Experimentation

Okay, so I have to be really honest with this blog entry and I don’t think that it is going to make Prof. Rozema very happy (Sorry!!).  I thought that the teaching conference was a waste of my time and money.  Told you Prof. Rozema was not going to be very happy.

The thing is, I was REALLY excited to go to the conference.  I was even okay with waking up really early on a Saturday that should have been spent working on end of term projects (like these two, huge, overwhelming pedagogy projects that I have to do).  However, I must have put my hopes too high because I was disappointed.

To begin, the Key note speaker Jacqueline Woodson, while she was relatively funny I failed to follow her speech.  It felt like a bunch of random comments intermixed with snippets from her books.  I did enjoy when she shared her writing with all of us–she really gets at the voice of her characters and presents them well.  Overall, I enjoyed her funny comments and her readings but I honestly can not tell you what the point of her speech was.

After the Keynote, I went to a breakout session that was meant to talk about literature circles.  The presenters wanted to give us a way to connect to both reluctant readers and to literature lovers.  A literature circle composed for reluctant readers is one that allows them to choose whatever book they want to read, whether it is a trashy romance novel, a comic book, or a classic.  When students are able to choose their own book, this makes them want to read it more.

For literature lovers a literature circle is a bit different.  Because they are already reading for fun, these students often need to meet at times outside of the confines of the classroom.  The presenter brought in three high school girls that are part of a lit circle that meets once a month to discuss books they are reading, and things that they are writing.  The girls said that since it was not part of a classroom setting they felt more comfortable because nothing was for a grade.  Plus, they know that everyone there reads and writes just as much as they do so they do not have to feel like the loser “book worm” like they do when they share in class.

So my problems with the session are:

I feel that I learned better ways of engaging reluctant readers during Eng 311 though the use of not only lit circles, but also, Symbolic Story Representations, dramas, games, etc.  This session only presented one idea–which I already knew about. I would suggest that the presenter read Wilhelm’s You Gotta BE the Book to enhance her ideas. 

I think that as far as the after school lit circle for literature lovers goes–it would be difficult.  Many teachers simply do not have the time to stay after school for a couple of hours to hang out with the students.  Regardless of this argument–I think that the people who love literature should not be separated into their own group.  Instead, they should be used to help the reluctant readers enter the story world by showing how they do it.

Overall, the session did not really teach me anything new, but it did demonstrate that lit circles do work.  I plan on using lit circles in my future classroom so it was nice to hear teachers claim that they worked, but it was even better to listen to the high school girls talk about what they enjoyed about lit circles.

The second session that I went to was meant to teach me how to interview well.  However, it was just a bunch of obvious recommendations such as: dress up, know your stuff, and be confident.  I felt rather ridiculous because we “role played” in groups for a little while pretending to be principals or interviewees.  I did enjoy one of the hand outs that they gave titled: “Common Interview Questions/Prompts.”  It seems rather handy for when I practice my interview with someone else, but the questions are rather obvious.  The one idea that I did gain was to visit the school website before interviewing to learn the school colors, mascot, purpose statement, etc. because soemtimes principals will ask these questions to see if the person they are interviewing really cares about the school itself.  I thought that it was a neat idea.

I feel bad that I did not get much out of this conference, but it is the honest truth.  I wish that I would have attended different breakout sessions, because some of them sounded really neat.  This one experience does not put me off to the whole conference thing, so I am sure that I will go to really meaningful conferences later in life, but for today, sorry but, I am still disappointed.  I hope the rest of you enjoyed your time and learned more than I did! 

The semester is finally over and now it is time to sum up all of the things that I have explored with this post!  Let me see here:          

To begin, I learned that there are many students that deal with depression.  Often, these students do not show clear-cut signs that they are depressed.  Teenagers do not want people to think that they are different, because this would make them an “outcast” at their schools or in their families.  So, instead of talking about it they bottle up their emotions which leads to even more hurt, anger, confusion, and depression. 

