Student Criteria

Our final project is about the effect of male media representation on boys. If I had students working on this same topic, I would have them collect examples of media representations of men, discuss the examples in class, perform research on their own, and then write their own analysis. Their writing would be evaluated on being able to draw specific connections between their example piece of media, class discussions, and their research. It should contain an example or quotation from each of the three. It should also contain a unified theme or opinion, backed up by evidence, that the student wants to convey to their audience. Finally, the writing should be well-organized, well-written, and free from errors.

Media in the Lifestyle

In a typical week, I read the Start Tribune most days. According to the Washington Post, it was a local, family-owned newspaper until 1998 when it was sold to McClatchy Co. Then a year ago, McClatchy sold the paper to Avista Capital Partners, "a firm specializing in private equity investments primarily in growth oriented energy, healthcare, and media companies." My parents have been reading the Star Tribune for a long time. My dad jokes that a conservative friend of his used to refer to it years ago as the "Red Star" paper because of its liberal bent. Now his comment is that the paper has been getting smaller and smaller these days with less content.

Another media source that I rely on is Minnesota Public Radio (MPR). I listen to their news, classical music, and "Current" music stations on the radio throughout the day and subscribe to a few of their podcasts. As far as I know, MPR is a private, non-profit orgnization that gets funding from foundations, businesses, and "listeners like me." I find MPR's news coverage to be thorough and unbiased, and from their music stations I get music that I can't get anywhere else on my radio dial.

Since I rely so heavily on those two sources of news, I recently decided to branch out and subscribe to the New York Times daily headlines and news alerts by email to get a broader perspective in addition to the Minnesota perspective.

Not Just Another Folk Ditty

My favorite band or type of music changes often and just as there is a time for every season, there is a time for every type of music. Growing up my mom listened to classical music while my dad listened to classic rock and classic jazz. I like classical music because it adds a nice texture to the background of almost any activity. I often turn it on when I am studying or reading or doing something that requires concentration. Classic rock complements yard work, cleaning, or any other physical labor well, while classic jazz adds spice to the atmosphere of an evening gathering. Left to my own devices, however, I would choose folk with a twist where instruments and vocals are used to weave a musical story that goes beyond the cliched predictability of pop music. Perhaps as a result of some time spent in Chicago, one of my favorite bands right now is Wilco. In my opinion, they get to the core of their musical message and deliver it in a way provides an emotional thrill-ride for the listener. The clip below from their film I am Trying to Break Your Heart highlights their song "Poor Places" and their style of musical experimentation that pays off in great music...

Media in the Classroom

Students live in a world that is immersed in media, and they haven't been alive long enough to know that it hasn't always been like it is now. One of the challenges in my teaching career will be to keep up with the new technologies and incorporate them successfully into the classroom. One type of media that I think fits nicely into a classroom is a blog. The blog tool gives students the opportunity to write for an audience larger than just one teacher, perhaps even large enough to include their peers. It also gives them an opportunity to post images and links to websites that relate to their topic.

A resource for teachers that I really like is the New York Times Learning Network. Each weekday they publish a lesson plan related to a current news story. Friday is Language Arts/Fine Arts day. The lesson plans are creative and well-written, and I see them as a great way to give students an opportunity not only to learn about something that is happening now in the world but also to take some action on it. Today's lesson is related to the Notable Children's Books of 2007.

Here's a video from YouTube that promotes using popular culture in the classroom:

Generational Leadership Qualities

Since we are fast approaching the Iowa caucuses and there are big issues to deal with like climate change and the war in Iraq, I would write a documentary about the leadership qualities of different generations. Recently, a friend forwarded me a copy of an article called "Goodbye to All That" from the Atlantic Monthly that spawned this idea. How have the Baby Boomers done as leaders of the country? What kind of leadership styles have they used? What big issues have they handled? How does their leadership style compare to the leadership style of the "Greatest Generation?" What can we expect from the Gen-Y leaders of the future? The intention of the documentary would be to reflect on leadership and how our generational peers affect our leadership style. I would interview national and local leaders from the Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, and also young leaders from Gen-Y. The difficulty that I would anticipate is creating an authentic representation without letting my biases creep in since this documentary would be largely based on making generalizations about groups of people. I would have to be intentional about letting go of some of my preconceived notions about the different generations to be open to hearing authentic representations of their leadership qualities.

Wonderful World of Podcasts

This weekend at my nonfiction book club meeting, the conversation strayed to music and iPods. One member complained that she loved her iPod when she bought it, but now that some time has passed she has gotten bored with her music selection, and the novelty of the iPod has worn off. Then someone else mentioned the wonderful world of podcasts, a tool that adds spice and new utility to the iPod. I decided to check it out. First I googled "Minnesota podcasts." The list of results was long and I wasn't sure all of it would be worth my time, so I turned to a reliable and commonly mentioned source: Minnesota Public Radio. One of my favorite shows on MPR is Kerri Miller's Midmorning program, which is available as a "regular" podcast or as a "Speedcast." The Speedcast is convenient because it takes less time to listen, but I can't decide whether the time saved is more valuable than getting the nuances of the pauses, intonations, and timing of the conversation. Plus it takes a few minutes to get acclimated to the speed of the conversation. Another podcast that I like, especially as a potential English teacher, is the Grammer Grater program. I can always use a brush-up on my grammar skills, and now I can get it while I walk the dog or wait for the bus...