Category Archives: Border Crossing

“But if you’re worried about the weather / Then you picked the wrong place to stay.”

As my final year of grad school rounds the turn toward the final mad key-pounding writing dash toward the finish line, I thought I should, at least briefly, talk about what’s next:

I could not be more excited to share with readers that in the Fall I will be joining the English Department faculty at Colorado State University as an Assistant Professor. Though I still struggle with the fact that I will not be working in a high school campus every day, I feel confident that the research and teaching I’ve been involved in now can continue to impact the lives of young people. I am extremely grateful for the continued warmth and support I’ve received from the school and my soon-to-be colleagues as I ask incessant n00b questions.

I also struggle with the concept of living in snow. But after a brief spending spree of all things North Face, I’m at least warming up to it.

In terms of what this means as far as my role and that of this blog, I don’t see things really changing: my work as a teacher, researcher and briefly as someone working in educational policy has focused on digital literacies, educational equity, and improving the learning environments for our students. I intend to continue working in these areas. But maybe doing so while at least a little bit less tired than this whole teaching/grad-student schedule has been keeping me for the past four years.

Did I mention I’m really excited about this? I plan to share more of the research I’ll be doing in the coming months, the classes I’m taking, and the continual process of adapting to being in a land-locked state. (Any advice about any of this is, of course, welcomed.)

In light of it being Digital Learning Day-eve, I should note that I’m excited about working with Figment in the coming weeks to collaborate on syllabus development for one of the first courses I will be teaching at Colorado State. More info on that to come soon. (And I would head to Digital Is, as always, for all things great and related to Digital Learning Day.)

Lots of DML 2012 updates to come. It’s gonna be a good one!

Also, if you ever wanted to work for the U.S. Department of Education, applications for 2012-2013 Teaching Ambassador Fellows can be found here.

“Little eyes are open but they’re sinking back again”: On Teaching and Being a Graduate Student and being Perpetually Tired

In the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten several emails from friends and colleagues interested in pursuing a Ph.D. While I’m still very much in the midst (perhaps in the trenches) of my current academic program, I thought it might be useful to share my thoughts about the program, undergoing the graduate study while still teaching and answering miscellaneous questions at large. I do this in the hopes that it may be useful to other prospective teachers/doctoral students. The information below may sound simplistic or less than insightful – I’m trying to pin down the basic information I regularly get asked about the studies I am involved in (obviously, this may not be a post for general readers’ interest). If there are other questions that you would like to see addressed or explained in further detail, please throw in a comment below and I’ll update this post.

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Learning to Breathe Underwater

 Yes, that’s a group of kids learning to break dance at my school. I was thrilled to see it. As I walked away, I walked behind two girls talking:

       What’s that? Is that called, like, break dancing?

       Yeah, I think so.

       That’s weird.

It basically being finals week for me, things have been a bit hectic on the doctoral side of things (hence the rather long gap between updates in these here parts of the woods). However, I’ve been thinking lately about the implications of space and understandings of it. This relates in numerous ways to research I’m doing in my classes: space and meaning in disciplinary interactions between students and adults, the way graffiti “codes” space within the Manual Arts community, the way new media opens up and occludes space based on access, etc.

I’ve also been trying to think about the way one’s personal space needs to be made more explicit – labeled even, though that sounds wrong and not at all the way I think of borders as splitting us into different people or different kinds of people. (These are thoughts that demand run ons.) I think one of my biggest flaws over the past two quarters has been about being too amorphous. I don’t think I’ve done quite enough reflecting to really make sense of this here other than to say I’m working toward reprioritizing the way I deal with the different hats I wear. Even within the school setting, the teacher hat, mentor hat, advisor hat, and all-that-stuff-that-takes-place-outside-of-my-class-that-gets-mistakenly-labeled-as-“important” hat are occasionally being donned in the wrong order and for the wrong duration. I don’t want to say like I feel like I let my kids down this quarter, but – like most of us – I certainly think I could have given them more. And of course that’s what they deserve and that’s what they should be demanding. Within other spheres I think I’ve been complicating things by continuing to wear – say – the “doctoral student” hat way too often when maybe the hat I should be wearing is something like the wash-the-dishes-and-make-sure-Sadie-isn’t-destroying-the-house hat. Perhaps this sounds more mundane than what I mean but (and again with the run on) space is being construed and interpreted too fluidly and I’m not coming up for air frequently enough to realize that swimming goggles are out of place in a jacket and tie affair. 

Arthur has been consistently great with it’s online content. A couple of links I’m throwing here come directly from them, so please support your local/global counterculture zine as much as possible – one of the few publications I feel strongly bout schlepping for. In any case, this article on the NYU occupation felt thrilling. It – also about space – makes me cognizant about the challenges with actualizing the kinds of libratory changes many of us are trying to instill in our students. I’m not worried about how they will be viewed or judged by the mass media, but the article makes it clear what script-flipping will need to look like. Similarly, our Third Space Collaborative met for the second time yesterday. I plan to jot something about that when I find another free moment. Suffice for now, I’ll throw out a thought: is this considered an eco-third space? I think of the tenuous balance between living on and off grid simultaneously and the way such a space could function academically (and no, charters are NOT doing this).

