Fiend

She had no intention
but she said she'd come anyway
She rehearsed the familiar excuses
Of getting out of things
And pushed it from her mind.

She had no intention
but she said rude and nasty things
She manipulated to get what she wanted
In the name of friendship and selflessness
And in the end was all alone.

She had no intention
but she said she'd be there
She pretended it was not all about her
Yet was still the victim
And never realized why.

The fiend, she lies and guilts you with cries
You never should call but are trapped in it all

Storm

The sun set a burning red disk
The storm that came was severe.

Lights flickered and dimmed
The sky flared green ghostly glow
The audible hum
of something being interrupted
A power surge, as I swear
the building had been struck
I felt it pulsing through me
every hair on end, a cold rush as
the electrical field engulfed me.

Rain in torrents,
Panic. Sirens.

A flaming circle, later embers in the cloudbeds
sparking with intensity,
bursting with fire and water and wind.

Noise Complaint


Boom boom boom
It’s as though there is a car in the parking lot
With a very loud stereo that you can still hear
After you’ve closed all the windows
But the difference is the car won’t drive away, the noise keeps thudding into my mind,
Vibrating the walls.

The lease says no undue noise disturbance will be tolerated
And this is certainly causing me grief
I asked to turn it down,
It was only slightly lowered, to a point that makes little difference
Now I’m only more frustrated my courage to voice my discontent was ineffective, futile.

I think it’s a video game
It sounds like explosions,
Helicopters, tanks and destruction
Elephants moving furniture in a narrow hallway
Ogres trying to break free of underground caves
Pirate ship war of cannons
Midnight machines pulverizing concrete
Slamming of bowling balls on lacquered hardwood
Buildings collapsing with the rhythmic crash of the wrecking ball.

I’m trying to get used to it
For the second night
I can’t keep wearing ear plugs, chaffing my ear sores,
Walking around as though I am deaf, unable to hear the gentle sounds of the outdoors
Or use the telephone
How can I accustom myself to the
Trembling and quaking of the earth with the rumble of volcanic eruptions
The collapse of a mountainous avalanche
Thunder of a thousand angry skies
The drum of a deadly giant’s resonant heartbeat
The smashing echo of soldiers ramming down the last defense of my sanity.

A skittish cat
Pacing, pacing.
A leery bird, flustered. Both and the same.
Unable to escape the anxiety,
not a single room in this would-be sanctuary offers comfort.

Museum Research

In the museum I work at, I found some great poetry written during WWII by an Albertan woman named Bertha L. Stone, schoolteacher & newspaper editor. Exerpts:


Inconsistency, 1939

Millions of dollars for war machines,
For hangars and ramps and submarines;
For caps and braid and army boots,
For swagger sticks and service suits;
For howitzers and tommy guns,
For screaming bombs by tons and tons.
But, how many dollars for irrigation
On lands that lack precipitation
How many dollars for education
To spread Good Will to every nation
Heaven grant the day be not too far
When we learn what awful fools we are.


This Rationing, 1942-1945

Don't fret about this Rationing.
You won't- if you are wise.
For every bit of Rationing's
A blessing in disguise.
Why cry for gas for motor cars,
Or beer for other motives,
When cars and bars leave fewer scars
By rationing these explosives.

Almost June

My PS3 is in Medicine Hat from Sept-Dec

I find out my placement in June

hoping for grade 4,

mostly because of the curriculum

it ties in well with the extra curricular

and professional development projects I have in mind



Nature Club and an Enviro Friendly School Manual

I am going back to the part of me that was

Environment Committee Head in the EUS

Grade 4 learns 'Waste and Our World' in science



In June I meet the teacher I will be working with

I will be on my own

with a lovely safety net

Easter break

I don't want it to be over
8 more days with my kids
how do you do it every year?

I just became sure of my authority
and found the level they were on
forced my way into each of their minds
and soon I'll never see them again.

