Help for a new teacher in Bolivia

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Literature Teachers Chatboard

Help for a new teacher in Bolivia

by Paula Lee

Feb 9, 2009

My daughter just started teaching high school 9-12 Eng Lit in Bolivia. She is a college grad but has no specific teaching experience. She is looking for a general book that could help her with topics like characterization, irony, points of view, genres, etc. She may not even know what to ask for so ANYTHING you can recommend for someone that has not been trained would be helpful. Bolivians don't read and my daughter's job is to inspire them to read. If you can refer her to online resources, that would be great. Shipping books to Bolivia is very expensive. Thank you for any help you can provide.

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L. Swilley On 2/09/09, Paula Lee wrote: > My daughter just started teaching high school 9-12 Eng Lit > in Bolivia. She is a college grad but has no specific > teaching experience. She is looking for a general book that > could help her with topics like characterization, irony, > points of view, genres, etc. She may not even know what to > as...See MoreOn 2/09/09, Paula Lee wrote: > My daughter just started teaching high school 9-12 Eng Lit > in Bolivia. She is a college grad but has no specific > teaching experience. She is looking for a general book that > could help her with topics like characterization, irony, > points of view, genres, etc. She may not even know what to > ask for so ANYTHING you can recommend for someone that has > not been trained would be helpful. Bolivians don't read and > my daughter's job is to inspire them to read. If you can > refer her to online resources, that would be great. > Shipping books to Bolivia is very expensive. Thank you for > any help you can provide. ====================================================

We inspire our students to read by discussing works - in this case, of literature - with them, asking questions of individual students about parts of the work, then asking another and another student to comment on the answer given, gently "nudging" the class towards what we ourselves know about the work: its main character, the advance or decline of that character in steps that lead to the end of the novel.

There is little hope for the teacher who, herself, does not know and love well the work under consideration, who does not see the cause-and-effect progress of the story, for that is the place to start. For resistant students ("Bolivians don't read"??) it is important - once the teacher is confident in her own knowledge of the work - to begin with a class reading of the first one or two paragraphs of the story, asking where the story seems to be going, what is it emphasizing and what might be made of such a direction, adding paragraphs in the reading and incorporating them with what has been agreed upon before. Once this is underway, subsequent classes might begin with simple quizzes on individual chapters (to be sure the students have actually read the material) - perhaps one at a time - followed by in-class discussions in the manner described above.

This cannot be hurried; there is little more destructive of good teaching and learning than the must- cover-the-material attitude. If we run out of time for the treatment of a work, it is better to summarize and move on to the next assignment than to accept the disastrous, stupid idea that *quantity of facts* is more important than *quality of careful judgement of them.*

L. Swilley

Feb 10, 2009

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Sara On 2/10/09, L. Swilley wrote: > On 2/09/09, Paula Lee wrote: >> My daughter just started teaching high school 9-12 Eng Lit >> in Bolivia. She is a college grad but has no specific >> teaching experience. She is looking for a general book that >> could help her with topics like characterization, irony, >> points of v...See MoreOn 2/10/09, L. Swilley wrote: > On 2/09/09, Paula Lee wrote: >> My daughter just started teaching high school 9-12 Eng Lit >> in Bolivia. She is a college grad but has no specific >> teaching experience. She is looking for a general book that >> could help her with topics like characterization, irony, >> points of view, genres, etc.

If Bolivians don't read - Bolivia is not a wealthy nation - then I wouldn't jump into characterization, irony, points of view, genres etc. Those ideas are based on the assumption that students have read and a fair bit.

She should find a book and start them reading, just reading. Get them talking about what they're reading, get them thinking or starting to reflect about the reading. Characterization etc can wait.

Your daughter is welcome to e-mail me - I've taught ESL for many years. Does your daughter read? Of course - what book in Spanish is her favorite? Have her tell them about the book and why. She should spend at least a month or maybe several months just helping them to build a relationship with reading and literature and in the ideal world, bringing them to a love of reading and a thirst to read more and know more.

Do Bolivians tell stories? This would be a VERY valid exercise - oral tradition is a part of literature - it just wasn't written down. What are their stories? Have them tell their stories and write them down.

Your daughter is to be commended for her willingness to go to Bolivia and work. I'd be happy to hear from her. Wish her bueno suerte - my Spanish isn't as good as hers - but I think that's good luck. > > We inspire our students to read by discussing works - > in this case, of literature - with them, asking questions of > individual students about parts of the work, then asking > another and another student to comment on the answer given, > gently "nudging" the class towards what we ourselves know > about the work: its main character, the advance or decline > of that character in steps that lead to the end of the > novel. > > There is little hope for the teacher who, herself, > does not know and love well the work under consideration, > who does not see the cause-and-effect progress of the > story, for that is the place to start. For resistant > students ("Bolivians don't read"??) it is important - once > the teacher is confident in her own knowledge of the work - > to begin with a class reading of the first one or two > paragraphs of the story, asking where the story seems to be > going, what is it emphasizing and what might be made of such > a direction, adding paragraphs in the reading and > incorporating them with what has been agreed upon before. > Once this is underway, subsequent classes might begin with > simple quizzes on individual chapters (to be sure the > students have actually read the material) - perhaps one at a > time - followed by in-class discussions in the manner > described above. > > This cannot be hurried; there is little more > destructive of good teaching and learning than the must- > cover-the-material attitude. If we run out of time for the > treatment of a work, it is better to summarize and move on > to the next assignment than to accept the disastrous, stupid > idea that *quantity of facts* is more important than > *quality of careful judgement of them.* > > L. Swilley

Feb 23, 2009

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