Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Drafting Posters
I've learned by creating these that, like writing, there is a process and what you create can affect people differently. By arranging the pictures and the text in a certain way, my paper can make different points. I found that by arranging the items on my poster, my poster made more sense the more I played around with it. The less junk I had on my poster, the better it became. The point is clear, without having to spell it out. All of these things relate to the composing process.
Evaluation of My Writing
Almost missed this blog post-was too busy focusing on my current paper and the eval. Relating to what is on the rubric, I think I need to expand more on all of my sources and not use only one for the majority of my paper. I refer to Pugach a lot but that's because she makes great points in her book, all that I agree with and will follow when I am a teacher. But I will work on integrating more the other sources I found. I also will make sure that my paper is not too one-sided. Some may think that I am being disrespectful by referring to not-so-good teachers as quitters and failures so I will work on taking that out so that it doesn't turn some away.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Week 11-Creative Writing Workshop
After receiving feedback, I learned about a few sentences that completely contradict the point I am trying to make! Oops! I can see why I added those sentences, and I know what I was trying to say when I wrote it, but now that someone else read it and explained what they thought I was saying I realize it definitely doesn't fit. So, I need to work on changing them around to get my point across or just remove them altogether. I'm fine with either option. She also pointed out to me a really good idea I had in my paper and mentioned that I should expand on it a little more. She's right. The paragraph is very short and I can definitely give a few more ideas around the topic that needs expanding.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Week 11-Revising Comments
I haven't received the copies of my drafts from my classmates so I'm not sure what feedback they had but I've talked to a few of them who have read it or heard about my ideas for my paper. The latest revision I did was really getting my conclusion down and making the suggestions for solving the issue flow well with the rest of the paper. I still don't have a title, which is pretty much the hardest part of my paper so far, but hopefully I will have that before tomorrow night's class. I also went through and read my paper again and fixed many small errors and even replaced some words and sentences with others to make it sound better. I even found a point where I felt the need to insert the feelings that I had at that point in time, so I think I will read it one more time before Wednesday night's class to make sure I really wanted that thought included in my paper (sometimes I get carried away, but usually I can catch myself and fix it before I go too far).
Overall, I think that revisions that I've made over the course of creating the paper have been helpful in making my paper sound more relatable and less like a technical, dry research paper. My ideas have been inserted more than actual quotes from other people so I think that makes my paper show more feeling; I am talking about why students from different culture backgrounds receive an unequal treatment in schools, which in turn is the reason for the achievement gap, so there should be real feeling involved in order to sway my readers into believing what I do. Thus, to me, showing my voice in this writing rather than using someone else's voice is most important.
Overall, I think that revisions that I've made over the course of creating the paper have been helpful in making my paper sound more relatable and less like a technical, dry research paper. My ideas have been inserted more than actual quotes from other people so I think that makes my paper show more feeling; I am talking about why students from different culture backgrounds receive an unequal treatment in schools, which in turn is the reason for the achievement gap, so there should be real feeling involved in order to sway my readers into believing what I do. Thus, to me, showing my voice in this writing rather than using someone else's voice is most important.
Visual Composition
What was new and surprising to me after reading these articles is that art can tell so many stories. I never knew there was so much thought behind positioning something on a page just to get an idea across. From positioning for a feeling of comfort, or gravity, or fear, or to show hierarchy, there are so many different stories a picture can tell just by these things. Not only can visuals tell stories, they can even show movement and tension.
From what I gathered in the readings, visual composition is expressing a sense of reality in a picture and creating a visual language. Literacy is not always verbal, it can also come from pictures that we create. In art we can create a visual message and, the better the art the clearer the message. It's about "understanding expressive visual communication in the search for a universal visual language (Dondis)." Written composition sounds familiar, although it is not visual but rather a process of getting a message across clearly.
When I read these articles I was constantly trying to find a comparison to the written composition because I forgot all about the poster we are to do by the end of the semester. I tried really hard to take what I was reading and compare it to what we were learning. Finally when I was done reading I went back to the calendar and remembered the poster, and then had to sit and think about what I was really reading and put my thoughts back to art and not the metaphors I created to relate to the writing composition process. Now that I started to think about my poster, I will be sure to use the techniques of centered-ness and gravity, as well as creating a focus that stands out more than anything else (the main point). I think I have an idea of how to do my poster to show all the connections of the composition process and will start drawing it out soon.
