Cut

Forgive me for being a little behind with my postings… but last week I read Cut by Patricia McCormick (she also wrote Sold if she sounds familiar, I know some of you have read that one).  This novel goes along with my seminar, although I didn’t even know about it at that time. 

Cut is about a teenage girl who is depressed and living in a rehabilitation center because she is a cutter.  Along the same idea as speak, she isn’t talking to anyone at all, thus making it hard for people to help her.  At the treatment center she finds comraderie with a group of girls when she discovers that she is not alone, and that everyone at the treatment center is struggling with emotional issues.  In order to get better, she tries to find her voice as well as get to the root of her problem.  This is a great novel because it explores the issues of depression and cutting (something I really didn’t know about before my seminar), as well as issues with parental support, the importance of talking to someone about your problems, and even briefly touches on the subjects of co-dependence and eating disorders. Definately worth the read (its a short, easy one despite the heavy nature of the topic) and I think Jess has first dibs if anyone wants to borrow it after her!

Kari

Facilitation and Reading for TH

Would our facilitators for the Reeves’ chapters 4 & 5 please post feedback response early this week…

I would also like all of us to read two articles for whole class discussion on TH. These appear in the current Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy.

The first focuses on accelerated reader programs which some of you may have encountered in the schools you attended or know through observations.

The second, Weblogs and Literary Response: Socially Situated Identities and Hybrid Social Languages in English Class Blogs, also appears in the same April, 2008 issue of JAAL.

To access them you should get a username and password invitation when you click on these links. Use kstearns and aussie here.

If you have difficulty, please get in touch with me immediately. Thanks!! KES

Directions to Syracuse Stage

• Traveling the New York State Thruway
  • 1. Exit onto Rt 81 south at Thruway Exit #36
  • 2. Follow the “Traveling South on Rt 81″ directions below.

• Traveling South on Rt 81
  • 1. Exit at Harrison/Adams Street, Exit #18
  • 2. Follow the Exit ramp to Adams Street. Turn left onto Adams Street.
  • 3. At the second traffic light, turn left onto Irving Avenue.
  • 4. Proceed to East Genesee Street. Syracuse Stage will be on your left, parking on your right.

• Traveling North on Rt 81
  • 1. Exit at Harrison/Adams Street, Exit #18.
  • 2. At the traffic light, turn right onto Adams Street.
  • 3. At the second traffic light, turn left onto Irving Avenue.
  • 4. Proceed to East Genesee Street. Syracuse Stage will be on your left, parking on your right.

• Traveling East on Rt 690
  • 1. Exit onto Rt 81 South.
  • 2. Follow the Exit ramp to Adams Street. Turn left onto Adams Street.
  • 3. At the second Traffic light, turn left onto Irving Avenue.
  • 4. Proceed to East Genesee Street. Syracuse Stage will be on your left, parking on your right.

• Traveling West on Rt 690
  • 1. Exit onto Townsend Street at Exit #13.
  • 2. Turn left onto Townsend Street.
  • 3. Turn left onto East Genesee Street at the fifth traffic light.
  • 4. Turn right onto Irving Avenue. Syracuse Stage will be on your right, parking on your left.

If you have any other questions or interests in Syracuse Stage, please contact me or go to www.syracusestage.org .

Erin

Bomb-itty of Errors

I have 6 tickets for this Wednesday’s show. Rafe, Jess, Kari, Joyce, Mandi and I are all set to see the show and have a tour of the stage afterwards. I could only manage to get one parking pass, so if you would like to meet somewhere in Syracuse and ride with me, you won’t have to pay for parking, otherwise you will.

The show begins at 2pm so I would like to get there at 1:30 because parking can sometimes be crazy especially with all of the school buses there.  We will all meet in the lobby and I’ll have the tickets for you there. Let me know if you would like to ride with me. 315-415-3308.

Can’t wait!

Erin

Boys Blogging Books!!

What an interesting blog — take a look. These are younger male teens. What do you think about their reading interests as expressed here? KES

Erin: Bomb-itty dates & times?

So, what’s the deal with the showing of Bomb-itty this week? I’d like to know as soon as possible, so I can plan my observation and work schedules around it. Thanks!

~Jessica

Bombitty

EVERYONE GO SEE BOMBITTY! It is amazing.

I can’t wait to hear from the people who go to see it with the high schoolers. We should compare experiences. I wish I had gone to see it with the kids from Corcoran, but I didn’t think to ask soon enough.

There are so many teaching opportunities that come along with it. The male actors act in all of the female parts, just like in Shakespeare’s time! It was so funny! The jokes about rap and the music was awesome, but I think some of the references might be lost on older audience members who don’t follow pop culture. There were also some great references to shakespeare, though which might have been lost on the younger crowd. But for the most part, there was something for everyone.

The actors were incredible. There was no intermission and I can’t believe they had the stamina for such a high-energy two-hour performance. Truly admirable talent.

Overall, an amazing experience. I left saying that I might go see it again a few more times. My boyfriend and I laughed through the whole two hours. DON’T MISS THIS EXPERIENCE!!!

Allison

Calling for Clear, Specific Content

Check out this article in the AMERICAN EDUCATOR, a catalogue that my parents are subscribed to. My mom sent me this article and I have found it online for all of you to read. It highlights the fallacies in NCLB, the lack of support and information given to new teachers regarding expectations and curriculum, and the need to look beyond the “pedagogical fads.” If we as educators, including veteran educators, are aware of the problems, then why are they so difficult to rectify?

Enjoy! -Jessica

Fiction group

I’ve got a question for anyone from the fiction group who remembers what my piece is about… short stories with a car theme, remember? Since I’m not sure I’ll be able to meet with the group next class because I’m in Allison’s seminar, I wanted to get some input from you now. I had planned to write all 5 (possibly 6) shorts from a girl’s p.o.v. Do you think I should try a boy’s p.o.v.? Would be it better if all the stories were the same (girl’s)? The shorts that I was thinking about taking on from the boy’s p.o.v. would be about getting your first car, and witnessing/helping out at a tragic car crash. I guess I am thinking that the car theme is enough of a common thread between the shorts, so if I wrote from different gender p.o.v.s it wouldn’t negatively effect the commanlities. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

My working title for the collection is RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS but I’ll probably change that since 1 story has just the driver, no passenger, and if I write from a boy’s p.o.v. then I would have to include riding with girls!

Erica

Jess: Question on tutoring

Hi Jess,

 You’ve mentioned in class that you tutor a girl who has autism. Is she in a mainstream classroom? If so, has she always been? Do you work with her outside of school, or during the school day? I’d love to hear your insight while I finish putting together my seminar.

Joyce