Learning Letter

Dear Sean, 

Looking back, this class was much different than I was expecting when I signed up. I had previously assumed, as literature major, it would be just like a literature class but dealing with YA novels. Being a fan of YA I was excited. While a class like that would be fun I am so glad this class wasn’t that. I learned so much about the teaching process and how literature is, and should be, taught to adolescents. During this course, my participation in the assignments, theories, and concepts has truly impacted my thinking about my future as a teacher.

The projects I have worked on have given my new insights as to how I look at literature being used in the classroom. For example, when presented with the book talk project I initially wanted to use a book from a series I read as an adolescent. A wonderfully engaging adventure story it is a great book but when I started looking at the application it had in a classroom it fell short. As teachers it is important to have the books we love on our bookshelves for students to access but they may not all be valuable to teach. I then began looking at books I had read that discussed social injustice and diversity because I think those are arguably of the most important things we teach students about. I also appreciated the fact that my ‘to read’ list jumped by about 25 books by listening to others book talks!

The next project, the mini-lesson, was seemingly going to be difficult and nerve-racking for me so I chose something I was very familiar with, Poe. I am always anxious when presenting in a class but teaching a lesson was a much different experience. When up there I wasn’t just talking at an audience, I was engaging with students, something I had never done before. It felt good to see students respond to the activity and text we had selected, if only all real high school students were as reactive. Even then, I look forward to dealing with students who may be reluctant or struggling readers.  Using what I learned in this class, it will be so rewarding to help them find a book they can connect with, or an activity that helps them understand or retain the concepts, that may inspire them to change their mind about reading. 

The unit plan was something that tested me more than anything in this class. I had no idea about the amount of work that goes into planning lessons about a book. I found my self constantly second-guessing myself about whether something would be affective for students. As long as it took I’m glad I put in the time to find rationale backed by research that proved the activities I chose would be successful. That skill is something I will forever utilize when planning lessons.

On the second day of class I realized that discussion in a classroom must be taught. To have effective discussions students can’t just be given questions to talk about. I think I had forgotten this being a college student who is involved in active enlightening discussions daily. But in high school it is different students need to understand what a good discussion is before they can engage in one. This was when I learned about importance of the teachers’ role in facilitating a successful discussion environment where students are prepared, open-minded, respectful, and actively participating by clarifying and thinking critically to find new understandings.

Not having learned about teaching theories and concepts before this class they were a bit hard for me to grasp. But the ones that really impacted me were the ones that discussed social injustice and how to deal with that as a teacher, such as “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and “Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom.” The concepts of inequality in education these presented were at first disheartening but then also inspirational. I remember something you said about us feeling that all we do is just a drop in the bucket but that any steps toward eliminating injustice are valuable. I was also really impacted by the idea between equality and equity.  This is something I will bring into my own conversations while continuing on journey becoming a teacher.

The journey may be a long one but this class was definitely an instrumental stepping-stone in getting there. I gained insight into how and why students respond to literature and how to implement it in a way that connects to all students in order for them to see the value in it. Thank you for the oppurtunity.

Best,

Halee