Thoughts on the Flag

Each morning, our students say the Pledge of Allegiance, often mindlessly reciting words that have become devoid of meaning.  They don't tend to give a great deal of thought to the ritual, or the fact that they are pledging their allegiance to a physical item in addition to the country it stands for.  In our American studies class, I like to challenge our students to think critically about both the Pledge and the Flag.  Notably, students are often surprised to discover that the phrase "under God" was a later addition (1954 to be exact) to the official pledge.

Our culminating unit on the American Dream offers a wonderful opportunity for reflection about what we are pledging our allegiance to at the beginning of our school days.  I present students with a series of images that may or may not represent the American Dream, and they discuss and analyze using those images as a fulcrum for their exploration.  This year, two images received far more attention than I might have expected, producing the kind of vigorous discussion and investment we'd like all of our lessons to achieve!  These images were White Flag by Jasper Johns and The Flag is Bleeding by Faith Ringgold.

White Flag, 1955

by Jasper Johns

Our analysis of this Johns' painting revolved around the absence of usual colors (blue, red) and the appropriation of an ordinary item that has become invisible.  Students were immediately driven to find racial messages in the color choices, but found it difficult to provide evidence for that "reading".  On the other hand, they immediately identified one of the most powerful elements of the work; it forced them to see the flag that they otherwise would ignore.  Because of projects that had recently been completed, there were no fewer than 17 versions of the American flag on display in our classroom, and yet when questioned, students admitted that they had not noticed any of them.  The flag had become invisible to them.  White Flag forced them to see the flag specifically by changing the flag they were accustomed to seeing.

The Flag is Bleeding, 1967.

by Faith Ringgold 

Faith Ringgold's painting produced two consecutive responses: the first was momentary stunned silence.  Students spent the time that is always demanded by challenging work, truly encountering the work.  The second response was a sea of raised hands and probing ideas and questions, a response that only ceased because of the end of the class.  Why is the black man holding a knife?  Is he bleeding, or is it the flag?  Are the men supporting the woman or is she somehow a captive?  What does the black stripe at the bottom represent?  Where is the black woman?  The questions produced a plethora of theories and answers, but continued to drive the class into greater questions.  My final charge for the students to consider what this artwork says about the American Dream had students chattering as they left the classroom - every teacher's dream.

Our final exam for the course included one essay option that asked how Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X would each respond to Faith Ringgold's painting.  Those students who chose to answer this essay produced powerful reflections on race, gender, patriotism, and symbology.  I doubt those students will be as quick to recite the pledge as a mindless drone, but rather will deeply consider the meaning and purpose of the words, and the symbol they are directed towards.

Are e-readers ready for K-12 schools?

"A man is known by the books he reads"
        - Ralph Waldo Emerson

While this still rings true, the advent and proliferation of e-readers has me wondering if a man is also known by how he reads.  Recently, a friend of mine linked to this article on his facebook page.  As an avid reader he was casting about for thoughts on ereaders as he ponders taking the plunge.  While several of us worked hard to convince him of the merits of e-readership, it forced me to wonder about the state of e-readers in education, and the possible reasons e-readers aren't ready for prime time in K-12 education.  I love my Kindle, and even taught a novel from it this past semester, but are e-readers ready for prime time in secondary schools?

1. K-12 textbooks are not readily available in an e-format
This is changing, seemingly by the minute.  Math, science and history books are increasingly becoming available in digital formats.  With movements like Virginia's "Beyond Textbooks" initiative, this problem is becoming moot.  On the other hand, as an English educator who uses novels and Project Gutenberg in lieu of a textbook in an American Lit class, I want to see widespread availability across all disciplines before I start clamoring in administrative hallways.

2. We have that in the library, but not digitally...
Our school librarians were early adopters, as we have Kobo devices available for checkout, and a small but growing list of available e-texts for perusal.  Nevertheless, after repeatedly hearing about how our library is "the heart" of our school, I wonder about the revolution that would need to occur to truly embrace an e-reader culture.  Replacing analog with digital is inevitable, but will there be resistance?  This also renders the Kindle, with its current lack of library support, a poor choice for students.

3. Annotated E-reading
This is the biggest issue for many of my colleagues.  Whlie devices such as the Kindle have basic hilighting and note taking features, there is some concern about a drop in annotated reading.  I see this as a short term problem, and one that may be solved by some simple paradigm shifts, the way Diigo has changed internet usage.

Verdict
Secondary education is ready for e-readers, and as soon as texts are easily available, e-readers will start to become the norm.  Overweighted backpacks will become relics of a previous age.  As Shelly-Blake Plock recently reflected about the iPad, educators could reap substantial benefits from more portable devices.  I believe our students will have similar benefits...and they will be known by the books they e-read.

photo by  libraryman
http://www.flickr.com/photos/libraryman/5052936803/

A Checklist for End of Year Sanity

"The three o'clock sun shone full upon him, and the strange enervating conviction that her seducer confronted her, which had been gaining ground in Tess ever since she had heard his words distinctly, was at last established as a fact indeed."    -Tess of the D'Urbervilles


As the school year winds towards its end, I find myself in the midst of a jumble of thoughts and emotions.  Certainly, relief and happiness at the successful completion of the year stands foremost in my mind.  Excitement about next year's schedule begins to build.  Most of all, however, I am struck by the need to not let the usual end of year issues paralyze me as an educator.  Summer lurks like the seducer Alec, beckoning with its beaches and cookouts.

All of the usual problems of the end of the school year are present.  Senioritis and its cousin summeritis?  Check.  A pile of papers (both real and virtual) that seems to still be growing rather than reducing?  Check.  The neurotic need to "finish" the curriculum that was planned, despite changing schedules which this year even include shortened days for heat?  Check.  How easy to become paralyzed in the face of such troubles.  Indeed, I sometimes feel like Tess hearing Alec preaching in the barn - the end of the year an old wolf, now dressed in sheep's clothing.

While no expert, the following checklist has brought me some sanity.

1) Let go of the curriculum you planned.  Finish what you can, but accept that plans are only plans.  Your students will survive without that last poem or assignment.  Focus on what you did accomplish rather than what you failed to accomplish.  I find much success with being reflective and supportive in the closing weeks while introducing only a small ammount of new material.  Students appreciate taking the foot off the gas and looking back at what they have accomplished: not mere exam review; rather a celebration of the learning that occurred.  You will all feel much better.

2) Look through curriculum documents, professional goals documents, or anything else that you made at the beginning of the year.  Congratulate yourself for all of the things on those documents you were able to do this year.  Make a quick list of your greatest success stories for the year, a kind of "Greatest Hits" - students reached, crazy ideas that worked, moments of briliance.

3) Get a cup of coffee, or beverage of your choice.  You have earned it, and will need it.  This might be the most important item on the list.

4) Ask some hard questions.  Why didn't you get to everything?  Did you decide that some things were more valuable?  Did you make the decisions, or were decisions made for you by external factors (i.e. scheduling changes).  What crazy ideas crashed and burned? 

5) Make notes NOW about your goals and curricula for NEXT year.  There are many wonderful and professional tools to aid in this process, such as Jim Burke's excellent English Companion, but any list of ideas will be better than none when the Fall rolls around.  What is fresh in your mind now will be gone when the shiny new year is being unpackaged.  Particularly, make notes about what not to do next year that "seemed like a good idea at the time".  It will seem like a good idea again in August if you don't pay attention now.

As another year comes to a close, these are the steps I find myself taking.  What sanity-saving steps have I left out?