Reflection from my Group

1. My group members helped me out a lot with this paper they all gave really good ideas for making my paper better. Colleen said that i should talk more about the flowers and the curtains in the background of the second picture. For the first picture she talked about maybe talking more about the butterflies and music notes and what they might mean. She also said do not list my items but talk about everything differently. Emoni talked about  fixing the grammar mistakes i had and what do the pictures mean and what the main idea was and how i could show that in my paper. Lucien said that maybe i could say that the creativity was dying out of the schools and how and why it is.
2. The most helpful piece of advice i received was not listing the things i saw but talk about everything differently and looking more into it.
3. The least helpful advice i received was i do not think anything i received was bad i think everything will help me maybe not now but later in life. I wish we could talk more about the papers so we can all do better.
4. I hope to do everything that my group has said above and i hope to look more into it so i can find the meaning and the main idea so i can make it clear in my paper. I hope that after i do everything my group said then i believe i will have a better paper then i would if i did not have there help.

Visual Analysis

Ashley Baustert

February 25, 2013

Visual Analysis

Mrs. Keaton

            In this Visual analysis we will look at two different pictures on creativity in schools. We will look at a picture that has kids painting on the walls of the school for creativity and so others can see. The next picture will be one that does not show creativity and how that classroom looks like.
      First we will take a look at the picture of the students painting a picture on the walls of their school. This picture tells a lot about the school. It lets you know that the kids want creativity in their school and they are willing to help make sure they get it. You can tell this by looking at all the students around the wall. They are also look like they are thinking and taking their time. In this picture you can see a school wall, lockers, shoes that the students are wearing, students, paint brush, paint rug, paint can, and painting on the wall.

On the walls you can see that there is a boy, music notes, words big and little, butterflies, and a flag. As we look at the wall we can tell that the students at this school are very creative. They can about their school and how it looks. The words we see on the wall are big that talks about the world and the small words look like names.  The names on the wall look like the students from the school.

As you look at the picture you see students working. The students look like they are wearing uniforms. If you look close you can see that the colors of what the students had to wear, they were red, blue, and white. Also looking at the students you can tell they are thinking about how to make the wall look better.

         There are also lockers we can see in this picture. This tells us it is at a school and that the wall is going to be seen by everyone at that school. There are also no white spaces so the illustrator or author used all of the space to make the point that creativity in schools is a good thing.

        As in the picture above tells us about creativity in schools as you look at the picture before it tells us how creativity in schools might be taken out or not there at all. As you look at the picture you see windows, desks, chairs, and one piece of paper. This picture is very different from the one above. This picture lets us know that creativity is not in all schools but maybe for a good reason.  In this classroom as you look through the window you can see trees and more builds out in the distance.

       The desk and chairs are all in a line and in rows. They look plain and not creative at all. There is not really anything in the classroom other than the desk and chairs and paper this might be a bad thing because the students cannot use their imagination in school.  The creativity is lacking in this classroom and most likely in the school also.

       The illustrator or author of this picture did a great job of using all of the space. There is not a lot of white but there are big windows that do take away from the picture. As you look at the picture you see mostly the sun light but it lets you know what a classroom really looks like. This classroom you can tell that the students here learn their school work and do not use much creativity. This could be good for test scores but they are lacking using their creativity.

    As we look at the two different pictures and compare the two we see that they are very different. One tells us how creativity is in the school and what the students do to make sure it stays. The other one tells us that creativity is not needed for students to learn. The two pictures let us see how different schools are and how creativity is used for the two. There are many more pictures out there that could tell us about creativity in schools but thought these were the best ones to tell the story. 

