Blog #5

I used to think that it would be too hard for me to learn how to blog, but this class provided me with the opportunity to learn how to blog. After my first blog, I found the process so easy that anyone that knows how to navigate through the internet can use it. Because it is so easy to use, I believe blogging can be used in a middle school and high school setting. In both settings I would probably use a blog to post homework assignments. I think that by posting homework assignments online, students are more apt to do their homework because, if a student is absent, he or she would most likely look for the assignment online, rather than calling a friend due to the convenience of looking it up on their own. Also, students seemed to be involved more and more with technology, thus students are probably most likely to check out a homework blog before checking their planners. This would provide a student with the option of using technology to retrieve their assignment. Also, using a homework blog can also help keep parents informed as to what students are being assigned in class and what students are being given for homework. A homework blog would be convenient for the working parents that do not have much time to check on their child’s homework, thus they will be able to check online and make sure their child is not lying to them about any assignments. Ultimately, homework blogging will lead to more parent involvement, even if it is through technology. I think students can also use blogging as journal entries. Instead of having students turn in journals, students can write their journal assignments on a blog and comment on other students' blogs as well. However, students would probably need parent approval to use a blogging website, thus making it hard for all students to be able to participate in blogging. But, I would still like to give that a try.

Fiction

During the fiction unit of our class, we were given the opportunity to write about fiction and to create our own fiction. On one hand, As English majors, we usually write about fiction, so that was not much of a change. I enjoyed the fiction stories we read, but I do not think that writing about the stories was as fun as creating our own fictional stories because I am used to writing about fiction and I know what to look for when writing about fiction. Thus, I found writing about fiction much easier than writing my own fiction. On the other hand, during my time at CSUN, I have never really been given the opportunity to create our own fiction, so having the opportunity to write my own fictional story was out of the norm. At first, I was a little apprehensive about writing my own story because I did not know how to begin. Luckily, we were given prompts to begin our short stories, which eased the experience. I felt that knowing how to write about fiction informed the way I wrote my own fiction because I took some of the elements of fiction that I had written about and attempted to incorporate them in my story. From this experience, I learned that students should know how to identify the elements of fiction and write about them in the form of an essay in order to learn how to use those same elements in their own fictional pieces. Students should learn the basics of fiction before they write their own fiction. I really liked the prompts we used in class. I think I would probably provide my students with fun prompts as well.

Myths

I believe that in order to be able to create your own myth, you first have to learn the elements that go into writing a myth. Hence, you must study other myths before you can create your own. I feel this is true with anything anyone does, but we are discussing myths here. I enjoyed listening to the different types of myths the myth groups presented on in class because it gave me more insight as to what each myth was about and what elements have to be present in order for a myth to be classified under a certain type of myth (be it trickster myth, creation myth, the woman diving, etc).
The myth my group chose to present on was the trickster myth. I know the title, “trickster myth,” gives some type of hint as to what to expect from the myth, but I was not completely sure until I read about it. After studying trickster myths and presenting it to the class, I felt as though I was able to write my own trickster myth, which is what I ended up writing. While writing my myth, I thought about the elements that must be present in a trickster myth, the type of character the trickster is, and I used that information and applied it to the trickster myth I created. I feel that writing my own myth is a little different from studying a myth because I have to use my imagination to create my unique myth, while when studying a myth you just need to take the myth being read and analyze it by using the elements that help create that myth. Although the experiences are a little different, writing your own myth actually helps you better understand how myths work because you need to remember what you studied and apply it to your own myth. For instance, I had to remember what elements are present in a trickster myth in order to create my own trickster myth.
From this experience, I learned that providing my students with the groundwork or the fundamentals of myths before having them create their own myths is better than doing it the other way around because students will be well informed about myths before they are left alone to create their own.

Blog #2: Writing About Poetry vs. Creating Poetry

Like most people say, “Poetry is meant to be heard” and I agree with that saying. However, that’s where it usually stops for me. I like listening to people recite their poetry, but I am not a big fan as far as analyzing poetry or writing my own poetry. However, after those fun exercises we did in class, I like “creating” my own poetry. Poetry is very complicated and powerful, which is why there are only a select group of people that can do it well. Through the poetry assignments that we have done in class, I found that there are similarities between writing about poetry and writing poetry. Both exercises focus on poetry and both require a revising process. They both require you to use poetic devices, but in different ways. On one hand, when we are writing about poetry, we have to read someone else’s poetry and interpret the ideas behind it. On the other hand, when we are writing our own poetry, we have to portray our ideas through clever ways. It is a little like a hide and seek game. When we are writing about poetry, we are seeking for the meaning of the poem and building that meaning line by line. When we are writing our own poetry, we are conveying the meaning in a more discrete way using poetic devices to “hide” the meaning.
Writing about poetry informed my own poetry because after being able to interpret the meaning of other poetry by analyzing the type of poetic devices a poet used, I was able to learn how the poet used the poetic devices and I made attempts to use the devices in my poetry. Writing my own poetry informed the way I wrote about poetry because now I am able to understand the thought process a poet undergoes when trying to convey some type of meaning through poetic devices in the poet’s poetry.
I really enjoyed the poetic experience we had in class. From this experience I learned that poetry does not have to be a terrifying, uncomfortable experience for students. Poetry can actually be a fun and humbling experience. I felt that the poetry writing exercises we did in class (“wrecking the first person” and the “found poem”) are good exercises to introduce students, especially middle school and high school students, to poetry. These exercises can help ease in students into poetry and, hopefully, show them that poetry is fun. I will definitely use these exercises in my classroom.

Blog #1: Introduction

My name is Gustavo, but most of my friends call me Goose. I work as a teacher’s assistant at Rosemont Elementary School in Echo Park. I have worked as a teacher’s assistant for about a year and a half. I have worked with first, third, fourth, and fifth grade students. I enjoy working with kids in the classroom, especially when it comes to helping them become better readers. During my spare time I spend as much time as I can with my girlfriend, play basketball, watch football, play video games (Madden), and watch movies. I am very into sports, especially basketball and football, and I also tend to watch ESPN a lot. My favorite teams are the Lakers, Eagles, Vikings, and Steelers. I am in my fourth year at CSUN and I am finally graduating in May! As a graduation present to ourselves, my girlfriend and I are planning to take a trip to Hawaii!
After I graduate, I plan on going straight into the credential program at CSUN. As an aspiring English teacher, I hope that I can make a difference in the lives of my students. I want to be a positive influence in their lives because there are students that live rough lives and I do not want to be a rough teacher making it worse. As a teacher, I want to teach my students how to write and how to critically think for themselves because I believe those are important tools to have at the university level.