Early Field Reflection

When my early field experience began, I really did not know what to expect. I knew that transitioning from the student to teacher role might prove difficult at first. Although first days can be quite intimidating, the moment that I stepped into the early field classroom, I knew that I had found my calling. For several weeks, I was able to build relationships with seniors and freshmen, and I had the chance to share my passion for English with them in the classroom. I learned that there is no such thing as the perfect classroom with perfect students. Instead, I figured out how to work closely with students and listen to their unique voices. By listening and expressing a genuine interest in their lives, I was able to engage students easily, but all relationships take TIME. I saw myself over the semester planting seeds in each classroom that I taught in. Progress as a teacher, I have learned, is not measured by students' grades alone. Progress to me, this semester, meant anything from keeping my male students awake in 2nd period to having seniors drill me with questions about the Renaissance.

If I am caught off guard with something in the classroom, I have learned how to relax and work with the available resources. If I know the material well, I can create a lesson only minutes before class if I need to. Being honest and real with students is also important. Giving students genuine feedback on assignments is just one way to incorporate this open communication in the classroom. I also learned the importance of sharing yourself with students. At different points, I incorporated two of my other passions (art and music) in the classroom, and students really responded to them. It was as though I instantly became someone they could relate to.

Each day, I can feel myself growing as a teacher. The early field experience allowed me to see some things that work and some things that fail in the high school English classroom. I learned that no matter how much you plan, you will never accomplish exactly what you would like to in any given day. This upcoming semester, I will have a better idea of how much to plan for each lesson. Working with high school freshmen this Fall has also prepared me for the Spring. I was able to observe their short attention spans and all the little things that can distract them in the classroom. I will work hard this Spring to keep students on their toes and engaged.

I believe that I am ready to make the transition into student teacher intern. I realize that I have so much left to learn, but it is that fact that makes teaching so exciting to me. I am always learning.

On Writing.

I believe that students can discover and accomplish things they never thought possible through writing. When learners read, the effect is comparable to that of an individual watching a movie. The writer gives you specific details or snapshots that you, as a reader, are given to form characters, themes, and a plot. When they have finished reading, readers step back often with only what the writer has left them. Alternately, writing amplifies thinking as learners are left with only their own thoughts and a place to jot them down. I am sure that my students will ask me, "Miss Fix, why do we have to write? What is the difference?" My answer is simple: You understand and comprehend information better when you are forced to do something with it. Writing is one excellent way to process and store information into long-term memory in an effective and relevant way.

Personally, I am a big brainstormer, and, just as Romano, I believe it will be important to reveal my writing process to students. Now that I have spent some time observing in the high school classroom, I see just how important it is to start students off on the right writing foot. I have learned it is VERY dangerous to assume that students understand all steps of the writing process and minimal instruction is okay for certain assignments. I have observed many students who do not take writing seriously, either because they feel that the paper is too much work or because they think they know exactly what they are doing. As an English teacher, an essential part of my job will be to help students see both a process AND a reward. Unlike tests, writing assignments give students a chance to be creative, show others what they have learned, and allow them to have a permanent copy of their hard work. Writing also allows both teachers and students to see progress and areas in need of improvement.

Media: The Magic of Pairing

The most important thing that I gained from Milner and Milner's chapter on media was the power of pairing. If I plan on utilizing media in my classroom, I need to be sure that it matches the purpose for my lesson and the material that I am covering. I really appreciated all of the examples that Milner and Milner provided to complement classic texts or themes with modern pieces. I think that it is VERY important to really consider how media can work within a specific classroom within a specific period. Some students may really enjoy the connections between literature and paintings, while others may feel that music works more effectively. It might take trial-and-error exercises before teachers can really understand what media is best suited for each class.

Milner and Milner discussed music, film, comics, magazines, and advertising as different ways to engage students further in a piece of writing or grammar concept. One of my personal favorite suggestions presented was the idea of having a class make a one-time issue of a grammar magazine. Grammar is an area in the English curriculum that students should be encouraged to be creative in and make their own. Class magazines can incorporate the individual experiences and personalities that comprise the group to produce a unique, educational product. As a teacher, I will try my best to use different forms of media throughout the year to keep students surprised, yet appreciative of the helpful tools that exist in our everyday life.

Language is power.

Why doesn't vocabulary stick with students? Why don't they use the words from vocabulary instruction in their papers? Why don't they use the words in their speech? These are serious questions that I ponder at least once each day that I am in a school. In the classroom that I currently observe in, each period begins with a vocabulary cartoon on the overhead projector containing a new vocabulary term and a link word or phrase captured in the cartoon (A cactus caucus). At the bottom of the transparency, the new word is used in three sentences, often revealing how the term can appear in different forms. Initially, I actually felt that this vocabulary strategy might help students remember the vocabulary words as they connected a definition with an image. When I graded the first vocabulary quizzes, however, I discovered that it would take more than vocabulary cartoons like these to improve students' comprehension and make the words meaningful to them.

