July 11, 2013
Dear Janet and Dawn,
Allow me to begin by thanking you for a wonderful learning experience. I have never been a part of something this special. The Red Cedar Writing Project will go forward with me for the rest of my life. I finally felt like I truly belonged somewhere! It was a great pleasure to work with a group of writers who understood me.
I would like to express what I have learned this summer, how I have expanded my writing comfort-zone, and how I will use what I have learned to continue to coach the teachers in my building.
Curiosity:
I have always been a curious person. It seems that everything we read and discussed this summer caused me to become even more curious about the topic. I found myself doing Google searches for just about everything because I wanted to know more right then! One particular instance I can think of was I wanted to know who this woman was that took Sylvia Plath's love away from her. I couldn't imagine why Slyvia's husband would leave her. She was so beautiful and talented. And then...I saw what the other woman looked like. Now, I admit, I am not a man and do not view the word through their eyes, but I was shocked to see this other woman. I thought she was plain, ordinary looking. She did not match the description of her beauty.
Openness:
Although I am fairly rooted in my ideas, I am always willing to listen to the other side of any argument. I found this especially to be true in two situations this summer. The first is the conversation we had about African-American English and how they can feel marginalized. I may strongly believe that there should be a standard for any language, this did make me think about those who do not grow up speaking a standardized version of any language. The second situation I found myself trying to remain open in was when we were presented with the news article about the woman who was fighting for her right to see her children. Again, I may have developed my own opinion on the situation, but I was open and willing to hear the arguments made by the other side.
Engagement:
It has been so easy to remain engaged in our daily sessions and in my readings. I was completely captivated reading Bird by Bird, Crafting Digital Writing, and Mechanically Inclined. My engagement declined when reading Designing Writing Assignments, but I think that was more because it was a dryer read. I have been captivated by the stories my colleagues have written. I found myself closing my eyes when they were reading -- they created such imagery! The most powerful piece I found myself engaged in was when Mandy was reading about her father. I think I forgot to breathe a couple of times as she was reading, and I found myself in tears with her beautifully written piece. I struggled some with my own personal attentiveness at time because of the pressures put on me at work. It seemed like no one at the building could answer simple questions. I had teachers and parents calling or texting. I would have simply shut off my phone would it not have possibly cost me my employment!
Creativity:
I think my creativeness really came through during my teaching demonstration. I like to be creative when crafting presentations. This is why I used Glogster to present. It is much more appealing to an audience to see a Glogster than a boring Word document. I could have very easily done a Word document, and it probably wouldn't have taken as much time to put together, but the creative me wouldn't let me do it! I also became more creative in my approach to grammar and punctuation. The piece I wrote that is just being referred to right now as The Kiss is an excellent example of being able to be creative and play around with punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure --thank you, Mr. Anderson!
Persistence:
I am very determined. I always have been. But I have to be honest...my best example for persistence during RCWP was getting through Designing Writing Assignments. It just didn't have the readability or likability that the other three required readings had, and I found myself reading a page and putting it down, reading a page and putting it down. One would think that this book, as few pages as it is, would be easy to read. It reminded me of reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - a 76 page novel that feels like you are reading the dictionary from front cover to back cover!
Responsibility & Flexibility:
I would have to say that my flexibility levels have been most challenged through RCWP because of outside responsibilities. I have been completing training and working my full-time job throughout the institute. Sleep, to say the least, is the lowest on my priority list right now. I have done my absolute best trying to adapt to the situations, expectations and demands placed upon me by participating in RCWP and working full-time. On top of the demands of the summer institute, I planned an entire summer academic and enrichment program for my school. I have taken many lunch breaks this summer away from my RCWP cohorts in order to make phone calls, write emails, and finalize plans for summer school. I have dealt with behavioral concerns via cell phone when a student chose to make poor choices in class, talked to parents and teachers non-stop on my drive to and from Michigan State University (thank God it's an hour drive!), and have been yelled at by parents in the early morning hours before RCWP when bus issues arose. All the while I have tried to remain flexible and keep a smile on my face. Despite all of the outside forces trying to break my spirit, I have been able to produce some of my best writing ever! A piece I am most proud of stemming from RCWP is Today I Met a Man. I believe that hearing the stories from this man's life makes me think about the important things in life, and those important things trump a morning of parents yelling at me or hours of countless phone calls made during my drive to and from MSU.
