Entry #5 Half Way There

 Dear Dr. Jones, 

    Hello!  It's hard to believe that we are halfway through the semester already! I have been enjoying our class meetings.  Going in to the class I was thinking that the class would be mainly about literacy teaching strategies.  I was surprised by but gained so much from the analysis of our own literacy development.  I don't think that I have thought about literacy from that perspective before. I have also appreciated the deeper dive discussions that we have started because we can learn so much from each other and it is nice to engage with the material in a discussion format as opposed to reading or reflecting independently. It is often interesting to see how a conversation may lead somewhere unexpected.  

    As a student returning to graduate school after a long time away from the classroom, I have found that with the many responsibilities in my life pulling me in different directions, it is difficult for me to focus and retain information from long scholarly readings.  I have found that I need to take notes in some form or another to maintain my focus on the material.  I have also found that the more we discuss a topic the more I retain information on that topic.  As a future teacher, it will be important for me to remember the struggles that students may have when learning to read and to use that as an incentive to work hard to find literature that is relevant and engaging, as well as meeting content goals.    

    I have been very interested in learning about how to choose appropriate books for a multicultural classroom.  It has been impactful to learn of the different ways that race and culture can be addressed in children's literature and how choosing the right approach can have a greater impact on the children reading the books. As a White person, there is so much that I never thought about before since I had a wide variety of books to choose from as a child and didn't need to search for books that reflected my experiences or interests.

    I enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the Liz Kleinrock presentation.  Fermata Thin Air was a great way to begin the program and I was impressed by their choice of music and their sincerity. I appreciated Liz's openness and honesty.  In the beginning of the program, Liz Kleinrock said "Never take for granted the power that you hold."  That was a powerful reminder for me of the importance of doing our jobs as teachers in the right way because the impact on the students is immense. I felt that not letting the least engaged person in the building set the agenda for anti-bias work and making a plan you can defend when going to the administration to push for greater anti-bias work in schools were important tips. I also appreciated her thought related to book choice that "No one wants to be defined by the worst thing that people have done to them." That certainly connected with what we read in the Moller article. Her comments regarding taking care of ourselves and stepping back when we need to so that we can continue to do anti-bias anti-racist work is an excellent reminder related to all of the important work we do in our lives.

    As the semester continues, I need to continue to work on self-analysis.  I have found that self-reflection can be difficult for me. Time management is also always a struggle with the many things I am balancing.  I am looking forward to spring break when I can hopefully take a breath!  Following the break, I am interested in learning more about methods of teaching literacy to strengthen my literacy tool bag for my future teaching.

Thank you for sharing your literacy knowledge with our class. I look forward to our discussion in class this week!

Jen