Dr. Agriss,
Looking back at the quarter, I feel as though I went about constructing my unit plan the wrong way. Initially, I doubted my abilities so I wanted to wait until I had finished the two pedagogy books and made it through more of the class material. This was a good plan, but by the time I was working on my project, I did not consider all of the topics/articles addressed in class. It was not my intention to do so, but I believe I did not utilize all resources to their full extent. Now I realize that by better utilizing the resources provided, I should have been able to feel confident in my expertise while planning a three week unit. In the future, I plan on fully taking advantage of the articles and two pedagogy novels when planning lessons and curriculum. Further, I plan on seeking out the full books we were given parts from.
Reading Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide left the biggest impact on how I view teaching this quarter. Gallagher confronts lawmakers, administrators, and teachers for their part in the current failing education system. He tackles topics that most teachers and schools often only consider briefly and offers reasoning for methods to fix some of the current issues surrounding literacy. I am not sure if the book would be discarded by people with beliefs varying from Gallaghers’, but it can still be used as a great resource (especially because he provides other sources teachers may use).
Tovani’s I Read It, but I Don’t Get It was insightful in a manner entirely different than Readicide. I don’t remember learning to read. I remember being completely bored when other kids were learning to read in the first grade, so it was crucial for me to understand how readers struggle with reading. I expected the novel to focus on how the brain works when reading, but I was excited to see Tovani takes a much more reader-friendly, classroom based approach. The clarity of her writing allowed me to determine some of the “good reader” things I do in addition to providing many strategies for teaching them.
Another strategy I had a chance to experience this quarter is using blogs in the classroom. I plan on finding a way to try this in the classroom. Personally, I love my blog and plan on using it in the future (regardless of whether anyone is reading). I believe students’ constant connection with technology and high comfort level in the medium serves great to increase engagement.
In my mini-lesson, I realized how important student engagement is to a lesson. A lesson can seem amazing at first sight, but without student participation it will always be a flop. I will always remember: don’t worry about what you (the teacher) are doing, but rather what the students are doing!
Lastly, I benefit in several ways from working with the literary texts addressed this quarter. I was asked to read novels that I had never heard of, but loved (In The Name of God); novels I had heard of, but never got around to reading that I ended up falling in love with (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, MAUS); I had a chance to look at novels I had read through a teaching lens (Romeo and Juliet, Poe). I was given examples of several options to teach these novels. Overall, I grew both as a teacher and a reader by forcing myself to read more in a period of time than I had in the past.
In conclusion, I do believe that students will get as much out of any class as they personally desire. I know so much that I didn’t at the start of the quarter, and yet I feel as though I was unable to squeeze every drop out of the overwhelmingly juicy English 493 class.
Best,
AP