Do I tell them?
Should they have warning?
How will it affect my classroom management?

I am glad I've had this week off
to recharge and reflect
and think of all that I have left to teach
in my limited days

Success

I am a successful educator
I spend every moment outside the classroom thinking
about my kids and how I can teach them the curriculum
with fun, hands-on activities
I do lesson planning in my sleep.
When I come home,
I hear their voices in my mind
Mrs. Simsim...
I'm telling...
Mrs. Simisim...
Teacher...
Sometimes I think I'm going crazy
but I've been here far too long to be going!
The voices are memories, not schizo messages
but I can never make them stop.
I am falling behind typing up my lessons and reflections.
Sometimes it's a day to day basis
but I have read and reread the curriculum so many times
and I reflect on everything all day anyways,
I can store it all in my head.
It's not that I'm unprepared, I just
make everything harder than it has to be
I use ridiculous amounts of energy
to polish and perfect everything.
I hear it gets easier with time
but it's been accumulating and getting harder,
but not as hard as yelling at my kids when they misbehave
or stopping a fun activity because
TV has spoiled their attention spans
and they naturally want to express their excitement
in a non-sit down fashion.
I am still working at a level above their heads
My challenge is breaking everything down to the simplest steps
I keep thinking they are grade 5 and can read instructions
it's so easy to fall into colouring and cut and paste worksheets
and free for all fun fests labeled as art
but my obligation is that in grade 2 they will be ready.
I need to provide structure and prepare them
for the next 12 years of their lives.
This is not the time in my life I should teach Jr High
My teaching sense is tuned to primary
They're just so damn cute

What grade should you teach?

I used to tell people that I would most like to teach troubled Junior High kids, and they would recoil in shock and terror. One of my favourite practicums *they're all my favourite* was in a Young Offenders Remand Center. At first I was afraid of being stabbed with a pencil, but I was accepted after playing volleyball with the boys and establishing trust. Even if they were drop outs, they were forced to take distance learning classes. This was good because it gave them the chance of a high school diploma, able to transfer when they get out of jail. This was bad because most kids were only in for short times, and did not have any motivation towards their education.

I was once told that if you know what to teach, teach high school;
if you know how to teach, teach elementary.

Just like nature & nurture and black & white, I believe strongly in both what & how.
Hypocricy, contradiction, balance, equilibrium.

My second practicum and third day with my grade ones has convinced me I want to teach elementary. Mostly because I enjoy choas and flexibilty. Also because of what my carpool told me on Thursday: after one day (and orientation) with grade nines she will never again teach junior high. Of 32 students, over 20 have IPPs. It scares me. But something still holds on to the notion of getting a Masters in Counselling Psychology. Just not for a long time.

I starting thinking that if you want to teach people who are aware of life without school, yet choose to be there, teach high school. If you want to teach people who are aware, and really don't want to be there, teach junior high. If you want to teach people unaware of life without school, teach elementary. There is something powerful in rows and authority. Despite my anti-conformist pickets and banners I still believe in uniforms in school.

Plus grade one is just so damn cute. I love reading picture books and making art with little kids.

Rest

That was all I needed

Was it the fourth day in a row
I didn't go to school
Or the sunshine
Promise of spring
I noticed this morning

That was all I needed

I don't want to give homework
Especially over the weekend
I don't expect my students
To commit their time to accomplish my
lack of time and slow student catch-up technique
when
just like me
they need to refresh their minds

