I know this is late, but I may as well complete the learning letter and gain some introspection about what I've learned in this class. The work that I've completed over the course, as a whole, was something unique because it forced me to think in a different way, apart from what I have the tendencies to do. It made me thing this way because I normally do not have to think about the way that I would teach a book/subject. For example, the book talk was a fun and engaging assignment because it not only let us choose the book, something that I presume we are all interested in, but it made us think about how we would effectively teach an individual book. I found this to be refreshing. This class teaches the application of techniques and dialogue to facilitate a conducive learning environment because, well, most of the class plans on becoming educators in the world. I, however, am literary studies major which is another reason this class took me out of my normal environment. In literary studies, we read a text and analyze it through a multiplicity of lens'. Postmodern fiction read through a Marxist lens. Or vice versa. By applying pedagogical concepts for instruction of a class was something that is very different than what I normally deal with.
I thoroughly enjoyed the co-teaching aspect of this class because it forced the members of class to partner up with someone and to create a working, cohesive, and pedagogically interesting presentation. I was partnered with Halee and we had chosen to do Poe. Specifically, The Fall of the House of Usher which is something that I am passionate about, Poe. A certain article that I enjoyed reading would definitely have to be Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School Classroom because it shows how inherently flawed our education system when it comes to equality, the production of knowledge, and how the canon is exclusionary. Reading this allowed me to affirm my belief that there are students who are not inscribed within the same discourse as everyone else, and have prisons built up around them, metaphorically speaking. I enjoyed the reading selection as well. Sherman Alexie is a favorite author of mine, and I had not read Maus since high school so that was really fun to come back to.
I don't necessarily plan on becoming a teacher, but this class has made me rethink the way that students, as well as myself, think about a text. Specifically, how one looks at a text when analyzing it, or when someone looks at a text as a point for discussion. Meaningful and useful discussion can facilitate learning, and I believe it leads to a conducive learning environment. I think that if I ever did become a teacher, I could still use the principles that I was taught in this class to benefit my students. At least, that is my hope. I could reference texts like Readicide and some of the research that I found while doing my three-week lesson plan which was rather difficult. I had never made a lesson plan before, let alone a three-week unit. It was challenging, but I digress. Overall, I think that what I've taken away from this class will benefit me in some way, shape, or form because it doesn't mean that I have to use this knowledge to become a better teacher. I can become a better student, and in turn hopefully become a better human.
