How I Met Your Mother-- All Caught Up!

Since my girlfriend and I started dating one another (about 6 months ago), we have worked very hard to watch the entire series of the CBS show How I Met Your Mother, starting with the first season. This past week, she and I finally completed our final disc of season 5. In addition, we have caught up to the series' current spot in it's currently running 6th season.

I'd have to say that my favorite episode thus far is the "Slapsgiving 2" episode, in which Marshall creates a website that counts down to the next time he will slap Barney and then sends him the link. In this episode, Barney spends his entire Thanksgiving paranoid that he will be slapped when he least expects it. Nonetheless, he is slapped exactly as he suspects, after Marshall delivers a lovely Thanksgiving speech.

Something else I love about this show is that CBS actually created a blog for Barney's character on their website. Barney's Blog corresponds with his antics throughout the individual episodes, and it adds depth to the show's credibility. This is an example of a legen.... wait for it.... dary form of multi-modal creative writing. This can easily be emulated in the classroom by asking students to choose a character from a story and design a daily blog based upon their characteristics from a story.

Stephen Koch's The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction

In Stephen Koch's The Modern Library Writer's Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction, one of the most fascinating statements that appealed to me said: "Style is a created, man-made thing, and yet it finally emerges as naturally as breathing. Or put in another way: To work, any style must seem "natural"- "natural" to you- and yet its "natural" voice or voices can be achieved only through effort and polish (114). This spoke to me as a student because I remember when I first wanted to write from a certain voice. When I wrote articles for my high school newspaper, I wanted to write like my favorite writer, Rick Reilly. However, as I was just beginning to write, I found myself frustrated about my skills as a stylistic writer. Although I could have been easily been discouraged, I practiced, and with practice, I became a better writer.

As an educator, I feel that this is one of the most important lessons that student-writers can learn. Although we often learn a great deal about writing voice and style is through mimicking other writers' stylistic tendencies, when it comes to writing, practice is the most effective approach toward developing as the writer you want to become. This can definitely be taught and supported through the writing workshops because it teaches students the importance of revisions. If writers continue to adapt their stories in order to improve upon targeted areas of weakness, they will eventually reach a product for which they can feel proud. Thus, I feel that style is developed within the writer instead of through the sole inspiration of others, and through diligent practice, one's style can be improved.

Ian Frazier's "Hungry Minds"

After reading the article "Hungry Minds", I am able to understand the true value of a writing community. In this article, Frazier writes of a minister's description of the soup kitchen volunteers as providers of “a window into what makes humanity human, into the deepest levels of being." As people help one another gain the necessary resources for survival, they become a tightly-knit community of compassionate, understanding human beings. This is also the product of the product of the community of writers created by the writing workshops that are held by the church mentioned in this article. By working together to help one another excel at something for which they are very passionate, these people are not only getting to know one another and helping each other with grammatical errors. Rather, these people involved in the writing workshop become a team; a support group. Through their interactions and through their sharing of their works, these individuals are also providing a view into the essence of humanity.

This article was very relevant to me as an educator for a few reasons. First, I would love to help create a writing workshop at a local soup kitchen in Portage County. From a previous presentation that I delivered to my residents in the past year, I understand that Portage County is one of the hungriest counties in the state of Ohio. Thus, I think that it would be incredible to help serve food at the kitchen and then facilitate writers' workshops to help people grow together, learn together, and, most importantly, find hope in someone else's praises and feel as if they belong to something larger than themselves. Another reason that this is relevant to me is because I believe that through participating in similar activities in a classroom, students would be able to grow as writers and communicators. Most importantly, though, is that by creating writers' workshops, educators are empowering students to know one another very closely and to grow as intellectual, well versed human beings.

Noden's Image Grammar

For my Image Grammar strategy demonstration, I presented the "Experiment with Forms" strategy, which asked students to create one form of writing (such as poetry or a skit) from another form of writing (such as a news article). Although I felt that my presentation went well, I would have loved to present another strategy that I think would serve as an amazing form of summative assessment. If I would have been able to teach this strategy for longer than one day, I would teach the strategy "Mix Forms with a Multigenre Research Paper." This is a project that is similar to one that I completed during my Freshman year at Kent State University, for which I worked in a group to create a research report about the "going green" movement, which was supplemented by a website and a presentation.

I feel that by asking students to present their research in a non-traditional fashion, they would be able to develop communication skills that would help them in the future. Additionally, I believe that this is a great way to assess students while considering that many people struggle with test-taking. Finally, by asking students to either create a T-shirt or video presentation (to name 2) to accompany their research, educators prepare students to use several forms of the media. Thus, this type of project would be an excellent way to foster responsible, informed users of visual technology while challenging them to work creatively as well as through thorough, valid research.

Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman

While reading Winchester's "The Professor and the Madman", I was really unsure of whether I would enjoy this book. When I think of the dictionary, which is the point of focus for this novel, I often theoretically yawn. Although I find vocabulary acquisition to be an imperative facet of education, I was not necessarily enthused to read a book that tells the story of how the Oxford English Dictionary was established. However, I was surprised when I began to read.

