Synthesis of Course

Critical literacy is an interesting subject.  Many talk about it and few define it.  It seems to be the undefinable term that academia use in scholarly topics.  In my opinion critical literacy is questioning everything that I do and searching for a new an improved way of looking at things, while never settling for enough.  That is what I took from this course this semester.  Reading, writing, and communication (literacy) are important parts of education. It is something that overlaps in all contents.  I had an experience planning and teaching a lesson that sums up my learning from this course.

I was at my last clinical experience today, and I was able to teach a 90 minute lesson on basic animal science.    I taught about livestock, and more specifically the products and by-products that come from them.  I also taught about the two viewpoints that people have about the use of animals.  I gave both viewpoints and asked students to form their own opinion.  After I presented both sides, as unbiased as possible, we discussed it in class.  It was hard for me to keep my opinions to myself and present both sides, but I think that this is an example of critical literacy in action.  I did not tell the students how to think or what side to take.  I simply presented the material and allowed students to reflect individually about the subject, or in other words, to think critically.  I used scaffolding throughout the lesson so the students would be able to have vocabulary and the skills needed to discuss and reflect in writing about the subject.  The students were instructed to write a paragraph about their personal opinion of animal rights after we had reviewed it as a class.  Yes, there is writing in agriculture!  

This is my way of writing a synthesis for the course.  I have come to find that it is not in the regurgitation of knowledge, but the application that one truly becomes a critically literate person.

Affective Dimensions of Reading

Reading has never been my strongest attribute.  I would never classify myself as a "good reader." Not because of my ability as a reader, but because of my reading habits.  I would describe myself as an analytic reader.  If I am reading, I read exclusively.  I never developed a skill for skimming.  It is not in my nature nor do I understand how people "skim" a reading.  I have no idea how one can do this.  I attribute this characteristic of myself to the lack of interest I have in reading.  I am not typically in the middle of a good novel, nor am I waiting the arrival of the next book in a series, but you will find me piecing apart an article about round-up ready alfalfa, or the research found on weight gains in cattle.  As you see, I am a reader for information that I want to know about.  If there is something that makes me curious or that I find interesting I could read for hours.  To many reading this post you may find me to be extremely weird, but I my say the same about you.  However, I understand and appreciate all types of readers.  The majority of my family reads for entertainment and nothing more.  I see the benefits of this and sometimes wish that I would be more interested in reading a novel, but then I just have to realize that it is not me.  All students are different.  Had I received the opportunity to read research articles rather than novels in high school, I may have read more. The time that it took me to realize this characteristic about me would have been less strenuous.  This is something that I need to realize in my own classroom.  We all have a different style and preference for reading.  As a teacher we should not play to students' weakness and force them to conform to the style that we perceive to be better, we must give them a chance to excel in the path that they deem as their own.  Students should own their literacy and learning, we can not force it we can only facilitate it.    

Affective Dimensions of Writing

We all communicate one way or another.  Some communicate well in writing, others with verbal communication, and even some with their hands.  No matter our communication tactics, we all are communicating.  Even those that say they do not communicate, are still communicating.  Communication is all around us.  We do it daily.  Non-verbal communication is huge.  For an example, I am writing this blog post and the reader, if there be any out there, is reading it. My question to the reader is, "am I enthusiastic about doing this assignment or am I simply completing the task assigned to me because of contrived means?"  I will let the reader be the judge, but motives are not transparent on paper.  Writing can be interpreted one way or the other depending on the readers own perspective, even if the outcome was not intended by the writer.  Emotion on paper is harder to see than visible emotion.  To me that is simply a difference in face to face interaction and screen to screen or page to page interaction.  My preference is to talk face to face.  That way, when I see bewilderment on my audiences' faces, I can intervene and modify my delivery to get my point across.  I can not see the readers face, therefore, I cannot modify my delivery to make things clearer for the viewer or explain more fully a concept not understood by the reader.  This is a con to writing, but there is a purpose to writing that I feel is sometimes unseen.
Writing to me is something that I do for me personally, this blog can be accessed by others, but I feel like it is more helpful to me personally than to the reader.  I do not consider myself to be a great writer, but it allows me to reflect and to analyse my own views and perspectives.  That is my view on writing.  In most cases in education, I do not feel that writing is important for the reader.  Nevertheless, it is for the writer.
I remember writing assignments that I had in school.  Did I write about Baja racing so that Mr. Qualls would know more about it? Was the effect and use of creatine pertinent to Dr. Morache? Did Dr. Whitesides, a weed scientist, really need to know my thoughts about how to treat an infestation of Canada thistle? The answer is no to all of the above!  Writing in school is primarily for the writer, and not so much for the reader.  There are forms of writing that can be very appealing and helpful to the reader, however, I am not talking of this type of writing.  Writing assignments in school generally fit the mold that I am discussing.  I enjoy writing when it is something that I enjoy thinking about and brainstorming.  Assignments that were tailored to my interests were the assignments I enjoyed the most.  Writing is putting one's thoughts on paper. If I don't enjoy the thoughts, I enjoy the writing even less.
Communication is all around us.  We all communicate in a unique and personal way.  Writing is one form of communication.  It is not perfect, like all forms of communication, it has its flaws. Yet, the benefits that I see are more personal than public.  Writing can be therapeutic to our students but, they need to know the purpose of why they are doing it.  If this step is absent, and students feel they are writing just for a grade, the benefit of writing will be greatly diminished.  

