Reading
through these chapters, I had a few general thoughts: “well there’s another
problem”, “that makes sense”, and “why aren’t we doing this?”
First
things first, I do have to say that I enjoyed reading these chapters. They were
much easier to read than many text books and articles and gave many
opportunities to actively stop and consider what we’ve just read. The first
example about the students who read Fast
Food Nation was one of these opportunites. Honestly though, I was a more
than a little distracted by the students actions. I understand that the “point”
of the example was to celebrate the fact that students were inspired by their
reading (and having read the book, it’s a fairly long read with lots of history
and figures involved) but I couldn’t help but be a little appalled. As a future
English teacher, I of course want my students to realize how much relevant
information can be garnered from books and to use that information to become
active members of society. But in raising readers and training them to be
active members of society, it is also our duty as teachers to raise thoughtful
members of society. What kind of teacher would allow students to harass innocent
workers, who need a job to get money, and take time out of their day to deal
with them? The whole scene was downright rude and just knowing how often
workers have to deal with the repercussions of such “peaceful protests” was upsetting, as
well as these notion of reading a book about slaughter to young children. It is
wonderful to think of students being able to take texts and make them
meaningful in their lives, but they are still children yet and it is a teacher’s
job to help them be intelligent enough to act like the adults we would want
them to be. Teaching is that large of a job.
The other
impressions I had had to do with the fact that we as teachers need to teach
students not just how to decode but how to read deeply. Teaching read strategies, going through the
stages of reading, to that I say “of course!” But then I hesitate because it
makes sense that teachers may not remember that students need this. The
chapters in the book keep reiterating that most students have never been taught
these skills, so why is it to be expected that we suddenly gained them in
college? I don’t know how the other content areas differ, but I know that to be
in the English content area requires lots and lots of English classes. But they
are the same classes taken by “regular” English majors. Usually this involved
reading a book a week, discussion, and then an essay. If this is what we do for
four years of our lives, how are we going to remember to slow down the process
for our students if our teachers haven’t given us the same opportunity? Well, I
guess we’re learning it now in classes such as this, but we aren’t applying it.
So that’s a problem to me.
Meghan I agree with your comments about the students at the fast food restaurant. As I read this I though back to when I worked at one and how it irritates me that people always say its not real food. I made the food there and the beef is 100% beef and the nuggets are 100% breast meat chicken, and I would have been very annoyed to have to deal with these kids coming in and acting that way. The children's book idea was annoying to me as a mother I don't want someone reading that to my kids in elementary school the teacher should have pointed this out to the students. These two examples distracted me as well away from the topic point of literacy and seemed to be more about community organizing As for the other comment about college I also agree, history is a lot of reading and sometimes the relevancy of a particular assignment is not clear from the reading and then not really explained to us either.
ReplyDeleteI, too, read "Fast Food Nation," or at least tried to (I didn't get too far), but I did read "The Jungle," by Upton Sinclair v(but I got too disturbed to finish the last few chapters). The fact that the first chapter of this text starts off with two stories, both of which I feel I can relate to, leads me to believe that the authors are going to practice what they preach. Instead of just telling us that students need to read things that are engaging and relate-able, the authors are already doing it in the text. I personally thought the idea of creating a children's book was clever, to dumb things down a bit, but definitely not suitable for children. It was a way to put things in perspective.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that students need to learn how to read deeply. However, it will be a tough task to accomplish. We were never properly taught to "read deeply," so it might be tough to teach it. For me, going into mathematics, it's tough to read deep in a math book - there usually isn't a lot of hidden meaning or discussion. My biggest concern is students being able to understand and comprehend the text. I have had some bad math books before, but reading about reading strategies has made me think of ways that I can teach my students to read a math book before I send them off on wild goose chase. I do not want to end up like Mr. Cosgrove.
Megh, I appreciate your honesty in revealing that you did not agree with the way these students protested in their local McDonalds. I was also surprised at first to read that these students were being applauded by their teachers for their actions. I think it would have been more appropriate for the students to stand outside the McDonalds and educate people about their cause, if the people were willingly to listen that is. This was an extreme example but at the same time, I can understand why the authors used it. I think it was just used in the book to demonstrate to us that we as teachers have the ability to present students with information that can change their way of thinking. I assume that these two students had no problem with eating McDonalds before they learned the harsh truth about the fast food industry. This is why seeing these students go out and attempt to educate others about what they learned was appreciated by their teachers. Although, I completely understand your point of view on the matter. I think it should have been handled differently, without upsetting workers who obviously were there to earn a living, regardless of their opinion on McDonalds tactics.
ReplyDeleteMegh,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your comments about how difficult it is to apply reading strategies when we've been learning in a way that is completely contrary to that approach. Most non-education professors in colleges and universities don't have any training in teaching strategies, and often teaching is at the bottom of their priorities. A close relative of mine is a university professor, and I can't even tell you the number of times I've heard him and his colleagues complain about having to teach, like it's an onerous task they have to get out of the way. Although I did have professors at my undergraduate university that were obviously passionate about teaching, it makes sense that we are often being taught in a very traditional, perfunctory way if this is the general attitude in colleges. When I was reading the second chapter I started to feel a little insecure about my education and whether or not I am flexible/creative enough to effectively break out of the teaching routine I'm familiar with. I'm assuming that we will trying out different reading strategies in class, so I'm interested to see how well they work.