When I began reading Chapter 3 of Christensen I was disappointed by the fact that she was still discussing social issues. I mean I’m all for making the students think but focusing on nothing but the negative can get a little depressing. I mean even her some of students began to question her motives. But, as I read on I sort of understood why Christensen focuses so much on social problems. As she explains in chapter 3: “When students see either their lives or history as inevitable, they are not encouraged to work for change. By studying problems in their lives and by rooting those problems historically, students are able to analyze this society, uncover inequality, and explore the reasons why it exists.” if students don’t recognize or aren’t aware of the injustices that they face they will never question things that may seems wrong.(Christensen, 62) So although I may never spend as much time on social issues as Christensen does I will definitely spend some time getting my students to realize and or challenge thing injustices of the world because I really do think it’s important.
I like the forgiveness poems idea, it seemed like a good idea for helping students to deal with personal problems that may make them feel alone or hold grudges towards someone. I think it helps them to deal with this in a healthy way instead of keeping their anger locked up. The part about essay development actually was very beneficial to me because being a writer I can understand the frustration that can arise from developing a thesis statement that you can base an entire paper off of. I struggle to come up with the best introduction because I always want to write a great paper and it can be annoying trying to do that and it does take time. I especially like how she helps the students relate to her by sharing her own thought process with her writing: “I want my students to see that writing is messy and sometimes hard. And like anything worth pursuing, it takes time, commitment, and practice. “(Christensen, 68) Writing can be a long process and it scares me a little when I think about trying to teach someone how to write a good successful essay. But with the strategies I studied in chapter 3 I feel a little better about teaching that writing subject.
I think that the most interesting part of the chapter for me was about preparing the students for college. I myself started a program similar to Christensen’s at my old high school. Annually me and other former students return to Northwestern and talk to the juniors and seniors about college. We let them ask us questions and we tell them about how important it is to not abuse the freedom of being on your own and how to handle the differences between high school and college. I think it’s important to give back to where you came from and to know that other students think it’s important as well is a great feeling. I believe that college is important and that being here has been the greatest experience in my life and I will share my enthusiasm about college with my future students as well.
3 comments:
I know what you mean about introductions in essays...they're always the part I end up writing last. If I try to write them first, then I never end up writing!
It's really cool that you go back to your high school to talk about college. I know for a lot of my friends, hearing about college experiences from former students made them feel more comfortable about going and knowing that they could succeed.
I agree with you when you say focusing on the negative aspect of social problems can be depressing. I wrote a little about this on my blog. I think it's good that she focuses on social problems in her classroom but at the same time I feel that there should be a balance between the negative aspects and the positive aspects. That way there can be hope and not so depressing.
I share your feelings toward another chapter that is still discussing social problems. I was glad that Christensen finally addressed the actual teaching of writing on page 70. And I usually write my intro last. It's easier to introduce your paper once you know what is actually in it.
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