On Spooky Stories, the War and "This I Believe"

Autor/in	Shafer, Gregory
Titel	On Spooky Stories, the War and "This I Believe"
Quelle	In: Teaching English in the Two-Year College, 39 (2012) 4, S.398-406 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0098-6291
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; College English; Fear; Writing Assignments; College Students; Feedback (Response); Negative Attitudes; Resistance (Psychology); Critical Literacy; Values; Power Structure; Theory Practice Relationship; Self Disclosure (Individuals); Beliefs; Outcomes of Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Furcht; Collegestudent; Negative Fixierung; Resistenz; Kritisches Lesen; Wertbegriff; Theorie-Praxis-Beziehung; Belief; Glaube; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg
Abstract	Complaints from students are rare at the college level, but when they do happen, it offers a priceless opportunity to explore the value system of those students and encourage them to write about their beliefs and the alienation they are experiencing. While a majority of the students take writing as a requirement and seek only to earn the requisite credit for their program, many bring passionate convictions into class--convictions that can engender some very empowering and passionate moments if they are allowed to incorporate those values into their written work. A complaint during a spooky story assignment leads the author to rediscover the importance of liberatory, student-driven writing. The author designed an assignment that allowed students to articulate ideas and convictions about the subject. The assignment, called "This I Believe," is based on the NPR program of the same name in which readers express their strong feelings about a topic of their choosing. The author stresses the need to enkindle the voice inside the students that begins with their concerns, their beliefs, and their worlds. The assignment "This I Believe" was successful for the author, but the key is simply to transcend the functional literacy by fostering a critical literacy, powerful literacy, political literacy which enables the growth of genuine understanding and control of all the spheres of social life. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 West Kenyon Road, Urbana, IL 61801-1096. Tel: 877-369-6283; Tel: 217-328-3870; Web site: http://www.ncte.org/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10