Learning Letter

Throughout the course of our English 493 teaching literature to adolescent’s class, I believe I have grown as a teacher candidate. Throughout the quarter we have presented our book talks, cooperative mini-lessons, and our unit plans. In addition, we also discussed several teaching strategies and theories discussed in several pieces of text. After everything I feel more aware of what it means to take control of a classroom and instruct the students in an effective manner.

The book talks that we presented to one another helped me think critically about bringing outside sources into a classroom. The sources must have a perfect fit so to speak. The text must be something that you feel could be approved by administrators, parents, and the students. You also want the text to be engaging. Each student should feel some kind of a connection to the text. There should not be a text that only suits males or females, jocks or book worms. Finally, you need to make sure the students can actually do something with the book. There should be a plethora of assignments that you can assign to help the class understand what they are reading (or have read).

The cooperative mini-lessons showed me what it means to split up your class room and share the control with another individual. This experience was nice because as a teacher candidate there are going to be times when the teacher shares some of their control with you. The experience also allowed me to see just how much you can do with twenty minutes of class time. There are always going to be shortened class periods due to assemblies but that doesn’t mean that you should just pop in a movie!

The final project that we did for the course was our unit plans. The unit plan was difficult and required tremendous amounts of time management. The effort I was able to put in, but I sure learned a lot about the importance of time management. Breaking down one subject into three weeks took thought and plenty of notes. However, once all is said and done, I am grateful for the experience. Before I had enrolled in the class I had many people tell me of what was awaiting me – all I could think was “no way! How am I supposed to do that?” However now I see that I can make a unit plan.

The other part of class focused on several readings and blog posts that discussed in class. One of the first discussions that we had in class (one of my favorites) was what it means to have a democratic discussion in a classroom. I enjoyed this because in a way it laid out how we should teach the idea to a classroom. The discussion also showed us that not many classes have this talk, thus resulting in an awkward silence when the topic is brought up. Another topic that was brought up was reading. This was examined in Kelly Gallagher’s “Readicide.” I enjoyed the opportunity to read this book because it showed the struggle that students are facing. However, it also showed teachers (and teacher candidates) how we can overcome this battle with reading. During the class discussions it was clear to see that everyone loved that they were able to be introduced to this book. One of the final topics that we went over in class that was a favorite of mine was social justice in the classroom. This tied into the democratic dissuasions that should be facilitated in a class. I believe so because both focus on having a safe environment for students to grow, learn and share their ideas.

Overall, I am thankful to have taken this class. I feel so much stronger and confident when I walk into a classroom. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have acquired because I now have sources to back up my thinking and choices in the classroom. I feel as if I still have a long ways to go to become a great teacher, but I now feel like I am on the right path to reaching that goal. I know now that it is so, so important to keep studying and reading on how to improve. I see that classrooms are always going to be changing and it is vital that teachers change right alongside them.