Metacognition:
Thinking about your own thinking. Not the easiest task in the world. You begin to question yourself about why you are thinking in the first place! I found myself doing a lot of thinking about my thinking this summer: meeting with Dawn prior to my teaching demonstration and being challenged as to why I wanted to take the approach I was taking, revising my own writing and questioning myself on why I was taking a certain approach, being engaged in difficult discourse. This reflection letter is the perfect example of reflecting on my own thinking. I like the fact that it is categorized in list-form. If I had just been given the task to reflect on my own thinking from the summer, it would come down to one answer: AAAAHHHHH!!! I appreciate, however, the challenge of reflecting on my own thinking. Many times I find myself thinking Is this what will be best for the kids? I think that single question is what drives my own thinking. I am constantly looping back to the kids. One of the best examples from this summer of my own metacognition was during Amber's teaching demonstration. I found myself questioning (and answering!) myself as to why I felt the way I did about the controversial article we read about parental rights. I kept repeating in my head Why are you siding with this guy? He's a jerk! He divorces his wife because she has become paralyzed. Didn't he take those vows of for better or worse? But, I continued to circle back to what was best for the kids. It's pretty funny in hindsight to put to words what was going on inside my head. I'm arguing with myself and still wind up siding with the jerk!
Rhetorical Knowledge:
I had never really considered Rhetorical Knowledge when writing for my own pleasure, drafting work documents, or designing lessons for my students. My persistence of reading Gardner's Designing Writing Assignments paid off in the end to build my rhetorical knowledge (as did the other three readings). I hadn't really given much thought to how my audience would effect how I wrote something. I just wrote how I thought I should. That may be putting it too simply. Somehow I didn't THINK about they "whys" of writing. I just did it. The most powerful piece for me this summer on rhetorical knowledge was being introduced to MAPS. This is a great way for teachers to be able to take a new approach to lesson planning. It helped me a great deal when creating my teaching demonstration. I had to consider the mode/media. I chose to present to the group using Glogster. It not only allowed me to be creative, but it is more aesthetically pleasing for my audience. I had to consider my audience. This one was hard. I knew I was presenting to a group of teachers, but I also needed them to act as students. This is another reason I chose Glogster. It is designed to be easy to follow for kids and adults alike. Then, there is the ever present purpose. Why are you doing what you are doing? In my case, it was to combine two things: using technology for presentation purposes and engaging students in video and discussion. Glogster allowed me to accomplish those things with one step. MAPS also reminded me of TPACK which I have been learning a great deal about through MSU's Master of Arts in Educational Technology. I am really interested to see how these two ideas will blend when I return to school this fall.
Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking has been completely embedded into this summer institute. Every day I have been challenged in my thinking through the analysis of LaMott, Anderson, Hicks and Gardner. And this doesn't even include the side-bar conversations brought up through discussion of these texts. Even though it made my brain hurt, the conversation the whole group had discussing the different registers and dialects of language and how they can or cannot marginalize a certain group of people was intense but well worth having. Not that we can change the world in our tiny little room of 120 Linton Hall, but that conversation sparked examining both sides of a controversial topic. It has also made me want to read the essays of Bell even if I don't agree with her. To me, being able to critically examine both sides of any viewpoint only makes one a stronger person. I plan to continue this conversation at my own building during pre-service with my teachers even if it is to get a more solidified sense of how they view language and our students.
Writing Processes:
Wow! This is a big one. I have been challenged throughout this summer to take different approaches to my writing, but I think where I became most aware of my personal approach to writing was through my presentation of sacred writing time. My lesson focused on verb tenses which led to conversation of person or voice. As I looked back into my writing, most of what I had written was done so in the 3rd person past tense- even personal narratives. This really made me consider my approach to writing. I think I have been holding myself back as a writer by writing in 3rd person. It has allowed my personal stories to be told without me having to get really personal with myself. This may sound crazy, but I think it to be true. As I dug through my writing, I re-read the piece we did during sacred writing time about a time we stole. I had written this in 3rd person, so I rewrote it in the 1st and realized it was a much more powerful piece of writing. I can be seen under the Writing tab at the top of the page.
