Pytash: Chapter 7

I found this final chapter to have a very uplifting message, that as teachers we can mold these students into young people ready to deal with the issues and tasks of our society that require the spoken or written word. This chapter rekindled the emotions in me that brought about my desire to pursue a career in preparing young people for the world. The issue of standardizing graduation requirements across the nation has very valid points on both sides, I always tend to believe that states and communities should be allowed to govern themselves, but in this situation if there is no consistency across the board as to what a 'high school diploma' constitutes, then this leaves our society with a huge problem. I hear from older people that back in the day not everyone went to college, that a high school diploma could land a hard worker a decent living. This is not the case today. I really liked the way the diploma project described the language arts academic expectations for students to graduate. I liked how the chapter dealt with the question students might pose, "Why should I care about this book? It has nothing to do with my life", the author's answer is exactly what I would say, she just did it more elegantly. Teaching persuasion, rhetoric, the essential questions of being a human in the Western world, these are all actions that give me self-efficacy as someone who hopes to change students lives in the future. The election lesson idea was brilliant, when I get a class I will defiantly do this every election year, it is a such a perfect example of how literature and famous characters can effect the populous. Also, the five paragraph/essay prompts for the final test was a much better way for students to demonstrate and be assessed on their ability to produce critically thought out opinions on literature and rhetoric.