I read the news today oh, boy
In cased you haven’t guessed, I really like the Beatles.
I was listening to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band today because I’ll eventually need to learn the title track for the school band, and it reminded me of how much I love the album and it’s anchor “A Day in the Life”. The song, as fate would have it, was playing on my iTunes when kiswrites refused to let me register without a blog title and thus, in the same fashion as the Summer of Love, my blog’s theme is initiated by Sgt. Pepper’s.
But from experimenting with this website and reading the blogs of my peers, I’m so far failing to see blogging’s potential as a teacher. I fancy myself to be quite a fan of the internet, and I definitely prefer this over writing a diary, but I don’t think blogging offers anything new to an extremely well-wired student body (especially not in the field of American Literature), at least none that I have found yet.
But I am definitely open to being proven wrong.
Wednesday 13 Feb 2008 | eehoc09 | Uncategorized
hey ee!!
i love lucy in the sky with diamonds! you should play it for me some time soon!
ays (angela song)
You won’t be surprised to hear me say I love blogging. It’s opened all sorts of doors for me and hooked me up with people all over the world who I talk to professionally and may one day work with or for (or may work for me, if the dream school I’m planning ever happens).
But this might surprise you: I don’t think blogging will help a large percentage of students (if that’s what you meant by “blogging’s potential as a teacher,” which was a bit unclear).
Nothing will help a large percentage of students learn _or_ develop skills, because really, that’s pretty much up to the student.
But my god, if you were writing about literature on this thing because it was homework? I wouldn’t read it.
And I’m a literature teacher.
I don’t want to read homework - do you? And do you think that’s what writing is? Doing homework?
Writing is a very different thing.
And a large percentage of students, to circle back around, will never understand just how different.
But maybe a few will - especially when readers notice that they can write. And subscribe to them. And comment on what they wrote.
Mr. Burell-
After having written a couple of blogs, I’ve become pretty fond of them myself.
It’s refreshing to be able write without being given a topic or a rubric to use as a cookie-cutter.
I feel like I have never felt before in school; I feel like I’m writing for fun.
But I’m still a little bit skeptical on it’s relevance in literature classes. AP Literature, for example, is a class with a syllabus specifically outlined by the Collegeboard and in preparation for a generic standardized test. Blogging seems to be a little out of place there, and I think that internet communications deserves a separate course altogether.
But whatever class it belongs to, I’m glad we’re blogging.
Ahh, but if you do a bit of research, you’ll see that it’s “AP Literature and Composition.” If I weren’t feeling lazy, I’d add html to italicize that latter phrase.
And don’t be fooled by the AP label. AP teachers laugh at the pretense of the whole thing: students taking it for all the wrong reasons, with no true love of literature or writing, with a few rare exceptions. They’d be writing mediocre paper journals if they weren’t blogging.
An AP teacher in Virginia whose blog I read joked that AP should be called “All-Purpose” - I’d add, primarily for the purpose of college application bullets
(I blog about him here. He’s wicked funny and smart too. Check him out for a hilariously honest view of teaching high school.)
Any writer knows the best way to improve your composition is to write frequently, about something you care about communicating well. I can assign the frequency easily enough. But the passion and care? That’s a spiritual pre-requisite I can’t supply.
I don’t blame the students too much, either. They’re too busy with hagwons and other thought-stoppers to find ideas to care about. And life requires a few years of freedom in order to become interesting - for the lucky, anyway. Which is another reason teaching deep literature in high school is a fundamentally flawed idea.
In any case, you seem to be cluing in to a couple of things that only time can bring: first, that being a writer (as opposed to scribbling homework drivel) is something that evolves over time; second, that blogging is such a new form of writing that your impressions of it, too, will evolve over time. When you come back to your space in a year, you’ll see more, if you keep writing.
I’ll add this one: blogging is not a silver bullet to create writers. I see it, at best, as a seed to plant in each writer. Whether it grows depends on the fertility of each writer’s soul. Some blogs will wither and die, some will be weed-patches. But some will flower - and gain more notice than that of their teacher only. In the best cases, they’ll gain readers from around the world. Readers who return for more, mind you.
And comment, and start conversations that extend the writers ideas–like this comment thread (another word for conversation, really) should be doing?
