Reflection on the Semester

I learned a lot from this class this semester. I learned many new strategies for discussion that I plan to use, including literature circles, Socratic Seminar, and the "ticket out."

Books that I thought were most valuable were Persepolis, Monster, and The Book Thief. I like the issues of multiculturalism found in these, and they all help to teach a lesson and a genre. The Book Theif would be helpful in teaching about narrators, and Monster and Persepolis offer new genres our students may not be familiar with, but genres that may have the greatest effects on our students. I would say that Forever, The Chocolate War, and Boy Meets Boy were the least effective for me. Since we decided that most schools would not allow these books to be taught, it was difficult for me to find a lot of meaning in them, especially because our students won't run to these particular books in their free time, either.

Using some "classic" literature, or literature from the canon, would have been helpful to me. I haven't read a lot of what is in the canon, so knowing some of the basics would be helpful as a future teacher (and as a Praxis taker). Doing this would also have helped us make more connections between classroom materials and possible companion pieces.

I feel well-equiped to discuss literature now, largely because of the group-teach experience and our general time spent in discussion. I learned a lot about respectfully listening to other people's comments, and I also feel like this class enabled me to create my own thoughts and accept new viewpoints. Using the strategies I discussed earlier, I think my classes will experience great discussion.

The group teach was definitely valuable to me, though it was difficult to coordinate schedules since we all live so far away from each other and couldn't get together before class because of schedule conflicts, and after class was difficult because of car-pooling and long drives home. However, planning 2 lessons for about 3 hours was a valuable experience that helped me see the big picture of planning, and how everything needs to tie together.

I enjoyed writing my blogs and think that it was valuable for me, however there often was not a lot of feedback from other students. There were many weeks when I tried to comment on everyone else's blogs, but when I got few responses I felt like I was helping others but getting no help in return. If there was a requirement to comment on a certain number of blogs each week, that might have been helpful. I also think it would have been helpful to have the comments be less "fluffy"--- ("I like that too," "You're right, that was a funny part," etc)--- and more in depth, like a discussion through blog and comments. However the students in the high school where I'll be student teaching have a technology requirement, so blogs might be a great idea to get them interacting. I would love to use these with my future students as well because it encourages them to come to class ready with topics to discuss.

Overall, I think this course was very helpful. The articles got me thinking (especially about setting up our classes and developing new writing assignments for our students to use), and I felt that they were helpful. I enjoyed learning about topics I never knew about before, like FanFiction. This could also be helpful in the future as a teacher.

A surprise for Bella

“Hey Edward!” Alice called from across the Meadow. My meadow. She had infiltrated my space with Edward, and as much as I loved Alice I was not about to let that go.
She waved toward him, calling him to her, using her secret mind-words, and he looked at me as though to say “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
I was so angry. My blood started pumping and my heart started racing. My cheeks turned pink-hot and I knew that I was about to lose it.
“Edward, come on!” Alice yelled to him. And even though I knew he could tell how angry I was turning, even though he didn’t know the reason why, he went to her before I knew he had stood up. I hate vampire speed.
I sat alone, wondering what they were talking about. In addition to the speed, I hated vampire hearing. They could speak so softly and hear so well, and I never knew what anyone was saying, or thinking, or feeling… Jasper’s gift was annoying too. Come to think of it, most things about vampires really piss me off.
In the Meadow, I was so angry that my heart continued racing. Alice glared at me, knowing what I was ready to do. She laughed, knowing that it would not end well for me. Her crystal ball brain pissed me off too.
She took Edward’s hand and they sped away toward the house, and I was alone in the Meadow wondering what I was supposed to do. My truck was parked at the edge of the Meadow. I could hop in and drive to La Push to see Jacob. But instead I followed Alice and Edward, through the woods, toward the house.
The house was dark, which was weird. There were always lights in the glass house, not that vampires needed them to see. Even at night, though they weren’t sleeping, to keep up appearances of normalcy, the Cullens would leave the TV on, or some other random light that had looked forgotten. Everything else would be off, but there was always at least some kind of light.
Tonight was so different that I knew instinctively that something was wrong.
“Bella,” Edward whispered in my ear. He must have been hiding at the edge of the treeline around the house.
“God, Edward. You scared me!” I turned to swat at his marble body, and he chuckled. “What are you doing, anyway?”
“Edward had a surprise for you, Bella.” Alice’s voice rang like a crystal bell. “Ready, Edward?”
He smiled and nodded and suddenly the house was blindingly bright. I shielded my eyes at first, but when my eyes adjusted I moved my hand. The lights were still a blur of brightness, so I asked Edward,
“What am I supposed to be looking at here?”
I tried to lean into him, since he was standing beside me, but I fell. I was so clumsy all the time.
“Here, Bella,” he said, kneeling to help me up. At least now we were on the same level.
He was on one knee, trying to help me up. Even when I was standing, though, he remained on his knee.
“What is this?” I asked, looking around. There were words spelled in lights on the roof of the house, but I still couldn’t make them out. The rest of the Cullens looked happy and proud along the trees’ edge. I quickly brought my eyes back to Edward when he spoke.
“Bella, I wanted to surprise you.” Still on one knee. Oh, God.
“Edward?” Not this. I wanted to be with him, but not like this. Please no. “Edward, no. I can’t. Sorry. I’m not going to marry you.”
“Marry me? Who said anything about that?”
“What?” I looked around again, this time seeing clearly what was written on the roof. “Santa: Stop here.”