What I found was that this story made me feel multiple emotions. As the story told of how a man in a psychiatric ward was the leading contributor to this dictionary's first edition, I found it hilarious that the English language could have been defined by a madman. However, in Chapter 10: The Unkindest Cut, I was troubled by the grotesque act of self-mutilation that is performed by Dr. Minor. As the author described Minor's life as "solitary" on page 189, I am not surprised that he went mad. Although many situations in which people act insane are often depicted to be humorous, the events in this chapter seemed very disturbing to me.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it to college students. I would not teach it at the high school level because of some of the explicit content. However, I enjoyed how witty this novel is, and I specially loved the format in which the author defined specific, relevant words as if they were being read from the dictionary.

Atewell: Conferences about Content and Craft

On pages 226-229, there are questions listed to help assist with a one-on-one writing conference. As I experienced these conferences during my junior year of high school, I feel that these conferences allow students to grow as writers and as proofreaders much better than peer editing. During peer editing exercises, students are forced to read a piece of work for which they may have no invested interest and decide what type of grade it would earn. However, as the person who designs the rubric, the educator can provide better insight into the editing process.

This section stuck out to me because the questions provided are great ways to help students take ownership of the writing process. By asking leading questions such as "What else do you know about this topic? How could you find out more?" By asking students what their paper needs to be a better piece of work, educators are enabling writers who are able to to answer any type of prompt by writing with critical thinking skills. By actively teaching students how to judge their own writing, they will be able to succeed at the most rigorous of writing assignments by thinking critically, Thus, by hosting one-on-one conferences, educators can enable students to think like and grow as writers.

Changing Our Minds: Negotiating English and Literacy

Something that stood out to me in this article was that students often use their signatures as a way of defining themselves. Additionally, the author describes a connection in the minds of students between handwriting and literacy. Unfortunately, I feel that this is not only a misconception of students. Many educators often define a student's intelligence by the legibility of his or her writing. An example of this lies within the packet of essays that we ranked in class a few weeks ago. Many of the lowest-scoring essays were also the least legible. Although in some cases this may seem like a coincidence, I fear that educators often attribute intelligence to legible handwriting.

I currently found myself making this same mistake. I was grading a multiple choice assignment the other day when I came across a very messy paper. The handwriting was very poor, and I struggled to decipher some letters. When I finished grading the assignment, I had expected there to several mistakes. However, the score on the sheet of paper was one of the best in that particular class. I found myself confused why I had expected the score to be low until I realized that I had simply expected the score to be low because the student had poor handwriting skills. Thus, I feel that we all need to overcome the idea that poor handwriting is the equivalent to poor intelligence.

New TV Series Premier: Law and Order: Los Angeles

Although I spend most of my time reading, planning for student teaching, tending to residents' questions and needs, and studying for the GRE, when I get some free time, I enjoy watching television. One of the most intriguing television series of all time is Law and Order. Just like the CSI series, Law and Order is now adding on its third show, Law and Order: Los Angeles. Although I feel that Law and Order SVU will be a difficult show to top, I am eager to see the series premier this Wednesday. Hopefully this new title can continue the Law and Order legacy properly.

Practicum Observation Regarding Relating to Students

The other day, I was observing at Firestone High School when students in the 3rd period class were trying to make connections between the themes in their text with current films. When they asked my cooperating teacher about the validity of the connections, she responded that she had not seen any of the films. Her excuse was that she doesn't watch current films and doesn't have time to do so. The students stopped connecting the concepts from the text to films they had seen.

In order to connect with students today, "reading" is more than reading a book on the couch or listening to a book tape. Literacy comes in many forms, just like communication. In order to be able to communicate visually, we must be able to identify themes in films. We need to be able to analyze something acted out in front of us just as much as the elements of a novel. More importantly, we need our students to be able to do so. In order to help develop students who can utilize today's media properly, as educators, we must utilize today's media properly. By viewing films, watching television, and using social networking, educators cannot just understand their students better, but they can also help them establish stronger connections to texts.

Another Example of Writing in Current Media

As most of my friends know, I'm a faithful fan of the television show "How I Met Your Mother." This past weekend, I was watching an episode from the 5th season in which Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) read a poem that he had written. In the scene that was showed to illustrate the story within the poem, Barney was sitting in an old-fashioned pub with old clothes and a colonial-style wig. This was contradictory to the time of the poem, the year 2008. When Barney was asked why everything was old fashioned if the time of the poem was modern day. In response, Barney said, "Duh, it's a poem!"

Although this is an absurd statement, it's not far from the mark in regard to the attitude of today's youth toward poetry. For many students, poetry seems old-fashioned and dry. The language is outdated, and it follows an overly-repetitive rhyme scheme. With this in mind, I will need to find ways to get students to enjoy poetry. The best way to do so would be to apply poetry to their everyday lives, specifically through pop culture. I will accomplish this by teaching supplementary readings of song lyrics and current poets. One poet/musician that many teens enjoy reading today is Tupac Shakur. As a reader of this artist, I could provide some of his work to students to help peak their interest in the value of poetry.

Response # 8 for Dr. Pytash-- Reflection of the Semester

Before this semester and for a period in the middle of this semester, I was concerned whether I was in the right field. I am devoted to student development and learning, but I guess I was beginning to get "cold feet". It's almost scary to think of how quickly the past few years have passed and to imagine that I will be student teaching soon.

