John Stanton

Poetry has always proven to be sore spot for me. I can not decide what is worse understanding it or teaching it. Students always expect a right or wrong answer. Unfortunately with poetry, in many cases you do not have a right or wrong answer readily available. Many times it how the reader interprets the poem. Life connections are how many readers interpret a poem. When a student can not connect with the poem, they tend to become frustrated  and ready to butcher the poem like the student in John's Stauton's article with the poem by Robert Frost, "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Day." Stauton looked for a way to interpret poetry without it being frustrating to students. He gave his student three options: "The first option took the form of a Dada-destruction and assemblage of poems to determine whether language, once it's been wrested from its host can still yield poetry. The second option posed a more conventional thesis-driven analysis of two or more poems with the general thesis already given.The final option invited the students to write about an original poem of their own in response to the poem they just read." (Stauton) I like the third option because it gives more leeway for the students to write down their thoughts about the poem in their own poem. In this way, students are underhandedly learning about poetry by creating their own. No longer does it matter if their interpretations of the poem is correct. Students will be more prone to accept and enjoy this assignment.

Beyond Mirrored Worlds: Teaching World Literature to Challenge Students' Perception of "Other" by Kiran Subhani Qureshi

Teaching literature to students has always proven to be a difficult task for me. When you have a variety of readers in your classroom ranging from advanced to severely below average, selecting any piece of literature is going to be a challenge. How can you assign literature when there is such a variety of reading levels? You don't want to bore the advanced students, and you surely don't want to make the readings so difficult that your average or severely low students will become frustrated and give up. I thought my literature issues were trying until I read the article by Kiran Subhani Qureshi. Kiran experiences as a high school English teacher after 911 encouraged her to develop a literature course called Global Voices. She designed this course to help students challenge their assumptions, values, and lifestyles. Global voices purpose is to break down harmful stereotypes of Asian, African, South American, and European cultures. Due to 911 and the fears associated with it, caused many to formulate negative imagery produced by the media. Kiran's course of actions caused students to shake stereotypes and to look at the literature to see actually see it for themselves. I like how she structured her class so that one continent was the concentration piece aligned with a thematic unit. In the beginning she felt that students were not engaged in the course because of the responses she would receive from them during class discussions. However, she could tell the literature bothered them because they couldn't meet her eyes and really tell here what they thought of the literature they were reading.Whenever something is disheartening or uncomfortable, we tend to look away, not wanting to associate with it. She taught her students that becoming a global citizen begins with our ability to endure discomfort. She showed them how to examine the literature instead of reacting to it. Kiran had her students revisit difficult passages and urged them to examine the words and envision the images the authors so painstakingly and purposefully to address the essential questions. Articles such as this gives hope to many English teachers. Being a Muslim high school teacher after 911 posed a difficult task for Kiran, but she still overcame her obstacles and set out to bridge the gap between American cultures and other foreign cultures through literature.

