Chapter 4-Hannah Schreiber

Creative Connector--
P.60 Mr. Michie says that his graduate courses act as a period of reflection on his teaching.
I personally feel like my classes at Naz are the same thing for me as they are for Mr. Michie. During class, whenever we talk about something pertinent to my pre-k classroom or one of my students, I think about how I have handled similar situations, what I can do to improve my awareness of those situations in the classroom, and how children might react differently to my new-found awareness. I also would like to think that I incorporate children's lives into my lessons. Children learn best when what they are being taught is something that they can make real and meaningful in their lives.

P.66 Nancy tells the group that her house burned down the night before. When Mr. Michie tells her that she didn't have to come she explains that she wanted to come. "I don't know why. I just wanted to be here" she says. Just like Nancy's passion for reading this book with the other girls, I have a passion for dance and music. I use both as my outlet and my stress relievers. Last September when my grandfather passed away, I was in the process of testing out of my piano class. I found out that he had died on a Thursday night. My test was scheduled for Friday afternoon. I spent the entire morning in a practice room just playing, not caring if anyone heard me butchering classics. When it came time for my test, I let my professor know what was going on. She told me that I didn't have to take the test then if I didn't want to and that I didn't need to be there, but I had completely buried myself in my practicing that all I really wanted to think about was the piano. I think some times that people need that comfort zone to keep their minds off of tragedies that happen. Nancy's safe spot was The House On Mango Street, and mine was the piano.

P. 67 The girls write a letter to the author of The House On Mango Street in the hopes that she will come visit their school.
I remember that when I was in 7th grade, I did a report on some Astronaut (I can't even remember who anymore!) And part of our project was to write a letter and send it to them. Our teacher had helped us to get all of the addresses we would need and double checked our letters to make sure that they were all spelled correctly. I remember wishing so badly that I would receive a letter back in the mail answering all of my questions. I even went so far as to hope that she would come visit our school just for me. Unlike Mr. Michie, our teacher didn't give us a reality check that these people were very busy and probably wouldn't have time to reply to our letters. I never did end up getting a letter back, but reading this portion of the book made me remember that hopefulness!

Essence Extractor: Learning cannot take place unless the students can relate it to their lives and make it meaningful to them.

(I don't have access to a scanner at the moment, so I'll bring my illustration to class!)