Rian+Burke

Common Core State Standards... Do I love them or hate them or what? I don't know. Things like this - implementing these standards - frustrates me a bit because not only is it new stuff for us teachers to learn and adapt to (again), but it reminds me that what is really common is the belief that the schools and the teachers are a problem and don't know what we are doing and can't be trusted to do anything. The term Big Brother comes to mind. Or at least big government. Is this really necessary? How in the world did people get educated all these years in America if we didn't have all these entities telling us what we should do? Furthermore, isn't there anyone else that the government should be dictating to, as far as education? Teachers aren't magic. Teachers can't lead a horse to water AND make them drink. Nobody can. But I'm ranting now. When I try to take off the cynic hat I see a plan to streamline education. I've heard of this on a district level, and even on an ISD level, what with common assessment and all. But America is a big country, and I don't think our fearless government is dumb enough to think that we can all, everyone in the country, provide the exact same education to everyone, even if they say that isn't the goal (no shit sherlock). No, there's an underlying, ulterior motive for it. I think that this, just like everything else legislators do, is to gain control of teachers and unions in particular, so they can make us look bad and get us cheaper or cut us loose al together and replace us with online courses and computerized writing "graders". I don't know. I hate to go all juvenile at a time like this but, whatever. I'm back again to rant some more (this is weeks, months after when I wrote what is above). I got to thinking today about education in general. Julie and I wound on and on until we touched on the ways students don't do anything in class, but that it doesn't really matter anyway, because class grades don't really count for anything anyway, at least from a teachers perspective. Only standardized tests count. Grades count for students who want to go to college later, but in middle school the grades don't really mean much. Anyway, I got to ranting about why doesn't the government just write the lesson plans for us, they stick their nose in everything else anyway (which isn't necessarily a bad thing in theory, it's just that the government has a long history of not helping when it sticks its nose in, rather getting in the way). At any rate, they do all the standardized test mandating and progress monitoring and no-child-left-behinding, and common core state standards (which I really have not warmed up to yet, and am not likely to) and all that crap. Why don't they just write the lesson plans and tests too? I'll go through the motions for them. It would be really great since they are a total buzzkill, and passion killer with all the rules and standards, and most of all they keep wanting to cut my salary and benefits and make me work more (because I don't already have to much to do??). Why don't they? I'll tell you why. Because if the government wrote our lesson plans for us then they would have to take the blame. It occurred to me that nowadays all teachers are is a buffer between "Owner" (the government) and "Customer" (students and parents). A buffer that can take all the blame. I think of today's educational world in an analogy: Students are to teachers as customers are to waiters. And the customer is always right. Never mind what is good for students. If they don't like it, they don't really have to tolerate it. If a kid is lazy and doesn't pay attention and skips school a bunch of times and never even tries once, his or her mother will get wind of this and storm into the office and demand that their kid be exempted from all the work because she's here now "excusing" his absences. And anyway he didn't understand it and that's why he didn't want to come to school and he is obviously a victim of a bad teacher. Yeah... the government... They need teachers so that society can blame someone for all the problems nobody really wants to address. So some of us will be lucky enough to keep our jobs if we are not fired for "arbitrary and capricious" reasons and replaced by a younger, cheaper teacher since they don't have to re-hire based on seniority (see Detroit 4/13/12). What the hell, in a few years they really can go ahead and write the lesson plans. They just have to program some software that will teach English online, and then they don't need us at all and they won't have to pay us anymore. They might as well skip the step of writing our lesson plans for us and just go right to the next step - Cyber schools to the rescue!

Everything's an argument! I suppose it is. Novels are arguments sometimes. The Grapes of Wrath was an argument that things were really bad and lots of people needed help and were being left... to die apparently, by the government. That book got some attention. It's purpose was served. I think Elanor Roosevelt visited Salinas or something after she read the book. Certainly lots of other writing is an argument too. Many of them obvious, and I'll try not to get into them, but rather find argument in writing that is not obvious. The Tortoise and the Hare is an argument for hard work above God-given talent. It's an argument against confidence. Or at least over confidence. And it's an argument against sure things. I would have bet on the Hare. And I would have lost. So the Tortoise and the Hare exists so that I never have to lose that bet and learn the hard way.

An open letter to parents per: CCSS

2800 Stone School Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48104

February 12, 2012

Dear Parents and Guardians:

As you may have heard, the federal government is once again contributing to the evolution of education in our country and, indeed, our fine state. Often, with change comes trepidation. What are they up to now? Why is the only constant change? The answer lies in the best intentions of our government, which are to always improve education for our kids and our future. The latest change is in the standards or benchmarks set for our kids to meet, with the help of our great teachers across America. The current system of state-mandated and state-created High School Content Expectations will be replaced by new national Common Core State Standards, henceforth referred to as CCSS. The new CCSS are the result of many voices. Among these voices are the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA). What they have done "builds on the foundation laid by states in their decades-long work on crafting high-quality education standards". It is my opinion that this work is something to be excited about, as it will streamline education for the nation, and bring much needed opportunity to advance education together as a country. Among the recent trends in schooling is Common Assessment. In this era of research-based and data-driven education, communication is essential as is reliable data. Common Assessment is one way to take variables out of the data that we use to craft our curriculum and track the development of kids learning. If Common Assessment is to be possible, Common Standards are necessary. These CCSS are those common standards. Progress is king in today's schools, and in order to track it accurately, kids must be able to be compared to one another, and common assessment is key. With common assessment teachers can be working on the same page and therefore help each other more readily to develop their curriculum. Common assessment used to be a term limited to individual school districts, but now with CCSS the whole country can share input on how to help kids reach the important goals laid out in the CCSS, and share data on how kids progress and how the curriculum should be improved. Another benefit of Common Assessment is the fact that today's society is transient more than ever before, and if a student changes schools it won't be as much as a setback for them if they can pick up where they left off at their last school. With further regard to teachers, these new CCSS will help them get better too. Professional Development has long been suspect of... not making the kind of impact desired. With the CCSS professional development can be shared nation-wide and with all teachers having the common ground of the CCSS to stand together on as they try to move forward. Streamlining the standards we set for our precious youth will help teachers in all areas share ideas and content for the betterment of all. And now the federal government can allocate funds and resources to develop the best professional development possible for our nation's teachers, and the curriculum and methods they employ. This change in standards will also make for better transitions from grade to grade and level to level for our nation's students. There are more benefits to the CCSS too. There will be more of an emphasis on writing. In this age, letters don't take a pony ride on their way to the recipient. They arrive at the speed of light and writing to communicate is more prevalent than in recent times when talking on the phone was king. But the writing called for is not just in English. Writing in all content areas will be developed, and for real purposes, which bodes well for the future in this era of world-wide business. In summation, the new Common Core State Standards will get all students on the same page, all teachers on the same page, and indeed the entire nation on the same page as we try to turn it as we read into the 21st century.

