The Answer

Why do I take night classes?

That was the title of this blog; thinking way back to the beginning of school I remember being vastly intimidated by a 7-9:30 PM Monday time slot and I thought I was being funny when I came up with this post (although now it seems like I was being some kind of smart ass).

I've learned a lot in Approaches and I am very glad for the experiences this class has given me. It has taught me many things: how to write a memoir, how to better workshop, and how to release the fears of student writers, just to name a few.

Even more importantly, I've cherished the community our classroom has created, and I will miss the individuals that made our group what it was. (Don't get me wrong, I am so very much looking forward to the end of the semester and Christmas, but the class was fun).

I wish everyone good luck on all their future endeavors, especially to those who are going to be teaching writing in their future careers. I hope we can all remain in touch to provide support and friendship to one another in the future.

Why do I take night classes?

Oh yeah, it's because I have to. The College of Education has so many of them.

Have a good break

Alex Rummelhart

Hunger Games

So I celebrated my birthday over the break and as a treat, the family got together and went to Barnes and Noble to go on a book buying spree. I just love book stores and I was eagerly browsing around (I could wander in those places for hours) when I spotted the title Hunger Games amongst the teen best sellers. I had heard my practicum students talking about it and I decided that it would be teacherly of me to pick up a copy, in order to read it and be able to better to relate to them. My plan was to deal with some teen reading, analyze it a little bit, see what could be useful from it, and then move on.

I was surprised first off by how awesome it was. I finished the book in less than a day and then promptly began eating into the next two in the trilogy. Great story idea, magnificent details, and solid writing kept pushing me onward and onward. No wonder everyone at school loved it so.

My initial point is only enhanced by the greatness of the book. Now, not only can I relate and understand what the kids are talking about, but I can genuinely agree with their love for the novel.

I think both these concepts are important. First, it is wise to be aware of what is popular amongst the youth of the world (it is a bit frightening that I am not apart of the "youth" group). The more we understand, and are able to relate, the more we can connect with the students. And in my opinion, establishing a personal relationship is the #1 most important facet in creating a classroom environment conducive to learning. It trumps all other facets; kids simply learn, respond, and behave better when there is a good relationship.

Secondly, if you dive in, you might discover something new and original.. something that you genuinely love, and are able to make a part of you and your teaching style.

I highly recommend Hunger Games and the subsequent books

Alex Rummelhart

Last Week

Not only is this the last week before Thanksgiving break (thank goodness) but it is also the last week of my practicum experience.

For those of you that don't know, I have been spending my mornings as Mr. Rummelhart inside Iowa City West High School's AP English classrooms. I figured I would take a post to reflect on this experience.

Man, it has been so invaluable! Nothing can compare to the actual act of teaching, or helping to teach, a class full of young minds. I have been especially lucky because my kids were- for the most part- eager, intelligent, and interested in English as a subject.

Overall, I'm reminded of our partnerships and I'm very glad that we got involved in them. You simply cannot compare "learning to teach" with "teaching", nor can you compare "talking about young adults' writing" with "writing with young adults".

The College of Education provides many classes were I can truly learn a lot, but more importantly they provide me hands on experience, where I can truly use my skills with others, and that I think is the most important thing. I just want to focus on that fact- on the importance of constantly getting out there and actually doing what is so often just talked about.

Hope everyone's week isn't as hectic and tiring as mine is.

Cheers,

Alex Rummelhart

One Page Autobiography

This is an early draft of my one pager bio for our writing partnership. I could really use some feedback, because I wrote it off a sort of weird idea and I'm not sure whether it works or not. Please let me know what you think:

***********************************

See that kid? No, not that guy, the other one. The white one. The one with the shaggy brown hair. The average looking dude, you see, not too tall, not too fat. Yeah there you go. That guy. See how he walks around. Look at the clothes he wears. Watch what he does. Watch carefully. See him. Know him. Judge him.

There he goes with a tie , nice shoes, dress pants, a bunch of papers. He’s wearing glasses. He’s going to class. He’s got some class. Lookin’ all studious, with his pondering, and his wondering, and his reading. Got his nose in a book or a book in his nose, not really caring if he spills coffee on his clothes. And he’s just learning and teaching all of the time. Watch him go to school, watch him watch the students of the world. What is he? Who is he? He some kind of scholar? He’s wearing that tight collar. He some kind of nerd?

