PHILOSOPHY
I was paid the highest compliment when I was told by a senior last year, "You teach beyond the homework. You teach when you're not teaching_ your students leave not only book smart(er) but street smarter_ more aware of the world & themselves." --- We begin the year with our own identities. We analyze who we are & how we know who we are. Analyzing others' stories as we begin to write books of our own _ chapter by chapter. You will have to measure your own success & the success of others through class generated rubrics and criteria charts. When you are in my class _ you have to communicate and challenge one another. We ask questions of responsibility to self and others with presentations, Socratic Seminars, and literature circles. We analyze and synthesize written (prose/arguments/ poetry), oral and visual texts. We infer meaning in visual & written propaganda - essential for the contemporary student. Visual input has become increasingly more stimulating and the mass amounts of information due to current technology have led me to focus on deciphering the relevance and validity of information and forcing my students to evaluate images and to be more evaluative of the information they receive & the opinions that they offer.
We will begin an 8th grade Language Arts/Humanities curriculum/adventure that includes community speakers, parental involvement, authors' visits, & field trips of 200 students to the Japanese American National Museum & the Museum of Tolerance. The curriculum is based on Institute for Learning curriculums as well as iWitness and Echoes & Reflections from the Shoah Foundation; several epic novels, essays, expository texts, poetry, maps, charts, visual and written texts, films, speeches & stories; the teaching of persuasion & propaganda, identity creation & on the teachings I received in Facing History & Ourselves classes: Holocaust & Human Behavior & on the Armenian Golgotha. In fact, a group of students & I were lucky enough to meet with Spielberg _ then were filmed asking questions as we screened Schindler's List. --- Success is measured in our ability to communicate with one another through poetry, narratives, essays, speeches. We communicate in innumerable ways. The same can be said for evaluating our learning. It is done by myself, the teacher, our peers & of course _ ourselves. We need to know how we learned, how best we learn & how that learning connects to other ideas.
We laugh a lot. We laugh at our mistakes. We laugh at our observations. We laugh at my goofiness. This is all good fun_ except sometimes it isn't. Sometimes it is difficult. Really difficult. Sometimes we have to face our demons (the essay perhaps). And - Yes, you really will be responsible for teaching the class. The whole class. Sometimes we have to look at the questions. The difficult ones. We have to reevaluate a truth, which may not be so true after all. --- How do stories reflect the author's heritage, traditions, attitudes, & beliefs? How do we define justice & injustice? Does freedom have costs, as Harriet Tubman suggests? How do we know? What are some dangers in scapegoating? What is fairness to a group? What does it mean to act on the idea of fairness? What does it mean to be heroic? How do we structure, organize & present ideas to inform our readers? What atmosphere or elements are often in play/place to allow events such as the Holocaust or genocide to occur? How is language/How are words and images used to manipulate, convince or control? How are we effected by our environment(s)? Besides fighting, what are some ways to show you agree/disagree with someone? What does it mean to (& how can we) stand up for one another? When we find something (a law/situation) unjust, how can we change it? When should we act? What attitudes and values shaped their views? How do our confrontations with justice and injustice help shape our identity? Is unlawful detainment acceptable for others' safety? Is torture an acceptable means of receiving information? Is it acceptable to have unjust rules during a time of war? How does one's ethnic/racial heritage affect one's perception of how loyalty is viewed? What makes someone an upstander or bystander? --- No - You are not done yet! You also have questions of your own to share! You'll have more questions than answers. You must show how me HOW you know! You'll make connections in ideas, articles & different genres/subjects. You'll use textual evidence, personal experience/knowledge & sound persuasive/argument techniques to back up your ideas verbally, visually & in writing. We will tear apart poems/articles/narratives/speeches/books & put them back together again! We are in for a wild ride BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! Jump aboard! You're education is waiting for you!

Eagle Rock is a true community - with faculty, staff and students who are committed to our community. Because we are a span (7th-12th) school we get to know our students, and they are encouraged to authentically lead programs throughout the school.
We have chosen to put a focus on our students as a whole - through a wide range of engaging academics (including IB MYP and DP - as well as a wide variety of AP offerings), an active athletics program, a myriad of clubs and activities, and many leadership opportunities. I am proud that our school also offers an engaging arts program within the school day.

Ms. Youngblood Jarman began teaching in 1996 when she received her degrees in English and Education from the University of Montana. She taught with the Peace Corps in the Russian Far East, in several language schools in Ireland, Aspect Language School at Woodbury University in Burbank (while working on coursework in Public Administration) - before becoming part of the Eagle Rock community (in 2000) where she currently teaches 8th grade Language/Literature in the Gifted Magnet. She is also the yearbook advisor, co-sponsor of the amazing graduating Class of 2017, and has served as an elected member of the School Site Council for the past few years, as well as serving on the Instructional Leadership Team and the Safety Committee & Search/Rescue Team. Jarman proudly received the "United Way's 25 Most Inspirational Teachers to Watch in LAUSD" in 2015 and is the 2015-2016 LAUSD Teacher of the Year. In addition, she received her National Board Certification in 2015. In October of 2015, she worked with Educator's for Excellence as an advocate for teacher voice in education in Washington _ adding teacher voice to decisions made on Capitol Hill regarding the ESEA. In 2016 and 2017, she will be working on a teacher fellowship through Teach Plus as a teacher advocate in education. Her focus on cultural awareness and responsibility is a pivotal part of her work at Eagle Rock's International Baccalaureate Jr./Sr. High School - through a humanities approach to learning English and studying literature.