Next, I learned that writing has been known to help out many people that are in dire situations: cancer patients, people in jail, and other depressed people. After seeing how writing has helped others I have come to the conclusion that writing down thoughts/feelings is a great way to help teenagers that deal with depression. One of the first articles that we read by Elbow stated that writing is about telling the truth.  If students are encouraged to write about the struggles they face every day it may help them in dealing with the struggles.  I also think that the writing process has a lot to add to this equation.  The first step of the writing process is to “just get it down”/ “write and write a lot.”  I think these concepts are very therapeutic in that students are able to sit and write what they feel without having to “edit their emotions.”  They are given the ability to forget about mechanics, format, and grades and simply write just for the benefit of writing. 

I have explored the idea of a daily journal a lot in this post and I have come to the conclusion that it would be helpful for students.  I think that it not only can help them with their depression/anxiety, but will make them better writers overall.  Starting off each day of a writing class by giving students time to write shows them the importance of writing and the benefits that are reaped from it. 

 Finally, I want to talk about the use of blogs in a classroom.  I think that blogs have been an interesting addition to the “traditional English class.”  They take writing a step farther than simply objects that are produced for the classroom/teachers eyes only.  Using my topic, if students were to use their blogs to explore their own thoughts, feelings, and ideas then they too could be an interesting way to deal with depression.  It takes a lot of bravery to post something on the web for everyone to see, but I think that it would be very therapeutic for the student and also helpful to others that would come across it.  

 So overall, blogs are great, depression sucks, and writing has POWERFUL HEALING POTENTIAL!

So far most if not all of my posts have shown that writing can help those who are battling with depression.

So this week, it was my goal to try and find an article or blog that went against my own belief.  It took awhile but I finally did it.

I found a blog written by Ian Hocking, a writer from the U.K, that expresses that writing as a career can actually increase the chance that a person will be depressed.

He writes,

“The writer works alone and for long periods. Social isolation is linked to depression because social interaction provides various kinds of support that can inhibit depressive thoughts and tendencies. The writer doesn’t get much exercise. Regular exercise mitigates against the development of depressive symptoms. The writer is poorly paid, and this might lead to poor diet (though I must say that, in my case, the reduction in shopping budget has led to healthier meals), which is linked to depression. Poor pay is also linked to lowered social status, another causal factor in depression. Finally, your success as a writer is almost completely attributable to other people – editors, publishers, readers – and when those people aren’t helpful…this might lead to a sense of hopelessness, and a feeling that the fundamentals of life are not under your control.”

I think that this blog is a nice contrast to all of my musings and emotional entries about how writing is the way to deal with depression.  According to Ian and the Grumpy Old Bookman, writing is sometimes the cause of depression.

I understand that choosing writing as a career can be a frustrating path that leads to depression and I think that is exactly where my old posts differ from this one.

My other posts deal with writers who are writing just for the pleasure of writing or writing to specifically deal with a problem such as depression.  The blogs talked about here deal with writing as a career.

I still feel that overall I would claim that writing does indeed help depression, but now after reading these two blogs I might be a little more reluctant to tell a student that may be prone to depression to choose writing as his/her career.

Ian Hocking.”Depression in the Arts.” March 14, 2007

Michael Allen. “Suicide is painless.” March 14, 2007

I was trying to find examples of writing that teenagers have produced about their depression. I stumbled across the web site for “In the Mix.”  My link brings you to examples of writing, but I want to encourage all of you to browse around on the site.

 “In the Mix” is a film that talks about teen depression and how to know if symptoms that students are showing are just from everyday stress or if they are battling with depression.  It provides current stats about depression and teenage suicide and even provides definitions to “depression” and “self-injury.”  I think this is a great site to visit—especially for future teachers.  It also has a place where you can order a video. Now, I am not advocating that you run out and get the movie—but it might be something that you could show to students in the first couple days of school to show them that they are not the only people dealing with depression. 

The thing that I love most about this site is that it provides a space for people to out post their thoughts, feelings, and personal testimonies about depression. The first story really hit me.  This kid goes through all this terrible stuff just so that he can live.  At the hospital he has to eat charcoal in order to make himself throw up all of the pills inside of him.  The thing that affected me the most was when he writes,  

“In the hospital, on my floor, there were a lot of sick kids. I mean, really sick…and I was there because I tried to kill myself. I took a room from someone who could have been dying, all because I did something stupid.”

