When You Have Nothing Left to Give...

Shel Silverstein was a poet that I grew up with, Where the Sidewalk Ends and The Light in the Attic. I was surprised to learn that his first book was published in 1974 but was so popular when I was in school. He had a wit for poetry and a knack for cartooning. I was surprised to learn that he had not intended for his books to capture the attention of the youth, but was more geared for adults. However, his books of poetry are introduced to young students and exposes many of them to their first dose of poetry.

I can remember reading them when I was in the third grade, but just reading them over and over. My mother had bought me the book and I found the poems to be really random and funny, which made them memorable.

Another book that Shel Silverstein is known for is The Giving Tree. It is a simple story about a tree and a boy. I recommend this story for everyone. If you had read this story as a child it might be read simply as that, just a story. But as an adult this is a very touching story about giving, and taking. What do you do when you have nothing left to give?

I appreciate Shel Silverstein's poetry because he can be really inspiring to young children to practice and understand poetry. He would write about things that are real and some things that are imaginary, but it would make you feel that you could write about something that you saw on the ground walking to school, or something that your parents bug you about, or any little aspect of life.

This is great for understanding what we have been discussing in class, we learn to write by reading. Poetry is a prime example of this. Children often study poems in class together and are then asked to create their own. They may study the different types of poems and how they are written. They would not be able to write their own if they had not been exposed to the poems and how they are to be read. Now as they write them they can hear them in their head and determine how they want them to sound. They will complete the writing process as they go through the prewriting and planning the poem, to drafting, revising, editing, and publishing the final product.

School has Culture??!!

Its not typically considered when when the word culture is mentioned. When people talk about their culture, they do usually tend to discuss what their heritage is and describe many family traditions. Culture can be music, food, as well as sorts of entertainment. Even religion can be tied to a culture. A culture is an identity that people assume when in a particular group. It identifies them against everyone else.

And so comes the school culture a non-traditional culture that does have its own characteristics, traditions, and even food! School can be compared to a Native American tribe, where the Chief (principal) makes the decisions for the tribe, and appoints new leaders and handles situations that need attention. They are highly respected. We can also compare the school culture to that of the Hispanic culture (as in many cultures) where the women are in charge of caring and upbringing the children. Our schools support this culture and evidence shows that there are more female teachers in the field than male.

We could go on and on and find other cultures that the school setting could identify with, when we distinguish it from others it is different in its management. The school is based around a schedule of activities, disciplines, as well as traditions. Though some instructional practices are changing, the usual "teacher speaks, students listen" way of learning is still widely used. The beliefs in the school system (and if its not in all schools it should be) is that all children can learn. This is a belief that motivates everyone within the school to work towards the common goal, educate the children.

The problem with the school culture is that it does not consist of just one type of people as do many cultures. The school culture is composed of many different people from all walks of life. Different races, different languages, different socio-economic situations. Yet, these students are all placed together and are learning the same way. This is where the mismatched cultures collide (chapter 2). I agree that we must acknowledge the differences in cultures and gear teaching styles to incorporate all students appropriately and successfully in learning so that are able to receive the same opportunities as everyone else.

When reading chapter 1 Believing in Living Literature, I really enjoyed looking at The Living Literature Curriculum Model. I feel that the most important part of this model is the extention that mentions what Teachers Who Know and Love Books Believe. This is a very strong area and is sort of the foundation for determining the success of the other branches. To "believe all children can learn" sets an expectation for the children to learn and can build confidence in the student as well if they know that you know they can learn. The "power of literature" and understanding it can influence what literature you will use with the students. Knowing different types of poetry, literature, and books can be helpful when selecting material that the teacher knows will affect and impact the student. I truly believe that what we believe influences how we teach and may somewhat impact what it is we will teach (aside from what we have to through curriculum).

Children's Literature- Authors

Eve Bunting- Iwas intrigued when I read a short Biography on Eve Bunting (http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-bunting-eve.asp). It mentioned that she was born in Ireland and has continued her cultures tradition of storytelling. I have read several of her books earlier in my life and had sort of "forgotten" about her. I read a review on a book that I hadn't heard of before by her called Fly Away Home. Immediately I wanted to go find this book and read it as it talked in simple words about a homeless father and son in an airport. In a review of the book, it mentioned that the book instills hope in the reader as the boy in the story finds a bird that has been trapped in the airport for days, finally finds an open door and at the right moment gets the opportunity to fly away home. This is a suttle way of identifying the feelings of the boy in the story with that of the reader and creates a hopeful feeling. The site Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site that I read the review of Eve Bunting's book can be used as resourses for ideas in activities to follow the reading of the story of not only this, but many different titles (www.carolhurst.com).