Blog #3

Textbooks… Hmm, it’s a complicated relationship we have. When I think of high school textbooks, a slow wave of bitter boredom sweeps across my face and ends in a small sigh. My relationship with textbooks have surprisingly blossomed into something wonderful since I’ve been at UGA! Sometimes you even find yourself lucky enough to stumble across a book worth keeping on your bookshelf. (Laugh if you want but I absolutely love my Anatomy and Physiology textbook… SO INTERESTING!)

After reading Chapter 3, I asked myself why I found these high school textbooks so terrible, so unattractive and difficult to read? A textbook may offer a reservoir of information and facts but textbooks can only engage a student for so long and I agree that the problem lies in the way textbooks get used in schools. Textbooks are reference books and although some offer real word scenarios and attempted ways of entertainment, textbooks should not be the center of lesson plans. This type of continuous reading is a “perfect recipe for ineffective and unpleasant reading experiences.” Content should be the center of lesson plans, right? So how can we use textbooks properly and effectively?

My professor from my favorite class untraditionally used a Scientific American magazine as our required text. This magazine was packed with fascinating research and relevant information that led to other articles and reads that stimulated class discussions. My class was so engaged!

The chapter explains that relying on a single source teaches kids to accept a “single voice.” Using various sources to teach content opens a child’s mind and allows them to “develop a balanced view, hear the alternative theories, and make up their own minds.” There is a way to use textbooks properly and effectively, and “single souring is not the way smart and free people read.” (300 words)

Blog #2

The authors presented a neat exercise involving passage reading. Reading these three passages was… pretty overwhelming, but I became very aware of my own thinking strategies as I tried to dissect the jumble of words I read.

The Batsmen were merciless against the Bowlers.
(Batsmen and Bowlers? Are these teams of some sort?[picturing two teams])
The Bowlers placed their men in slips and covers.

(Hmm, definitely don’t know exactly what “slips” and “covers” are.)

The Batsmen hit one four after another along with an occasional six.

(This is a sport. [imagining baseball game at a baseball diamond])

Not once did their balls hit their stumps or get caught.

(It looks like the Batsmen are very good at this sport.)

Passage two comes along and boy, was I taken aback. So many names, what was going on, what were they all doing? (I even got one of my roommates to read this passage so I could see the look of confusion sweep over her face). Reading the words on the page did little to aid my understanding of the context. It takes much more than reading words to comprehend text.

           

Learning the importance of reading skills does not mean we are “turning into reading teachers.” The first two chapters of Subjects Matter emphasis the importance of reading and how it evolves into critical thinking that is beneficial in all subject matter and life. Being aware of this allows all educators to use “methods, tools, activities that are particular to our fields of learning, and engaging” to “help our students understand and remember our content better – and maybe even, dare we hope, get interested in it.”

What an interesting book! I continue to appreciate this writing style for I feel quite engaged as I read on! (293 words)

Blog #1

I found this first chapter to be a surprisingly pleasant read. Not only is the content material highly relatable, the style of writing makes the content both appealing and entertaining!

The beginning story of two students making a statement at a local McDonald’s can be a bit direct and forceful. The thoughts “I would never do that…” crossed through my mind but the second [and made up] story felt very real. The way Mr. Cosgrove interacted with his biology students felt like a blast to the past. I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of the “avoid eye contact” move as you pray someone with answers breaks the wave of silence. Though Mr. Cosgrove is made up, his character is excited about the subject matter he teaches and hopes to inspire his student.

Chapter 1 brought up how early childhood teachers more commonly say they elected teaching because they enjoy children. Middle and high school teachers, on the other hand, tend to choose our profession because we love the subject material – we “care deeply about a particular field, a body of knowledge, a special set of tools and procedures, an intellectual tradition, a heritage.” I found that pretty neat after meeting most of the students in my cohort studying middle grades education. We all seem to have chosen our emphasis because of our many experiences in such subject matter or our passions for that field of studies. (236 words)