Lack of Sleep Affects Brain Chemicals

i haven't slept well in weeks
i have night terrors and often wake up
in the middle of the night
for hours, unable to fall back asleep
when i first fall asleep, my roommates usually
come home and wake me up
the garage door grinds open, and then shut
may as well be my wall
the light by the bathroom
floods my room with light
i used to not need an alarm to wake up
now it's screaming plumbing
and the crash of dishes that could not
wait to be put away
i lie there thinking of my frustrations
and inadequacies
and pretty soon there is no going back
it will be a shitty day
i turn on the computer for the next 14 hours
and try to get the work done before the
weekend is over
knowing this was my only chance
for sleeping in
for the joy of staying asleep longer than
snatches of interrupted naps
and waking when my body says it's time to do so,
not from when the other 4 people who live
in this crowded and messy place
decide they need to make noise
it was easier to sleep when i was drinking
i could sleep til noon
my replacement addiction caffeine
has me exhausted yet strangely
completely wide awake, leg uncontrollably shaking
getting more nosebleeds, bags under my eyes
i start to look like a pessimist
in serious need of a nap
does this mean i am incapable of doing
my best, does my best become unreachable
does this work i am torturingly churning out
become judged as the best i can do?
i know its not the best but it is created
in an atmosphere that lacks adequate time and
evaluation procedures of my potential
regurgitated idealism jumps through hoops
i'm going to make it, maybe place or show,
the inner hound limping, bleeding,
but still running for all it has
behind those who don't take things
seriously, who didnt make the commitment
to swatca or start the Unit before they
knew their placement
sigh
i was supposed to sleep in today

what about the students who suffer from
similar unsatisfying patterns, i know
how much lack of sleep affects
brain chemicals

SWATCA

just for shits and giggles here's who was spotted at the teacher convention:

Katrina, Amber, Claire, Brian, Amy, Anya, Felicia, Kaitlin (Art) Andrew, Sarah, Amy B., Kade (Music) Tiffany, Tammy, Jeff, Andrea, Joey, Liat, Blake (CTS)

I also saw Jenny (Social) and Colleen (English)

Everyone else must have been at the other end of the school, at a different conference, or not truly dedicated to the practice of teaching.

KIDS, 1995

The speaker today brought up this movie, and I was one of two people who had ever heard of it.
He said it was written by a teenager. I watched it when I was about 14.
What I remember of it centers on sex, drugs, and violence.

A girl finds out she is HIV positive and goes to tell the boy she slept with.

She gets caught up in a party, ends up passing out on the couch, and someone rapes her.

Kids get high in the park and beat someone to death with their skateboards.

True life nightmares teenagers don't want adults to know about, and usually succeed in keeping well hidden.

Other movies this made me think of: Thirteen, Traffic, Basketball Diaries

This is one of the things that worries me the most about teaching high school or junior high, the fact that things like this happen.

Crank

I watched a movie today
it was about drugs, revenge, and murder
and the sexual objectification of women
among other things: sexism is alive and well

The female charater,
while not one of the hookers, strippers
or inside a small clear bubble
splattered with blood

Stops at one point muttering
oh no i forgot to take my birth control
while he is manishly pushing her
out of the way of the bullets

You know she is just there for the
sex scene, that you keep waiting for
and ends up right on the street in
Chinatown, a bus stops to watch

It is of interest to note that it was written
in 4 days, by guys wanting only a script they
could use with thier cinematographic ideas
The best part he runs around bareassed in a hospital gown

what about...

what about race?
what about class?
what about gender?
what about sexual orientation?
what about nutrition?
what about self-esteem?
what about dangerous homelives?
what about fear?
what about suicide?
what about pressure to succeed?
what about bullying?
what about fitting in?
what about divorce?
what about death?
what about ability level?
what about mental disorder?
what about not knowing the language?
what about the social context the kids we teach are part of?

Talking About Bullying

it seems every time i leave context i have a cloud of gloom living in my brain and i just want to go home and cry, that is if i had the time to do so...

today was like that.

there is just so much stuff we would like to ignore and pretend is not there and it is really hard to stare it in the face and talk about it.

everyone has an experience with bullies in some way, and it's surprising it didn't come up much as a topic along with race/sex/class, and were it not for the presentation would we have talked about it at all?

thank you to everyone who shared, personal experience is a good thing to keep in mind when you see in it your classroom. everyone deserves to be safe.

i said that bullying makes a person stronger but really, i wasnt condoning bullying in any way.

