FOOT: Bruno Mars!!!!

           Flashfest started this week wonderfully for me with a $5 Bruno Mars concert! This is someone I really love listening to and someone I know many of the students I worked with listen too. There were three other bands there, We The Kings, Another Kind of Buffalo and Plan B featuring a beatboxer Faith SFX. The concert was amazing! The highlight of the evening was very obviously Bruno Mars but there was some shock and awe when Faith SFX took the stage. He is a very talented beatboxer, something I didn't think still existed let alone was cool. (Fast forward a bit in the video to get the whole affect of what he can do! He is amazing!) This got me thinking about all of the talents students view as pointless until they see someone on stage doing it. I would even say this idea can transfer into merchandise and trends. People tend to only want something once someone they idolize wears it, does it, listens to it or promotes it. It would be very interesting to experiment with this in schools. I admitt I am not sure how to promote school without being extremely cheesy but it would be worth a try. All I'm saying is at the concert Bruno Mars played a Ucayali and after the concert many people were talking about taking lessons! If only we could get students this interested in homework.
           The concert also got me thinking about how big name concerts could be incorporated into school. There are plenty of laws and parents who I am sure would protest this idea, but it would be fun and could be educational if handled right. I don;t think this will ever happen because of all of the different tastes in music and problems with parental approval, but none the less I thought why is today's music looked at as less than say 100 A.D. chanting? It is definitely more important to students, maybe it should be important to us. And for those of you who stayed at Firestone for Mr. Parks speech on schools should know what I mean when I say I give him mad props for making this part of school important.

FOOT: Compare Naruto and Pinocchio

Text and Dialogue:
       Narration: Naruto- Used only in the beginning to give background information on the leaf        
                        village and Naruto
                        Pinocchio- There seems to be only thoughts and spoken words no 3rd party narration

       Balloons: Naruto and Pinocchio- These are the main form of communicating the story to the  
                       reader. In Naruto they are also used to express levels of emotion through the shape of
                       the balloon.
       Captions: Naruto- There are captions writen by the author to explain things like artwork but
                       never  to explain the story.
                       Pinocchio- There is no use of captions.
       Emanata: Naruto- Often used during character interactions with Naruto or when Naruto is baffled.
                       Pinocchio- There is no use of emanata.
       Label/Signs: Naruto and Pinocchio- There are signs on buildings and things such as door mats
                       but they often seem insignificant except to create a scene true to a town or village.
       Lettering:
       Sound Effects: Naruto and Pinocchio- Used especially in scenes where there is no communication.
Visual Features
       Characters: Naruto- Characters are humans and animals all cartoon animation
                          Pinocchio- Characters are humans, vampires and Pinocchio the wooden puppet
                          all cartoon animation
       Objects: Naruto- There is a lot of ninja equipment and labeling clothing and signs.
                     Pinocchio-There are plenty of weapons and ropes in this book. Specialized vampire  
                     killing gear.
       Icons: Naruto- The symbol of the leaf village on the headband and clan symbols on clothing.
                  Pinocchio- Pinocchio is used as an icon and a character.
       Scenery: Naruto- Town/Village and forest
                      Pinocchio- Town
       Depicted Action:Naruto- Kids learn to become ninjas and attempt to pass their first tests
                                   Pinocchio- Pinocchio kills vampires in order to avenge Geppetto's death
General Layout and Design
       Borders: Naruto- Used to separate panels
                      Pinocchio- Used to separate panels, but are not always used and are often used inside
                      other panels
       Gutters: Naruto and Pinocchio- Used between some panels but not all
       Panels: Naruto and Pinocchio- These show the progression in the storyline. In Naruto they are
                    read back to front right to left. In Pinocchio they are read the opposite way.
       Open Panel:Naruto- Often used with sound words and large battle scenes
                           Pinocchio- These are not used.
       Splash:Naruto and Pinocchio- Used for larger important scenes and they can take up two pages.
Angles and Frames
       Bleed:Naruto- Used for the sound words and large battle scenes
                  Pinocchio- These are not used.
       Close-up: Naruto and Pinocchio- Mainly used on the main characters
       Head Shot: Naruto and Pinocchio- Mainly used on the main characters
       Head-Shoulder Shot: Naruto and Pinocchio- Used on all characters
       Full-Figure Shot: Naruto and Pinocchio- Used on all characters
       Longshot: Naruto and Pinocchio- Mainly used on main characters to show approach
       Extreme Longshot: Naruto and Pinocchio- Used to depict distance from the action or main  
                                       character
       Reverse: Naruto and Pinocchio- Often used in main battles between characters.
Rhetorical Techniques Applied in Text, Visuals and Design
       Exaggeration:Naruto- Used to exemplify emotions and sounds
                              Pinocchio- Used in some drawings of characters to give a creepy feel
       Empathy/Identification: Naruto- You are supposed to empathize with Naruto specifically but
                                              also with the other ninja students 
                                              Pinocchio- You are supposed to empathize with Pinocchio and the town
       Mood/Tone: Naruto-Mostly bright and happy after a sad beginning
                            Pinocchio- Dark, sad and gloomy
       Simplicity/Complexity: Naruto- Very complex storyline and simple characters with a complex task
                                              Pinocchio- Simple storyline with complex characters and situations
       Irony/Satire: Naruto- He is filled with the 9 tailed fox, evil, yet turns out to be very good
                            Pinocchio- The main character is a kids cartoon character in a very violent story
       Realism/Icons/Symbolism: Naruto and Pinocchio- There seems to be very little realism in either
                                                   story but Pinocchio is a major kids icon and so aren't ninjas. These
                                                   could be symbols of kids dreams come to life.

