The next section for the story is still in the works, so I will be briefly talking about the differences between creativity in different schools I have seen. It's more of a vent if anything.
In the High School that I have observed, there is almost no creativity in the English classroom. How is this possible you ask? Simple, it is all dry lecture. They fall asleep in the class and play their iPods in a way they believe no one can see. Honestly at times, I wished I could have fallen asleep as well. I gain nothing in my observation other than advice on what position I can take a nap in without the teacher seeing me. This advice was given to me by a student.
In the High School my cousins go to in Garden City, they have a series of creative projects that stimulate their senses as well as their minds. This is not an honors class. This is the class that most students attend. This is the same High School that gave the "Hunger Games" as summer reading (if you haven't read it, you should. I absolutely love it). Amazing! They are successful in keeping the student's attention to the point no student has more than one absence. They show that they are interested in the student and take into account their interests.
Why is there such a difference between districts? Is it because of race? If one classroom is diverse and the other isn't, does it mean they don't deserve the same playful learning? Is creativity reserved for those in Long Island? I believe everyone has the right to a proper education. For me, it's not about the location; it will always be about the student. Students shouldn't be bored to tears in the classroom. They should be expressing themselves freely and learning by exploring different points of view. Something so easy as telling the students to create an ending for a story inspires them.
Shown below is an example of success. It's my cousin's paper. She is a Freshman at Garden City High School. I helped her with the mechanics, but it was developed from her creativity. I'm so proud!
In the High School that I have observed, there is almost no creativity in the English classroom. How is this possible you ask? Simple, it is all dry lecture. They fall asleep in the class and play their iPods in a way they believe no one can see. Honestly at times, I wished I could have fallen asleep as well. I gain nothing in my observation other than advice on what position I can take a nap in without the teacher seeing me. This advice was given to me by a student.
In the High School my cousins go to in Garden City, they have a series of creative projects that stimulate their senses as well as their minds. This is not an honors class. This is the class that most students attend. This is the same High School that gave the "Hunger Games" as summer reading (if you haven't read it, you should. I absolutely love it). Amazing! They are successful in keeping the student's attention to the point no student has more than one absence. They show that they are interested in the student and take into account their interests.
Why is there such a difference between districts? Is it because of race? If one classroom is diverse and the other isn't, does it mean they don't deserve the same playful learning? Is creativity reserved for those in Long Island? I believe everyone has the right to a proper education. For me, it's not about the location; it will always be about the student. Students shouldn't be bored to tears in the classroom. They should be expressing themselves freely and learning by exploring different points of view. Something so easy as telling the students to create an ending for a story inspires them.
Shown below is an example of success. It's my cousin's paper. She is a Freshman at Garden City High School. I helped her with the mechanics, but it was developed from her creativity. I'm so proud!
Lauren Weisburg 9-23-11
Mrs. Slater/Mr. Arena The Lady or the Tiger Ending
He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, and every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it. The cold doorknob felt alien in the lover's hot, sweaty hands. The princess began to back away for she thought the ferocious tiger would come out, and it was at that moment that from out of the darkness appeared two fierce blue eyes. The eyes could belong to either the lovely lady, or the ferocious feline. Then slowly and seductively the young lady, whom the princess envied so much, walked out of the door and into the coliseum. The young man appeared happy and somewhat shocked, but in actuality he knew his princess would pick the lady. He knew that the princess would never choose such a horrible fate when she loved him so much. The people in the audience that were once at the edge of their seats were now in awe at the appearance of the gorgeous lady in the stunning wedding gown.
The lover looked up at the princess with gratitude while the princess could only manage to return him a cold stare from a pale face. The princess could not bear to look at the joyous couple for a second longer; every second she gazed upon her lover with that lady, whom she envied most in the world, she felt a pain in her chest so great it was unbearable. Now she looked at her father with such a burning hatred, she could kill him. She scanned the audience for the gatekeeper: the man who lied to her, who betrayed her...who secretly loved her. As she scanned the audience in a vicious rage, the king looked at her with pity, disgusting, horrible, unwanted, and unnecessary pity. Why should the king sympathy her? For was it not him that put her in this position? If the king truly pitied his only daughter, why would he make such a trial happen? The princess knew her father's mercy was fake, and spiteful. She looked up at him with disgust and hissed, "I will never forgive you for what happened today." The king just bellowed a deep laugh and said, "Oh, you will get over it." And with that the princess stood up and left in pursuit of the sly gatekeeper to give him what he deserves.
