Option #1:

What do you make of the “Multiple Worlds Typology” in the Phelan piece?  Do you think Phelan accurately represents the various borders students face when moving back and forth from their home to their school environments?  Can you think of an example—either from your life, the life of a family member or a friend, or the life of a current student—where border crossings have been difficult?

Option #2:

Using what you’ve learned from the Phelan and Rose excerpts—and capitalizing on what you already know—what advice would you give literacy teachers in terms of setting up their classroom environment for diverse learners?

Option #3:

Mike Rose describes the pernicious effect the deficiency/remedial school model has had and continues to have on literacy instruction and creativity.  Do you agree with his assessments?  Have we made progress over the last 20 years? Any advice for English/Language Arts teachers today?

Note: Last names will appear in search-engine results, so you are not required to use them but you are certainly permitted to use them if you so choose.

Sincerely,

Mark Franek

I created this blog for the School Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Since I can’t assume that all of you have had experience with blogs (specifically, leaving comments on blogs), I need to explain this assignment very carefully.  I apologize to the blogging veterans.  For the rookies, don’t fret: What I’m asking you to do here is fairly straightforward.  If you get confused, or make an error in your comment, you can always email me at markfranek@gmail.com.

Here’s the first assignment, which is due before class on Saturday, Oct. 15th (2 p.m.):

After reading Mike Schmoker’s piece, called “Results Now: How Can We Achieve Unprecedented Improvements in Teaching and Learning,” please do the following:

(1) Open up a word-processing document and write about your earliest memories of a person—in or out of school—who had a positive impact on your literacy development (reading, writing, talking/analyzing).  Using 3-4 paragraphs (and staying under 500 words), describe a few memories of this person, and how that person influenced you.  If you’d like to read samples from several former students, click on the red “comment” link (above).  Please do not use last names anywhere in your comment, as this blog is currently open to anyone in the world with a computer and an Internet connection. Last names will show up in search-engine results.

(2) After you are finished writing and editing your piece, give it a title.  Make sure your document is single-spaced and avoid paragraph indents.  Instead, use a line-space to designate a paragraph break.  See the former students’ examples, for clarity.

(3) Once you are totally satisfied with your piece, come back to this website, click on the red comment link (above), and scroll down to the “Leave a Reply” section.  Click on the “Guest” button below the reply box. A series of small boxes will appear (for your email address, your name, and for a website address).  In the first box, insert your email address, but rest assured that your email address will not (ever) be posted to the Internet or shared with anyone. In the second box, please put your first name and the first initial of your last name.  DON’T PUT YOUR ENTIRE LAST NAME IN THE BOX FOR YOUR NAME.  Last names will appear in search-engine results! You can leave the last box—the one for a website address—blank.  Finally, paste your entire story/piece into the comment box and press the “post comment” button.  Be careful.  Once you press the “post comment” button, your story will be posted to this site and you won’t be able to edit it or delete it (unless you email me).

(4) Click away from this website to another place on the Internet and then come back here and confirm that your comment appears under the red comment link.  If you encounter any problems—or notice errors in your comment that you would like me to fix—email me at markfranek@gmail.com.

(5) The night before class, kindly read everyone’s comments/stories.

I look forward to meeting you in class on Saturday, October 15th (2 p.m).

Sincerely,
Mark Franek