       Order/Disorder:Naruto- Naruto is very disorderly but the story seems organized
                                 Pinocchio- The story is very organized and so is Pinocchio's character
       Juxtaposition: Naruto- Image versus truth
                               Pinocchio- Good versus Evil
       Relationships: Naruto- Naruto tries to prove he is just as good as everyone else even though
                               he is looked down upon
                               Pinocchio- Pinocchio is attempting to avenge the death of the only close friend
                               he ever had, Geppetto.
       Point of View: Naruto and Pinocchio- Told from the main character's perspective but still shows
                               others' thoughts

Pytash: Final Reflection

This semester has contrasted last semester in many ways for me. First of all this class is very different from the one you taught last semester. I feel like the two classes were the two extremes of teaching and the major point is for us to find out where we stand and who we are as teachers. I am here to tell you that I stand precisely in the middle. I want to include new books and technology but I do not want to lose sight of what literature and language are nor do I want to bore my students with things that they cannot relate to. Neither seems more important in mind, but a good balance could be perfect for all involved. This semester has also taught me how far I will go to make my lessons creative and interesting. I have discovered that I do not mind the work necessary to make a lesson fun. It is all worth it when the students walk away with new knowledge and a great experience. Besides this semester being very informative it has been very busy. This factor alone should have turned me away from taking the more time consuming path on many of my assignments, but it didn't. If anything it just made me work harder to get everything right. Finally this semester has taught what a balancing act teaching is going to be. My life in and out of school must balance and my social life has to accept my career. I don't mind any of this, but it is definitely going to take some work to get it all right. I am looking forward to putting my observations of myself and my teaching beliefs to the test in the next few semesters.

FOOT: Reflection

            This semester I started out very excited and worried about this class. I was very excited to use new technology and learn ways to incorporate it into the classroom, but was worried it may become very cumbersome and may not be very educational. I have since changed my mind. Technology is not only fun but can be easily incorporated into the classroom. I really like the film review project because it made you think about films instead of passively watch them. Also I really enjoyed finding all of the new sites to use for running the classroom such as Nings. I must say however I don't think I will be using Webquests anytime soon. I really liked how they helped introduce searching for information on the web but did not like how old they felt to me. It really almost felt like going to the library for hours looking for one book. Not to mention the lack of control you have as a teacher over when the students get done, so some could be done quickly and be just sitting there doing nothing, and what they are really doing. No matter what you do to prevent students from finding things online and using the things they find, students will always find a way around your blocks. Just like in Little Brother where there was a completely separate network the students used to do things in class they weren't supposed to.

