Paragraph Six
A Voice From The Classroom: A Reason Not to Cry
Rock, folk, blues, country (oh, these labels!) singer Lucinda Williams has a lyric in her song “Reason to Cry” that goes, “When nothing makes any sense, you got a reason to cry.” The line’s been working my brain like a koan ever since I’ve heard it. I’ve been noticing a strong correlation between sensations of senselessness (does that make sense?) and crying, so to speak...
A Voice from the Classroom: Three Puzzles
Three puzzles: (1) How can I continue this blog effectively when I’m too busy to write it well? (2) Do crossword puzzles belong in the classroom? (3) How can we find the best way to teach each student? I’ll tackle them one at a time, bringing up along the way the research I promised in my last post.
Puzzle #1: I can’t. That one was easy! Which is why this blog took so long to...
A Voice from the Classroom: Swimming in the Lake of Literature
Let’s say you’ve secured beachfront property on the lake of literature (see my last blog post for the source of that reference) for all of your students. Unlike the lakes in resorts and gated communities, this one defies the laws of physics and provides space for anyone who can reach its shores.
So many things to be done in its waters: wading, swimming, diving, sailing, fishing, skiing, tubing…. What are your students doing when they...
A Voice from the Classroom: Property on the Lake of Literature
Last weekend a tornado of workshop planning, bathroom repairs, and out-of-town visitors wiped out the time I needed to follow up on my blog post “The Hero Journey of a Reader.” Gina gave me a pass. Thank you, Gina.
First, an update on the “Tarzan Method” of reading. Cecily Iddings, a teacher of high school Global Studies students at District 75’s Lillian L. Rashkis school, tried it with the...
A Voice from the Classroom: The Hero Journey of a Reader
Jeff Schneider has written to elaborate on (and correct) my description in the last blog post of his “Tarzan Method” of reading:
'I am glad you have tried to use my method. However, when the reader chooses a sentence she must write a comment about it -- not explain what it means. That is important since there should be no stakes in understanding the sentence. She should explain why is it important or repulsive or interesting. The reader should choose sentences she ...
A Voice from the Classroom: Tarzan, Oyster Knives and Text Complexity
Welcome to the rebirth of Paragraph Six, now under a new name: “A Voice from the Classroom.” The spirit is the same, and its mission to nurture the joy of teaching by freely exploring its human dimensions also remains unchanged. So why the new moniker? My supportive and professional sponsor Gina Scala requested that I change it to something that identified the post more accurately with educational themes. I agreed this might be a good idea.
So what might be an educational theme of...
Paragraph Six - Pelicans
I’m asking myself two questions in this last blog of the school year. How many students are celebrating the ideas that have inspired them throughout the year, along with the skills they’ve developed? Conversely, how many are feeling the sting or the exhilaration (or, worse, the indifference) of their standardized test scores?
I suspect the latter number is far higher. John Dewey, who I mentioned in an earlier post for his concern about...
Paragraph Six - On Buying Hyenas and the Limits of Perfection
I meant to break away from the topic of freewriting this week, but I came across a new one that I can’t ignore.
I was facilitating a Curriculum Design Team workshop for the New York City Department of Education District 25 and 28 Magnet School Program. We always open our workshops with a freewrite. After the two minute silent writing session, teachers were sharing their ...
