YALIT/Crit

OUR BLOG!

I've decided that I'd like to maintain this blog so that it remains an ongoing dialogue for us about teaching and learning in ELA classrooms as well as about our own literacy learning.

It would be wonderful to do some book-talking on the blog over the next few months.

I hope we can keep everyone engaged--reading and responding to one another.

What do you think?

Agenda for Class Today!

4:20--Celinda's Seminar

4:20--Sharing Final Projects with Classmates

5:00--Joe's Seminar

5:00--Sharing Final Projects with Classmates

5:40--Full Circle Reflections on 619--text based discussions--from Yagelski/Sato and the blog prompts*

*You will be responsible for facilitating your own question. When two or more students have asked very similar questions I will collapse those questions and ask you to co-facilitate.

6:30--A Toast to Our Accomplishments this Semester (new venue)

PLEASE return all books tonight.

PLEASE bring drafts of ANY text of yours that I am reading for final assessments in the course--that includes papers and the project. If you do not yet have feedback from me on your last paper, I will have it for you tonight.

Let me know if there's anything I've left out here--I've been reading drafts most of the night. I could use your spotting right now!! Thanks!

Loving/Living the Questions

The reflective prompts posted so far are provocative and rich.

If you have not posted your prompt, referencing either Sato or Yagelski, please do that today/tonight so that I can develope a prompt outline for tomorrow's meeting.

Thanks very much.

Karen

IT's OFFICIAL!

I've just come from the 153rd Syracuse University commencement and Frank McCourt's (my "teacher man") keynote. My first thought was to write to all of you.

As the candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy approached the chancellor's outstretched hand, I broke the line and spoke to McCourt, telling him that I felt as if his speech about teaching English in NYC public schools for 30 years had been delivered personally to me. He said "God bless you" when I told him I had been a high school Eng. teacher for many of those same years. It was a wonderful moment and I just wanted to share it with you.

Now I can return to my considerable work for our class on Tuesday, but I found the ceremony surprisingly moving and the undergraduate's address especially exciting.

I'm hoping I can get a copy of the S.U. graduation DVD to share with you if you're interested in hearing either speech.

The ceremony used to air on cable television locally but I don't know if that's the case anymore. If you do locate it, don't miss McCourt's speech!!

You may even catch a glimpse of me on the stage. Love, Karen

P.S. I will post a pic. on the blog when my picture-taking friend gets them on the computer for me.

Class This Week

Just a reminder: PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE POST YOUR ASSESSMENT OF JERRY'S SEMINAR. I read all of these assessments when I evaluate the folder. Thanks!!

Dear Teachers,

So many things to reflect on at this point in the semester. Do share some of your own reflection questions here in the comment space. These are questions we might use next Tuesday afternoon in our last class in place of a written reflection.

We have seminars w/Ray and Lindsay this week and project sharing. Joe and Andy are showing their video. Who else will be sharing her/his project with the class this week? Please let me know.

We also have our regularly scheduled book club chat and a discussion of "why EAGLE BLUE?" I plan for us to do some interesting things with this title--the first 50 pp. only.

Did some one of you borrow my copy? I think so. I just need to know who has it.

I encourage you to email me a draft of the next revision of your article.

See you on TH. And we will be leaving by 6:30 on TH...anyone interested in the Mailer lecture in Syr? Let me know.

K

P.S. Did you know our "scheduled" exam block is FRIDAY at 4:20. I think we made a better choice!

LIVE WEB CHAT ABOUT THE PROFESSION at TEACHER MAGAZINE TODAY

I thought you might be interested in submitting a question to the Teacher Magazine Live Chat which is today at 4:00. I'll call it up on our classroom computer at 4:00. The topic is of special interest to us.

One of the facilitators is Va. h.s. English teacher and another I know is a media specialist at a middle school in N.C. You can submit questions in advance and appear on the chat transcript.

Here is the Call:

Please join us today, May 3, at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, for a live Web chat on career issues for teachers.
Data confirm that teaching isn't an easy profession: A new study from the National Center for Education Statistics, for example, shows that 8 percent of public school teachers—and fully 20 percent of brand new teachers—quit the classroom in the 2004-05 school year. Yet teaching remains a source of fulfillment and intellectual excitement for many thousands of educators, and continues to speak to the interests and ideals of many young people and mid-career professionals. So what's it really like?

