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Workbook exercises whether used for the purpose of learning a new language or for quick test preparation has few lasting effects with students. I think that teachers who use this approach at times, myself included, understand that the effects are only short-term and that students can only retained information crammed into them for a short period of time. This is an approach I’d never use with a student trying to learn the English language for the first time. I understand and I think all teachers must understand that any learning of the language must have a functional purpose for a student. Otherwise, the learning resembles the dreaded grammar exercise or spelling list in which students have no real context to use what they have spent so much time memorizing. If they are presented with an opportunity to express their knowledge of the language, that expression will be very limited and stilted and nothing more than a show of memorization of a few English words. A more effective approach would be to provide students with bilingual teachers to bridge the transition between the native language and English.

“To effectively transact with multimodal texts, readers must develop strategies that allow them to recognize, evaluate and make meaning within these variant modes of representation. As digital information resources grow incomprehensibly vast, readers must know how to locate, evaluate, synthesize, cite and use information with discernment and integrity,’’ (Swenson, p. 356).

The most important skill that digital texts develop in students is their ability to be critical readers and evaluators of text for quality, biases and hidden agendas and accuracy. The temptation to quickly locate and cite an Internet source of information and pass it off as an authority is quite high. Even worse, the temptation that many students succumb to: choosing to pass Internet information off as their own work is even more prevalent and more damaging. Students must be taught and given the time to learn that just because information is accompanied by pictures and other features which enhance and supplement the presentation doesn’t mean that information is credible. Along with exposing students to digital texts, students must be taught skills to discern and properly search for digital texts. Also, with classroom projects, students could learn techniques for integrating and presenting their own findings in ways that are as visually appealing as the texts they consult for research.

As a working teacher, one of the most difficult things I’ve attempted to do is to bring creative activities into my classroom without an overabundance of ensuing chaos. In my experience, anytime a routine changes within the classroom, students seem to have a very difficult time adapting to the change and often think that the environment is one in which it is now play time as the work doesn’t appear to be work any more to them. One of the best ways I’ve found to stem some of the problems in an unstructured environment is to make sure I circulate the room and make students aware that I’m aware of what they are doing at any given time. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any set of circumstances in which students will 100 percent do what you expect them to do when a certain level of freedom has been afforded them. Generally, students get the work done or give the appearance of doing it, but it has been very rare that an entire class has gotten this right from the beginning. Over time, however, there is an adaptation by students in which some improvements are made and students can be trusted to work more independently. However, this is after weeks and weeks of trial and error, correcting unwanted behaviors and rewarding students who are doing things in the manner that is expected.

As teachers, the most important thing we do is instruct and encourage our students to look at the world from different perspectives. As a student in a women’s literature course, I found it difficult to start looking at texts from a feminist perspective because obviously I am a man and have always viewed everything from everyday life events to literature from that perspective. As I learned, male students, in particular, have a great deal to gain by looking at characters and their actions and evolution through a feminine lens. Examples of texts in particular that especially lend themselves to such a perspective include Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God,’’ and Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own.’’ Hurston’s Janie character was a woman driven by her own desires and a character who overcame many of the male-dominated societal expectations placed on her, at first from her grandmother and later from the various men in her life. In the end, she achieved a level of independence and free-thinking that was rare or nonexistent in male-written novels from the same time period in early part of the 20th century. Similarly, Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own,’’ as I recall, centered around the politics of whose works are often recognized among the greats of literature and openly questioned and argued that women’s works are just as worthy of their own recognition and status, equal to male dominated works; however, they shouldn’t necessarily have to share the spotlight with male works by such greats as Shakespeare, etc. Woolf called into question the whole idea of how could men really be qualified to make a reality for the women characters that they often portrayed. She also questioned the idea of how society pigeon-holed obviously talented women writers into minor societal roles, often thwarting their obvious talents.

“Shakespeare’s use of `thee,’’ `thou,’ `thy’’ and `thine’ can initially worry students. Those concerns are eased when, through active use, students appreciate that although these old-fashioned pronouns have now dropped out of use in English, they were common in Shakespeare’s time alongside `you’ and `your.’’ (Gibson p. 83).

As a teacher, the most difficult moment is when a student asks a question that I simply do not know the answer to. This was often the case when dealing with material such as Shakespeare and the language used. Many times, a student would ask, “so what do they mean by that?’’ Gibson provides a perspective on Shakespeare, which I didn’t have. As I read Gibson, I realize that my knowledge of Shakespeare as well as the importance of his works to literature run much deeper than I first thought. Language at any given time, is reflective of its users’ immediate surroundings. In all honesty, I thought the use of `thou’’ “thee`’’ “thine’’ and “thy’’ were all just flights of fancy by Shakespeare in an attempt to sound impressive and sophisticated. What I am starting to realize is that no devices were randomly used by Shakespeare and in order to achieve a desired effect, his language had a purpose. In fact, the use of language was his greatest skill. Getting students to understand the meanings behind Shakespeare’s words and to see characters and their predicaments as living and breathing with complexities beyond just what’s on the surface is my aim as teacher. Also, as I learn more about Shakespeare, the more empowered I become as a source of guidance for students when questions arise. It is a disservice to my students to remain uninformed about Shakespeare as I often now feel as though I am.

I would like to use this blog as a forum to discuss important issues in the teaching of literature and writing and the theory of teaching. I see daily how education is played out in the classroom as a teacher and would like to have a better understanding of why I do the things I do in the classroom to impact student learning and what are the most effective means to reaching students. I also think this forum is an ideal place to help others as they enter the education field and to bounce genuine concerns off each other. I look forward to using this tool and the cooperative learning it should foster.