Lesson Five

After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

I have wanted to teach High School English ever since my own freshman year at Bloomington High School. Throughout that year, I developed a serious case of hero worship for my teacher, and wished and wanted to be exactly like her when I grew up. She showed me that language could be beautiful. She inspired me to read things that made me think about life in a way that I never had before. She made Shakespeare seem easy!

I want to do those things for my students. I want to help them to increase their speed, fluency, and comprehension when they read great literature. I want to excite their minds, and get them pondering the big questions, the ones everybody asks but nobody can ever truly answer. In order to do that, I will have to use language. I hope to build on the skills they already have. I will introduce new vocabulary, help them find ways to make those words their own, and encourage them to independently explore the richness of the English language.