behind the 8-ball and just couldn’t seem to catch up. This was the direct link as to why he hated the academic experience. What breaks my heart is that: far too many students experience some sort of negative situation that shapes and molds their outlook towards a class environment or the educational experience as a whole. In retrospect though… finding kindred spirits and people who have similar likes and dislikes does help one get through the day in a classroom, tutorial or other means of confinement in academia.

4)

For me, going back to college in my 40’s has been extremely disorienting. The stark contrast between me and those around me are more than physically obvious. I don’t only standout as the ‘more seasoned’ student, but I don’t use the same verbiage in conversation, I don’t understand some of the drama the others deem ‘life changing’ and I don’t have the luxury of, what I presume to be as, wasting time. My days are crammed full with obligations that someone half my age wouldn’t necessarily have.  That said, I have found some of my peers to be a breadth of information and if asked in the right manor, they have been more than willing to step up and be a beacon of light for me to gravitate to. Thus far, my method of coping has been to just ‘jump in.’ In other words, I don’t care about what anyone else thinks. I am here for me and the opinions of others cannot and will not hinder me from achieving my goals. I cope with the strain and stress by focusing on my long term vision and know that these short months are just a stepping stone to finding fulfillment once I become an empty nester (which is right around the corner for me.)

How I am using my blog to move towards Paper #1

My blog is keeping me focused and on task. By using it daily for the assignments, I am forced to focus on a bigger picture and the fact that I am on a time constaint. By following some of my peers papers that I have attached to my blog, I am able to better understand my tartget audience and with that knowledge, I am able to curbtail my writing into an appropriate format. My hope is that this will assist me finding common threads in my 'writting voice' and therefore, 'connect' with my audience on more then just the basic level of reading and comprehending.

Education Narrative

            Christa Baesler

English 101

Educational Narrative

Logic Dictates Emotion

 Recently, I faced a life-altering situation that had me reevaluate my priorities and perspectives on the relationships I have in my life. I would like to say that my experience was pleasant and full of warm and fuzzies, but lessons ‘truly’ learned are seldom soft and sweet. In fact, it is my understanding that the tougher the experience, the more you remember the details and hence the lasting impression or, as I like to put it… ‘The lesson learned.’

On Sept. 29, 2012, my 18-year-old daughter, Kelsey, was in route from Spokane to the Tri-Cities. Eastern Washington is notorious for gusty winds that are fully capable of tugging or pulling a motor vehicle back and forth on the road. Such is the case in the accident that almost took the life of my child.

The automobile she was in proceeded to pass a semi-truck, a gust of wind pushed the vehicle towards the median. The driver tried to correct the small car and in doing so, struck the semi-truck. (They were moving approximately 70 miles per hour.) My daughter, who sat in the passenger front seat, hit the window with her face, shattering the glass. A split second after the initial impact with the 18-wheeler, the car rolled twice into the median and came to rest, upside down in a clearing between the two lanes of the highway. 

The accident happened at 4:00pm. At 4:12pm, notification came from a total stranger who happened to be on scene and, by the Grace of God, had the sense to open Kelsey’s phone and look for “Mom’s Number.”  Seeing the caller ID as ‘Daughter #1’, I answered the phone and in all truthfulness, I thought it was a prank call, telling me of the quick and edited version of an accident that had just happened. But the tone in the woman’s voice convinced me to the seriousness of the situation. A moment or so of gathering vital information, such as where the paramedics were taking my daughter and the fact that she was breathing on her own accord, I was off the cell. It took me all of 5 seconds to pull myself together and then formulate a plan of action. First thing was first; I needed to tell my husband about the call. Allowing him his moment of ‘freak out’ and then letting logic dictate our emotions, we worked out the quick details of where we needed to go, how we were going to get there and who we needed to contact. On an emotional level, my two worst fears were coming into fruition. First, the call every parent dreads “There’s been an unfortunate accident,” and second, that my child was all alone, scared and fighting for her life while I am ‘out of range.’ The idea that Kelsey was 5 hours away and alone haunted me, but I knew I had to remain calm and focused, or in a haste, we would not get to her in the projected 5 hours we knew it would take to travel the near 300 miles.  

I can honestly tell you that the drive east was, to say the least, the longest drive of my life. Every ‘worse-case scenario’ crept into my consciousness and it took all of my might and energy to not give into the temptation of a meltdown.  However, then I remembered something my Mom used to tell me and it brought such comfort and calmness to my mental state. Call it an educational moment for life, for it is this particular lesson that I embraced during one of the darkest hours of my life and in doing so, came out the other side with a new appreciation for life, love and the wonderment of all the tiny miracles it took to keep my daughter alive after her ordeal.

“In life, you will experience two major phenomena; the first is always ‘emotion.’ That is the knee jerk reaction you have to any given situation. It could be joy, jubilation, fear, anger. It is whatever emotion you feel ‘in the moment.’ Once you have worked through the emotions, logic steps in and navigates you through so that the ‘end-result’ lines up with the best possible outcome or scenario.” ~ Gail Fleischmann

I realize this simplifies every experience one may have, but if you think about it, there is truth behind the basics. In the above situation, my emotion was panic, fear and a loss of control. But… after my moment of ‘emotion,’ logic dictated my actual course of action. I knew I had to proceed rationally in order to accomplish my immediate goal, that being the need to get to Spokane and to help my daughter.

It was 11:45pm when we arrived at the Sacred Heart Hospital where paramedics transported Kelsey after the accident. I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath for near 5 hours until the moment I saw my daughter, standing in the lobby, waiting for me to rescue her from her near fatal ordeal. At first glance, I was able to assess that, although she was cut up, bruised and emotionally shaken, there were no other major injuries visible to the naked eye. That was such a relief. After a long moment of just holding her in silence, Kelsey began to recant the events of the afternoon. Her story affected my mind, body and spirit because in her rendition of the events, as they unfolded, I heard firsthand the lessons my Mom passed on to me, especially when Kelsey said, “I knew I had to remove myself from the state of emotion in an effort to get out of the situation. If I had stayed in that place of fear and confusion, I would not have gotten out of the car. I would not have known what to do to bring calm to the other girls who were still pinned under / in the car and I would not have had the wits about me to remember my training in Athletic Medicine. I knew I had to access the situation, administer emergency first aid, be the voice of reason since the others were frantic and most of all, I knew I had to trust that Heavenly Father and the Angels were with me, guiding me in what I had to do and then assist me in doing it.  One thing I knew for certain was that the car rolled twice and the top of the car was severed from the body of the vehicle, therefore, inevitably, we all had head injuries and if we took one wrong step, anyone of us, myself included, could very easily not have walked away.”

I was astonished at the clarity in Kelsey’s re-telling of the tragic scenario. At the same time, I marveled in the fact that she recognized the presence of angelic beings sent there to help her and that my Moms wisdom grounded her enough to follow the golden rule of letting “Logic Dictate Emotion.’ In doing so, it very well may have saved her life.   

 By now, you’re probably wondering how the tale of Kelsey's experience translates into my educational experience and in all truthfulness, that is a fair question.  The easiest way for me to answer it is to say that I learned to trust 'Logic' as it 'Dictates Emotion,' that my hard-work as a parent has paid off because my daughter has put into practice what I have been teaching and the reward for my efforts has been collected in that I witnessed firsthand her application of my said teachings. My lesson learned is that in a crisis, my cooler head will prevail and I to have enough common sense to listen to that 'little voice' because I just might never know when said little voice is the guidance from a place far beyond the scope of my imagination~ a place called Heaven.