Sincerely,

Rian Burke

The Essential Purposes of Teaching Writing... (beginning thoughts)

Writing has transformed my life writing to learn (as per S.A.V. at WWC) about self organize thoughts prior to actually communicating, reading and discovering what you think (do i want to say that? seeing and hearing/saying are different) actually communicating in writing, letters introspection

in schools - organize thinking, express appropriately - this lends to speaking later in life in school write to show learning - evidence/proof of reading actually think about self, introspection, a good thing in life not just in school

**Using Poetry to Bridge the Gap between High School and College Writing**

Reading Literature 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.) 7. Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.) 10. By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with sca!olding as needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and proficiently. Reading Information 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines //faction// in //Federalist// No. 10). Writing 2.d - Use precise language, domain-specific vocabulary, and techniques such as metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the complexity of the topic. 10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of  tasks, purposes, and audiences.
 * CCSS addressed** – The following are the CCSS where I interpret assignments in Poetry to be appropriate. In comparing these new CCSS to the formerly used Michigan High School Content Expectations, I see noticeably less direct references to Poetry, in both reading and writing. For the record, I liked the old HSCEs treatment of Poetry better, as I think reading and writing poetry has more value than can be explained in such documents.

* The current CCSS has not included poetry in writing. The HSCEs did expressly. OLD HSCEs – (1.2.2 Write to develop self-awareness)

(1.3.1 Compose in a range of genres to reflect, entertain, inspire e.g. poetry)

(3.2.2 Identify different types of poetry & how do poetic devices influence meaning?)

(3.2.4 Recognize a variety of Literary Genres and Forms e.g. poetry)

I use an entire unit on poetry in my classes, either writing centered or reading centered. I begin by defining poetic devices used in writing poetry in the hopes that students will be able to recognize them in analyzing others work, and use them in their own poems. From there I have students read several poems, and at this time I like to interpret song lyrics and infuse music into the reading of poetry. We will listen to the song, and look at the lyrics together with my using covert questioning as the driving force of the discussion. After this type of discussion I will “quiz” them on finding poetic devices themselves in both more song lyrics and traditional well-known poems. After reading poems, we begin to write. I start students off very simply, by asking them to write a few Haikus. This launches discussion in the precise use of syllabic rhythm and meter of poetry, plus the Haikus make it pretty easy for students to find success early and build off it in future poems. From Haiku we move to Limericks. Now Rhyme Scheme comes into the picture, as well as rhythm and meter, yet Limericks are still quite achievable for students. Next we discuss abstract and absurd poems and free verse poetry with no rules, which affords students more freedom and less to consider when writing, and this can free writers block that can occur when students have too much to consider while creating. Lastly we focus on using Poetic Devices in our own writing, and together we write a “poetic device” poem, where students must clearly include poetic devices in their writing, while rhyming as well. They find this challenging and usually a wonderful collaborative atmosphere becomes prevalent as students all over the room ask for rhyming ideas and explanations of poetic devices. After the longer (4 stanzas of 4 lines minimum, rhyming and containing poetic devices in each stanza) “Poetic Device Poem” we finish our writing with a Sonnet, which always proves challenging, but satisfying in the end when they finally finish it. We return to more reading and interpreting and analyzing with poems such as Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay, and Poe’s The Raven. The students now have the skills and confidence to be able to express themselves out loud, and they are all familiar with Poetry Slams (which, incidentally I find too aggressive and angry and confrontational for my liking, but such are the times we live in) to the point I would be remiss not to address this style of poetry and presentation. They are usually willing participants and of course, speaking in front of the group is something considered very important in Language Arts, and this affords them an opportunity to do just that.
 * Lessons in the classroom**
 * Evaluation** is pretty simple. I ask them to read poems and answer questions about the content therein. Selection of poems is critical, as students need to clearly recognize specific poetic devices, rhythms, and rhyme schemes, and explain their meaning. I also ask them to write poems and use these techniques and they are assessed on their ability to do so. Artistry is not as crucial to their success, as I feel that I do not have the right to judge in this area because it would not be as objective as needed to be fair.

I think that in college students are expected to write more eloquently and with more advanced expectations of artistry, organization and effectiveness. The skills developed in my poetry unit lend themselves to all types of college speeches that will be required, as well as essays, research findings, and analysis papers.
 * The Bridge**

//(-Reflect on a college teacher’s lesson and how I can/do prepare stu’s for that - Bridging// //Worksheets online people can work on)//