Last Post :(

I’m sad that this class is already over, but I look forward to taking more classes from Kim Jaxon!  I was surprised with the nice break in the usual tradition of college classes using the read-test-repeat method of education.  I’ve heard much classroom rhetoric that stresses the importance of engaging students, but have never actually experienced it being put to use to this degree.  Also, this is the first time that getting into groups for projects was actually helpful instead of being a creative roadblock like it sometimes turns out to be.  Working on the article and resource project was one of my favorite assignments for the class.  I had the benefit of getting to work with a smaller group, so each of us were able to weigh in on which direction to take for each step of the process.  I was able to delve much deeper into the issues brought up in the articles this way and ended up more much more confident with the result compared to the usual work completed in groups.

I learned so much about the countless facets of literacy during these five months.  Each successive class period has been like following a vein of thought deeper and deeper, and now that it has ended I can step back and see literacy for the huge subject is actually is, and how important it is for instructors to provide different medias to their students.  Even though my major is English Studies, this class has made me want to explore the subject of teaching after seeing how dynamic that instructors can choose to make the time that kids spend in school.

Learning should never only be about proving what you know; it should be about the student getting a personalized education with the help of caring instructors to make sure that the student is able to apply that information to various and practical use.  Making sure that students retain the material is only the first step to teaching, and it gives me hope that future teachers are being taught the value of that in this class!