 Finally and hot off the presses… er… hot from the oven? I’m excited about the playtest that Greg just wrote about. I think Greg’s game fits in well with this post’s weakly culled theme of space and interpretations of it. I’d be inspired to jump into participating in round 2 of this baking madness if only my biscuit making skills were up to snuff (Daye: kick the recipe over here!). Perhaps my Koreatown neighbors could settle for muffins?

Border Crossing: Normative Discourse (Art Sand Mines)

 

I want to contrast experiences in my classroom and in one of my graduate seminars.

At this point, I can reasonably predict what will transpire in my 11th grade classroom when introducing students to the writing process. Admittedly, the way I teach writing has changed dramatically over the years – the old me would probably scream in horror at what looks rather prescriptive at the onset (there’s a pragmatic purpose behind the way I teach reading which will need to be saved for another post). The point is that, generally, my 11th grade students are both frustrated and initially overwhelmed with what I expect their essays to looks like. Yes, each body paragraph really does need that many quotes. Yes, you really do need that many sentences of analysis. Yes, you really will be writing an essay each week. Once students get used to these (usually) higher expectations within the class, we settle into a rhythm and students are encouraged to incorporate more of their own voice. However, peering at the expectations of a Standard English writing regime is daunting for students initially. I explain that they are preparing to read, write, and dialogue critically in Standard English, the language that they will need to use in order to cause change in the future. Confronted with the hegemonic realm of “the other” is – I’d say at least partially – part of the distress of writing; it’s literally a kind of culture shock.

Meanwhile, in one of my graduate seminars today, another respected colleague presented on rap music. A few hands went up when she asked who considers themselves “rap aficionados.” I’ll spare you the demographic analysis of who raised their hands (psst: their was a correlation with ethnicity!). In any case, after showing a certain rap video for discussion, it was worth noting how the class responded. Literally students were stalled to speak due to the overwhelming nature of the video: its images, the lyrics, the sound – it was all too much. In general the conversation about rap at times felt like a few of us pointing out how, yes, lyrics like these really are a kind of “transformative resistance.” No, Ice Cube isn’t just offering pessimism in his video. Like my students, the colleagues in the seminar that were not exposed to rap before got a nice long, uncomfortable mad-dogging from the other, today. And while my students are expected to at least be able to code switch into the language of power, the other future academicians are likely to leave Jay Z, Ice Cube, The Coup, and rap music at large as an interesting exercise. A tasty aperitif of the other, digested and forgotten. 

Beyond Thunderdome: Two Styles Enter, One Style Leaves

I’m coming to terms with the fact that my foreseeable academic publishing career will pretty much be stuck in APA format. This is a bit of a bummer. I’ve come to really know and appreciate the elegance of MLA style. It’s a style I can comfortably teach to my students and know they can use it as undergrads in college.

I’m now relearning a new style somewhat from scratch (granted, I flirted with APA back while I worked on my Masters). The style guides I’ve looked through are clumsy and the in general I don’t feel that the format is the best. As an example, I appreciate that MLA allows for full names within a Works Cited while APA truncates author’s first names to a mere initial. It feels comforting and empowering to be known as Garcia, Antero as opposed to Garcia, A. I do, however, concede that a necessary standardization is worthwhile within a given field. And unlike language varieties, it seems that – as a whole – we are a body of researchers, writers, and teachers unwilling to entertain a variety of style-vernaculars.

As such, I am unfortunately casting MLA as the losing participant in this academic edition of Thunderdome. I am still awaiting the rebellion led by one Mad Max to better liberate us from the oppressive regime of the APA Aunty Entity.

Border Crossing: “In a Network of Lines That Intersect”

During one of my courses, the instructor encouraged us to have “if not a whole foot, at least a toe” inside some sort of primary or secondary school setting. Of course, still being a teacher, I don’t really have a hard time getting a foot into that door. On the other hand, and this goes back to the previous border crossing post, such foot or toe dabbling doesn’t occur very frequently from the other side of the fence (most teachers don’t wade all that deeply into a research pool – I think there are a lot of explicit barriers that shy teachers away from considering this as viable).

What’s more, in addition to still being connected to schools in general, I think there is an importance in staying somewhat outside of the academy in some sense. That is, get outside of the academic head space once in awhile. One of my concerns about diving into this PhD program, in addition to ensuring I have time for my students, is that for the next few years I’ll only read texts and books purely about education. Yes, it is my primary interest at the moment, but I think it’s important to place oneself in a body of literature that moves outside of traditional educational boundaries. This is what the Beyond Pedagogy group was aimed toward. When going through the Masters program, I can’t underplay the importance the Chronicles played. Similarly, the inquiry that came out of it probably wouldn’t have been the same without knowing the Gaviero was out there somewhere. Aside from acting as some sort of geeky refuge, such “non-required” reading helps provide the kind of outside perspective that helps provide the impetus for new ideas. Think of it as like one’s reading vegetables – they’re good for you!

