I cannot figure out to get rid of my sbisd email which will no longer be valid.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, September 12, 2009
My Life is Stories
My Life is Stories
Many years ago I bought myself a set of paper dolls, an extravagant and expensive set, that I justified to myself because I can display them in my high school classroom. The dolls represent “Beauty and the Beast,” which I used in my doctoral dissertation because it illuminates the mystery of female empowerment. I also screen the exquisite and enlightening film, Cocteau’s version, La Belle et La Bete, in my film class. The book was filled with beautiful period costumes, some for coloring, and some for cutting out to dress Beauty in. I experienced a rush of delight just looking at this gorgeous set of paper dolls, one I would have loved to have owned as a child (but which certainly were not available in the 1950s when I grew up.)
One of my happiest memories of childhood consists of the times my mother would take my younger brothers and me to the dime store downtown to let us choose a new coloring book or set of paper dolls. I remember the overwhelming joy of anticipation I felt as I watched her put them up in the cupboard, and how I longed for the moment she would get them out to entertain us that night. These occasions happened on the nights she and my father gave bridge parties. At that time, before television, my brothers and I, already dressed in our pajamas, would sit back in our den with our new books—theirs invariably of cowboys, mine of glamorous movie stars, to color or cut costumes out of. We would play all evening, totally absorbed in the alternate reality for which these characters provided a threshold.
I spent many hours subsequently coloring my books of Betty Hutton, Elizabeth Taylor, or maybe Esther Williams, dressing and undressing them ushering them through a never-ending procession of glamorous and dramatic situations. I imagined buildings with doormen in New York, careers in publishing or on the Broadway stage, sophisticated cocktail parties, and trips to Paris---all fed by my relentless passion for the Technicolor extravaganzas of the fifties which I saw at the local movie theater weekly.
I think back very fondly of those times spent alone in my room, though I remember complaining at the time that I had no one to play with (my brothers would have never understood!). But now I am grateful for the energy I spent dreaming and imagining, creating realms of fantasy and romance because, as an English teacher, I see the relationship of this play to my work. Throughout my life, then, runs the thread of my love of stories and my willingness to suspend disbelief—to involve myself in another realm of experience. I do everything I can to entice my students into these realms, into the other spaces known as fiction, drama, and poetry.
A friend told me recently, “Your life is stories, all kinds of stories,” and I like that depiction of myself. While I was debating with myself whether to buy those fairy tale paper dolls in the little store in Jacksonville, Oregon, a nine-year-old girl appeared beside me. She confided that she had enjoyed playing with the set her grandmother had bought her. For a moment I felt nine again, too, and shared with her the intimacy and enchantment of make-believe. Then I knew I had to have one more set of paper dolls. For me they are a celebration of the stories of my life.
Many years ago I bought myself a set of paper dolls, an extravagant and expensive set, that I justified to myself because I can display them in my high school classroom. The dolls represent “Beauty and the Beast,” which I used in my doctoral dissertation because it illuminates the mystery of female empowerment. I also screen the exquisite and enlightening film, Cocteau’s version, La Belle et La Bete, in my film class. The book was filled with beautiful period costumes, some for coloring, and some for cutting out to dress Beauty in. I experienced a rush of delight just looking at this gorgeous set of paper dolls, one I would have loved to have owned as a child (but which certainly were not available in the 1950s when I grew up.)
One of my happiest memories of childhood consists of the times my mother would take my younger brothers and me to the dime store downtown to let us choose a new coloring book or set of paper dolls. I remember the overwhelming joy of anticipation I felt as I watched her put them up in the cupboard, and how I longed for the moment she would get them out to entertain us that night. These occasions happened on the nights she and my father gave bridge parties. At that time, before television, my brothers and I, already dressed in our pajamas, would sit back in our den with our new books—theirs invariably of cowboys, mine of glamorous movie stars, to color or cut costumes out of. We would play all evening, totally absorbed in the alternate reality for which these characters provided a threshold.
I spent many hours subsequently coloring my books of Betty Hutton, Elizabeth Taylor, or maybe Esther Williams, dressing and undressing them ushering them through a never-ending procession of glamorous and dramatic situations. I imagined buildings with doormen in New York, careers in publishing or on the Broadway stage, sophisticated cocktail parties, and trips to Paris---all fed by my relentless passion for the Technicolor extravaganzas of the fifties which I saw at the local movie theater weekly.
I think back very fondly of those times spent alone in my room, though I remember complaining at the time that I had no one to play with (my brothers would have never understood!). But now I am grateful for the energy I spent dreaming and imagining, creating realms of fantasy and romance because, as an English teacher, I see the relationship of this play to my work. Throughout my life, then, runs the thread of my love of stories and my willingness to suspend disbelief—to involve myself in another realm of experience. I do everything I can to entice my students into these realms, into the other spaces known as fiction, drama, and poetry.
A friend told me recently, “Your life is stories, all kinds of stories,” and I like that depiction of myself. While I was debating with myself whether to buy those fairy tale paper dolls in the little store in Jacksonville, Oregon, a nine-year-old girl appeared beside me. She confided that she had enjoyed playing with the set her grandmother had bought her. For a moment I felt nine again, too, and shared with her the intimacy and enchantment of make-believe. Then I knew I had to have one more set of paper dolls. For me they are a celebration of the stories of my life.
