Ms. Winter's Teaching Wonders

Hello!  I am continuing today to engage in professional development and study new and interesting ideas being put forth by prominent English educators in America. Today, I am responding to Allen Webb's 2019 article "Opening the Conversation about Climate Refugees with The Grapes of Wrath". In this article, Webb details how he used John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath to engage his students in critical thinking and reflecting on the current climate crisis and the ever-climbing number of climate refugees being forced to leave their homes. Webb also details how he was able to use this novel and the conversations that came out of it with his students to make connections to current events and inspire activism and advocacy for climate justice among his students.  Major Takeaways and Connections Webb argues throughout this article that the lives of high school students are already being affected and will continue to be affected by climate change and that because of this, stu...

Hello all!  Today I am engaging in some professional development and reflecting on the ideas put forth in Sean P. Connors' and Roberta Seelinger Trites' "What Happens to Knowledge Deferred? Defending Books from Conservative, White Sensors." This article was published earlier this year and explores how educators can go about standing up for student access to certain novels and authors in the face of the recent wave of censorship literary education has been battling. Major Takeaways Overall, this article provides an articulate and detailed argument for the importance of fighting against book bans and attempts at censorship in the ELA classroom and in schools in general. The article is very understanding toward the concerns of white parents who fear their children being exposed to complex, challenging, and even uncomfortable views in the classroom. However, though it acknowledges these fears, the authors provide many credible and strong reasons why this argument should n...

    Hello all! For my last blog post of this semester, I’m excited to explore the importance of encouraging critical engagement and social justice in the classroom. It is becoming more and more important to make sure students are able to critically engage with the media they consume, especially as our culture continues to become more digital. We as educators must make sure our students are equipped to participate in this digital world (Bomer, 2011, p. 243).   How will I teach Students to critically engage with the world—to question the status quo, to participate productively in digital culture, and to stand up for social justice? In order to equip our students with the knowledge and skills necessary to critically engage with the world and stand up for social justice, they must be digitally literate and able to navigate the happenings of the online world.   Demands of the Digital World As our world continues to become more digital, it is our job to mak...