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May 4, 2006

Concluding Blog Portfolio

Portfolio 3 -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)Here's the link to my final portfolio.

Posted by BrendaChristeleit at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

May 3, 2006

Closing Portfolio

Portfolio 3 -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)This collection was definitely easier to put together than last time because I knew what to keep in mind as I blogged (It hasn’t escaped me that I can now use the word “blog” in a sentence, which was definitely untrue prior to this term). As a final note to this semester, I would really like to thank my classmates, Paul Crossman and Megan Ritter, who are unbelievably poised and intelligent despite being so young, as well as all those in the Tues./Thurs. section for their thought-provoking work. I kept hoping that one of you would be a celebrity guest blogger on Wednesday night, but it wasn’t to be! Finally, thanks to Dr. Jerz for his motivation, his obvious belief that literature enriches life, and for demonstrating how even a very small class cannot fully explore the layers to many of the works he selected. I definitely feel like I got my money’s worth, and even though it was a tremendous amount of work, I would recommend his class to others. I did not place any of my blogs in multiple categories, even though some overlap. That said, here’s my Portfolio:

1.Coverage: I submitted a blog on each of the readings:

A).A Love/Hate Relationship - Can't you just taste the frustration?
B). Langston Hughes: I never heard of Hughes before this class, but I'm already an admirer!
C). Another blog to pay homage to Mr. Hughes
D). Roberts Chapter 8 - Figures of Speech - how boring life would be without them!
E). Opening thought on Good Country People.
F). Sometimes, you just need to know what others think. I needed answers on the whole hitchhiker scene from The Life You Save May Be Your Own.
G). My paper #1. I thought that I was a decent writer before this class, but in hindisght, I didn't know squat. I LOVE William Carlos Williams, but even so, this paper in no way wrote itself like my second paper did.
H). Roberts Chapter 12 - no comments, but that's OK.

2.Depth:

A). My Presentation Talking Points blog not only helped me sort out some ideas on my own paper, but hopefully provided my classmates with a reminder or what a conparison/contrast essay is all about and refreshed their memory on Literary Expressionism and Rice's The Adding Machine.
B). Expanding on my coverage blog on the same work, "Flannery O'Connor starring in the role of Mrs. Freeman" sparked some good blogging.
C). An extended blog on Mrs. Cope from A Circle in the Fire and her proclaimed thankfulness.
D). Inspired by Lisa'a blog, I kept my ideas about Mr. Shiftlet going.
E). MY FAVORITE DEPTH BLOG, even though nobody commented (Thomson's The Great Gatsby and the Sims.

3.Interaction:

A). List of Readings/Associated Topic blog where I reviewed the entire syllabus in an effort to remind my classmates what topics we covered in conjunction with what works. Chris and Melissa both thanked me.
B.) Matt Hampton's "A Late Encounter with Blogging": I gleefully discovered that Jen's paper was similar to mine-I respect her abilities immensely, and always enjoy Matt's blogs.
C). And last but not least: I started an expansive blog thread on A Temple of the Holy Ghostby comparing the girl to Bevel, and ended up with a great little discussion, which hopefully helped my classmates as mush as it helped me.

4.Discussions:

A). "Mommy" : After some give and take with Matt, as well as the classroom exercise about how I would write my auotbiography, I learned to not be so judgmental.
B). Forgive O Lord: I received 3 very thoughtful comments on my blog with the same name as the succinct, sharp Frost poem.
C). I'm so glad that the collection ended with The Displaced Person and Good Country People because by the time that I blogged on The Artificial Nigger, I was dying for something new, as some of my classmates apparently were as well.
D)." Who is the Most Careless?" elicited some thoughtful comments from at least 4 others.

5.Timeliness:As stated above, none of my blogs were submitted late. Blogs that led to class discussions were:

A). My comment on Paul's "Politics of the 60's finally has a Point" (By the way, I don't think that the 60's were "a joke", they just didn't seem that relevant for an 80's kid heavily into English Mama Boy and Big-Hair bands! (Yes, Sting was not always a solo artist).
B). Southern Hospitality, where I took a discussion from the Tues/Thurs section and applied it to Mommy in The Color of Water, not just Flannery O'Connor.
C). No less than 4 classmates weighed in on Ruby from A stroke of Good Firtune, proof that my blog was timely (As was my final comment).

6. Xenoblogging:

A). Comment Primo:Too bad Onilee dropped the class, she was an asset, and I enjoyed helping her through the readings, as much as her questions helped me. Kudos to Jen DiFulvio for her blog on Good Country People. Thanks to Chris for incorporating the Bble into McBride's The Color of Water.

B). Comment Grande: Matt is my blogging hero-he wonders where I find the time, but he's the one churning out the supreme blogs. Hats off, Mr. Hampton!

C). Comment Informative: The Comment Informative: Expanding on Chris's questions regarding free will and my newly learned concept of felix culpa - also a hats off to Paul.
Also, I discussed David Hume in light of O'Connor in reply to Lisa'a blog. Finally, I evoked a prior version of myself in reply to Melissa's blog.

D). The Link Gracious: Myrtle: Terra's little insight helped!

7. Wildcard:Maybe it was the stress of the last week of classes or maybe I was just tired of hearing that the chances of finding a job in Western PA are exactly slim and none, but I significantly unloaded on this recent NEA article. Blogging is a lot cheaper than therapy!

