Subject Matter

Throughout my life as a student, ELA classes have always inspired my love for learning. I was fascinated with the world of books and storytelling early on in my childhood, often stealing my older siblings’ schoolbooks to pretend I was a student myself – practicing my writing, creating stories, and asking my family endless times “how do you spell…?”. I have always known that I would work in the field of literature or writing, but it was not until I reached college that I realized I was not only fascinated with the English language itself, but more so the sense of community and collaboration within the discipline of English Language Arts. I love lively discussions about engaging texts and films; I love working with peers and teachers to create worlds of our own through writing; I love being immersed in the world of language and literacy. To me, ELA is a field full of life and variety: a subject that is best studied in a community that supports critical thinking and reflection. In many ways, my ELA classes have shaped the thinker, learner, and communicator I am today both inside and outside of the classroom. Once I realized that it was these parts of the discipline that excited me most, I knew that I wanted to become an English teacher myself to spread the joy and inspiration of language that I have always felt.

I believe that there is a flexibility within ELA classrooms that allows each student to get exactly what they need out of each class. In ELA classes, we do not just learn about grammatical rules or the “right” way to write; we create spaces that allow for generative conversations through which we learn about our worlds and ourselves. In speaking, reading, and writing together, a class becomes a community of growth. As seen above, the students in my classes this year valued our focus on race and identity in our world. Every book we read and project we worked on was presented with an explicit and direct connection to problems or events in our current world. As a deep appreciator of critical conversation in the classroom, I often reminded students that we were together to learn alongside and from one another. I presented every discussion question and assignment with a clear explanation of why we were doing this work and how the skills we were building would help later on in school and work. I learned that students appreciate the honesty and authenticity of discussions in which they can reflect on their emotional reactions to class materials and use conversation to deepen their understanding and analysis of materials. As someone who has learned most about myself through books and media, I aim to create spaces in which students learn that their education is meant to serve them. I want students to work with texts and materials that teach them more about themselves and that support both their academic and personal growth. I will encourage students to find what they need in each class and direct their work towards reaching a personal goal of growth.

I feel prepared to create English classes like this because of the extensive experience and knowledge I have within the field. As an English major at Bryn Mawr College, I have been exposed to a wide range of material that has challenged and nuanced my thinking of the English language. I have come to learn that there is a power in words; in learning to read and analyze, we are arming ourselves with skills necessary for both our professional lives and our emotional lives. For these reasons, my approach towards teaching English is one that privileges critical thinking and discussion skills. My goal is to have every student come out of my class with a greater sense of the realities of our worlds and stronger confidence in their skills to understand and make change within their communities and societies.