Now that the semester is coming to an end, I can look in retrospect and say that "if I'm not ready now I probably never will be". I say that because since I have been in the graduate Language and Literacy program, I have read about an ample amount of theories on Second Language Acquisition and literacy, but this is the first semester in which I actually learned techniques of how to put those theories into practice. This semester the class covered an array of topics from teaching the steps of interpreting poetry to how to create thought provoking prompts. Betsy Roschach did an excellent job in putting us in the shoes of teachers and that in return made me feel like one on several occasions. After reviewing my notes, I can conclude that I am definitely ready to start teaching.
It was a wonderful semester and I will add several texts to my pedagogy library, so that I can refer to them when I need information about such topics as literacy, reading comprehension or teaching composition. I learned from this class that if I have something to do, the only way to get it done will be by doing it. This must be the reason why we were asked to produce so many group assignments on our own. I'm very grateful for the lessons on implementation. The professor deserves a round of applause!
I second that notion. I got a lot out of this class for many reasons, but the one that sticks out the most is how Professor Rorschach allowed us enough time and freedom to digest the material and work on our assignments while still being there for her students. She's a wonderful teacher.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading the articles. They were thought provoking and even if I didn't agree 100% with somethings, it made me think. I'm somewhat sorry to leave this L&L program but I've decided to change over to history next semester. I have been afraid to go beyond English, because I feel most comfortable with reading Eng literature and writing about it, but I've changed in the last 3 or 4 years. I find myself wanting to know more about the worlds I don't know. Therefore, instead of reading about characters and situations that represent my inner world, I will learn about real events that've taken place in the in the outer world, and about real people, not that much different from English Literature and I think the same that attracts me to literature is what attracts me to history. They're both in the past and romantic. Anyway I'm nervous about this new endeavor because I'm not the fastest reader or writer, but I'm going to challenge myself nonetheless. This isn't a practical change,however, I've never been... and its too late to begin now.