I've tried to send this message more than once. I'm sorry if several different
versions come through.
Yes, Jennifer, what the reader brings to the text is important. I'm not a fan
of Van Gogh, but I love Edward Hopper. All through chapter 4 I was stuck on
what seemed to me to be a negative catergorization of Hopper's art.
I also felt that I wanted more information about the kindergartener Kevin. I
wrote in my previous message (far below)
> The example of the kindergartener, Kevin, a few pages later was more
> satisfying for me. I LOVED that kid. I wanted more insight into how Kevin
> was
> taught to investigate so deeply.
and in my book I wrote that Kevin taught himself how to work so hard and think
so deeply.
I am also wondering if what works with elementary students might not work with
middle school students. Are there any middle school (grades 6 - 8) teachers on
this list? On page 77 I had a question about the teacher who responded to a
student by saying, "I know you don't know." In my class, that statement would
cause uproar. I would be accused of calling someone stupid. Can you really
say that in your classes?
Jan
-------------- Original message from [EMAIL PROTECTED]: --------------
>
> Jan
> Well, here we have another example of how important it is to think about
what the reader brings to the text. I loved the Van Gogh example because to
> me,
> the painting itself WAS the thinking...visual representations of his
> attempts to make sense of his world. I saw it as a way to try to work through
> or
around his illness. I connected it to the journal I keep or the emails I send
> to
> colleagues (Like on the mosaic listserv) The process of writing helps me to
> understand. For Van Gogh, maybe it is the process of painting that helped
> him to make sense.
>
> I loved the Kevin example too, but it left me with a lot more questions. How
> did he really make that much meaning as a kindergartener from this very
> difficult text? Was it the process of creating his model that he made sense
> of
> it? Was he a reader at all? What or how much did he actually read and how
> much
> came from schema and reasoning it through? This was the one place in the
> entire book that I felt needed more detail, more investigation, more
> explanation.
>
> Do you think he was taught to investigate this way? Surely his class was set
> up for that and probably his teacher modeled...but I bet that a lot of it
> was the natural curiousity of the very young...
>
> Your students may have giggled and rolled their eyes, but I would keep it
> up. You probably made them feel uncomfortable because they don't yet see
> themselves as scholars. I bet you, with time, they'll get there.
> I am still working on this too. Let's talk about this some more during the
> school year...I didn't have too much time to try much before the school year
> ended...
> Jennifer
>
=================================================================================
> n a message dated 7/17/2008 11:39:57 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>
> Yes! There is a great sense of pride that comes from working through
> something difficult.
>
> I'm going to share some more of my struggles with To Understand right now. :)
>
> Tell me what you all make of the information about Van Gogh on page 48 that
> says, "He became a blind painting machine... He no longer thought about his
> painting."
>
> I felt as if the example of Van Gogh was counterproductive. I wanted to
> hear about a painter who did think about his painting. Van Gogh struggled,
> but
> I got the idea from To Understand that he struggled due to his mental
> illness. I wanted a clear cut example of someone who struggled to
> understand
> and
> think and try again.
>
> The example of the kindergartener, Kevin, a few pages later was more
> satisfying for me. I LOVED that kid. I wanted more insight into how Kevin
> was
> taught to investigate so deeply.
>
> What have you all done to help students learn to look deeply and work to
> understand what interests them? I teach 8th grade, and when I shared my
> enthusiasm with my students last year about half of them rolled their eyes
> or
> giggled. Whew! That was hard on me.
> Jan
>
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