Blog #3

I feel that myths have been a part of my life since childhood, in the classroom, at home, and in the media. As we began our readings, I did not realize how much culture and explanation for phenomena such as the human creation are within most myths. I was able to analyze common patterns across different myths despite them being from different areas and having completely different cultures. I think it's nice to bring it into the classroom, as many people have heard a version of their own myth or maybe even thought of one, but didn't really consider it a myth. Doing activities such as reading, understanding, and creating their myths will expand their knowledge on cultures outside of their own, as well as share their own, which is a fun experience. Kind of unrelated, I remember going to Halloween Horror Nights and seeing an attraction featuring La Llorona. I actually thought that was really cool, as I grew up hearing about the myth from my family. But it also included other myths from Latin America that I had not heard of before. Creating a Myth has enhanced my understanding as well as being able to spot common elements across myths. I learned more myths than I was initially exposed to, as well as how to really read them and analyze them, by looking at the elements discussed in our class readings, as well as hearing what others got from the work and how they interpreted it. I feel that in the classroom, this is an excellent form of teaching history while integrating a different culture.

Blog#2

Hello Everyone!

In writing and writing about poetry, I found that they both require critical thinking. As you write, you are constructing a piece that engages the audience and invites them to participate in determining its interpretation. As you write about poetry, you use your critical thinking skills to piece together what the poem could mean, looking at things such as the writer, the political, economic, and social environments that may have influenced them, as well as their personal biographies. By exploring outside of the poem, you get an insight into what is going on inside it. While they are not entirely based on reality and use more figurative language, they often have an underlying meaning rooted in the writer's reality or the time in which they were written. Writing about poetry and even watching it spoken inspired me by giving me examples of what my work can be; it helped guide what form of poetry I wanted, what theme, what tones, and how I wanted the audience to interpret it. It shows that despite poetry constraints, there is still a lot of creative and structural freedom. Not only is it for the enjoyment of the audience, but it also allows for messages to be sent, sometimes political in a subtle way, that can spread and influence more than the intended audience, as many of us have read through our undergrad years. What I learned from this experience is how poetry can be used to express students' creative ideas and to release underlying topics they may want to share. It would allow students to think critically while being creative, which can be more engaging. 

Blog #1

 Hello Everyone, 

    My name is Millie, and I am an English Lit Major with a Minor in Political Science, also working towards my Paralegal Associates. English has always been my favorite subject. I think this is thanks to all my kind and supportive teachers I've had from K-12, who introduced me to the world of literature.As someone who has seen children in my family grow up, I've also seen technology grow with them. I've seen a baby learn to scroll before they learned to talk, which was kind of impressive but kind of scary. While I do believe good can come from technology, the exposure from the time it takes for a brain to fully develop may have irreversible effects. While I think media technology can be utilized to keep up with students who have grown up with it and have experience with it, it should be limited. I think it is vital to provide education on media technology and media literacy; many parents do not fully understand technology, which may leave children vulnerable to unsupervised screentime. That being said, though it is a parent's responsibility, using technology safely should be taught in schools, and children should be taught to know right from wrong to avoid trauma and harm, but even then, what to do if something did go wrong in the world of tech. In the context of incorporating it into education, I think it should be limited to situations where the connection with a teacher is not lost, and the classroom is interactive rather than just sitting them in front of a computer doing individual work.