He realizes that suicide is not the way to die and that it really is “something stupid.” The other writer ends with a poem that I would like to share with you. 

“Take a razor
Slit your wrist,
Scream
Until there’s no sound left,
Beat the crap
out of yourself
while no one cares,
Until you finally
Dig to the bottom
Of your being.
Go as far
as you can go,
On the road of self-discovery,
Even if it results
in death.”

The thing that I like most about both entries is that they both do not say that there struggle is over.  They both realize that they can receive help but do not act as if the problem will just disappear.

I think using these or other examples of writers talking about depression is an awesome thing to use in the classroom.  They can be used to start a discussion or to be used in a journal activity.I think that so far I have found that writing seems to help people with depression.  But this takes it one step further: when student writing gets published-whether in a book, magazine, or on the web-its potential grows.  Not only does it help the writer, but it can help all of the people who read it as well.

D. and M.P. “Teens Writing About Depression.” PBS.org.

When we try and heal people in hospitals we do not just heal the physical problem but rather we heal the person as a whole.  This includes allowing family members to visit, decorating rooms with flowers and balloons, making sure the patient is not depressed, and by making sure to talk to the patient everyday.  I propose that we add yet another: Give every patient a notebook and ask them to write in it everyday. 

I have yet again found another article where writing has been proven beneficial.  Earlier on my site I talked about how writing helped the women that were in prison deal with their issues.  Today, I will talk about how it has also helped patients in the hospitals—specifically those dealing with cancer. Susan Bauer-Wu, director of the Cantor Center for Nursing and Patient Care Research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, claims that  

“research suggests that by spending 30 minutes each day for four days to write out their innermost thoughts and feelings, patients can significantly boost mental and physical health.”

This blog has been very beneficial to me so far.  Sometimes, I feel very connected to my topic about writing as therapy for depression.  I enjoy telling stories about my life and connecting it to what I am studying.  I sometimes feel that this within this blog and my blog for 310 that it is therapy for me. Now, I don’t share my innermost thoughts and feelings but I do share a lot about how I have felt in the past about things and when I give my opinion about something my feelings are being shared.  I am glad that there are people out there doing research about writing as therapy and that it apparently does work because it is something that I have been thinking about for years. 

Bauer-Wu defines writing therapy as,

““Expressive writing therapy is just that: Patients are encouraged to express whatever is on their mind, letting their hopes and fears flow out in a natural, unrestrained way. It’s akin to keeping a journal, but more focused on the things that might be bothering you or triggering stress.

“We tell them, ‘Don’t worry about the punctuation, the words, just go with the process,’ ” Bauer-Wu said. “We also encourage them to build on whatever they have written before.”

The result, for many patients, is a kind of catharsis — a release and articulation of issues bottled up inside — and also a healthy coming to terms with some of those issues.””

I absolutely love how she talks about the writing process and building on what they have written before.  It connects perfectly to process pedagogy which we looked at in English 310.  Her therapy is to let people write and write a lot for 30 minutes four times a week.  The results are amazing.

““One of the things that’s been found in cancer patients across different studies is what we call ‘improvements in health-care utilization,’ ” she said. “Patients end up going to their doctor or calling nurses less frequently. They need fewer sessions with a mental health counselor. Basically, they are having fewer physical symptoms and coping better.”

Indeed, there’s data that suggest that writing out your emotions eases stress and, in turn, boosts the immune system. “We’re not sure how that might work.””

I have become so excited about Writing or Expressive Therapy.  To me, there are no real downfalls to it.  In fact, so far all I have seen or read about are benefits that writing therapy brings to people. I am a little disappointed that there have not been articles specifically relating writing therapy as a way to help teenage depression, but I feel that if it is used to help cancer patients and women in prison then writing can definitely be used within a school setting as therapy as well.  Hopefully soon I will find an article that specifically links the two together.

E.J. Mundell.”Words Can Help Healing.” Canadian Press. Feb. 22, 2007

I keep a journal of my daily life.  It contains photographs that are important to me, pictures that I have drawn on the sides, what happened in my day, but most of all, it contains poetry.  My poetry is very personal to me.  It holds my thoughts and feelings as if they were stuck in concrete.  Writing these poems gives me relief of all the things going on within my head.