Although I have been skeptical about my future, I feel that this course has alleviated my anxieties about my future as an educator. Through this course, I learned effective lesson-planning techniques, and I practiced implementing lessons and leading discussions. In addition, I was presented several theories and literary strategies, and I was given the opportunity to decide the type of educator I would like to be. Therefore, this course, the assignments and lessons, and Dr. Pytash's guidance have helped me re-establish my desire to teach, and it greatly prepared me to do so.

One of the most important aspects of my growth as a professional has been the encouragement Dr. Pytash has provided. One day, when I was walking to my office hours in the Tri-Towers Rotunda, I ran into her as she was getting her computer fixed. Upon exchanging hellos, she stood and talked with me for about a half-hour. It meant a lot to me that she would take the time out of her busy Monday schedule to talk to me about my weekend, the week ahead, my professional plans, and and my goal to work toward a master's degree directly after completing my undergraduate coursework. This could not have come at a better time, as I had endured a stressful weekend and was not quite ready to start the week. However, after our conversation, I was motivated to keep plugging along with my homework and job-related requirements. Later on in the semester, when Dr. Pytash read in my exit slip that I was discouraged about an aspect of my performance in my preparation to become an educator, she made sure to speak with me about it and to ensure that I was doing fine. Yet again, this was also very motivating for me, and it helped me maintain a positive attitude. Thanks to her reassurance and interest in my personal endeavors, I have maintained a positive, motivated attitude, and I have been able to take advantage of every learning experience I have been presented throughout this semester. For that, I am endlessly grateful.

Response # 7 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 7

In chapter 7 of Classics in the Classroom, Jago explains that she does not implement group assignments at all, as she feels that no matter how she constructs the assignment, some students still "slack off" (158). Before this semester, I may have agreed with Jago. However, I feel that educators need to have more faith in their students' desire to learn.

In the case of assigning group work, students could be easily occupied by giving each student a specific role in a project. For example, if I were to assign groups to become experts of a specific chapter or scene of a text, I would give on person the role of the quote master, which would require him/her to pick out important passages of the text. Then, I would assign another group member the role of the connector, which will require him/her to connect the text with current society. I would also assign a group member to find the themes of the text. And finally, for another role I would assign would be the role of the character master, which would require a group member to record the descriptions, motives, and conflicts of the characters of a text. By micro-managing the roles of students for group work assignments, I would effectively engage them in the activity without worrying about everyone pulling their weight. Therefore, I feel that Jago's bias against group work is invalid, for if students are given structure and expectations, they would be more inclined to contribute to group work and would also be given the opportunity to form deeper understandings of a text.

Final Reflection over the Semester

Throughout this course, I have not only grown as a user of technology, but I have grown as an educator. Before this semester, I was not sure of how I would be able to present literature to students without boring them or conforming to the common teaching practices I have seen over the years.

I was in search of a way to teach students in a unique way. Last semester, as an RA, I was trying to think of how to present personal safety tips to students just before Halloween festivities. After long deliberation, I decided to show clips of danger scenes from horror films, and after each clip, I asked my residents to analyze the scene in terms of what went wrong and what could have been done by the main characters to prevent being harmed. My residents loved this event, and I didn't want to accept that this would be the only time I ever presented information in a unique way.

Through this course, I have learned how to affectively connect texts with film, music, video games, and other contemporary texts, such as graphic novels. As I learned about each of these forms of media, I realized that text is more than words on a page: texts are everywhere. This has made me think differently about movies and music, as it has caused me to look deeper into the meanings of the stories being presented to me. Further, I have learned to analyze literary references in alternative media for future lesson plans.

I have even noticed more of my teachers using multi-modal texts in the literature classroom. For example, my British Literature professor connected Tennyson's poem "Lady of Shalott" to a current song by Emilie Autumn called "Shalott", which actually quotes parts of the poem. This strategy helped connect Victorian culture to themes in current media, but more importantly, it made the poem seem much more meaningful and much less boring to me. That is what multi-modal teaching is all about-engaging all students in a lesson and helping them relate the meanings of a text to their own lives.

As a movie and television junkie, I was relieved by this class because it helped me realize that my love for visually stimulating texts can be transfered to my teaching practices. Not only can I implement videos, music, websites, and video games into my teaching in the future, but I also plan to write a final paper for my British Literature class that connects The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to the film Fight Club. Thus, this class has not only benefitted me as a future educator, but it has also affected me as a student by helping me connect film, a medium that I love to analyze, to text, a medium that I spend most of my time analyzing (which can become rather mundane).

Finally, another discovery I made through this course is that I absolutely love graphic novels. In fact, I could see myself teaching a course that strictly covers the analysis of graphic novels as well as a course that connects canonical texts to graphic novels. Additionally, I plan to incorporate assignments that require students to create their own graphic interpretations of a text.

Throughout this semester, I have learned about a number of multi-modal resources that I can incorporate in my classroom instruction and in my alternative assessments. In addition, I have developed a greater appreciation of diverse forms of texts. However, the most important lesson I have learned through this course is that in order to be an effective educator, I need to delve into teen media in order to connect with my students, and I also need to continue to adapt my teaching strategies as technology continues to experience breakthroughs. As education is continuous, so is technology. Thus, devotion to both needs to be incorporated in the classroom to allow students to grow as users of technology as well as readers of texts.

