Hi this is the 4th time i have been here and so far my project is going really well.
this song that i will be singing …well lets just hope it goes good. i hope that when you guys
here my poem and the song that my perspective of you guys being the kids in the program
who knows me changes so you can think of me being more than a MEAN and OBNOXIOUS
person, because i really do have heart.
– shemona <3 <3
Today i talked about doing one of mary j. bliges song ( my life) to kind of express my poem and how it relates to my life and what im tryin to explain is that some things are never easy for me no matter how i may seem. (-Shemona)
In her video, Shemona wants to sing parts of the Mary J Blige song and then rap parts of the poem she wrote. Both the song and the poem have similar themes and she thinks the song really expresses what she wants to say. Then we are going to choose pictures and quotes to put in the background of the video. I think it’s awesome that she feels inspired by the song and wants to combine music with the poem she wrote. (-Rachel)
I loved how the article “Stirring Up Justice” defined literacy as active community engagement and creating positive change. This article continued to expand my own ideas about what literacy is and how it can be used in the classroom. When I was in high school, I had a very narrow definition of literacy. I saw it as being able to read and write, and applying those skills to standardized tests like the SAT and AP tests. Literacy often became synonymous with good test-taking skills because that was the way my literacy was evaluated. I think this is a common view of literacy in K12 schools today, especially as a result of No Child Left Behind legislation that emphasizes standardized testing. The “Stirring Up Justice” article offered a refreshing definition of literacy that goes so far beyond test scores. The students in Jessie’s classroom are required to use interdisciplinary skills to research an issue in their communities and then find a way to teach that issue to the rest of the class. This project will develop so many more skills in the students than the test-taking most students are subject to. Students in Jessie’s classroom will be a lot more prepared for college or the workplace because they are practicing analytical skills, interpretive skills, and presentation skills that teach them to be engaged citizens in their communities.
This week Shemona wrote a rap about her life. She typed it up and emailed it to herself and to Rachel so we would both have copies. We also started choosing pictures for Shemona to put into her music video. They are pictures of herself, rap stars that she likes, and quotes that inspire her. Next week we will work on editing the rap lyrics and continuing to put the video together.
Hi, my name is Shemona-Gay Nicola Ann Lawrence. I love listening to music, playing with my friends, and just basically having a good time. In my free-time I enjoying relaxing and reading a good book( especially) vampire books. My friends and my teacher are mostly my motivation they let me know that I can do anything I set my mind too as long as I try my hardest and not let people get to me. My life as a student in Poughkeepsie Middle School is not exactly easy. I try my best to put my mind to my work and so far its kind of going uphill and most of the time it is going downhill. I want to be a straight A student and that is still my goal.My favorite subject by far is E.L.A. In E.L.A. I learn mostly about the history of people back in the day that went through harder things in life than our parents went through when they were kids. This is the first time i have actually thought of being in another circle of group except from my friends and i really think it is going to be a great experience.
The part of this week’s readings that resonated with me the most was the “Interlude” between chapters 6 and 7 by Alfred Tatum, “Building the Textual Lineages of African American Male Adolescents.” I love the idea of building your own “textual lineage” of books that you have strongly identified with that give you a direction for your future. It reminded me about how literacy is both profoundly personal and also very empowering. When I was in middle school, I loved reading novels and I built up a handful of favorite books that I read over and over again. The books in my arsenal were usually about strong female characters that I identified with and that I wanted to become. I was very lucky because, as a middle class white girl (who is able-bodied and heterosexual), it was very easy to find books with characters that reminded me of myself.
I never thought about how much harder it must be for more marginalized people to find books that address problems in their own lives. For example, African American male students face so many unfair stereotypes (as impoverished criminals who don’t have academic potential) that they are usually not targeted as “readers,” so there are much fewer novels available that might appeal to them. That makes it even more necessary that teachers provide them with texts that teach them the history of racial inequality and inspire them to understand it and rise above it, like the texts in the example that Tatum provides. This also would apply to students with different sexual orientations or gender identities. Overall, the Tatum “Interlude” reminded me about how passionate I was about reading as a middle schooler and prompted me to think about which books I identified with and why. Teachers need to find these “hooks” that get students interested in reading to make literacy an empowering skill for all students.
-Rachel
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