I have been thinking about my poetry a lot lately (because I have been writing a lot if it) and wondering how many people use writing, specifically poetry, as an emotional release as I do.

Today I read an article that explained that many people use writing poetry as I do and that even more emotional release is given when poetry is shared among people.

According to Michael Hickey poetry is used for,

“Self-expression, exploration and self-discovery… [that] finding the words to articulate a traumatic experience can bring relief [and that] there is great release and enjoyment in sharing with others, who identify through the personality and universality of poetry.”

Hickey believes that people can get over difficulties within their lives by writing poetry that is deeply personal to them.  However, what is interesting about Hickey’s views is that he takes it one step further by saying that when poetry is shared with others its potential to help heal a person is augmented.

I brought up the idea of “personal journals” in an earlier blog entry.  I still think this idea is one that can greatly benefit students.  After reading this article I have modified my idea a little.  I think it would be really neat to have students write personal poetry and then share it with others.  They could share with the entire class, in groups, or even with just one other person.

For students that deal with issues of depression this could be very beneficial for them.  It would give them time to

“feed off their own problems and difficulties, perhaps even focus on them.”

This helps them understand events in their lives and the emotions that they are dealing with.  Then sharing their work with fellow students is beneficial in two ways:

1. The student dealing with depression can explain himself/herself to others who may not understand depression.  Thereby educating someone on the hardships of depression.

2.  The student may find that they are not the only one dealing with depression.  There will most likely be others that feel the same as they do and they will come to

“feel [them]selves as not alone in the world, but as part of and integrated with all that exists around [them], self-esteem can then grow through poetry as [their] innermost being embraces the mystery of life. Deep is calling to deep.”

I think the idea of using poetry as therapy could easily be used within the classroom giving students a chance to explore ideas within their lives and share them with others. 

Michael Hickey.”Poetry as Thearapy.” Naples Sun Times. February 21, 2007.

I have been looking through article after article about Teenage Depression that gave me symptoms to look for and reasons why teens are depressed; however, almost none of the articles offer ways to help teens deal with their depression.  With this blog I am trying to find out how helpful writing is as a way to release emotion and deal with issues within a person’s life.Today I came across an article by a woman named Mary Riley who used writing as a way to help women in jail.  She set up classes that allow women to come and learn how to write.  She claims that the woman come for different reasons but that ultimately,

“When they start to write, it becomes an outlet for them.  It’s both creative and therapeutic.”

The women that attend the writing classes are allowed and encouraged to write about things in their lives.  They are not given the idea of “this is what a short story looks like and these are the elements that it must contain–now you sit and write a short story of your own.”  The women find release in writing about their fears, what they had wanted in life, their families, drug addiction, and much more.  Jail is a tough environment that forces the woman to put on a rough exterior.  They are allowed to dissolve this exterior within the class.  One of the woman commented to Mary Riley

“Your class gives us a place to cry.”

The notion of writing as therapy can be applied to teens and the challenges that they face in their everyday lives.  When I attended high school, we always joked that school was like jail and all of the teachers were jailers and the principal was the warden.  Obviously, this is a bit of a stretch since we got to leave the confines of school and head home for the evening.  However, there are many similarities.  In school, students need to put on a tough exterior.  They must act as if nothing bothers them whether it is comments made by fellow students or by the teacher.  Teens face many hardships that the women in jail face: many come from abusive families, many deal with drug addictions themselves or know of someone in their family that does, many fear that they will never make their parents proud, and still others deal with self-loathing issues.

“It’s been shown that writing can help both physical and mental health, especially when people are writing about traumatic events in their lives.”