Visual Analysis Picture

Ashley Baustert

ENG 112- 12

Visual Analysis 

Keaton

            This picture we have of a key and the word success can mean a lot of different things for us. We could ask why the key on top of the word success is or why the word success is on a small cut out piece of paper. There are a lot questions we could ask but what does this picture mean. The key is on top on the paper not to the side of under it. What does this key mean; it is not a normal key we would use. Why do we see the word success? I believe that the key and piece of paper could have taken up more room then the back ground of maybe a desk. I feel like it could be bigger and not so much white space. From what I see this picture means that a key can hold our success to the world. All we see is the key and success so I feel like this is what the meaning of the picture and the one who took the picture was trying to get at. I feel like the key is holding our success to our future because we do not know where the key goes. It could be an opening to a new beginning or something that has been in the family. This picture could have a lot of different views and what it could be but this is what I get out of looking at the picture.  I believe the main point in this picture is to make people think about what their future holds for them. I do not think that people really think about what their future holds for them or what to do with it because your future is the key to success and always will be. 

Visual Analysis

For my visual analysis I am going to find a picture that shows creativity in schools is a good thing and one that will show it might be taken out of schools. I am going to Google creativity in schools and creativity not in schools and see if this helps me find what i am looking for. If this does not help then I will try something else. I hope to find pictures that tell a lot about creativity and how it is and isn't working in schools. This way i can argue both sides and not just one. I hope this will help me with my writing for my paper and for me to understand more about creativity in schools. 

Draft 2

Ashley Baustert

2/07/2013

Ms. Keaton

Exploratory Proposal

Dear Ms. Keaton,

The following is my proposal for the Argumentative Paper. I will begin my proposal by presenting three resources from the class that I have chosen to look at in more detail.  I will then analyze, summarize, connect to, and pick a theme from each source.  I will then present you with a possible research topic that I have picked based off of the resources and explain why I have picked that topic.  Finally I will pose a question for which I will base my research off of.

All of my resources that I have chosen to discuss in this proposal circle around a common theme.  That theme is creativity.  While all discuss creativity in schools, they are very different in their approaches.  One talks about how creativity is a staple in schools where another questions rather creativity is needed to function in school.  My last resource takes a completely different turn by saying that teachers need to be creative in their approach to teaching to make their students successful.  The reason I chose these resources is because it gives different views on how creativity is seen in schools. 

For my first resource I have chosen an article that was discussed in class.  In the article “Creativity in schools: Every story needs a picture” Anthony Browne talks about how he went to schools and saw how creativity was being taken out of schools. He tells us he went to a school where the students were two years further ahead in their reading then most schools. When he was there he saw that in fact they were further ahead than most schools but they were lacking creativity. As he walked around the classrooms and school he noticed that the pictures on the walls were of subjects like math languages and sciences not art work. Art was not anywhere to be found in the school. He says “The Children were indeed bright, articulate and enthusiastic, and knee to play the shapes game, a drawing game that I always play in schools” he goes on to tell us how the game is played. That you start with the first person without thinking about it draws an abstract shape and then passes the paper to the next person where they transform the shape into something recognizable. Children seem to like this game and are very good at it. Anthony Browne went to play this game at the one school and saw that the children were drawing “Proper Shapes”. After he worked with them they started to play like all the other schools he has visited. (Browne)

I think that this is a great article about creativity not being in this one school as much as they were in most schools. I can see how they were two years ahead of most schools, but they were indeed lacking creativity and a lot of it. I believe that this article has made me think that if they take related arts or creativity out schools at they could be higher in readings but they would not have any creativity.

I think that this article could have had more examples of schools and how they might not be two years ahead in reading but that they are using more creativity then the schools that are two years ahead. I think it would be helpful to make a comparison on the two different schools. By doing this Anthony Browne could have used another school he had been to and what the walls looked like there, like he did in the article for the school that is two years ahead of the other school.

I think that since I have read this article I would like to know if related arts are helping or hurting the kids in schools. This article is great to start my research and thinking on how this is really a big deal in schools. This article lets us know that creativity maybe is leaving schools but maybe it is not a good idea.

