Introduction to the Course: First thoughts on teaching and learning

TORDA'S FALL 2024 TEACHING SITE

Introduction to the Course: First thoughts on teaching and learning

5/26/2020

POST: For our first post for the summer, I would like for you to think about and write roughly 200 words about your best/and or worst experiences as a student in a classroom. You can post about one or the other (best or worst) or you can post about both. Besides telling each other about the experience, try to put into words what made is a great experience or such a bad one. You can write about any kind of student experience, doesn't have to be an ELA experience, though it can be, and you can write from any class you've been a student in from K-12 through college. I will start us off with my own story.

RESPOND: Once you've posted, read through your classmates posts. In roughly 100 words, try to respond to what you see here in terms of what the experiences have in common? What seems to make a good classroom experience good across all of our collective experiences? What seems to make a bad experience bad? I'll read through these posts and put together some summative comments together as part of an upcoming Class Update.

HOW TO POST
TO POST: when you are ready to post your two questions, simply click on the "comments" button in the top right or bottom left of this screen. A dialogue box will pop up. Enter the identification information (your name, email) and then enter your 300 words in comment section. Click "submit" and you are done.

TO REPLY: Simply click the "reply" button at the bottom of any post or scroll all the way down to the last post to the "Leave a Reply" section. Fill out the dialogue boxes like you did for posting and click "submit."

26 Comments

5/26/2020 03:15:23 pm

I hate to start this post with a downer, but I think the singular most influential teaching/learning experience I had a student happened for me in first grade.

When I was in first grade, my teacher, whose name I never remember, used to tell the class “don’t be a stasher.” This was in reference to, yes, worksheets. Worksheets mostly on penmanship.. She’d put a phrase on the board, and we’d have to copy it. Well, I was so slow at crap like this. I wanted my letters to be as perfect as the letters in my book or on the board. And so I was slow. Also, I was day-dreamy. If a bird flew by the window I was gone. I used to miss my bus as a kid because I would read while I waited and then get so into my book that I missed my bus. I was that kid.

So I was a stasher. Here is the thing: I felt such guilt over this that I lost sleep over it and decided to tell her Iwas a stasher. I’m in first grade. The thing I was most afraid of was being a bad kid. It took a lot to tell her this, and I was very severely punished for it. I missed out on sharing these invention projects (I had made a dream machine. I was made to clean out my desk while all the other students participated in the presentations--and all the students knew why I wasn’t allowed to participate. Even now, telling you this story, I feel the shame of that experience. For a very long time I thought I was a bad kid and a bad student and also not very smart, but I was none of those things. I was a great student and a prolific reader. I was still a dreamy kid and sort of slow at the particulars of getting things done, but there was no reason for me to have felt shame over something so dumb. All these years later, this is what I most think about while teaching: teaching should not be about shaming our students. Ever. Period.

Hannah Dziadyk

5/26/2020 03:49:20 pm

One of my best experiences in my schooling career came in my freshman year of high school. I decided to take a foreign language for the first time. Most student take a course in middle school but I was enrolled in another class to help my math skills. Anyways, I was very interested in Italian which was offered at my school and wanted to take on this challenge. And oh boy was this a challenge, I was struggling a lot in the class and I was doing well in every other class with an A and I was at a C- in Italian. My teacher Mrs Demello could see I was struggling and she knew I was very busy after school with my sports so she offered to come in early in the morning before school to help me. I wanted to get an A in the class to make honor roll but I wasnt thrilled about getting up even earlier because I went to bed super late, because by the time my sport was over and I had dinner it was late. But Mrs Demello believed in me and was willing to do the extra work with me to catch me up to speed so I could get that A that I wanted. In the end you just need one teacher/professor to believe in you can help you succeed. I am thankful for her and I went on to take Italian all four years and my senior year I went to Italy on a school trip!