Compare/Contrast

This is my compare/contrast of American Born Chinese and Naruto, Vol. 1: The Tests of the Ninja

Text and Dialogue

• Narration separate from dialogue is more evident in American Born Chinese, as Naruto is narrated primarily through character dialogue.
• In American Born Chinese, dialogue balloons and thought balloons are distinguished from one another. In Naruto, dialogue is in balloons, while thoughts are presented in a stylized text without a baloon. Sakura's thoughts are posed next to her dialogue through the depiction of her with a different expression with the label "inner Sakura".
• In both of these graphic novels, sound effects are conveyed through captions, which are stylized texts the side of the action.
• In Naruto, emanata is used in the form of exclamation points in the case of a character being alert or surprised. This is also used in American Born Chinese, but in addition, some images are used. For example, clouds are drawn around a confused character's head.
• An example of a label in American Born Chinese is when a frame is labeled "Fresh off the boat" to describe the term "F.O.B.", while in Naruto, sections of the comic are given headline labels and are accompanied with a summary image.
• The lettering for dialogues and captions differ from one another in both of these comics. However, in Naruto, the font point sizes differ and the pitch of the letters is often crammed to fit text into a balloon.
• Sound effects are portrayed in different fonts than the dialogue, such as "clap", "haha" or "smack" in American Born Chinese. In Naruto, sound effects are less traditional, such as "boff", "tak tak", and "ungh".

Visual Features

• Characters are black and white in Naruto, and shading and physical features are much more detailed. In American Born Chinese, the characters are colorful but are much more simply drawn. Each character's race is differentiated through the use of skin tone.
• Objects, scenery, and icons are all simply drawn in American Born Chinese. I like this much better than the detailed drawings of Naruto, as it produces less page clutter.
• Quick action is depicted by several lines of motion in both of these comics. In American Born Chinese, slower actions are depicted over the span of several frames.

General Layout and Design

• Both comics use clean, straight borders. In Naruto, some of the pane;s run to the end of the page and only use two internal borders.
• In American Born Chinese, the gutters are all the same size. This makes the comic cleanly presented and establishes a form of uniformity. In Naruto, the gutters that are closer together are used for consequent pane;s, while larger gutters separate the breaks in a sequence of panels.
• The panels are generally used the same way in both comics. Most panels are smaller, but the larger panels are used for significant actions or wide-angle views. Open panels are used for the more spacious images or to portray a character who is in a setting not conformed by a setting, almost like a dream sequence. This is evident in Naruto when Naruto is admiring Sakura and in American Born Chinese when the Great Sage stood at the five pillars.
• There is a splash page at the beginning page and the ending page of American Born Chinese, while there are several splash pages, mostly at the beginning of a new chapter, in Naruto. However, the comic also includes a two-page spread to provide a large panoramic view of a rooftop scene.

Angles and Frames

• Bleed is used throughout Naruto, while the pages of American Born Chinese are all cleanly conformed by an even page gutter.
• Close ups are used throughout both of the comics when one specific character or object is the sole subject of a panel.
• Head shots are used to create dramatic character reactions in both comics.
• Head-shoulder shots are common in both comics, but they are the most common shots used in American Born Chinese.
• Full-figure shots are used in both comics, but they are the most common shots in Naruto.
• Longshots are used in American Born Chinese to depict characters walking away or arriving from the horizon of the scene. In Naruto, longshots are used to show characters' proximity with one another. Extreme longshots are used to show characters' surroundings and their extreme lenght of distance from the common population of a scene.
• Reverse shots are used in both comics to show a scene from the point of view of a specific character. In American Born Chinese, reverse shots are also used to set a mood of shame.

Rhetorical techniques applied in text, visuals, and design

• Exaggeration is used to portray characters' emotions in both comics. Additionally, asian culture is exaggerated in both comics to present stereotypes, such as the extreme ninja techniques portrayed by both comics.
• Empathy is applied to the Asian characters in American Born Chinese, as they are portrayed as forlorn individuals in response to the injustices they face. In Naruto, Naruto's teacher shows him empathy by believing in him and fighting to protect him because they both grew up as orphans.
• The primary mood of both of these comics depicts the anxiety felt by the main characters to be something they are not.
• In Naruto, the images are very complex and detailed to help narrate the story. In American Born Chinese, the images are simple to compliment the dialogue and narrations without directing attention away from the text.
• Satire is evident in both of these comics to exploit the stereotypes of ninja culture associated with Chinese culture.
• Realism is used in both of these comics to expose the subordination of minority groups. As the Asian characters in American Born Chinese and Naruto in Naruto are attributed different physical characteristics than the other characters in the comics, their appearances are juxtaposed with the unjust treatment to which they are subjected in order to present social prejudices.
• The character Chin-Kee is used to present disorder in the comic American Born Chinese. His irrational behavior is used to present a stereotypical view of a Chinese individual's deviation from American cultural norms. In Naruto, battling and disorder are presented as orderly cultural norms. This serves as a stereotypical view of Chinese culture surrounding ninja battles.
• In American Born Chinese, White American culture is juxtaposed with Asian characters' inability to fit in to present the theme that the Asian characters desire to be someone else in order to escape prejudice. In Naruto, Shinobi characters are juxtaposed with students to show the theme that the students are striving to be more than who they already are.
• In both of these comics, power is attributed to the majority population, and this creates a conflict between them and the characters who serve as visible minorities.
• In both of these comics, the point of view is that of an outsider looking in on the action of the story.

