Final Reflection

Final Reflection:

     Looking over what we covered in this course and the amount of learning that took place is almost too massive to describe in words.  The most difficult part of this course had to be the workload that we were given yet each activity and assignment helped me to grow as a teacher.  I have never felt more experienced with writing TPA’s as I do now, even though I could always improve. I learned the most from this project from learning about myself as a future teacher and about the amount of work that truly goes into each lesson and unit that a teacher creates.  I found that I am truly a procrastinator and that that will not fly when it comes to teaching.  I need to really focus on breaking that habit if I wish to continue in this field.  I also found out a lot about my teaching style through the mini lesson that we had to give.  I speak too quickly when I am overly excited on a lesson, but I now know how to incorporate another style of text in my class—the graphic novel!  The Book talks were also a great inspiration that I hope to incorporate into my classroom, especially the book Wonder.  I feel like that would fit perfectly into the curriculum that my cooperating teacher has in place.
     As far as the amount of pedagogical documents we covered in class goes, I learned more theories than I have in a philosophy class.  Each was helpful, but my absolute favorite was the one on Discussion as a Way of Teaching. I really enjoyed what he had to say on the issue, since discussion is such a crucial part to the English classroom.  I also learned more on the idea of bringing in more on the social front of bringing in current topics, issues, and texts to the class.  Some of the documents that we read were so dense, however, that it was difficult for me to even understand what the author was trying to say.  Thankfully, through class discussion, I was able to really comprehend what each document was about and how to apply this to my classroom, if I was in agreement with the text.  These texts and articles really made me question what my philosophies were on topics that I had not even considered an issue.  It was interesting how my opinions changed over the course and how some of the ways that people in our class described the texts made me rethink my previous judgments. 

     Finally, my participation in this course has challenged the way I view teaching and how I view myself as a teacher.  I feel nowhere near ready, but I want to be in the classroom as much as possible.  I still have a lot to learn and a few bad habits to kick, but I am more determined than ever to rise to the occasion.  By taking this course and doing the work that was asked, I realized how much I truly want this as my career.  If I was not as empowered by teachers and I was not as eager to help guide the future generations towards everlasting knowledge, than I would have dropped this course.  To be perfectly honest, I did not know how much work teachers went through till this point and I already thought that they worked hard enough!  I also found that my peers are a great source of insight, not just my teachers and my cooperating teacher.  Sometimes they have even better ideas than the teachers do.  Overall, I feel more excited to teach and I am ready to bust my butt till I can be the greatest teacher that I can be.  I will never quit and I will always improve.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel:

I absolutely loved this book when I read it in 9^th grade.  I don’t know if it was the way he describes himself and his surroundings or if it was just something other than Anne Frank’s Diary.  After attending the seminar at WSU concerning teaching Holocaust to students, I was slightly confused as to why they suggested that teaching mock concentration camps was wrong.  I understand to a degree that if done improperly the mock trial would be more of a comedic standing rather than the horrific circumstance that some people went through.  On the other hand, my experience in my English class when I was put through the mock concentration camp was terrifying, yet informational.  I will always remember walking into the classroom after having finished the book, only to find the lights dimmed and buckets of mud in front of the classroom.  My teacher told us, completely dead panned, to take off our shoes and put our feet, hands, and arms in the mud.  We then were stamped, forced into a line to discuss our strengths, and then sent off into different sections of the room.  I was told my skills were not needed so I was sent to an execution station.  An older student, who had volunteered to help my teacher and had gone through the class before, told me that I needed to write, told me “God hates me” multiple times on the board.  Finally, I “died” was told to go sit in the hall and write a reflection on my experience.  Other students were forced to put cereal in order on the floor and the older students would knock it out of their hands and raise their voices at them.  To me, though it was scary during the time, the experience was instrumental in my understanding of the Holocaust.  You didn’t have time to react, you just had to do what you were told or you die.  I think that in this case, though probably not allowed in a public school classroom, a mock concentration camp would be beneficial to instruct the text.

Romeo & Juliet

Romeo & Juliet:

I love Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, don’t get me wrong, but I think a different Shakespeare play would be much more beneficial.  For instance, Taming of the Shrew helps in students being able to uncover more than the usual struggles with language, rather they are able to comprehend puns by the load.  If you had to teach Romeo and Juliet, I think a movie would be a lovely addition to the unit, as the language is tricky for some students to comprehend.  Another idea that would be useful in teaching the text would be to have the students read the play aloud in class.  I had my students read a short story by being the characters and it not only involved the students, but they were really interested in the story.  I think a careful analysis of the play along with guided notes would be the best possible way for students to pay attention and follow along with the story.  Even if they do read aloud as in a play on stage, guided notes are essential for the rest of the students to follow along and to understand the material.  As far as the reading that you could have them do at home, I would section the play up into scenes.  Obviously, this is the quickest and easiest way to divide the text, but you could also divide the text up according to the themes present within the play that you wish to discuss with the students.  Other than that, the majority of the text would be discussed in class.  I would want to discuss at the end of the play how seriously my students took the text.  Did they think that it was a good play?  Did they think that it was silly and Shakespeare didn’t think that it should be taken seriously?

Poe and Alexie

Edgar Allan Poe and Sherman Alexie:

These two authors wrote specific texts that can be used in the classroom in a variety of ways.  “The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall” by Poe is an extremely interesting and bizarre tale of a man leaving the earth to travel to the moon in a large balloon.  As far as this story goes, the audience could be either middle school or high school, but the context and language is more for high school.  I taught some of Poe’s short stories to my eighth graders and I must say many of them struggled with the language and I had to find easier versions for them to read.  That being said, a small sidestep into Poe should be taken more seriously.  If anything, Poe deserves at least a small unit on his works and about who he was as a person.  Insight into his character would make this short story more understandable for where Poe was coming from.  As far as Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian goes, this is meant for an upper level class—meaning high school.  If I read this in my eighth grade classroom or had them read it for school, I would have parents up in arms and my students would be barely paying attention in class.  The sheer amount of vulgar terms and out right use of sexual terms is shocking, but entertaining for the mature mind.  While the story was fun and easy to read, the intent is more for high school students, as the main character is going to high school.  This would be an interesting story to introduce a prejudice segment or unit in the classroom.  I think that the students would get a kick out of the book, because it is funny and a lot of the issues pertain to all students, not just Native Americans.