Hernandez !

Gabe Hernandez

Dr. Hertel

EDUC 2324

24 April 2018

#1 School Visitation

Inviting a professional adult into the classroom brings about a fresh, insightful,

new perspective to learning. It sparks curiosity in children’s minds and it makes learning

about anything a little bit more fun. However, finding this special person might be

somewhat of a challenge. Personally, I would like to bring someone with lots of life

experience, someone who is fun yet interesting to listen to and learn from. For the stated

reasons, Gayle Forman would be my author of choice to come and speak to my young

adults. She is the host of Videracy, has won numerous book awards, and is one of New

York Times bestselling authors.

I find that Gayle Forman is someone my students would resonate with because

she is down to earth and knows teens. She states in one of her Videracy interviews that

she “bombed the SAT’s” and she obviously does not think taking tests is an appropriate

indicator of intelligence (Videracy, 2018). She is an example of resilience, which is what

I want examples of in my classroom. She also knows young adult fiction and why teens

are so drawn into them. Having her as a speaker may even serve as a writing workshop so

my students get to work with an author live and in person. The possibilities are endless.

Children need coaching, inspiration, and insight on future troubles and challenges. If I

can get someone to share their voice and experiences with them, they will certainly
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develop the knowledge and skills needed in order to be prepared for the 21st century

skills which includes collaboration, teamwork, and problem solving, all evident in

sharing your classrooms with someone like Gayle Forman. Below is a short excerpt from

one of her books which outlines the reasons why she is perfect for a one day visitation,

she explains:

The “Part of me knows one more day won't do anything except postpone

the heartbreak. But another part of me believes differently. We are born in

one day. We die in one day. We can change in one day. And we can fall in

love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day.” ― Gayle Forman,

Just One Day.

#2 Adapted from The Teachers College Record, my choice of article is Teaching

Controversial Issues in American Schools. Influence and the overwhelming art of politics

is still evident in schools, companies, and organizations. From personal experience, I

have found that persuasive skills are needed over good ideas or intentions. My first

concept or idea to influence my classroom, is that we should teach students the art of

persuasion however it is not pushed in the curriculum because of how the purpose of

school is viewed. This article states that, “Limiting the range of topics, restricting the

level of debate indeed narrows the potential role of the pubic commons” (Rennick 2018).

If we were to shift the purpose of school, from teaching what we already know (history)

to teaching what we will need in the future (21st century skills) will enable us to

incorporate more speech and debate into the curriculum and therefore expose students to

the realities that the public is concerned about. My second point resonates with teaching
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students of real life social issues affecting our country in order to develop problem

solving skills and research. This article mentions social movements like “Black Lives

Matters, Gays against Guns, and #N0NRA” (Rennick 2018) to make the point that

society needs competent students to represent their voices and opinions and further

practice the representative democracy we have in our country. Incorporating speeches and

debates in the classrooms facilities this demand and makes teaching more and more

hands on, relevant, and meaningful. The third aspect of this article reveals to me that

teacher are in need of professional development in order to teach this framework or set of

beliefs. “Legal decisions in the 1970s granted teachers greater freedom to examine

political issues in schools, but as the authors consistently note that teachers remained

hesitant to engage with these issues in their classrooms” most likely due to inexperience

with such topics or the inability to teach them appropriately (Rennick 2018). This new

practice needs to be taught by content experts even political figures that know the art of

persuasion, debate, and are willing to guide both students and teachers to a new era of

social justice and real life problem solving practice in classrooms. 


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Works Cited

“Tell Me About ... / An Author Youd Most Love to Visit Your School, and Why He or She
Would Inspire Your Students.” An Author Youd Most Love to Visit Your School,
and Why He or She Would Inspire Your Students - Educational Leadership, Apr.
2018, www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr18/vol75/num07/An-
Author-Youd-Most-Love-to-Visit-Your-School,-and-Why-He-or-She-Would-
Inspire-Your-Students.aspx.

“Gayle Forman Quotes (Author of If I Stay).” Goodreads, Goodreads,

www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/295178.Gayle_Forman.

Rennick, Michael. “The Case for Contention: Teaching Controversial Issues in American
Schools.” TCRecord: Article, 16 Apr. 2018, www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?
ContentID=22332.