My next resource is a video on the art programs in schools and how there are two sides when it comes to keeping those programs.  The video called Ted Talks “Do schools kill creativity” Sir Ken Robinson tells us how arts are at the bottom on the education list. According to Robinson there are two sides on this topic, “good or bad”.  The “good” point of view is that education systems are focusing more the core part of education which does not include arts as a primary part of education.  The “bad” point of view is that by taking arts programs out of schools is a mistake because it is taking creativity away from students.  Creativity is a big topic today in the education world.  Some schools are taking it out to help higher the grades in their schools. He says that education is the same all of the world no matter where you are. That math and language are at the top and arts are at the bottom. Robinson could have said why creativity is at the bottom and not on the same level as math and language. Robinson lets people know that creativity is not being taken to the same level as math and languages.(Robinson)

 This video makes you want to think if this is really happening to students and schools everywhere. Robinson could have gone into more detail on creativity and how it could be moved up on the education list. Also he could have told us more about how creativity is a great thing to have. He talks about some but could have gone into better detail.

My last resource is another article.  This article discusses teacher’s styles of teaching how creativity affects them.  In the article “My 54 year love affair with the SAT” Kaplan says “my challenge as a teacher was to give students the tools they needed to get the job done. I had to keep students interested, keep them learning, keep them laughing, and above all build their confidence that they succeed.” He did this by telling jokes, arguing, teasing, and listening to his students. He took his creativity and found ways to help his students learn the information for the SAT. He was very creative and took this in how he taught his students. He would tell them if they got a question right they could get a prize. This is very creative and helps students learn. I could see how creativity in learning for the SAT is not any different than learning any skill in school. This might be something to look into for helping students to learn better. (Kaplan)

This article is great.  There is nothing he left out on how being creative can help you learn even for the SAT. Kaplan could take what he has learned and done with his students to the education system and see if it works for the schools. If he had done this he could have told us how it went and if the education system liked what they saw.   Maybe Kaplan could have talked more on how he used his creativity to help students want to learn and do good on test and in school. If he did talk more about how to use creativity in teaching maybe the education system would look more into not only having creativity in related arts but having creativity in core classes also. This could bring grades up or it could bring grades down. It would have to be tested. 

Based off of what I learned from the above resources I have picked a topic that I would like to explore further for this project.  My research will be based off of the pros and cons related to having arts programs in schools.  When I was in school, my favorite part of the day was when we left our classroom and got to go to music, art, Spanish, or PE.  I have always been a visual and creative person so naturally I was drawn to these classes and the activities that took place in them.  Another reason I would like to research this topic more is because of the articles and video I used above.  They really got me thinking about how important or not important related arts can be in schools.  Lastly, my sister just earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and I have talked to her about this topic in the past.  She completed her student teaching in a school where the related arts programs have been cut back to increase classroom teaching time.  I would like to interview her as well as other teaching professionals to get their opinions on this subject.  I plan on getting my research through the web, articles, videos, books, personal interviews and any other resources from this class that I can use.  The question that I choose to base my research off of is this, “Should related arts programs be kept in schools?”

I hope this proposal explains to you what I have decided to research for my final Argumentative Paper and will meet the requirements of this assignment.

Thank you,
Ashley Baustert

Work Citied Page

Browne, Anthony. The Guardian. Web. 29 June 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/30/creativity-schools-childrens-laureate

Kaplan, Stanley. “My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT.” Considering Literacy: Reading and Writing The Educational Experience. Ed. Linda Adler--‐Kasser. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. 265--‐272. Print.

Robinson, Sir Ken. "Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?" YouTube. YouTube, 06 Jan. 2007. Web. 14 Feb. 2013.

Workshop Reflection

1.What advice did you receive from each member of your group? Explain each person’s advice separately and be specific. 2. What was the most helpful piece of advice you received? Explain. 3. What was the least helpful piece of advice you received? Explain. 4. What are your plans for revision? Be specific. I should be able to understand exactly how your work will change in exactly which places.

