Article on the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship fund

"Pittsburgh Promise scholarship fund reaches $160 million"

Everyone should check out this article featuring some quotes from Saleem Ghubril, who spoke at this year's graduation ceremony, speaking on the increase of funding for the Pittsburgh Promise.

A Quiet Self Portrait

"Feed" is on my list

Feed (Amazon)
Do you think students might be interested in this Young Adult work? I can see many opportunities to engage students using this novel just after reading the description. Is this something you might be interested in reading or teaching?

Some "Novel" Ideas

The truth about Carol Jago’s article “Much Ado About Something” is that her words made me love her. I even wrote, “I love you, Carol Jago” at the top of my print out. The reason I loved Jago’s article so much is because she echoed many of the thoughts I have had about teaching the classics. While I agree that “teenagers are hungry for stories that mirror their lives,” I also believe our students have the necessary ability to relate any text to their own lives, including the classics. The selling point for me was Jago’s reference to The Odyssey. Without this particular work, my high school experiences would have been completely different, and I will definitely try my best to teach Homer’s epics in my classroom. Like Jago, I will also try my best to teach my students “to read with care.”

Just as I was sold on teaching the classics I read Donald Gallo’s article “How Classics Create an Aliterate Society,” and my beliefs began to shift. I found myself relating to the author’s background story, and I felt as if I was a lot like him. Like Gallo I did not get really interested into reading until college, and I was never one of the best English students during high school. While I do agree with Gallo’s main goal of creating a “love of reading” in our classrooms, I do not agree with his view of the classics. Required readings have been around so long for a reason. I do not see any value in doing away with them all together, but Gallo does provide some interesting viewpoints on how to use Young Adult Literature. The main argument for teaching YAL novels is the comfort that they can provide to students. In addition, after reading Gallo’s article I have begun to recognize Young Adult Literature as an important genre of texts that need to be addressed because they are now such a large part of literature as a whole. 

William Broz’s article “Not Reading: The 800-Pound Mockingbird in the Classroom” was by far my least favorite article. At first, I found myself arguing with Broz and thinking there was far too much personal bias in his article, but he saved himself with this line: “we must have the integrity to admit that some small number of students who can read will not read, no matter what we do.” Well thank you, William. For a second there I thought you were delusional, and I still sort of believe that. I found Broz’s lists of dos and don’ts to be very helpful, but I also found myself disagreeing with his main premise. I am not sure what I think about the classics yet because I have not taught any of them yet, but when I do, I’ll be sure to revisit this article. Maybe then I will respond more favorably. 

The final assigned article by Gibbons, Dail, and Stallworth titled “Young Adult Literature in the English Curriculum Today: Classroom Teachers Speak Out” was definitely the most data driven text of the four. The biggest thing I took away from this article is that it is very possible to create an effective and engaging curriculum using both the classics and Young Adult Literature. The authors started the article off with why to use YAL novels, and I was hooked. Because of this article and many of the other assigned readings, I now see great value in teaching Young Adult Literature. I was not very interested in how the authors went about surveying, but the three themes that emerged from their research proved to be very helpful. I agree with all three themes presented, but I really liked the idea that YAL relates to students’ interests and addresses time constraints of a crowded classroom. I was not surprised to see that theme cited. Overall, I enjoyed reading this article, but found myself not taking that much away from it. I would only recommend it to certain teachers.

Rest in Peace Ray Bradbury

“With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word 'intellectual,' of course, became the swear word it deserved to be.”

I think Ray would have a few more things to say about how to teach literature in the classroom. How many of you have read one or more of his works? 

How the Common Core Standards affect Textbook Sales

Wall Street Journal Article "Textbook Sales Likely to Rise on New Rules"

I don't think auto tune was around in the 20's

What do you think about this trailer? I am always very weary of adapting successful novels into films, but I have to say, I am intrigued by this one.