Final Reflection of the Semester

I thought that this semester was a little bit harder than the ones before. Although it was hard, I still feel that it was a great learning experience, and truly showed me what it takes to become a teacher. I must admit that at first the thought of beginning student teaching was a little daunting, but now, as I approach my final semester, I find myself looking forward to the task at hand.
I am almost convinced that next semester may be a little bit easier than this semester due to the fact that I no longer have to attempt to read novels from American Literature or other such classes. I will be able to devout a lot more time to the necessities of my lesson plans and my teaching skills. This semester was very eye opening simply because it was the first time that I actually had to teach a classroom. I feel that this was a very great experience for my peers and I to go through (even though I do feel that it would have been helpful to encounter teaching at an earlier time in our program).

Making Comics by Scott McCloud

I must admit that I have never actually been a fan of comic books. I have read a few graphic novels, but that is about as far as my knowledge goes when it comes to the art of making comic books. With this being said, I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed this book entitled, Making Comics. The author, Scott McCloud, did a great job creating this book.
One thing that I thoroughly enjoyed is how he formatted most of the book. It was really neat how he created a book about how to make comic books in a comic book form. This was a very imaginative way of creating a How To book. It not only was fun and interesting, but it was also great because it showed examples within the text and images on the page.

Video Taping Unit Plan

I thought that the process of videotaping one of our lesson plans was very beneficial. I was very surprised with how helpful this was until I remembered that I do this kind of thing nearly every time that I go out and practice by myself. When I go out and throw the hammer or the discus, I often have my brother or another teammate videotape me so that I can see myself throwing. By doing this, I can actually see my mistakes, which makes it much easier for me to understand and fix what my coach is telling me. The same can be true with student teaching. By viewing the film, I can see exactly what my supervisors and cooperating teacher are telling me.
I also noticed that I could pick up on things that were not mentioned by my supervisors. These small mistakes were nothing too big, but they were still areas that I knew could be improved. The one thing that I really noticed was that I made several non-verbal gestures that could be mistaken as rude to my students. Although these were not large mistakes, I still think that my body language should not show when I am upset or “put out” by a student’s behavior in my classroom.

Praxis Review

I really enjoyed the review that we did in class the other day. It might not have been the most exciting thing that we have ever done, but it was very helpful and I feel as if it gave me a good idea of my strengths and weaknesses for the test. I must admit that I am a little nervous about taking this test, probably because it is rather important for the rest of my career/life. I thought that this type of review really did allow me to start thinking about the test also. It has almost seemed as if I do not have to take this test yet due to all of the other stuff that I have on my ‘plate’ lately; by doing the review I see that my focus must begin to turn towards the Praxis 2 very soon.
I also liked how Dr. Kist performed the review game. I liked how he had each of us write down a question for the review game. This would be a great way for my students to prepare for a test in the future. I could also see myself taking questions that they have made up themselves and put them all together to form a test for them to take. This would be a good way for the students to not only prepare for the test, but also feel as if their input matters in the classroom.

I really enjoyed Image Grammar by Professor Noden. I liked how I actually knew what he was talking about during the book, due to the fact that I actually performed many of the exercises during his class last semester. This is a great book for any teacher, whether he/she is new or old at teaching. This book will help any teacher get their students interested in writing. The examples used in the book are great, and they really do help the reader understand what Noden is talking about in the book.
I think that Noden did a great job with this book. Even though the format of the book is rather dry because there is no color. I really do think that this book is unbelievably helpful to any teacher. I am looking forward to trying some of these activities out on my students next semester when I am student teaching. The activities described in this book will be easy for me to apply to my classroom due to the fact that I have done these in the past under the supervision of the author of this book; I actually still have my brush strokes still saved to my computer.

Response to The Professor and the Madman

The Professor and the Madman was not what I expected from this kind of a book. The fact that Dr. William Chester Minor, who contributed around 10,000 words to the Oxford Dictionary, and is also a murderer, is somewhat baffling to the reader. When I was reading this book I could not stop thinking about how strange it is that this very smart and educated man could also be imprisoned in an insane asylum for murder. While reading this book, I could not help but to picture Minor as a character somewhat like Hannibal in The Silence of the Lambs, even though I know that this was not the case, It seemed to hit a similar cord while reading this novel. I could picture Minor as some genius who had a thirst for killing, even though he was nothing like Hannibal Lector.
Maybe it’s because of all of the other work that I have to do this semester, or maybe it’s because I have not had that much time lately, but whatever the reason, it was very hard for me to get into this book. I am honestly looking forward to winter break when I will have enough time to read a novel of my choice. I thought that the premise of the book was very interesting but as I have said before, it was very hard for me to get into it.

Beginning the Writing Process

In the book The Modern Library’s Workshop by Stephen Koch had several great ideas in it, especially within the chapter entitled “Beginnings.” The one great way to begin writing is on page 13. The author says that if you are having trouble coming up with a story, then a good strategy is to think about your childhood. This is a technique that I have actually used lately during my poetry class.
It is sometimes hard for me to continually come up with new ideas to write about. Whenever writers block seems to be holding me back from writing, I look back to my childhood and the stories of my past. By doing this I remember past experiences that I can either add information too or really give a detailed description of the event. Whether or not I actually use the piece that I am writing depends on where it takes me and how developed I can make the story in the end. I really liked this section of the book, due to the fact that it had information that one could apply to begin a story.