Posted by BrendaChristeleit at 8:38 PM | Comments (0)

Sacrificial refraction

Miller, Resurrection Blues (to be published in February) -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)"HENRI: Mr. Cheeseboro, I have spent a lifetime trying to free myself from the boredom of reality...I am convinced now apart from getting fed, most human activity - sports, opera, TV, movies, dressing up, dressing down-or just going for a walk - has no other purpose than to deliver us into the realm of the imagination" (76). I'm trying to work this out, but what about religion? Is FAITH just another entree into imagination? If it is, what else is there? Is Miller having the last laugh by writing a PLAY? (Another distraction!) Henri says that Charley must be crucified because he "still really feels everything" (76) and doesn't flee reality like everyone else involved in their own shallow life. How interesting, comnig from a playwright.

Posted by BrendaChristeleit at 4:26 PM | Comments (2)

May 1, 2006

Art Education Advocacy/Wildcard Blog

I recently attended a seminar sponsored by the PAEA (Pennsylvania Art Education Assoc.) hosted at Mt. Lebanon High School. The discussion quickly turned to the importance of advocacy to keep the arts in school, and an elementary art teacher from Mt. Lebo expressed her dismay at the recent school board agenda item to consider cut music programs. Mt. Lebo is arguably one of the most affluent communities surrounding Pittsburgh, but as she explained, 70-75% of the taxpayer base doesn’t have school-age children and would probably resist/resent any tax increase in lieu of program cuts.

If there is one thing I’ve learned in working toward PA Teacher Certification in Art Education, it’s that any art educator must have a ready stockade of replies to the inevitable: “Art is a nice rest from the important subjects” or “Art Education is a luxury, not a necessity,” and in the age of NCLB, “If it's not on the test, we don't have time to teach it!” My family is making huge sacrifices for me to attend school, even though there is absolutely no guarantee of a job, or at best, a job that pays a fraction of the salary I previously earned, while constant justification and advocacy will predictably consume any spare moment. Why would an otherwise sane person make such a decision? The simple answer is that in order to develop the next generation into creative thinkers, young people need art and need to know that artful activities are important to adults. There are undoubtedly many students who find special release in art class, and even for those whose interests lie elsewhere, fostering an appreciation of creative processes will be important in their growth toward successful adulthood.

What the arts do not need are mush-minded rantings that bid the taxpayer against teachers and teachers against the government, like that as recently published by Alain Jehlen in NEA (National Education Association) Today. The article focuses more on the threat to social studies and science, but can be applied to what is occurring in art education as well. This article begins with “The so-called No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law, which has introduced children to the joys of bubble sheets, comes up for renewal in September 2007.” First, is Ms. Jehlen alleging that the NCLB act is something imaginary by writing “so-called?” If so, why doesn’t she just ignore it? Perhaps she should take Dr. Jerz’s EL 267 class and learn to write what she means!

Secondly, her feeble affectations are insulting. She quotes a high-ranking NEA official as saying: “At the ESP conference, a custodian actually started crying while describing what’s happening to some of his teacher-colleagues” and continues with “He said students are so upset that they’re blaming their teachers for having to take all these tests and deciding to punish the teachers by refusing to answer the questions.” Puuuhhhleeeeze! Didn’t this official have anything better to offer? As a mother of three very bright children, I can manipulate with the best of ‘em, and wasn’t exactly moved to tears by someone whining about actually having to earn their paycheck. There comes a time when (say, about 11th grade) the student is going to suffer some pretty serious consequences (i.e., not graduating, repeating a grade, settling for a minimum wage job, etc.) if they don’t lose the attitude and take responsibility for their actions, including test results. Any teacher worth their salary would be expected to make this crystal-clear.

To her credit, Jehlen offers the reader a link to NEA website where they can weigh in on the issue. The NCLB Act renewal will undoubtedly be THE hot topic in education in 2007 (just when I’m about to graduate), and there appear to be hundreds of organizations that will hopefully have their say in something that will affect public education as deeply.

The NAEA (National Art Education Association) has recently sent an electronic newsletter which indicates that “One third of school districts reported reducing time for social studies ‘somewhat or to a greater extent’ to make time for reading and math, while 29% said they had reduced time for science and 22% for art and music.” Another alleges a “20% reduction in programs in the arts with these proportions higher in urban and rural schools and schools serving heterogeneous groups…” Teachers of all subjects, not only the ones in jeopardy, are going to have to band together and remember the best interests of their students when this significant law soon comes up for renewal.

An integral arts curriculum has been shown to improve standardized test scores (NEA/OMG Study), better prepares students for the workplace by teaching judgment skills in a safe environment and enables students with different learning styles to find special expression. If the arts are integrated with seemingly disparate subjects like math or reading, students make connections and true education takes place.

There are so many dedicated art teachers whose work makes huge differences in the lives of their students. Some excellent resources include the Incredible @rtDepartment’s advocacy page, Elliot Eisner’s The Arts and the Creation of the Mind, and Americans for the Arts, where anyone can get involved in keeping art programs viable.

When I started classes to obtain teacher certification, I had no idea that so much of my efforts will by necessity be focused on art advocacy. I am ready to join those who have “been on the front lines” to help ensure that a free, appropriate public education includes a solid art program.


Reference

Jehlen, Alain. "Moving Beyond NCLB." NEA Today 24.8 (May 2006): 16.

Posted by BrendaChristeleit at 2:43 PM | Comments (0)