1.The advice I received from the members of the group were;
Colleen: grammar, add more in creativity in schools for example: subjects tell what subjects they are. Also thought I had everything that was asked for in the paper.
Emoni: grammar, make it more personnel not just hard facts like I am talking to someone. make people think. 
Lucien: Personality, cut somethings out and make it my own
2. The most helpful piece of advice I received was to make it my own and grammar. I think this is helpful because I need to look over my paper better for grammar mistakes and I like the make it my own because I can put more feelings into my paper. 
3. The least helpful piece of advice I got from my group is nothing. I believe every advice I got from my group was great because I know how to better my paper even more. I believe that with this advice I will make my paper 10 times better. 
4. My plans for revision is to make all the changes that my group members have given me. I will first by going in and fixing all my grammar mistakes, then I will go and add more to the creativity in schools like Colleen said. Then as Emoni said I will take some of the hard facts out and make it personnel. After that I will look over it and get my sister or my mom to look over it so I can catch the grammar. 

Exploratory Proposal

Ashley Baustert
2/07/2013
Ms. Keaton
Exploratory Proposal

Dear Ms. Keaton,

The following is my proposal for the Argumentative Paper. I will begin my proposal by presenting three resources from the class that I have chosen to look at in more detail.  I will then analyze, summarize, connect to, and pick a theme from each source.  I will then present you with a possible research topic that I have picked based off of the resources and explain why I have picked that topic.  Finally I will pose a question for which I will base my research off of.

All of my resources that I have chosen to discuss in this proposal circle around a common theme.  That theme is creativity.  While all discuss creativity in schools, they are very different in their approaches.  One talks about how creativity is a staple in schools where another questions rather creativity is needed to function in school.  My last resource takes a completely different turn by saying that teachers need to be creative in their approach to teaching to make their students successful.  The reason I chose these resources because it gives different views on how creativity is seen in schools. 

For my first resource I have chosen an article that was discussed in class.  In the article “Creativity in schools: Every story needs a picture” Anthony Browne talks about how he went to schools and saw how creativity was being taken out of schools. He tells us he went to a school where the students were two years further ahead in their reading then most schools. When he was there he saw that in fact they were further ahead than most schools but they were lacking creativity. As he walked around the classrooms and school he noticed that the pictures on the walls were of subjects. Art was not anywhere to be found in the school. He says “The Children were indeed bright, articulate and enthusiastic, and knee to play the shapes game, a drawing game that I always play in schools” he goes on to tell us how the game is played. That you start with the first person without thinking about it draws an abstract shape and then passes the paper to the next person where they transform the shape into something recognizable. Children seem to like this game and are very good at it. Anthony Browne went to play this game at the one school and saw that the children were drawing “Proper Shapes”. After he worked with them they started to play like all the other schools he has visited.

I think that this is a great article about creativity not being in this one school as much as they were in most schools. I can see how they were two years ahead of most schools, but they were indeed lacking creativity and a lot of it. I believe that this article has made me think that if they take related arts or creativity out schools at they could be higher in readings but they would not have any creativity.

I think that this article could have had more examples of schools and how they might not be two years ahead in reading but that they are using more creativity then the schools that are two years ahead. I think it would be helpful to make a comparison on the two different schools. By doing this Anthony Browne could have used another school he had been to and what the walls looked like, like he did in the article for the school that is two years ahead of the other school.

I think that since I have read this article I would like to know if related arts are helping or hurting the kids in schools. This article is great to start my research and thinking on how this is really a big deal in schools. This article lets us know that creativity is maybe leaving schools but maybe it is not a good idea.

My next resource is a video on the art programs in schools and how there are two sides when it comes to keeping those programs.  The video called Ted Talks “Do schools kill creativity” Sir Ken Robinson tells us how arts are at the bottom on the education list. According to Robinson there are two sides on this topic, “good or bad”.  The “good” point of view is that education systems are focusing more the core part of education which does not include arts as a primary part of education.  The “bad” point of view is that by taking arts programs out of schools is a mistake because it is taking creativity away from students.  Creativity is a big topic today in the education world.  Some schools are taking it out to help higher the grades in their schools. He says that education is the same all of the world no matter where you are. That math and language are at the top and arts are at the bottom. Robinson could have said why creativity is at the bottom and not on the same level as math and language. Robinson lets people know that creativity is not being taken to the same level as math and languages.

