Learning Letter

Dear Sean,

This course has been one of the more challenging courses I’ve participated in, during my time here at eastern. The workload was heavy, but the payoff came naturally. As we discussed complex texts, like pedagogy of the oppressed, the hard work that went into reading and comprehending the texts yielded some great and useful discussion that was tied into application in the real-world classroom. So I would say that the work my peers and I put in was worth it. The book talk assignment was useful in getting exposure from my peers to a variety of classroom intended texts. I enjoyed getting to share my thoughts about Fahrenheit 451 (we are a classroom of passionate readers after all). The mini lesson was something I was able to improve upon, but I ended up having less time that I thought, so I had to adapt and end the lesson early. The point I gather is that adaptation never stops in the classroom. Finally, the unit plan, which was a battle. It took a lot of serious effort on my part, and I still feel like I could’ve done much better. The unit plan was what everything prior seemed to connect to. I am proud of the work I did, but, being honest, having completed it shows me that I can do much more than what I turned in. I could explore less conventional methods. I could teach contemporary music as literature. And so on.

The theories and concepts we explored in our readings and discussions were eye opening, as they got me thinking critically about certain principles in the classroom. Discussing certain ideas of censorship, pedagogy’s of access and dissent, and other class practices gave me the language and voice for these ideas where once were only ideas and thoughts. Now I feel more informed about what I believe and why, and the implication of that in the classroom.

I find that my participation in the discussions, lessons, and activities of this course to have influenced my perception of myself as a teacher. I feel more apt and ready for teaching after the matter, and having started my student teaching, I find the research we looked at, the texts we shared, and the focus of my unit plan already having an impact of my role as a teacher here. This time I had more focus, I had my priorities better aligned to what I want to achieve here at eastern, towards the career I want to have as a teacher. Thank you, Sean, for your support in my education. Sincerely,

Justin Mitchell