Learning Letter

First of all, I just need to state that this quarter has been the single most demanding quarters at Eastern. Nay, the most demanding quarter in my entire five collegiate years. With that being said, I don’t think I have ever learned as much, or grown as much as I have in the last few months. Between this course, English 193, Dr. Beth’s English 408, my social studies capstone, and my first quarter in the classroom, I had A LOT on my plate. There were points where I was seriously doing some inner exploration asking myself “can I actually do this?” I discovered that the answer is always yes.

I think my favorite part about this class was the book talks. I never really thought about being well versed in young adult books for the purpose of suggesting them to my future students. I discovered so many books that I want to read myself (apparently this John Green fellow is life-changing), and so many books that will touch reluctant readers. This will be extremely beneficial in my own classroom, and I hope to take our list with me.

The mini lessons were fun. Though it was difficult to create something that could be effective in 25 minutes, it helped me realize that sometimes that’s the only time frame you have. As a teacher, every minute counts, even if it’s just a short 25 minute lesson.

I don’t think I’m far enough removed from the end of the quarter to discuss the 3-week unit plan without wincing, but I’ll give it a shot. I had never written any TPA longer than a single lesson before, so this was terrifying. However, once it was completed, I realized that it’s possible for me to become a teacher. I was having doubts, and questioning my ability, but completing that unit plan was one of the most gratifying experiences I have had lately. It helped me realize that this whole “being a teacher” thing isn’t impossible, and even with the crazy unit writing and creating curriculum, it’s something I want to do. I don’t LOVE writing unit plans, but I now know that I CAN write a unit plan and that is a big deal.

The pedagogy text aspect of this class was the least amount of fun, but it was definitely beneficial. We were able to learn a lot about implementing discussion effectively in our classroom, social justice, and successful reading strategies. Some of the texts were extremely dense and hard to read, but even then they were teaching us SOMETHING.

            Like I said before, after this particular course, and this quarter as a whole, I don’t think I’ve ever been more confident in my ability to become a teacher. It’s still scary, and I know it will be difficult, but I know that I can do it. Thank you, Dr. Agriss, for pushing us. If I can make it through this quarter, two unit plans, a final book and my first quarter in the classroom, I can make it through anything. I am superwoman.

Cheers,

J

Elie Wiesel's Night

I have never read Night before, and I'm honestly shocked I've gone 23 years of my life without reading it. It was beautiful, heart wrenching, emotional, and hard to swallow. Never will I ever read any Holocaust text without being shocked to my very core. The fact that this is a true story, written by the man who survived the horrific events we have only read about, is so crazy to me. I absolutely loved it and completely despised it at the same time. It's not a story that was made up, in the creative mind of an author. It was a completely true, real life nightmare that millions of people didn't wake up from. I think it's a great text to use either instead of, or as an alternative to, The Diary of Anne Frank. Students could have the option to chose between the two texts. I honestly don't know how I would teach either of these texts because it is such a difficult subject, but I do know that it's possible. I went to the Holocaust workshop this weekend in Pullman, and learned some great things about how to effectively teach sensitive subjects like this one in the classroom. We just need to make sure that, as teachers, we are appropriately addressing a subject like the Holocaust, and supporting our students. It's a heavy topic that many will be struggling to grasp. Even outside of the classroom, this book could be suggested to students because, although it is incredibly sad and difficult to read, it is a powerful story about overcoming the odds and surviving one of the most atrocious acts of human evil in history. I cannot say it is one of my favorite books I have ever read, but it is definitely a great book. I'd like to think that I will try and incorporate it in my classroom at some point.