I’ve been writing on my blog for a little over a year. Since January, I’ve been getting emails offering to pay me for advertising space on my blog, and invitations to be flown places to speak at conferences. All because I make my ideas transparent, and write with frequency and care about things others find interesting (it helps to have a focus and not be random). I never dreamed any of this would happen when I started my own journey.
Now I dream that, this time next year, I’m getting emails asking students at KIS to speak at conferences, be interviewed, etc. I expect that will happen with only a handful, though - you know, the fertile ones, with focus, and with passion, and care.
I’m enjoying this. I’ll subscribe to you in my Bloglines.
I wanted to add my two-cents here as a writer/blogger/teacher. I really enjoyed reading your exchanged, although it made me feel the pangs of jealously. You see I am an eighth-grade teacher and the way my students are interacting with blogs is a bit different than the conversations you two are having here. I am using my blogging experience to get kids used to writing to communicating. Sometimes it does feel forced and like homework, I hope that this will slowly dissolve into a more organic need to write. But middle school is a strange time for deeply contemplating life.
I think Mr. Burrell is right that the “disease” of being a writer- being the type of person who is constantly observing his or her world and feeling the need to communicate these observations to a larger audience in order to somehow connect with his or her fellowman, is not something that can be taught in school. This need to connect and write is a form of magic that very few people will ever understand.
School, no mater how hard we teachers try, is not the place to help create writers. Life will take care of that. We simply try to guide and advise the people we see who have that sparkle in their eye.
As for blogging, it is a great way to look for kids that have the potential to be writers. All the signs are there. I have a few seventh and eight graders who are on the right track. The blog is a perfect tool for them to start seeing the power of connecting and communicating through text.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that I am here and reading. I would like to invite you to come on over and see what I am doing at my various blogs:
http://globalissuesclub.learnerblogs.org/
http://englisheight.edublogs.org/
Jabiz Raisdana
Does learning have to come preceded by a syllabus? I know that my country/state/district are pretty sure that it does. I’m pretty sure that *doesn’t* have to be true. I am sure that you learn when you want to learn, no matter how your desire is inspired (desire to get an A, desire to not be grounded, interest in the topic…)
Will blogging inspire some students? Spark that desire? The act itself would not have inspired me (my blog even now is rather thin) but I do like getting comments. I would guess that, as learning is not a good one-size-fits-all type of activity, that some students will get more out of it than others. That’s okay. That’s the way it works for everything in the classroom.
Best of luck with your class blogs. Perhaps I’ll check out some others…
Great conversation, which is one of the best values of blogging. I agree that AP Literature is wasted on most high school students. My son is taking that class now, and he is one of the few who probably “gets it” more than most. He’s a deep thinker and has asked me to read several of his books, but what he doesn’t get is what a GIFT it is to be having that educational experience. When I first read his syllabus at the beginning of the year, I was overcome with jealousy! I would love to be able to sit in on those classes and discussions! There’s no way a 17 year old can have that kind of appreciation of great literature because of limited life experiences.
I can’t weigh in on the value of blogging in such a class, because I blog with elementary students. I work in a K-5 school, and this year over 220 of those students have blogs. These 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students love it!!! We’ve only been at it for a couple of months, and at this point they are mostly responding to teacher prompts, but the results have been very positive. Teachers have noticed that students who write very little with pencil and paper are writing more by blogging. I have a lesson that I teach on “The Craft of Writing Comments.” Students love the whole “participating in a conversation” concept. Granted, we are still working at a very basic level, but it’s been very motivational and fun. School should be fun!
Keep on blogging!
Hi,
I work with a Bronx middle school, and we have just initiated student and teacher blogging across the eighth grade. I’ve been trying to coax this process along, and capitalize on the initial student excitement, but you’ve just made some very good points.
I love Clay’s garden analogy for blogging, and I think teachers still have a responsibility to ‘tend’ these plants - with perhaps more fertilizing and watering, and a little less pruning. I’ve been trying to push the idea of late that we should be “Whipping the cream, not cracking the whip.”
You both imply that blogging is a risk in terms of its potential to improve writing skills, but a risk that is definitely worth the endeavor.
Thanks for your insights, particularly at a time when I’m ploughing through 200 student blog posts.
EE,
How’s this for a paradox.
You state, “But from experimenting with this website and reading the blogs of my peers, I’m so far failing to see blogging’s potential as a teacher.”