In this chat, members of the Teacher Leaders Network will be online to take your questions about teaching careers, including negotiating career paths, dealing with hardships and barriers, understanding trends and changes in the profession, and finding the position that's right for you.
Submit advance questions.

MAY DAY! MAY DAY!

Dear Writers, The draft of the article was due yesterday. If you would like feedback from me it was important to meet that deadline. Thank you to those of you who did. I am so excited about these second papers and your explorations of topics that interest you so much in them. Keep your eye on the critical edge -- that which you want to be able say something important about. Keep it also on its suitability for publication to other Englsh teachers.

I am also interested in your posts on KETURAH. I just recommended it to a 7th grade teacher whose classroom I visited today. What kind of an analysis/theoretical perspectives would you encourage readers to investigate with this novel? Nice review of it in the TIMES a few weeks ago. Check it out.

PLEASE CONSIDER:

As you know, our syllabus lists May 10 as our last class. I would like to ask you if you would consider adding an addiitonal class the following week. This is not really an "addiitonal" class as we dropped 2 classes due to the bad weather and then my conference commitments this semester (sigh!). 3 if you count the night you held class without me and not everyone made it to class.

This is on my mind -- as you are -- all the time and it's creating a good deal of anxiety. I think you know this, but I will reiterate that I have a deep commitment to graduate education and to all of your efforts to prepare for the challenging work of either continuing to be an extraordinary teacher or in your becoming one.

I would like NOT to have to rush our last seminars, lit circles and discussions of KETURAH and EAGLE BLUE.

I would also like time for us to share projects, second papers for publication and process the journey we have been on together this semester. We might use the Yagelski chapter along with the NCTE presidential address to do both.

It would also be nice if we had circle time for all of us to talk a little bit about our seminar topics, the significance of them and what we learned from the work we did to prepare.

How would you feel about our adding an additional class during what is finals week on campus? That would push the discussion of EAGLE BLUE to 1/2 on the 10th and the rest on the 17th. It also gives us some leeway with the last seminars. Because we did not have class this week, Ray C was not able to give out his folders.

We could postpone his seminar until the 10th (w/your permission Ray) with either Celinda, Lindsay or Joe and then the two remaining seminars could be held on the 17th.

This would be instead of trying to fit Ray C in on the 3rd and Lindsay, Celinda and Joe on the 10th. That did not work well last time we met and Li was forced to make the best of that poor scheduling on my part. Jerry would be our only seminar on the 3rd if we did that.

Lit Circles on JOE and LIFE AS WE KNEW IT might also have more time with this schedule. Currently they are to be held on the 3rd.

On the 17th we would not have to meet until 6:50 of course. We can play that by ear. It might turn out that way if we all have as much to say as I think we do. But that's negotiable.

I'll bring the treats if you continue to bring all of your wonderful "work" this semester.

I would like to have this additional time in our 619 community.

Let me know here what you think. Thanks! KES

From the NYSATE Conference

Dear Teachers,

I will miss you tonight. If you go on Friday, do post on the Mikaelsen talk at the Jr/Sr. High School (8 Valley View Drive) tomorrow. Check last week's agenda for details. It's important to be a little early so you can navigate the parking lot and the large school building to find your way to the aud. where he is no doubt speaking.

I look forward to reading drafts of the second paper. Please send copy to me by 4/30. I will be on campus on Monday for anyone who would like to talk in person.

We have a candidate for the Field Placement Director position and I'll be tied up with her for some of the day but there is plenty of time for a meeting with any of you.

I saw an extraordinary performance this morning, a young woman who dramatizes a variety of school stakeholder roles to convey data about teaching collected in multiple interview with teachers, administrators, teacher educators, etc. etc. I am going to try to bring her to Cortland next year.

Truly phenomenal.

Be in touch.

And do post on KETURAH!

Reading Blog Posts This Afternoon

I just want to say how wonderful it is for me, what a privilege, to be reading this blog and working w/you this semester. The range of intellectual activity and collaboration, the interest you have evinced in the considerable reading we have been and still are doing this semester, and the opportunities I have had to get to know each of you in one-on-one meetings is the essence of good teaching/learning/studenting from my perspective.

Russell Banks (and the post-post-modernists) may be right that we "don't know who we are." But all of you help me know every day and every week who I am and, importantly, who I want to be. Thank you. KES