[etni] Re: Literature and Thinking
- From: David Graniewitz <graniewitz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lasha205@xxxxxxxxx, nb001@xxxxxxxxxx, etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2010 16:37:44 +0200 (IST)
Hi Laura,
There is another variable that you didn't mention in your
letter that is the type of pupils that you teach. I don't know
what the pupils are like in your school but I can imagine that
an interdisiplinary curriculum would flumux many of the weaker
pupils in the system who need to have everything neatly
cubbyholed. These kids expect to be taught English in a lesson
that is labeled "English". What this means is anyone's guess
but the moment that they feel that we are dealing with stuff
that does not constitute "English" pandemonium breaks loose.
Regards
David Graniewitz
Jerusalem (and ex Stanmore BBYO -- just like Laura.)
Hi all,
This is what I have been touting for about 2 years. Some of
you may remember
that around Yom Kippur time, I posted a description of a study
day that I
did with the Bible/Hebrew lit teachers on the relevance of the
litany
"Unetaneh Tokef" to modern times. The English part included a
lesson on
Leonard Cohen's Who by Fire (I know I promised to put it up on
ETNI. It'll
get there eventually). I am currently planning a unit with the
Hebrew Lit
teacher on Alice in Wonderland.
Removing my English coordinator's hat for a moment and putting
on the mantle
of pedagogical coordinator for the whole school, I have to say
that this is
easier said than done. First of all, in my experience, it is
the older, more
experienced teachers who are likely to embrace this kind of
curriculum; new
ones seem to be much warier. The terminology of
"multidisciplinary
teaching"/"interdisciplinary teaching" is daunting, especially
for new
teachers who are battling with the everyday hurdles of "just
teaching". New
teachers - you can correct me if I'm wrong!
Secondly, there seems to be a clash between the aims of the
different
curricula, and many teachers, at least in my school, find it
difficult to
accept that they can work together. Their main worry is that
they need to
finish X amount of subjects in Y amount of time. When I
explain to them that
English works differently - that we can "tack on" to anything,
and that we
work to a different agenda - eyebrows are raised in
incomprehension. In
short, it's great for one-off study days, but overhauling the
entire school
curriculum needs a supportive and understanding principal
(which I have),
cooperative staff (of which there are a handful) and of course
the
authorisation of everyone else in the system.
In order for this to work, and I believe it can, teachers need
to take a
very wide perspective indeed. I personally believe (and I
practise what I
preach) that whether you are interested in this kind of
curriculum or not,
it is of vital importance to keep your finger on the pulse and
talk to the
other teachers. Find out what they're teaching and see if you
can latch on
(with a song, a poem, a relevant newspaper article, etc).
Using the material
in a lesson is a start, then develop into study days (connect
with teachers
you can really work with) and then consider developing a whole
teaching unit
for a couple of weeks.
If I can get my act together on time, I will present a poster
session on
multidisciplinary teaching at the ETAI conference in July.
Meanwhile,
Nehama, Louise and anyone else who's interested, if you'd like
to get some
kind of working group together, count me in!
btw if there's anyone else out there in ETNI land who is a
pedagogical
coordinator and an English coordinator, I'd love to hear from
you and swap
ideas.
Good luck,
Laura Shashua
Pedagogical Coordinator and English Coordinator
Rabin Junior High School, Azor
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