Sext-DING!

The 'ding' of a phone could end a life, as it did with Hope Witsell and Jesse Logan-- who are both assumed to have committed suicide because of the horrific bullying they experienced after sexting. I have mixed reactions to Hope Witsell's story. My first reaction: Where were the teachers? They must have been aware, or at least suspected, that Hope Witsell was being bullied by her peers. How could they have missed Hope being screamed at-- whore and slut-- by her peers in the hallway? I highly doubt that Hope was strong enough to mask her emotions all day, every day. Did teachers really not notice a change in her behavior, or did they perhaps notice and not think twice or, worse, completely ignore it?

Although some people complain about it, the strongly (sometimes overly) enforced Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB) Laws in New Jersey may have prevented the death of Hope because teacher's may have felt obligated to say something if it was their legal responsibility to do so. On the homepage of almost every single New Jersey Public School website, there is a tab that instantly directs users to bullying policies, HIB Law policies, and usually a 'Reporting an Incident' document (or directions on how to report an incident). When I investigated the Beth Shields Middle School webpage, the school Hope was attending when she committed suicide, it took me forever to access the school's bullying policies. Eventually, I searched 'bullying' in the site's webpage and was directed to the appropriate links-- but it took a long time and in most cases there is no time to spend searching for bullying resources on a school's webpage.

Browsing through the Language Arts curriculum of Beth Shields Middle School, I discovered that there were little to no novels or texts that had themes of bullying embedded in them. Although I could not locate a complete book list, I found some novels that are suggested to seventh grade teachers by the school's media center. Many of these suggested novels are dated and lack issues relevant to seventh grade students-- like bullying and suicide.

I understand that students in seventh grade should not be reading novels with themes of suicide, death, and bullying-- but if seventh grade students are bullying other students so badly that one is driven to suicide, it's time to read/talk about it. Novels like The Hunger Games, 13 Reasons Why, and even The Scarlett Letter (they want dated novels, this one's perfect-- and still contains relevant themes that Hope probably could have related to) should be read at the middle school level if students are driving other students to kill themselves. They see much worse on TV and video games, anyway, and reading novels like these provide an outlet to discuss these disturbingly relevant and 'touchy' issues.

One last reaction I had to Hope Witsell's story: Why was she punished by the school? It does not make any sense to me that a young girl who made a "mistake" was suspended, while the students who were intentionally taunting her and circulating her picture were not at all (according to the article) punished. This forces me to question what we, as a society, are against-- a young girl who explores her sexuality in a healthy, non-physical way (after all, we do value abstinence), or a group of people who exploit a young girl's innocence. Gauging by how everything in Hope's story seemed to turn out, it seems that we are supposed to be against the young girl's very natural exploration of sexuality and should, instead, join the ranks to judge and punish her for her "crime."

Schools should be responsible for teaching students how to use technology by the standards that society deem appropriate. After all, students go to school so they can successfully integrate themselves into society. But schools should also be responsible for teaching students how to treat one another with respect-- no matter what the circumstances are. I do not care what she has done, it is completely unacceptable to call a seventh grade girl (or any girl) a slut or whore. The fact Beth Shields Middle School did not punish the students who bullied Hope Witsell, at least it was not mentioned in the article, disturbs me more than one sext. I wholeheartedly believe it is a much larger issue when a school punishes one young girl who sent one sext, and not a group of students who display behavior that is dehumanizing.

"Fair is foul and foul is fair"

Fair use is a legal defense (not a right) founded on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary or criticism. Fair use applies to education because many teachers utilize copyrighted material without legal permission. If caught, school's deny infringement and argue fair use. The line between infringement and fair use, however, is quite ambiguous. The U.S. Copyright Office acknowledges that the "distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission." Although there are certain guidelines for fair use-- such as not impeding upon the nature of the work, borrowing only a limited amount of the work, and not changing the value of the work on the marketplace-- there are no specific limitations on the amount of work being borrowed.

The legal implications in the world of copyrighted work is confusing-- especially in regards to education. On the one hand, we have to question whether it is fair for schools to be deprived of material they cannot afford. On the other hand, we have to question whether it is fair for schools who can afford classroom material to be deprived of leniency. In order to please everyone (the people who have copyrighted work and the people who borrow copyrighted work for educational purposes), the rules and regulations are ambiguous and, in a way, paradoxical: "Fair is foul and foul is fair." The guidelines must become more strict or more lenient, favoring one set of people or the other. Regardless, more schools (administration, faculty/staff, and students) should be educated on the subjects of copyright, infringement, and fair use-- as this is the first time I am ever learning about it.

To Flip or Not to Flip, that is the Question: Flipping the Classroom

This post would be embedded in a unit on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Students would watch it prior to investigating the BIG question: Is Jay Gatsby a hero?

The screencast recognizes stages of The Hero's Journey in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. I chose this film because it is one students are sure to have seen, or at least be familiar with. In addition to this screencast, I would provide students with links to resources that would enhance their understanding of The Hero's Journey (youtube video, readings, etc).

Upon watching this screencast for homework, students would bring samples of films and novels that include certain characteristics of The Hero's Journey to class and share/discuss their ideas. These ideas are what students would be assessed on because they would not be able to successfully identify films and novels with characteristics of The Hero's Journey unless they watched the screencast and/or browsed through the provided resources. After students share and discuss their ideas, they would then begin identifying components of The Hero's Journey throughout the novel, The Great Gatsby, and ultimately come to the conclusion of whether or not Jay Gatsby is a hero.

