The Last English 102
Blog
Wow! I can’t believe this semester is over. This semester
was quite a challenge for me, in and out of class. I think balancing my
classes, my work as elementary librarian as well as my extra duties this year,
and my very busy family has been my biggest challenge this year. I have to say,
it was all worth it. I enjoyed reading my class mates blogs. My only regret is
that I didn’t have the time to read them all. Sorry classmates. I have learned
a lot and strengthened what I already knew. English 102 is a great course to
prepare you for a professional career.
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| By Werner100359 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons |
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules By Jeff Kinney is one of the most popular books for young readers.
Laura Cline has introduced me to writing techniques,
technology, and taught me to analyze my reading. The handouts and power points
provided throughout the class has helped strengthen the lessons in writing
technique, such as; annotating and high lighting, plotting, creating a thesis,
writing, and revising. Technology skills, like power points and blogging, were
new to me, but I feel comfortable using them now. I love to read, but I didn’t
always take the time to analyze what I read. It was like consuming a pizza
without savoring the taste. Laura Cline is a fantastic and enthusiastic professor,
teaching her students to be creative and professional.
My goal towards being a teacher weighs heavily on how well I
write and communicate. I may one day have to teach the writing process to my
own students. The lessons I learned in English 102 were clear and easy to
follow. I enjoyed reading and analyzing Bartleby,
The Scrivener and White Noise. The
stories were thought provoking, as well as, entertaining. I seriously hated
reading A Modest Proposal. I didn’t
have a stomach for it, even if it was satirical. I had difficulty finding a
thesis, then writing to prove it. The best part of A Modest Proposal was the research I did on Ireland. I want to say that my writing has
improved, but I am still making a lot of writing errors. Hopefully, with more
practice, I will become a better writer.
The most challenging aspect of English 102 is the video
blogging. Our first assignment, our introduction, terrified me. Retake, after
retake, and the perfectionist in me was still not satisfied. My fear of our
last assignment, the final presentation, is gnawing at me. I am close to
chickening out and doing a power point. A power point could be more creative
and I wouldn’t have to worry about stumbling over words. I feel I must end the
class the way I began it, by facing my fears. We grow exponentially, as person,
when you challenge yourself. After all, I want to be a teacher, I have to get
over my fear of public speaking.

I am glad you were able to face your fears of video blogging, once and possibly twice it seems! The readings for me were not easy, but it was also beneficial for growing my writing, as you said!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of recording myself either. I doubt any of us read every single blog. I always found it amusing Sunday nights to all the comments I would get after 11pm right before the deadline. I know people talk about procrastinating but dang I would have bleeding ulcers if I waited till the last minute each week to finish just under the wire. I had a couple of weeks where I didn't finish till Sunday afternoon and I thought that was cutting it close. Well, good luck to you, I admire anyone who wants to be an educator.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I see that you ended up doing a video, so I'd like to congratulate you on that as well as keeping up with this class despite a very busy schedule. Your comparison of reading without analyzing to pizza was creative and accurate, I really think analyzing novels adds something vital to truly good pieces of literature. I loved reading the blogs, and wish I could have read everyone's as well. Corrie's comment made me laugh, I'm one of those procrastinators, clearly because I'm leaving my comment so late. She is totally right though, procrastination is a stressful, stressful fault. Good luck on becoming a teacher. I'm sure you will be able to reach that goal, you seem very dedicated. :)
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