From what I gathered in the readings, visual composition is expressing a sense of reality in a picture and creating a visual language. Literacy is not always verbal, it can also come from pictures that we create. In art we can create a visual message and, the better the art the clearer the message. It's about "understanding expressive visual communication in the search for a universal visual language (Dondis)." Written composition sounds familiar, although it is not visual but rather a process of getting a message across clearly.
When I read these articles I was constantly trying to find a comparison to the written composition because I forgot all about the poster we are to do by the end of the semester. I tried really hard to take what I was reading and compare it to what we were learning. Finally when I was done reading I went back to the calendar and remembered the poster, and then had to sit and think about what I was really reading and put my thoughts back to art and not the metaphors I created to relate to the writing composition process. Now that I started to think about my poster, I will be sure to use the techniques of centered-ness and gravity, as well as creating a focus that stands out more than anything else (the main point). I think I have an idea of how to do my poster to show all the connections of the composition process and will start drawing it out soon.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Week 10-Language and Power
Delpit's article focused on the "culture of power" and the debate over skills vs. process when it comes to writing and teaching. Delpit speaks about the differences between a teacher showing power in the classroom vs. not showing power and how that can have a major effect on students. I like how Delpit gave examples of white middle-class parents being a little bit more lenient with directions to their kids, "isn't it time for your bath?", vs. black parents who are more direct with their children, "get in that bathtub!". If teachers don't know how to show power in a classroom, some students will not respond well and therefore be set up for failure. Delpit states that teachers should also find ways to incorporate different languages in the classroom and allow students to use the language they are most comfortable with at home, but to also teach them about the power behind standard English.
Young examined the disconnect between the black culture and literacy and talks about the dilemma of being a black male in school and how using standard English, or White English vernacular (WEV), can seem feminine or homosexual. He explains that many young black males protect their masculinity by choosing not to accept standard English. Like Delpit, he talks about ways that teachers incorporate their BEV in the classroom but emphasizes that they set them up for failure by not teaching them WEV and when it is appropriate to use both.
I've been learning about how to accept BEV, also known as AAVE (African American Vernacular English) in the classroom when I am a teacher, as well as how to teach my students about when it is important to use VS. when standard English should be used. The ultimate goal in making sure they learn standard English is exactly what these articles talk about-power. I actually have been affected in how I am perceived by people because of my language uses. In school I went to all MPS and the way I spoke came off to my predominantly black classmates as white. Things that I pronounced correctly would be laughed at by some. Not that I was bullied, but if I wanted to avoid that, I would have to change my language a bit to fit in. With that being said, I feel like I can relate to African Americans who change their language in certain situations. I, however, do not judge people for their language, unless they are using the wrong language at the wrong time (i.e. using "slang" at an interview or with someone of power). The point in both articles, I think, is to show that standard English shows a form of power in society, but that all other languages should not simply be dismissed. Students should learn about the power they can have if they choose when to use standard English VS. their own language that they've known since they were very young. It is part of their culture and teachers cannot and should not see it as unimportant or of having no value (I talk about this in my paper!).
Young examined the disconnect between the black culture and literacy and talks about the dilemma of being a black male in school and how using standard English, or White English vernacular (WEV), can seem feminine or homosexual. He explains that many young black males protect their masculinity by choosing not to accept standard English. Like Delpit, he talks about ways that teachers incorporate their BEV in the classroom but emphasizes that they set them up for failure by not teaching them WEV and when it is appropriate to use both.
I've been learning about how to accept BEV, also known as AAVE (African American Vernacular English) in the classroom when I am a teacher, as well as how to teach my students about when it is important to use VS. when standard English should be used. The ultimate goal in making sure they learn standard English is exactly what these articles talk about-power. I actually have been affected in how I am perceived by people because of my language uses. In school I went to all MPS and the way I spoke came off to my predominantly black classmates as white. Things that I pronounced correctly would be laughed at by some. Not that I was bullied, but if I wanted to avoid that, I would have to change my language a bit to fit in. With that being said, I feel like I can relate to African Americans who change their language in certain situations. I, however, do not judge people for their language, unless they are using the wrong language at the wrong time (i.e. using "slang" at an interview or with someone of power). The point in both articles, I think, is to show that standard English shows a form of power in society, but that all other languages should not simply be dismissed. Students should learn about the power they can have if they choose when to use standard English VS. their own language that they've known since they were very young. It is part of their culture and teachers cannot and should not see it as unimportant or of having no value (I talk about this in my paper!).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)