Thinking about blogs again....
I keep wondering how to use blogs with my English 10 students. For their first writing assignment, I had them write a brief personal essay or autobiographical narrative. Several of these papers were remarkable. When students are allowed to write about their own lives, they bring in vivid detail, genuine emotion, and profound insights. The topics are pertinent--the painful effects of divorce, the stress of athletic competition, the dangerous fad of "cutting," near death experiences, the loss of a loved one, and many other amazing subjects.
I'm wondering if a class blog would be a good way for students to share such writings. I am a bit worried about the personal nature of these essays, however. Sometimes teenagers have no sense of propriety, so I would have to advise them carefully. I would probably suggest that they change names and that they don't post anything that could get them in trouble with their parents or the authorities. I wonder if I could get myself in trouble if I allowed students to blog about such issues. What these students write is so thought-provoking and often so wise, that teens could learn life lessons from these papers.
I still need to work out details. I might make it a very open assignment (e.g., all students in the class should post at least one paper they're proud of.) I imagine some kids might post a poem, some a literary analysis, some a personal narrative. Some might scan in a drawing. It could be a "brag board" of sorts. Then, other kids could comment on these posts. I think it sounds scary but exciting.
I'd love feedback.
I'm wondering if a class blog would be a good way for students to share such writings. I am a bit worried about the personal nature of these essays, however. Sometimes teenagers have no sense of propriety, so I would have to advise them carefully. I would probably suggest that they change names and that they don't post anything that could get them in trouble with their parents or the authorities. I wonder if I could get myself in trouble if I allowed students to blog about such issues. What these students write is so thought-provoking and often so wise, that teens could learn life lessons from these papers.
I still need to work out details. I might make it a very open assignment (e.g., all students in the class should post at least one paper they're proud of.) I imagine some kids might post a poem, some a literary analysis, some a personal narrative. Some might scan in a drawing. It could be a "brag board" of sorts. Then, other kids could comment on these posts. I think it sounds scary but exciting.
I'd love feedback.
posted by Cheryl Makovsky at 3:47 PM
3 Comments:
I think we need to think and talk more about this. My initial reaction would be to say "No, I wouldn't use a public forum like a blog for those kinds of personal narratives."
But your second idea of letting them choose something they were proud of to post - and in conjunction perhaps also write about why they were proud of it or why it was important to them, I think has real possibilities.
I do think that as sophomores, they would need small assignments at first to get this used to appropriate narratives online. With thier My Space use, I think we need to train our students to write narratives again that are showing, personal, and memorable without being shocking (and inappropriate).
Your seniors, however, could post their narratives, their drafts of senior essays. They need feedback for college essays. The only issue might be that they are long and students might not want to read such a long post.
I love the essence of your idea, Cheryl. What I have found that really works with my 9th graders are controversial questions related to a story we're reading. Ex. With Romeo and Juliet, I posted: can teenagers truly be in love. My gosh! The kids wrote and wrote, debated and discussed. With Lord of the Flies I posted: Many people view teenagers as delinquents, ready for trouble. Many of us in our class try to appear as a non-student (late work, sloppy quality, etc.). Do you think teenagers are inately flawed?
Kids loved these debates and it was something that didn't reveal any personal-past information.
Hi.
I'm not in your district but I thought I'd toss out a couple of book ideas that might help.
One is called Making the Journey. Part of it deals with using something like a blog in your lessons. http://www.everythingaboutlearning.com/index.php?p=product&id=28583
The other is Critical Technology Issues for School Leaders. It may have some helpful ideas on posting to a public forum, and the legal/political issues that might arise.
http://www.everythingaboutlearning.com/index.php?p=product&id=23486
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