The audience was completely blown away at the beauty of the dress. It was composed of pure white silk with an intricate beading design. It was perfectly classic but yet original. Its sleeves were made up of a form fitting lace and one the sleeve ended at the shoulder, the material seamlessly changing from lace to silk. With buttons running down the back of the dress, where it was tighter towards the top accentuating her curves, the dress started to flow towards the bottom to give off the impression that the lady wearing it was floating towards the lover rather than walking. As for the lady, she was gorgeous already but with the dress she could be a deity. The wedding proceeded from then with the ringing of angelic bells. Three little girls in fluffy lavender colored dresses threw pink, white and yellow Mama Mia rose petals on the coliseum floor creating an aisle for the new couple to walk down. At the end was a minister all in black ready to wed the lover and the lady. Before the lover walked down the aisle, he looked back to get one last glimpse of the woman he truly loved after she gave him such a cold stare, and with that she was gone. He knew he would someday learn to love the lady standing beside him, which only made him feel worse. Depressed, he looked back down the aisle and began to walk along with the stranger that was now to be his wife.
After much searching, the princess finally found the gatekeeper. She ran up to him and yelled, "How dare you lie to me?!" Then she slapped him across the face and kept yelling until she got a response. "I only lied because I thought you were going to tell him to go to the door with the lady" he said as the princess continued to yell as tears streamed down her face. "What does it matter to you?!" The gatekeeper hesitated whether to tell the princess the truth. "Answer me gatekeeper!" The gatekeeper finally said, "Because I needed to get rid of him. I thought you were going to tell him to open the door containing the lady, so I told you the opposite. Therefore when he opened the door you thought contained the lady, the tiger would come out and kill him." There was a long silence before she finally answers. She was so angry and distraught that she was almost out of breath. "It wasn't your choice to make, it was mine! How could you make a choice for me like that?" This time, without hesitation the gatekeeper said, "Because I love you." The princess impulsively responded with anger and frustration, "You were still wrong for you should know that I could never love you". And with that the princess left the gatekeeper with a sore cheek and a broken heart.
Heartbroken and full of grief, the princess sat up in her room thinking about what happened the day of the trial. The more she thought, the worse she felt, and the worse she felt, the less she ate. Now, two months later with no letters from her lover, no food in her stomach and only depression and grief in her head, grew thoughts of suicide. Her days consisted of staring out the window of her room and thinking of that day of the trial. She was so full of self-doubt and she began to think she was a horrible person because of what she had chosen for her lover as well as what she said to the gatekeeper. She wished she could go back in time and change her decision; she wished she had pointed to the door on the left. One day she realized that no matter what happened the past could not be changed. However, revenge can be made. That same day in the late afternoon while the sun began to set, she called her servant to get her father. When her father entered, he saw the princess standing on the edge of the windowsill with the window wide open with the wind blowing through her long silken brown hair and rustling her white nightgown. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, face red from crying and said, "Father, I am in need for a hug," so the king stood up on the window sill and gave his daughter a hug. The princess then whispered in the king's ear, "I told you I'd never forgive you, and you laughed." She jumped off of the windowsill with her father in her arms. He was screeching with panic as he fell, while the princess fell peacefully and with pride. They both hit the ground simultaneously with a thunderous thud, and with that the princess got her revenge.
Do you think it is the district or the teacher in the district that allows for such mundane or creative practices in his/ her classroom?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely believe it's the teacher. I know one teacher in that same school that is completely creative. She makes it a point to make her class enjoyable to the student, meanwhile right down the hall the kids are being bored to tears. It all depends on the philosophy of the teacher and their interest in the field. A teacher that doesn't care anymore is not going to go out of his or her way to make things fun. It's only going to be their way and usually that is through dry lecture. In regard to districts, I believe that each district has a different criteria and usually high standards, especially in Long Island. This is potentially why the Long Island school system is considered "better."
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