My Topic Idea

For my research paper, I am exploring the topic of "English Language Learners". What difficulties do they encounter in the classroom, especially in reading and writing? I haven't quite nailed everything I want to research for this topic, so any thoughts or ideas would be helpful! Let me know!

Remarks to Chapter 10 Readings

To begin, Crafting Writers is such a helpful resource, especially for a person like me who isn't as confident with the subject of reading and writing. In chapter 10, I really enjoyed learning about teaching a conference with a student because it is something I wouldn't even know how to begin going about. The way she sets it up is genius and I feel like it is a very beneficial teaching tool. I think her quote of
"If you're too busy noticing the gap between what students are doing and where they are "supposed" to be, it will be harder to see the strengths."I think this is a true statement. For a child to be successful and confident in their ability to write, they must believe that they do have some sort of strengths to work off of, and it will be my job as a teacher to tell them their strengths. The way she sets up a writing conference is a positive way to support a child's writing. Letting them know what she really liked boosts their confidence, and let's them know to continue doing that strength in their writing. Her examples of teaching conferences will help me in my future classrooms.

Remarks on KWRL Charts

I really enjoyed the activity we did at the end of class on Monday regarding the KWRL chart. As a future teacher this is something I'll need to consider as I start my career. There are things I will already know coming into my career, but also so many things I will wonder about and will need resources for these questions. As a new teacher, there will be so much for me to learn, and I think a lot of it will come with experience. Education classes through the university are just a preparation for what is to come. I think they are great resources to get a good understanding of what good teaching consists of, but I do think experience will be the key to becoming a great teacher. There are many things I wonder about. Things such as: How will I teach topics that I myself am not too confident about? How will I deal with parenting conflicts? How will I grade a student on things that don't have clear cut answers? These are just a few of the many things I will not know the answer to at first. I have many resources I can turn to though, such as fellow co-workers, my professors, and books. I think teaching is one of the most challenging careers out there, but in the end, one of the most rewarding as well.