Allen's chapter in Adolescent Literacy reviewed what research has proven about vocabulary instruction and how we can use that to reach learners. I do not think I could use all of the vocabulary strategies that Allen suggested because I felt that some would not work as well in the secondary English classroom as they would in other content areas. The vocabulary that is taught in English classrooms (the kind that we teach students to prepare them for the SATs), is not a collection of words that are interconnected. Concept Circles and Possible Sentences, as the examples in the text suggest, work well in health and science courses. Highlighting "stopper words" on the board/overhead and Context Plus seem as though they would be more effective in English education. For instance, I believe both of these strategies would be effective in the Shakespeare unit that my 12th grade classes are about to begin. As for teaching students SAT-like words, I believe the words themselves must come alive to hold any meaning to students. Instead of an overhead cartoon generated by a textbook, perhaps teachers could give students a five-minute opportunity to create their own short cartoon. Students could even form small groups and act out their interpretation of the new term. I think one problem in English classrooms today is a lack of emphasis on creativity. If students can create something and call it their own, suddenly something meaningless or annoying becomes worth putting their time and energy into. I believe the purpose of vocabulary instruction goes beyond helping students learn the definitions of new or vaguely familiar terms. My goal in vocabulary instruction is to help my students see the power of language in literature and, more importantly, in their own lives.

Grammar 2.0.

This week's readings made me think about grammar instruction in the English classroom that I am currently observing in. I observe in a twelfth grade classroom in which grammar is rarely, if ever, taught. I agree with Anderson, in his "Zooming In and Zooming Out" article, that grammar should be reinforced throughout an English course. Anderson suggests that grammar should be woven into context in ways like "teach[ing] one thing at a time and apply[ing] it to our daily writing," and encouraging "rich experiences in the writer's notebook" (32). Just as most teachers approach reading instruction, I believe that they must, too, focus on a small example of a grammatical rule and lead their students out to a larger context. I liked Anderson's idea of utilizing books that are already present inside of the classroom to help students connect grammar lessons with real writing. Schuster also revealed that examples taken from professional writing (essays) can be used to reinforce particular lessons. He discussed the appropriateness of sentence fragments, an important lesson that may prove difficult for new teachers.

The usage chapter that our class read this week brought a few thoughts to mind. Will I be ready for the grammar questions that my students will ask me? What will my students know about grammar before they enter my classroom? How will I acquaint myself with the dialect and language features used in the area that I teach in? I found this selection to be very helpful because it included sections on how to approach different types of grammatical issues in the classroom. Double negatives and split infinitives are common errors that students in my English classes have been making. Activity 3-5 (tracking a public figure's speech habits) revealed one way that I can engage my students in discovering standard English rules by making students aware of the relevance that grammar has in today's society. More than anything, my goal as a grammar teacher will be to prepare my students to use standard English "when the occasion demands it" (64).

Grammar.

I believe that I will always have to work at learning grammar. Before I came to college, I did not have structured grammar education. As a result, I am a twenty-two-year-old who must constantly refer back to grammar guidelines. Just as Milner and Milner state in a grammar section in Bridging English, I believe that "grammar...means different things to different people" (79). Bill Gribin attempts to classify grammar into three useful parts: Grammar 1 (our unconscious knowledge of grammar), Grammar 2 (our conscious knowledge of grammar), and Grammar 3 (our concern for proper usage). I agree with Milner and Milner that too often people, when debating grammar instruction, leave out one of these essential grammar components. After all, every student will be exposed to different language environments and there is a time and a place for particular words. I think it is important for English teachers to keep these different grammars in mind as they teach students.

Because I do not have experience yet with grammar instruction in the classroom, it is hard to say which method for teaching grammar is most effective. I do think that some of Burnette's strategies (presented in "Daily Grammar Practice") work through grammar concepts as students are encouraged to write daily. I like her idea of sentence diagramming. I diagrammed several sentences in college courses and, even though they were not the most entertaining exercises, they really helped me learn grammar. A necessary evil if you will. I believe that diagramming sentences and instruction that doesn't isolate individual parts of speech make it easier for students to learn grammar in a more whole sense, as they see how unique words and phrases connect. I agree with Barton's view that "connecting written, read, heard, and spoken language" (86) is significant teaching grammar to students. As an English teacher, I will not always be able to make grammar lessons exciting, but I know that, if I work hard, I can make them meaningful.

Comic books, technology, and writers...oh my!

I attended my first English teacher conference this weekend, and I learned a great deal not only about teaching, but also about English teachers. While I found some sessions to be quite helpful, there were a few that I might not have benefited as significantly from. I enjoyed the presentations on technology and comic books the most because I feel like I can really use strategies from both presentations to engage my students in the classroom regardless of what material I am covering. One of my favorite experiences at the conference was with the author that I met, Scott Loring Sanders. In an intimate environment, we were able to hear this writer read from his new book. This was an exciting situation that I have not been in since elementary school. His reading and his book discussion really got me thinking about finding local writers in the areas that I teach in and inviting them to share their stories with the class. Personally, I felt encouraged by him to take chances and pursue my dreams. I feel like local writers can really move students in ways that their text(s) alone cannot.

At the conference, I also was able to meet and interact with English teachers from around the state. I quickly noticed that there was a large age difference between most of the conference participants. Either participants were graduate students or very new teachers, or participants were older, more experienced teachers with years of teaching under their belts. In sessions like the 21st century skills session, this difference was magnified. The new teachers or graduate students had fewer questions about emerging technologies, while the more experienced teachers listened closely and asked more questions. I felt as though both groups had so much to offer one another. The conference also allowed me to see how every teacher brings a unique dynamic to the English classroom. We all have different strengths, and an important element of teaching is to tap into that dynamic, embrace it, and, above all, use it to help students reach their potential.