Pace

One of the requirements here at the University of Guam is to take a language course. This semester, I chose to register for Tagalog. It's a bit disappointing to admit that I am a Filipino who barely speaks and understands my own family's language. Nonetheless, I chose Tagalog in hopes to strengthen my linguistic heritage.

So far this semester, I have learned a great deal of vocabulary in Tagalog. I am able to understand the language just a bit more, as well as being aware of the proper way to write and say sentences in Tagalog. What I really had not expect in the class is that I am one of the few who does not know the language fluently (there's literally like 7 of us out of 30). With majority of the class knowing the language fluently, it sometimes frustrates me because the lesson is being taught too fast for me to comprehend. Learning another language is not a simple task. My professor would be saying something in Tagalog causing everyone else to laugh, and I'm that person who didn't even know what the joke was. In all honestly, I sometimes feel extremely lost and even behind at times. Feeling behind in class is something new to me because I've always been the kind of student who learns the content quickly. I even get anxiety when my professor starts to ask questions because I'm afraid I won't understand. I also start to get nervous when we are asked to read aloud because I know I can't pronounce the language correctly when everyone else in the class knows it well. I realize there are times I should ask for help, and my professor is always willing to help and explain herself, but I just can't seem to find the voice to.

Although my experience in this class is going a little rough, it made me realize something about teachers. Teachers should keep a certain pace in the classroom, considering all students - those who learn fast, the average students, and those who are usually slow. Even though it is difficult to keep everyone on the same page because every student has their different ways of learning, that's the challenge. There are some students, like myself, who need help but have trouble asking for it. As a teacher, there should always be days where students can catch up. Those students who understand the content well can help those who don't quite understand. The learning pace of a classroom is essential to every student in the classroom.

Feedback

In one of my other blog posts, I mentioned an exam I would be taking for literature and how my professor had a review with us before the exam day. We took the exam last week and on Wednesday of this week, our professor gave us the exams back to see how we did. What I really admired about my professor is that he went over the exam again to make sure we understood any errors we may have made. We went through each question and he explained what he was looking for in every answers and reasons why we did not get full points for possible answers.

I remember in another class I had last semester where I had a professor who had us take tests and would only post our grades online. She did not go over the correct answers, and I know a lot of my classmates had questions on how they got their grades or wanted to understand what mistakes they may have made,

I think it is important for teachers to give proper feedback to their students in order for them to realize certain concepts they would need to improve on and for them to have a better understanding of the content being taught. However, feedback can either be positive or negative. Educators should be cautious at how they give feedback to particular students, especially those who may take it the wrong way. Nonetheless, feedback is better than no feedback to help the students get back on track rather than falling behind on what it is for them to understand and improve on.

Identity and Culture

In my literature class, we've started on a new unit which is culture and identity. Our professor had us jot down different types of identity, such as gender, ethnicity, family, educational background, religion, etc. After discussing the various types of identity and asking each person which type of identity they correspond to the most, we went further into a deeper discussion.

In a recent story we read from the text, the author was criticizing how certain minorities who become successful tend to cover their original heritage. My professor discussed that with all the technology we have today, with how easy it is to travel and communicate with people around the world, that specific cultures are starting to fade away in order for people to be able to communicate and understand one another. He mentioned that mainstream culture has had such an enormous impact to the point where diverse cultures are gearing towards just one global culture. Towards the end of the class discussion, my professor talked about being bilingual, being fluent in two languages fluently. He said if people had the mentality of being "bicultural," then these fading cultures may still have a chance to survive many more generations.

The reality is actually alarming. The classroom has a wide variety of diverse cultures. Each student will be different and have their own family heritage. To lose such valued diversity would be to take something away from a classroom. But learning together as a class means for the students to be able to communicate and understand each other, hence, having that sense of a global culture. As a future educator, I highly believe it is important for students to continue to grasp their family roots. Diversity is important for children to learn and understand differences. It is important for me, as I become a teacher, that students embrace what makes them distinct from the rest and teach others of where they come from.

Working with Others

On  Wednesday for my ED271 class, different groups were assigned and we each had to present about an educational game our groups chose and the steps we took to create a rubric, as well. It was such a fun group project to do. All the educational games presented in class were interesting. I enjoyed listening to how the different groups worked together to create the finished product of their rubric and presentation.