Facebook Project

For Dr. Kist's class, we are currently working on a Facebook project, on which we are required to contribute to an online discussion with local high school students about different texts, one novel and one poetry. Through my participation, I have noticed that this is a unique learning opportunity for students to talk about the themes and the plot of a text.

As students who are reading Wintergirls have continued their reading, they have begun to question the characters actions and what they will do next. This is a great way for students to think and respond critically to the text. I have also noticed that students are thoughtfully reacting to the main character's battle with anorexia. As this is a touchy subject students to discuss, this medium allows them to think entirely about what they are saying before they post it. This allows for sensitive, well developed remarks to be posted in the discussion instead of hurtful, intrusive backlash.

While this is an effective medium for students to discuss a literary text, another redeeming quality of using Facebook is that it teaches students how to be careful and responsible about what they are saying online. I think that in each high school, students need to be taught how to safely and appropriately use social networking sights, and this project presents the perfect opportunity for such a lesson!

Reflection on Evan Schwab's Presentation about Video Games

During the 11th week of the semester, Evan Schwab spoke in Dr. Kist's class about incorporating video games in the classrooms. As someone who enjoys video games, I found this presentation very interesting.

Growing up, I loved playing sports video games. I remember that one of my favorites for the Playstation One system was Tiger Woods '98. What I loved about that game was how "realistic" it was, as what looked like poster cut-outs of famous golfers were superimposed onto a screen. At that time, this technology was cutting-edge. Playing the game was not just entertaining for me; it was informative. As I was learning how to golf properly, playing Tiger's video game was probably one of the most pivotal forms of lessons I could have received. As I watched professional golfers swing over 60 times when my dad and I would play a match, I learned the mechanics of the golf stroke: feet spread apart, placing the ball in the center of the stance, and twisting at the trunk for a smooth swing and release. I also learned how to select clubs based upon the lie of the ball (whether it's in the rough or the fairway) and how to read the slopes of a putting surface. I didn't notice it until afterwards, of course, but by playing Tiger Woods '98, I was actually learning the game of golf through modeling.

Video games have received an unfairly poor rep, in my opinion. Although many people think that gamers lack social skills and are mindless and lazy, I feel that my aforementioned experience is a testimony to the type of learning that can be achieved through gaming. Now, with the development of the Wii and the upcoming release of Playstation Move, gamers can practice the motions of bowling, yoga, throwing a frisbee, shooting a basketball, or even shooting archery. Eventually, students would be able to practice the basic motions of any sport without having to go out in the rain.

Although you cannot find much use for Wii Bowling in the English classroom, there are still some redeeming qualities of gaming for a Language Arts teacher. As video games' technologies are advancing, so are their story lines. As Evan mentioned, the new title Dante's Inferno includes a feature on which gamers can access the entire text of the classic epic poem by Dante. Additionally, video games like Playstation 3's Heavy Rain are proving that first-person video games are becoming user-controllable films, as the visual representation is almost indistinguishable from real life, and the story lines are sophisticated and complex.

So what does that mean? As video games become more like films, they are beginning to incorporate richer texts. As this continues, the themes presented in the story lines of video games are becoming more compatible with texts. How can an English teacher use a video game in the classroom, though? When comparing themes of a text to a video game, an educator could videotape a relevant sequence of a video game and re-play it for a class. In terms of assessment, students could create movie projects much like the television series which was created to the screenplay of Halo.

Back in the day, I remember playing Math Rabbit in my 1st Grade computer class. Who says that as educators, we can't use video games to leave the same lasting impression on our high schoolers? Truly, with the current technological advancements, our opportunities to do so are endless.

Response # 6 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of Jago's Classics in the Classroom addresses the importance of teaching poetry. This is one aspect of literature which I anticipate will be very challenging to connect to some high school students' lives. When I was in high school, I remember taking a creative writing class with 30 of my male peers. When the genre of poetry was presented, I remember hearing groans from all around me. However, in the 2 years prior to my Junior year, I had written poetry of my own as an emotional outlet. Although I was confident that I was a successful poet, I kept my talent sealed, as I knew that many male high school students do not appreciate poetry.

However, through this creative writing class, I became more inspired to write poetry when my teacher praised my talent and when my peers came to me for writing advice. Another way that my teacher inspired me to write poetry was by talking about the poetry of Tupac Shakur, a well known music artist. After my teacher presented his poem "The Rose that Grew from the Concrete", she then showed me that she owned a book of Tupac's poetry. This helped me realize that even men as calloused and rugged as this man possessed the ability to spill his heart into a deep, beautiful poem. This book proved to be a driving force in my creative development as a writer of poetry. A year later, upon my first visit to the Kent State University bookstore, Tupac's book caught my eye, and my parents purchased it for me. To this day, when I am discouraged or experiencing a "writer's block", I turn to that book for inspiration. However, Tupac's words are not the only source of inspiration for me, as I remember Mrs. Sanders and the way she encouraged me to reach my full potential. To me, that is the defining characteristic of a great teacher: the ability to encourage students to pursue their true passions with an unshakable confidence.

