Final Reflection

Looking back on this past semester, I'm amazed to see just how many new technological activities and ideas I have learned in such a short time span, along with great in class activities that correlate. Throughout the course, I've been keeping a journal of all the activities we did at the beginning and end of class, and look forward to trying them out when I have my own classroom.

My favorite project this semester, and the one I'm most excited about, was our Multigenre Literary Autobiography. I'm hoping to use this as an introduction to the school year, and really get my students thinking about all the literature that is present in their lives and that has shaped them. When I was creating my own presentation, I found myself realizing that the media I had been exposed to when I was younger truly did shape the person I had become today, and even molded the teaching ideals I hope to model.

I'm currently very interested to see how the facebook project concludes. Because of all the controversy swirling around using facebook in schools, I was curious as to the reaction of the school district when the idea was presented, and how they would feel in the aftermath. I believe it to be going well so far, and am amazed at how motivated facebook makes students in terms of speaking out about their opinions on literature they were reading within the classroom. I'm hoping that I will have the opportunity to teach in a school district where the administration is open to me experimenting with new ways of incorporating technology and projects such as this.

Overall, I feel this course was definitely instrumental in opening my eyes to different approaches to teaching literature, and making students more interactive with that material. As society keeps growing more dependent on technology, I feel it's going to critical for me to follow up on the topic throughout my career and adapt my lesson plans to the generation I am hoping to reach.

Did We Read Graphic Novels?

Entering the graphic novel section of our Multi-Modal course, I stopped to think. Did I read any graphic novels throughout my junior high and high school English experience? Looking back, I can only think of one: Maus. My sophomore year, I read it as one of many pieces of literature in the 10th grade Holocaust unit. However, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't remember what the book was about, or if I had learned anything from it.

Comparing this to how intensely other forms of literature are emphasized in schools today - novels, poems, short stories - it's quite an eye opener to realize that graphic novels are an extremely underrepresented art in the classroom. With the emphasis in today's society pushing towards films, video games, and other technological advances, I feel that graphic novels may be an educator's best tool when attempting to reach his or her students through literature. The format of the novels with its pictures and text may actually be more familiar and relatable for each individual student than the traditional novel. If students are comfortable with the work, there is reason to assume that they will have a higher motivation to read the assigned text and come away with a greater understanding of what they have just read.

Therefore, I think it is important that more graphic novels are integrated into curriculums, rather than the typical once every four year approach. By opening our students to all different forms of literature, we are preparing them for the encounters they will have with texts in their everyday lives. Because the future is what every teacher is hoping to ready their students for, this makes reading graphic novels on a more regular basis a crucial goal for school districts across America.

Autism in the Classroom

Listening to Mrs. Cahoon speak about her son and the other children who have autism, I realized how little I actually knew about autism, especially in relation to the educational field. I then decided to search the internet for different tips, and came across a blog written by a principal entitled 12 Tips for Setting Up an Autism Classroom.

While some of these may be more applicable for an elementary school where the teacher has control of her classroom throughout the entire day, a few of these tips really stuck out for me. One that particularly caught my interest was the concept of rewards before consequences. In this section, Principal Kendrick addresses the idea of positive reinforcement, where students receive a prize for doing well on a task. However, he warns educators that if the child does not perform at a high enough level to earn the reward, it is in their best interest to not receive anything rather than negative feedback. After reading Kendrick's analysis of the situation, I've been considering a type of rewards system I can use within my own classroom. What merits will I be providing my students with autism when they are working towards their full potential? I've come to the conclusion that the reward will have to be determined on an individual basis with consideration given to what works best for each individual. However, I feel it is important for all future educators to be thinking about these sorts of situations ahead of time, and am grateful to Mrs. Cahoon for bringing this topic to our attention today.

What About Wikis?

After spending many hours researching lesson plans for my novel, I felt nothing short of hatred for the Wiki project the morning we were assigned to present it. However, after looking at all of the materials my classmates had uncovered, I began to realize the worth in the assignment.

Looking for a variety of different ways to teach Frankenstein forced me to analyze how small a scope I had previously considered when it came to teaching a novel. I was most impressed with a particular website I found which updated itself every year to relate the novel with events happening in the present day. I feel this is especially important when it comes to literature from the canon, because oftentimes students look at when the book was published and immediately jump to the conclusion that this piece will have no relevance to their lives today, and I hope as an educator to get them to see how great works are timeless.

