(Pytash) Lesson Design for Classical Literature

 

“Some say of education that we are the only profession to eat its young” (Jago 95).

Am I horrible to admit that I laughed at this just as much as I look forward to it?

“Too many new teachers are thrown into the ring with little more than a list of books and an attendance roster” (Jago 95).

I find this interesting. Many individuals would probably look at a list of books and freak out. Me? While there may definitely be some “freaking out,” I will look forward to it. One of the reasons I would look forward to this is that I get to read and explore texts that I’ve always wanted to read and do it for my job. While reading my text for the canonical wiki, The Scarlet Letter, I had a ton of fun. I had never read that particular text before and I honestly enjoyed going through, making copious notes (my fiancé commented that my notes made the book twice as thick) and thinking of “large questions” and teaching ideas. While it will be a lot of work to go through a year’s worth of books and come up with lesson/ unit plans for all of them, I look forward to it. There will surely be a lot of grumbling and complaining, but in the end, it will definitely be worth it.

· “Being a teacher means being a teacher.

· However much you think you know, it is always worth thinking some more.

· Whenever you find yourself in a quandary, read the research.

· Teaching well can be thrilling” (Jago 97).

One of the reasons I knew I wanted to be a teacher was my background in teaching. That may sound a bit odd, but I was a riding instructor for many years (and still am when I have time). When I read the above passage in Jago’s book, I immediately nodded in agreement at all of those things. When you are working with students, they will always be looking to prove you wrong. That is a fact of life. My students taught me something every day, and it made me really take a step back and evaluate my knowledge. When I couldn’t think of an explanation for something or didn’t know how to respond to a student (or horse, for they are students too), I would take a step back and think about it, read up on it and ask questions of people working in the business longer than I had been. At the end of each session, I was becoming more confident in my teaching of others and I could see a difference in my riders as well. It was worth the extra effort.

I’ve heard of some mentorship programs for new teachers and I think that this is a fantastic idea. I’m not sure how involved they are, but it would be a strong tool for learning teachers if a veteran could look over their lesson plans, give feedback and then discuss. Also, having a mentor observe a lesson would be a great way to continue education for new teachers. Jago mentions this by saying “successful teachers are the best teachers of teachers” (Jago 98).

“In order to be a successful writing teacher, one must write” (Jago 99).

Yet another obvious, yet often overlooked concept. In our reading for class, Kittle writes about a teacher who was given the advice to write with his students. I agree with this approach. When students can see their teachers struggling with the same issues that they are having, it makes the writing process more manageable and less frustrating. Knowing that someone else is having the same difficulty that you are can be comforting and allow more confidence.

I would have loved to read the work of my teachers and professors, and I’ve only had one share with my class. My Poetry I professor, Robert Miltner, shared many of his poems and ideas with the class. Not only was he open about his ideas, but he also talked to us about his struggles during the writing process and strategies he’s found that work. For every assignment that I ask my students to do, I think it would be a good idea to have an example of my own. I don’t think that sharing my work for every assignment is a good idea, but working through it and understanding issues that may pop up during the thought process is a good idea.

“in teaching, somehow we’ve promulgated the idea that a teacher is not a professional unless she invents it all by herself. (Willis 2002, 11)” (Jago 103).

Think about it for a minute. As a pre-service teacher, would you think less of an educator for borrowing many lesson ideas? I certainly wouldn’t. I have come across many ideas which I find excellent for teaching one particular book or another. With proper attribution, there is no reason why borrowed lessons or assignments cannot be used in your classroom. If a veteran teacher highly recommends an activity, I’ll definitely consider trying it out. It may need to be adapted for my particular classroom or text, but it might be the starting point for an assignment of my own creation.

I’m sure that there are many veteran teachers out there who feel that new teachers must prove their prowess in lesson planning by creating every aspect of every lesson used in their classroom. Realistically, they are probably forgetting how many times they’ve borrowed ideas or worked with another teacher to flesh out concepts for a text. No teacher is invincible and we have no right to expect new teachers to come prepared with a Kevlar vest.

“Almost invariably, when I start talking about homework. Someone tells me that homework is a middle-class notion, and that as long as I make out-of-class reading a requirement for success, some students will be doomed to failure. I cannot accept this” (Jago 130).

I 100% agree with Jago on this. Classroom management can be difficult enough as it is without eliminating homework. I am fully of the notion that students should do about 90-95% of their reading outside of the classroom. That way, they have time to absorb, think about and begin analyzing the text before coming to class. If we expect students to actively participate and proffer their wise ideas, then we need them to have done their reading before class.

Many students today find themselves so wrapped up in extracurricular activities and the like that they struggle to complete homework every night. As students entering college are told—balance is key. Students, like everyone else, must learn to balance everything in their lives. Homework must be part of their schedule of daily activities or they will fall behind. It is inevitable that students will have challenges with their reading assignments, and (I’ll be blunt here) that’s sort of the point. When students struggle to read or understand as assignment, it gives them questions about the text. It is likely that most of the other students had trouble with the assignment as well. And therefore gives teachers a jumping-off point for class. “Good” teachers will anticipate these issues and base their classes around parts of the text which challenge students. Whether teachers choose to prepare students beforehand or prefer to explain it afterward can depend a lot on the teacher, students and text being used.

When it comes right down to it—homework will always have a place in (and out) of my classroom. It has functioned well for so long that eliminating it entirely would leave teachers with very little room to teach. Students would spend most of class time reading and then leave with their questions unanswered.

Quizzes. What joy.

Do you give them? Do you announce them? Are they planned out or do you decide to do it five minutes before class?

All of these questions have been debated on endlessly. I agree with Jago that sometimes pop quizzes are a necessary evil. Unlike some teachers, I think that good assignments can take the place of regular quizzes. When students know that they will be asked to apply the text in various, unknown ways, they will often pay a little bit more attention to what they’re reading.

What do you ask on quizzes? I am not a large fan of multiple choice quizzes because they are often too easy. If you make them too difficult, then students may forget the point that quizzes are trying to get across—do you understand what you read? By asking questions that are vague, yet refer to a specific aspect of the text, students can apply information they’ve absorbed.

Tests.

How do you balance pop quizzes and assignments with tests? Here is the point where I am comfortable with multiple choice—but not for the whole test. By the end of a text, students should be comfortable with it. One-third of the test should be multiple choice questions which ask about the literary elements of the text. Two-thirds should be application and critical analysis. This is the time for students to bring it all together.

“I don’t want students to forget that what we are reading is in translation” (Jago 138).

This concept has become very important to me in my college education. In particular, working with texts from middle English have inspired me to look outside of my “box” to other languages. I firmly believe that great texts come from everywhere. There are many sitting in some foreign country that haven’t been discovered here, and that’s a shame to me. We need to take advantage of texts from other places that have made it here.

Not only is it important to understand the origins of a text, but students seem to enjoy hearing a reading of the original text. It gives understanding to cadence, flow, rhyme, rhythm, tone and so much more. Texts that have been translated from existing languages into English sometimes lose their vitality. When translators try and spice them up (think of the many translations of The Odyssey from the book), the meaning isn’t quite the same. Literal translations can be boring, so I fully understand why some teachers choose to use more modern and interesting versions. It really is up to the teacher to decide how to teach which version, but I am preferential toward letting students at least experience how the text was meant to be heard.