Knowledge of Conventions:
I feel that I came in strong to RCWP in the area of Knowledge of Conventions. Everyone always sends me their materials to review before submitting them to professors or other professionals, and one little part of my job is to the the "grammar queen" for the school. I have to review just about every single piece of paper that leaves our building including teacher and school-wide newsletters. However, I have learned so much through my reading of Anderson's Mechanically Inclined and being engaged as a writer in daily sacred writing times. I would have to say my favorite lesson was AAAWWWUUBBIS! I am considering doing a book study with my 3rd - 8th grade teachers (any of whom teach grammar and writing) using Mechanically Inclined. I know this book's focus is for older students, but I believe it can be adapted to a younger level. My teachers consistently complain that there is no good resource to teach grammar.
Abilities to Compose in Multiple Environments:
Honestly, I believe this is where I shine as a writer. I have always been a lover of the written word and have used it in a traditional pen-and-paper sense most of my life. However, as technology evolved and allowed for writers to be interactive with world-wide audiences almost instantaneously, I felt my "whole" could be heard. I love to create writing in a digital environment because I feel that full creativity can be expressed. My work through the summer can be seen here with the creation of an electronic portfolio, a Voki introduction used on my Welcome page, a Glogster with embedded videos for my teaching demonstration, and podcasts of my writing.
Grade
I absolutely HATE justifying my own grade (just being honest!). I am normally very hard on myself. However, I finally believe I deserve a 4.0! I never thought I would see the day when I would actually tell myself I deserved that "A". But I have worked for it. I have spent my entire summer institute experience either working or thinking about my work from the early morning hours to the...early morning hours! There hasn't been a night where I have gotten to bed before 1am, and there hasn't been a morning where I have slept past 6am. Most nights were closer to 2am before actually going to sleep. I feel that I have been a warrior through this process. Balancing running a summer school program long-distance and developing myself as a writer and teacher leader has been trying. But I have done it, and I believe I have done it well. I am not sure too many people would be able to survive the summer institute and still work a full-time job! I have created some excellent pieces of writing this summer and have plans set for more. I have plans to take information back to my teachers and continue my response to Gardner creating a community resources/alternative audiences compilation for my teachers.
I know that you both have a ton of reading to do and want to note my appreciation for all you have given to us this summer. I am overwhelmed and still need time to continue processing my learning, but I am excited to take everything back to my teachers to help them be the best they can be. Thank you for this wonderful experience!
Sincerely,
Aubrey McClain
Dear Janet and Dawn,
Allow me to begin by thanking you for a wonderful learning experience. I have never been a part of something this special. The Red Cedar Writing Project will go forward with me for the rest of my life. I finally felt like I truly belonged somewhere! It was a great pleasure to work with a group of writers who understood me.
I would like to express what I have learned this summer, how I have expanded my writing comfort-zone, and how I will use what I have learned to continue to coach the teachers in my building.
Curiosity:
I have always been a curious person. It seems that everything we read and discussed this summer caused me to become even more curious about the topic. I found myself doing Google searches for just about everything because I wanted to know more right then! One particular instance I can think of was I wanted to know who this woman was that took Sylvia Plath's love away from her. I couldn't imagine why Slyvia's husband would leave her. She was so beautiful and talented. And then...I saw what the other woman looked like. Now, I admit, I am not a man and do not view the word through their eyes, but I was shocked to see this other woman. I thought she was plain, ordinary looking. She did not match the description of her beauty.
Openness:
Although I am fairly rooted in my ideas, I am always willing to listen to the other side of any argument. I found this especially to be true in two situations this summer. The first is the conversation we had about African-American English and how they can feel marginalized. I may strongly believe that there should be a standard for any language, this did make me think about those who do not grow up speaking a standardized version of any language. The second situation I found myself trying to remain open in was when we were presented with the news article about the woman who was fighting for her right to see her children. Again, I may have developed my own opinion on the situation, but I was open and willing to hear the arguments made by the other side.
Engagement:
It has been so easy to remain engaged in our daily sessions and in my readings. I was completely captivated reading Bird by Bird, Crafting Digital Writing, and Mechanically Inclined. My engagement declined when reading Designing Writing Assignments, but I think that was more because it was a dryer read. I have been captivated by the stories my colleagues have written. I found myself closing my eyes when they were reading -- they created such imagery! The most powerful piece I found myself engaged in was when Mandy was reading about her father. I think I forgot to breathe a couple of times as she was reading, and I found myself in tears with her beautifully written piece. I struggled some with my own personal attentiveness at time because of the pressures put on me at work. It seemed like no one at the building could answer simple questions. I had teachers and parents calling or texting. I would have simply shut off my phone would it not have possibly cost me my employment!