Talking About Personal Style

Guys wearing eyeliner with long, spiked hair and facial pircings.

In Grade Eight.

In Lethbridge.

Of all places.

(I would love to see the art/music/writing those students produce...)

This sparked a very interesting conversation over at my table today, about awareness of cliques and how students make themselves part of a certain crowd by looking a certain way.

I would love to do a CTS textiles unit with this theme. Also discuss the un-brand with silkscreening, deconstruction and personalization of a t-shirt, and class performance/experiment where everyone dresses differently than they normally do and experiences a set amount of time.

Begin by discussing school uniforms, that will have students talking.

'I don't like the idea of uniforms.'

'But you're wearing one right now.'

Talking About Suicide

...maybe suicide prevention should include how to express negative emotions without self-destructive behaviour.

writing

art

music

drama

My best friend in high school routinely cut up her arms. She told me it was her way of 'letting the pain out.' We were 14.
It was not something she showed anyone and her parents didn't know.
Her mother has severe Huntingtons Corea (dimentia) and her dad was always distant.
What she needed was love and guidance. She lived in several foster homes and finally ended up in a government program for teen moms.

The point is that finding an outlet for ourselves and our students and our children and maintaining strong support structures is how to prevent suicide.

Big Business Targets Kids (Robertson)

Children are the market of the future.

The lines of cultures blur as an urge to buy the latest commodity becomes what life is about. Tradition be damned, kids just want toys and video games worldwide, except, you know, where they are starving to death or being bombed…

“Manipulating reality is the purpose of advertising.”

Dole lesson plans for social studies, language arts, and math, and Pizza Hut reading incentives are just two examples of major corporations getting their claws into the schools and the vast market of children consumers.

What are worse are the ‘promises of cash donations, free teacher materials or free technology,’ including, ‘monitors, videotaping equipment, satellite dish and computers,’ for allowing advertising in the schools, sometimes ‘oil and chemical industries and conservative coalitions’ geared towards advertising pro-torture and anti-environmentalism.

In other words, $150,000 in technology that the schools may be hard pressed to get in other ways, certainly no bake sale. Another example the article points out that shows how advertising is getting in to schools is the Junior Jays magazine distributed to elementary schools glorifying soda, snacks, fast food and the movie industry.

Visual noise and pressure to spend, spend, spend, should be kept out of schools and anywhere that forms a major portion of children’s mental environment.

Educational Responses to Poverty (Levin)

30 years of study shows SES (socioeconomic status) predicts a student’s amount of schooling, how well they do, and how successful they can be in life after school.
The people who are exceptions to this rule are labeled as ‘resilient.’

You would think the government would try to increase funding for anti-poverty through schools, but they would rather let those who struggle suffer.

The only hope a student from low SES has for post-secondary is government loans, which take years to pay off and almost double from interest. Meanwhile, the children of oilfield workers and dentists breeze through college without ever being concerned about where their next meal is coming from, and often without even caring about the subjects they are enrolled in. The rich kids who do work are placed in high paying jobs provided through family connections that poor kids are never even considered for.

The schools, the article says, put too much emphasis on behavior control and give too much seat work, when students should be receiving stimulating challenging instruction. Children of all socioeconomic backgrounds should be given the same opportunities to succeed.

The Workings of Class (Kusserow)

Apathy is spreading among students, parents, and even teachers.

Some complain they are trying to teach a population that doesn’t want to learn, and find it easier to stop wasting energy trying to get the message across.

The article discusses differences between hard and soft Individualism.
Middle-class children are described in the category of emotion-focused ‘psychologized individualism,’ where parents and teachers resist direct commands to children and teach them to be curious, ask questions, and communicate with adults.
On the other side of the fence, low income neighborhoods are ‘harder realities that give rise to harder individualisms,’ where self-determination, privacy, and self reliance are seen as what’s important and students may be embarrassed about sensitivity, emotions, and imagination.

