Sam Hval - ENGL 493

I reread Edgar Allan Poe’s story “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and “The Black Cat”. I also read the poem “Annabelle Lee”, which is a poem I’ve had to read several times in different English classes throughout my academic career. Edgar Allan Poe, from my observation, develops quite a reputation among secondary students. Some students hate him, others love him. I, for one, really admire and enjoy Poe’s works both on an intellectual level and on a pleasurable reading level. I can see how some students and English students don’t like him. It is very aggressive, suggestive work that can be on one hand hard to understand and also very uncomfortable. But the importance of his work is hard to ignore. Which is why I like “Rue Morgue” so much. Historically, it is one of, if not the first, existence of the “detective” story. Poe crafts stories that are able to hide information from the reader and also reveal much at the same time. His poetry is just as suggestive and dark, providing images a...

Night is, simply put, one of the essential pieces of literature. There is a reason it is commonly used as curriculum in high school classrooms. It is rare to find someone who hasn’t encountered this text in some form or another. Criticizing this text is something that seems impossible. The goal of Night isn’t to be criticized – it is to be experienced, absorbed. No book, besides Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel, has ever so eloquently and astutely captured the horrors of the extermination of Jews during World War II. Therefore, we teach it to students. Because reading all the history textbooks, documents, statistics, powerpoints, or lectures in the world can’t ever replicate what happened or what it was like. Hearing it from a survivor allows students to step into the shoes of Elie Wiezel and attempt to grasp his emotions. From this, students can at least see the Holocaust from an authentic angle. Even if they cannot understand the suffering on a concrete level, they...

Into the Wild is a harshly moving and fascinating piece of literary journalism. It is a remarkable story, one that will reverberate through time and continue to inspire people, elicit sadness, or astound people with disbelief. Chris is a polarizing figure, one who represents humanity’s naturalistic yearning for adventure, as well as the naivete and pain of young adulthood. It is easy to feel utter bafflement and contempt for some of his actions, but it is just as easy to relate to him and like him. If anything, Krakauer does right, is that he allows the reader to understand Chris. That’s the most important part of telling his tragedy. We cannot go on this journey unless we don’t understand what drives him toward it. Some later chapters meander a little bit, but when it gets back on course it’s a great book and well-told. Chris becomes the emblematic symbol of passion, love, and the desire to search for something greater than ourselves. Chris taught me that, perhaps, we can all go o...

The first thing I thought of when considering the question “Would I teach this book in the classroom?” was: good luck with that! I can’t see how this book would be able to slip past administrators without some pushback. It’s definitely not a book meant for young adults to read, as it feature mature and graphic language, violence, sexual conversations, and heavy psychological implications. I think all of these things, however, are what the novel so strong and profound to read. If I were given the opportunity to teach this to a class, I would definitely be up for the challenge. But I can imagine a lot of parent outrage and some student discomfort. But when I think about whether a young student should read this book, I begin to think back at whether I would enjoy or learn something from this book at that age. I think, without a doubt, this is a book I would have greatly enjoyed at thirteen. Even today, I found Joe a powerfully identifiable and relatable character. When I was twelve/t...

I Read It, But I Don’t Get It   by Cris Tovani was a brisk, though at times repetitive and droning, read about different strategies for reading better. These strategies are applicable for teachers, students, and casual readers. Tovani isn’t a necessarily a poor writer; the book was easy to read and understand and every strategy was laid out clearly and practically. However, I felt the portions in which she interacted with her students and provided anecdotes were stilted and awkward. The students’ dialogue felt forced, artificial, and inauthentic. The way she portrayed her students felt like stereotypes and a middle-aged woman’s crafted view of typical high school students. I’m not going to doubt the accuracy or truthfulness of some of the situations she presents, but the manner which she writes the students and her interactions with them just felt unrealistic to me. At times, it almost felt like she held a slightly negative view of her students as a whole, which put me off a li...

I have had very limited experience working with TPA format and the edTPA guidelines. I briefly discovered and used it last quarter, but there was little instruction or guidance with it so it was basically me and my group guessing what we had to do for each section. Also, the format was a little different than the template that’s provided for class. So this form of TPA and lesson planning is a new ballpark for me. It’s been a tough, tedious journey working out and understanding the lesson plan format and what exactly needs to be written out in each section. That, coupled with the difficult formatting, has created a challenging experience. In spite of that, I totally understand how crucial and vital it is to do these in pursuit of our education career. It’s important not just because we will have to do them; it’s important because it forces us to think deeply and critically about our lessons and pedagogical philosophy. Reading the rubrics and guidelines for the edTPA assessment wa...