Creativity:
I think my creativeness really came through during my teaching demonstration. I like to be creative when crafting presentations. This is why I used Glogster to present. It is much more appealing to an audience to see a Glogster than a boring Word document. I could have very easily done a Word document, and it probably wouldn't have taken as much time to put together, but the creative me wouldn't let me do it! I also became more creative in my approach to grammar and punctuation. The piece I wrote that is just being referred to right now as The Kiss is an excellent example of being able to be creative and play around with punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure --thank you, Mr. Anderson!
Persistence:
I am very determined. I always have been. But I have to be honest...my best example for persistence during RCWP was getting through Designing Writing Assignments. It just didn't have the readability or likability that the other three required readings had, and I found myself reading a page and putting it down, reading a page and putting it down. One would think that this book, as few pages as it is, would be easy to read. It reminded me of reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - a 76 page novel that feels like you are reading the dictionary from front cover to back cover!
Responsibility & Flexibility:
I would have to say that my flexibility levels have been most challenged through RCWP because of outside responsibilities. I have been completing training and working my full-time job throughout the institute. Sleep, to say the least, is the lowest on my priority list right now. I have done my absolute best trying to adapt to the situations, expectations and demands placed upon me by participating in RCWP and working full-time. On top of the demands of the summer institute, I planned an entire summer academic and enrichment program for my school. I have taken many lunch breaks this summer away from my RCWP cohorts in order to make phone calls, write emails, and finalize plans for summer school. I have dealt with behavioral concerns via cell phone when a student chose to make poor choices in class, talked to parents and teachers non-stop on my drive to and from Michigan State University (thank God it's an hour drive!), and have been yelled at by parents in the early morning hours before RCWP when bus issues arose. All the while I have tried to remain flexible and keep a smile on my face. Despite all of the outside forces trying to break my spirit, I have been able to produce some of my best writing ever! A piece I am most proud of stemming from RCWP is Today I Met a Man. I believe that hearing the stories from this man's life makes me think about the important things in life, and those important things trump a morning of parents yelling at me or hours of countless phone calls made during my drive to and from MSU.
Metacognition:
Thinking about your own thinking. Not the easiest task in the world. You begin to question yourself about why you are thinking in the first place! I found myself doing a lot of thinking about my thinking this summer: meeting with Dawn prior to my teaching demonstration and being challenged as to why I wanted to take the approach I was taking, revising my own writing and questioning myself on why I was taking a certain approach, being engaged in difficult discourse. This reflection letter is the perfect example of reflecting on my own thinking. I like the fact that it is categorized in list-form. If I had just been given the task to reflect on my own thinking from the summer, it would come down to one answer: AAAAHHHHH!!! I appreciate, however, the challenge of reflecting on my own thinking. Many times I find myself thinking Is this what will be best for the kids? I think that single question is what drives my own thinking. I am constantly looping back to the kids. One of the best examples from this summer of my own metacognition was during Amber's teaching demonstration. I found myself questioning (and answering!) myself as to why I felt the way I did about the controversial article we read about parental rights. I kept repeating in my head Why are you siding with this guy? He's a jerk! He divorces his wife because she has become paralyzed. Didn't he take those vows of for better or worse? But, I continued to circle back to what was best for the kids. It's pretty funny in hindsight to put to words what was going on inside my head. I'm arguing with myself and still wind up siding with the jerk!
Rhetorical Knowledge:
I had never really considered Rhetorical Knowledge when writing for my own pleasure, drafting work documents, or designing lessons for my students. My persistence of reading Gardner's Designing Writing Assignments paid off in the end to build my rhetorical knowledge (as did the other three readings). I hadn't really given much thought to how my audience would effect how I wrote something. I just wrote how I thought I should. That may be putting it too simply. Somehow I didn't THINK about they "whys" of writing. I just did it. The most powerful piece for me this summer on rhetorical knowledge was being introduced to MAPS. This is a great way for teachers to be able to take a new approach to lesson planning. It helped me a great deal when creating my teaching demonstration. I had to consider the mode/media. I chose to present to the group using Glogster. It not only allowed me to be creative, but it is more aesthetically pleasing for my audience. I had to consider my audience. This one was hard. I knew I was presenting to a group of teachers, but I also needed them to act as students. This is another reason I chose Glogster. It is designed to be easy to follow for kids and adults alike. Then, there is the ever present purpose. Why are you doing what you are doing? In my case, it was to combine two things: using technology for presentation purposes and engaging students in video and discussion. Glogster allowed me to accomplish those things with one step. MAPS also reminded me of TPACK which I have been learning a great deal about through MSU's Master of Arts in Educational Technology. I am really interested to see how these two ideas will blend when I return to school this fall.
Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking has been completely embedded into this summer institute. Every day I have been challenged in my thinking through the analysis of LaMott, Anderson, Hicks and Gardner. And this doesn't even include the side-bar conversations brought up through discussion of these texts. Even though it made my brain hurt, the conversation the whole group had discussing the different registers and dialects of language and how they can or cannot marginalize a certain group of people was intense but well worth having. Not that we can change the world in our tiny little room of 120 Linton Hall, but that conversation sparked examining both sides of a controversial topic. It has also made me want to read the essays of Bell even if I don't agree with her. To me, being able to critically examine both sides of any viewpoint only makes one a stronger person. I plan to continue this conversation at my own building during pre-service with my teachers even if it is to get a more solidified sense of how they view language and our students.
Writing Processes:
Wow! This is a big one. I have been challenged throughout this summer to take different approaches to my writing, but I think where I became most aware of my personal approach to writing was through my presentation of sacred writing time. My lesson focused on verb tenses which led to conversation of person or voice. As I looked back into my writing, most of what I had written was done so in the 3rd person past tense- even personal narratives. This really made me consider my approach to writing. I think I have been holding myself back as a writer by writing in 3rd person. It has allowed my personal stories to be told without me having to get really personal with myself. This may sound crazy, but I think it to be true. As I dug through my writing, I re-read the piece we did during sacred writing time about a time we stole. I had written this in 3rd person, so I rewrote it in the 1st and realized it was a much more powerful piece of writing. I can be seen under the Writing tab at the top of the page.
Knowledge of Conventions:
I feel that I came in strong to RCWP in the area of Knowledge of Conventions. Everyone always sends me their materials to review before submitting them to professors or other professionals, and one little part of my job is to the the "grammar queen" for the school. I have to review just about every single piece of paper that leaves our building including teacher and school-wide newsletters. However, I have learned so much through my reading of Anderson's Mechanically Inclined and being engaged as a writer in daily sacred writing times. I would have to say my favorite lesson was AAAWWWUUBBIS! I am considering doing a book study with my 3rd - 8th grade teachers (any of whom teach grammar and writing) using Mechanically Inclined. I know this book's focus is for older students, but I believe it can be adapted to a younger level. My teachers consistently complain that there is no good resource to teach grammar.
Abilities to Compose in Multiple Environments:
Honestly, I believe this is where I shine as a writer. I have always been a lover of the written word and have used it in a traditional pen-and-paper sense most of my life. However, as technology evolved and allowed for writers to be interactive with world-wide audiences almost instantaneously, I felt my "whole" could be heard. I love to create writing in a digital environment because I feel that full creativity can be expressed. My work through the summer can be seen here with the creation of an electronic portfolio, a Voki introduction used on my Welcome page, a Glogster with embedded videos for my teaching demonstration, and podcasts of my writing.
Grade
I absolutely HATE justifying my own grade (just being honest!). I am normally very hard on myself. However, I finally believe I deserve a 4.0! I never thought I would see the day when I would actually tell myself I deserved that "A". But I have worked for it. I have spent my entire summer institute experience either working or thinking about my work from the early morning hours to the...early morning hours! There hasn't been a night where I have gotten to bed before 1am, and there hasn't been a morning where I have slept past 6am. Most nights were closer to 2am before actually going to sleep. I feel that I have been a warrior through this process. Balancing running a summer school program long-distance and developing myself as a writer and teacher leader has been trying. But I have done it, and I believe I have done it well. I am not sure too many people would be able to survive the summer institute and still work a full-time job! I have created some excellent pieces of writing this summer and have plans set for more. I have plans to take information back to my teachers and continue my response to Gardner creating a community resources/alternative audiences compilation for my teachers.
I know that you both have a ton of reading to do and want to note my appreciation for all you have given to us this summer. I am overwhelmed and still need time to continue processing my learning, but I am excited to take everything back to my teachers to help them be the best they can be. Thank you for this wonderful experience!
Sincerely,
Aubrey McClain