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