Learning Letter

Dear Sean,

This was such a great class. I learned so much about myself as both a teacher and a student.
The work that we did in this class was really great. The book talks were one of the most beneficial things to me. I loved hearing about other's books and reading a book of my own. This gave me a chance to hear about new books that I will definitely be recommending to my students. I have so many new books to read and I could not be more excited. I also loved the mini lessons. These were really cool because they gave me a chance to see how different lessons could be taught. I absolutely loved Kylee and Jessica's mini lesson on Maus with the holocaust victims. I feel like this was such an essential lesson. I hope to use this lesson as well as others in my classroom someday. By seeing all these lessons and teaching my own, it really shows me how teaching can be extremely creative and personable. I think that coming into this class, I was in a weird mindset with teaching and I'd been almost trained to follow the common core to a tee.  However, after this class, I feel much more prepared and relaxed about teaching. Yes, there are still hoops to jump through and clamber over, but I feel like I am much more prepared.
I loved the blog posts. I feel like these are such a great use in the classroom. I would love to incorporate something like this in my classroom someday. All the reading we did was great. I think my favorite would have to be Readicide by Kelly Gallagher. This book opened up my eyes so much. Gallagher really hits it spot on when he talks about over teaching books and not encouraging enough reading in the classroom. This really hit home with me and I have a completely different viewpoint on how to teach novels now. I also loved reading Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School Classroom. This article really opened my eyes to different ways of approaching education. This article gave great insight on how to help your students be successful. I loved all the reading in this class and I do not think that I would read anything different.
From this class, I definitely feel more prepared to become a teacher. The unit plan definitely helped me see teaching more clearly. I feel like because of that and the discussions in this classroom, I will be a better teacher now. Hearing what my peers have had to say about teaching and participating in discussions both in small and large group has really changed my way about teaching in some aspects. I can honestly say, that because of this class, I will be a better teacher. I learned how to be a better teacher because of this class and that's something that I rarely say. Thank you again for all the time that you've put into this class. I can truly see myself as a teacher because of this class. Thank you again.

-Hannah Kersey

In the Name of God Mini Lesson

This is an amazing read. Man alive. Paula Jolin is an absolutely wonderful author who truly captures audiences with her stunning story. I think there are a lot of teaching ideas that could go along with this book. This would be a book that I am interested in teaching. I think one idea would be to have a full on group discussion about defending one's belief. In this novel, we see that Nadia would just about go to the extreme of killing herself to defend religion. I think this opens a lot of doors with students. I think teachers could either discuss or have students respond to the following question in a journal type fashion: "what are some of your most valued beliefs, can you relate to Nadia at all, how far would you go to defend something you care about?" I think this text is one that students can read and be able to see the world a little differently. I think by writing a letter to the author on how this book changed them would be interesting to see students tackle. I think writing letters to authors is a great way to reach the community and give a writing piece meaning. By having students write to Jolin about what they thought about the book and how it changed them, would be a great tool of assessment. I also think that students would have a lot to say to the author after they finished reading this book. This easily could be a book that would cause some controversy in the classroom. However, I think if teachers preface the book by explaining that, yes the Middle East does have a very negative connotation attached to it right now. However, my hope is that this book will change your mind about some issues that you've heard of recently. I think this book would need a lot of preparation done before hand in order to teach it. However, I think this would be a book that students would remember, and I also think that we as teachers should be comfortable with teaching the uncomfortable.

