[etni] Give HOTS a chance

From: "aviva shapiro" <shapiroaviva@xxxxxxxxx>
To: ETNI <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 21:28:52 +0200
I don't want to debate the merits and disadvantages of the new Literature
module be it D or F on ETNI because it's way too complicated.  I'd be more
than happy though , face to face to discuss why it can be a wonderful
addition to our English program.   What I would like to say , is that most
of my students (not all) have given me  positive feedback about this new
module.  YES, I jumped at the chance of  being part of the pilot  and
"forced " my students to take part in the pilot.  WAS it difficult. ?? YES,
of course, especially since we really , literally crammed all we needed  to
do into only 6 months . ( 3 months last year and 3  months this year ) .
BUT the feedback I am now getting from my pupils (who complained quite a bit
at times) is mostly --*extremely positive*.  My pupils have told me that in
spite of the hard work, it made things MUCH more interesting in class. One
boy , only today,  told me that he was slowly  beginning to understand some
of the HOTS and even use them in his everyday life.  AND .as for improving
their English, it has helped them do this also .  .. My pupils in addition
to handing in their module F- LOG, will also be taking module G this
winter,  and I can tell you that I have not  given them  many module Gs to
practice  !! However when I do ''stick one in" I see how much their writing
and reading skills have improved.
As for the new course, it's going to have some glitches until it goes
through a bit of use and reflection.  However, to all those well experienced
literature teachers, believe it or not, many, many English teachers in the
field today do not know how to teach literature, and they will benefit form
this course which will give all of us all some new tools to use in our
teaching. Yes, some teachers will get more tools and others may get less but
all in all, I know that for myself , a teacher of 25 years, there were quite
a few new ideas that I used.    Furthermore, these HOTS,  which are not new
, made many of my pupils stay awake in class.Yes, there were a few  who were
less enthusiastic  but we never please all our students all the time , nor
should we try !! We should , however, always attempt to challenge them, make
them think and teach them English for use in life !!

I am sorry that there are teachers who are already  antagonistic to the new
program and I am sorry  to see criticism so soon,  for this  program without
any attempt to see how it works in the class. I know how hard English
teachers work but I honestly believe that by implementing this type of
program over a period of 3 years, we will not have more work. We will just
work in a different way.  There are still some organizational issues  to
work out  but I am hopeful these won't be obstacles .

Finally, I want to respond to the teacher who wrote about the kids(in the
pilot) who had other people (teachers/ students) do the work in their LOG
and got credit. You are right , this is scandalous .  However, if you - the
teacher do most of the work in class, this can not happen.  My students
worked mostly in class . Their LOGS are not (mostly  not) typed pages, but
handwritten pages with only occasionally a re-written page put in .  I know
that my kids did their own work because they did it with me. This is just
like with the projects . If you work on them in school , you can see what
they are doing.   Unfortunately there are  many kids giving in projects
which aren't theirs either. IF the teacher allows this , then the students
certainly won't learn and certainly won't benefit.

It saddens me that this course , this new perspective and the idea of
incorporating a few thinking skills into our curriculum  is getting such bad
press when it hasn't even really been given a chance and when most people
still don't really understand it.

Sincerely,
Aviva Shapiro

AND... here is  a thought which might help some of you.. "When life gives
you lemons, make lemonade. !!"


-----------------------------------------------
        Call for Articles
      The Etni Rag needs you

** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org 
   or - http://www.etni.org.il **
** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx **
** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **
-----------------------------------------------
[etni] Give HOTS a chance

Other related posts:
