You Gotta Be the Book

While reading Chapter 2 of You Gotta Be the Book, I had found the point of valid reading very interesting. We had discussed in class how, while moving through the education system, we have to make a transition from not interpreting text in many ways to having to find a hundred ways to interpret text. In many cases, there are more ways than one to decipher what an author is trying to say in his stories. Taking Shakespeare for example, he has wrote so many sonnets and plays, each with his own meaning. While we try to read these pieces, we are forced to come up with our own take on what is happening. I could say that the situation is about A, then someone else could claim it was about B. Regardless, we can never truly find out the answer due to the fact that Shakespeare is no longer around.

While reading things in class, there is always conflict on trying to achieve the right answers while reviewing text. But that is just it. What is the right answer? How can a teacher tell you what is right or wrong if there are multiple interpretations. I tried to gain some outside sources to clear the confusion but I could find none. All I could find is how to interpret something like data, something with a fixed standard or outcome. Seeing this information only proves my point even more though! How can we interpret incorrectly if there is no set, correct way?

Using Wilhelm's reference to Rosenblatt, "It is critical to consider the author's intent and meaning, embodied in the "actual accomplishment" (40). Looking at this quote it is easy to see that we are supposed to pull meaning and ideas from the text we read, but I feel as if we are given the right to decide what those are on our own. There should be no way to determine if your right or wrong, unless you ask the author themselves, in which case the teacher is unable to grade accordingly. There is no set system for the validity of reading and interpreting text.

Building A Class Lesson

Before Spring Break, we were asked as a class to bring in a book and prepare a potential lesson plan to follow the book of our choice. At first, I had no idea how to approach the assignment so I had set it aside, but eventually, it started to click. 

After reading Romano's book, I learned a few set skills on how to grade papers as a teacher of english as well as ways to approach lesson plans. I was still briefly confused because, as a teacher, this lesson plan will be affecting many people's grades.It was hard for me to come up with something off the bat until I realized I would be doing this for the rest of my life. Then I thought, I should do it based on something fun and exciting. My theory is that with each lesson plan you build, depending on subject matter, the students should have some choice or say in it as well. 

Thinking about it in that perspective, I also brushed upon what I found fun about reading the material. With association of my prior knowledge, the lesson plan began to come with ease. I found some of Romano's words encouraging to help get through the stressful parts and I began to be able to find a lot of fun in making plans. As a future teacher myself, this makes me beyond ecstatic to start. I feel as if this assignment had prepared me for reality of what it is kind of like to be in the class. 

While reading text for my courses, I continuously find myself thinking about how this could be made into a lesson. I want to make an impact on the students, and how could I or would I do that with the text at hand. I found that in almost anything you read you can pull out a theme, or even something to learn. Reading opens up the mind and allows us to learn through someone else's experiences. This isn't something you can achieve on a normal basis, and this assignment helped me realize how important it is to pull these ideas out of text. I look forward to the next.

Here is a link on interpreting text and the authors purpose of writing!

http://www.criticalreading.com/interpretation.htm

Clearing the Way

While reading the Grading portion, in chapter 8 of Clearing the Way, I found that Romano's approach is by far the most fair approach I've seen. According to Romano, the first thing the students look at upon receiving their papers is their letter grade, then his comments. He gives a grade and comment in a way that the students will want to keep writing. He doesn't look at the grammatical correctness of it, nor the length (at first draft at least), he looks at the story the student has to tell and how well they do that.

While reading papers, Romano says " I'm looking for surprises of language and vision. I'm looking for vivid images. I'm looking for rhythms of language and voice. I'm looking for an adept employment of some naturally evolved form that might even prompt me to utter aloud my appreciation as I sit alone reading" (114). In this, I feel that it is the most fair approach to grading writing assignments. Let's take creative writing for example. While grading a personal story there isn't much you can grade on. I have always wondered how teachers determine they would grade something that someone wrote off their memory.

In Romano's perspective, it isn't the grade that matters. It's the story. he is striving for his students to become better writers and he does so by giving them a chance. He understands there will be error, but the point is that the story is being told in such a way that you want to keep on reading. In some cases the grading scale would have to be implemented. There are certain criteria that some papers require, and if the criteria is not met, then that student deserves a lesser grade regardless of how eel the story is told.

All in all, I feel Romano's approaches and ideas are some that I believe and share along with him. It is hard as an English teacher to implement an actual grading scale. But with Romano's approach, we are able to see alternative means to the grading system. There is a need to still have one to be able to determine how kids are doing in class, but not as harsh or strict as a math class scale would be. This is why I think Romano has the right idea, he understands that.

Tips on how to "grade" creative writing.
http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/jason_renshaws_web_log/2010/04/how-do-we-grade-creative-writing.html