As anticipated, the workload for these classes is substantial. However, I’ve set aside In Praise of Shadows and The Invention of Morel as occasional buoys in a sea of Ed. Theory.

Border Crossing: Introductions (Yam Knot Lyke Druthers)

So it’s a late Wednesday night, which means my classes for the first week are finished. (Yes, it’s nice to only have classes two days of the week. No, it’s not so nice to have 8 straight hours of classes in one afternoon – and it won’t be any nicer once B-track reconvenes).

In any case, I’m not here to whine about the amount of work and reading I’m in store for. Instead, I wanted to talk a little bit about what happens to everyone during their first day as a student or at many a job: making introductions. When meeting other teachers, the exchange is usually something like:
-So, what do you teach?
-Oh, me? I teach 11th and 12th grade English. And you?
-I’m stuck with some huge Algebra 1a classes and one section of geometry.
-I’ve heard that those Algebra 1 classes are big this year. That’s too bad. I bet we have some overlap in students with your geometry class.
-etc.

Both parties have connected, recognized that they may have something further to say down the road and the conversation could either end there or not. In any case, I digress. The point is that when teachers meet, they introduce themselves by discussing content area and grade taught and location they teach at. With some variation, this seems par for the course.

On the other hand, introductions in the ol’ I.T. means – aside from your name, area of study and year – describing your areas of research and interests. I can genuinely say I am interested in the research and interests I’ve heard my peers discuss. I’m really thrilled. If anything, the interest to specialize in specific areas of practice that – at least ideally – should reverberate in the halls of Manual Arts and its ilk is exactly the kind of fervor I’d want to see in a school’s faculty.*

Like the program I’m in, I’m a big proponent of praxis. It was the verbalized and underlying goal of my Masters/credentialing program. However, as far as adapting theory into regular practice, it’s not the kind of activity you see many teachers taking up. Sure, curricular design is something that we’ll do here and there, but it pretty much stops there. As teachers, most of us wait to receive faux-research articles from our administrative team for us to balk at. The impetus for actual theory being discussed by classroom teachers is lacking. (Yes, these are sweeping generalizations.)  As such, this week’s series of introductions reminds me that this push towards praxis is all too one sided. Further, it shows me something to initiate back at Manual: a precedent for discussing my current research interests. Hopefully my colleagues will take up the challenge.

*Speaking of specialization, I’m pretty sure Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller would pretty dissapointed with any talk of the sort.

On Borders Not Being Crossed Quite Yet

So tomorrow is a social kick off event for the graduate program I’ll be starting in a week. It would be a generally wise decision to go rub elbows with my soon-to-be academic colleagues. I’m told that this whole networking thing is the name o’ da game, after all.

However, tomorrow – at the same time, no less – is the orientation meeting for our school’s iDesign Transition Team. And while I’ve respectfully rescinded my name for Transition Team membership, it will be the beginning of a landmark process of grassroots reflection, planning, and implementation for and by my school’s community. It will be the start of positive progress at our school and my input (like all stakeholders) is welcomed.

So … networking will not be happening this weekend. Sorry future classmates, my students’ interests are still first.

Border Crossing: The Chinkle-Chankle of Mixed Connections

Look, this is going to have to come out sooner or later so I’ll state it bluntly. In a few weeks I will begin a doctorate program in Urban Schooling. Yes, I will STILL be teaching at Manual.

Okay now that we’re all on the same page
I’m starting a new blog category as introduced with this post’s tag. Allow me to explain. I’m not really interested in journaling specifically about my graduate school experience or the minutiae of dealing with two full-time schedules (I recognize that I already do a lot of whining on this here blog). Instead, what I plan to write about in the Border Crossing series is to discuss the experiences between the two places I’ll be traversing. Ask most teachers and there is a recognized disconnect between “research” and “practice.” (Yes, I realize a certain department at a certain school I’ll be taking classes from tries to bridge this. No, I’m not ready to write about that … yet.)

There is no common middle ground and people talk about and at each other passionately. But do teachers really listen to the ivory tower? Do professors really examine what really happens in schools? Does this knowledge really get shared in some kind of equitable way? Really? (Aside from exceptions here or there, my gut feeling is that these are obvious and obviously rhetorical questions.)

Goal
Border Crossing is to document, question, and ask for open ended thought from you about the differences and mixed/missed connections as I move from leading students to undertaking my own studies and back again (and back again) [repeat]. It is a personal inquiry into a journey looking at education from two different perspectives. It may not be a comfortable ride all the time.

“- And Neckwus begat Fleckwus,the King of Spit. And Fleckwus spoke out of his chinkle-chankle.

– What?

– I’m sure that was the word. I’ve never forgotten it. ‘Chinkle-chankle.’”