Question to other middle school teachers -- and perhaps high school and college as well: Does Bill's description of his 8th graders match your experience? Is Bill's class an anomoly? If not, what have you done about it that worked?
Bills description is stunning: * "no hobbies, interests, opinions" * "zombies" * "The had 9 weeks to find a film..." * "18 weeks cajoling...about half did it" * "They could tell me in detail about the first 10-15 minutes of the films" * "Some even remembered wrong endings..." * "Most could not stay focused on 90 minutes of film long enough to process and remember it." Ouch. There are all kinds of opinions out there on how literacy and thinking and social interactions are changing -- and on the role of culture, technology, the economy and the generally high-pressured, mobile, fast paced lives we lead. Is Bill's class an example of this kind of change, or is it just a spectacularly bad piece of luck for Bill to have been assigned the task of educating a classroom of "zombies"? I keep re-reading Bill's post and looking for an opportunity -- some light leaking in from somewhere. For example, if I stretch, I can imagine giving a class of 8th graders a list of 350 of the best movies of all time, and seeing nothing but bored yawns and blank stares. How many of these movies came out after they were born? What connections do they have to Casablanca? Gone With The Wind? Let's be realistic here. The First Gulf War was over before these kids were born. The Balkan War was over before they were out of diapers. So perhaps more needed to be done to set up this assignment -- something along the lines of a discussion on how we pick movies, similar to how we pick books. Perhaps this is a line of discussion that could benefit Bill and his students. But then I re-read Bill's post again -- I try to take in his obervations. It's a lot to digest (see list above). "No hobbies..." "Most could not say focused on 90 minutes of film..." In the face of this, I feel helpless. What more could anyone do? Which is why it would be helpful to hear from other middle/high/college teachers regarding Bill's description of his kids. The conversation goes one way if this is just Bill's bummer-of-a-class. It goes another way if this is evidence of a sea change. So which is it? Or is this not the right question? I look forward to hearing back from you middle/high/college teachers. Bill - For your future and ours, I hope it's just a bad-luck year for you. Dave Middlebrook The Textmapping Project A resource for teachers improving reading comprehension skills instruction. www.textmapping.org | Please share this site with your colleagues! USA: (609) 771-1781 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Roberts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Listserv" <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2007 5:19 PM Subject: [MOSAIC] Comprehension in general > Hi, > You haven't heard from me in awhile because I've met my match with this > year's 8th graders. They don't read, they don't do homework, they don't do > anything. They have no hobbies, interests, opinions. They are zombies > who > come into the classroom, sit, and take up space. For the first time ever, > I > can say they are not any smarter or better prepared than they were in the > beginning of school...and this is confirmed by every 8th grade teacher I > work with! But I've discovered something that at least explains what is > going on, even though it offers no solutions: > > They have NO comprehension at all. > > I assigned movie reviews thinking it might get them to try and do > something. > I gave a list of the AFI Top 100 Films of all time, plus a list of the top > 250 foreign films of all time. The best films ever made. I hoped they > might discover a new world by seeing classics like CASABLANCA or GONE WITH > THE WIND or even SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Was I wrong. Most couldn't even > watch a film because they didn't want to make the effort. They had 9 > weeks > to find a film, watch it, review it, and they didn't do it. So I made it > an > assignment for the next grading period...I wasn't going to give up. Same > assignment, but this time they had to do an oral review and talk about the > movie. My plan was for them to use their reading strategies and apply > them > to a movie.... > > 18 weeks of cajoling, reminding, and pleading, and about half did it. The > ones who did, though, couldn't remember how the movie ended. They could > tell me in detail about the first 10-15 minutes of the films, but they > couldn't tell me the story, who the characters were, how the movie > ended...nothing. I thought they might have fallen asleep, or stopped > watching, but all said they watched the entire movie....they just couldn't > remember anything. Some even remembered wrong endings like the girl who > said the shark survived the ending of JAWS. Her logic? The shark was in > JAWS 2 and 3, so it must have survived. One girl couldn't remember > anything > about THE WIZARD OF OZ, not the yellow brick road, Dorothy, the > music,...she > couldn't even tell me the name of the land they were in! One advanced > student told me he watched WIZARD OF OZ, but he couldn't explain it > because > he got lost and confused. Another told about the Lion, Scarecrow, and the > Robot. Most could not stay focused on 90 minutes of film long enough to > process and remember it. Another, who loved CASABLANCA, couldn't remember > what state Casablanca was located in. According to another, Clarice was > interested in Hannibal Lechter because she was writing a book on him. > Another watched MY FAIR LADY, but hated it because she hates musicals. I > asked why did she pick it when she had over 300 to choose from and she > said > "it sounded interesting." > > If they can't comprehend a movie, then what hope do we have of them > comprehending a book? > > Bill > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
