Language as Expression (Pytash)

I relate to the theory of Language as Expression. I think it is key to have students do the central amount of work in the classroom (Ruggles 146). I do not view a classroom as a teacher lecturing and students taking tests over what the teacher has said. I also want to create a classroom that is centered on students responses to reading and writing (Ruggles 146). I relate with the statement that weighs "individual student's unique, expressive capacities for learning" as important (Ruggles 146). I want student's to trust his or her own response to the material (Ruggles 146). Teachers are teaching students how to learn not just what to learn. Students will grow into people that will be life-long learners in the real world. In my opinion, I feel as though teachers should be teaching students how to express their thoughts and value others expression as well. I think that students think they have to have one single response to a text and that it must align with what the teacher thinks about a text-- this minimalists the power of art! Do artists/writers intend for readers to have ONE meaning from their work? I do not believe this to be true. I strongly agree with the theory of Language as Expression.

Little Brother: Part 2 (Kist)

I finished reading Little Brother. I think that this novel would be interesting to my future students. It could possibly be paired with 1984. I think Marcus' average struggles (with his girlfriend, parents, and teachers) paired with the theme of privacy vs. security would encourage much debate and discussion in the classroom. It would be interesting to see what students would think about the issues raised in the novel. A great way to begin reading a work like this would be to create a questionnaire including difficult moral questions. A couple questions could be...

Do you think it is O.K. to deliberately break laws?
Does a restrictive, invasive government have a better chance of preventing terrorism than one that allows more freedom? Why or why not?
Do you think the Constitution should be applied verbatim or are those ideas of the past?
What is your definition of terrorism?

Asking difficult questions like this would get students thinking about ideas that are raised in the novel. It would be great for them to read their answers after they have finished the work to see if their opinions have changed. This may even fuel motivation for reading the novel. I think that Little Brother would be a wonderful tool to use in the classroom.

Little Brother: Part 1 (Kist)

I am about halfway through Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. I am growing to enjoy reading this work. I am not usually terribly personally interested in reading adolescent literature but I think this novel has a lot to offer students. The debate between security and privacy is relevant. This futuristic work showcases possible circumstances,  that I hope never occur in the United States, and encourages interesting discussion in the classroom. Little Brother would allow teachers to see just how involved with technology students are. I also  think the language is appealing to adolescents. I think a lot of people, including students, are unaware of how much content they actually put on the web. By putting more personal content on the Internet we are making it easier for others to invade our privacy. I would be interested in how students would respond to this idea.