Student Surveys

Well, I feel as I had a pretty good idea of who my students were before and after the survey. Their choices were for the most part what I thought they would be. Avitar showed up a lot. It was pretty sad though in my opinion some of the movies that some of these students had seen and said were their favorite. Superbad and The Hangover aren't appropriate for 11 and 12 year olds. I need to read some Anthony Horowitz. He showed up on a few of my boys' surveys as their favorite author, and I was informed the other day by one of them that I didn't have enough boy books on my classroom shelves. Also, I want to look up Heather Brewer and Mayra Lazara Dole. They were the only two authors I didn't recognize among such names as Tolkien, Paulsen, Rawls, etc. I actually learned thought, that Lemony Snicket is a real person. I don't know why, but even though I've read the books, I thought he was a pen name. What an amazing name! Finally, the survey was pretty telling in an unexpected way. The students who had the more mature content on their surveys had more discipline problems. Now, I didn't do a statistical analysis of this, but as a teacher, I'm pretty sure my connections are accurate. Interesting. There is something to be said for age appropriate material. As a teacher, I will walk carefully if I feel that there may be censorship issues because I can understand as a parent, what I want my own children exposed to. Now that may sound old-fashioned and conservative in the public education circle, but it is my stance out of respect for my students and thier parents.