Ali Nolan

5/26/2020 06:09:56 pm

Hi Hannah,

I loved your post! It's truly amazing when a teacher will go above and beyond to help a student. Even little things can have a huge impact on a student. Those are the kinds of teachers you'll never forget! It's an amazing feeling when a teacher/professor believes in you. I had a math teacher, and I failed her class. She said at the parent-teacher conference meeting that she only failed me because it was tough love. I took her class again the following year and passed. For the next three years of High School she helped me either before or after school with math work. It was amazing! Teachers like that are the best.

Kylie Bock

5/29/2020 09:27:01 am

Hi Hannah,

I really admire the passion and determination from both you and your teacher. I also had a teacher like that. My A.P. Literature teacher Mrs. Davis was so incredibly helpful and passionate about seeing her students succeed. So when I was falling behind after starting my first part-time job, she would stay after school with me to answer any questions I had and even would read with me. Her determination made me determined and because of her, I passed the class and passed the AP exam. Your story is proof that being a teacher goes far beyond the classroom. Thank you for sharing!

Ali Nolan

5/26/2020 06:00:42 pm

One of the worst experiences I've had, that still subconsciously effects me to this day was in first or second grade. My teacher absolutely hated me, and I did the best I could to please her. It never worked out. She trashed me and my parents for the way I would dress. I tried to submit projects and would fail them because I had help from my mom. No matter what I did she could not stand me. It got to the point where she would find ways to get me in trouble. I was almost kicked out for hugging people. She filed a complaint that hugging was inappropriate. Because of this, I always thought I was a broken or bad child. No, I never was. I was (and still am) deeply creative and caring about people. I suppose what I've taken from that experience is that you can't please everyone, but that's okay! To turn this into a positive, I know what not to do. I know how it feels to be picked on, singled out for a bias. My students will never feel that way in my classroom. Everyone will have an equal opportunity to achieve something, no matter how they get there (so long as they're not cheating). I've worked a lot on myself and the way I view others through my job working at a daycare. Every student, no matter the age, deserves to feel wanted and heard in a classroom.

Megan LeBlanc

5/26/2020 08:34:40 pm

Hi Ali,

This reminds me of the teacher that I had in my story - it's even more upsetting that you were so young! I hate seeing people who don't deal well with ALL children who then decide to teach really young kids. Not that being a jerk of a teacher is okay with any group of students, but I think it is kind of universally felt that anyone younger than, say, twelve ends up handling it... not as well. I couldn't imagine going through that feeling of uncertainty and doubt about my own personality from such a young age.
I agree with your point, though, that you at least know what not to do now. It makes a positive out of an otherwise deeply upsetting situation and I'm glad you found a way to have the situation help you rather than hinder you in the long run. It still is awful that you had to experience that to get to this point and I wish more teachers would consider whether or not they have the personality for teaching children - I feel like the human component often gets overlooked.

Hannah Dziadyk

5/27/2020 09:19:31 am

Hi Ali!
Great Post and Im sorry that you had to go through this experience with your teacher. Not all teachers are like this and this have must been an awful experience for you and I am sure it has happened for other students in the past too! That is pretty bad that a teacher is looking for a student to get into trouble. At such a young age I think this was an extreme measure for hugging, and all of the other things she did against you. Surprisingly there has probably been numerous students that have been through what you have with other teachers in the world and it just puts a bad name on teachers when most of them are awesome. I have a feeling that you are going to be an awesome teacher because you are going to turn your negative experience into a postivie and positively influence the students.

Lindsay Vo

5/27/2020 02:09:00 pm

Hi Ali,
When I read this for the first time I almost cried. Nobody should be treated this way, I don't care what the circumstances are. It actually makes me upset that someone would talk to you like this, especially a teacher! I want you to know that you're important, kind, and NOT broken. I can actually relate to you on a personal level, because in my junior year of high school, I had a science teacher who would pick on me relentlessly. Similarly, no matter what I did, she hated me. Then I had her the following year and the guidance office wouldn't let me switch. It was difficult, but I got through it. Again, I am so sorry that this happened to you, and I hope this teacher faced some kind of punishment for her actions. You are amazing, and it was so nice to hear your story.

