Big Question 24 - What subject(s) did you dislike or struggle with as a child? Was there are definitive reason why you disliked this subject(s) -- what were the factors: teacher, learning environment, techniques used, boredom, etc?
I don’t really know what this says about me (now becoming an English teacher), but all throughout school, I struggled with English classes. I was, and still am, a slower reader. I always had trouble keeping up with reading outside of class. I really had trouble reading out loud in class, as well. I can even remember a time in seventh grade when the other students in class would purposely make me have to stop reading out loud because I would have trouble starting again.
So, I guess it all centers around my reading ability.
Later, I realized that the reason I took so long reading was that I really stopped to think about everything. I had to understand what was going on and try to apply the scenarios to my experiences in order to remember them. Another thing that happened later in high school was people coming up to me to have me proofread their papers. I didn’t even realize it until then, but I knew grammar.
I disliked journaling about myself and my feeling when I was in grade school, and I still do. But besides that, it was never really the subject, techniques, teachers, or boredom that made me struggle in English. It was my different way of learning and the environment of the classroom where I always felt like couldn’t read as well as everyone else.
My teaching strategies are focused on the classroom as a safe learning community. It took me understanding myself to realize that I actually was a good English student. I don’t want my students to have to struggle to figure that out on their own.
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2 comments:
I found your post really interesting. It made me wonder what made you decide to become a teacher, especially an English teacher. Your interest in reading perhaps? I think being a struggling student in your content area can be a great advantage. You have experiences that have given you difficulty, which creates empathy for your students when they are having difficulty. However, my advice is to try not to allow your preferences in teaching techniques affect how you teach. I know this is much easier said than done. I will have to overcome the same obstacle when I am teaching.
Good luck as a future teacher. You have a huge advantage over other teachers who have always loved English. I think you will go far with this.
Wow. Thanks for being so honest here. I am glad that you realized that you are not a bad reader and have turned this experience into one you could learn from. It would have been very easy to continue thinking that you were not as good at a skill as others, simply because you took more time or put more thought into your reading. I think that it is really easy for students to compare themselves to others and when they aren’t the same as the majority they feel inferior.
I think it is very important for students to feel that the classroom they are in is a safe learning environment. I hope you are able to reach your students in a way that some of your teachers seemed unable to do. I am glad that you apply this personal experience to helping some of your future students.
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