I am in my last English class of my undergraduate degree and it is quite challenging. We learn a lot everyday about how we can become influential English teachers. Each day, our teacher implements a piece of technology that we can use in our classrooms, such as the idea of blogging. Blogging is not something that I am used to because I am not a fan of publishing my feelings online, but it is something I will give "the old college try."
In the beginning of class, we were asked to create Deep Maps. I was very excited because I was able to express the inner artist inside of me. I realize that I am no Picasso, but art is something that I enjoy and I think that I am decent of. The idea of posting my Deep Map and Legend online was new for me though, because I have never actually posted any of my art online, unless I Instagram a picture of something I drew just to release some stress. Like I have said, this idea of being a blogger is very new to me, but I do not have any issues with it so far. I actually have grown to like it a little after the Deep Map assignment because I was encouraged to display my art somewhere other than the typical social media site. I also had a large amount of space to express what this drawing meant to me as a teacher and not some short comment about a sketch I drew. It was also the first time that I was ever asked to do anything visually artistic in an English class. All of my English classes, which I have loved for the most part considering I am an English Education major, have required me to read and write analytically. In this English class, I was asked to do something artistic and express myself in a new medium. I also have to say that I am quite proud of my Deep Map and am definitely going to use this idea in my future classes.
As the semester progressed, we have been assigned projects and have begun practicums. I really like my practicum so far. I have learned many things about life in a middle school classroom from my CT and it makes me excited to have a classroom of my own one day. All of these projects, on the contrary, are quite overwhelming. We have two unit plan projects. One of the will be uploaded to our ePortfolio and the other one is a mini-unit pair share. Those two projects, along with my History methods class, are gradually taking over my life. Even though it is a lot of work, I realize that it will be a resource down the road. For example, I know that I will almost definitely use my unit plan on To Kill a Mockingbird in my future classroom. Not only do I love that book, but as I have been working diligently on my unit plan, I have noticed that the timeless novel is dense with life lessons that my future students will relate to in some way. It is a lot of work, but I realize that it will pay off. Right now, I am just getting through it all step by step!
In the beginning of class, we were asked to create Deep Maps. I was very excited because I was able to express the inner artist inside of me. I realize that I am no Picasso, but art is something that I enjoy and I think that I am decent of. The idea of posting my Deep Map and Legend online was new for me though, because I have never actually posted any of my art online, unless I Instagram a picture of something I drew just to release some stress. Like I have said, this idea of being a blogger is very new to me, but I do not have any issues with it so far. I actually have grown to like it a little after the Deep Map assignment because I was encouraged to display my art somewhere other than the typical social media site. I also had a large amount of space to express what this drawing meant to me as a teacher and not some short comment about a sketch I drew. It was also the first time that I was ever asked to do anything visually artistic in an English class. All of my English classes, which I have loved for the most part considering I am an English Education major, have required me to read and write analytically. In this English class, I was asked to do something artistic and express myself in a new medium. I also have to say that I am quite proud of my Deep Map and am definitely going to use this idea in my future classes.
As the semester progressed, we have been assigned projects and have begun practicums. I really like my practicum so far. I have learned many things about life in a middle school classroom from my CT and it makes me excited to have a classroom of my own one day. All of these projects, on the contrary, are quite overwhelming. We have two unit plan projects. One of the will be uploaded to our ePortfolio and the other one is a mini-unit pair share. Those two projects, along with my History methods class, are gradually taking over my life. Even though it is a lot of work, I realize that it will be a resource down the road. For example, I know that I will almost definitely use my unit plan on To Kill a Mockingbird in my future classroom. Not only do I love that book, but as I have been working diligently on my unit plan, I have noticed that the timeless novel is dense with life lessons that my future students will relate to in some way. It is a lot of work, but I realize that it will pay off. Right now, I am just getting through it all step by step!
