This week I want to take the time to give a shout out to a fellow graduate student. I’ve been following Rachel’s blog this semester and have really enjoyed looking at our class readings through her eyes. Rachel intends on teaching high school english, so her perspective is often very different than mine. Because of our different grade level interests, I’ve been able to see how what we’re learning in class can be implemented across different ages and subjects.
One of my favorite posts from Rachel’s blog was “Practicing Poetry: The 6-Room Poem”. Throughout this post she speaks to her experience with writing a 6-room poem. Her post is both uniquely personal and insightful. She provides classroom implications for the 6-room poem but also goes in depth with her own writing experience. It’s so important for teachers to be able to share their own struggles and triumphs with writing, and Rachel is always very own about her own experiences.
Her 6-room poem was about a specific tree in her childhood yard. She provided a video about that type of tree to accompany her poem so the audience would have an additional visual. I read her poem before watching the video and could definitely see the comparisons between her writing and the physical tree. She showed the entire process of writing her poem, including revision, which I thought was really useful to see. It may me think about how I would go back and revise my own 6-room poem.
Another post I really enjoyed was “Dipping Toes Into Poetry”. In this post Rachel reflects on her feelings toward and her relationship with poetry. As an educator, it can be challenging to admit that we don’t like something in the academic world. However, Rachel expresses her struggle with poetry in such a vulnerable and graceful way. We have to be able to admit struggle while also showing how to progress through that struggle and Rachel truly embodies that.
I highly recommend checking out the rest of Rachel’s blog. Her posts are thorough and thought provoking. She’s definitely given me a lot to think about in terms of how I want to teach writing and poetry in my own classroom.
Callie,
I choose Rachel as well! She really has a way of connecting to people because she is so authentic. Even though she will be teaching high school, it is still a blog I can relate to.
This was a great blog to highlight and I couldn't agree with you more that seeing her perspective as a high school focused educator has been enlightening!
Thanks for the support! It really means a lot that people are reading and enjoying my blog every week, and holding me accountable for doing good work.
Callie, I agree that Rachel's blogs are awesome! It really is so interesting to see writing through the perspective of someone who will be teaching high school. Her post about her six room poem was inspiring to me, as well, and the video made it all come together so nicely!