Megan LeBlanc

5/26/2020 08:27:43 pm

Sorry this is a bit long, but this situation gets me incredibly angry even all these years later. One of my worst years of schooling (and probably my most influential as a student) was sometime in middle school (for whatever reason I cannot remember the exact year – I want to say it was sixth though) and it was only because of one teacher that I had. He was our history teacher and he was incredibly mean. He made fun of most of his students and tried to play it off as though he was being friendly and only joked with you if you were okay with it – the problem with this, however, was that he would joke with basically everyone until they directly told him to stop. One day, he was making fun of me and a boy that I liked. I decided to make some rude comment in retaliation because I was so upset. He pulled me aside after class to tell me to never disrespect him in front of his class again and that if I did not want to be joked with anymore, I wouldn’t have to be. I remember this so clearly because I was completely humiliated and felt so small. I remember thinking I had done something wrong. It wasn’t until later in my life that I realized the teacher was actually the one in the wrong. It took even longer for me to truly realize how wrong it was for a teacher to treat a group of middle schoolers the way that he did. One of my only main goals that I intend to keep with every single group of students I have over the years is to ensure that I treat my students like a person who deserves respect, not a plaything that I can embarrass just because I want to.

Lydia Theriault

5/27/2020 06:24:40 am

Hi Megan!

Wow, I am so sorry that happened to you! And that teacher is the one who needs to be pulled aside for a long and thorough talking to! It's so interesting that anything we experience (particularly negative or traumatizing ones) are the ones that stick with us for so long. And that, children always feel they are wrong or at fault, even if they had done nothing wrong. This is the "trend" that I am seeing with these posts so far. That traumatizing events often stay with you into adulthood, and unless you are shown or learn on your own somehow, that children are innocent, then, I guess we would all just walk around feeling guilty all the time! This needs to end, and educators can really help to improve this!

Maddie Butkus

5/28/2020 01:26:35 pm

Hey Megan!

It seems as if we both had similar situations happen and I’m so sorry you had to go through something like that. Just in general, I think that many, if not all of us, have had a teacher that was just plain mean and rude to us and to our fellow classmates. At the time and due to their age, when things like this happen to students, it seems as if they are the ones in the wrong, even if they don’t even know what they did wrong. It is with these instances that how teachers act in front of and towards their students has to be respectful. Even when a student makes a mistake, teachers need to understand that we all make mistakes and it is completely unfair to put a student down for their mistakes just like teachers would not want to be put down for theirs. Thank you for sharing your story!

Lydia Theriault

5/27/2020 06:15:27 am

I have had both bad and good experiences in school that have impacted me equally. I will share a happy experience though!

In the second grade, I had an amazing teacher named Mrs. Arthur. She was on the older side as I remember her, (although I was just a kid, so everybody probably looked old) and really sweet. I was new to this school and she made me feel so welcomed, and from there she started my lifelong passion for art. I will never forget an assignment that I had done for her class was to do a portrait of anyone we liked. I chose Gloria Estefan (I'm a 90's kid!) and I was so proud of it. Yes, I thought my eight year-old drawing skills were on par, but it was more than that. She made me feel so competent and special that it sparked my love for all things painting and drawing.

Though I am an English major, I've always thought I would teach art or do something artistic for the rest of my life. And honestly, English is a lot like art in the way that English can be very subjective, just like art. Yes, there are technicalities in both areas, but you either like someone's work or you don't! Funny, how I grew up not really caring for literature much, but now I love it!

Brianna Walsh

5/27/2020 03:48:50 pm

Hi Lydia!

