Feminist and Critical Pedagogies in English Studies
This is going to be one of those classes that I look back upon and say, ìWow, that course really changed the way I think about things.îI have been thinking a lot about what I want to say in this statement and now that I am finally writing it, it seems I am at a loss.I know, though, that the affects of this class, for me anyway, will be far reaching.It has helped me to think in new ways about a multiplicity of things: empowerment, nurturance, the rhetoriticity of race and gender, power, what it means to be an intellectual or a professional.If I were to try and sum up the immediate (and what I would think are rather superficial in that I think the influence of this class upon who I am as a citizen/teacher/woman/student/intellectual is only just beginning) impact that this course has had upon me, I would say that it has helped me to begin to think of writing/teaching/living as both public and private acts at the same time.Reconciling the personal and the public aspects of my life, ìmoving away from oppositions and towards multiplicities in [my] thinking (reading essay7)î, and thinking of myself not in terms of ìthis-or-thatî but ìboth/andî have been continuous threads throughout my reading essays.
I think that taking this class at a time in my life where I was experiencing teaching my first college course helped me to be very open to many of the ideas within the texts we read.I was constantly looking to the readings that we did in relationship to how they might help me become a better teacher/professional/student/person.I was always looking at them and trying to make meaningful connections between what I was reading and what I am living.And it worked.I began to look at myself and see how I occupy multiple subject positions in society and how those subject positions influence not only how I am seen by others but how I see others and myself.For example, I began to see how I am seen by other people, not just as a graduate student, but as a woman graduate student.This might sound like I am whining or trying to make an argument that we are living in a sexist society, but thatís not my point.My point is that I am seen as both a woman and a graduate student at the same time.
“Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.
Ultimately this assignment was beneficial to my perspective on class issues. It exposed me to multitudes of informational sources ranging from mainstream to alternative. It was also interesting to see the ways in which issues are portrayed differently, and as I mentioned other the lack of blaming the system is extremely interesting. The various sources opened my eyes to the reality of media impact and control over our lives and opinions. It is difficult to see beyond the obvious appeal of corporations such as Wal-Mart, but this should be apparent to me after all these years of sociology. I think this assignment really helped me to think outside the box, and really analyze who has control; it isn’t me or you. That’s for sure.
My Growth as a Writer Most of us write in some form every day, so you would expect that most of us would be well practiced and pretty good at writing. I read and write all the time; I have taken several college courses and nearly all of them require writing in some form. However, before taking this class, not only was I not a good writer, I knew I wasn’t a good writer. Now I am not saying that I am ready to write my first novel, but I am certainly more confident in turning in my college papers. The content of this course and the style of teaching was incredibly beneficial to me.
As I planed to take this class, I thought this course would be like all other general education courses. I believed that it would be of little use to me. However, after attending the first class, my view has changed completely. I applied each and every theory to my life.
My sixteen week class in English 111. I was really nervous about this class. Because English has never been my strong point. This class has hard, but fun all at the same time. I learn a lot from this class. Meanwhile,the first day of class you handed a paper with a question on it. “The first thing I want to say to you who are students is that you must not think of being here to receive an education; instead, you will do much better to think of being here to claim one.” Even though putting my all in what I have learned, claiming my education with hard work because using the skills of the meal plan, as we write to different audiences and learning to be a Critically thinker as I start becoming a critically-Literate Citizenship.
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
With college right around the corner and taking a college course gave a real sense of how college classes are going to work giving me an edge over all of the other students going to college that didn’t take a dual enrollment course. Dual enrollment was honestly one of the best decisions I made in my academic career because like what I was saying this class taught me the inner workings of how most assignment are going to be turned in, what it means to be self-reliant/ on your own have no help with assignment from your parents, experiencing a course that only a handful of assignment rather than a ton of assignment ends up making up over eighty percent of your grade (getting you to work extra hard so you won’t fail) and finally that you have to actually interact with the professor/teacher if you need help or are having trouble with an
During my first semester of college, I felt like this course overshadowed all the others. I faced many challenges, gained better habits, and even increased the value of myself as a scholar. Not only did my professor provide her students with the course material she built a confidence inside of us that will allow us to be able to tackle any task, especially pertaining to any written compositions. The things that I have learned from this course could and will be applied to any and everything I do from here on out, whether that writing an essay or even taking a test. Again, the journey was long, but I will be forever grateful for the things that I, and all of my peers have gained from this
English 101 is one of the most common college courses in the world. When I enrolled in the class, I was bothered that I would have spend forty hours in a freshman writing class; along with at least another forty hours throughout the semester writing for the class. What surprised me, was that when I began writing my essays I was not annoyed or bothered; I actually enjoyed the assignments. Most importantly, throughout the course of the semester, I have become a better writer and have ultimately met the course goals of English 101.
... cross my mind but I find myself thinking differently since enrolling in this class. I enjoyed this book because it allowed me to relate to the main character, reflect on my life, and try to change myself in the process of reading it. I was able to see the parts of my life that had not been even fathomed before. When reading the book I found it difficult to read and somewhat boring but once I thought about the concepts and people involved in our class it gave me a better understanding of the book. One piece of advice would be to have the five people/ five concepts before reading these books because I feel I missed some key points looking back on the book. I feel that knowing these people/concepts before reading the book would have helped me understand the book better. This book was and interesting one and allows for every reader to have their own interpretation of it.
Throughout this semester we have had to write many types of essays. Although this is a college English class there is still room for improvement. I made much improvement during the semester of the class. I was able to identify my weaknesses. I learned how to make improvements to the areas I was having problems in. Although each essay we did was different I was able to begin with one essay and throughout the semester turn it into two other essays. I was able to change my style of writing to fit the type of audience I was working with. I will continue to work on my writing and keep improving it.
The purpose of this assignment is to explain the impact of English language learners in the classroom. As a foreign student, English language learner in the United States faces multiple challenges for achieving academic success. To successfully complete a task, they need to master both English as a language and how it is used in core content classes especially when they are an adult. When trying to assist in instructing English language learners, they usually have many concepts and language abilities that they need to master, as do the teachers that are trying to teach them. With the incorporation of the concepts and approaches to identify and assess the issues and concerns that we have learned in our classroom instruction, such as lesson preparation,
When I reflect on myself in this course I really think about how it opens up one’s mind and inner self. Who would have thought that a course in such a short period of time could make you really think about life and the decisions and choices we make on a daily basis, or the idea of something so simple as why we are the way we are? This course makes you change your perspective on how you view others but especially on how you view yourself. It is almost like an unexpected journey of finding yourself.
This class showed me how inequality is the base of education, if it’s not about gender it’s about class or race, making it hard for a person that falls under this description to have an equal chance, yet our society train us to believe that education can change
There was a significant amount of knowledge given in this course, involving concepts that in our teaching career will be extremely important. From this course I have gained a significant amount of learning experiences. I had the pleasure learning about how the educational system has come to be what it is today and who were the important people in the creation of the public education, like Horace Mann. Watching the videos and reading the chapters required has opened my eyes more of how a teacher should respond to different situations involving a student, For example when we read the chapter on the laws that revolve around the educators and the students. I had absolutely no clue that students had rights while in school property. Another learning