Reflection on The Bell Jar Group

The Bell Jar Group presented a great lesson that explained the main themes and overall point of the book in a way that made it easy to follow and informative. I felt that I learned a great deal more than I thought I would going into the lesson about the life and writings of Sylvia Path. I was not aware of the effect that her life had on the meaning and understanding of the book. The groups activities made it easy for everyone to get involved in the lesson and I especially liked Tia's activity were I had to look through the "feminist glasses" to get the perspective she was looking for. Connecting the book to Sylvia Plath's life was a great way for not only me, but the entire class to be engaged in what the author was trying to convey in the novel. I thought that this book was a great tool to teach about life, in that students in secondary schools are frequently questioning what is socially acceptable and what they feel is right. This book addresses those needs, but I am worried about the content being too explicit to teach in a high school classroom. The overall performance of the group was very good and I wish that I could adapt those activities in my classroom in the future.

Michigan Council For History Education Conference

After attending the 14th annual Michigan Council For History Education Conference at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing, Michigan on November 7th, I have gained new perspectives on the values and ideas of practicing teachers of history. Going into the conference I had no idea about what I should expect since, i have never taught in a history classroom before. My pre-internship was in a 7th grade language arts class, and all my experience teaching has solely been based in the field of language arts and English. Being a history teacher candidate studying to be a practicing teacher of history, it was an invaluable resource for me to attend. The conferences main topic was "History Curriculum, Alignment, and Assessment with the New Content Expectations." With sessions breaking up into elementary and secondary teaching. The many new content expectations put a greater emphasis on technology in the classroom and an interesting speaker named Stan Masters, described how incorporating Internet websites, blog entries, and interactive activities are the new wave of the future when it comes to history education in the K-8 classroom. Considering that I am new and a student to the field, many of the teachers there shared a lot of experiences to me about their first year teaching and their struggles. I was getting a little worried about the profession, but they assured me that after a couple of years lessons become easier to plan, and conferences and professional development help out immensely. A presentation that I found interesting was Mike Libbee's discussion of Geography in US & World History. Mike described many new perspectives that students might find interesting. Mike represented the Michigan Geographic Alliance, which i had no idea allows teachers to use various maps and diagrams that students can visualize for teaching Michigan history. Curriculum models seemed very confusing to me since i have had very little methods classes in history, but from what i could get out of it history should be taught through many lessons that focus on a particular aspect. An example would be modeling curriculum that uses the new content standards to encompass a lesson that teaches a particular aspect of history, but then has a lesson that ties everything in at the end. Lauren McArthur a guest speaker on World History Model Curriculum expressed that some teachers neglect the tie in part which leaves students struggling to connect meaning. Overall, I felt this conference gave me a valuable starting block to develop my understanding of what it takes to teach history with new content standards. I am looking forward to attending next years conference if I am permitted to do so.