Response # 5 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 4

In chapter 4 of Classics in the Classroom, Jago states "books that demand hard thinking on the part of a reader are more likely to be remembered than those students breeze through" (67). This quote stood out to me, as I agree with Jago that students need to be challenged by the texts they are reading. However, I feel that Jago also makes a wonderful point by saying that students need to be guided to the discovery of understanding the themes of the text instead of being spoon-fed answers.

I have seen many teachers become tired of waiting for students to speak up and answer questions about the meaning of texts discussed in class. At this point, many of these teachers simply answer their own question and move on. However, in my opinion, a true educator believes in his or her students' abilities to learn from and understand sophisticated, challenging texts. This type of teacher would help students understand by stepping back from the posed question and asking what has students confused. Then, by facilitating a discussion in which students break down a text in order to find its messages, teachers can help students find their own answers to the question "so what?", which is presented by Jago on page 61. Ultimately, by teaching helping students reach beyond the who, what, when, where, and why of a text, teachers can help students reach a connection between the text and their own lives, which fosters the greatest level of understanding of a text possible.

Response # 4 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 2

After reading the second chapter of Jago's Classics in the Classroom, I agree with Carol Jago that the acquisition of vocabulary is not only dependent upon reading. As students may read words that they did not initially understand, something I have noticed is that many of them will not take the time to look up the definitions of the new words presented to them. This is common, as many students are already challenged to complete the reading for an assignment that and feel that their time spent looking at definitions will delay their process in completing the text. Little do they know that learning words in one context is not an efficient way to establish a vocabulary. Thus, it is imperative that educators reinforce sophisticated, challenging terms in texts through vocabulary lists and exercises.

When I was in fifth grade, I remember having extensive vocabulary assignments, as I was required to copy the complete definitions for a list of words. As this was tedious at the time and was not a very creative way to teach vocabulary, I was able to understand the definitions of sophisticated terms much better after copying them down and reviewing them several times in class. In hindsight, I now recognize that this form of spiral curriculum was successful in fostering my sophisticated vocabulary.

I have also noticed the importance of teaching vocabulary through my field experience at Firestone High School in Akron, OH. In order to prepare students for the OGT, all of the teachers were required to help account for the general student body's difficulty understanding sophisticated vocabulary terms. I was informed of this after speaking with a science teacher about how I had been admiring her creative bulletin board devoted to a list of vocabulary terms. By having students create a bulletin board with drawings to accompany vocabulary terms, the students are able to develop a deep, multi-sensory understanding of a word. Thus, I saw this approach to reinforcing students' sophisticated vocabulary to be both creative and highly effective in fostering their language development.

Response to I'm So Totally, Digitally, Close to You

After reading Clive Thompson's article "I'm so Totally, Digitally, Close to You", I became much more aware of the impact of Facebook upon my daily interactions. This article made me realize how odd it seems that I know everything about all of my friends through my "News Feed" without directly interacting with them. This troubled me, as I realized that this takes away the event of becoming reacquainted with my friends when I haven't seen them for an extended amount of time.

Although I enjoy perusing through online updates regarding what my friends are up to, I am concerned that human communication is becoming too focused upon instant information. I am reminded of the negative effect this has upon human interactions each time I am having lunch with a friend who constantly checks Facebook and Twitter updates on a cell phone. These updates eventually evolve from an interruption into the dictating topic of conversation. Therefore, I worry that by obsessing over online social news updates, we are failing to interact with the people directly in front of us, who, in most cases, are much more pertinent to our current lives than our digital friends, whom we watch from afar.

Contemporary Film Review of Toe to Toe

1. Personal Issues: In Toe to Toe, the element that struck me the most was the affect of Jesse’s lack of a mother figure. I responded with emotion toward this element because I come from a large, closely-kinit family, for which I feel a great deal of affection and pride. I believe that the general audience of this film will connect with this element, as many people hold their family or their closest friends, whom they often refer to as family, as the driving forces in their lives, and they would sympathize for Jesse as well.
2. Technique: I feel that this film was strong in its integration of sound effects, mood-setting music, interesting and plot-relevant dialogue, and detailed editing. Its greatest strength, in my opinion, was the camera work, as unique camera angles were incorporated. An example of this is the scene in which the camera pulls away from over Tosha as she lies in the grass after being beaten up by a neighborhood bully. This presented a view of her despair that the naked eye could not provide.
3. Acting: The principle roles of this film were Jesse and Tosha. I feel that the roles of these individuals were generally type-cast, as they Jesse was cast to represent a White, teenaged girl and Tosha was cast to represent a Black, teenaged girl. However, this was not the only aspect that made their characters believable, as both actors did a wonderful job of acting.
4. Plot: In Toe to Toe, two teenage girls from different worlds battle social pressures, adversity, and the anxiety of what their futures will bring. I feel that this plot is very unique, as it voices the truth behind tragic teenage struggles, rather than the happy-go-lucky lifestyles often portrayed through young-adult characters.
5. Themes: The main theme in this film surrounds the pressure of growing up. Although the film presents the affects of social pressures and cultural expectations upon teenagers, a deeper message provided by the film is that our reactions to the situations in our lives define us and lead to great consequences.
6. Genre: Toe to Toe fits with the genre of drama, as this film presents deeply emotional and controversial topics. I believe that this is a popular genre because it presents stories with which audience members can empathize. Further, dramas appeal to viewers’ emotions with a human-interest spin to a story.
7. Representation: This film presents a significant difference between poverty and wealth, as Jesse is provided a stable, comfortable surrounding environment while Tosha is portrayed to live in a low-income community, where her mother struggles to pay the household bills. Through this depiction of poverty, the film also portrays the Black lifestyle as one filled with adversity and struggle. Additionally, the film portrays the White lifestyle as one of comfort and instant gratification.
8. Ideology: By presenting the concepts of racial inequality in schools, this film challenges the institution of American education. Additionally, this film confirms that the life of a teenager is a pivotal period in an individual’s development, which often presents a great amount of pressure upon teenagers. Finally, Toe to Toe challenges American parenthood by presenting Jesse’s mother as a non-existent figure in her life.