The learning objectives embedded within this lesson are to prepare students for analysis of a character's development, or journey, over the course of The Great Gatsby, as well as utilize technology to enhance their educational experience. This lesson also provides students with the opportunity to analyze the structure of a narrative and be introduced into the world of archetypes.

I think flipping the classroom is an ingenious idea. The technique really takes advantage of technology and enhances the overall quality of education that takes place both inside and outside of the classroom. To Flip!

Screenr, the Hero-r

 Screenr is an effective tool that could be implemented into the classroom for a variety of purposes. One purpose is to review students' work in real time.  Students could submit their work via e-mail and the teacher could read through whatever they submit one or two times before using Screenr to highlight key points/strengths and weaknesses. Students could even respond to the teacher's Screenr with one of their own, asking questions and explaining revisions. Students could also use the device as a tool to peer edit outside of the classroom.

Another purpose is to use Screenr as a form of assessment. The teacher could assign students a homework assignment in which they must utilize Screenr. Then teachers could assess whether or not each individual student is comprehending classroom material without, once again, reducing valuable class time.

Ultimately Screenr expands the classroom walls. Thus, activities that usually take up a whole class period, like peer editing, could be done during the afternoon/evening hours at students' own leisure. Screenr also allows teachers to assess student comprehension on a more personal level. By taking the time to devote no more than 5 minutes per student, teachers have the opportunity to establish interpersonal relationships and continue dialogue that happens within the classroom.

Presentation for Parents

This is an excerpt of a presentation I would present to parents at a future Back to School Night. This presentation would be used to inform parents about how 21st century skills were being integrated into the academic realm of English. I tackle the Information, Media, Technology strand of 21st century skills by communicating my intentions to utilize a variety of technological mediums, as well as present students with a dystopian/utopian unit that focuses on the influence technology has on both literature and the real-world society.

Creating this presentation was made easier after viewing the video Life After Death by PowerPoint 2010, by Dan McMillan. McMillan really displays what not to do in a PowerPoint-like presentation, including the presentation being saturated with unnecessary words and distracting images. He also does a hilarious font analysis, explaining how the font you choose is reflective of your personality.

ba BUM/ba BUM/ba BUM/ba BUM/ba BUM: Iambic Pentameter Podcast

For my podcast I chose to do a review of iambic pentameter. I simply reviewed points that would have already been discussed in class and read the first sentence of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?," which is an example of iambic pentameter. I then wrote my own sentence of iambic pentameter- With you I walk from dawn to dusk and back- and asked students to write their own and share via podcast.

Assigning students to complete a podcast allows the teacher to hear each of their voices (including the quiet ones that hesitate to speak in class). I also think students can benefit from listening to their teacher do a podcast, especially individualized ones- for example, a teacher reading a student their essay to them and making verbal comments throughout. I think using a podcast is extremely effective not only because they are easy to make and take very little time, but also because they extend learning beyond the forty-five minutes allotted to class time during the day.

Below is my podcast:

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Something Old, Something New, and Something...21st Century

Technological and 21st century soft skills, like communication and teamwork, are already being integrated into the curriculum. The core of a language arts curriculum is, or should be, communication. By strengthening the language and literacy skills of students, they are learning to engage in conversations with various texts, as well as communicate their ideas both orally and scripturally. Teamwork and other soft skills, such as critical thinking, solving problems, comprehending information, and making decisions, can be incorporated into any subject area with a little creativity from both teachers and students.

Teaching 21st century soft skills should not be "about teaching either academics or skills; [but] about blending the two and teaching one using the other" (The Value of Teaching 21st Century Skills). Academics are certainly a forum through which critical skills can be inherited, and skills are certainly tools that can be used to engage students in their academic studies. Both are interchangeable; one should definitely not be able to exist without the other.

Academics can not be eliminated from the school curriculum simply because they are the porthole to our past, present, and future. Particularly in language arts, where novels are able to give students insight into different periods of time (including the future), academics are the foundation of our existence as human beings- we "do not restart the world anew with each generation...we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us" (Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge). The past cannot be erased. As humans, we need a firm understanding of where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. Literature is one way of gaining this sort of knowledge, which students need to acquire before developing critical thinking skills because one "cannot think critically without quite a lot of knowledge to think about" (Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge). It is imperative that students continue reading canonical novels, such as The Great Gatsby and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well as Shakespeare's plays and ancient texts like The Iliad, because these are the foundations of our existence and, therefore, our knowledge- there can be no new knowledge without old knowledge.

This isn't to say that newer pieces of literature should be exempt from the classroom (every student should be reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher) but reading the classics before and in-between will only enhance students' understanding of contemporary literature.

"We cannot stand still" 

(The Value of Teaching 21st Century Skills)

This, perhaps, is the most important thing to remember about education- it must be treated like a living, breathing, and growing creature and cannot stand still. However, this does not mean that the past should be forgotten. The educational system must be considerate of the present and past in order to prepare for students' success in the future. The old and the new must be considered within the context of the 21st century. Technology and 21st century soft skills must be integrated into the curriculum, as they have become important parts of our society. But academics must persevere because they are central to our existence as human beings. There is room in our educational system for all of these old, new, and 21st century academics and skills to be addressed, and in many cases they already are.