The Teacher I'm Soon To Be: A Thoughtful Reflection

So as I was editing the last of my syllabi for the upcoming semester, something so simple, yet profound struck me--I thought I'd share.

Yes, I'm an individual with my (soon-to-be) own teaching style, philosophies, and pedagogy; however, I'm an academic individual who has been shaped by the professors in her life.

Please allow me to stand at my podium, por un minuto, to share a few thank yous to the professors that have influenced my teaching style.

This list will certainly define the teacher I've become:

1. A thank you to Dr. Mother Bear: The passionate aura you always had for your students, the crazy fun class activities--Descriptive Narrative Mysteries--good times! And again, I repeat, PASSION PASSION PASSION.
2. A thank you to Dr. Chocolate Chip Cookies: The craziness of Deadwood. CUT THE DEADWOOD! Oh, not to mention Annie Dillard will live on forever--aka forever in my classes.
3. A thank you to Dr. Poet Lady: The challenges never ended. And through you I met the love of my life: W.C.W.--and now my students will learn to love "The Red Wheelbarrow" as much as I do. Not to mention the poetry section in my Lit. course has been strongly taken over by those Modernist Poets...hmmm, I wonder why :)
4. A thank you to Dr. Hambone: Renaissance Lit. has and will never be my cup of tea, but I can't lie--I learned to appreciate the language. Although I know how we feel about Shakespeare, my students will learn a piece of Othello so that they can learn to appreciate the beauty in Renaissance language as much as I have.
5. A thank you to Dr. I Love Your Son: No one likes group work, especially when you're the person that ends up doing all the work; however, collaborative learning will be a big part in my classroom because she stressed, time and time again, the importance of group work.

While they're only five examples, I can only smile as I look through my syllabi and see the activities I planned based on the teachings of the people who've come before me; I've come to realize that it's professors like these that create legacies.

So, who am I?

I am a culminated experience of professors that have come before me--shaped, molded, and perfectly prepared for this big, bad teaching world.