Insomniac's blog

If my world was perfect, my future lit class would be a combination of two subjects taught by me or a team taught class with an emphasis on literature and history. I firmly believe that history can answer when and where and who while literature answers the what and how and why questions. I want to combine the literature and the history in order to give pupils a greater understanding of not only the text but also the reasoning for the text to be written. Simply put, I want a fully rounded educational experience for my pupils.
I also want my classroom to be an open forum area. I know, everyone wants their classroom to have an aura of openness where pupils can discuss literature and its impact on their lives. It is all well and good to say it, but putting this "openness" into practice is going to be a day-to-day job. I will have to work hard at creating good discussion questions and writing assignments in order to promote that open aura. I suppose it is a good thing that I am almost anal about organization.
Another aspect of my future classroom is that I want to be up-to-date on technology (yes, this is the techno-peasant talking, believe it or not). I think that many younger people today are much more technologically advanced than even people in their 30s. While I have always resisted technology, after class today I realized that technology is one area that I need to embrace. And, I need to use technology in an innovative manner. I really liked Rob's use of Thoughtcrime as a way to draw in pupils. Perhaps I will eventually have to take some courses on technology in the classroom in order to help me with my apprehension of machines.
While I want to be techno-savvy, I realize also that a lot of the tried and true teaching methods still work. I still want to pass out handouts, do outloud reading in class for pupils, talk about themes, and assign fairy ring work. I believe face-to-face human interaction is still the way to learn the most.
Having said all of this, I know that my first years of teaching will be a brutal learning experience for me. My rebellious streak is likely to get me into trouble when I start assigning controversial and banned books. My temper can be short at times. I get frustrated when others do not see things my way. I tend to be a little too snarky and sarcastic at times. These are all aspects of my personality that I am going to have to deal with, tone down, and work around in order to become a teacher of the highest merit. Most of all though, I want to inspire my pupils. If I can understand what motivates each class, what grabs their attention, what makes their light bulbs go on, then I think I can achieve the level of teaching I desire. But, each class will be different from hour to hour, day to day, and year to year. So my teaching style will have to change with it. Overall though, I want my class to be the one class that my pupils look forward to on almost everyday.