Pedagogy Forum, Week 2

One method that I recently observed in Amy Ellison’s 1101 class was how she got students to realize that they were already experienced at taking an inventory of signs. Her particular method is one I hope to use myself in future classes in not only composition classes, but I think it would especially great in the teaching and analyzing of poetry. The method goes as follows: As professor walk into class on the first day and say very little. Just tell students to get out a piece of paper and begin to answer the following questions that I would begin to write on the board. On the board I would write—You are already judging me without even realizing it. Answer the following questions honestly for I will not take this work up. The questions read—How old am I? Where do I live? What do I live it, house, apartment, condo? What is my favorite color? Am I married? Who do I live with? What are my hobbies? Do I have children? And so forth. The ultimate goal is to get the students to back up their answers with evidence they gathered by looking at the professor as a sign. Many students will be hesitant to explain their answers. Many students said that Amy liked artsy décor in her apartment and when she asked why they thought so, how they gained that information, they would answer “I don’t know, just a vibe I guess.” This I found out was at first fear of embarrassment on behalf of the students, but when probed further they could back up their statements. “Prof. Ellison is wearing all black and that is why I think she has artsy décor in her home,” was what one student said. What the class eventually goes to was that all black signifies cosmopolitan, the non-descript art student whose body is a canvas free of commercialism and logos—black signified to some students New York City (which relates to cosmopolitan) and, therefore, means rich, straight line style, beat-niks, Audrey Hepburn, sophistication. What the students slowly begin to realize is that they could already read signs and take an inventory of reasons as to how they made those assumptions and what those assumptions mean.This is basically what we did with “A Martian Sends a Postcard Home,” in 6385 and I am beginning to formulate ways to introduce this poem to an 1101 class. The poem provides vivid examples and an available inventory for those who are inexperienced and new to reading poetry, to looking at poetry critically.