Thinking Thematically

Almost two weeks after finishing my thematic unit on The Color Purple and culture, I am still reeling from the experience. I was so absorbed into the process of integrating so many different subject areas and cultural studies into one cohesive unit, that I didn't realize until I was done that I was having fun. I had read the novel several times, but I really don't think I got to know the characters until I finished writing activities and finding articles for students to read so that they could get to know the characters better. I learned in education class that the best way to learn something is to teach it, and I think this rings true even for lesson planning. Getting to know the music of the era, the fashion and the art was a real tool that helped me to understand the novel better. I loved assigning an essay that criticized the novel in order to give students a chance to look at it critically and make up their own minds. After learning how to write a thematic unit, I can't imagine ever wanting to teach literature another way. In the Lyon education program, we often talk about educating the whole student. The cross-curricular lessons I planned for the unit on The Color Purple are the first I have ever written that I think really do that. Now that I have learned how to do this, I am excited to put it into practice in the classroom, especially since I learned from my mentor teacher that I will have the opportunity to write two thematic units this upcoming semester!

What have I learned?

Looking back on this semester, I realize I have been exceptionally hard on myself. It's easy as a student teacher to hold yourself to the same standard as your mentor teacher, who has significantly more experience teaching. Sometimes I think I forget the "student" part of my title. But looking back, I realize that my experience this semester would be much more successful if I framed it differently. Rather than focus on the things I have done wrong, I think I should focus on what I have learned. My education has been plentiful. I have learned simple things like classroom housekeeping, how to keep grades in a grade book and work simple classroom technology. I have learned about cross-curricular lesson planning and integrating the liberal arts into the English curriculum. I have attended professional development classes and learned about the CORE curriculum which is replacing Frameworks in Arkansas. I participated in the planning of a long-term activity in the form of the Renaissance Faire that my mentor teacher puts on every year with her AP and tenth grade classes, and in her annual study of a Victorian Christmas. Having access to several very successful high school English teachers, not only those in the school I student teach at, but Batesville as well, and also several former English teachers, I have learned how to take bits and pieces of what all of these capable teachers do and make it my own. This is probably the most important lesson I have learned. Nothing under the sun is new, but finding ways to present the same information differently, and possibly more effectively, has been a very valuable lesson, and the contacts that I have made have helped me to form valuable connections in the education community before I even have my own classroom.

Content students, or content areas?

This week we are beginning a unit on A Victorian Christmas, and we began this by decorating for Christmas. I was really impressed by the way my mentor teacher approached this. She set up a roaring fire with Christmas carols on the DVD player, and encouraged the students to come in and help decorate. I was amazed when the students got excited and jumped into the festivities. A few students needed to be encouraged, but most of them were engaged right away. Before long we had students decorating, setting up the tree, stringing lights, singing along with the Christmas carols, and pouring apple cider. This really impressed me, because this same group of kids was all full of snarls and sarcasm two days before when I tried to encourage them.

This situation caused me to reflect about the parts of teaching that have nothing to do with content. Yes, our content areas are important, and if we don't teach them, we are not doing our jobs. However, students' overall well-being has to be taken care of before they can learn. This is something I learned in Practicum. But I never would have thought of decorating for Christmas as a means to ensuring my students' well-being. I would have thought of it as extra, something nice, but not necessary. With CORE Curriculum banging at the door, and state visits, it is easy to overlook the smaller, more subtle needs that our students have.

The difficulty for me lies in knowing when something is extra or frivolous, or when, like the Christmas celebration, it is something crucial that is needed to get students in the mood for learning. I suppose that this is the kind of thing that teachers learn with practice, and get a feel for as they get more experience in the classroom, but it is so frustrating when you watch seasoned teachers make these decisions so easily and effortlessly. It makes me wonder if I will ever have that ease of giving the students what they need without wracking my brain.