Final Blog!

I can’t believe that this is my last blog!  I have learned so much during this course that I’m excited to use in my future classroom.   Even through I’m not an English major, I feel that a lot of the concepts are things I can incorporate into any classroom.  I’m really glad that Dr. Baynum recommended me to this class because I would have never thought about taking it.

This class makes me passionate and excited to teach!  I remember when my high guidance counselor said to me, "Katie, you're ranked in the top 1% of your class.  You could be in any major in any college, become successful and make a lot of money.  Why would a smart person like you waste it on teaching?  They are a dime a dozen!"  I disagree with his comments.  I may never make any money, but I'm definately not wasting away in education.  Often during our class discussion, I thought about how teachers could either make me hate or love a subject.  I want to be that teacher that makes a difference on how a student views a subject.  If they really hate language arts, I want to be the teacher where they recosider their opinions about a suject.

One of the most important things I learned about is the amount of time that goes into lesson preparation for it to be engaging.  It is easy to assign a few chapters for reading and give out a worksheet with basic plot questions.  Is this teaching style a form of best practice?  Based on what I learned in this class, I would have to answer no.  Yes, it does take a lot of effort and time to truly create unique and interesting lesson plans.  However, I noticed that I have enjoyed this class more than other English classes because of the time spent planning.  I love use of media, technology and modern day text.  Usually I leave class with a deeper understanding about literature and excitement for the next class.  This is a feeling that I want my students to experience.  I desire my classroom to be a place where education is viewed as beyond answering surface questions, but engaging in discussions and analyzing literature.

My favorite strategies that were employed in class were small group discussion.  If I didn’t understand a concept or wanted to hear an opinion, it was a great opportunity for to ask my fellow students.   I can easily see this strategy working in my future classroom.   This is great strategy for students to share their ideas and beliefs with other students.  Students who tend to be shyer might have an easier time sharing their thoughts with one or two people instead of an entire group. 

Also, I really loved during the blogs.  I spend a lot of time on the computer already so it was really easy and simple to do.   I enjoyed reading what my fellow students thought about different ideas we were learning in class.   Each of the blog topics allowed me to have a lot of creative freedom in what I chose to write about.  In my class, I will definitely keep a teacher blog to be used as a resource for parents and guardians.  I can update parents on what we are learning in the classroom and any important information they need to know.  Depending on the grade level that I teach, I would do a blogging activity with my students where they can create their own blogs.  I have reservations about students who are younger then 4^th grade blogging, but I will keep an open mind to it if I am teaching that grade level.    

In all, I have a clearer image of myself being a teacher of English/Language Arts after this class.  I fill more prepare to enter a classroom and being able to engage students with Language Arts.