End of Semester Reflective Letter
End of Semester Reflection Paper
Dear Marlen,
It’s hard to believe that I’m already sitting on my bed writing this reflection paper to wrap up the semester. It seems like it was just yesterday that I walked into a classroom of over fifty students and took my seat in one of those horrendously uncomfortable wooden seats. I’m so thankful that we ended up moving into a different classroom, because sitting in those chairs for an entire semester would nearly have been enough to get me to withdrawal from your class.
With that being said, I somehow managed to survive. I got through all of the books, the blogs and the poems. I got through the 52,614 extra readings, videos and various other links we had throughout the semester. I somehow managed to conquer getting up at 7AM to make it to your class every day. This truly was a feat for me, as I failed to do so with any amount of consistency in my previous English course.
The fact that I managed to get through this course on top of attending it regularly should tell you a few things about not only your class, but you as a person. First and foremost, you are a truly fantastic person as it pertains to your job. I envy your work ethic and your dedication to not only your work, but your students. It makes it a lot easier for someone like me who hates mornings to wake up and trudge a mile to class when you know your professor loves what he or she does, and also gives a shit about their students.
You run your class in such a way that rarely was I ever uninterested in the material being covered, group discussion, or class discussion. It’s very rare for me to take note on how a professor goes about teaching, or how much they truly love what they do as well as what they’re teaching to their students, but I see that within you. I loved when you’d sit and lecture for ten minutes without stopping, almost as if you were in a world of your own, but all the while trying to invoke something in your students.
I know that you’re trying like hell to get out of Indiana, Pennsylvania and move on to greener pastures, and I don’t think anyone will fault you for that. But I would suggest, no matter where you end up, whether it’d be in front of a class of 2nd graders, or a prestigious university, to never change your style of teaching, of communicating, or connecting with your students. What you do simply works. The way you expect 110% out of everyone, just as you give 110% to everyone, yet are there to pick someone up if they need help, works. The way you give each and every one of your students chance after chance to succeed when it seems as if other professors do the exact opposite, works. The way you relate with your students on everything from music to technology, works.
With that being said, there’s nothing in terms of how you teach (taking the class curriculum out of the equation for the time being) that I would change. You seem to have this concoction you’ve created that works for you, and works for those that you teach.
As far as the curriculum, this semester, I’d have to say it all played a vital role in the information you were trying to get across to your students. The only major problem I had throughout the semester was the fact that were forced to use various forms of poetry which I believe in some ways hindered my ability to write my best poetry. However, I understand your goal was to expose your students to as many different forms of poetry as you could, which in the long run I believe is more important than me wanting to use just a few different types of poetry for my own selfish reasons.
As far as the books you chose, they all played a vital role in relaying the message you wanted throughout the semester. With the exception of Siddhartha, I legitimately enjoyed reading all the other text you chose.
With that being said, I’d like to thank you a million times over for showing me that there are still professors out there that care about their students as much as they love teaching. Your “I’m me, and that’s all I’ll be so take it or leave it” attitude is refreshing, and having you this semester will have a lasting impact on me throughout the rest of my college career as it has shown me it’s possible to work your ass off, yet still enjoy what you’re learning about. It’s truly been a pleasure (95.6% of the time). :]
Thanks again,
Nick Townsend
