Final Thoughts

What have you learned about yourself as a teacher (or future teacher) of adolescent literature (or English) in this class? What strategies will you take from this class to apply in either the Methods course next semester or your own English classrooms?

I went into this class expecting to get very little out of it. Since I teach elementary school (and never planned on teaching any higher grades), I really didn't expect anything to be relevant to me. I was quite wrong though. Dr. Mortimore, you did a wonderful job of making this class meaningful to each person in it, and I know that could not have been an easy task. We all came from such different places in our careers, but you were able to connect to all of us. I feel like I am able to look at teaching literature in my classroom in a new way now-- almost like I am better able to prepare my young students to succeed when they do get to middle and high school. I will also admit: I went to my advisor this semester to see what it would take for me to get certified to teach secondary English. Unfortunately, at the moment it requires WAY too much that would make it worth it, but I did at least consider it for a little bit! :)

What books resonated the most with you? The least? Why? Which selections do you think should be kept/removed from the class?

The books that I most enjoyed reading were The Chocolate War, Forever, and Boy Meets Boy. Not because these were the most "well-written" or canon-worthy texts by any means, but because they provided the opportunity for so much discussion about adolescent lives. This, to me, is what is most important in a Literature classroom--meaningful discussion!

The only book that I truly despised reading was Twilight. I understand why it was a part of the curriculum, and I don't think I would change it for that reason, but it was really tough for me to get through!

As a side note, Disturbing the Universe was also a very helpful text; and I would definitely keep that in the curriculum!

Would it have been more helpful for you to read "classic" or traditional texts alongside the adolescent novel? For example, would reading To Kill A Mockingbird (a frequently taught text in the secondary schools) alongside Monster have yielded more realistic approaches for using adolescent literature in the classroom?

Personally, I would say "no," only because I read classical literature in my free time like there is no tomorrow. I believe that most of what would have/could have been paired with the adolescent novels, I would have already read; and if I hadn't already read them, I probably eventually would have anyway. The adolescent novels presented in this class (with the exception of Persepolis and Harry Potter) were ones I had never (and probably wouldn't have ever) read, so I'm glad we had more time to read those (except Twilight, haha!).

As an educator, though, I would say that for maybe one or two of the texts, that might have been helpful for some students. Especially for up-and-coming teachers, being able to see texts paired well together may have been extremely beneficial.

What are your perceived strengths as a teacher of literature at this point? What remaining weaknesses or anxieties do you have regarding teaching literature (or teaching students!) How might this class have better helped you to address these concerns?

Honestly, I take great pride as a teacher of literature. For a young teacher, I feel like I do an excellent job at presenting multiple genres of literature to my students, at providing opportunities for student choice, and in teaching mastery of reading strategies to my students. I believe that I make literature fun and exciting, and I truly believe that the majority of my students leave my classroom with a genuine love for literature.

That being said, I know that I am still at the beginning of my career and have many, many new things to learn and try. This class has taught me several things to use in my classroom, and I look forward to more learning opportunities to enhance the the way that I teach.

Was the group-teach a valuable experience for you? What was beneficial? What was frustrating? What did you learn about yourself in this experience. Should this experience be included in future classes?

I think that for future educators, this is an excellent experience. Personally, since I already teach, it did just feel like a lot of "extra" work. It was beneficial for me to have to think about teaching adolescent novels, because that was a new concept to me.

I would definitely continue using this activity in future classes; however, perhaps pair grad students together and undergrads together, or have current teachers work alone... something along those lines. :)

Skim through the blogs you wrote this semester. Was creating your own blog and responding to the literature in this blog each week a valuable activity for you? Why/why not? Would you consider using a blog with your own students?

While it was tough for me to get used to blogging at first (because it is a new concept to me--I've never been much for blogging about my thoughts), I believe it was quite a valuable experience. If nothing else, it was much more fun and interesting than mundane book reviews! I would consider using a blog with my students, but I would have to find an easy way to condense all of the blogs to one site/page, since my students are too young to have email addresses.

What recommendations or suggestions do you have for the content of this course. Was anything missing that you felt would have better prepared you? What was valuable to you overall? Feel free to address any other areas that may not have been raised here as well.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable experience for me. I know that I seemed to get "heated" at points, but I do value hearing other perspectives, as I am very passionate about the education of our youth. Honestly, Dr. Mortimore, you have truly made me think about my future as an educator. Until this point, I had only considered teaching elementary students; but you have really made me think outside of the box and consider other alternatives, and for that, I thank you.