Teachers can only do for students what they have experienced themselves.
They know how to ask students to put crayons away on shelves.
But that’s only one of the “important” things.
What’s really important is tying concepts together, as if with strings.
In teaching English, communication is key.
But how everyone interprets that communication matters more, you see.
Students want to occasionally see you in a different light.
They want to see you be artsy, not just read and write.
Not just your students, but you too must be multimodal.
They would love it so much if you would read your writing as a yodel.
Or, try making writing an artistic endeavor.
Your students will love it, and may think it clever.
So, do your best to collaborate with other teachers.
Share your knowledge and learn some of their features.
Learn to integrate writing with the fine arts.
Do this, and you may reach a few students’ hearts.
Poem written after reading:
English Education: Volume 40, No. 1, Oct., 2007
The Editorial We: Themed Issue on the Arts, New Literacies, and Multimodality
Jerome C. Harste and Peggy Albers
I'm reading articles right now by both Albers and Harste for work on my dissertation. In the classroom I gathered data in, the students created print ads and filmed commercials for products after watching / viewing persuasive ads. I'm looking at what they said while watching commercials and while making their own commercials. I need to make sure I've seen this issue of the English Journal.
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