Romeo and Juliet Mini Lesson

Good old Romeo and Juliet. I personally do not like this play. This is not quite my taste. I am very curious to see how the mini lesson is done on this play. However, this play is required for most ninth graders and I could very possibly teach this play in a future classroom someday. What I would do to make this play a little easier on students is to first introduce William Shakespeare. I think it's important for students to know that he wrote mostly comedies which means that Romeo and Juliet was a little bit different for him. Shakespeare has many more comedies than dramatic plays. I think to do this play, I would have students draw some scenes out from the book. I would give my students certain scenes to work with and draw out as a group. I feel like if 9th graders create a visual of what's going on in this play, they will more likely remember the scene and understand the difficult language. I think another interesting idea would be to ask the essay question: 'Who's fault is it?' I think there are so many different responses I would get to this question which would make Romeo and Juliet more enjoyable for myself. I think if students had this in mind from the first page, they could possibly enjoy this text more. I think the obvious choices are it's either Romeo's fault that they both died or it's Juliet's fault. Students would also need to consider Friar Laurence and the mother and father as well as any other characters they think. This would be written in an argumentative type style as to why their choice is correct. I think students would have a little bit of fun with this and it would be enjoyable to grade. I also think another teaching idea is to rewrite scenes of the play in texting language. I think 9th graders would enjoy being able to make texts out of Romeo and Juliet. This way, students would be tricked into analyzing the play only in a semi fun way. I think there's a lot that goes into Romeo and Juliet. I feel like this can be one of the trickiest plays to teach because there is so much hate out there. I think in a way, teachers can embrace the student hate and almost agree with them. I guarantee at least one student is going to think that these two young-ins are stupid. As a teacher, I would agree with them. Yes, they're stupid, why do you think William Shakespeare wrote them this way? Was this on purpose? Or was he actually trying to convince everyone that they were madly in love? I think by embracing the hate that this play gets, teaching it will become much easier.

Poe Mini Lessons

I loved reading all of Poe's stories and poems. Most of these stories and poems, I have read before. I think there are a ton of great teaching ideas that you can do with Poe. I do believe that full class discussions are hugely beneficial when it comes to Poe. Students could also draw out some of Poe's themes. If students are confused with what they have read, they could take the poem or story, line by line and draw out what they think is happening. This would be an interesting way to see Poe portrayed. If students are struggling with themes, they can draw those out as well. It'd also be another interesting teaching idea to have students discuss or draw out the settings within Poe's poems or stories. The setting usually proves to be fairly important in Poe's works. He usually uses the setting to add to the story and I think students should understand this element. They could either talk about or write about how the settings adds to the overall theme of the poem or story. They could also draw out the setting and this would show how it adds to the story. Students could also watch animated cartoons of Poe's works. If students are struggling to understand Poe, they could watch the the cartoons to help develop understanding. I do not think there are many obstacles with Poe. I do think that he can be overdone in schools. I think that with Poe, you just have to be careful to not overdo it. Some of the themes could be scary to some students but if teachers reiterate that he's one of the best writers of all time, and that his works can be somewhat comical if read correctly. All in all, I love Poe and his works, and I think that he should be taught in extremely creative ways.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie was a phenomenal read. This book hits on absolutely everything and anything that a teenager could go through. I loved how this book was set in Spokane. I think this adds such an authentic element to the book. I personally remember driving through Reardan. I remember driving through this town as a child on my way to a family vacation spot. I love how in this book, we see everything from Junior's point of view. This gives the book a naive and sentimental feel. I think this would personally be a great book to teach. It's a great coming of age novel and I think students would have fun drawing their own comic. This would be a great way to connect kinesthetic learners and visual learners to this unit. Students could draw a comic of their life or any specific event. This way they could be drawing along side of Junior. I think this book would be a great discussion material as well. There are great discussions that could be held about this when it comes to cultural elements. While reading this book, I could not believe that this was one of the most banned books in schools. Yes, it does have some iffy parts, and yes there is cussing and inappropriate references. However, this is told through a teenager's point of view. It's a stream of consciousness type of feel. I feel like everything that is referenced in this book is nothing new to what a 15 year old boy already thinks. I think that there are enough important themes in this book that you could definitely argue it being taught in schools. This book is a great one and one that should be read in everyone's lifetime. Alexie gets across so many themes with coming of age, cultural differences, and change all in an extremely accessible and enjoyable way.

More Than This Book Talk

Overview:
This story focuses around a seventeen year old boy named Seth. The story opens up with Seth drowning. He then wakes up in what appears to be his own personal hell. Throughout the story, Seth struggles to find out what this place is and what it means. Several things seem to be really off. One, Seth actually wakes up in his childhood home in England. Two, Seth is all alone. There is no one around him. Dust covers everything. Looking at it at first glance, this world seems like it’s a weird post-apocalyptic world. Three, whenever Seth thinks of something, it randomly appears. In one part of the book, he thinks it’s weird that there are no animals in this world. As soon as he thinks that, three foxes appear. Dreams also play a vital part in this story. Every time Seth goes to sleep, he dreams extremely realistic dreams that actually happened in his past life. However, Seth suddenly has trouble differentiating his dreams from the reality. He becomes unsure which world he’s actually living in. Seth shows his audience what being alone and struggling with reality can do to a human.

