Learning Letter

Work I’ve Completed in the Course

            During the ENGL 493: Teaching Literature to Adolescents course, I developed a three-week unit plan on the Holocaust.  This assignment was fantastic!  I most liked that this assignment had real value, not a waste of time and energy.  Writing 15 edTPA lesson plans was challenging, but it was the best practice for preparing to teach in a classroom.  They say that hindsight is 20/20.  If I had to do my unit again, I would have attempted to write a handful of lesson plans during the first weeks of the quarter.  Writing them early would have helped me twofold: It would have allowed me to get accustomed to writing them, and I would have gotten them done!  However, as it turned out, I didn’t quite have enough information early in the quarter to write the lesson plans.  I was still figuring it all out.

            I also created my very first blog.  Technology is not second nature to me, so I’m quite proud of myself for figuring it out.  Yaay me!  On my blog, I submitted 15 posts about the readings.  I applaud the idea of using a blog rather than Canvas.  At first, I didn’t realize the significance of using the blog, but now I do.  My access to Canvas will terminate soon, but the blog will live on as long as the website and the Internet do.  I liked the idea of student blogs so much that I decided to incorporate the idea into my Holocaust unit.  It’s an excellent method for turning in work with no papers to track.

I completed two Book Talks.  The first was on Cleo: The Cat who Mended a Family (2009) by Helen Brown in which the author tries to cope with grief after losing her young son.  I chose this book for two reasons: I like reading books about animals, and grief touches everyone, eventually.  Many people need to be guided through the ordeal of grief.  The Cleo book might help them.  My second Book Talk was Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1933) that detailed what life was like for her husband as a boy in rural New York State during the 1860s.  I chose this book also for two reasons: It was about a male main character which I thought would better appeal to male readers of all ages.  Also, reading this book as a 10-year-old was the first time in which I realized that reading could make pictures in my head.  I so enjoyed the Book Talks—doing mine and watching my classmates’ presentations—and plan to incorporate the idea into my future teaching.

Theories and Concepts

            Of the theories, concepts, authors, and ideas we studied, I was most drawn to the work of Tovani and Gallagher.  I was introduced to Gallagher’s writing in ENGL 408: The Composition Process last year with Dr. Beth Torgerson.  His writing style and the way I imagine how he teaches in his own classroom spoke to me.  Gallagher’s (2006) book Readicide didn’t disappoint.  I most appreciated his observation that many teachers insist on filling curriculum with excessive “inane, mind-numbing practices” that turn off students to reading.  It’s so interesting that reading—the very thing that English teachers are trying to promote—is actually the thing that is dying because of these excessive activities (p. 2). 

            I also appreciated Tovani’s (2000) book.  I am a strong reader.  I can understand the benefit to reading well, so I tend to keep at it until I master the text.  The text mentions that good readers “monitor their comprehension” and “ask questions about the text before, during, and after reading” (p. 17).  Poor readers simply give up.  Only with difficult texts must I analyze my ability to read and comprehend my reading.  Through Tovani’s writing, I was able to see that every text is a difficult text for poor readers and that they must diligently practice to improve. 

Participation Influenced my Thinking

            I loved melding what we were reading and discussing with tidbits from my teaching experience.  For example, during the discussion about Brookfield’s Discussion as a Way of Teaching, one classmate said she was afraid that students might say “What a bitch!” about her.  I told the classmate that teaching taught me that you can’t prepare for every situation in the classroom.  Sure, it’s good to have an idea of what to do or say before something happens, but planning out every detail is impossible.  And you’ll drive yourself mad if you try.  I told my classmate that I had been called a bitch by students.  I accepted the slam and countered with “I might be a bitch, but I’m the one who knows grammar, and I’m in charge of teaching it to you.”  Yes, it’s true that teaching in an adult learning center is different than teaching children in a public school.  However, children can easily throw swear words at the teacher.  It’s the teachers job to try to stay on the path of learning, however than has to happen.  My classmate thanked me for telling her how I handled the situation.  My participation in class influenced—and will continue to influence—how I teach and interact with my students—as someone who’s in charge of teaching them.