But there he goes again. Different day, different style. He’s wearing sandals, and his hair’s unkempt. It’s long and messy, and it gets in his eyes, and he’s listening to music, and off watching the skies, in his own little world, his own little bubble, I can see it in his eyes, this kid’s gonna be trouble. A nuisance, a rebel, not going to listen to the authority, not going to do as he’s told. He’s biking everywhere, and sitting in the grass, and sticking his feet in the water, and just doing nothing. Tossing a frisbee around hah! Nothing but talking with other young hippies with their own long hair and their own ideals. He’s fighting for something, you can tell. You just know he’s got some cause, some righteous struggle in him that makes him think he can change the world. Like he can change anything. Like he’s got any power. Just look at him, just see how useless it all is, just watch him. You know what he does. You know he’s one of those damn free spirited weirdoes- the ones that hang around in coffee shops or in the parks, or are out there protesting and making a fuss. He’s one of them.

But what’s this now? Our boy runnin’ and jumpin’ and playing football? He’s sprinting down the sidewalk, running up that hill, once, twice, ten times, just look at him fly. Here he’s playin’ basketball, now what’s up with that? Playing baseball too, heck he ain’t bad. He’s quick. He’s got fire and determination in him. This kid won’t quit. He’s out there in the rain, in the wind, in the cold and the snow, every day he’s running and running and running, out on the go. He’s shaping that body, he’s strong. A bit on the scrawnier side, but strong all the same, and hella fast. What’s he doin? Watching ESPN, seeing the game, talking ‘bout the sport, now what’s he doing that for? He some kind of athlete? He some kind of sportsman?

Now watch him write. See his pen fly across the page. See his fingers fly across the keyboard. He’s doing this all the time. In fact it’s the one constant. The one thing that won’t change. He’s always scribbling something down, always got an idea in his hand, a dream in his head. Why won’t he just quit? Why won’t he just give it a rest?

Who is this fellow? You’ve seen him, you know what he does. You know his clothes, his style, his job, his struggle, his school, and his home. You know his actions. His reactions. Who is he? Is he what he does? Is he what he likes? Is he what he says? Is he who he hangs out with?

Or is he what he writes? Look on to that page. Can that even describe him? Those words there come from his head and his heart, come from his very soul. That is who he is. He is his poetry. He is his prose. He is his passion.

But he still can’t be defined. He still can’t be categorized or stereotyped or wrapped up in a neat little box. He’s still indefatigable. He’s unstoppable. Unnamable, untamable. He’s unique.

Grammar

Grammar has long been my enemy. I was just never a fan of it. In my opinion it was a tool with which to express myself (the screw for building stories or papers, while the words themselves were the screwdriver). Yes the rules of grammar were important, but as long as I could express myself, in the end just communicate effectively, then I didn't care much whether I used contractions, (or parentheses), or the word "I" quite a bit. English was what we made it- not what some dead guy thought of it.

These days my perceptions have changed slightly, but my basic point remains: grammar should be secondary to fluency and creativity.

So how do I incorporate grammar into my teaching, while conveying this important belief? Is grammar something for elementary school students only or are we expected to teach it in secondary?

The readings for this week have touched on the many rules, on the misconceptions, and on the overall scope of grammar. But the questions remain. And I really can't find any answers.

Simply put, where is grammar's place in English?

Why do you want to be a teacher?

Recently in my Practicum class, we were asked to write professional statements, in preparation for future interviews and the like. The first part of it contained a section titled “Why do you want to be a teacher?

A dozens of reasons ran through my head- everything from good hours, to decent benefits, to receiving money in general, to getting the summers off... I'm reminded of that quote from the Breakfast Club "You took a teaching position, 'cause you thought it'd be fun, right? Thought you could have summer vacations off...and then you found out it was actually work...and that really bummed you out."

But of course these weren’t the real reasons- and as I began to seriously ponder, I traced back my path to this unique profession. Below, I include the first part of this professional statement and I encourage others to think over the same concept seriously, as it is the most basic and yet important question: Why?

Why I chose teaching as a career:

What do you want to be when you grow up? This question dominates the mind of every child in America and I was no different than any of the rest. We were taught, from a very young age, that we could achieve absolutely anything if we set our minds to it. But what should we achieve? What should our lives be about? The choices were all exciting, each profession amazing in their challenges and rewards- to be a movie star, a professional athlete, an astronaut, the President.