‘Our culture’s myth of classlessness’ is false, class distinction is apparent in different neighborhoods, jobs, healthcare, exposure to violence, different styles of clothing, music and leisure activities. Our society has a constant pressure to look, act and speak like middle or high class.

I really liked the line in the article ‘we have a word for middle class people’s preoccupation with their inner world. It’s depression.’ It brings to light how our ancestors struggled to build their lives in hard times, and only now in the age of boredom are there so many reported cases of mental disorders.

http://www.thismagazine.ca

Wow! Margaret Atwood and David Suzuki! Al Purdy! If these heroes like This Magazine I think I will too. Canadian! Yay! Wait a minute...have they become mainstream advertising pop icons when they once stood for advocacy of creative thought? Or am I accustomed to using celebrities in this way? Are movies that feature other cultures like 'Borat' creating a Neo-Racist atmosphere in our blooming garden of multiculturalism?

2006 Winners of the "Racism. Stop it!" National Video Competition

"Even if you just think it, it's still racism." (Silent Racism)
I was thinking of how my parent's generation and older seems to harbour prejudice toward race, while my generation and the children of today are more accustomed to multiculturalism. I think general consensus would be racism is wrong, yet my friend's grandma still says the N word and thinks 'coloured boys' shouldn't be a part of the local hockey team.

The best part of this anti-racism video competition is how all the students involved are growing in their knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity.

My favourite above all was from Winnepeg, "I'm Different."
It showed student testimonials of several etnicities, including caucasian, declaring "I'm different!" in fast edit repetition.

Another one that seemed to get the point across with minimal "backyard home movie" effect was "Grow Up." It was playful in it's use of instant replay and words like "cool."

Also notable was the fact some school ssubmitted videos in both English and French. Nothing says "Acceptance of Multiculturalism" like bilingualism!!!

'White' schools lack interest in racism (BBC)

As I was reading, I thought about how kids find ways to tease other kids because of their names, noticeable features, or just being different in some way ( when I was in school: Gebhart- "gibblefart", 4 eyes for glasses, shouting oxycute them! in regards to poor complexion).

In a community that is predominantly white, kids teasing other kids about race is hardly a giant shock- it's just something that stands out. That being said, if children were raised believing in cultural diversity, and teachers trained in "anti-racist policies" it still may not stamp out the problem of racist bullying and teasing. The article itself says teachers are not as aware as students about what is going on in the first place to counter it.

I do believe awareness of other cultures is very important, and that understanding is the key to stopping fear and hate, but I think this article is arbitrary. I've stood up for minorities when others insult their race, so next time they might just say 'hey skidmarks' instead of a derrogatory remark. Is this getting to the real issue?

Girls and Schooling: Their Own Critique (Smith Bourne and McCoy)

This article made me feel several things.

First of all, it seemed many of the teachers described in a Feminist perspective through focus group interviewing were ‘worst case scenarios’ or a negative-driven portrayal of teachers that are not only male supremists and sex perverts, but racists too.

“He hopes I get raped in the park and he’s there to watch.”

This is not an accurate description of male high school teachers in the 90’s. This is one jackass who should never be allowed to teach again.

The article claims there are more male teachers in high school, that they dominate subjects like math and science or phys ed. I went to high school when this article was published, allow me to list the teachers I had:
Biology 10/20: male/male
Chemistry 10/20: male/male
Math 10/20: male/male
Physics 10/20: male/male
English 10/20/30: male/female/male
Social 10/20/30: female/male/male
Art 10/20/30: female/female/female
Phys. Ed: female
Wood working/Metal working: male
Cooking/sewing: female

Hhhhmmmmmmmm………interesting.
The quote from my high school yearbook: “Thanks to Mr. B, Mr. M, Mr. A for making school fun…” Perhaps I was lucky I never encountered ‘teacher intimidation’ or discouragement, I always found the male teachers to be just as supportive and genuine (with exception to my grade 5 homeroom teacher, but that's elementary).