Connecting School and Home Experiences

I have recently had a few things on my mind about something that I feel strongly about.  Too often it is heard leave school at school and home at home.  There is no bridge between school and the outside world.  Please understand that I am not stating my position on homework, or out of class assignments. I will be the first to tell you that I rarely did homework in school, and I am just beginning to break these tendencies today.  I am talking about making connections.  I believe that there is a lack of real world connections available in the classrooms to real life problems.  My vision is to build the bridge that connects the worlds.  Not just a connections between school and world, but interconnect disciplines.  Why should I learn math? Why should I study science? Is there a purpose for me to study English, the language I have spoken since birth? These questions go too often unanswered.  I never saw the purpose of school until I saw my own path and the need for knowledge.  I do not believe that the sole purpose of the teacher is to apply their content to each and every student and to all other contents, but I do believe it is their responsibility to guide students down this path.  

I myself grew up in agriculture.  The experiences that I have had and the life I have lived have guided me to a career as a high school agricultural teacher.  I have grown to appreciate what is offered when a complete agricultural program is offered at a high school.  I am not professing that agriculture is on everyone's top interests list, or maybe I am--but I do believe that an agricultural program offers a great example on giving students real world connections to something that is applicable, and even of interest to students.  A complete Ag Ed program will incorporate classroom instructions, FFA activities, and SAE (supervised agricultural experience).  In high school, I rented 25 acres next to my dad's farm as part of my SAE project.  I worked on the farm with my dad and he let me use his equipment as my wage.  It worked well.  I learned the value of work and the incentives of hard work and dedication.  It taught me things that I wasn't able to learn in school, but it also helped me have the desire to learn what was being taught at school.  I payed more attention in my ag classes because I wanted my farm to be successful.  It helped me connect what I was being taught in class to real world issues pertinent to me.  This experience helped me become better at not only Ag classes, but also my core classes.  Every student needs to have something that they can apply knowledge to.  This doesn't mean that everyone should go out and rent 25 acres of farm ground, but every student needs to apply their knowledge and learning to their own interests.  If a student is interested in drawing maybe one of their reflections on a reading assignment could be a drawing instead of a written reflection.  If a student is interested in mechanics why not let them explore the vast amount of science in that field.  There is not a one size fits all approach to teaching and learning.  Adaptation is not only necessary in different eras, but also different students in a given era.  Let the student take control of their education, and the teacher be the guide rather than the enforcer.
I may or may not have answered the actual question on what this blog post was intended to cover, but have I reflected on education? Am I meeting the objective of the assignment? I say that I am.  Isn't that the real purpose of the assignment and all assignments?
My hope is that I can provide this type of learning to my students.  All students are taught, but do all students learn what is being taught?    

For Starters...

My name is Alan Branch.  I am a future Agricultural teacher. I have always enjoyed learning even though I will tell you otherwise if you ask me.  I love the outcome and hate the procedure. I grew up with an Agriculture background in small towns throughout Idaho.  My first stop was in Stone, Idaho, where we had a modest farm and dairy.  I have few memories there, but vivid none the less.  Like the time I burned myself grabbing one of my five, yes five, sister's curling iron.  Or the time my dad stacked up phone books on the old versatile loader so I could see where I was going as he pulled me down the road behind the semi, although unnecessary seeing how I weaved in and out of the barrow pit. Thank goodness there isn't any traffic in Stone! Our next stop was Filer, Idaho where we had a dairy.  We sold out just in time before milk prices plummeted and purchased a farm and feedlot in Malta, Idaho.  My wife and I moved back to Malta this last summer to work on the family farm, we are now between Utah and Idaho as I finish my last semester at Utah State and finish the farming season.  We are expecting our first baby in November. We are excited to say the least, but student teaching will be interesting.

As I stated earlier, I am an Agricultural Education major.  I have grown up with Agriculture and have truly enjoyed the science and art of it.  Agriculture is unique and provides many learning opportunities.  Accessing multiple learning modalities to some may be a daunting task, but to an Agricultural educator it is second nature.  We do it without even meaning to.  We provide the students with the ability to learn it, apply it, and even live it.  Agriculture to me is deeper than an understanding or an appreciation, it is a way of life.  It has made me who I am today, and I am proud of that.  Why Ag. Ed?  Because it defines me.