I experienced something similar where I was welcomed into a special education program and I also felt welcomed from my teacher Mrs. Stone and from my classmates. At first it was a little nerve wrecking, but my teacher was so supportive. My teacher also inspired me to become a teacher. It sounds like you were also in a supportive classroom as well. I love your story and think that’s amazing that classroom is where your passion for art started! This goes to show how a little support and encouragement can go along way. I feel like we both thrived in these environments because they were so welcoming, supportive, and didn’t make anyone feel like the odd ball out. Having a good relationship with a teacher can really inspire students to see their full potential. Thank you for sharing!

Matt Erti

5/28/2020 12:42:30 pm

Hi Lydia!

I had a similar experience with my teacher in highschool where she was so friendly and I felt like she really cared about my learning experience. Teachers that inspire students to try new things and spark long lasting interests in their students with things like art or writing are truly unsung heroes. It's always the teachers that put in that extra effort to make sure you're fully engaged and interested in what they're teaching that stick with you. Something similar in both of our experiences is how our teacher would compliment our effort and made us feel competent and proud of our work. That confidence boost is really all most of us need in school to take that extra step into developing a passion for something.

Fiona Bell

5/27/2020 08:19:18 am

My best class experience stems directly from the teacher I had during it. It was a photography class that I got to take my junior and senior year in high school and I walked into it knowing little to nothing about photography itself. My teacher, however, was adamant in making sure that everybody knew there was no perfect way to take pictures, let alone do anything in life. It was all about how we interpreted it, how hard we tried, and how passionate we were about the things we were doing. His students walked into the classroom comfortable and confident that they wouldn’t be singled out for making simple mistakes or made to feel inferior for not doing things The Right Way. I’d say every class of his was my “best class experience” because he wove life lessons into the photography lessons he’d teach, and emphasized over and over again that we were in control of our life- that we were the ones who could mold it into everything we wanted it to be. That we were capable. And not many teachers I’d had before, or even had since, have been able to truly get that message across. What made it the Best was the fact that we knew he believed in us, that he was always there to help us if we needed him and that he had effortlessly changed the stereotypical relationship between teachers and their students.

Lindsay Vo

5/27/2020 01:41:39 pm

Like all of you, I've had some positive and negative experiences when it comes to teachers and professors. Out of all the teachers I've had though, one sticks out the most. When I was in high school, I had a teacher named Mr. Damelio and he was there for me when no one else was. My senior year of high school was the worst year of them all: I didn't have many friends and I was constantly getting picked on. In the mornings, we had to stay in the cafeteria until the bell rang, but every morning I would sneak into his classroom and talk to him. I could talk to him about anything: how I was feeling, how I was doing in school, you name it. I would also eat lunch in his classroom since I had no one to sit with at lunch. I felt completely alone, and if it wasn't for Mr. Damelio, I don't know where I would be. He wasn't your average teacher, either: he always made things fun. For example, he created a game called "Poobah" and it's basically like basketball. Everyone loved it, and it was very fun. He will never know the impact he has made on my life, but it was the only thing I looked forward to as a high school senior.

Brianna Walsh

5/27/2020 02:33:55 pm

One of my best experiences would have to be in 7th grade with Mrs. Stone. She was a new special education teacher and was very outgoing. I was shy and just got into the special education program. I originally felt like an outsider and hated reading because I had so much trouble with it. I was always the person who was afraid to get called on. Those feelings completely changed after a year with this teacher. I learned that I was supported in that classroom and that I wasn’t an outsider. She would start off by asking who would want to read this paragraph for the class. She took off the pressure by not calling on us to read. Eventually I did volunteer to read, and I was nervous that all eyes would be glaring at me to hurry up, but there wasn’t. She would be supportive and tell us how good we are doing. She made it such a positive environment to the point where I wasn’t shy anymore and loved raising my hand. There was only three people in that class. She would designate 30 minutes to read a book of our choice and encourage us to read at home too. She always pushed us to reach our goals and strengthened our weaknesses. She created a safe environment by showing she respects us, supports us, and wants us all to succeed. Even to this date I have gone to visit her, and she lights up with a smile on her face asking how I am. She is by far the best special education teacher I have had.