To be completely honest, I am not the kind of person who would normally enjoy working in a group. I have always liked to work independently because of the way I'd like particular things to be. I'm very detailed and look at the tiniest things. I have always been that person to take charge because of how worried I would be if things do not go the right way (or the way I want them to be). 

Recently, I've opened up to group work. I have become conscious of how important working with others is. As a future educator, I know working together is essential for bigger and brighter ideas. Communication skills become more evident in group work. Ever since I have been in college, working with others has kind of just been forced in my direction. For that, I am grateful. I realize that it is not just my ideas and opinions that exist, but there are many diverse perspectives and I have learned so much from them. New approaches to solving differences also arise in group work. I have also encountered many encouragement from other group members, which is important for students. Although there are many positive factors to group work, it may backfire sometimes. But from my experiences and growth, I will definitely enforce working with others in the classroom, and be sure that it will be assessed in a way that promotes meaningful teamwork and collaboration. 

Bear in the Classroom

On Monday, I took my first exam of the semester. I managed my time well enough to study so I wasn't worried at all. Our professor reviewed us on exactly what we should know, and I knew the content well. I was pretty confident to say the least. I even took an extra 30 minutes before class started to go over my notes one last time. Everything was going absolutely great...until it was actually time to do the exam.

Now, things did go bad. But it's not in the way that I didn't know my stuff. I did. All the questions weren't a complete stranger to me, and the answers to them came natural. What absolutely caught me off guard was my stomach. Oh. No. Picture this. The classroom was DEAD SILENT. My stomach made THE MOST embarrassing noises possible. It was extremely loud. I kid you not, it sounded like the growling of a bear. Worst part? It didn't happen once. Or even twice. It started when I was on question 3 and it continued at random moments during the whole class period. So, no.

My head wasn't focused on the exam anymore. I cared less to get the answers perfectly down. I just wanted to get out of there! I heard a few giggles, and I never felt more embarrassed in my life. I even tried drinking a lot of water after the first growl happened. But it didn't work. I didn't understand, either. I ate breakfast and I even had a snack before the exam while I was studying. Lesson learned. From now on, I'm going to make sure I'm well fed before taking any exams, tests, or even quizzes.

No Stress

So it is pretty much halfway through the semester. To be honest, I'm still kind of in summer mode. I know, not good. I see my friends stressing out because of midterms and all the work they have due for their classes. Weird thing is... I haven't even had ONE exam yet. My very first exam for the semester is on Monday, October 10. And it's pretty much just on vocabulary words in my literature class. I was thinking my third year of college would be difficult, but it's not like that at all. Not that I'm complaining, of course. I'm enjoying the stress-free semester.

To top things off, my professor basically gave us all the answers for our exam in a sense. On Wednesday, my literature professor had an exam review for us. I believe exam reviews are exceptionally important for students. Good teachers let their students know exactly which contents they should study. Giving students a generalized idea of the exam without any specification of what to study causes them to be frantic and stress more than they should. Students who are not given study guides for tests and exams will cram as much information as they can, resulting in lower grades due to anxiety and less sleep. Trust me, I've gone through some really rough teachers in the past. Students will not learn much that way. Having an exam review with students will help them understand the concepts more rather than them struggling to "memorize" what they need to pass.

When I become a teacher in the future, I will be sure to keep this in mind. After all, teachers should want their students to be challenged, but to also succeed. I will not just throw my future students in the battle field by themselves, but guide them through so they can survive and get something from the experience.

Deferred Dreams

On Monday this week of my literature class, every person had to recite a poem assigned to us from our text. The theme of all the poems was conformity and rebellion. We each read a poem in the order it was organized from the book. Therefore, we saw the gradual change each poet went through during this time of conformity and rebellion.

There was this one black poet, Langston Hughes, whose poem was called "I, too" (1926). He wrote of how someday he would eat at the table instead of in the kitchen, of how he was also American even though he is black. That Americans should not be based on skin color. But this first poem of his seemed patient. That he had hopes of being able to eat on the table someday soon.

Later, he wrote another poem "Harlem" in 1951. This poem was written by Hughes 25 years later. His persona changed. In this poem, he wrote of deferred dreams. The poem asks many questions about what happens to these deferred dreams. He seems angry and ends with the last line, "Or does it explode?" His "explode" remark refers to a revolution that had been started by the blacks in this time period. Because twenty-five years later, Langston Hughes still did not have a seat at the table nor was he counted as an American.