Monday, August 10, 2009
My Magical Summer
I have tried twice, but the sound won't synchronize, and some of the sound is gone.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thing # 8 again
For my Thing 8, I wound up doing a screencast with audio about my summer on my blog for my new students to read.
The lesson about opening my webpage and showing students how to download a document won't work on my iMac because the program I recorded it in is not compatible with the blog. So I did something a little different. I will show my students how to get to my website and my blog on the big screen projector when school starts.
I will say that I wound up learning a lot during the process of trying to get a screencast on my blog. I spent twenty or so hours on it, finally going to the Apple store to get a tech guy to help me. But every time I tried to work with the screencast, I learned something new, so all in all, it was a great experience.
The lesson about opening my webpage and showing students how to download a document won't work on my iMac because the program I recorded it in is not compatible with the blog. So I did something a little different. I will show my students how to get to my website and my blog on the big screen projector when school starts.
I will say that I wound up learning a lot during the process of trying to get a screencast on my blog. I spent twenty or so hours on it, finally going to the Apple store to get a tech guy to help me. But every time I tried to work with the screencast, I learned something new, so all in all, it was a great experience.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Thing 11.5
I still have to finish my Jing, but I have learned so many cool things this summer. I loved the image generators--I found two--Animoto and Bookr which I used successfully. I used the Voki, but did not like that as much; I don't like the cartoon version of me. I liked learning about more apps for my Iphone and thought about how to use Skype in my classroom (the problem is to find another class in our time zone or near it!)
I think I have to run as fast as I can to stay in the same place in this age---the kids are learning about computers so fast and enjoying using so many features of the software. I want to be able to use more technology as well as appreciate what they are producing. Computers must be a part of lifelong learning.
I was surprised by the fun and ease of both Animoto and Bookr--I liked using my own photos as well as those available for us online. These projects were really fun. I really was surprised by how much I enjoyed using my blog for my classes this year--and the kids liked responding on it as well. This has been a joyous experience for me, an extension of what I love to do in my classes--engage with my students and with literature and writing.
I am encouraging every teacher I know to get involved with Library2Play--so I say--just keep it up. Both my experiences last summer and this summer have been enriching. And we must keep learning new things whether we like it or not to keep our brains vital and working!
Oh, and I loved going back to You Tube again where I found the hilarious Black Adder meets Shakespeare which I posted!
Thing 11
I was thinking about how similar proper digital citizenry is to researching and writing about literature in my class. We want our students to manifest appropriate behavior in the library--to be quiet and not bother others, to use the materials carefully without marring the books, to give proper attribution for ideas and words that we borrow from others.
I think in my lesson I would talk about these same things--and of course, as a notorious example, we are experiencing and suffering as an entire school district from the acts of those who did not use Wikipedia appropriately this summer. This example alone should help students to see there really are consequences for misusing internet sources. These consequences are probably even more serious than misusing library sources, because while the library may not ban a student for misbehavior, internet sources can. I would talk about using courtesy on the internet as well as in any public space. The internet is an extension of our resources which used to be only physical, and we must use the privileges we gain from using the internet respectfully and carefully.
In addition students need to be guided into careful use of internet sources just as they are guided into appropriate library sources for the level of their essay. My students now are aware that anything can be posted on the internet--from Johnny Jones' eighth grade paper on To Kill a Mockingbird to serious scholarly articles. The sources likely to pop up at the top when they type Scarlet Letter into Google are Sparknotes and other sources of that level. I ask them to see me if they find a source which they are in doubt about or which does not have an author.
And, of course, Google searches tend to turn up less than scholarly material, though you must really look hard to find something worthy to cite in a literary analysis. Yes..I know Google Scholar exists, but so far, I have found it impossible to use.
We are finding some great stuff on the internet--I am astounded at how much I depend on it for information now--but also lots of junk. Being a responsible internet citizen means learning how to find what will work and dismiss what won't.
By the way, with our projectors hooked up to our computers now at school, I can easily walk the students through a lesson doing research with the library materials, though I am having a terrible time actually recording voice and screen shots in Jing!!
Thing 10
I got into second life--made myself an avatar (who was extremely unlike me in real life, but I liked her colors)--and had a few adventures. I wanted to try different fashions, but found those were very expensive, so I would up flying, walking, and generally playing around in the Frank Lloyd Wright museum. That was fun and good for me to experience as I know many of my students who are in engineering are working in programs that use 3D for designing rooms, houses, and other projects.
I would like it better if we could all go into art museums, museums such as the Tenement Museum in New York--or better yet, experience life as a Medieval peasant, or someone on trial for Witchcraft in 17th century Salem. I know those things will come if they are not already available. I know you can go into Chenenceau, one of the chateaux on the Loire River and see the rooms from every perspective--but those are photos of real rooms, not virtual.
I certainly can see some exciting possibilities such as attending a performance at Shakespeare's Globe in a virtual world. Or a reading by Charles Dickens--that would be great.
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