As a literature teacher, I always struggled to get my students to read and respond critically to what they read. I suppose this is why I found the opinion of Lisa Mendelman interesting. In her first person account “Critical Thinking and Reading” found in the December/January issue of Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy Mendelman defines critical thinking and explains why she believes that it should “be taught in virtually every course in the humanities” and is “one of the most important, and most difficult, burdens in the classroom” I enjoyed reading Mendelman’s approach to tackling this difficult burden using a gradual progression of activities that lead students to higher levels of critical thinking. I can’t help questioning her statement that “after roughly two years of basic identification, students should be familiar enough with the techniques to begin thinking about them on a deeper level.” Do students really need two years of identifying the techniques used in literature before they are ready to think about them on a deeper level? I do agree that critical thinking skills must be scaffolded for students so that they will reach the stage in which their critical thinking is stretched far beyond the concrete ability of identification. I’m just not sure that it is realistic to leave all students on the first level of the scaffold for two years before moving them to deeper thinking. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
edited: Do you like what Lisa Mendelman has to say about critical thinking and reading? You might want to check out her thoughts on writing too. Check out Yeah, But What is Writing for?From the May 2007 issue of Teacher Magazine
Thank you for sharing the article, “Yeah, But What is Writing for?” The part of the article that I particularly liked was Mendelman’s learning from her students writing’s purposes beyond those she had intended to teach them: “the ability to connect people, to put us in another’s skin, to teach us what it means to be human.”
The part that gives me pause is her six weeks of “intensive grammar review.” I am not against grammar instruction; however, if “intensive grammar review” is what I imagine it to be–grammar exercise upon worksheet upon grammar exercise upon test (and my assumption may be incorrect)–then I wonder what effects this type of instruction would have on students’ feelings toward writing. Would this type of intensive review feel like a punishment? Does it imply that being grammatically correct is the foremost aim of writing? I believe there should be a balance–that grammar instruction should not be exclusive of authentic writing opportunities. Maybe I’m too soft on grammar. I continually reflect on my lack of “grammar exercises” in my class. Am I doing my students a disservice? But then I think of my ultimate goal in writing instruction: to show them writing’s ability “to connect people, to put us in another’s skin, to teach us what it means to be human.” Along the way, we work on revising our writing, on understanding the mechanics of writing, on evaluating how using correct grammar helps us to communicate clearly our ideas. This is where I am.
I’m very impressed with amount of writing Mendelman’s students produce. Giving my students more opportunities to write for personal purposes is a goal of mine.
Again, Angela, thank you for sharing the articles. They have given me food for thought. I look forward to hearing others’ thoughts on this topic.
P.S. Writing about grammar is always a bit intimidating for me because it inevitably leads to someone’s “grading” my grammar in my post. I hope I have not made any egregious errors. If so, I hope I have communicated my thoughts clearly in spite of them.
By: mollycoffman on January 17, 2008
at 9:54 am
I love that goal. What would the world look like if all teachers had that goal? I think it would be great if all teachers wanted “to connect people, to put us in another’s skin, to teach us what it means to be human.” You know, I think deep down all teachers want this. They just don’t realize that when this is your goal, other things (like test scores) will fall in place. I think of Parker J. Palmer’s The Courage to Teach. At the heart of every teacher I think there is a person who wants to connect people and teach them what it is to be human. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way many teachers lose touch with this desire.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I too look forward to hearing others’ thoughts. I hope others will join in.
By: aredden on January 18, 2008
at 10:55 pm