Creating a Myth

Creating this myth of mine seems like, going forward, I'll have a better grasp of studying and dissecting other myths just for the simple fact of knowing what to look for. In knowing and being familiar with the ingredients, it seems like it would be easier to identify the parts and extract them for study and analysis. One other thing about the difference between creating the myth and studying it is that creating it is like reverse engineering it. Just so you know, I used the myth my group studied as a model for creating my own.

As for what I learned from this experience that I could use in my own teaching, I feel like the mythic structure in general is an important tool to have as a student, as it is the foundation of most stories that are told. It follows the three-act structure and it also gives archetypes that are good for students to understand on a simple level. Once working with these basic components, they can then gradually work on more complex elements in more intricate narratives.

Doing a website, now, was much easier than I thought. I had previously played around with Google Sites many years ago and it was much more complicated. It is fairly simple now and I feel like it is also a very good tool to pass off to students. Though, they will probably be teaching me the stuff, as these kids are coming out of the womb on technology. I also thought the creative aspect of the project was a nice change of pace from just writing essays, which I think is important so that students learn there are different kids of writing they'll need to know before going to college and/or the real world.

More Than Impressed

Poetry intimidates me. 

When I read it, I feel like the poet is pulling a fast one on me. When I write it, I feel like a fraud for trying. To perform my own poetry, then? Well, I was not excited to do it, that's for sure.

However, I love the part of any kind of the creative writing process where I'm given parameters. In other words, I like that for each poem we wrote, we had to follow certain rules (the first one, for example: Describe a recent experience/encounter/event that shaped your life or the way you view the world around you). And then I love  when there's a group of us all doing the same thing and we are all, then, tasked with sharing our results to compare with one another. 

Upon any type of exercise like this, I usually like to make lists. As I did that, the list poem came to mind. And so, that's what I did.

Now, writing about poetry made me focus on not just understanding words, but also understanding patterns and how those patterns or repetitions might carry meaning themselves. The poem I wrote about utilized the poetic device anaphora, which is a literary device that uses repetition of short phrases or single words at the beginning of clauses or sentences to enhance rhythm and evoke audience emotional participation in the literary work. In looking closer at my poem and how anaphora was used, I began to see how much it contributed to the meaning of the poem. As such, I kind of did the same thing in my own poem to create meaning.

Part of what I learned in doing this assignment is that there is a unique power of poetry, which is hidden in mystery (the parts not indicated or consciously vague) or in figurative language. I also saw how it really engaged students in our class. I was so surprised how people got so personal, how people got so much into reading it aloud, and how, as audience members, they were so supportive. That experience went hand-in-hand with what I took away from the Edutopia YouTube video we watched on performance poetry engaging high school students. Going into this part of the class, I would've said I had no interest in teaching poetry. However, based on the engagement and excitement it created in our class, I'd reconsider.

Hello, Readers, My Name Is Michael

My name is Michael Picarella and I'm an English (ESM) major in my senior year. I’m currently on track to graduate in the spring of 2025, the same time my 21-year-old son is set to graduate.

I think media technology should very much play a role in teaching today because it's the way of the current world and the future world. We are only setting our students up for failure by not introducing them to and familiarizing them with these tools, whether at the grade-school level or college level. I liken the media technology and learning it to my own father’s experience with it, or rather his lack of experience with it. He worked as an engineer for Rocketdyne for 42 years, spending many of his years as an engineer in the space shuttle program. When he retired in 2003, he told himself and everyone around him that he’d never use a computer again. To this day he still does not have a smartphone. However, he has since had to buy a new TV, and new TVs are all smart TVs. Because he has allowed technology to evolve around him, the simple task of creating an online account to get apps and channels on his TV is a complete mystery to him and quite the frustrating process. Just creating a username and password is a frustrating process that makes him want to give up. And he was an engineer!

I see this same problem occurring with students if we do not give them the tools necessary to adapt to an ever changing technological world. We as teachers should strive to equip our students with as many tools as possible to better succeed in society.

As for any particular effective or ineffective uses of media technology that I’ve personally experienced, I do find downloading numerous applications on my electronic devices to be quite taxing. However, in the work world, I experience those same frustrations. In other words, any and all tools we can give students to prepare for the world that’s out there ahead of them should always be welcomed, regardless of how taxing and frustrating it might be. My son is very familiar with much media technology. He went through grade school learning so much of it. I’ve had to catch up, as I went through grade school in the 1980s and ‘90s without any of this stuff. Indeed, we should strive to keep those we bring up ahead of the curve.