Blogging is not the teacher; you are (and as you gain readers they will become your teachers too). Through your short-lived process, you are teaching yourself already. You are thinking, skeptical, and inquisitive in the power of something you do not yet understand. What better teacher can one want!? Hurray for you.
Learning, unlike school, is a process which knows no time boundaries. In school, when the final test is over, the learning may stop. Learning is, in my mind, about following your passion. Regardless of your passion, writing and reflecting (blogging) in such a way as to gain readers will increase your opportunities for learning that you cannot imagine. As Mr. Burell has stated, doors open that you may not know even exist.
Blogging is not a method of teaching as much as it is a principle of learning - it can be for you a long-term recording of your thoughts as they form, develop, and mature. The Internet construct allows your thoughts to form, develop, and mature with more input from people around the world who have similar interests, who are willing to help you.
To conclude the paradox, your questioning about blogging’s purpose and effectiveness has likely taught you more than you thought it could or would. Am I right?
Ric
Ringgold, Georgia, USA
Wow.
I am absolutely stunned by how fast my little blog has generated discussion from people around the world. Thank you all for your insights!
I’m appreciating this whole process more and more. The comments make me feel like people are actually reading what I’m writing, because I think I receive back my essays with nothing but numbers next to categories all too often.
In a little over a week since I wrote my first entry, I have learned a lot more about blogging and it’s relevance to the student.
With my blog, I’m given the freedom and the opportunity to write whatever I choose, and discuss the subject matter with people around the planet.
I can’t think of a better way to improve writing.
Hello
I appreciate your candor in questioning the “blogging as learning” concept. I struggle to consistently write to my floundering blog, but find the CONVERSATIONS on others instructive and fascinating. I understand that if I really want to be a player in my profession, (I am a librarian), I need to feel more at ease to contribute rather than simply consume. That takes ideas (I have a few of these) and courage and confidence (I am working up to the latter). I congratulate you on starting young, putting yourself out there and speaking your mind.
It is funny to me to read a conversation between educators about whether or not blogging is a useful tool in the classroom because this conversation alone is the power of blogging. While it may not be the most exciting thing to respond to a teacher’s prompt, the purpose of blogging is giving yourself a wide audience who can give you feedback. What is lacking for a lot of students when given a writing prompt or assignment is that sense of having a purpose beyond just meeting a requirement for the class. When students realize that they are writing to a global audience they are more invested in putting forth an effort to improve the quality.
I teach 5th graders and we use our blogs a good bit. What is truly exciting is when the students receive a comment on the blog from someone outside of their school or even outside of their country. As a teacher the other exciting part is when you go to the blog and realize that the students are writing on it and doing things with their blog without being given any kind of assignment.
Blogging is a tool of this generation. It is not necessarily about introducing these students to something new and exciting, but rather giving them the opportunity to have learning experiences in the world in which they actually live (something that rarely happens in our traditional education system).
Don’t give up on blogging and the fact that you are actually stimulating a conversation like this gives me confidence that you will recognize the power of blogging. Good luck, keep blogging, and I am now going to add this blog to my reader.
And if you keep writing good stuff (and being both a Bowie fan in the ’70s and a Bjork fan in the ’90s, I include your B(owie)jork post on that list), I’ll keep reading you.
And I’ll keep linking on my own blog to noteworthy stuff you write, so people who are simply interested will come if they want. I do that for people all over the world whose writing I enjoy.
Now that, through this blog, you are a “person” to me instead of “student,” your writing (which really means your ideas and language, above all) qualifies along with all those other people.
Welcome to being a person.
And this has been very cool to me. I don’t know any of the people above who commented (though I did tweet about our dialog). Ric Murry especially blows me away with both his right-on angle of blogging as learning, but also with his location: I spent practically every day of my life for my first five years in Ringgold, Georgia. My grandmother lived there.
Wild.
wow…
Oh, and by the way: I AM THE A HUGE BEATLES FAN.
Have you read the Beatles Anthology?
What’s your favorite Beatles movie?
At risk of sounding cliche, I like A Hard Days Night the best. But from the perspective of an art-experimental type movie, Magical Mystery Tour is quite good as well.
And who can forget Yellow Submarine (but it’s not their real voices!!!).
I’ve only seen Yellow Submarine and parts of Magical Mystery Tour.
I always liked the “Strawberry Fields Forever” part. It’s probably my favorite Beatles song.