Learning Letter

To begin with, I enjoyed the structure of the class as a whole. It was straight forward, with not a lot of guess work as to what we needed to complete as assignments (other than the big unit plan, but that was expected). I thought learning different ways that we could inspire kids to want to read through graphic novels was a huge step for me appreciating literature more. I enjoyed setting aside the traditional idea of teaching novels and adapting what we already know about books into a more exciting look at graphic novels and how they can be used effectively in classrooms.

As we talked about using media to teach our students, I grew onto the idea of including pop culture in the classroom to gain favor among student’s excitement to learn. There is now a myriad of ways that people use technology to gather information about the world. Students are taking advantage of these methods through television, magazines and videos. I do think that using pop-culture in the classroom can be a slippery slope, though. For me to use pop-culture media in the classroom, I would have to be passionate about my purpose of using the material and be able to prove why I think it can help students meet their goals.  

This quarter, I learned a lot of information about what it takes to be an effective teacher. Listening to who our students are and where they come from is key to understanding how to develop instruction. Students have a variety of struggles that each one of them go through on a daily basis and by being able to understand their needs, teachers can adapt their lessons to help students get through a day or even help build a strong trust between the teacher and student. I think that building a good foundation of trust convinces students that we as teachers are here to help them, not punish. Students are more likely to participate in class and on assignments if they feel like they aren’t being scrutinized for their work. While learning what it takes to be a good, effective teacher, I also discovered how difficult an tedious the processes can be.