I have followed this board for a long time, but have hesitated to participate because I am new to teaching and don't have the experience to have much to offer (Although, I am way older than most new teachers as you're about to find out ;-) ) When you mentioned music as one of the things that give your students' lives meaning, it sparked a memory of one of my favorite teachers in middle school. In eighth grade English, our teacher constantly played music and worked with us to analyze the lyrics... looking for themes, symbolism, metaphors, irony... etc. Most of this was a lot of Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel stuff that was before our time, but familiar to us. BUT ... when he put on that Pink Floyd album and we looked at the irony of the double negative in "we don't need no education" and the symbolism of "bricks in the wall" and tied it into our own experiences we were hooked. Kinda scary when you think about attempting something like this with today's lyrics, but drugs, poverty, abuse, violence ... It's all there in the music that they're listening too ... along with many other dark themes ( trust me ... I have two teenaged boys) and just as many positive themes. There has been such great conversation about this topic and so many great ideas offered. I've enjoyed following along. I'm sure with you knowing your students the way you do that only you can tell if something along these lines would reach them. Maybe others would be able to offer ways to tie strategy instruction into analyzing song lyrics if it seems do-able. Thanks, Kim
Bill Roberts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I wish you were right, but I haven't seen it. When I asked what gave their life meaning, most said their cellphones, myspace, and music. Drugs? It's a part of life, no big deal. Poverty? Doesn't matter because they are going to be rich. Abuse? It's also a part of life, deal with it. Video violence? Doesn't affect them even though they want to kill all the Iraqis. They don't even hear or comprehend what they are saying or doing because they aren't aware of it. Spoken Word? No money involved so it has no value. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harvey Family" To: "'Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Listserv'" Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 1:01 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Comprehension in general > Hi Bill > > Something IS going on in their lives. You just have to find it. One > powerful > access point is the Spoken Word. Poetry made to be performed. Find a young > poet with a boom box and a contemporary issue and they will create a > spark. > A poet who can help them find their voice. There are probably all sorts of > issues within your room - issues of drugs, abuse, poverty, and power - > that > have kept these students down. Even affluence has major stuff going down - > status, video violence, and, once again, drugs. > > Not everyone is comfortable with the Arts but the students have to find a > passion or they will sink out of sight. It can be scary for the teacher > but > what power you give them. Administrative support is another issue because > you would be open to criticism. But if it's a choice between saving some > lives and playing it safe... > > We have an amazing Spoken Word poet in Tacoma named Luke Smiraldo. He > deals > with many contemporary issues, networks with other "cutting edge" poets, > and > really connects to kids. I wish everyone could see him work in the > classroom. He's also done some site specific performances at the Museum of > Glass and Tacoma Art Museum. > > The Arts Save Lives > > Anyone interested in Luke's ideas? I could try to get him to respond if > the > listserve is interested. > > Alan H > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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. --------------------------------- Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users. _______________________________________________ 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.
