On dictation and recitation

read an article yesterday about The Grand Dictation that was held recently in Paris, France. The gist of it was that, in order to boost literacy and have a little fun, over 1700 desks were set up, and people were selected from a wide range of ages and backgrounds to participate. What was interesting is that, of the two people interviewed for the article, the older person found it fun and easy, and the school-aged child struggled and found it "impossible." Taking dictation used to be something people always knew how to do and do efficiently; now, with computers in every school-child's hands, this skill is too difficult for most of them to do. The screen and the keyboard are, I think, a distraction from processing the words heard quickly. I've seen this for years with my own students; they can't take lecture notes (who lectures anymore?), they can't write down a simple list of instructions without them being repeated, etc. I've long been a huge fan of dictating a poem a day in class, but sometimes I slip, due to the rush of things, and we don't do it as often as we should. I'm recommitting myself to the practice for next school year.

Speaking of lost skills, tonight is the spring concert at school. I have two brave students who are going to perform poems as an interlude between choir and band performances. I'm glad there are no concessions (I think there isn't?), so these kids will have an actual audience. This is more than mere memorization/recitation; we've coached them a bit, so it's more of a dramatic monologue type of performance. One student is performing Mark Strand's "Eating Poetry," and the other has chosen Emily Dickinson's "I'm Nobody--Who Are You?" I hope it goes well. There's nothing more I can do to prepare them, and both are dedicated drama students, so it should be okay. The audience will, at the least, be polite. 

Asking students to engage in these tasks that connect mind and body for learning is an ongoing struggle in the English classroom. Almost every other discipline has a "lab" component, but in ELA (and history, I suspect), we've divorced learning from doing. If we want students to really know, understand, and do (KUD, in edu-speak), we need to get their whole selves involved. 

Have a good day,

C