I agree with the article where it describes students not answering because they are afraid of saying the wrong thing, but I think this is the same for both sexes. I also agree the content of some subjects (particularly history, English and art) leave out significant women, but this is rapidly changing and has come leaps and bounds since 1995.

Teacher Job Fair

as were many PSII students, I was a job seeker and volunteer at the 2007 Teacher Job Fair on Friday...
wow the stuff I collected was so diverse and market driven.
a list of swag:

• bag of microwave popcorn


• box of Kraft Dinner


• box of Smarties (full-sized)


• candies, tins of mints, lollipops


• postcard of the Calgary skyline


• lapel pins


• flashlight keychains


• pencil toppers, psychadelic pencils, pens in boxes, clicky pens, erasers shaped like books, and the most interesting that I'll probably never use, the 3-coloured highlighter triangle

Despite all that money invested in eye-catching consumtion based commodities, the booths I found to attract the most attention throughout the day were ones with cheap pens or nothing but information. In particular, the school district of my hometown, districts near Calgary or Edmonton, and International opportunities. The Resouse Ed guy from Australia never had a moment to himself and I didn't even see pens at that booth.
I also found out you don't have to be Catholic to teach in some Catholic districts. It just helps.

How to Stop Little Girls Dressing Like Whores

Censorship will do nothing.
We need to embrace nudity!
If we were all nude, we may be cold, but there will be no kiddie-push up bras or thong underwear. Skirts will not be too short and there will be no plunging necklines.

Or, we need to have members of the sex trade, preferably teen runaways, come talk to students. Teen moms and rape victims would be good speakers too. Let the kids find out first hand what blow jobs and attention from men is really all about. Let's hear the testimonials of prostitutes who no longer feel human or rape victims who wish they would have been lucky enough to be murdered. Dressing like a sex object makes you one. Period.

Or, to stop the 'fad' of slutty student dressing, there is one last way.
Make it uncool to dress that way. Show them how trashy it looks! Hang your g-string out and don't bother with a shirt- a bra is good enough. If you dress like this- guys too- I'm sure everyone will agree on the value of school uniforms. Give them porno for free reading and in no time they will no longer be curious about sex!

Seriously though, the film today made me more angry and disgusted at the world than I have been in a long time. I came home and screamed until my throat was too sore to continue. I may be a bit of an extremist, but to remedy this problem we need to line up everyone without the basic moral value of decency and have them executed. Or blot out the sun and live as mole people without the sense of sight. As an artist I would sacrifice vision to have little girls feel good about themselves without looking like whores.

Boob Tube and Children's Brain Drain (Oldenburg)

Larger than Life:

When Oldenburg writes in the late 90's, "TV's with screens whose diagonals measure 27 inches and may soon stretch to 6 feet," it sounds like exaggeration, but the truth is that nowadays they are up to NINE FEET.

How can this not affect the minds of viewers?

I think it is more than a correlation between the 'remote control' generation and the epidemic of attention deficit disorders, decline of language skill, analytic skill, persistence, memory, creativity and being generally 'mentally unprepared.'

TV wastes time and makes you lazy. Like everything, take in moderation.

Stuff I Like

Scroll to the bottom to check out some stuff that reflects my identity...

How TV Influences Your Kids (Anderson)

I appreciate how this writer points out that parental involvement with television watching can stop negative behaviours, and if parents discourage aggressive behaviour their kids won’t be like the majority of aggressive children who watch too much violent TV. Parents should be a part of their children’s lives, absolutely.

Young children like the toddler described in the article can be easy to monitor TV consumption and prevent aggression, but I would say teens resist this type of authority and will find a way to view pornographic crime-glamourizing music videos and gory restricted movies and in turn be affected by this cultural influence.

