My Own Mythology

Reflect on how your experience of creating a myth differs from and/ or enhances the study of myth?

What did you learn from this experience that you could use in your future teaching/life?

Studying mythology is seeing how other people have used their imaginations to make sense of the world, typically in a serious way, figuring out what that imagination meant for their everyday lives, their hopes, their dreams, their values. Creating your own myth uses your own imagination to fill a gap in the world, figure out the meaning behind some arbitrary phenomenon and making it make sense. I had a lot of fun with my myth! I actually couldn't think of anything universal questions to answer, so I took it to a poll. I asked some of my friends what universal questions they wanted the answer to, and I got some amazing responses. Some of my favorites: What happens inside a toaster? How were the Teletubbies made? Why does spontaneous combustion happen? Why do USB's only fit after three tries? Why do turtles breathe through their butts? Is the line at TSA or the DMV just preparation mirroring the line into the Underworld? Why do people lose all spatial awareness upon entering a Trader Joe's? I personally have had that issue, and the only car accident I've had in the last 3 years was in a Trader Joe's parking lot. However, the question I chose was "Why do cats knock things over?" After I wrote the story, I realized the question it answered better was "How did humans learn to hunt?" and that was my end result. 

I think I might take the crowd sourcing ideas piece into my future classroom. I had a teacher I worked with who would pass out Post-its and take surveys from the students and the answers were always incredible.  

 Also: Check out the myth I wrote here! https://christinakramer681.wixsite.com/legendofmiao

 

 

 

Writing Poetry versus writing about poetry

Writing poetry is a brave act of truth and power. Writing about poetry is an act of kindness and identification. Both are ineffable sides of the human experience. Poetry is so much more than most people think it is, particularly modern poetry. I have definitely appreciated learning more about the structures of poetry in this class, particularly because one must know the rules of an art form before one can properly break the rules. The best way to fight the power is to know the power you are fighting against. 

I'm currently taking a Theories of Poetry class, reading essays and excerpts from famous poets on why they write poetry, and how. It's been transformative for my process of writing poetry, and also has helped me to be able to speak about poetry properly and with more tact. Writing more poetry with the proper context of the history of poetry has made my poetry feel that much stronger. Getting to perform it in front of the class was also really fun. I really wish I could have stayed longer, but alas, life has a way of making things difficult. 

In any case, taking this into my future as a teacher, I will absolutely be teaching my students about the history and theory of poetry, as well as the in depth analysis portion as we write poetry. Coming at it from all sides with that three-pronged approach, I think, is the best way to keep them engaged while also making sure that some true academia is happening. 

Hi ya'll!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet, folks! My name is Tina, and I'm a senior at CSUN, working to become a middle school English teacher. I've named my blog after my favorite Emily Dickinson poem. 

“They might not need me; but they might.

I'll let my head be just in sight;

A smile as small as mine might be

Precisely their necessity.”

Working in a middle school in Van Nuys for the last two years changed the course of my life forever. I took the job as an after school coach because I needed the money, and I thought it would be an easy stepping stone to hop over. But the children captivated me, and I was hooked, even though the administration I worked under was difficult to deal with. 

I'm a queer, fat, and neuro-divergent woman, artist and writer. 

I've been asked to speak on media technology. Now, more than ever, media literacy is crucial to teach in schools. In a media-driven world, there is so much misinformation being spread across the internet and we need to protect our students from it. It's also important to teach them how to use media to further their own interests and points of view. 

I'm a big fan of using technology to help students reinforce things they've learned, like using Blooket to review for tests. It's a fun and very customizable site to make quizzes with games. I also like Padlet for creative expression, writing, and work-shopping.