Joe+Schimmel

Joseph Schimmel ENG 409 12/12/11   Reflective Letter __Reflection__ Dear Reader, Before this semester began I thought of myself as a student. I thumbed through course booklets; I processed student-loan applications; I bought parking passes; I dished out outrageous sums of money for required text books and so on and so on. I walked through the corridors of knowledge here at EMU just like every other aspiring professional running the gamut, jumping through the hoops, grinding it out as a student. However, as the fall semester of 2011 reaches its culmination, my view of myself has changed. Am I still a student? Yes. In fact, I may and hope to carry that status for many years. English 409 has given me a chance to look at myself as a teacher. This was the first class that I have taken that has altered my self-image and propelled it forward in great strides. I have been able to work with lesson plans, unit plans, reading and writing methods currently employed by the teaching community, and reflect upon my work and my future as a teacher. As a future teacher in the secondary landscape I am well aware of diversity, cultural differences, struggles and roadblocks students may face, a myriad of classroom environments, and fully understand that learning more and more about these issues will continue to grow. Literacy in the classroom takes on varies forms. Some students will excel at reading but feel hindered when it comes to writing. Other students will write eloquently and with great fluidity and ease, but struggle with reading. Some students may struggle in both areas while others have no trouble with either. Students may loath both activities or embrace them. I do believe that reading and writing go hand-in-hand. And I’m not simply referring to the fundamentals of both, which are vital, but the love that I hope to unearth in both areas. As diverse as our society is so too should our curriculum span. Relating material to our students and helping them see the value in it is crucial. As a former high school student I can certainly remember doing well or working harder in areas I found enjoyable and just “phoning” in the rest. Open communication with students and creating an atmosphere that allows them to address their concerns will be something I strive at as a teacher. I would hate if a single students passed through my doors and didn’t feel important or valued. This may prove monumental, but setting the bar high is the only notch it deserves. One of the aspects to English 409 that I found unique was the discussion board surrounding our text book written by Randy Bomer, //__Building Adolescent Literacy in Today’s English Classroom.__// Most textbook reading is boring and tedious. Usually students scan their required reading so that they may do well on tests or write cohesive essays. However, the goal of these texts should be to inform students and provide them as much insight and knowledge into their future profession as possible. Allowing us to discuss themes and concepts created different motives to reading the book and gave me a chance to absorb what the author had to offer. We discussed such themes as multi-tasking and how it affects all students especially in the busy world our adolescents find themselves in. We also discussed the relationship between a text and its reader. This is a very important topic in my opinion. It takes me back to my earlier point about interest and a connection students should look for or develop at the secondary level with their reading material or assignments. I also enjoyed the topic that focused on different forms of literacy and how “reading” isn’t designated to text books or written material. We read body language, facial expressions, weather patterns, coincidental signs or happenings, team defenses, etc. These are all forms of literacy and before this class I never would have thought in those terms. I hope to approach literature in my classrooms with a sense of value and enjoyment. Reading is a very recreational hobby. Millions, maybe billions, of people read for sheer pleasure. High school student tend to miss out on that because they are reading for testing purposes. As an English teacher at the secondary level I will start a book club. The book club will not be judged, assessed, or graded in anyway. Student participation will be totally voluntary and the requirements will be as minimal as possible. I will encourage every student I have to join. A school newspaper is also something I endorse. Many high schools already print one, but I will do whatever I can as a teacher to be a part of that. High school curriculum is not something I know much about. It would be disingenuous of me to talk about reforming it or how I will rebel and create my own that my students will just love. However, I do feel that it is my job to ensure every student has a chance to succeed. Those who need extra help will get it. Those who struggle and remain silent, passively hoping to just move on, will be pulled aside and worked with so that the patterns they are creating change. Working in groups has never been my favorite method, especially when my grade is contingent upon the work of others. One of our assignments was to read a young-adult novel and create a unit plan incorporating the book at the secondary level. I chose //__Alt Ed__//, by Catherine Atkins. The other members of my group were, Erin Basgall, Erin Blanchard, and Tina Van Hoose. I chose the book because my wife works as a counselor at Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan and created grief-counseling session for her students to attend who are battling grief and depression. The book centers on issues entirely different and is certainly one that I would teach at any high school level. It’s a terrific book. My group was equally terrific. When we initially gathered I was nervous about the assignment and working with my peers on something as collaborative as our unit plan. However, after the first few minutes and some very quick brainstorming I knew I was with very serious and intelligent students. We created some very unique and exciting lessons and integrated meaningful assessment tools throughout our unit. We included journal entries, group work and