All posts by EnglishNerd

A born nerd specializing in English, which currently includes gaining a better understanding of how the field of Education intersects with the discipline of English.

What is art when it comes to academia?

from _Art Ops_ (2015) #1.

Today’s last first day of class was Arts Based Research. It’s a methodology that uses art to collect data, or analyze data, or present data. From what I’ve read so far, it seems like a very useful way for me to better understand how to work with video games in an academic setting that better fits them.

I already have some ideas I want to run past my professor to see if they would work for some of the projects we have in class. I’m still thinking through the actual logistics and the question I would use with them, but I have thoughts. Perhaps I’ll ask the various online communities to share a knitting pattern that relates to lesson learned from video games. Or their tattoo designs inspired by video games and their reasoning for creating permanent pieces of them. I have lots of ideas….

But tonight I also noticed a thing, and it’s been bothering me since class. There seemed to be a general feel that essays and written texts that enters classrooms are not art. And not just that they are not art, but the class seemed to conclude that they cannot be art because they are texts produced for other purposes.

Now, I’ll grant that most of the essays produced for formal classroom settings are not aesthetically pleasing and generally produced under duress.  But to categorically dismiss many textual documents because they are not in the category of art that fits the default assumption seems limiting to me in ways that I feel like rebellious art shouldn’t be. Continue reading What is art when it comes to academia?

New semester. Last required coursework.

So today was my last first day of class.

Mostly.

To be nitpicky, I still have a couple of classes directly connected to my dissertation. But today is the last first day of class for required coursework.

And I didn’t realize it until my mom sent me a text congratulating me. I guess I’m so used to having classes, that I can’t picture a life without having a first day of school where I show up and will be evaluated 16 weeks later with regard to my success in mastering the content.

This turn of events means that I will need to figure out, finally, what to do with the rest of my life. Or at least the next 5 years. (I’ve heard Millennials only stick around for the briefest of times, and I’m told I fall into the category because ’83 )

I joke that this means I will have to become a real person. I think I’d rather continue making ends meet and acting like an adult. I don’t think I can commit to something so permanent this early. Perhaps if later finally arrives.

Final Curriculum Theory Course Reflections

This class has presented a broad overview of the various theories, perspectives, and approaches to the development of curriculum. The text has covered the various historical shifts that have occurred in the United States in regard to the attitude toward public schooling along with the purpose of educating the populace. Continue reading Final Curriculum Theory Course Reflections

Common Core

Common Core. These two words together have created a very divisive conversation regarding education in the United States. From the news reports, to the Facebook posts of the type of assignments, to the reaction to the new testing formats in schools, the Common Core has many who see only the negative elements of these standards. There is, however, space within the new standards for teacher freedom that has not been available at all since No Child Left Behind was signed into law in 2002, especially with the new education act removing the high stakes testing as the sole measure of improvement and funding.

Continue reading Common Core

Types of curriculum

The first 4 chapters of Contemporary Curriculum ( McNeil, 2015) identify the 4 most common types of curriculum: Humanistic, Social Reconstructionist, Systemic, and Academic. Humanistic Curriculum focuses on the playfulness of learning and puzzling out the problem at hand to develop innovation and flexibility of thought in an uncertain future (pg. 1). Social Reconstructionist Curriculum presents the social conflicts to students as topics, despite disagreement on whether they are fit for a classroom setting (pg. 21). Systemic Curriculum has rigid set of goals and standards and pathways to achieve the goals measured through standardized tests (pg. 41).  Academic Curriculum follows more closely the Liberal Arts College curriculum, where students study a variety of disciplines and learn how they interact and affect each other (pg. 61).

Our class conversation regarding these various curricula was wide ranging and passionate. Some of the class felt that the Systemic Curriculum functions only to damage students’ learning and add power to multinational  corporations. And some felt that the only true and important curriculum is Humanistic, because of the value it places on the whole person. We never resolved the discussion, we merely ended due to time.

Each of these curricula seem to be most effective for specific desired ends. While the class never came to a consensus, I think that each of the curricula works well for different settings and that none are inherently evil. I also think that using a blend of the best elements of each might serve as a way to ensure a quality curriculum for all students. Having some goals in mind for what students learn can help teachers develop lessons. And if 1 of the goals is to see how the interconnectedness of what is learned in the classroom plays out in social situations, this blends together several of the best parts of the Humanistic Curriculum and the the Social Reconstructionist Curriculum.