Film Viewing Within the English Classroom

In reading chapter 9 of Costanzo's Great Films and How To Teach Them, I was most intrigued by the contemplation on the best viewing situation for a student when studying a film. The text offered examples of teachers who showed the movie in class, yet were faced with the obstacle of eating up 2 or more periods to see the film in its entirety. Other options were to have the students watch it at home or in a media section of the library, however there was concern that with this method the experience of viewing a film among other audience members would be lost. Thinking back to my own high school experience, all of my teachers opted to show films during classtime. Despite the intentions of my teachers, my classmates and I saw days like these as times we could slack off and not do any real work, so I feel the manner in which film screenings in classrooms are approached as extremely significant. Costanzo then introduced ideas of group projects/presentations as a way to prepare the students both before and after watching the film, in order to focus their attention on what the teacher aimed for the students to get from the viewing. I feel this would be much more beneficial than the standard study guide to follow along with the movie because it would engage the students in discussion with each other, allowing for learning not derived from direct instruction. I then wonder if my past teachers had gone about teaching their films in this manner if I would have a better recollection over the movies I watched throughout those 4 years of my life, or what meaning I was supposed to take from them.

Film Review of "A Call Girl"

Personal Issues: While I cannot personally relate to the world of prostitution and sexual escapades, I felt that on some level I was able to understand where Alexandra is coming from in struggling to be a student and provide for herself financially. Being able to attend school and live comfortably is a focal point in her life, and in order to achieve this she is willing to do anything in her power to make ends meet.

Technique: I feel as though the sets and lighting had a great deal to do with how successful the film was at setting the mood. The movie is a portrayal of unhappy circumstances, and the camera oftentimes shot from a corner of the room to allow for the shadows to have prominence in the scene. The buildings and rooms portrayed are often gray or fading yellow, echoing the themes of sadness and disparity.

Acting: The actress who played the role of Alexandra was sensational. She carried off the role of a driven girl, who had trained herself to show no emotion no matter the obstacles she was faced with. However in scenes where feelings were necessary - such as when she is being attacked by the evil pimps - she emotes her reactions into the audience, and makes every person watching the film feel her terror.

Plot: The story consists of a student named Alexandra, who while attending school works as a call girl in order to provide her living quarters, as well as money for other expenses. While she is prostituting one night her client dies, and Alexandra steals his money and runs. She then has the police investigating her because we discover the dead man is actually a member of the European government. While trying to run from the authorities, Alexandra also must deal with pimps who are trying to sexually exploit her, and her ex-boyfriend with whom she had a dying relationship. She then returns to her father, hoping to live with him and hide from the police. However, the ending of the film is quite disappointing, as none of these plotlines are ever completely fulfilled, and when leaving the film I felt as though I had not seen the end of the story.

Theme: The main themes of the film were desperation and unhappiness. Alexandra's story exemplifies these themes. She is so determined to attend school and live a solid life that she is desperate to do whatever it takes, including being a call girl, stealing from her clients, and running from the government. However, this existence leads to a miserable life, and no matter how much money she makes she is never truly happy.

Genre: I believe this movie definitely falls under the category of a drama. It involves characters who are dealing with deeply emotional issues. Everything Alexandra endures during the course of the movie concerns poverty, crime, family tension, and personal realization. The movie progresses due to Alexandra's exploration of these issues, and the consequences of her moral dilemmas.

Representation: This movie takes a look at the person behind the prostitute. It portrays the girls in a different light than they are generally viewed in the media: rather than being mindless husses who only care about their money, Alexandra has goals for her future and is simply using this lifestyle as a way of achieving these dreams.

Ideology: As addressed previously in the representation, this film challenged the belief that call girls were worthless members of society who would never amount to anything. As for my personal ideals, I cannot say that the movie swayed me into thinking that all prostitutes were working to one day become contributing members of society, however it did make me realize that perhaps I sometimes judge a person too quickly simply because of the occupation or social status.

What Would You Give Up in the Name of Research?

When reading John Markoff's article, You're Leaving A Digital Trail, I had a hard time moving past what astounded me in the introduction. These young men were exchanging pieces of their lives in return for a new toy. Harrison Brown, when interviewed, stated that he saw it as "a drop in the bucket in terms of privacy" because of his facebook profile and email accounts, however it made me question what the average American citizen would be willing to voluntarily submit to researchers both now and in the future.

An argument could be made that the specific example given in this article was hardly a significant allowance of the part of the students at M.I.T.. Knowing what music a person listens to is typically no deep dark secret, and it can be assumed that the phone calls made through the smartphone were to people that person is publicly acquainted with. As far as the article states, there is no evidence that content is taken from the actual reading of text messages and listening of phone calls, therefore other than the sender and recipient, all other aspects of those students' lives remain private.

However, I ask myself if I would be willing to make the same bargain, and every time I conclude there is no possible way I could be persuaded to do such a thing. Maybe my personality is too shy and that is what is keeping me from understanding. Or perhaps I'm simply stubborn and refuse to change the belief system under which my parents raised me: that what is mean to public is done in public, and what you do when alone or between friends is meant for you only. No matter what the reason, I find myself to be behind the new curve of thinking that because other elements of my life (such as my email address and facebook profile) are traceable that the rest of it should be as well.

I am not against research, and I mean that wholeheartedly. I support the new forms of technology and embrace changes made in today's society. Yet when it comes to relinquishing personal freedoms, I find myself asking when enough is enough? And scarier yet, if this is where we are at today, where will this country find itself ten years from now?