Creating a new Myth

    Recently I've had to create a new mythical idea for my English class. This experience has certainly offered me an experience of what it's like to create something new while also needing it to teach my audience a moral and historical idea. 

    I made a website focused on the idea of why dogs are often considered "guardians" according to various human cultures. I got the idea from my love of animals and the various dogs I have met in my life. (I also wanted an excuse to share pictures of Comet). Basically, in my new myth, a dog was once enlightened and then sent all other dogs to protect the spirits of humans, physically and morally. When making my new myth, I had to study the history and mythology of a few cultures that related to the idea, so I learned a lot about the Fu dogs from Chinese mythology and Shiisaa from Japanese Mythology. Of course there is also the famous Cerberus from Greek mythology, who guards the entrance to the realm of Hades. My biggest concern for this assignment was creating a myth that is both entertaining and has connections to ancient and modern times. When teaching history and myth to children, I think this will be especially important. Kids will want to see reflections of themselves in what they learn, or at least something that entertains them. This is part of why I chose to write about both dogs (everyone loves dogs!) and about a myth that has connections to multiple cultures. Even if students don't see themselves in the cultures referenced, they can at least think about their pets and the roles they fill within their home, thus connecting them to the myth. 

    The creation of my own myth definitely required me to think more deeply about how to connect with an audience (students, in my case) and how to relate my writing to those who read it. The study of myths also taught me quite a bit about Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Greek cultures. 

What it's Like to Write About Poetry Vs. What it's Like to Write Poetry

 Hello blog readers, for this post I'd like to discuss poetry. In the past week in class we've been trying our hands at writing our own poetry instead of writing about it. After so many semesters of classes spent studying poetic form, meter, and poets, I found it surprisingly difficult to do it myself. I've read so much good poetry by talented poets in my life that of course I would hold myself to a high standard. I had to write like Shakespeare or Poe otherwise I should just skip the poetry assignment so I don't embarrass myself. Eventually I came to the conclusion that I could never write like them, especially not poetry! Writing myself was definitely a much more emotional and stressful experience than writing about it. 

When writing poetry analysis, it's so much easier to take an objective stance and see the clear flaws in a piece. I also write much quicker when analyzing poetry than writing it even when the poem I'm writing is very short! Maybe anyone would agree that it's much easier to be on the side of the judge than on the side of the one being judged, to be the observer rather than the creator. Even though I could easily say that I don't particularly enjoy writing poetry, I think it was a very important experience that everyone should have, not just those studying English or taking a class, but composition should be a part of any English curriculum in public school. Especially for children and adolescents, it could be a great way to encourage students to express themselves. 

I remember when I was in middle school, we had to write poems and perform them in class. It was a simple assignment to write about how colors make us feel, and I wrote about gray. The class was quite impressed with my poem and I got a good grade, but it was a confidence-building moment for the young me who realized that even I could write something that people enjoyed. When I become a teacher in the future, I'd want to make sure every other kid gets that same opportunity. 

Teaching and Media Technology (Plus Introduction)

    Hello readers! I'm Holly F, a senior level student at CSUN studying English teaching. My entire life, I've been very influenced by media technology and now as a potential teacher, I frequently find myself wondering what role it plays in education. Especially after the COVID pandemic, where many students found themselves sequestered at home going to class online, teachers and parents have become concerned about what methods to best employ in order to teach effectively in coordination with our newfound online world. Most of the classes I have taken at CSUN (Especially as a veteran of Online-Only classes) have had many components of media technology as a part of the course. We regularly analyze videos, websites and movies in our assignments and I remember being assigned similar assignments as early as middle school. Making video presentations and PowerPoints as a part of a group is a common assignment in secondary and higher education. 

    I think that preparing students to be a part of a technology-heavy society is very important - students regularly complain about school not teaching them things that they will "not really use" as an adult. Encouraging students to produce media of their own analyzing movies and books can build their confidence as well as develop important skills. Because these assignments often have some element of group work, they also help to promote social skills, public speaking and leadership. Having students create blogs, for example, about the subject matter being studied in class requires them to use their creative and organization skills while studying the subject matter. 

    After discussing things like phones and social media with my peers and in various classes through my degree, I've come to realize that the problem of media technology is far more complicated than it originally seems on the surface. Children need to learn the skills to operate in a media-heavy society when they grow up, but there's also more and more clear evidence every year that increasing technology use is having a very detrimental effect on children's psyche and social abilities. I very much like the idea of phone-free schools, which was just implemented all across LAUSD (most likely my future school district). I am of the idea that children absolutely need phone free spaces in order to build their social skills and have some time away from the screen to interact with the real world around them. 

    Thanks for reading my first blog post - here's to many more!