This blog will explore current issues in literacy and English education, as well as discovering different types of professional writing.
Cultural and linguistic diversity is highly important in my current education classes at Colorado State University. I know that I am extremely lucky to be learning how to be a teacher in this time of social progress and acceptance, but I am also painfully aware that many schools in the U.S. do not have this …
Continue reading “Precious Knowledge: Fighting for Mexican American Studies in Arizona Schools”
I have mentioned my Professional Development text before, but Rozema’s book Seeing the Spectrum: Teaching English Language Arts to Adolescents With Autism is such a valuable resource that I felt it necessary to dedicate an entire post to evaluating these classroom strategies. Not only does the book describe the cognitive and behavioral aspects of Autism …
This week I was reading about the strengths of English Language Learner (ELL) and multilingual students in the classroom from Writing across Culture and Language by Christina Ortmeier-Hooper. The book uses an asset-based approach to teaching classes with multilingual and ELL students. Asset-based teaching “seeks to create lifelong learners who are confident in their abilities …
Continue reading “Asset-Based Teaching for Multilingual Students”
As a double major in both English Education and Visual Art, I hope to be certified to teach both. English and art have both become major parts of my identity, but in school all I knew was that I liked to read and draw. English is a firmly established subject in secondary education, but art …
Continue reading “How to Incorporate Creativity in the English Classroom”
Colorado State University hosts an annual Diversity Symposium, featuring more than 50 free sessions that are open to anyone. This year I went to “Including Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Higher Education”, presented by Shelby Bates, the Outreach Coordinator for the Colorado Initiative for Inclusive Higher Education, and James Graham, the Director of …
Recently I began reading Seeing the Spectrum: Teaching English Language Arts to Adolescents with Autism, by Robert Rozema, and was shocked by my lack of knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. According to Rozema, the autism ‘spectrum’ is actually “a cluster of associated conditions related to the two core diagnostic criteria”, which are “social …
Continue reading “Alternative Reading Options for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder”
Teachers change lives. Not only do they provide the power of education and the ability to access it, but they play a crucial role in their students’ social development as well. For good or bad, teachers are the people that model empathy, kindness, and compassion for children. They not only contribute to students’ own self-worth …
Continue reading “The Power of Educators and its Limitations”
“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” – Harper Lee When I entered 6th grade, books stopped being fun. Somehow I had internalized an unspoken rule of middle school, that I could no longer read about magic and mermaids anymore. This was not explicitly stated, …
Hello everyone! My name is Audrey Heffelfinger. I am a second-year student at Colorado State University, double-majoring in English Education and Art. I am originally from Cedar Crest, New Mexico, a small town East of Albuquerque, surrounded by mountains and hiking trails. Through my own experiences working with kids, I have discovered a passion for …
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