           And speaking of Little Brother, I really got to thinking throughout the semester about how to tie in Young Adult literature and technology, and what do you know that's easy too!!! I think this is a great way to tie fun and education into a tiny package and give as a gift to students. Like candy flavored medicine. I really think something like Pytash's project, canonical text paired with the young adult, works well for this very reason. Tie in some technology and walla we have fun education.
           I think the biggest thing I have learned so far, something I plan on taking to all of my teaching experiences, is with a little time and effort on the teachers part the students can learn. And when students learn teachers win. I honestly don't know why there are so many teachers out there still teaching the same way and still with a job. I really think the new technologies and literature can be combined and taught well, just put in the work. We are here because most of us naturally care, it's not for the money.

FOOT: Wild Target/Harry Potter

I rented Wild Target this weekend, a movie in which one of my favorite Harry Potter actors stars, Rupert Grint. This movie was a wonderful British comedy with a little action thrown in. I was very skeptical about Grint being in it seeing as he will always be Ron Weasley to me, but he played his character very well. After watching this movie it got me thinking about how this could be a lesson for the classroom on character likeness and behaviors. Because I was so used to Ron Weasleys characteristics and personality, this movie took some work for me to like and understand without comparing the two characters Grint plays. It is kind of the same in novels when we ask our students to interpret character actions in different scenarios. Because I expected Grint to be the sidekick, which he ended up being, I was able to accept his role in Wild Target as that. However because I am not used to seeing him in a overly serious or skillful role it was very hard for me to grip onto him being an apprentice assassin. When/If I were to write a paper on his actions in a specific situation, I can honestly say assassin would be furthest from my mind. It was a very interesting and enlightening thought for me and one I plan on utilizing in my classroom.

Side Note: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 came out today! I am very excited to get my copy and hope others are enjoying it too. (Even if it is only as a soundtrack to homework and studying.) And I totally suggest Wild Target if you haven't seen it!

Pytash: Jago Ch. 7

This chapter baffled me and is the first chapter that I had to really question Jago's beliefs. I completely agreed with her that teaching takes a much more divine calling that modeling does. The nature of a teachers job is to care, I can't say it's the same for models. (All that comes to mind is the cheesy speeches about world peace and starving children, which are usually riddled with promises that are simply not doable.) So far so good in the chapter. Then Jago begins to discuss testing...

I have pretty strong emotions towards standardized testing, and I can't say I will ever agree that they are good and that they are 100% necessary. However, I do realize that there has to be some way to measure students work and make sure they can compete with other graduates in other areas of the country for education, employment, etc. successfully. I just don't think multiple choice questions are the best way to do this. Yes I know there are short answer and essay questions on these tests but even those are graded strictly, as if only one answer would get points. And now I am back to agreeing with Jago. I will never choose a multiple question test over a creative project or essay. Levels of intelligence need to be measured but at the same time be looked at individual ideas. A creative answer on these tests, that would be studying and discussed in a classroom, will be disregarded and points will be deducted without too much thought. I really hope this changes in tests soon but this is one of the main things that concerns me about teaching in Ohio. Testing reform should be considered for the state. Finally I cannot agree that there should be a national test. I feel that this level of testing would simply become more level one questions and very little time taken to grade the essays seeing as there would be so many to grade. Standards are necessary, just not how they are now being tested.

Pytash: Jago Ch. 6

This was another great chapter, surprising. I am pretty sure I will be referring back to this chapter a lot when teaching, especially when teaching the Odyssey. When reading I found it very interesting that Jago believes, "teachers are the best teachers for teachers" because I have often thought of this while in classes both in high school and in college. In fact there are many times that I have found myself jotting down a technique or style of teaching, test giving, group activity, etc. that a professor uses. For example, those of you who had Professor Was for Ed. Psych. have had a very unique experience with test taking. He gives a test in 3 levels and in each level you are allowed to reduce the value on a certain number of questions. This method allows students to not focus on one or two questions they don't have a clue how to answer, and makes those questions worth less so that students don't stress. This is a method of testing I hope to use in my classroom. This is only one of many examples I have written down, and I plan to use most of them. My teachers, even ones who weren't teaching me how to teach implicitly, have taught me how to teach.
Another part of this chapter that really touched me was the section where Jago gives examples of student work. I can't say I would have ever thought it possible for a young reader to mimic the ways in which an author writes to the degree that Etha did. Her paper was truly amazing and shows me that what Jago is doing must work on some level to help produce this quality of work. It is inspiring to have a student succeed on an assignment in a way you didn't know possible. I wonder how useful this student's creativeness and knowledge could be to her classmates.
All in all this text book is a keeper and has taught me many things as I have read more intensely with each chapter. It has made me even more excited to teach.