But after a while, the glamour began to fade as I thought of the reality. I pondered the uncertain future and took a deep hard look at each and every dream, unable to decide. I did what any other student did, I took the tests, I tried different things, I examined my strengths. What was I good at? What did I love?

I enjoyed many things, but reading and writing were on the top of the list. But I thought that there could never be an instance when I could take this love and make money off of it. I didn’t dare hope that my meager writing would ever be published in any way. And I couldn’t just spend my life analyzing good literature could I?

Only in the summer after my senior year did I realize that I could indeed… I could become a teacher. It was a position that was so often belittled and dismissed as unimportant or boring. It had certainly been ignored for the longest time by me. I will admit that I had never considered it before. It was something so common, so difficult, so unexciting.

Yet it was also something amazing. The more I thought, the more I realized how much I loved school and had enjoyed time within it. It dawned on me that I genuinely enjoyed teaching others- everything from the rules of Ultimate Frisbee to the order of Die Hard movies (arranged by best one-liners of course). I would love instructing the youth of the world about reading and writing. It may not have been the glamorous choice. It may have made my friends smirk every time I told them I wanted to be a high school English teacher. And of course, it may have ensured that I will be underpaid for the rest of my life. But by becoming a teacher, I will be performing a service. I will be acting as an advocate and guide. And I will genuinely enjoy being there for the youths of the world, leading them toward their own dreams, facing all the challenges that come with this task and reaping all the rewards that come from knowing you made a difference.

A slice of my draft

I decided to follow the advice of our fellow peers and post the opening to my latest draft. Let me know what you think:

A Writing Memory

My earliest memories are of stories. Many of these cherished tales were read to me by my parents- they would snuggle with my brother and I upstairs in their big bed, reading Doctor Seuss or Grimm’s Fairy Tales aloud to us in those precious minutes before bedtime. Other memories of stories, however, would come from a different source. They would be of my mind and my imagination- of the adventures and characters I created.

Of course, I was five or six at the time, a wild creature, barely into my schooling, and so it was not an entirely lonesome endeavor to create these tales. I did all the hard work; most of the real action would take place inside my head throughout the day. There would be battles with imaginary monsters, a discovery of hidden treasure, an induction into the ranks of my favorite superheroes, or simply an exploration to a mysterious land. These were the busy imaginings of an active little boy, hardly unusual, and not really concrete. But every night, writing would take place because the setting down of all these stories, the wonderful happenings of my head, would come through the help of my parents.

After dinner each night, I would drag them to the basement and push them toward the computer. That little subterranean space was such a mess; there was the bar that my dad turned into a work station for his various hobbies, smelling of paint, metal, and freshly cut wood. A narrow space next to it was filled with all the kids’ junk- old Halloween costumes, toys, and blankets. Ringing the space were shelves upon shelves, each filled with CD’s and books- all stacked so haphazardly that it was unusual if one of the piles didn’t crash to the ground thunderously each night. Buried amidst it all, in the darkest, most cluttered corner of the room was this big computer, huge even back then, an old Window’s ’95: gigantic and boxy, tucked away into a snug little place. This piece of ancient technology was more than just a machine, it was the symbol of power; it had the ability to make the imaginary come to life, to turn something silly and simple into a living thing, to turn the pretend into the real. I would sit on my parents’ laps or at a tall stool and dictate my stories to them as though I were Pharaoh laying down edicts with imperial authority.

My Bad Papers

This is a post about failure.

Not Epic Failure (just search that term on youtube and you realize how many people want to forget certain events happened)- but instructive failure.

Often times the word failure simply implies that we have gained nothing, yet I think people fail - pun intended- to remember that we learn most often from our mistakes. I'm thinking of "Batman Begins" quotes here:

Alfred: Why do we fall Master Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again.

You can say it in a million different ways- everything from getting up on a horse to looking for more fish in the sea but the bottom line remains the same: you try again. And often you try harder then you did before, and you remember that failure or that mistake and correct it the next time around, until at last you have success.

