One of my goals is for my students to analyze and reflect upon their education. I want my students to think about how and where education fits in their lives and also how they can improve their own learning. I also want students to reflect upon how education can change. Many of them are in fact going to be procreating some day and there will come a time when the education of others will have a huge impact on their lives.
But, sometimes I feel like I am beating a dead horse during class. I get the feeling that my students are tired of contemplating their own education. They are tired of being reminded of how much more they NEED to do and how much NEEDS to change.
So, I would like some suggestions of topics I can introduce, either through literature or articles and essays, that you would like to discuss during class. What topics will make you sit up in your seat and speak vehemently (vocab. word :) to your peers?
23 comments:
To be honest, most of the topics that you bring up in class grab my attention, whether or not I want them to. Maybe I just like to talk. But no matter how much I hate the amount of work required for your class, it beats learning strictly out of a textbook. You can tell that the more successful teachers throw out the county curriculums, and substitute their own. As long as you keep listening to NPR in the mornings, and reading the news online, I'm positive you'll find something that sparks conversation in first hour.
Well I can't really come up with very good ideas, but I do have to post a blog so I'm going to suggest something that I would really enjoy, which is for you to show how everyday things relate to the subjects we are looking at. For example, show how stories we read about the american dream are similar to what we try to accomplish every day. We did do some of that the other day and I liked it. Anyways I find that when I can relate to things I learn them rather than memorize for class and then forget.
I have recently started thinking about my future and that I am responsable for how my life will go. I am starting to realize that how I am getting by in school is not going to cut it in the real world. I sometimes get so mad at myself because I am sooo lazy! I have no motivation sometimes and I hate that. Its a horrible habit to procrastinate and just memorizing things to pass tests and then never going back to it. I really do hate how poor the education here is. Expecially when I talk to my friends in Italy and to me, I sound just plain stupid. I hate that I have to feel like that. For the topis I think the article today was very interesting. Even though I dont really speak much in class(im trying to change that =] ) I also liked that day that we had the discussion circle, i think it would be really cool to have something like that again.
The future that is ahead for us is something that can be viewed from many angles. Some say we are going to have a hard time because other country's are rising. My theory is, we need to get our act together while we are still ahead, because we are slipping fast. Americans and even people in general try their hardest at the harshest times. When we fall off the horse we will get back up stronger than before. Hopefully we won't have to resort to this, but I really think it might happen.
Maybe something that can spark interest in discussions can be using the news in your class. It informs kids of what's going on in the world and can make a good discussion. Tomorrow is that day of silence and that's a good topic. You can also use some of your favorite movies and books and discuss the theme and message and what the people think.
Crazy as it may be you can ask your class what they want to talk about or what's going on in their lives or something along those lines.
I actually really enjoy your class. I love to analyze everything we read and learn from what others have to say. The fact that we have such an out spoken class helps. If there was one thing I would like to do more of it would be group work. I can't think of a particular type of group work that I would like to do but I would like it to be something where we need to show off our creativity. Like with the wiki page. Collin, Felix, and I all had such a good time being creative and filming our videos. Unfortunately they never made it on the page, but by the end of the year I’ll bring them in and show them to you. You will get a nice laugh out of them. Anyway you really are one of the better teachers I have had and although we got off to a rough start I'm glad we worked everything out because I have a learned a lot this year.
A topic that would get tons of conversation going in class would be the legalization of Marijuana because it has its pro and cons.
This is interesting because I was just thinking about this the other day how I consider myself to be a more than intelligent student. On the other hand, it's funny how past my freshman year, I can't even begin to recall the curriculum from school. I think this means that I am losing interest in the schooling I am receiving (for the most PART). I think for the most part, your class doesn't have that issue, it's just the whole 1st block thing where everyone's still halfway in Rapid Eye Movement mode.
I believe a topic which can generate a discussion is a topic that isn't about history because history is facts, and its about what did happen, not what could happen. In order for students to express their opinions to the class you would probably want to spark a conversation about modern subjects; in other words, things we could relate to today. I can't really give you a specific topics, but I could help narrow your search.
Some topics that I think affect the whole student body is global warming, the environment, animal abuse. Things that rally everyone can add their own voice too. Although I am shy I wouldnt have a problem saying my feelings about the world's faults .