Teaching Ideas:

This text could easily be used when teaching students how to write in an argumentative way or defend their choices. Since this book is extremely open to interpretation, students could argue what they think is actually happening in this book. This text could also be used to teach dystopian literature and themes within dystopian societies. I could envision class discussions on different themes within the book. This text could also be used to show the importance of setting. I think it would be cool for students to draw out a map of this place or what they think one scene of this book would look like.

Rationale:

My eighteen year old sister recommended this text to me. She has a great taste in young adult books and when she started talking about this, she broke out in goosebumps. This was my first time reading it. I think this book is great for juniors and seniors. This would be a great book to recommend to someone who’s in a rut with reading. This book is definitely a page turner and a student could get through it easily. There are elements of this book that deal with suicide, death, kidnapping, and child abuse. While this book does not go into extensive detail, this can definitely be upsetting to read especially with a younger audience.

Obstacles:

Death is prevalent throughout this entire book. The book opens up with Seth’s suicide. Later in this book, it goes into detail about Seth’s drowning. This book can be intense and is filled with Seth cussing at the world he ended up in. I think parents and administrators could see potential issues with it simply looking at the death elements. Much later in the book, there is also a section about child abuse. I think administrators could look at this book and potentially toss it aside because it deals with heavy and dark themes. I do think students could relate to sections in this book. Students could easily relate to Seth’s dreams usually reflect on his struggles through his teenage years and how he felt like an outcast within his family.

Readacide

Readacide by Kelly Gallagher was amazing. I loved reading this book and the insights that came along with this book were extraordinary. Gallagher talks about the "epidemic" plaguing the nation called readacide. Teens are beginning to read less and less and it's showing hugely in schools. One point that Gallagher hits on over and over again is the fact that schools are now taking away novels and replacing them with a worksheet paired with an excerpt from a novel or short story. This is doing nothing. There were so many strategies that Gallagher listed in his book that I want to incorporate into my classroom. For example, SSR. Gallagher talks about the importance of silent reading any book that a student chooses (not one that is academic or for another class). I've always been a huge proponent of students choosing their own book and reading. I know that I will implement SSR in my classroom with no added work or book reports or anything that could discourage a student from reading. Even if it's only for 20 minutes a week, SSR will be part of my curriculum. One of my favorite things from this book was at the very end when Gallagher lists 101 books that his reluctant readers usually love to read. I feel that this is a great resource to give to your students or recommend a book off of this list to encourage reading. I will be using this list and recommending these books in a future class of mine. I also really like Gallagher's idea about how to acquire books for your classroom. Gallagher suggests having your seniors donate one of their favorite books and leaving it as their mark in his classroom. I think this is such a good idea and it's a great way to acquire books that teens actually like. I think the reading epidemic that is happening to teens all over the nation is a very real thing and we as teachers need to be aware of this. I think we as teachers could encourage readacide if we're not careful but I also believe that we are fully capable of curing readicide and encouraging adolescents to love reading again.

I Read It But I Don't Get It

Cris Tovani's book I Read It But I Don't Get It was extremely enjoyable to read. I found myself flying through this book. One of the first things I really appreciated about Tovani was that she was very real within her text. She addressed the needs of students and what to do about reading comprehension among adolescents in an extremely straightforward way. One thing that I took from this book is that confusion is a good thing. I had one high school teacher who wanted us to be confused with the texts we read in class. She made sure that we knew that being confused and being wrong was okay. This continues to be the high school class that I always look back to and will shape my future classroom like. I will definitely be implementing Tovani's strategy in the very beginning of this book which asked students to pick or draw some books that have been important to them in either a positive or negative way. I think by doing this, students begin thinking about their reading history and can reflect back on their reading journey. Tovani also has students make two column notes. One note strategy I really liked was when she talks about having students write down quotes from the book and what they think of this quote. They could either write why it was confusing, why it matters, or if it reminded them of something. I think this is a great strategy to implement into any classroom. This would work great in a low level class or a high level class. I loved all of Tovani's anecdotes about her students. This made the book so much more authentic. I think my favorite story was right at the beginning when one of Tovani's more rough and tough students came to the front of the class and shared his pony book that his grandma had read to him.  I really enjoyed how this book addresses all types of readers. It addresses points with the low level an high level readers and gives strategies that are universal. I definitely have books that I've read that I have hated due to not being able to understand the text. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is one of the first that come to mind. I think if I would have had these strategies and could mark in the text where I was confused or bored, I would have liked the book more. This book gives great ways to get all types of readers to begin to like reading again. I will be keeping this book and referencing back to it often when I feel stuck in the classroom and don't know what to do with those readers that just don't like reading.