Kaylee Tavares

5/28/2020 11:28:13 am

Hi there,
It is interesting to me that many of the positive stories on this forum relate to acceptance. I think this is worth noting because it seems as though acceptance in the classroom should be something that is expected. However, as it seems from your story and many others, students often feel such a flood of relief when they are treated with kindness and to be honest, basic human decency. Similarly, many of the negative stories seem to stem from a lack of respect and decency. It is interesting that just being kind to students can have such a significant difference on their self esteem and their experience with school in general.

Paige Couture

5/27/2020 05:19:12 pm

This experience is hard to write about—I will tell this story in hopes it will help others and provide a healthier environment. I have had a tough student teaching experience while pursuing my associate degree. I am thankful for this experience because it turned me into a better educator. I am not the only one who has had a difficult time with this teacher. My student practicum allowed me to practice as a Lead Teacher, being supervised by the real teacher of the classroom. I did not have a lot of experience teaching. Now that I look back, I believe I did have enough to pass the class. The other teacher in the classroom and I did not agree with the way we did certain things. If I did not do something a certain way, the way she had, I would have been talked to by my college professor about the experience. For example, if I held the book I was reading in a certain position (where the students could still see the book), was not acceptable to her. I would get marked down, if I did not say certain lines during circle time in the same words that she had spoken. There were times where I was passing out lunch to children. If I had put a spoonful of a vegetable on the plate, that would be considered as too much for children. She did not know what I was thinking. During lunch break, I was using my phone and there was another student from my class next to me using hers, too. The real teacher told my professor I was using my phone while teaching. I felt like if I breathed a certain way, I would be talked to about irregular breathing patterns around the children. It was to the point where I had gotten the position as Lead Teacher taken and I was brought down to a regular teacher. This was said in a meeting in front of the real teacher, which upset me even more. I tried to tell my professor that we were not agreeing about certain things, but she did not believe me. I could have dropped the class. I decided to “suck it up” and stay, to stick up for myself. Someone in my last practicum, who had gone to this facility, could not take it anymore. Continuing, I took everything the real teacher had said about me to heart. I do not regret this because I do not make the same mistakes today. The story ends by having to re-take the college course at another daycare. I hope this story teaches other students to have a healthier work environment.

Alexa Parham

5/27/2020 07:59:59 pm

Hi Paige,

I am SO sorry that you had such a difficult experience with student teaching and I am honestly so shocked that a teacher would treat another teacher, who wants to learn from her, so disrespectfully. I hope that you do NOT take any of what she said to heart! Maybe she was nervous about you coming into her classroom and sort of "taking" her place (which is not true, but I am sure she saw it that way) and was self-conscious - leading her to be so strict and tell your professor things that were clearly misjudged and not true. Just know that this was ONE person and ONE opinion. I feel so terrible that you had to go through that with no one truly understanding the situation. Just keep your head up and know that what she was telling you was not what everyone else in the teaching world thinks/ believes. I have worked with people/ been taught by people who have had a similar attitude towards teaching and it is so upsetting, so I can understand your frustration and pain.
I hope you get to teach in a more welcoming environment next time!

Alexa Parham

5/27/2020 08:31:48 pm

So, this experience was bad and good -

I went to a catholic school for K-8 & then high school (keep in mind when I tell you this story).

