We live in a technological society and with such inventions as the personal computer, cell phones with text message capability and most specifically, the Internet, we have access to a myriad of information. Secondary students and even younger students often times may make use of Facebook, MySpace or other such sites in order to communicate with eachother.
It is my belief that technology can help reconnect parents and their children. Parents should be actively involved in their children’s “cyber lives” in order to educate and protect them. Why not shoot your son an email asking him to take out the trash or send your daughter a text reminding her of her dentist appointment after school?
Children will not look and think of their parents as being so out of touch and “uncool” if parents learn to communicate with their children on their level and in ways the child is likely to be interested and engaged in.
Technology has certainly helped to smooth the bond that my adolescent son and I share. If more parents got involved with their children in this way perhaps we could be on our way to bridging the generation gap.
I don’t know if I’m doing this right, but I am responding to your blog. I totally agree that parents should be able to communicate with their children in “their language”. Because this is the technology era, it is good to use email or texting to get info to your kids. I really like the idea you had about texting or emailing the daily chores to your son.
Many parents are not as connected as their children with technological advances and some even refuse to get involved with computers, ipods, blackberries, all things that are second nature to their children. Making the effort to learn about and from them can only help to strengthen a relationship with a child, showing you care enought to try.
Will Richardson is a technological master of sorts. I am impressed with his style of writing and expertise on the Read/Write Web. I like to consider myself as being fairly technologically savvy, however I do know that there are many features and tricks-of-the-trade so to speak that I am not quite proficient in. I look forward to becoming more literate in this sense throughout the course of English 3241.
Although I have not had a blog of my own until this course, I have blogged in the past and continue to do so. The fact that I can read an opinion or point of view (oftentimes from a virtual stranger) and then can share my point of view or opinion on what I’ve read is something I never would have conceptualized let’s say 10 years ago or so.
The Internet has certainly opened up a whole new world. I can recall being enrolled in Dr. Crovitz’ summer English 3310 class. During the course Dr. Crovitz would share interesting websites, blogs and the like with the class. It was at this time that I thought, “Hmm, secondary students are into the Internet, etc. What better way to reach my future students?” I always looked forward to learning more about how I could utilize these Internet tools in my classroom.
I want my future students to not only perform well in my class, but also to perform well in life and to be positive, productive members of society. Since we live in the computer age, we as teachers (and parents) must learn to communicate with our students (and children) on their “level.” I currently send my adolescent son emails reminding him of certain days or events or things that need to be done around the house. The fact that I have taken an interest in what interests him is appreciated more than I ever imagined.
It is my belief that if teachers begin to utilize blogs and other web-related tools in their classrooms, that students will be encouraged to take more interest and excel. As stated by Richardson, when people blog, they tend to pay more attention to the details of grammar, sentence structure and the like since they know their blog is open to the public.
This is a paper I wrote for another English class last semester…
Sharon Draper is quickly becoming one of my favorite author’s of all time. Ms. Draper has been a professional educator to middle and high school students for over three decades. My admiration for Ms. Draper began early this semester; as I learned more about her, not only as an educator, but also as a writer. Since I endeavor to be a teacher of the language arts and already consider myself a writer, I admire Ms. Draper from both angles.
Draper is a master of her chosen crafts and as such, has encouraged and motivated students and educators throughout the United States and abroad with her wisdom and expertise. As an award-winning author, educator, speaker and poet, it is perhaps most impressive that Draper has been named The National Teacher of the Year, is a four-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award and is a New York Times bestselling author.
Draper was one of the first teachers to be granted National Board Certification in English and Language Arts. Additionally, Draper was named as an Ohio Pioneer in Education and has been honored at the White House on numerous occasions by Presidents Clinton and Bush for her literary accomplishments. Draper has previously served on the Board of Directors of The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and is presently on the Board of the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.
“The Touch of a Teacher” is an award-winning essay, written by Draper that has been published by the National Governor’s Association and is being used in order to inform Governor’s throughout the country what they need to know about education for society as a whole and their state specifically.
I share the same vision and hope that Sharon Draper does when it comes to being an educator and presenting young adults with interesting, engaging novels that they can easily relate to. I want to be able to give my future students the gift of the language arts that will last a lifetime.
Some of Draper’s novels are fictional accounts of important historical events, such as Fire From the Rock, which is the story of a young African-American student who is asked to consider being one of the first black students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in the 1950’s. I am a firm believe that students will read what they are interested and can easily relate to.
Sharon Draper captures the candid emotions and fears of the children and families who were chosen to integrate. This book gives insight to an important historical time and event in our country. Draper has a way of captivating the young audience and making them feel as if they are on a journey back in time with this very realistic depiction of The Little Rock Nine.
All of Ms. Draper’s young adult novels deal with real-life issues that adolescent students can identify with. Although Romiette and Julio is an excellent book to use in combination with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, it is certainly strong enough to stand alone as an excellent novel about teens in society today. I like the concept of teaching a modern text, such as Romiette and Julio in tandem with a classic work such as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
My absolute favorite young adult novel written by Sharon Draper is Romiette and Julio. The story of Romiette and Julio is an updated, hip rendition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This version of the tragic love story is fun and easy for secondary students to relate to. Romiette Capelle is African-American and Julio Montague is Mexican-American. The two meet on an Internet chat site and begin to get to know one another. Eventually, they find out that they attend the same high school in Cincinnati and start spending time together at school and online. Their feelings for each other are revealed and grow strong, although they are met with dismay by The Devildogs.
Watching the interactions that Romi and Julio have with their peers and with their parents is presented realistically in throughout the book. Romiette and Julio and most of the main characters from Draper’s other young adult novels are faced with issues that teens today are faced with themselves. The situations that arise are those that adolescents and teens will be able to relate to either through personal or family experiences or through friends or associates.
In Tears of a Tiger, Andrew Jackson plays basketball for the Hazlewood High School Tigers and is dealing with the everyday hassles of being a black male in white society. Andy’s life is changed forever after he accidentally kills a teammate in a fiery car crash while driving drunk. Andy finds it difficult to move past his friend, Rob’s tragic death and discovers that the accompanying guilt is unbearable.
Sharon Draper has perfectly captured the lives of adolescents using real feelings, language and situations that they can relate to. Draper draws the
young adult reader in and holds their attention with this passionate novel as she addresses the issues of teen suicide and death in society.
When Draper writes for young people, she deals with topics that are current, in hopes that by reading her novels, young people will be able to apply some of the messages and situations to their own lives. Topics such as abuse, death, racism, prejudice and gangs Abuse are all topics that need to be discussed by young people.
“I am a creator, an educator, a visionary, I am a learner and a seeker of knowledge, and I take my students along on my journey. I smile often, and laugh easily, and I weep at pain and cruelty. I l love what I do, and I’m good at it. I learned to dream through reading, learned to create dreams through writing, and learned to develop dreamers through teaching. I shall always be a dreamer.” ~Sharon M. Draper
Sharon Draper is well-respected and admired in the field of language arts. I aspire to be as motivating, fresh and knowledgeable to my future students as she has been and continues to be to her students. I too am a creator, an educator and a visionary. My motivation is giving students the gift to appreciate the language arts for a lifetime, not just for a semester in my class.
Works Cited or Consulted:
Sharon Draper. 2007. 10/21/07 []
Draper, Sharon. Romiette and Julio. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.
Jago, Carol. Classics in the Classroom: Designing Accessible Literature Lessons. New Hampshire: Heinemann, 2004.
Romano, Tom. Writing with Passion. New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook, 1995.