Pytash: Jago Ch. 4

             Okay, I've said it once and I'll say it again I love this book! I am finding very few things that I disagree with in this book. On that note I love how Jago addresses the need to address the key elements of a story to better understand. I was admittedly shocked when she said, "I will be the first to admit that a great deal of bad teaching has focused on filling in the blanks on worksheets or anwsering [...] simplistic questions about literary elements" (61). I guess this is due to all of my preconceived notions of what a teacher who loves the classics must teach like; however, this was a nice wake-up call saying old ways don't always work. I agree that these things are essential to understanding stories and agree even more that these elements are often thought of as myths that can only be found with magic. Both of these things must be changed in  order for students to answer one of the most asked questions in school, "Why do I have to know this?" And as far as I'm concerned if we can answer that question, we're golden. Simply being able to answer that question with anything more than, "you just have to" will show students that there is importance in this work the may not lie solely in the English educator's field. Overall this chapter seemed to cap off everything we have been talking about in the class regarding why, what and how to teach literature.
             My one criticism for this chapter comes from the use of Freytag's Pyramid. I think it is nice to be able to organize the story in some cohesive pattern but I think some important elements of the story are being left out. In the rising action and on the journey to the main climax in any piece of literature there are numerous smaller conflicts that have their own rise, climax and resolution. I propose that the triangle should look something like this instead:

 (I know that this is a little fuzzy, I took a picture of my computer with my phone so I could email and download it for this blog.) We have to consider all of the stuff in the rising action and the affects it had on the main climax and resolution as well as the affects on the reader. I think this may have been what Jago was talking about when teaching everything about a piece, like in chapter 6 with the Odyssey. I just wish she would have mentioned it here as well. Finally I must mention the great list of literary terms she gives AND uses in her classroom. I must admit that until college I had very few of the words in my vocabulary, it would have been nice if someone would have helped me put them there sooner! I plan on using this in my classroom because I believe, like Jago, that the familiarity with these words will make learning the literary works much easier.

FOOT: Cleveland Film Festival Review: Crime After Crime

Personal Issues

Boy did this film have a ton of them! In fact that was all this film was. The main issue of abusiverelationships, this being the reason Debbie wanted her boyfriend hurt and why her case was being reviewed, was the one that affected me the most. I could not believe how much Debbie had gone through and how willing everyone was to help her. The lawyers took her case on pro-bono which was the first amazing help given to Debbie. I have had to deal with lawyers on many levels throughout my life because of issues my parents had experienced and can say I don’t think one that I had dealt with would have done this.  Also these lawyers had no experience in this type of case so it was very risky for them to help. They sacrificed their time and money to help Debbie in a case that could have ruined them. This is amazing. Next was the forgiveness Debbie received from everybody regarding Willson’s, her boyfriend, death. His family even pleaded multiple times with the parole board to release her. Most people accused of a crime cannot say they had the backing of the people on the other side of the situation. The final personal issue in the movie was with Debbie’s personality. She was the strong support of the prison and of her family, expected to never break down and never to back away. This is perhaps the moment in the film were I felt closest to Debbie. I too have been that person in my family since I was old enough to take care of myself. To have all these things happen to you, charged illegally, denied for release and contract a fatal illness, and not be able to step away and just cry on someone’s shoulder is terrible. If your strong people often forget that you need someone sometimes too.

