Learning Letter


            This class has been an important one for me, indeed the classes this quarter have been rather revelatory. I used to see teaching as an ordinary job. Instruct the students and they learn. God knows that’s how many of my teachers thought of it. But the work we’ve done in this class have opened me up to ideas regarding how to effectively teach and how to make students want to engage with their own education. One thing I need to learn is how to pare down what I want to teach. During the presentations this semester, I have had major issues regarding time management. If I want to take full advantage of my time in the classroom then I need to keep my mind on the time limits of my class.
            Another thing this class taught me was how I could take my life experiences and channel them into my teaching. Not only books I’ve read or other education-based experiences, but also important periods of my life like my time in the theatre. The things I experience just walking around on the street could be transferred into a classroom if it could prove useful.
            Unfortunately, I wonder if the discussion framework would work for me. Having social anxiety I mostly stayed silent during discussion and got easily distracted from it. While discussion could be invaluable in the classroom I think I may be forced to temper it with other styles in order to be effective.
            Overall, I’ve learned a lot from this class and will remember it fondly for many years to come.

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