Weekly Reading 7

 

I can honestly say that knowing a lot about common core and being able to teach using common core are two different areas of my teaching ability at this time.  I am able to say that I know "something" even if that means not doing as much in action as I would like.  I do believe that change is always going to happen no matter what the standards are and while change is not easy it is needed to continue to do better.  My concern is what seems to be this massive umbrella that has been put over the standards that educators are just supposed to align themselves with.  I am thankful that while attending FSU our professors had enough insight to also teach us in common core so that when other professionals ask I am able to give an answer. 

Because the standards are the roadmap for successful classrooms, and recognizing that teachers, school districts, and states need to decide on the journey to the destination, they intentionally do not include a required reading list. Instead, they include numerous sample texts to help teachers prepare for the school year and allow parents and students to know what to expect during the year.
The standards include certain critical types of content for all students, including classic myths and stories from around the world, foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and the writings of Shakespeare. The standards appropriately defer the majority of decisions about what and how to teach to states, districts, schools, and teachers. (http://www.corestandards.org/other-resources/key-shifts-in-english-language-arts/).


This to me describes the power of representation.  Every standard that we teach or common core objective  are subjective in nature.  We interpret what we think from what we are reading and then attempt to teach and help our students think for themselves.  We do all we can to help them to continue to ask questions and keep their curious nature in one piece before the spoon feeding of education take over and they have no more desire. 

Media Deconstruction

 

Authors and Audience

Who produced this document and for what purpose?
A magazine called The Blaze that can be found at blaze.com which has many ties to Glen Beck.  The purpose of this magazine as is says on the cover is that "truth lives here".  I take this as the reader should blindly trust the content. 

When was this produced, and what was it's historical context?

This particular edition was released in May 2014.  This was just months after the implementation of common core and would have fueled to mistrust of a new system.   

Who is the target audience?

The main target audience is likely to be parents of children that are currently in the school system and will be learning by the common core.

Messages and Meanings

What are the messages communicated?

It is a fairly straightforward message that the common core is a threat to the American way of life and the education of our youth.

What techniques are used to attract and hold attention?

This picture of the students with the thought bubbles like they are actually thinking this.  The different use of fonts and colors direct the reader's attention to the main reading points. 

 How might people interpret this message differently?

When looking into this article- one can see which side of the fence they are on and so those who are against common core from the get go will use this "source" to push their side of the coin.  Those who are in favor will probably not even read this article. 

Who might benefit from (and who might be harmed by) this message?

My fear is that none will benefit from this kind of one sided point of view.  Only those who like to make readers fear the unknown.  I also feel that it is the students who will be harmed from articles such as these.  

Representation and Reality

What information or perspective is left out of this message?

The prospective of the one that sees positive light in the common core seems to be left out of the message. Judging from this cover, common core has no chance to be of benefit to our society. 

Is this an accurate and credible representation?

There are many different views of common core and I am sure there will be many more to come, however by the article only stating the negative and then playing on the fears of others I feel this makes the article less credible in my eyes. 
  
How does this reflect the perspective or bias of its creator?

The creator is a very right sided political point of view. 

Text and Subtext

Text: 

The cover is focused on a group of children in a classroom, facing forward towards a chalkboard. Coming from the children are several "thought clouds" turning into the thought "Common core's threat to our kids, our freedom and our future."  The cover also has the tagline "Truth Lives Here." 

Subtext:

First, if a news source has a tagline similar to "the truth lives here," I typically am skeptical of how truthful it really is. This article immediately has me afraid of its content simply due to the fact that it is using common core to suggest a political attack on our country and children.

Children are at risk due to the common core. The common core is taking away freedom.  The common core does not teach children.

Language of Persuasion

1: Timing

2. Fear

3. Intensive

4. Plain Folks

5. Charisma

6. Extrapolation

7. Glittering generalities

8. Name-calling

9. Nostalgia

10. Slippery Slope

11. Diversion
12.  Experts

Weekly Reading 6

One of the sections that I enjoyed reading in this chapter was about the remote control settings. The one particular spoke about "stereotype alert offers a warning when people, events, or characters are presented in ways that are so typical that they seem ordinary and even banal, as when we see politicians represented in ways that make them seem phony, or blondes and athletes that are depicted as dumb." The point to the remote control is to help students to learn how to develop their critical analysis skills. Often we are overwhelmed with media sources showing us so much information that we just believe what we see and stop questioning.

Cover girl is famous for advertising their products so that those viewing will believe that they will look like that is they buy and use that product. Most companies do this with all products. We have to be smart consumers and use critical analysis.

Rough Draft of Buried Inside

http://youtu.be/Qc1kl9pG0FY