Jan. 20 Blog

Honeslty, my main goal coming into this course was to finish it and graduate. I hadn't taken the time to really think about what I wanted to get out of this course specifically and how that will transition into my teaching. I have not been a real enthusiastic english language arts learner in my previous years. I have always produced grade level work, and "bloomed" at a pretty medium or average level. After reading the syllabus and attending the first class, I want to become more enthusiastic about learning and teaching language arts. Up until now, the thought of language arts has made me think of reading books and writing long papers. I know there is a lot more to it than that, and that is what I hope to explore. I want to find new creative ways to involve my students in reading and writing and how to identify each students level of reading and writing more clearly. In my field placement, I want to see my CT demonstrate guided reading and show me some of her methods to getting her students enthused about writing. My ideal classroom will include many fun and innovative ways to approach every subject area. I don't want my class to "read a chapter a night, do the worksheet, and take a test at the end of the week." I want my students to live history, do hands-on activities in science, create math problems to challenge themselves. In order to do that, I need creative ideas and methods. That is what I look forward to learning this semester.