EDCI 747 with Barbara Pelman

For many of you this entry might sounds familiar as we all appear to be in each others classes :) Please feel free to add to this entry with a comment should I forget anything.

EDCI 747 with Barbara Pelman (Mon. September 20th)

Class with Barbara is always engaging. I feel like I'm learning a lot without taking extensive notes or having to pay full attention. Does that make sense? Simply put, it's as if I'm transformed into a sponge and all the information is just being absorbed. Her activities are fun and new and nothing like my grade 12 English class was. She relays her knowledge and advice in a way that is non-threatening. She quickly established a classroom environment where we are treated like adults that actually know stuff. I guess by now this shouldn't be surprising, after all we do have degrees already, but still.

We started student mini-lessons this week and Aaron bravely went first (props to Aaron right here). His lesson focused on the graphic novel and its role in the classroom. Personally, I like graphic novels and definitely believe that they have a place in any classroom. They are not new per-say, but they are sometimes regarded as "comics" and not real "literature." However, for a student who does like to read, or simply does not read, the graphic novel could be a great way to make reading fun. Graphic novels are simply another resources to help students engage in what they are reading; basically they are a way to inspire reading. I guess the larger question, based on what we learned from Aaron, is how do we get our students to read? In an ever changing society, one that is moving so quickly, many students find it difficult to focus on a text for longer than a minute. Sitting silently and actually reading print is quickly becoming "uncool" and "uncommon." This could prove to be disastrous in an English class.

Ask yourself these questions (and please answer them in a comment below - I'm very interested to hear what you think): how many of the readings that were assigned over the last four years did you actually read? How many novels did you actually read, read well, and read on time? How many of you skimmed through this very blog to just get the jist of what I was saying? Did you have facebook open? msn? Was your cell phone buzzing in the background?

Now as prospective teachers answer me this: Why should a student read anything (ex. Hamlet) when s/he can simply find summaries and analysis' online? How do we make reading the classics cool?