Reaction to the Cleveland International Film Festival

On Sunday, March 21, I attended the Cleveland International Film Festival with a group of my Multi-Modal Literacies classmates. As I drove a car-full of my peers to Cleveland, I was very excited for the road trip. However, when I got to Cleveland, I missed a detour leading to the parking garage, and my adventure became stressful. Regardless, after some instinctual driving and the reassurance of my passengers, we arrived at Tower City Mall in a matter of 10 extra minutes.

Before viewing our film, my classmates and I dined at the Hard Rock Cafe. This was a great opportunity to interact with my cohorts in a way that I do not normally have the chance to enjoy. The food was great, and the conversations were just as enjoyable.

After lunch, we made our way to the theater to purchase our tickets ahead of time. Leading up to this moment, I was determined to see the film Bomber, a comedy which caught my eye in the festival's catalog. However, after purchasing a stand-by ticket and waiting in line for a chance to see the film, a man admitting people into the theater notified us that Bomber filled two theaters. Panicked, as we had planned on seeing this film, my classmates and I rushed to another film that had begun 5 minutes earlier, Toe to Toe. Although this film was not my initial choice, I was glad that I had the chance to view it. The film was very deep, and it stretched me beyond my level of comfortability, and I enjoyed the experience.

I planned to return to the festival that following Thursday, but a snow storm prevented some friends and I from venturing to Cleveland on the late, snowy night. I was very disappointed, as I enjoyed my experience on Sunday and hoped to share the same experience with another group of friends. Thus, I plan to return to the Cleveland International Film Festival next year and for several other years to follow.

Reflection on the Costanzo Text

Upon reading Costanzo's Great Films and How to Teach Them, my life as a film viewer has changed. When I used to watch films, I would pay specific attention to nothing but the events unfolding and some of the underlying meanings of the messages presented by films. However, now that I have read about and understand the tools of lighting, camera works, and sound, I have found myself dissecting the films I have viewed. Although this approach could fade, I feel that by viewing films this way deepens my appreciation of what I'm watching.

When I was completing my Film Review exercise from the Costanzo textbook, I watched The Godfather with my father. As I have never seen this film, I was also viewing it for a source of entertainment. One thing I normally do while watching a film is make comments about what is unfolding in the film, normally in the form of a response. I do not do this very frequently when viewing a film, but rather, I will audibly respond to something that intrigues me. This is normally along the lines of "Wow... I can't believe that happened!" or "That's hilarious!" However, when I was watching The Godfather, I mentioned to my father that I really admired the unique camera angles in the film. Perplexed by my statement, my father simply agreed and returned to his viewing. Little did he know, that moment was pivotal in my development as a critical film viewer.

Response # 3 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 6

As I read chapter 6 of Jago's Classics in the Classroom, I reflected upon when I read the Odyssey during my freshman year at Kent State University. As Dr. Sanders taught my Great books classmates and me about the many characters, he used a diagram similar to the ones provided in the chapter. Additionally, just as explains on page 138-141, Dr. Sanders also had us not only read the novel but also take notes as an expert on one specific book within the Odyssey. By giving the class ownership over the lessons about certain chapters of a book, I noticed that we were not only able to establish a classroom community, but we also learned more about the text by teaching it to one another. Therefore, I found this to be a very effective strategy.

I have heard some of my cohorts explain that they do not agree with this method because it encouraged students to not read the entire novel. However, I disagree with this opinion. From my experience, I noticed that the students who chose to not read the assignments, thinking they could just follow their peers' notes and lessons, were not able to do well on the assessment about the assigned readings. Therefore, no matter who teaches or provides notes about the text, nothing can supplement actually completing reading assignments. Thus, if implemented correctly, this is an effective teaching strategy in the language arts classroom.

Response # 2 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 3

After reading the third chapter of Jago's Classics in the Classroom, I was given a new perspective on teaching literature. At my high school, I was an honors student, and in our honors English classes, writing was focused upon much more than reading. Unfortunately, I did not read many books such as The Odyssey, Beowulf, and The Great Gatsby until I reached my studies at Kent State University. As a result, I have grown to excel in writing, but I often struggle with reading. Although I can read, my pace is slow and my skills are underdeveloped in comparison to many of my peers.