I talked about this a little bit in class and Amy has posted about this in her blog- but I think portfolio's should also include instructive failures. Too often I only save the good papers, the A plus works. What about that C- I was so angry about Sophomore year that it drove me to confront the teacher? He radically changed my writing style and I am eternally grateful for it, and it was all because of that C- (which was deserving cause that essay was really awful I just wouldn't admit it). In many ways I can point to that paper as a more important milestone, as something meaningful to me, as a piece of an essential portoflio.

We have to remember to look at the bad, along with the good, to learn anything at all.

Alex Rummelhart

Late Post

As it is 7AM on one of my busiest days of the week, I see I can admit that I have not prepared to write this blog. In truth, I forgot all about it until I woke up this morning, with a cold, feeling exhausted, having to go to Practicum, then class, then more class.

Where do I find inspiration to write? What emotion does it stem from? Fear- a little bit, because I'm afraid I won't get my work done, so I'm driven to the task. But also courage. I am willing to wade blindly into the blizzard, hacking my way through the thick snow, hoping to find my destination without too much trouble.

How can I inspire others to write? What if they, like me their teacher, occasionally slip up and have to do something last minute? How do I keep it from being total garbage? How do I get them to actually try, despite all the odds?

I don't have all the answers, actually I have barely any of them, but I think I would tell them to be courageous. I would tell them, don't be afraid to charge in, sometimes blindly, in order to seek your goal. You just might find something useful.

Alex Rummelhart

Inspiring Standards

Two topics intrigued me after last class: 1. The world of the five paragraph essay and the basic standards that went with it. And 2. The idea of becoming inspired (both to write and to teach).

I found this clip to be appropriate for talking about both, as it is an inspiring standard, although you don't have to watch the whole thing if you don't want to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOENu0fK0uM&feature=related

First this is the classic example of evaluating essays, or poetry in the case of Mr. Keating's classroom, in a way that horrifies me. In order to simplify the writing, in order to be able to critique it, Mr. Prichard (the boring editor of the Dead Poet's Society textbook), turned analysis into a math problem LITERALLY. I felt the same way with the five paragraph essay when I was growing up. I know it is a useful tool but I simply cannot accept that teacher's can grade and critique this way, whether it is through standardized tests, AP exams, or basic classroom instruction. English is a more powerful subject area than that and cannot simply be looked at in so basic dimensions.

Second- I find that Mr Keating in Dead Poet's Society is a classic example of an inspiring teacher- a person that can teach by inspiration and passion, leading his students enthusiastically. Of course, those that know the end of this film can see why there are problems associated with this style and will understand that we all can't do this.

Inspiration in my opinion (for both teaching and writing) must start with such a passion like the tearing out of a page or the standing upon a desk. But you can't live your whole life this way. I like to go to outside forces first- to find a movie clip that might inspire me, but then I bring it back to earth a bit. I always try to keep this inspiration alive, but to me it is a little glowing ember I keep in a jar, something that I want to allow to flare to life from time to time, not a bonfire that consumes me entirely. If it did, I'd be doing nothing but writing erratically all day long or teaching my students how to rebel.

-Alex Rummelhart

In Class Writing

I love our time to write in class, whether we are working on our drafts, free writing, or doing any other kind of activity. It is here when I feel I have an open creative environment for my brain to work: a chance to just get words down on the page, without distraction or interference. As Professor Sunstein said, one of the most important facets of an English class is actually giving a students the opportunity to read and write- in fact urging that they do so during the period.

However I have a couple of questions that pertain to my thoughts on the free writing subject (or any kind of writing in class):

1. What if they want to go on?

This mostly relates to my own experiences. I love the writing so much that I often dislike it when we only get a few minutes to do so. I feel I just start to get the creative juices flowing, starting to get on a roll with my pen scurrying across the page... when all of the sudden I am smashed to a halt like a car hitting a cement wall. The words "Time's up!" make me grit my teeth in frustration and I always spend the next few minutes desperately scribbling notes to myself in the margins so I don't lose the magic that I have found. I think in my future classes I'll try to urge students to do the same thing, perhaps even encouraging them to continue writing while the rest of the class begins to go on. I know it may cause distractions but its worth thinking on... I want to find a solution to this problem.

