task #2 The Hobbs summary and my relfection

Renee Hobbs set out to see the effects of teaching media literacy in a 11th grade English class in Massachusetts, is goes along perfectly with what this class is all about. This new form of media, literacy even spiked the interest of a few students who have taken the traditional version of the class. Once again proving one of the underlying tones of Will Richards, when teachers create a learning environment where students are trully interested in the course work they will thrive.

Hobbs is collecting her data from direct observations as well as interviews with teachers, students and faculty as the program progresses through the year. Pointing out how she used both qualitative and quantitative she explains gives depth to her findings as well as gives her research a human quality, which is often lacking in classroom research.

What I am finding interesting in the first chapters of the book is how these students are interacting with one another as if they are a part of the Web 2.0(in class room discussions and in their group work) but without the computers. For me, who has never been in front of a class, this adds validity to the excitement that children feel when they are learning about something that interests them.

I also think that Val Aubry makes I good point, that I feel I may forget once I am teaching in a classroom: “we were not here to make kids potential English majors. Instead, we were aiming to help students become critical thinkers” (26). This idea is paramount in the New English that we will all find ourselves teaching. The students who have no interest in English beyond the classroom, will leave that space and take something with them that they will carry for the rest of their lives… what could be better than that?