When I was in eighth grade, I had a teacher named Mrs. Tully for my English teacher
(keep in mind, that I was the student whose worst punishment at this school was screaming in the bathroom, because the fire alarm scared me, and made me jump, in the third grade (the bathroom was across from the principal's office) so she heard me and I had to stay in from recess to write a cursive apology letter for screaming by accident… to my principal, Sister Teresa… she was not very happy with me that day LOL)
Anyways, Mrs. Tully liked students based on their parent's popularity status and also basically favored the kids who had an older sibling in her class before them. So, my mom always helped at the school, but she was not in the "parent's clique" and I am the oldest in my family, therefore giving me neither of the advantages these other children had (who were also my friends). I tried really hard when it came to that English class and always met with her to try and fix my writing because it was not the way she wanted it - I would get so upset and go home telling my mom that I must be the worst writer ever considering she would not give me anything higher than a C and I went for revisions…She made me so insecure about my writing skills and basically told me there was no way to improve. She also said that no high school teacher would approve my writing.
Now, as I start my high school career - that is my mind-set. All I was told for a year straight was that I basically suck. So, I started to believe that I really did suck. I always struggled with anxiety and this only made it worse for me. Going into my freshman year we had to write an essay for our summer reading book, so I did something that at the time I didn't realize how wrong it was… I honestly did not know how bad it was until it happened-
I was so insecure and convinced that this teacher was going to HATE me and my writing that I felt like I had no choice - I copied a few sentences from some website and put them in my essay… thinking that no teacher could ever like my writing, so I added someone else's… Let me tell you, I never plagiarized again. BUT, not for the reason you are thinking - you are probably expecting me to think this because I got into a lot of trouble but no-
I was sent to the principal's office, where they had my teacher and the principal with my essay highlighted… I was mortified and remember the student I was (aka screaming in the bathroom), I was mortified for many reasons. They called my parents and my mom explained how I was basically bullied by my pervious teacher and this was the first time that I ever did anything like that.
My teacher pulled me aside the next day and talked with me about what happened and what I did… surprising this teacher became my favorite. He helped me become a better writer and worked with me about believing in my writing, not overthinking it and helped build my confidence back after being torn down so many times in the past. AND, I improved so much he asked to keep my essays to read to his next year classes and wanted to use mine as an example (of course keeping my name anonymous). I never plagiarized again NOR did I feel like I had to.

This story is why I think teachers who are not kind to all students and who teach in a hurtful and bias way, should NOT be teaching… why bring people down when you can bring them up. I think some bad things happen to help lead you to a better place.

Paige Couture

5/28/2020 10:10:46 am

Hi Alexa,

Just as shocked as you were in my post, I’m shocked over yours! We seem to have similar life experiences. I would never imagine that a catholic school would treat children in that manner. If that were me, I would have made every change to my writing that teacher had suggested. It would be a way to see if the way she felt about me was personal or not. However, that’s just me. Do not blame yourself for plagiarizing when you were younger, the way that your teachers have treated you at the catholic school had led you up to that point. When I was younger, I used to be constantly bullied by other students. It led me to do bad things, because well, doing bad is what I had ever known what to do in my life. I ended up plagiarizing myself, given the circumstances that I didn’t even know what that was. There was supposed to be a meeting about it, but I ended up just having a talk with the teacher explaining that I didn’t know what plagiarizing was. I’m really glad that it worked out for you in the end, with the other teacher trying to help you. Maybe this experience happened, so you can teach children in the same manner that professor showed you.

Kaylee Tavares

5/28/2020 09:19:17 am

One of my worst experiences while in school was with my 8th grade algebra teacher. Now, to be fair, I was pretty much destined to hate this class. First of all, I am horrendous at math and have always hated every math class I’ve had to take. But also, it was 8th grade, and pretty much everything in life made me miserable at that point in my life. However, I must note that this teacher was particularly difficult. He was an older man ready to retire, and actually only worked half days. He would teach my class and one other and then leave for the day. He had this horrific system in which he would read test and quiz grades aloud to the class, as he thought it was motivating to the students. Of course, I almost never got a decent grade on an assessment, and thus was humiliated everytime he decided to read them aloud, which was probably once a week. As an insecure, hormone-ridden, miserable middle-schooler in the midst of puberty, to say I was unhappy would be an understatement. However, this was particularly troubling for me because it genuinely made me hate going to school, and I’ve always loved school. I decided I wanted to be a teacher in Kindergarten because I couldn’t imagine a better place than school. That sentiment has never waivered with exception to that one 8th grade class. It’s difficult to accept that one teacher can change a student’s entire outlook on school. I can’t imagine how that teacher would have affected a student who already disliked school.

