Critical Literacy

Response to #2

Even though I am a science major, I decided to read the article about Anne Frank. It was enlightening to see their view on critical literacy. As I understood from the article, critical literacy is trying to understand a concept or story from more than perspective and not letting previous conceptions inhibit you from finding the truth. The article related three different versions of The Diary of Anne Frank, one written by Anne (without editing), one with editing by her father, and one from an institution. They said that each was presented in a different light. When you have more than one perspective, you are able to see a bigger picture. 

The article also talked about the preconceived notions of the students diminished the reality of the situation. They called it the Americanization of the story. In our schools it is taught, in most cases, that Anne Frank's story is a hopeful, optimistic one. The students don't associate the challenges of WWII and concentration camps, because they already know the story in some vague sense. They know that Anne was a happy girl and very optimistic. Since most students have already heard the story, it is hard to help them see another perspective. The article says it is a good idea to gain a sense of how much knowledge the students have prior to teaching the topic. 

Teaching critical literacy is important because the students can develop analyzing skills. It also opens their minds. They begin to accept that their current knowledge isn't always enough or correct. When they realize there is more, they have the capacity to learn and understand more. Some things that I plan on doing after reading this article, is to ask a lot of questions regarding the conception of the text. (Who wrote it, What were they like, what were the times like, Why did they write it, etc). I think giving context of who wrote the book and a little about their life sheds light on topic. 

I can do this in my field (science) too. The class I am in right now is a good example of that. We are studying famous scientists and their discoveries. We study a lot about who they are and what their lives are like and a little about the history of the times. It helps us understand what lead to the discoveries and why they were so miraculous at the time. 

I would also read and compare more than one account if possible. That would give them more than one perspective. Giving them more than one perspective gives them the choice of thinking another way instead of imprinting one opinion into them. Overall I felt that the article was beneficial. 

Teaching Philosphy

I decided to become a teacher because of my own educational experiences, both good and bad. After spending time comparing the classes that were most influential to me and the classes that I struggled the most, I have been able to learn how I learn best and how I can help others to learn in a way that is compatible for them. I often had teachers that made me think, “If I were a teacher, I would never do that” or “If I were a teacher, I would model my teaching after him/her”. I discovered that I learn better with visual aids and demonstrations. It took me a long time to figure that out. Sometimes I would feel unintelligent because I didn’t always understand or remember lectures. Now I know my way of learning better. I want to help students learn how to learn. I want to teach them according to their needs, like the teachers that touched me.

As a teacher, there are three things that are most important to me: 

1. To teach them how to learn
2. My relationship with each student is important 
3. Science is cool

For a lot of people school is just a game. They can learn the system and make it through with good grades. For others, the technique of school is more of a mystery. I want students to know that school is more than a check off list of things that need to get done. I don't want my students to just remember the information long enough to take a test on it, that's not what school is for. I want them to develop a way of thinking. I want them to feel the need to know more. I want students to retain the information. I am not talking about the details of subject, but the essential concepts. They need to leave knowing more than when they came, otherwise it was a waste. It is important to me to help them learn how to learn. It takes time, but they need to figure out what works for them. I want to give them my time and attention to help them become better learners.

It is important that the students know that I care about them as people. They are not just another person in a class of thirty, or grade on a paper. I want them all to succeed, so I will urge them to do their best, but their grade does not impact the way I see them. They are individuals with personalities and experiences to share. I will spend time trying to get to know them so that we can grow together.

Lastly, science is cool and I want to show them. They can directly interact with science, which makes it personal. I am going to be a physics teacher and there is so much to show them. There are demonstrations and projects that we can do to bring science to life. Students grow to love science through engaged meaningful lessons. They can get out of their chairs and experience it. I will work very hard to make sure that my students have the opportunity to be involved in the classroom so that it becomes a meaningful experience.

Three Links to Blogs (these are ones that were posted in 2012)

• http://blogs.goaj.org/gfraher/
• http://5s2012.edublogs.org/
• http://upps.global2.vic.edu.au/

Digital Text Reflection

I decided to make a whiteboard video. It was pretty user friendly and easy to learn. I chose it because I like watching videos where there is someone drawing on the whiteboard, while someone else talks. However, I didn't make it in relation to my content area. Since we were just playing around, I made it more fore amusement. 

I think that this digital text could be useful in the classroom because it gives the students the opportunity to be creative and apply it to their content area. For example, students can use these types of videos to give summaries of concepts in a way other than in a paragraph. They can draw it out like a diagram or create a dialogue. Either way they can personalize it and share with others. I thought it was pretty fun and I know they would too. You can find my short video here.

http://goanimate.com/videos/00Iut-FPJwiA?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=linkshare&utm_campaign=usercontent

There were a few things that stuck out to me from the reading. It starts out talking about how social media can give more people the opportunity to participate. People feel that they can contribute to something because they feel like they can connect with individuals. I think that is a great way to think of social media and science. Sometimes science is intimidating for people, but when you bring it to their level, they will be more willing to engage. They also said that teachers should fill the gap between in-class literacy and out-of-class literacy. Adolescence especially spend a lot of time online anyways. If we as teachers can give them educational resources at sites that they are already visiting, then we can expose them to more literacy than they even realize. For example, NASA has a twitter account. It is easy to get fun facts and it is right at their finger tips. It would be more fun for them.

I like that the tweets are linked to substantial articles and other artifacts that back up the statements. This is good because then the student will have access to more information when they are interested. I think it is a really smart idea for teachers to start using social media for educational purposes. We live in a different time, where a lot of time is spent online. Instead of resisting that in schools, it might be better to just embrace it. You will most likely have a better relationship with the students, but they will also engage more in learning.