Pytash: Jago Ch. 1

To my surprise, I really enjoyed this book. I was truly dreading having to read and now I can't keep the concepts Jago introduces out of my head. In the first chapter I really connected with the story about the similar lessons in the third and eighth grade classrooms. I am horrified to say I have personally witnessed this even on a college level! I have an acquaintance that just recently was accepted to KSU and in his College Writing 1 class they had to go over how to write a paragraph and a paper before they could get started discussing what the paper topics should be. This too me is outrageous and unacceptable, even in grade school, and I couldn't agree more with Jago that this should not be occurring at any level of education. I also found it interesting that she discusses the differences in the consistency of the curriculum with the content of the standardized tests. Like much of the statistics in today's society the lower class and lower income kids get the short end of the stick. This was not surprising to me, but it did lead to some thought on why it is this way. Parents in low income families are often busy trying to handle the trials of their lives and may not be able to constantly help their kids and the schools in these districts often can not afford good teachers in the schools. Beyond this many teachers fear being placed in these schools that cater to low-income families. All of these elements boil down to one conclusion for the students: they don't learn as much or as well as their middle and upper class counter parts. The biggest disappointment in the situation, however, is this problem could be fixed if teachers paid attention and followed their training. I think if teachers followed or utilized many of the things we are being taught now, such as reading strategies and more fun classroom activities, they could make learning fun and easy for all involved. This means we must stop asking level one questions and challenge our students with something more involving and thought provoking. That to me seems as simple as changing a couple questions, so why can't all teachers do it?

Also in this chapter I enjoyed Jago's points on what literature means to people and how it helps in human development. Too many times when I tell people I am training to be and English teacher or if I mention that my focus in English, I get a reaction like, "So you just read really good." This statement while very close to some truth is not very close to what reading means to our society. Jago points this out in many sections. My favorite point in this section of the chapter is that literature gives background knowledge. When Jago discusses London's novel White Fang and where she acquired her background knowledge for the understanding and imagining of London's fictional world I couldn't help to think about where I got much of my knowledge especially about places I have never been, books and literature. Mind you books haven't provided all of my background knowledge and I don't believe they can replace an experience of the real place, but they can give you a pretty accurate description and provide a unique experience that you can later refer to when thinking or discussing the area or thing you read about. Again I think so why is this not emphasized in the classroom? Sure teachers ask about where the characters are and may even have students look up what the area looks like, but what about the image the students see when they read? That's just as important as the real thing and provides more of a connection and reference for the student to go back to than some research project can create. 

Finally I must say I disagree with Jago in this chapter when she says common non-reading activities must be used sparingly and always with a writing activity. I agree they should not be the full focus of a class; however, I think these activities, when done properly, can expand the students knowledge just as much as writing activities and/or reading. In fact things that she mentions, like storyboards, require an understanding of the material and involve writing. And as we are experiencing in Multi-Modal Literature class now, film is a form of literature it simply needs to be treated as such, instead of it becoming a free day for the teacher and students. The amount of learning being accomplished is a direct result of how it is being taught and how interesting the material. That is our job as teachers, teach well and make it interesting.