Maddie Butkus

5/28/2020 12:02:04 pm

I have had a lot of great experiences but for this post I am going to focus on one of my worst just because I feel like it made me realize how not to be as a teacher. This story still occurs to me even to this day which will make more sense to everyone by the end. So I was in first grade and I had a teacher who obviously was not in love with her job. She not only was very sarcastic to her students but also to the parents as well. Not to speak negatively but to say the simple truth, she acted as if she was all that and a bag of chips, as the saying goes. Even with this as her apparent mindset, she went as far as to make students almost feel dumb for saying the wrong answer. At least, that’s how I remember it. Her discipline styles within the classroom were straight up yelling and making students feel bad for a simple mistake. Since she was extremely into Nascar, she had all the students names written on cars surrounding a test track and when you did something she didn’t like, your “car” was put in different levels of the track ultimately ending in the pit. Just that phrase alone I thought to be so demeaning. She would say “Uh oh so-and-so is in the pit.” I don’t know exactly but that doesn’t seem entirely right to me. Looking back at it now, I get what she was trying to do with this discipline strategy but overall I don’t believe it registered with her students that well. To get back to my point of how this story still occurs to me today, when I see this teacher, whether it was through middle school, going back to this school to help classes during high school or anything in between, she tries to act nice but in general is still very sarcastic. I have stood up to her more, especially because the last time I saw her was just a year ago or so, but it bothers me so much that I even have to do that: stand up for myself because of a long lasting affect a teacher had on me. It just comes to show me first hand how I do not want to be as a teacher at any level that I teach. I don’t want to put my students down for their mistakes or be negatively sarcastic to them in any way.

Matt Erti

5/28/2020 12:34:12 pm

Hello everyone!

Throughout my time as a student, I've experienced both good and bad experiences, but it's always the good experiences with a teacher or class that sticks with you the most. When I was a sophomore in highschool, my English teacher would always compliment my writing or put in a lot of effort in helping me improve upon my writing style. She was always very friendly and it was one of those classes that actually made me excited to get up in the morning and go to school. What made this such a significantly good experience for me though, was that she had suggested that I join the writing club. My time in this club was where I really started to appreciate and enjoy the process of writing. I was a member of this club for the rest of highschool and became the president my senior year. I think what was really special about this experience was that the teacher wasn't just there to grade my papers and circle misspelled words in my essays, but I truly felt that my work was being recognized. I believe that I put in so much effort in this class and in writing club because of how much effort she put in to helping me and in introducing me to different writing styles. Small remarks like, "This is really good, I can tell you put a lot of thought into this story", would hype me up so much that it made me truly enjoy the writing process. Another thing to mention is that at this time in highschool, I was very shy and so being recognized in class was something that didn't happen often, and I think that my teacher was able to see that. Teaching should be about noticing each and every one of your students and inspiring them to put in that extra effort. That one teacher in my sophomore year in highschool sparked an interest in writing for me and it has stuck with me ever since and is the reason why I currently minor in writing studies.

Kylie Bock

5/29/2020 09:21:25 am

I'd have to say that my worst experience in school was in the fourth grade. My primary teacher was Mrs. Carrier but she split teaching subjects with another teacher down the hall Mrs. Martin. I loved learning math and science with Mrs. Carrier because she was gentle, kind, and made a lot of Harry Potter references. However, english and history with Mrs. Martin was my least favorite part of the day. She was rude, harsh, and quite literally seemed like she did not like children. I was a very anxious child and being around Mrs. Martin made me nervous so I would constantly play or twirl with my hair to get my mind off it. She was walking around the class making sure everyone was reading and I was reading while twirling my hair. She came next to me a slapped my hand down then continued walking. Her behavior and attitude made me resent english for many years until I got to high school.

Introduction to the Course: First thoughts on teaching and learning

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Summer 2020 ENGL 301

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