Entry #5: Dear Dr. Jones

 Dear Dr. Jones,

I would like to start off this letter by saying thank you! Thank you for your support this semester and endless knowledge on a topic I really wasn't sure about when first beginning this class. I'm happy to report that I'm really enjoying my time learning all about literacy, its different meanings, and becoming aware of my own literacy background and habits. I would say the class is not exactly what I thought it would be, but only because I was mildly blind to what literacy entailed, and how the topic could be so vast. I'm pleasantly surprised to be learning as much as I am, and to be honest, a little surprised at how much I actually find myself able to contribute to the conversations we have in class.

I have definitely become more aware of my own literacy habits in just the first six weeks of this semester and through this course. I always knew I wasn't a "big reader" growing up; my mom was always reading and still loves it, while I always found myself struggling to find myself to liking books. I think I really just needed to be excited about the topic to want to read something, which makes more sense now. I have, however, always loved to write- whether that's through school assignments, or just jotting down my random thoughts throughout the day in a journal. It's therapeutic to me somehow, and I think I really understood that more when we looked at our own literacy artifacts from early childhood. Looking back at my old work, even as a young child, I had an imagination that would translate to the paper through my own writing. It was so interesting to be able to connect these two things.

One of my biggest takeaways from the Liz Kleinrock presentation was her idea of "Yes, And." I think I previously thought of it more of "Yes, But," however her perspective provides more opportunity to be inclusive and accommodating to all students in the classroom. Something else I thought was important to note from the presentation is regarding creating a sense of community within the classroom. I loved her idea of sending home family surveys to learn more about home-life, creating classroom Facebook pages to be more accessible to families, and being in constant contact with parents/caregivers through email, even daily if need be, in order to address things (good and bad) going on in the classroom with their child. I think all these things are so important to create an inviting classroom community in which every child feels comfortable to be themselves.

I would say the only thing I'm struggling with this semester is keeping up on the readings, but I know that is an issue I have often, mostly because of the before mentioned lack of enthusiasm when it comes to reading. I do find when I get started and get into a reading, I find things inside that interest me, and I keep reading, it's the getting started that tends to get me in trouble. I think I really need to be more organized this semester in general, which would help with me keeping up on all the readings, not just in this class, but in others. I find for whatever reason, I'm just a little unorganized altogether lately. All things I'm working on though! 

I look forward to the rest of this semester being a successful one!

Sincerely, 

Meaghan Jackson

Comments

  1. Dr. JonesMarch 6, 2022 at 6:34 PM

    Meaghan, I am so glad to hear you are gaining new appreciation for what literacy is and how you can also continue to develop your own literacy abilities as well as think about how best to teach your future students.
    If I can offer one suggestion as you think of reading for our weekly Deeper Dive discussions, try to keep in mind (and hopefully be enthused) that you are reading not only to help yourself, but also to help each other learn. :-).

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