If writing is shown to have helped the woman in jail deal with depression and other issues in their lives my question is this: How much more can it help our students dealing with the very same issues?  Can we help them deal with these issues before they end up in jail?I believe we can.  The power that is held in writing is astounding.  I know that I become attached to my writing especially if it is about something that is personal to me.  I think that by encouraging students to put personal experiences into their writing will help them enjoy writing, will give them a connection to their writing, and will help them deal with the emotions that they have toward a particular event in their lives.Allowing students a safe place to share their emotions and writing is key to helping them deal with their issues through their writing.  In the article, the women felt safe in the “writing environment.”  It gave them a place to let their guard down in order to discuss issues that they were dealing with.  The same must be true in our classrooms.  As teachers, we MUST provide an environment in which students feel safe to share their writings and feelings. I think that writing is one of the most therapeutic actions that a person can indulge in.  The example provided by the women in jail proves that writing can help people deal with issues in their lives.  I say this example can be expanded: writing is beneficial not only for women in jail, but for all people everywhere as long as they are in a safe environment.

Mary Riley. “Writing Program Brigns Comfort to Women in Jail”. MyKawartha.com. Jan. 26, 2007

Does this make me look fat?  I don’t know how many times I have asked this question to my boyfriends, friends, and family over the past 21 years.  Probably thousands.  In America, we are obsessed with appearance and weight.  We need to have the perfect hair, make-up, clothes, and body shape.  So, why is it that

“the prevalence of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years?” 

What is it aboutAmerica that leads to overweight children?  The answer: McDonalds and other fast food corporations.I understand that people have a choice whether they eat at home or pick up fast food on their way home from work; however, I would argue that this choice is greatly diminished by society.  Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig agrees with me saying,

“Society dictates that basically two parents need to work in order to survive. So for two parents to work, you really have to plan your meals. And when you go into stores, you’re faced with everything that’s quick and easy and is high in calories.”

After watching the video “Supersize Me” I began to examine how infiltrated our lives in
America are with messages about McDonalds.  It is true that we have a choice as adults, but what about the children of this nation?  During one section of the movie children were shown pictures of famous people and were asked to say who was in the pictures.  The kids could not name George Washington but they sure knew who Ronald McDonald was.

What I see occurring is this:  Food companies know how to make lifelong customers. According to the film McDonalds spends 1.4 billion dollars annually on commercials.  They offer toys to children who eat their happy meals.  They give kids a play land so that they will beg their parents to take them.  Once they have gotten children to enjoy a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke at age two it is easy for them to enjoy cheeseburgers, fries, and cokes for the rest of their lives.

I do understand the view of the people at McDonalds.  It is true that everyone knows that fast food is unhealthy and ultimately it is our choice to stop in and eat a Big Mac.  Also, to be fair McDonalds has taken steps to get “healthier” foods in recent years by adding salads and water to their value meal menu and by giving a choice to receive apples instead of fries and milk instead of soda to children.

Overall, the film made me reevaluate my beliefs about obese kids and adults.  I realize that it may be something more than just their choice to eat McDonalds that makes them overweight.  The film also made me think about showing it in a classroom and giving students a chance to write about what they believe and to take it a step further by taking action against the social norms.

“For the past few years, everyone from federal and local governments to school districts, from fast food industries to health care professionals, have done nothing but point fingers at who is to blame for the rise in obesity. Today, however, the focus is shifting toward taking action to fight the problem that is threatening the lives of a growing number of young people.”

This is where I would like my students to take the critical pedagogy assignment.  Once students are made aware of the situation through watching film and reading related articles about the dangers and increase of childhood obesity I will expect them to apply the awareness to their lives.

In my high school, we had one drink machine with water, juice, and milk in it.  It was stuck in between three Pepsi machines with awesome pictures of Mountain Dew foaming out of their bottles.  Looking back, I do not know if I ever purchased milk, water, or juice from the “old” vending machine, but I can remember countless times I put my dollar in the machine to get good ‘ oleMountain Dew.

I think ”Supersize Me” is an easy way to get students thinking about critical pedagogy.  They can relate to the pressures of looking skinny in a fast food world, they understand that people are infiltrated with messages from corporations like McDonalds, and they can take the issue into their own schools and communities and try to produce a change.

