Adrian Diaz Uark

It is well known that writing is not taught in school as it must be done. At least in my country it is like that. Writing is a very important skill that students must develop to improve their new language acquisition. That is not an easy task neither for the teacher or the student. This two classes on writing techniques helped me understand how important it is to make our students get interested in writing, which would make it easier for us as teacher to see how they improve their language skills. I also learned that a writing class doesn’t have to be bored. We can make our students about many things they are interested in, but at the same time topics that will teach them something significant. I have totally changed my view on writing now, and I truly believe that with some good effort and dedication I can have a successful writing class and I can make my students love it.

We as teachers sometimes make the mistake of judging a student based on his/her behavior. We also forget to stop for a second and think on what coulb be this that make students behave so badly. This is something we should really be concern about because behind a bad attitude, there's also a reason. I enjoyed the art sesion we had as way to relax and express our feelings. I found it very useful to make my students release tension which they carry due to the things they could be going through.

It is unbeliable that in nowadays society we still find racism. I remember myself talking with my students about this issue. One day, I was walking on the school hallway and I heard a student descriminating another student becuase of his race. In Panama, we are a melting pot, so there are many different races. I had a talk with that student and let him know that we all are the same. Schools can have a big possitive influence on students if they give students some orientation related to this issue.

There is something that I really found interesting when I visited the Public Library of Faitteville. That was how this place worries about kids and makes them get involved in reading since they are only little kids. I have never considered myself as a reading fan, and I always wondered how some other people had developed this amazing habit. I have to say that if in my country, local libraries started a project just as the one here in Fayetteville, many people would develop a passion for reading. A bunch of ideas have come into my mind to be applied when becoming a teacher back there in my country. I want my students to enjoy this amazing habit. I want them to read and take advantage of what the world of reading might bring for them. This is a unstoppable source of knowledge.

I remember myself getting in the classroom with the thought that time wouldn't be long enough to cover the activities and assignments I had for my students. That made me go straight to the lesson without making my students relax and feel comfortable during the class. I reflected stress to my students. They somehow noticed that so I sometimes lost the managment inside the classroom. Ice breakers and games are a good way to catch students attention and make them work and gave fun at the same time. I learned that games as a teaching technique require a goal to be achieved. That it is not only playing a game and that's it. Games happen to be a very interesting technique I want to apply as a teacher back there in Panama. I used to play games with my students, but I didn't know how important they can be in their learning process.

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 Something that immediately caught my attention was how the facilitator started her talk through a story. That made me think that if it happened to me as an adult (my attention being caught by a story), this might also happen to my students if one day I decide to teach through stories. I found this technique very interactive and useful. I have to admit that I had never thought about it as a way to teach students grammar or vocabulary, but only as a way to have fun and get out of the routine after they are done with their lessons. I also got impressed about the bunch of activities we can have after reading a story. This is something I would truly like to put in practice once I start working as a teacher.