In addition to our in-class discussions, you
will participate in an on-line discussion for the last half of the semester. For
this discussion you will read and respond to letters written by Katherine
Shakespeare, sharing her first year as a teacher in Baltimore, Maryland.
Katherine Shakespeare received her Interdisciplinary Studies Bachelor
of Arts from USU, Summa cum Laude with Departmental Honors and Honors
in University Studies in 2007. Her five years in Logan were especially
rewarding ones, focused on studies in English literature, linguistics,
and the history and languages of ancient Rome and Greece. She was
the mainstay Peer Advisor in Honors and course manager of the gateway
course: Honors 2000, Scholars Forum. Following graduation,
she moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she is teaching public school
for two years as part of Teach for America. While there, she will earn
a Masters of Arts in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University.
The letters will first become available on Blackboard
about mid-way through the semester. A set of 3 or 4 different letters will be
available each week through the end of the semester. Each posting that
meets the criteria below will be given up to 5 points. You can
earn no more than 20 points in any week. You can receive up to 40 points
for your participation in this on-line discussion.
You should submit carefully written, thoughtful ideas to our discussion.
3-5 points are given for each comment of 5 sentences or more that are
relevant to the conversation.
Examples of Discussion Postings
Good Posting:
“It was interesting to hear of her first impression of the building,
as well as the changes of types of students it has held. I often contemplate
the impact that the environment has on education, ie the other students
and opinions that are voiced in one class and not another or if a building
is 80 years old verses state of the art equipment and how much depends
on the teacher.
In this letter I can feel that she is a bit overwhelmed at not having
met the principal or even had the chance to organize her classroom of
the subject that she still doesn't know that she is teaching. Talk about
sink or swim training.
The impact that gangs have on a school are so much more penetrating than
lighting some furniture on fire in a school. It effects social environments,
moral, extra curricular participation and overall attitudes of the students.
It really sounds like she is almost in a different country when compared
to Utah.
As Kat mentioned the lower building it sounds like it is a whole new
world untainted by burned furniture or gangs. It is interesting that
the classes are clusters of desks rather than rooms, which I am used
to. Having ADHD, I'm not sure that type of setting would help me focus.
I feel that she is excited about the experience, which is the real energy
that students will feel as she teaches and gives them a better hope through
education. What an intense program.”
-
This posting shows the author has read and thought about the letter.
-
It
expands the discussion beyond the contents of the letter and Katherine’s
experiences to ask questions and make observations. The author
tries to make a broader application to the subject of our class.
-
Please note: this is not a perfect posting, but an example
of a good posting.
Characteristics of a bad posting:
-
Does not contribute an idea. (“I agree!”)
-
Needs to be proofread: contains spelling or grammar errors, is difficult
to understand or poorly organized.
-
Based on emotion, not fact. (“That is so stupid! Everyone hates
those kinds of teachers!”)
-
Incorrect information.
Here are some more tips for discussions:
-
Talk with each other, not at each other. Reply to what someone has
said instead of just posting out on your own all the time.
-
Be aware that you are posting to your classmates, not to Katherine. For
example, don’t ask “What was it like on the first day
of school?”
-
Be sure to justify and support your position.
-
Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you don't know the answer to
something, maybe someone else does.
-
Move beyond the immediate experiences related in the letters to try
and make connections with our course material.
|