Well personally I love your incorporation of Socratic Seminars into your teaching. I love discussing. Once I get going I can't seem to stop. I love arguing with people more than doing bookwork. Debates make me happy, they keep me going, as weird as that sounds. So maybe a bit more of those throughout the year can inspire more change withing your students. Another thing is more liberal writing. The assignment we did where we listened to music and wrote what first came to mind was an amazing experience and I think people can take a lot from that. Maybe doing an assignment where you pick a song for your students, individually, and they all have to listen to it while writing, then see what comes out from that. Interesting experience and could stir kids away from the robotic FCAT writing method.
Ok, seriously, I'm going to focus on the most important part of this article, which I'm sure you put there hidden in a corner for only the most careful eye to catch...
Most of the people in Cypress Bay will someday pass along their Genetic Material onto one another.
It's scary to think most of the people I know are going to have kids... DUMB kids.
I mean, take, say, anyone out of the crowd of cypress bay (I.E Me). Now just imagine my son with the most likely candidate to carry my DNA (I.E. Adriana Lima the Supermodel). It just can't bold well, in any case. It'll be like a little moron running around and he'll probably need a helmet (I sure as hell would have appreciated one when I was a kid).
So in a way you were trying to say our future generations are doomed. Yeah, we are. Oh well, too bad, so sad.... The human race had a good run.
I really like reading the articles and discussing them (although i don't really talk). I think everyone makes good points to what the articles say and what we can do to make our education better. I would say a lot but I'm just kind of a quiet person sometimes. I have a lot on my mind about this education and how much it needs to change. Maybe one day I'll speak.
Many of the things we talk in class do catch or interest most of the time just many people don't feel like expressing their opinion they feel like they will be wrong or say something dumb, which is wrong for them to think. Also, I would love to do that project that we talked about the other day many of peers agree with the idea and would actually do it because it’s something that we like about and we will be able to do a project on it.
I also love when we go over our goals that we need to reach in order for us to succeed and have a good education. I think I will pursue that dream in having a successful life in the future because I have so much motivation that makes me want to reach my goals even higher.
The last book "The Things They Carried" was a great book as far as sparking good discussions. We were able to relate to the characters in the book because they were just a few years older than we are. Choosing books like that really help us learn and help keep our interest. Also, talking about current events and having discussions on whether we agree or not would be a great way to learn about the world.
Well to add on to a rather already interesting class some good ideas for topics could be "If we believe that as a nation we have allowed ourselves to be taken over by others such as japan" and whether we brought this on ourselves.
Also I would like to employ more paideia sessions involving topics about the world around us rather than our readings.
When you talked about that project of anything we want to do. That showed a lot of interest in us. Because the next class me and one of the classmates started talking about that project and how awesome it would be if you did do that. But some conversations that would make us talk is asking us about our lives or like try to find similarites in us which could spark a good conversations.
Well you're doing pretty good so far. I'm usually pretty interested in everything we talk about. Even though I don't usually say as much but that's more of a personality thing than anything else. If anything as a suggestion I would do more debating issues that students could research and then debate with each other instead of with you. I had a teacher that did this once while I was homeschooling and I enjoyed it.
Come on Ms.Stoklosa you know the answer to this, Drug, Sex, and Violence. What every teenage likes to talk about. Just say those three words before you talk and no matter what follows will interest me personally. It all I talk about with my friends so I feel like we are close enough now that I can talk about it in class with you ahhaha. Just find subjects that are not appropriate for school and I will be interested. This is the Bay isn't it?
A good activity is the one that we have been discussing. For a "final exam" make us choose our own project and our own topic. We can show you what we have learend from this class by using all of the things that you have taught us like podcast, imovie, garage band and wikis. That would be fun.
I believe that most of the education I have had through high school so far, is some of the best ive had.
To begin with, I love your class and the topics you put forth for us. I mean, I've been an incredibly lucky english student ever since the 8th grade when my passion for english began, because I've never had a 'bad' (for lack of a better word) English teacher. You definitley perpetuate my streak.
But, as far as new topics or any suggestions I would have, I'd have to go with maybe introducing your classes to more practical yet sophisticated pieces, such as personal essays (like the ones we read today from This I Believe). I think a lot of my peers can relate to essays such as this and maybe given the opportunity to read and analyze more they'd become more engaged in that context.
I do think you're doing an amazing job and I aspire to be half the teacher you are [yes, I want to be a teacher =)] someday.
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