The truth is that TV pop culture will be out of the parent’s control, although they’d like to think censorship keeps kids from harm, when it really makes it more desirable. That’s what I think anyway.

The Trouble with Television (Winn)

Many adults see TV as bad for kids. They may say it is too violent, sexually explicit and generally unsuitable, wishing the programming could be innocent, educational and censored. Rather than a worthwhile way to spend one’s time it is used as a “time-filler… tranquilizer… problem solver… procrastination device… punishment… and reward.”

TV stops families from participating in other activities. Children would rather gape mindlessly at the flickering box, leading to laziness, isolation and loss of imagination and creativity. The article also mentions TV’s link to loss of parental authority.

I agree that TV viewing is a serious addiction. I myself do not have cable and find my time filled with art, writing, and socializing, I don’t have time to waste absorbing what the media wants me to think or buy. On the other hand, TV shows are so easy to fall in to, if the set is on I may find myself starting to stare although I don’t really want to.

Why Kids Need Violent Entertainment (Jones)

Some of us grew up thinking violence, fear, greed and rage should be overcome or ignored. As humans, negative emotions are as important as positive ones and should not be disregarded. Violence in entertainment is one way to channel these feeling in a safe way rather than have them bottle up and become worse. The author mentions he withdrew into passivity and loneliness so as not to give in to his natural feelings that he was taught to deny. One can assume after years of hiding negative emotions they could manifest as serious mental problems, lack of social skills, or mass murder tendencies. I like the part of the article where the child is afraid of climbing trees until he reads Tarzan. In keeping kids from violent media, we are not saving them from becoming threats to society, rather forming them into passive, distrustful and easily manipulated adults.

Social Context Homework: Advertising in the Media

1. Magazine

Photo Life, January 2007
“The Art, Culture, and Science of Photography”

The lifestyle being portrayed is one of luxurious ease, depicting well-off single adults, who have access to unlimited commodities. There is an emphasis on ‘professionalism,’ innovative technology, nature, and obtainable perfection. One ad invites the reader into a world of narcissistic individualism with the line, “add your own special touch.”

The people in the ads are mostly women or just manicured hands holding photography equipment. The subject matter includes weddings, young children, and mothers photographing their children at the zoo. The only ad with a man shows a very expensive camera, a leather day planner and an expensive laptop showing an image of a man, alone, in his 20s or 30s leaning against his convertible sports car, “for those who appreciate excellence and demand performance.”

The ethnic groups depicted in the magazine are not diverse at all. They are all Caucasian except for one African American woman taking a photo of herself holding a microphone as her fans cheer for her.

The products in the magazine are being promoted by showing the equipment as something necessary for good photography. It would seem as though the magazine ads are geared towards women by the subject content.

2. Child-Oriented Website

www.YTV.com

The depiction of adults on this website (based on the television channel) is young, youthful, ‘role models.’ For example, one tv host for this channel is shown as a carefree, Peter-Pan type character whose age is undetermined and interests seem immature:

Name: Simon
Occupation: ZAPX host
Age: Old enough to see a PG movie!
Trademarks: Shaggy Hair, Goofy laugh, jumping over things

Or Ajay, who would miss his teddy bear if he were stranded on an island.

I was pleased with the portrayal of schools, libraries, and books on the website. After following a few links I found an advice column and one question was what to do about grouchy teachers, and the advice was to be well behaved! There are several links to reading game reviews and reading information on tv shows and characters. There are also promotional ads for an upcoming literacy event:

“Celebrate ABC CANADA Family Literacy Day, Saturday, January 27, 2007!”

Products being promoted to children included Chef Boyardee convenience food and
toys based on tv shows. The look of the site and content indicated to me it was more geared toward boys. The colours and shapes are loud and active, and there is only one female shown, yet several males.

