Learning Letter

Over the span of eleven weeks, I somehow managed to put together a pretty okay three-week lesson plan on Edgar Allan Poe. This plan was by far the most challenging thing that I have done as a student so far. Going into the lesson plan, I figured it would give me some insight into what is expected of me as a teacher, and it has. The one thing that I wasn't expecting it to do was show me where my tendencies and weaknesses are as a teacher. I found out so much when it comes to what I did too much in my lessons, as well as what needs work in my plans. The book talks that we did in class are another thing that was an eye-opener for me. I didn't think that they would take as much of a thought process as they did when we were first told about them. Having to come up with a rationale for why I would teach a book rather than just being able to say I picked it because its a good book was the first time that I thought about literature as a teacher rather than as a student. The education theory that I was most drawn to was Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. After reading his second chapter on the "banking" method of teaching and Freire's counter method of "problem posting" is what I prefer as a future teacher. Freire's concept of education as a mutual approach where student and teacher are equally responsible for the transfer and creation of knowledge is the approach that I want to take as a teacher. I also love the idea that humans should be fully aware that they are incomplete and strive to be more fully human. Regarding teaching students how to be better readers and how to love reading, I am going to steal so much from the Tovani and Gallagher books that we read this quarter. They both had so many ideas on how to help students get more from their reading both regarding information and enjoyment. To make a long story short both I Read it But I Don't Get It and Readicide are going to be with me for a long time when I start teaching. This course has made me realize that as a teacher I'm never going to have all the answers when it comes to knowing the best way to teach. This lack of answers is because every student is different and what works for some will not work for others. Another thing that I realized is that to make it as a teacher you need other teachers. This isn't a solo mission; it's a collaborative one that takes others to get it done. If I go into teaching with the mindset that I have to do this alone, I am going to fail miserably, and the ones who will suffer the most are the kids.