Social Justice

I read several articles on social justice in the classroom. I found some interesting ideas in two in particular. In one of my articles, it mentioned how it's so good to know something about each of your students' backgrounds. Even if it's just a little tidbit of information that a student told you once, use that. Incorporate that into your classroom somehow and into your lessons. This article really hit on positive change and what we as teachers can do to promote social justice in our classrooms. It means to create a fair and safe learning environment where students and teachers can make that positive change. This article also talked about how to make our curriculum connect to the outside world. This article had a really good line in it that said: "The classroom walls aren't magical barriers to the realities outside of them. If there's something happening in the news that you can link to your content, do it. Choose something controversial, or ask your students if they have questions regarding anything they have been hearing about" (Edutopia). I completely and wholeheartedly agree with this. I always thought it was somewhat silly when teachers would try to hide or ignore what was going on in the world around us. Just because we're in a classroom, doesn't mean the world around us has suddenly just gone up in flames. This article also mentions how students can be leaders and how being good role models can affect the people around them. I think it's vital to let students take lead at some point in the year. This is so because those students will be able to physically see what they've done and will continue to do. 
Another article I read mentioned that teachers who teach social justice are looking to end the cycle of oppression. Teachers are very aware that oppression exists in the world, but they are looking for ways to lessen this oppression or completely end it in their classroom. This article said it like it is. There is injustice in this world. Some people are more privileged than others and some are completely at a disadvantage. I think if we as teachers recognize this and take this to heart, we will be able to end this cycle of oppression starting in our classrooms. 
I really enjoyed reading both of these articles and they both gave me new perspectives on how to approach social justice in the classroom. 

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/creating-classrooms-for-social-justice-tabitha-dellangelo
https://www.oswego.edu/~prusso1/Russos_what_does_it_mean_to_teach_for_s.htm

Paulo Freire: Chapter 2 of Pedagogy of the Opressed

To put it in short, this article was hard to get through. I felt like at times, Freire was just wanting to hear himself talk in an extremely academic fashion. However, I did like how this article spoke of the banking concept which leads students to become passive. I agree with this. In high school, I had classes where I would simply memorize the information so I could pass the test. This would lead to all nighters and a build up of stress. How much of the information stuck after I took the test? Maybe one to two pieces. I would simply forget everything unless it was something we'd gone over relentlessly in class or if I could connect to it somehow. I think we as teachers need to keep this in mind when we go into the field. Students will not learn by simply giving them a study guide a week before the test and saying 'here, learn this'. That's not how it works. Students will become passive in a way. If students know this is how the tests are formatted, they may just become numb to the teaching around them. Teachers and students should have equal pull in the classroom. I wholeheartedly believe that the students' needs come first. No kid is going to learn vocabulary by memorizing 60 vocab words the night before. Freire suggests that students are simply empty vessels waiting to be filled. I do not think so. For example, if students are to write a summary, they are going to have background knowledge on how to do this. Teachers can help students along the way and guide them to show students how to write a successful summary. However, students are not empty vessels. I personally don't think that is a good way to look at kids.I feel that in today's society, kids have a lot more pull and are more active within the classroom. Kids should be engaged constantly within the classroom. I think if we go into the classroom thinking that kids are the lesser and that they are simply empty vessels, it dehumanizes them and us in a way.

Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School English Classroom

I felt that this article gave great insights on our education system. One part I really liked reading in particular was when teachers taught hip hop music coinciding with poetry. I think music is a great way to help kids understand bigger pictures. Music and poetry go hand in hand and a lot of students do not see that. By combining something that all students like and poetry together, students may begin to have a new sense of appreciation for poetry. I also like how the authors mentioned that this poetry unit was at the end of the year. By doing this, students were more likely to become more comfortable with the class which would lead to more personal and authentic poems. I would love to one day incorporate something like this into my future classroom. I think poetry is often forgotten or talked about poorly. I think by pairing poetry with something that students find enjoyable like music, poetry becomes more relatable and interesting.  This article also goes into depth about some things that English teachers may fear. For example, this article goes into depth about an incident with the film A Time to Kill. I feel like it is so important to show students films and books with controversial topics. I do not think there is any way to avoid this as an English teacher. However, if we reiterate that we are watching or reading this film or book in a safe space in which we are looking to analyze these issues, it becomes easier for both teachers and students. One of my favorite lines of this article was: "Teachers need to be prepared for the emotions that will be evoked by the visual text." As teachers, we need to be aware that students will have emotions about clips they say. Some will be good emotions and others will be bad. Regardless, we as teachers need to understand this and not push this under the rug. It's going to happen and we should be prepared for this. This article also mentions how we as teachers need to be ready to talk to other adults, teachers, and parents about what their students are watching. This article mentions how we should not shy away from these texts and films because they are an important part of our past and culture. I completely agree with this.  I loved reading this article and it gave me new insights on education.

A Teacher's Guide to Standards-Based Grading and Reporting

I enjoyed the two articles we were to read. I really liked A Teacher's Guide to Standards-Based Grading and Reporting. One part that stood out to me was in section 5 when the author's explored concepts of homework. I read an article several years ago and one quote has stuck with me: "We can't expect students to hit a target without shooting some practice arrows first". I wholeheartedly believe this. This article also mentioned how homework should not impact student's academic performance. I feel that students should be assigned homework but that it should not be graded. I feel that if students do not feel they need the practice, then they should not do it. However, if students feel completely lost, they can do the homework and learn how to do it without any consequences. I remember I was completely lost and overwhelmed with homework in an AP European History course I took in high school. The homework was simply busy work. It was hours of vocabulary and note taking in very specific ways. I can honestly say that I did not benefit from that at all. Because of the immense amount of work, I either did not do it or depended on trusty google. I am planning on not grading homework in my future classroom. Homework will be assigned and kids can do it if they feel they need more practice. However, when the summative assessment rolls around, if students get less than a 70% (or some percentage) they can retake the assessment if they complete all their homework I think by constantly shoving homework down students throats, we're doing nothing but making students dislike school. When high school students have up to 8 classes and an hour of homework per class each night, they aren't going to do it. I think that homework is always a topic that teachers will disagree on and continue to find the best way to hold students accountable for doing it. From the article Assessing and Evaluating Students' Learning, I really liked when the article mentioned using a portfolio to evaluate growth and reflection. I think by having a student compose a portfolio throughout the year that they will see their growth. I think portfolios are a great final project for students to really see what they've done this year and reflect back on. Sometimes I feel like final projects can be somewhat disingenuous. By creating a portfolio, students can truly see what they've done throughout the year and how much they've grown as a writer and as a student.

California State Universities Expository Reading and Writing Course

I really liked reading this article. In the first half of this article, there are great questions to ask students while reading. I specifically liked the structure questions. I don't think that I've ever really thought about mapping out the structure of a text and I think this could be very useful to some students who are having trouble seeing the big picture. I think it's extremely important that we as teachers use reflection to aid students. In my high school career, there were only several times that I can remember reflecting on something we read. I think that by reflecting what was read that day, students will have a better chance of remembering. If students do a short writer after they have read and discussed, they are more likely to remember that information because they are forced to condense it down. I think that reflection can also apply when writing. By having students write a short one to two page reflection on what they took from the assignment, how they felt about it, and what they would do different, this can really help see students see why their writing matters. I personally feel like at times, that reflections are pointless. They've been a lot more beneficial to me in college where I can truly see what I need to work on. However, in high school, I think I found them a bit pointless because I felt like they were busy work. If we tell our students how reflections can benefit them, this may lead them to actually focusing in and doing the reflections fully. It can be extremely hard to show these students why writing matters and how it can make a difference in their life. However, with repeated practice, trial and error, and constant effort, I truly believe that students will eventually see how their writing can make a difference.

