Love Learning

Between the homework for my main education classes and the homework for my English Special Methods class, I have been feeling pretty overwhelmed.  I have received so much information and I just can’t process it all.  This has made me think about all the students in public schools and what they are asked to do every day.  At least for me, all of my classes are about education, which is something I want to do.  This is not the case for middle and high school students.  They have anywhere from four to eight different classes every day and have to process all of that information.  That’s a lot to ask of students.

Furthermore, I have noticed a huge difference between my personal feelings toward the homework for my classes.  In my education classes, some of what I’m asked to do and learn seems useful, but most of it I don’t find useful at all.  This makes it hard for me to actually do it.  But with my Special Methods homework, I feel that all of it is useful; I am excited to work on that homework, and most times, it doesn’t even feel like homework.  It’s something that I get to do and it’s fun.

Which has led me to think about what makes it fun and why all classes can’t be like that.  For my Methods class, I’m learning about things that I want to learn about, things that are directly relevant to me and my life.  In my education classes, I’m learning what the teacher thinks I need to learn in order to be a good teacher.  It’s good information but not something that I would probably actually ever use.

I love to learn.  I like looking things up on the internet to answer questions I think of throughout the day.  I like reading books on topics that I find interesting.  I like discussing new things with my friends and family and comparing our thoughts.  But when I have the choice to do those things, it’s much easier and more enjoyable for me.

I never would have thought that I would find an education class boring or useless.  After all, I am choosing to be an education major; that’s something I want to do.  No one is making me do this.  But my actual learning in those classes isn’t what I would call fun.  It seems more like work.

This was an important realization for me.  I don’t want my students to have to just do work in my classroom.  I want them to be interested in what they’re learning.  I want my students to love learning as much as I do.  To accomplish this as a teacher seems like it would take a lot of work on my part, but I think it would be worth it.  I’m still figuring out the best way to do this, and it seems like a daunting task, but I will find a way to make it work.

The most important thing I could teach my students is to love learning.  If my students learn nothing about grammar, writing, or reading but learn to love learning, then I will consider myself successful.

My Five Words

Garnet Hillman wrote a blog post about the five words she uses to describe her class.  I don’t have a class yet, but when I finally get one, there are certain words I would use to describe it.  Focusing on these words will help me plan lessons, make decisions, and provide me with an overall vision of what matters most in my class.  Here are my five words.

1.  Respectful-  This is the most important word I would use to describe my class.  I am big on being respectful to everyone and will expect all of my students to show respect toward themselves, each other, and all school property.  I want my classroom to be a place where all students can feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their opinions or asking questions.  Without a high level of respect, my class can’t be the safe place I want it to be. 

2.  Student-Centered- This is the second most important word I would use to describe my class.  I want all my lessons, activities, policies, procedures, and everything else to benefit the students.  I want my class to be about my students.  To me, this means that I will consider their interests when designing all my lessons and that I have the appropriate materials in my classroom for the students to be successful.  I want my students to direct most of the learning and to be the most involved and active people in the class. 

3. Engaging- I also want my class to be engaging.  This means that I want my students to be interested in what they’re learning and to be actively involved.  This is one thing I want for my class, but I think this will be the hardest for me to have.  I love English so I naturally enjoy what we would do, but I know that most of my students will not feel the same way.  I might have to work harder to find a way to make the information relevant to every student, but I think having an engaging class is important for learning. 

4. Resourceful- This word goes along with student-centered, but I would like my class to be resourceful.  I want my students to be independent learners as much as they can.  I want them to know how to find answers to their questions on their own rather than depending on me as the teacher to tell them the answers.  I will provide my students with multiple books, notes, hopefully computers with internet access, and anything else I can put in my classroom.  I will then teach them how to use all those resources to find their answers.  I want my students to know that they are capable of finding the answers to their questions and that they don’t need to be dependent on a teacher.

5. Confident- Finally, I would want my class to be confident.  It’s important to me that my students believe in themselves and their abilities, even though they may struggle in my class.  Even if they are not the best readers or writers, I want to help them improve and find the confidence that they can improve, even on their own.  I want them to become confident learners so that they won’t give up if things become difficult.