 This video makes you want to think if this is really happening to students and schools everywhere. Robinson could have gone into more detail on creativity and how it could be moved up on the education list. Also he could have told us more about how creativity is a great thing to have. He talks about some but could have gone into better detail.

My last resource is another article.  This article discusses teacher’s styles of teaching how creativity affects them.  In the article “My 54 year love affair with the SAT” Kaplan says “my challenge as a teacher was to give students the tools they needed to get the job done. I had to keep students interested, keep them learning, keep them laughing, and above all build their confidence that they succeed.” He did this by telling jokes, arguing, teasing, and listening to his students. He took his creativity and found ways to help his students learn the information for the SAT. He was very creative and took this in how he taught his students. He would tell them if they got a question right they could get a prize. This is very creative and helps students learn. I could see how creativity in learning for the SAT is not any different than learning any skill in school. This might be something to look into for helping students to learn this better.          

This article is great.  There is nothing he left out on how being creative can help you learn even for the SAT. Kaplan could take what he has learned and done with his students to the education system and see if it works for the schools. If he had done this he could have told us how it went and if the education system liked what they saw.   Maybe Kaplan could have talked more on how he used his creativity to help students want to learn and do good on test and in school. If he did talk more about how to use creativity in teaching maybe the education system would look more into not only having creativity in related arts but having creativity in core classes also. This could bring grades up or it could bring grades down. It would have to be tested. 

Based off of what I learned from the above resources I have picked a topic that I would like to explore further for this project.  My research will be based off of the pros and cons related to having arts programs in schools.  When I was in school, my favorite part of the day was when we left our classroom and got to go to music, art, Spanish, or PE.  I have always been a visual and creative person so naturally I was drawn to these classes and the activities that took place in them.  Another reason I would like to research this topic more is because of the articles and video I used above.  They really got me thinking about how important or not important related arts can be in schools.  Lastly, my sister just earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and I have talked to her about this topic in the past.  She completed her student teaching in a school where the related arts programs have been cut back to increase classroom teaching time.  I would like to interview her as well as other teaching professionals to get their opinions on this subject.  I plan on getting my research through the web, articles, videos, books, personal interviews and any other resources from this class that I can use.  The question that I choose to base my research off of is this, “Should related arts programs be kept in schools?”

I hope this proposal explains to you what I have decided to research for my final Argumentative Paper and will meet the requirements of this assignment.

Thank you,
Ashley Baustert

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Browne, Anthony. The Guardian. Web. 29 June 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/30/creativity-schools-childrens-laureate

Kaplan, Stanley. “My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT.” Considering Literacy: Reading and Writing The Educational Experience. Ed. Linda Adler--‐Kasser. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. 265--‐272. Print.

"Sir Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?" YouTube. YouTube, 06 Jan. 2007. Web. 07 Feb. 2013.

Responding- Really Responding- to Other Students' Writing

     This article talks about responding to a students paper the right way. It gives you tips on how to respond and what not to do. It lets you know that your not the writer your just the reader and not to rewrite anything just gives tips. This article gives you a good list of things to look for and comment on.
     The author of this article argued his point well. He lets you know what to do word for word. He does not leave anything out he tells you exactly what to do and how to do it. I do not think he left anything out in this article I think he did a great job at telling me everything you need to know about responding to a students paper. I am not left with any questions because he tells everything you need to know in the article.
      I agree with the author on this article. He lets me know the right and wrong things to do on responding to a students paper. I am glad I got to read this article because I now know what to do in class on Thursday. I think this will also help me later in life also.
     I think this whole article is great. I dont see one line that stands out to me. If I had to pick one line though I would have to say that "you're not the writer you'er the reader" because I think in the past people that have read my papers have thought they were the writer not the reader. This lets you know that you'er just there to help the writer out not to rewrite the paper. I think this was a good line but I like the whole article.