2. On the other hand, I realize many kids will not be like me and will in fact be exactly the opposite. Some will not be passionate about writing; so what if kids don't want to do anything when I give time to write in class? Well this problem seems even more difficult to solve. Ideally I would try to take one on one time to brainstorm with them and help them start the process, but that may not be feasible in a large class. I think largely I will encourage them to start slowly, just jotting down little ideas, perhaps an outline or two. Then I'll want them to take those ideas and run with them. Even if the writing is no good (and the kids don't have their heart in it) at least they will have a start and will have something to look at. They will have begun by "Writing badly" as it were, and this obviously is important... it is key just to get them writing at all.

Looking forward to the weekend. Starting to get a bit nervous about our Hawkeyes. Big road game coming up

-Alex Rummelhart

Drafts

I want to spend this post talking about drafting and editing, especially focusing on our own drafts for the writing memory. I find it easier to talk about the subject if I can explain my views on it.

I hated drafts when I was younger, and to some extent I'm still not very happy with them. In junior high and high school, I could always get away with turning in a first draft. And why not? They were pretty good papers or stories. I would write one up, fulfilling all the requirements, expressing all my ideas, and finishing it just the way I liked it. I might read over the pages a time or two but all in all, I didn't want to change it. So, when we had to come up with drafts for class to go through "The Writing Process", I would make a change or two, maybe ask another person to read it over, and then largely ignore their comments. It wasn't that I was mean or lazy...well okay maybe I was a little lazy, but aren't all students? I just don't like changing my work. I write from the hip and usually I feel my first words say it best.

Only in college have I begun to experience the need to revise and edit, only when my work has reached a new level of seriousness and professionalism. I still have trouble with the process, but I am finding that it is not only necessary, but it makes my writing better- which is the true goal. I think it is especially helpful to be able to talk to someone about the revisions and editing, to workshop if you will, rather than looking at a few red marks on a page (symbols for grammatical errors I don't even understand coupled with scathing remarks about my prose).

I think that when I'm a teacher that will be my policy. To talk over as many of the edits as I can, to encourage students to have me explain my process. I know I'm still bad at editing, but I'm hoping our class can help me work on that... not only to improve my own writing, but also to improve the way I can teach writing to others.

Alex Rummelhart

Boo, Self-Promotion

Warning: This post has little to do with our class and quite a bit to do with shamelessly promoting my club team for the University of Iowa, IHUC (Iowa Hawkeye Ultimate Club). This is a video I mixed together of some our highlights at the Collegiate National Championships last May in Madison, Wisconsin. We placed 9th in the country.

Figured some of you might be mildly interested in seeing it, and who knows if some random Iowa student should stumble upon this and want to play our emerging sport?

Here's my attempt to put the video on:

If the video doesn't work go here: http://www.vimeo.com/14393997

A Blog Concerning the University of Iowa Class: Approaches to Teaching Writing

Why do I take night classes? I really dislike them. I mean really really dislike them. I'm uncomfortable with a class that goes later than 3PM so it's no surprise that I'm not a fan of spending my evenings locked up in a hot stuffy classroom in the LC. No matter how excellent the class is (and "Approaches to Teaching Writing" truly does seem interesting, I'm not just sucking up), I have trouble focusing in the evening.

That, anyway, is why I named my blog what I did. And though it will be a bit uncomfortable, I plan on attending all classes and learning eagerly from them.

My name is Alex Rummelhart. I am a Junior at the University of Iowa and an English Major, working to become a teacher. My pipe dream is to be a writer, a novelist, but I have a great love of teaching and coaching as well, and I hope to do both in the years to come.

I like to read and write obviously, but I also enjoy sports. I run a lot and I play for the University of Iowa Ultimate Frisbee club team. For those that don't know, Ultimate is a sport played with a disc (or frisbee) with seven players on the field from each team at a time, each group trying to score in the other's endzone by passing the disc to each other down the field. You cannot move with the disc in your hands, and you have ten seconds to release it. Full rules can be found here: http://www.usaultimate.org/resources/officiating/rules/11th_edition_rules.aspx. It may sound like a weird sport, but it is extremely fun and I encourage everyone to try it.

I love all types of sports, both playing and watching. Movies, books, art, and music all hold a great interest for me, and I like hanging out with my friends.

So that about sums me up. This year I'm taking on my first serious load of education courses, including "Approaches to Teaching Writing" and so I will probably need some help. Hopefully this blog can be a means to encourage and give advice to one another.