Deciding what should be taught

This chapter in Contemporary Curriculum  ( McNeil, 2015) focuses on the various elements that go into deciding the content for the curriculum. Touching upon some of the various theories guiding crafting of the content, the chapter focuses predominately on the rationale behind the content choices. “Rather than avoiding responsibility and mandating curriculum purposes without justification, those at all levels of schooling should constantly question the purpose of curriculum” (McNeil, p. 84). The chapter presents some of the history on how the curriculum developed and what information has generally been accepted as important for students to know. That process has been greatly influenced by the economic and other political factors, which then are rarely remembered or presented again.
Continue reading Deciding what should be taught

The Politics of Curriculum Making

This chapter, 10 in the Contemporary Curriculum ( McNeil, 2015) book, brings up the conversation regarding the political nature of developing curriculum. Politics are broadly considered here in terms of the impact of policy on curriculum decisions, while also narrowing the focus to the local level of parents and teachers when discussing the specific information to be included in the correct curriculum.

Continue reading The Politics of Curriculum Making

Curriculum Theory

One of the 3 classes I have this semester is Curriculum Theory. Basically all semester we’ve been ready about the different ideas and philosophies that people have used to create the content that we teach students. We’re focusing on U.S. curriculum theories, so that makes the learning curve different. It also helps explain some of the rationale behind my teachers’ decisions while I was in K-12, which is always fun.

I’m going to be posting a series of journals that connect to the readings we did for class. I’ll be connecting my initial thoughts to events that have happened outside of the classroom, as well as to the discussions we had in class. Yay reading and learning!

My dad

Untitled

I have never talked about my dad much. I never really wondered why, which is odd. I love my dad, and he’s an amazing man who helped foster my love for fantasy literature, and who helped me realized the importance of staying informed and involved in the political system. But when I share about my family, I tend to talk more about my mom and my sister. I’m not sure why. My family has always been the constant in my life. I’ve added some friends to that consistent level, but through everything, my family has always been there. Yet I’ve tended to consult and share more with my sister and my mom more than my dad, which probably adds to why I tend to not talk about my dad. But I find that now I want to share more about my dad, which will be very hard.

In October 2014, my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. There’s no way to know for sure,  but that diagnosis is what the doctor used to base his decisions on. His personality is also changed a bit as a result of his brain deteriorating, so he became a little less my dad with each passing day.

You might’ve caught the past-tense in this post. That’s because in the year since the diagnosis, we learned my dad had stage-4 esophageal cancer that killed him 5 weeks after it was discovered. And this finality has added another layer of pain and sorrow that I know I will spend the rest of my life learning to live with a bit better every day.

I am in the 3rd year of a 4 year PhD program, and the news added an additional level of stress. My schedule prevented me from being able to help guide my dad through daily decisions and help ease my mom’s stress. And when I think of the future, a sadness creeps in realizing that my dad would most likely not have understood or remembered what all the work the initials I will one day add after my name means. It has also been another season of attending numerous weddings and baby showers, which is yet another constant reminder of the many moments still to come that my dad will not be present for.

As I work on my degree, there is a part of me that carries this weight. But there is another part that realizes this too is part of life. I never expected my dad to live forever; I just didn’t realize I would lose him the way the shore by the ocean disappears – a tiny amount wearing off at a time before it is suddenly and entirely consumed.

Writing my papers this semester has been the hardest because in the quiet spaces I carve out of my schedule to capture what I’ve learned in my classes, these thoughts dominate. And my classes aren’t about grief or loss – they’re about pedagogy and learning and education.  A case can be made that my professors have been more gracious and understanding of my situation than I have been. I am looking forward to being done with the semester. I am not looking forward to not having my dad around for the holidays.

The Spire

Covet for The Spire.
I liked the set-up of the world of a new comic, The Spire.  I am interested to see where this story goes and how the characters develop. I really enjoyed Six-Gun Gorilla by this team of Simon Spurrier & Jeff Stokely, and the story was definitely quite gonzo in its unfolding, so I’m excited to see where the story goes from here. The Spire doesn’t seem like it will be the kind of story that follows a traditional method of story-telling, so who knows what the next issue will hold, or how all of the side-characters will tie in by the end.

If you like random, gonzo-esque stories with political undertones, you should check out this story.  Your local comic shop or a digital storefront probably has it.