It will come as no huge surprise that our country's political climate has edged its way into my classroom. I've written before about the strict ideological views held by my students, and more recently I've been seeing it play out in their use of biased news sources in argumentative writing. After I read the sixth essay on the same topic using the same one-sided sources, I knew it was time to address the issue. Like many issues in my classroom, this was my fault. I had assumed my students (juniors and seniors in an upper-level writing class) knew the importance of using unbiased sources. I told them on the front end, "Don't use biased sources," but then after the fact I began to see that they truly didn't know the difference. (This is clearly being added to my curriculum for semesters to come.) However, I knew lecturing wouldn't help. I needed a way to help them visualize this issue. I did some quick research and came across an activity from this website. I divided students into two groups and gave each group a short fictional news article to read about a fellow named Sir Sam. In their groups they were directed to read the article and then create a list of at least six adjectives to describe Sam. I had each group come to the board and share the list. As you can see, each group's list was quite different, and in some cases their chosen words were exact opposites. (This was an accidental miracle.)
Next I asked one student from each group to give a quick recap of what happened in the article without focusing on the characteristics of Sam. Each group reported the same story: Sir Sam was fired. However, one article painted him in a flattering way, while the other...not so much. We then moved into a discussion of bias in the media. We talked about how using one-sided sources destroys our credibility as writers. I admitted my own weaknesses in this area. I like reading articles that support my worldview; I feel challenged when I don't. But in the end, my viewpoint is strengthened when I consider the whole picture. Finally I introduced students to some websites that will help them determine the bias in the sources they are considering. This lesson wasn't earth-shaking, and it did disrupt my previous plans. However, it was necessary. Now if only our country could take this lesson to heart.
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Today in a young adult book
I read a violent rape scene Between two boys in a refugee camp Ariel was victimized. He was robbed and then he himself Became a thief. Isn’t it always about power? Last night I posted a blog About race and protest and my sons And in my blog I poured out my heart And how I was learning and growing And facing my Fear. (Should fear always be capitalized?) And then this afternoon during sixth period I saw it. I stood in the front of my classroom Looking out the sea of white students In front of me, and I saw it. Out my window in the back of a student’s truck A giant confederate flag. (I will not capitalize that word.) I thought of dylan roof. dylan roof would have hated my children. Does this student hate my children? Does he hate me for speaking Truth? (Truth SHOULD always be capitalized.) Did this student place his truck outside my Window today on purpose, To make a statement? Like the boys in my book Does he want power over me? Is that his statement? I will not let him win. I will keep using my voice. I will shout louder. I will raise my fist Or I will kneel. But I will NOT be silent. I am capitalized. **Upon further investigation, the flag in the truck was not a message to me. However, I've seen more of those flags in my little community lately. I'm not a fan, as I've shared before. I share this poem that I wrote, however, as a reminder to myself that I don't need to be controlled by fear. Maybe it was a message you needed to hear, too. I came to an important realization this afternoon: I haven't lost my mojo. Maybe I never had it. Mojo is defined as "a magic charm, a talisman, a spell." And if you've been in this business for longer than a day, you know that it involves much more than magic. This isn't Hogwarts. If all we needed was the proper magical spell and the right flick of our wand wrist, I bet the teacher retention rate would be much higher than it currently is. It doesn't take mojo; it takes damn hard work. When I go home at the end of the night, I'm tired to the point of exhaustion. This doesn't mean I don't have magical moments. I do. But they aren't accidental. One of my students in English 2 was struggling to start her personal narrative. We held a brief writing conference during which she confided some painful memories. "Can you write about that?" I asked. She nodded. "You are so brave for telling that story," I encouraged. She smiled shyly, creating a "magical" moment that would never have happened if I didn't create the meaningful learning experience. If I chose to sit at my desk rather than walk among and talk with my students while they wrote, I would never have received that special smile. After several weeks my students are finally starting to get the hang of their Article of the Week reflections. I'm getting more valuable argument and less impassioned ranting. They are crafting careful responses and showing more evidence of active reading in the form of analytical annotations. This didn't happen because of my magnetic mojo, though; it happened because I saw weaknesses in their writing and sought out resources for mini-lessons that zeroed in on key skills. I hear stories from my sister, a second grade teacher in my district. She has a tough group of kiddos this year, kiddos who require extra time and innovative strategies. My sister is a veteran teacher with years of experience, and like me, she's wondered if she has lost her mojo. That is unequivocally not true. Instead of relying on magical charms, she's pushing herself to analyze data and provide the necessary instruction. It's not mojo; it's damn hard work. This fall our staff and students experienced training on growth mindset from Trevor Ragan of Train Ugly. Mojo seems like a fixed mindset belief. Either you have it or you don't. That's not how I view my role in the classroom. That's why every year I'm revamping units and rewriting lesson plans. It's why my writing mini-lessons vary from class to class, student to student. Honestly, that growth mindset is why I was reflecting after a low moment on Friday afternoon. Because I want to do better, because I know that there is always room for improvement. So don't worry. I won't be gone looking for my mojo. Instead I'll be working hard tonight to create a mini-lesson about sentence fragments. (Maybe followed by a glass of wine. Damn hard work sometimes deserves a reward.) |
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