Learning to View Literature Instruction with Literary Lenses: One Group's Story

Pamela Sissi Carroll developed a reading strategy for all types of readers that will enable students to better comprehend the text. The framework of literature instruction that she created enabled students to view literature through three literary lenses, (1) mirror, (2) microscope, and (3) telescope. Adolescents that apply the mirror method, are reluctant or unskilled readers, they tend to have difficulty understanding the text.These adolescents tend to read significantly below grade level. "Reading literature as looking into a mirror: When students read to find a reflection of their world in a text, they approach the text as if it is a mirror. The mirror is an appropriate entry point into literature study, particularly for reluctant and unskilled readers. This lens is most useful when we are trying to help students develop confidence in their readings and responses, and when want them to know what it feels like to be active, engaged readers." (Carroll, pg 74). The readers that use the microscope lens are the adolescents that are reading at grade level and need to take the next crucial steps in understanding how to analyze the text. "Reading literature as looking under a microscope: When adolescents read to explore the artistic and technical elements of a literary text, they approach it as if they are looking at it under a microscope. They learn to notice how seemingly independent elements - the author's tone, for example - contribute to the overall effect and impact of the literary work. They learn, too, to recognize which features are most compelling for them - dialogue, setting, and so forth - and begin to pay careful attention to those when reading." (Carroll, pg 74). The last reading strategy of instruction with literary lenses deals with the reader looking at the text figuratively through a telescope. These are the students that are reading significantly above grade level, but do not have the ability to extend their views beyond the literature. "Reading literature through a telescope: When adolescents use a literary text as a springboard for thinking about the world beyond the text, they are reading as if looking through a telescope. Their consideration of the text propels them toward topics and concerns that begin with text and extend beyond it." (Carroll, pg 75) Each strategy involves a set of questions that are presented with the reader. The questions for the students that are using the mirror method involves the student connecting with the characters in the novel. In this strategy, students are asked if they were ever involved in a similar situation, what did they do, or if they would ever do something like that again. These questions are designed for the reader to connect to the characters since they are able to better understand the story when they can relate to the characters. However, I do feel that a little more that connecting with the characters is needed here. Students who are at this level have difficulty comprehending the text due to their limited vocabulary. Strategies to help students decode words within the text should be incorporated also. Vocabulary graphic organizers would be of great use here since the strategies being used are visual. Making sure the students understand the sequence of events is another key aspect. Students that are applying the microscope strategy are examining the actions of the characters, quotes, and finding information within the text to reinforce their findings. This is great, however, students will benefit more with a student paired group discussion from their findings. When students are able to discuss their thoughts with other students, and hear their perspectives as well, they are able to broaden their initial thoughts. Students that apply the strategy, looking through a telescope, begin to look outside the box. This is when they look at the moral message the author is implying and how it is applied to society as a whole. Overall, I think this is a great way to help your students to better appreciate the literature because readers from all walks of life are able to benefit from it.

Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in Americai

As I peruse this article I find myself pondering three questions concerning the author: (1) what does the National Endowment for the Arts constitute as literature, (2) when the argument concerning video games and other electronic media devices were presented, did anyone in this organization ever play any type of video game before they came to the conclusion that "interactive electronic media such as video games, and the internet foster shorter attention spans and accelerated gratification", and (3)  why do they feel that their research findings are accurate when it is based upon only 17,000 adults?. The National Endowment for the Arts idea of literature is actually reading literature in a book. The online Websters dictionary defines literature as: " a. writings in prose or verse; especially writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest, b. the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age c : the body of writings on a particular subject d : printed matter (as leaflets or circulars)" Literature does need to be located inside of a book to be determined as literature. The National Endowment for the Arts also contradicts itself by stating that the internet and video games fosters shorter attention spans and accelerated gratification. This very same article can be found on the internet. This article is classified as non-fiction (informational) genre. So, since this article can be found on the internet, should this article not be considered as a form of literature? Just because information is available via internet, does it make it a non-form of literature? To lump any form of electronic media as non-literature is ludicrous. Some individuals are audio learners. The very foundation of our earliest education is audio. We learned our alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, etc. by singing and memorozation. Just because an individual reads something inside of a book does not constitute them as literate. I have found that many of my students can read fluently, yet fail to comprehend what they have just read. I find that when I come across students such as this, when I provide audio as well as having them follow along in the book, they will comprehend the material. The last bit of information that this article addressed, I found myself vastly disagreeing with was the classification of video games. There are many online games and video games that are very educational. Organizations such as PBS (Public Broadcasting System), Nick Jr., and Disney Jr. have esatablished online games and video games that are dedicated to helping children in subject areas such as math, reading, spelling, and even science. It is the parent's respoinsiblity to monitor what their children are playing online as well as on the video game systems. If civilization takes one step back and dismiss "literature" for electronic media devices, then it is taking one hundred steps back for evolution. E-books, the internet, and other various sources of electronic media helps to provide and maintain an eco friendly environment. This means that publishing companies are spending less while gaining more profits, consumers are also spending less as well, and trees are not dying for books, so what is truly the problem with electronic devices? 