I don’t think everyone will be able to relate to Debbie and this film, but everyone should be able to understand her pain. It is so visible in the film. Her guilt for her crime, the pain of being abused and of knowing you have been misunderstood and finally the knowledge that you are dying and may die in jail because of the mischarge. See the film, you won’t regret it.

Technique

            This film was well done but very basic, because of it being a documentary. There were many camera angles used and many utilized to emphasize a point, such as Debbie crying after being denied for the 3^rd time. Other than that, there are only a few shots that stood out in my mind. They would often show a single pink rose growing outside of the prison. This added a bittersweet quality to the film because it was an irony that this rose, considered beautiful, could grow in such a place as prison. It also acted as a metaphor for Debbie. She was essentially the rose growing in the prison. Another scene was kind of like the rose but instead they showed road-kill in front of the prison sign after Debbie had found out she had been denied. I am sure this symbolizes how Debbie and her lawyers felt after getting bad news again. Overall this film was simple but effective in its directing and editing. The shots were more to show emotion than to shock and awe the audience.

Acting

            This section of critique for films I feel is null and void for this film. None of this film was really acting. Everything was real and that’s exactly how the director wanted it.

Plot

            This film was about a woman, Debbie, who was incarcerated for the first-degree murder of her abusive boyfriend. Her case is being reviewed in the movie due to a new law in California that allows cases of abused suspects to be reopened and reevaluated. In Debbie’s case her crime should have been voluntary manslaughter with a max of 6 years in jail. When this film began she had already served 20. Because of the new law a lawyer group opted to represent clients for free to attempt to reduce the charge or free them. Debbie was assigned two of these lawyers, neither had experience in criminal court, and was filmed in hopes of causing a stir about her story. Throughout the film she is denied 4 times and only released after contracting terminal lung cancer. She lives free for 10 months after her release with her family. (This is one of the most original plots I have seen.)

Themes

            The main idea of the film was wrongful actions taken by law enforcement that lead to repercussions in everyone’s lives. This film also had a theme of empowerment to do anything necessary. The final theme was one of general awareness of situations. This movie definitely made thought provoking statements about relationships especially abusive ones. The biggest statement of the movie is a quote from Debbie, “If only he would have just left me alone.” And none of these statements or themes was at all distracting.

Genre

            This film is without a doubt a documentary! It is a true story about a single journey through a single situation shown to make a statement or to prove a point. This is a common form among documentaries such as Milk, Supersize Me and A Prozac Nation. I think this a popular genre right now because of how many movements and critical issues are alive today, the homosexual movement and tea party to name a few. Documentaries are about these issues and help call attention and awareness to them. This is not, however a very popular form of entertainment. People usually watch movies like these to learn about a situation and become involved in it in the some way.

Representation

            This film represented everyone equally and fairly. It showed them in all different lights, for example both of the richer white lawyers helping Debbie had a past with abuse, something you wouldn’t have expected them to have experience with.  There is a pretty significant moment in the film when one of Debbie’s daughters is talking about an arrest of Debbie’s boyfriend Wilson before he was killed. She tells of a situation created when Debbie and him parted ways and he didn’t like it. So he showed up, with guns, at Debbie’s mother’s house threatening to kill everyone. The cops were called and he was arrested and released the next day. The daughter expresses her belief that the police didn’t recognize the danger in the situation because Debbie and Wilson were black and they saw this as common in the black community. That is the only blatant showing of a bad representation in the film.

 

Ideology

            There was a lot challenged in this film. The situation described by Debbie’s sister, mentioned above, and even more related to the running of the law. Through interviews with law enforcement and displaying of evidence regarding Debbie’s case the movie showed the audience that a system previously thought to be whole and based on justice, is shown to be corrupt and broken. Everyone fighting Debbie seems corrupt in this film, the district attorneys, the courts and the parole board to name a few. There was also some witnessed that confessed in this film to falsifying testimony, even worse, the attorneys knew he was doing it and still used him! Until the end of the film it just seemed as though every part of our Judicial Branch of government is bad and corrupt.

FOOT: Finished Lost

I have now finished Lost... somehow. I don't know how I did this between assignments but I can say I was a little disappointed. I love the series but the ending was a lot weirder than it needed to be.