Team Teaching

I really like the idea of team teaching. I think there are pros and cons to each side of the situation. I am currently working in a classroom where I team teach with three other student teachers. We all have very different ways of looking at the curriculum and different methods of teaching. However, I have found this quite useful when working in the classroom. I think that this method of team teaching really comes in handy when working with students that think differently than I do. The other teachers in the room may have ways of getting through to that student that I do not possess. I really like bouncing ideas off of the other student teachers and seeing if they have noticed the same things as I have. Students can also benefit from team teaching. If students see two teachers working together to team teach a lesson, they will see how working together can really pay off. Team teaching can be a great model for younger students especially when showing the benefits of teamwork. I personally love team teaching. I think it's a great method to use in a classroom and I hope that I can incorporate it into my own one day. For the most part, I really enjoy team teaching. I think it's a great way to plan out lessons and also to bounce ideas off of other teachers. There definitely can be flaws if both teachers are not on the same page. This can lead to one teacher trying to overpower the other teacher. It can be extremely hard for both teachers to pre-plan and be on the exact same page. This can lead to teachers misunderstanding in the lesson which could lead to students becoming confused about the material on hand. I really like team teaching. I think both teachers definitely need to go into the team teaching lesson with very open minds. Both teachers should be flexible and willing to adapt when needed in the lesson. These articles both hit on great pros and cons of team teaching. I hope to see this method used more in the future.

Common Core Standards

I really did not expect to like this article. However, I ended up liking the ideas portrayed in this article. I feel like that there is such an emphasis on the Common Core Standards that some teachers almost get swept up with them. The article really helped me see how the CCSS were actually somewhat helpful. The article mentions that the Common Core State Standards are here to help enhance the teacher's curriculum. I also like how the article points out that we as teachers get to choose our material regardless of the CCSS. We are responsible for choosing our texts that we assign as well as assorted medias. I think it's vital that we as teachers choose texts we like and that our students can relate to. It's impossible for every single student in our class to like every book we assign. However, if we assign a variety of genres, students may find a liking to at least one. I think it's also important that we assign books that students can relate to pop culture today. As teachers, we can also assign projects that have students find connections between the book and pop culture today. This will promote understanding which could lead a student to like the book. We can easily incorporate the CCSS into books that are more recent in publication and heavy with information and issues that can be analyzed.  In the article, there is a line that says: "Sometimes as new or student teacher you face the challenge of operating in spaces and curricula over which you have little control". I think this is extremely true. However, this also gives us an opportunity to try out new things and see what does and does not work. If the school you are working at wants you to have a curriculum that is directly aligned with the CCSS, we as teachers can find creative ways to incorporate them into our classrooms. I really liked the story in this article about the teacher teaching her students how to write a five paragraph essay by using topics they found interesting. I think by doing things like this, the CCSS can become less of a burden and more of a help to us as teachers in the classroom.

Discussion in a Democratic Society

     I really enjoyed reading this article. I felt that the author hit on some really great points. One line that he said that really stood out to me was "To see a topic come alive as diverse and complex views multiply is one of the most powerful experiences we can have as learners and teachers" (3). I think this says a lot about the article. In order to fully understand a piece of literature or article, we as teachers and/or students need to hear and fully listen to the opinions around us. The idea of democracy within discussion is extremely smart. I like how this author compares discussion in a classroom to something such as mountain climbing. In classes, it can be intimidating for both teachers and students to go into a discussion. Students may feel extreme pressure to say the right thing or to simply not look stupid. Teachers are responsible for facilitating and keeping the class on the right track. In order for this to happen, teachers need to set good guidelines and make sure that students have respect for their peers opinions. 

     One of the most interesting parts in this article was when he mentions the participation among students. Even though this was a very small part of the article, I found it very interesting. From my experience in the classroom so far, it seems that many of the smartest students will not participate in discussion because they don't want to look "dumb". This article mentions how small groups can be a good stepping stone for these students. If these students become comfortable with a small group of students and receive positive feedback, they will be more likely to talk in front of the class. I have personally seen this happen time and time again in my classroom. I usually take on about 4-5 students who are having trouble understanding the material. After our small group, 1-2 students from that group usually will participate in a full on class discussion. Small groups are a great way to get kids used to the idea of discussion without added pressure. This article points out that critical discussion works best when a large group of students participate. I think this can be true in some scenarios. I think our goal as teachers should be to get the majority of the class talking.  If we as teachers are not providing a comfortable or safe environment, students will be less likely to speak their minds when it comes to discussion. We as teachers have to encourage our students thoughts and ideas, otherwise they may not be comfortable to speak up again.
     I really enjoyed reading this article. I thought the author had great ideas and summed up discussion in a way that I have not thought about it before until now.