Cultural Construction of reading in Anglo-Saxon England

I found it interesting how Howe begin his article by citing Wallace Stevens poem, "The House was Quiet and the World was Calm". This poem is a great introduction to his article and sets the foundation for the underlying purpose of the article. Howe examines how reading was constructed in Anglo-Saxon England. He begins to interpret lines from the poem and from what he believes the author's meanings to be in those lines. Howe states: "Under these conditions, the poet's claim that the reader became the book expresses a sense of causation that turns on the double meaning of become: the reader takes on the form of the book by suiting or completing it." I concur this belief. Many times I find myself relating to the characters so that I could better comprehend their demise. the cliche, "Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes.", certain applies here. The reader is able to have empathy for the characters when they are able to relate to the character and acknowledge the author's purpose. Howe goes further to examine how cultures interpret how individuals read. Howe states: "The House was Quiet and the World was Calm asserts our shared belief that we read best alone, at night, becoming our book, desiring to be the perfect reader we honor as the scholar." Howe asserts that readers perform better when they are able to sit alone and read the literature. He further establishes this theory when he discusses how Ambrose reads. Howe states: "What surprises us, however, is that Augustine does not identify the works read by Ambrose but rather describes the silent and self-contained manner of his reading. In those moments when Ambrose was not fulfilling a public role, he would refresh his body by eating and his mind by reading. But, the full force of Augustine's "sed" must be registered, Ambrose reading silently, but when he reads, his eyes followed the pages and his heart pondered the meaning though his voice and tongue were still. Augustine is careful to specify that Ambrose would read silently to himself even when others were present and might have approached him in conversation." By using Augustine's example of Ambrose, Howe is able to assert his theory about solitary reading. Solitary reading is great when the reader is trying to initially get a grasps on the reading material, however this is the perfect opportunity for the reader to draw questions from the text. When the opportunity arises for the reader to share their questions and insight with others, they are able to gain more insight into the text. Group discussions is definitely a crucial benefit to reading. I was somewhat baffled to that Howe did not go in depth with this aspect in his article.

Ideology and Theory: The Moral Basis of Discourse and Analysis" Douglas Meyers

I love how Meyers starts the article off with a quote from Adams Phillips about questioning.  Phillips stated that questioning develops in two stages, (1) imperative, and (2) interrogative. The imperative stage is suppose to represent the immature stage, the reader makes demands of what they want out of the book where as the interrogative stage reader begins to question the book. The interrogative stage represents the mature stage. The reader learns when to question and not to question. I believe that Phillips was trying to say that teachers are imperative because the questions are derived from them; students are not able to produce their questions and them out there in a true spirited class discussion. In order for a reader to truly get the most out of their reading is to generate their own questions. Meyers is an advocate of student generated questions. He developed ten ways to involve students in creating questions to be used in literature discussions. The ten methods that he mentioned were: (1) creating one key question about a literary work, (2) creating one key question and explaining its importance, (3) creating a list of important questions about a literary work, (4) creating a list of important questions and rank-ordering them, (5) creating a list important questions and rank-ordering them with an explanation, (6) creating questions based on Purves and Ripper's four catagories of response, (7) creating a set of questions focused on literary elements, (8) creating a set of questions based on the questioning circle, (9) creating a set of questions focused on literal and inferential levels of questions, and (10) creating questions based on particular critical approaches. Meyers states: "Knowing how to ask questions inspires lifelong learning. Knowing how to ask questions about literature empowers lifelong reading, the promotion of which, I believe should be our ultimate goal teachers." Meyers' beliefs are that students if students are allowed to generate their own questions from their readings they will gain more insight in reading. I agree with Meyers' tactics. Students can feel inhibited when they are not free to question or express themselves.