Educ 904 THE WRITING PROCESS Context-setting and literature Multiple Voices students, colleagues, etc Claims about

learning and teaching Self-disclosure, reflection Writing back to IE

Writing the Final Report

Write in 3 of these categories Bring questions or ideas (things that are good to keep in mind), or neat ways at coming at writing these kinds of report How to write well on these types of issues in these contexts Revisit the idea of who the ideal reader is Who are you writing for (ask them that when you approach someone elses writing)

Nina-Specific Responses SELF-DISCLOSURE, REFLECTION Journal Prompt February 24, 2012: List 3-5 core values you live by. Briefly state why. Then indicate where environmental responsibility ranks on this list and explain why. Entry by Sarah My core values: Energy I want to enjoy every moment of my life. I want every day to be happy and energetic. Bravery I dont want to look back at my life and regret if I was too afraid to do/try something. Spontaneous I want to keep my life exciting and not boring. BTW, both my bellybutton and cartilage piercing were spontaneous. Hard-Working I want to be successful. In school and in the future. I believe dedication and hard working is necessary. Health Im not a crazy health-person, and I also eat junk food, but I consider health life style is important. All the morals are ranked about equal. Environmental responsibility: It may sound selfish, but environment responsibility is about 2nd or 3rd on my core values list. I try my best to save energy and not waste and use my 3Rs but my personal needs come first. Journal Prompt March 2, 2012: Part I: Listen to Jack Johnsons Gone and its clear what he values. Part II: This week you have been presenting songs of the 50s-70s which embodied the values of that era. What was clear in the songs that you picked was the message of anti-war, a desire for governments to be more tolerant etc. Protest Songs are not unique to these eras. Protest songs are arguably Oh Lord, Im still writingpage 1

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more subtle these days. So today Im asking you to journal about the songs that you listen to. How are they reflective of your values? If you have to, take out your play list and scroll through it. Then answer, what does this say about a) what you believe b) Is it an accurate reflection of who you are and what you value? Explain. Part III: There were quite a few songs from the 70s (particularly in response to the Vietnam war). It seemed that the protest movement embodied the entire era of the 60s and 70s. Is there a movement/idea of your era that seems to percolate through in the music of your generation. What is it? Response by, Hermione I think my generation does not have a movement and the reason I think this is because our generation is too focused on individual problems rather than problems that affect us all. I also think were lazy and very oblivious. I believe our generation thinks too highly of ourselves and think we can do anything. With these problems, we are unable to think of anything or anyone except for ourselves. Another reason we invented the word lol how sad is that? Im sure if there was an ipod app for creating your own movement, we may start one.

Response by Sting Wray I listen to classical music mostly, which although containing a message is hard to derive much meaning from. The kinds of songs I am periodically attracted to (rather than those I regularly listen to) speak of environmental messages, and have a happy tune. I think this says that I care about the environment, and that I like uplifting things. Im not sure if my generation has a movement. I wish we did. On one hand there are the depressed, unmotivated and wholly boring individuals with no dreams (like Avery and Matt there). I see those people, those young people, I could cry. Right now Im so depressed because they just dont see. Theres something more. Whatever battle I fight, whether for the environment or peace, will I have to fight alone? I pray not. I pray they mature. Journal Prompt February 17: Look at the following photos and their captions. Notice that the photos on the left are from your textbook and the ones on the right are the same topic but from a different perspective. How would the stories of the post war period change if they were told from the perspective of the air? The water? The plant life? Are we getting better at telling their stories? A journal entry by Smickle: If the post war period were told in a different perspective, they would think that were not being heard because although we know that their dying or unhealthy we havent changed out habits. Yes, during the last few years we have become more aware of what is happening however there Oh Lord, Im still writingpage 2

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hasnt been enough change. Air, millions of cars have been added to cities and each day gallons of has is burned. Plants, everyday millions of trees have been cut down even though we know that we need them. Water, pollution in water is so bad that the toxic levels are rising. Yes we hear that they are hurting and dying however we turn the other cheek and let it happen. A Journal Entry by Sting Ray This entry is proof that we are getting better at telling the untold story-at least now we know. Knowing is hardly enough, though. Now comes the hard part. Now comes the action. Post-journal prompt discussion by me and Sting-Wray .. but this makes me depressed and angry because we are the future and we are apathetic and unoriginal So they get it. They get that the environment is at risk and they know what to do. Theyve been taught so we can all breathe a sigh of relief that the education system isnt a failure. Sarah does her best she does the 3 Rs, like the rest of my students wrote the same thing. My survey results reveal a solid awareness of environmental issues and what our part should be in changing the course of the future. They turn of the lights when not in use, bring re-usable containers for lunch, opt for the recycling bin before a trash bin, etc But as I read through the journal entries and notes of the discussions in class, their actions are rote, preprogrammed, unemotional, practiced, engrained. But they are largely unemotional, unconcerned and dangerously detached from the world they live in. Although the education system has been successful at altering behaviours, it has shortcomings in actually changing mindsets of individuals. Dont we want our actions to be purposeful, reflections of who we are? Dont we want our students to live with intentions and actions that reflect their values?