3. Television Commercial

What product is being advertised? Subway convenience food

How is the product promoted? Interviews with ‘real’ Canadian people in the Subway store who testify to the quality and flavour of the sandwiches

What lifestyle is portrayed? Cape Breton easy-goingness, enjoying the taste of bacon

Gender roles: both sexes enjoy the “gigantic cornucopia of awesomeness” at Subway

The Explosion of Teen Magazines In and Out of Schools (Manohar)

Teens are now a major group of consumers. A product that adolescent girls are interested in is the genre of teen magazines written about beauty, fashion, and boys. I remember reading these magazines when I was a teenager, Cosmo and Seventeen.

Approval and the obsession of fitting in is how the article explains the consumption of these magazines. The article also states girls read these magazines to learn about adult issues and femininity. When I read them I would feel depressed, angry, and not fitting in because the content was geared towards rich, popular, girlie-girls. I boycotted these magazines for myself in favor of the Utne Reader or National Geographic by the time I was in high school.

When provided with the choice to read a popular teen magazine or something more substantial, the article claims teens found the ‘non-commercial feminist magazines’ to be boring. It should be about variety and choice, but dry content is just not as appealing as glossy photos of celebrities.

Manohar also describes different ways to integrate magazines into the classroom in subjects such as math, health, social, and language arts. If youth are interested in these magazines, I believe they should not be discouraged from reading. Rather, they should be taught how to be aware of the negative aspects of reading the magazines such as unrealistic expectations of self-image.

Hidden Curriculum in Harry Potter

much of children's literature is based in schools:

it provides a frame for the characters to experience life and rebellion,

exploring the (conflicts/friendships) of (peers/teachers)

to critique relationships between children and adults.

I am not at expert in the subtle nuances of British boarding school,
but the students at Hogwarts definitely have a hidden curriculum.

I was thinking about Harry's perception of his ancient-haunted-magic-castle
and dreary-Dursley homelives in terms of feeling safe and comfortable.

I was thinking about his growth and development under wise guidance
of Dumbledore and singled out negative treatment from Snape.

Most of all, after reflecting on this article, I thought about Harry forming
his own Defense Against the Dark Arts secret club in the secret rooms
of the castle in response to lack of proper instruction.

On a final note, I can't wait for Order of the Phoenix to come out this summer.

What is the School’s Hidden Curriculum Teaching Your Child? (Ausbrooks)

This article discusses the idea of what the student learns just by being in the school, with little connection to what the lesson plan objectives state. When you think back to your own school days it is what happens between learning we remember: friends and leisure, the social context of learning.

The term ‘hidden curriculum’ is used throughout the reading to refer to social development through peer interaction. The hidden curriculum is what creates a particular ‘learning environment,’ which takes place in classrooms, hallways, assemblies, and anywhere students gather with the possibility for peer interaction.

There are two ends of the scale of the hidden curriculum. The best, with growth, opportunity, and acceptance, is created by providing a comfortable, structured, and safe atmosphere. Alternately, the student can experience discouragement, negativity, and exclusion fueled by the trauma of adolescence in an atmosphere where there is insecurity.

Physical aspects of any school building convey a message about the type of atmosphere the students are learning in. This includes everything from classroom configurations and the colour of the walls, to display cases, art exhibitions and whatever is being shown as important. A school that cares about kids will make everyone feel at home.

Based on my own experiences as a student and student teacher, I completely agree with the article. I would definitely say popular culture, as well as peer interaction, has a lot to do with the lives of students. It is possible to ‘reveal’ this hidden curriculum by making lessons that strive to have objectives like acceptance and cooperation.

First Day

I am creating this blog to record my responses to reading in the class Education 3603. It was very easy to set up, and I think it is an excellent outlet for my writing habit. I started a blog once and made a one line entry, "do i have to call it blog...it really doesnt take much longer to say web log and maybe i want to call it e-diary. so there." haha. I didn't make any more entries.