Learning Letter

Dear Readers, 

I'm sad to say that this is my last blog post. Looking back on this quarter, I've done a lot, learned a lot, and busted my butt! I'm happy to say that this class was one of the best experiences of my life! I cannot believe I've done what I've done this quarter and haven't died from a heart attack! Before I sign off, I'd like to share what I've learned and what I want to work on for the future. 

From the blog posts, book talk, mini-lesson, and unit plan, I've done a lot this quarter. The blog posts offered me a chance at something I've never done before. I've heard of people blogging but have never participated myself. This new experience gave me a tool for potential connection with students in the future via blog posts. Throughout the blog posts, I can backtrack to see what I've done this quarter and what I'd like to look more into in the future. I've learned new terms like pedagogy, Readicide, etc. Most importantly to me as an aspiring teacher is the fact that I've learned the difference from presenting to a class to teaching a class and that knowledge makes me feel so confident in my pursuit of higher education and teaching in the future. This epiphany happened during the mini lesson on The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. To me, this assignment was difficult because I've never taught a lesson before. Going into the lesson, I didn't know if I was simply going to present to the class or teach the class. I found that through the structure of the lesson, it made it impossible not to teach rather than present information. This experience fueled the fire within me to feel more confident in my own abilities, but also gave me the relief that what I'm going into is my passion. I started as an apprehensive reader who didn't like education at all to someone who reads often (for fun) and enjoys education because I know see the value in it. The book talk I did on Seven Days by Eve Ainsworth was a great experience because collectively every student got a new insight on a novel and why we should implement it into our curriculum in the future. To me, this assignment was a book fair on steroids! I absolutely loved the idea of this assignment because it gave insight on what books could be great in a classroom and what books may be controversial in a classroom. Underneath the insight was the connecting principle on how important good books are for students and their education. By allowing students access to great novels helps readers better their education and better their successes in life. The unit plan was by far the most intimidating assignment for me. The fact that it was testing me on material that I’ve never heard of before, made me want to crawl into a dark hole and die! TPAs are something that I’ve never dealt with or wrote in my entire life and I find them to be difficult. After the unit plans completion, I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in the short quarter we’ve had but I too want to use this assignment as a stepping-stone for something great in the future. This assignment really oiled my gears when it comes to the development of curriculum. After the assignment was completed I found myself wanting to continue working on it so that I could really perfect what I wanted to do! I do realize that I’m a perfectionist at times and this assignment made me go crazy for the amount of work that was put into it and the amount of late, sleepless nights I put into the assignment. All-and-all I’m glad I did the assignment the way I did because it has given me the confidence to improve on what I don’t know still and to not be afraid that I don’t know everything. I’m extremely thankful for all the assignments in this class.

The theories that were focused on in class and in the readings are absolutely the most interesting things I’ve read when it comes to educating. From Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Teaching Literature to Adolescents, Readicide, I Read It, But I Don’t Get It, and many more have offered me great insight on what to look for within students and also how to structure a class to include everyone’s learning and skill levels. These texts are something I will keep on my shelf at home and in the classroom so that I can use them in the future for my classrooms. 
Lastly, my participation throughout this course has redefined who I am as a student, a person, and a future teacher. It’s a lot to put into words but I feel that this class has given me the confidence to take on teaching with no apprehension. Will to be a struggle? Absolutely, but this class has given me multiple tools to better myself as a professional and as an educator. I’m very happy that this class exists and that Dr. Sean Agriss is the front man for this class because without him it could have been a terrible experience. As I’m wrapping up this final thought I want to thank everyone who’s been involved with my successes this quarter and in this class, without you all, I wouldn’t be the personal I am today. Thank you.

Forever Cheers.

Ryan