discussion, multimedia instruction, comprehension quizzes, and a fun yet encapsulating summative assessment. I learned a great deal from this assignment. A pre-requisite to this class is a curriculum class, which I have yet to take. I felt very lost initially, but caught up quick and enjoyed the process of creating lessons connected to something I read and enjoyed. I really had to allow myself to think like a teacher. This was the first time I had done that. My transition had begun. I was starting to no longer view myself as just another student. This was not an assignment that we worked on as a group, tweaked what we felt needed tweaking, crossed our “t”s, dotted out “I”s, turned it in and received a grade. That is what I am used to, but that’s not what we did. Instead, the assignment became a process. We were able to turn in early lessons and different drafts, receive feedback and make the necessary revisions. I learned a great deal from this style of teaching. Projects and assignments need feedback before they are given a grade and buried in the “now that that’s out of the way” file. We are all still learning and that process works best through trial and error. If we had simply submitted our unit plan with zero feedback our grade would have reflected that and our learning would have been stymied. Because this was a process we were able to squeeze everything we could from it and put it in the “moved aside but not forgotten” file. One of our other lengthy assignments was a second unit plan. This one was to be worked on individually with a few choices in terms of style. I choose to do a thematic unit on William Golding’s novel, //__Lord of the Flies.__// For me, re-reading the book was refreshing. I hadn’t read the book since high school and memories of my summer reading heading into my junior year came flooding back. I loved the book then and I love it even more now. This is also a book I plan to teach. I feel its themes and content are more relevant now than ever before. However, I had extreme difficulty conveying this concept in my unit plan. I struggled to grasp the meaning of a thematic unit and incorporate valuable lesson plans that supplied my students with intrinsic knowledge and understanding. My grade suffered. This assignment, like the others was a process. We were able to revise, confer, ask questions, and create something we’re satisfied with before submitting it. My grade still suffered. But I have no plans on scraping this unit – in fact, after yet another revision before including it in my portfolio, I will place this one in the “open me! I’m important, trust me” file. Both unit plans, I believe, will be very valuable to me down the road. I have learned a great deal in how to create them as well as prepare to create them. I now know that reading the material I want to teach while creating the unit is much more effective than bouncing back into the text after it’s been read. Of course, multiple readings is most likely the best way to approach it. The teacher-research assignment was another struggle for me. I based my paper on a very casual interview that lacked any real insight. My observations were far more valuable. I had planned on writing about “writing workshops”, but failed to witness any. I was confused by the task and left out valuable research information. My grade suffered. This is the one assignment I do not feel I benefitted from much at all. Because everything else felt like a process and this one didn’t, I took for granted the fact that final submissions are still final submissions. My laissez faire attitude regarding this assignment was a mistake. Did I mention my grade suffered? I was able to extract one valuable concept however: my research into writing workshops. After receiving my horrible grade I began looking into writing workshops so that I may inch my way closer to the question I posed at the beginning of the teacher-research paper – which was, “What benefit do students attain from reading their classmates’ work and how may those experiences alter a student’s writing style?” The answer to this question, like many others I have about high school students, may only reveal itself in its true form when I put it to the test within my classrooms. However, I want to avail my methods only if I have a concrete foundation to start from. I wouldn’t want to utilize writing workshops in my classroom because they sound important. I want to have a goal in mind with a bar set fairly high because…well, because that’s the notch I feel it deserves. When our semester began we were informed that one of the requirements in the course is that we attend a professional conference. Our options: NCTE in Chicago, MCTE in Lansing, EMU-based conferences (at least 2) held on Saturday mornings scattered throughout the semester, or teacher-approved alternative options. I placed all my eggs in one basket and planned on attending the MCTE in Lansing. Due to family obligations, that option fizzled away, or abruptly blew up as it may be better described. So, I went to a Saturday morning conference at EMU about the digital writing workshop. I was very impressed. The different speakers were well-informed, offered constructive insight, and opened new doors for me as a future educator. Professional conferences or seminars offer so much for those working in the education field and for those well on their way. Once again, I have been able to view myself as more than a student. In the future I plan to attend as many as I can. I want to be able to bring back useful information that will not only benefit me but my colleagues and students. I love to write. I’m not the best, but I’m getting better. If I can convey my passion for writing to my students as well as help guide them in the writing process for enjoyment and growth, I will be doing my job – a job I feel better prepared for after taking English 409. I feel somewhat different when I march up and down monotonous hallways, or flights of stairs in different halls, or pass under electronically approving gates. I feel like more than a student. I am a future educator. I hope, as a teacher, to give my students a chance to alter how they view themselves as readers, writers, students, literary individuals, and people.