As I began to read chapter 20, The Role of Handover in Teaching for Democratic Participation, I was annoyed. The idea of making my classroom a political forum agitated me. What if the kids don't share points of view on an issue? What if parents don't understand the process? Then I kept reading. I came to realize that the whole class scenario initially described was that of a beginning, but not one that promotes transfer. Randy Bomer goes on to describe how to develop a writer's workshop environment that promotes social action in which each student has a voice about what they are passionate about.
Just as I was making the connection between his ideas and the multi-genre writing of Tom Romano and reading, Bomer began to list the variety of genres that would be required to develop a social action project. I found myself trying to rework what/how I would work things in my classroom. Could I find a "buddy room" to blog with? Could I find a teacher that is already working this out or is willing to go the distance with me and make this work? The ideas are buzzing in my head right now. Combining a book with a research, multi-genre social action project. I don't even know how many GLE's that would be?! I am super-stoked to make this work.
This book offers more links and ideas than I know what to do with. Each chapter is like going to a great conference and leaving recharged for the year. However, I have to be careful that it doesn't push me in so many directions that I can't make learning make sense for my students. When I get excited about what I am learning and I begin to visualize the equivalent of a movie classroom in my head, I tend to lose the cohesiveness and consistency needed for middle school.
I think this is where I need to remember my last post--I need to synthesize and maybe find an explainer. How do you bring social action into your writing classroom?
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