I began to reflect upon this as I read the quote "Great literature deepens our experience, heightens our sensibilities, and matures our judgement," which Jago stated on page 47. This, in coordination with her explanation of how her students read 20 books, made me realize that I was never really challenged to read until I reached college. That being said, I truly struggled at first when I found myself reading several novels in a month. Therefore, I am the embodiment of Jago's aforementioned quote, for if I was asked to stretch my reading ability when I was in high school, I would have been much more prepared for college. This is significant to me, as I will learn from my experiences to ensure that I provide a better opportunity for my students to succeed through reading than I was given by my high school curricula.

Response #1 for Dr. Pytash-- Classics in the Classroom Chapter 1

Upon reading chapter 1 of Carol Jago's Classics in the Classroom, I was left very troubled. One of the statistics provided on page 9 stated that the "lowest-performing twelfth graders have vocabularies about equal to high-knowledge third graders." Particularly, this fact scared me the most. From the message of this chapter, I feel that it is safe to say that a cause of this statistic is that high school students are not reading enough rich literary texts to develop sophisticated vocabularies. Therefore, this stands as a testament for the first principle listed by Jago, which simply stated, "Students must read."

As this stands as a staple for English education in America, I was even more disturbed by something I heard in Dr. Kist's class today. A teacher from Bosnia was visiting during our class, and when asked about the types of texts she is teaching in her classroom, she explained that the teaching of reading and literature in high schools in Bosnia is not a common practice. Upon hearing that, I was shocked. I couldn't begin to imagine English education without reading literature. This troubles me because without reading rich texts, students' vocabularies tend to suffer, as Jago pointed out in the quote I listed above. Therefore, through this classroom experience and through reading this chapter, I am scared to realize that the issue of inadequate teaching of literature is not only apparent in the United States, but it is a world-wide issue.

Multi-genre Literacy Autobiography

Initially, while I was brainstorming my multi-genre literacy autobiography, I was unsure of how to piece together the texts that have influenced me over a span of 20 years. There was just so much to cover because upon starting this project, I realized that texts are everywhere. Reflecting upon all of the books, comics, movies, video games and television shows into which I have submerged myself, I was perplexed about how I could choose and compile the meaningful ones in a way that could be aesthetically pleasing and still make sense. Then, it hit me; I'd make a comic book!

In all of the texts that have played important roles in my life, their most influential components were the images involved, whether they were material images or words that helped me paint my own images. What I have always loved about books is the way a writer can give the gift of a image to a reader without actually painting it. Additionally, what always fascinated me about illustrations was the magnitude of emotions and meanings that could be associated with an image and how two people could interpret the same image in completely different ways. Therefore, as I have always learned through images and my own illustrations of texts, I felt it was most appropriate that I illustrate the collection of the texts which influenced my life in a way that would help my peers visualize my memories the way I do.

This was one of the most enjoyable projects I have ever been assigned. I loved looking back on my life in a unique way and piecing together the explanation of who I am today and the teacher I will be from the earliest influences of my life. Although I was absent on the first day of presentations on the account of illness, I look forward to presenting my comic book of memories this week. Additionally, I am looking forward to seeing the other remaining presentations to establish a connection with my peers who have been influenced by similar texts and to learning from those who have different backgrounds than me.

Little Brother Post for Multi-Modal Course

I have to say, Cory Doctorow's book Little Brother is one of the most unique novels I have ever read. As I have been reading it, I have been drawing some parallels to the books 1984 and The Hunger Games because of the theme of governmental control. However, I am also reminded of historical events in the United States, as I remember being taught in my Education in a Democratic Society course that after World War II, schools were conditioned to teach patriotism, and subjects such as the German language were excluded from some schools. I was reminded of this when Marcus was suspended for speaking up in class against the views of his teacher. This leads me to some questions:

• How can we as educators handle classroom debates in a way that students are able to express themselves without facing repercussions from their peers?
• Further, how should we respond to anarchical statements?
• When is the right to free speech a hinderance in the classroom, and can/should it be revoked in the case of student protection?
• Surely, we cannot censor students, but how can we help students form educated opinions instead of irrational comments?
• Finally, in what ways can we promote to students a sense of responsibility with their rights?

Pop Culture Post: "Castle"

As a junior working my way through college, I do not have much time to watch television. In order to do so, I usually allot time throughout the week, during which I watch a sporting event, a movie, or something that catches my eye through an advertisement. However, one television series has me hooked. The Castle series has changed my outlook on my schedule. Never before have I studied in advance or planned my daily schedule around one specific hour of one specific day of each consecutive week before.

Since I am not pampered by the graces of DVR while I'm at school, my top priority on Mondays at 10 p.m. are to make sure that I have a snack and that the television is set to ABC so I can enjoy the newest adventure of Rick Castle, a character named after a real-life murder mystery novelist, as he works with sergeant Kate Beckett to solve murders while gaining inspiration for his new novels. This show is action-packed, and as an English major, I love the color commentary Castle adds to each case. The wit and hilarity that ensue between he and Beckett create what I find to be a unique treasure, a comedy-murder mystery hybrid.