I believe students will stand up against the corporations.  They may not do something that effects change across the country, but even if they create change within their schools by creating a boycott of soda or by asking to have healthier lunches in the cafeteria their minds will be changed and hopefully, they will change the minds of others around them.  I think that giving students something to stand up for and the drive to want to do it will lead them to produce great writing.  If they know that their writing will be more than just for the teachers’ eyes they are more likely to spend time making it a work of art.

see complete article

Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig. “A Losing Proposition: Fast intervention needed to halt childhood obesity epidemic”. Alameda Times Star. Feb. 18, 2007

For the past two weeks I have been looking at depression within teens.  I use Google News as my resource to articles about teen depression and depression prevention.  When I started looking through the articles I was disappointed to see that almost half of them were about Mandy Moore.  I was thinking “oh boo hoo for the pop star with fame and money.  What does she have to be depressed about?”  Finally, I decided to take a look at one of the articles about her.

My earlier thoughts honestly make me ashamed.  This is how teachers in the classroom often view their students.  They think, “Well, he is the star quarterback or she is the lead in the school play, what could they possibly be depressed about?” This is the kind of thinking that makes students ashamed to tell others that they are depressed.

I also like this article because if students see that it is okay for a famous woman to talk about her depression it is okay for them too.  I applaud Mandy’s bravery in talking about her depression and I hope that her example will be followed by others as well.  The youth of America often tries to be just like the movie or singing stars so hopefully this article and Mandy’s public confession about depression will be able to help out students going through the same feelings.

Another thing that attracted to me about this article is Mandy’s view on writing and depression.

“Moore, who is working on a new record at a studio in Woodstock, N.Y., says writing songs “away from friends in L.A. or New York” is good for the soul. “Writing has been really therapeutic,” she says of her music. “These little nuggets that have come up over the past eight months have made me look at things in a different way.”

I believe that writing is one great way for people to release their emotions.  When a person can release their emotions on paper it becomes much easier to release their emotions with their actual words.

I keep a daily journal and have found it to be therapeutic within my own life.  I get to shout at people when I am angry, I cry as I write when I am sad, I write large and fast and use many exclamation points when I am happy, etc.  You get the point.  No matter what I am feeling it gets put on paper which helps release the emotion from my head and body.

What if students were given ten minutes a day in their writing classes to keep a journal?  What emotions would they be able to release within their writing?  Would it be beneficial to them or would students just use it as a time to do nothing?

The way I see it journaling can help a lot of students and even those who do not feel like writing and just sit there-even that can be beneficial: a ten minute break to just relax in a day filled with activity.

Lets all take Mandy Moore’s example: Talk about our problems and write about them as therapy.

–”Mandy Moore: I Struggled With Depression.” The Showbuzz.CBS News. Jan. 23, 2007

see complete article

I was one of the lucky kids in High School.  I was well liked by everybody and was involved with many extra-curricular activities.  Not to mention I had the full support of my friends and the most amazing family that anyone could ask for.  Whatever I was involved in, whether it was leading Bible studies on Friday mornings or acting in the school play, someone was always there to support me.  I was a happy student for the most part.

However, there were the days or sometimes weeks, or sometimes even months where I did not feel like myself.  I was not happy with who I was or where I was going in life.  These moments were hard to get through.  Did I tell anyone what I was feeling?  OF COURSE NOT!  I did not want to be different from all of the happy students around me.

These feelings are felt by an amazing number of students in middle and high schools. 

“One of the worst things about being a teenager is being different and this propels many of these young people to mask their symptoms. They suffer in quiet desperation, putting on a good front to fool others, while experiencing unbearable levels of loneliness, anxiety and depression. “

There are too many students in our school suffering from depression and they feel like they cannot talk about it.  Therefore, they do not receive help or treatment for their depression, instead they battle it all on their own.

“The problem, highlighted in the National Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey commissioned by the Federal Government six years ago, found that only half the young people with the most severe problems received treatment.”

We as teachers, fellow students, family, or friends need to recognize when others are not acting in their usual manner.  The pressures that teenagers face are huge and if they have no one that they can talk to about their hectic lives then those pressures often will lead them to depression and suicide.  Students need to be released from their pressures or they need to see that although their pressures are great they can be tackled.

This article has brought me to my own conclusions for when I am a teacher.  They are: Don’t let our students suffer all alone.  Be watchful for those who act differently.  Always be available to talk. 

Michael Carr-Greg. “Intervening in teen depression”. Herald Sun. Jan15

see complete article