Leanring Letter

What a Quarter. This was my first English/Education course and I loved it. 

Book talks: What I loved about the book talks was my ability to hear about YA books without having to discovery them on my own. After hearing 10 weeks of book talks, I know I have a lot of books to read. For my book talks I wanted to bring books that people wouldn't usually consider, or something that they weren't necassarily aware of. For my first book talk I included a play, Cardboard Piano, about two young LGBTQ teens and the misfortunes that fall upon them, with the general theme of forgiveness. I feel I honored that book talk well, and addressed the concerns I had for the play as well as encouraged others to read it themselves. For my second book talk I included a modern utopian novel, Scythe. I think that our main focus today is on dystopian novels, mainly because that is what our students are interested in (what the world is interested in). But I also think we should focus on a future outcome that doesn't necessarily bring destruction upon our world. 

Unit Plan: My unit plan was a whirlwind. What I love about my unit plan is all the research I put into it. I probably spent too much time on research and not enough time working on my lessons plans. I love the first week of my lesson plans, and I think that I would like to go way more into detail on my last two weeks, if I could do it all over again. I'd include more writing prompts and maybe some activities to break up from the discussions every once and awhile. I feel that it is important to discuss plays because a lot of it is based on the audiences reaction and since we can't have that in the classroom we need to share our reactions with each other to create that similar sense of the whole. 

Theories/Discussions: I don't know if you remember my theory at all, about Vincent Van Gogh or Edgar Allan Poe, but I am totally going to apply it in my classroom some day. I feel that an overall theme in our discussions was based on this idea as teachers never to settle. We should continue to strive for "greatness", as a couple of peers have said, and to find new ways to teach an old subject or vice versa. We discussed our fears as soon to be teachers, and our hopes and dreams.

Participation: I've always been a little on the heavy side with participation, I usually participate way too much. Believe or not, I think I really held myself back this quarter. Mainly because I really wanted to hear what my peers had to say, and most of them have had more experience in the classroom. I felt that for once I had a lot to learn, but was still able to express my experiences, thoughts, and ideas efficiently and without deterring from the topic at hand. I still have a lot of room to grow, as a listener. As a teacher, being a good listener is so important. Without listening and adjusting to your students need, you will just end up at a standstill. Teacher and students both frustrated with each other and their inability to properly communicate with one another. I do not want to be the teacher at the front of the room, clueless that my students are struggling, only to find out how bad they are doing when they flunk the assessment. So I will continue to practice my listening and hopefully improve from there.