CONTEXT-SETTING AND LITERATURE

Collingwood School is a K-12 school which uses traditional education teaching approaches; this
involves direct instruction, seatwork and students learning through listening and observation. The instruction is based on textbooks, lectures, with both individual and group assignments. Subjects are taught independently from each other although some attempts at cross-curricular planning and teaching happen at the primary and middle school level. At the senior level, however, all subjects are taught by subject area specialists in isolation from other disciplines. Collingwood School is also an independent, co-educational school which is located in West Vancouvers British Properties, one the wealthiest municipalities in Canada. West Vancouver has the highest average income per household of any city in Canada as of 2011 as a large portion of the population is involved in senior management positions in one of finance, professional science and technical services, or retail trade. In many cases parents are not only community leaders but also stake holders in the economy. Students who attend Collingwood do so because it boasts a high university acceptance rate in ivy-league Oh Lord, Im still writingpage 3

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schools and other prestigious institutions both in North America and abroad. Collingwood has a reputation for high academic achievement but this is only one of its four pillars where students engage themselves. The other 3 are: Service, Athletics and Arts education where credit hours are required in all areas for graduation. By all counts, a traditional education, one that Collingwood is modeled after would translate into an effective way of educating students. According to the latest report by the Fraser Institute, Collingwood earned a score of 9.1 out of 10 on their last report card (2011) and ranked 16th out of 227 schools in BC. This means our students perform extremely well on provincial exams and other standardized tests (like the FSA) but it should also be noted that that the Fraser Institute focuses solely on academic achievement of these schools. It does not tell what kind of people our students will become although high academic standings do allow for some inferences on that matter. Given our clientele, our students likely enter into the same professional fields or become entrepreneurs as their parents have done. But this also begs the question of what kind of people do our students turn out to be. If the purpose of education is to give students the means for upward mobility and success(Orr, insert year), then we have achieved that before we even began. Given that the average income of our parents is $160,000 (Fraser Institute, 2011) our students are already the most upwardly mobile people in the country. But does this mean that they are kinder, more globally responsible, more connected to their communities and action-oriented people? I would argue from the journal entries above that they are not. They are no different from any other student in British Columbia in that they are just as overwhelmed by global issues, dangerously apathetic and inaction-oriented than any other adolescent in the province, never mind the country. Collingwood fails our students because it seems to perpetuate several myths in education. 6 of these are identified in the work of David Orr:

These myths are listed below: 1) ignorance is a solvable problem. Ignorance is not a solvable problem, but rather an inescapable part of the human condition 2) with enough knowledge and technology we can manage planet Earth 3) that knowledge is increasing and by implication human goodness 4) we can adequately restore that which we have dismantled 5) our culture represents the pinnacle of human achievement
(Orr, insert year) Teaching for 10 years at Collingwood and 3 years in the public system, these myths seem to illuminate real problems with our current educational system. Students from traditional education are successful, optimistic, obedient, and well rounded. But they are also detached and overconfident a dangerous combination as they inherit a planet that is currently at risk.

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Educ 904 CLAIMS ABOUT LEARNING AND TEACHING

Writing the Final Report

Just by going over their EE survey results, the data tells me that they already do what they can and the offenses are committed by a small grouping of people. For every one student who uses a paper cup from Starbucks, there are 8 or so more who use reusable mugs. They recycle, they reduce, they re-use. And when asked why, they know. You could likely give them an impromptu quiz on Environmental Issues and I would guess the average mark to be at least a B. So where is the problem? When discussing EE in class, the response has been mixed but mostly disengaged and bored. Theyve heard it all before. Why dont their behaviours match their beliefs? These outward actions that are mostly positive go mostly unnoticed by their hearts. They have no greater sense of pride in what small actions they are doing than if they did not do the 3Rs at all. Are the actions too small to be proud of? When asked if they should do more, their helplessness comes out. They describe their powerlessness at home, at school, and among their peers. I dont grocery shop so I dont know what my moms doing. The question becomes of how we can empower students and

MULTIPLE VOICES STUDENTS, COLLEAGUES, etc Students comments and colleagues into the research (things on dialogue central) WRITING BACK TO IE Do hard things-Alex & Brett (Sandras suggestion) KEY FEATURES OF THE FINAL REPORT: THINGS TO REMEMBER, NINA! Key features of the final report; Understand the data The arguments/interpretations you create should be supported by the data Identify struggles, reflection o Shifts in thinking/action Connections to theory and practice in literature Imaginative elements: Unique way to present our report rather than what is presented in the Koshy book Clear about design, rationale

What kinds of commitments did you bring to the course to enable you to make the most of it --to make These kinds of questions are what Mark asks when he marks our final report: 1. What did you learn about yourself as a teacher? Oh Lord, Im still writingpage 5

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Writing the Final Report 2. How well did you learn it? How does it reflect on you as an imaginative teacher? 3. What now?

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