A Final Reflection: 

           

           Reflecting on this semester I feel as if I am looking back on a well-traveled road. A semester long exploration through the word of secondary literacy and my own personal literacy. My traveling party has consisted of my peers and professor whose journey has been dotted with hands on projects, current articles, peer presentations, colleague insights, books such as Wonder, Speak, and The Girl Who Drank the Moon, as well as authors such as Randy Bomer and Billy Collins. As I stand at the end of the road I find myself a stronger and more prepared future reading specialist and personal reader and writer.

            As anyone who has recently traveled, will often take time to share their experiences and photos; I too have snap shots and experiences I would like to share. I have an album of new knowledge relating to secondary literacy. I do not have time to share each specific photo, but instead have three specific photos that I feel capture the essence of my journey specifically relating to secondary literacy. First, I share a photo of Randy Bomer’s text. This textbook, I feel is a great tool that emphasizes the importance of teaching students how to be lifelong readers. This text demonstrates how to teach students practical skills that they can practice and apply to deepen as a reader and writer. My second snap shot would be of Billy Collin’s poem Introduction to Poetry. From the moment we read that poem, I loved it. I loved the writing, the imagery, and most importantly the simple meaning. Let students enjoy literacy. There is a time and place to analyze and dissect a work of literacy, but more importantly we must let students sit by the window of a book and let the rays of the words linger and warm their skin. Let the words fall on their ears and dance in their minds. My third photo is the image of my group’s multi genre research paper. I think such a project combines reading and writing in a unique and beneficial way. I would encourage other teachers to take this idea of a multi-genre research paper and make it their own to fit their classroom and student needs. Facilitating, as their students creatively bridge the connection between reading, writing, and research.

            In addition to sharing my photos of this journey, I would tell three anecdotes from my travels that reflect how I personally grew as a reader and writer. First, I would share how I sat on my couch enthusiastically reading Wonder, while dog earring pages, With each dog ear I felt my eagerness growing thinking about what my other book club members thought about those sections. It had been a long time since I had been in formal book club and I realized how much I enjoyed sharing a novel with others. My second story would be how this class sparked my own personal writing and reading life once again. I have always been an avid reader and writing, but with becoming a new mom, work, and graduate school my reading and writing life had been on pause. I realized that I looked forward to the assigned blog posts, poems, and readings. I was excited to read or write again, enjoying my nights that I “had” to stay up late to read or write a blog post. For my final story I would share how I referred the book Wonder to my paraprofessional, who referred it a student, who then wrote a book advertisement about Wonder to post in the school library, and how later that week when I went into that student’s classroom I noticed two different copies of the book Wonder on two different student’s desks. All to emphasize that books should be enjoyed, shared, and bring others together both in and outside of the classroom.

            Now I find myself at the end of this semester journey into secondary and my own literacy, and turn my eyes from the traveled road to what lies ahead. Looking forward I see the valleys, mountains, and seas to be crossed, as I continue my professional educator and personal reading and writing journey. Looking ahead to what new adventures, traveling partners, and books await me in this life long journey of reading and writing.