All about me (Alex)

To start, I just wanted to mention that this is my first blog experience (as I am pretty sure is the case with my other 3 reading group/blog members). My name is Alexandra (Alex) Lawless and I am 25 years old. I am currently studying a Masters of Primary and Middle School teaching, with my two main learning areas being Outdoor Education and SOSE (now known as History and Geography thanks to ACARA). Previous to this, I studied a bachelor of Sport and Recreation Management straight after high school, which I completed in 2007, and then decided to head into the 'real world' to work full time. After 4 years of experiencing what 'real life' had to offer, I decided that teaching is what I really wanted to do, so here I am!

English, to me, is not just an independant subject at school where students learn about grammer, study books and authors and write essays. Literacy is a life skill useful in most, if not all aspects of daily life and reading can be used to relax, to go on an adventure, to get away without actually going anywhere...I'm not saying that correct grammer or author, book and film studies aren't important, they are. But children and adoescents need to get excited about what literature has to offer and hopefully, as an up and coming teacher, I can make this happen!

Personal Reading Program 1

The two books I have focussed on this week are:

Margaret Wild and Anne Spudvilas, Jenny Angel , and

Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake,  Michael Rosen’s Sad Book.

This week’s textbook reading discussed the need to expose children to complex themes on the journey towards understanding ‘big ideas and complex thoughts’ in an ‘intellectually honest form’ (pp. 489 & 494).  Both of these picture books deal with the death of a family member (drawing on each author’s own experiences) and the emotions and behaviours that may accompany such life experiences.  These are sensitive accounts that I found evoked powerful emotions and could justifiably be described as enriching the life of the reader.

In Jenny Angel Wild conveys hope, courage, denial and ultimate acceptance as a young girl seeks to protect her brother during the course of his terminal illness.  Mention of every-day activities such as doing the dishes, an English test, playing netball and swapping sandwiches at lunchtime would help children identify with Jenny and empathise with her experiences. The story-line is reinforced by the gentle watercolour illustrations by Spudvilas.  I especially appreciate the way she has tenderly portrayed the relationship between the children as well as that of Jenny and her mother in the final image (the shooting star adds to the poignancy of the captured moment). It is neither a simplistic nor superficial treatment of the subject. Two of Wild’s other picture books, Old Pig and The Very Best of Friends are also powerful representations of similar themes.

Rosen’s account is an honest and at times humorous account of his grief at the loss of his son, Eddie.  He makes strong links between emotions and behaviour and the complexities therein.  This is exemplified by the juxtaposition between an illustration of the author grinning and the opening line:  ‘This is me being sad’.  He writes in a matter-of-fact way about the ways that he tries to mask his sadness to make it more ‘acceptable’ to others, and reflects on some of the ways he tries to cope with his deep sadness.  It offers children (and adults) a rare and insightful window into grief – a subject that is so often treated as taboo in our society.  The illustrations by Blake could almost be a stand-alone telling of Rosen’s story:  The blank space after a series of illustrations portraying Eddie’s growing-up; the series of images in which the sunlight disappears to shadow; greys in the darkest times and colour for the happy memories … and the single candle in the concluding image.   

Hello, my name is Petrina.  I am enrolled in the Master of Teaching (Primary-Middle) program, having completed my initial Arts Degree some years ago, majoring in Modern History, Modern Literature and Psychology.  My love of reading has allowed me to escape from the everyday, learn new skills and explore new concepts, and travel the world!  One of the many delights associated with having three precious children has been a renewed daily contact with children’s literature as I’ve read bedtime stories, listened to them read, and tried to keep up with the books my children have been interested in as they’ve become independent readers.  I also hope to be able to nurture a passion for reading in my future students.

Hi, my name is Emilie Mazis as similar to most of you I am currently studying a Bachelor of Education (LBPM).  With this degree I am currently undertaking two general studies, these are design and technology where I am focusing and interest in Home economics and my second general study is history and geography (SOSE).

When I am not at uni I work part time in a Pharmacy and also work at the West Adelaide Soccer club on weekends, which I enjoy a great deal.  Look forward to seeing all your posts and getting to learn a bit more about you all !

Emilie