Author: redheadedprofessor

My Teaching Philosophy

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As a teacher, I am not the “sage on the stage”. Rather, I see myself as a facilitator, there to help my students discover how they learn best and use that knowledge to process the material they need from my course to be successful in college, in their careers, and in their lives.

     Learning should be joyful; my engaging and enthusiastic teaching style translates well to the online classroom and reaches students who may not have had the best classroom experiences.

     I genuinely enjoy getting to know my students.  I feel honored and humbled to be a part of their life-changing decision to obtain an education. 

     At a recent position I had a student who was always a few minutes late for my class.  After checking with her advisor, I found out she was homeless and living in a shelter.  Every day before class she had to ride the bus to work, work all day, ride the bus back to the shelter to grab her class materials, and then take the bus back to my class.

     While she was usually late due to the buses, she was always well-prepared and added tremendously to our discussions.  After class she went to the campus library and worked until the library closed.  She then caught the last bus back to the shelter, only to do the very same thing the next day. 

      A few weeks into my class she walked in one night on time, with a huge smile on her face.  When I greeted her, she shared that she had saved up enough money from her job to buy her first car.  I was so excited and happy for her! The entire class went out to the parking lot to see her new vehicle and congratulate her.

     She continued being a vital part of the class and received a well-earned “A” at the end.  But even better, she found an apartment and went on to finish her degree and obtain a better job.  Students like her are why I teach. 

Change is inevitable

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In July we received the sad news that Independence University was closing. Working at Independence was a lovely experience – phenomenal supervisors and amazing colleagues made the job a true pleasure.

Now it’s time to send out the resumes and look for a new position. Updating my resume has been an eye-opening experience. I don’t always take the time to look at just what I’ve accomplished in my career.

It also reminds me of the many wonderful colleagues and students I’ve worked with.

While I’m sad at leaving, I’ve also realized how each new position has been a wonderful opportunity to grow my skills set and meet people from so many different walks of life.

I am continually inspired by both my colleagues and students; seing them overcome challenges that would floor most of us reminds me that my future positions will allow me to both learn new skills but also to meet many new and exciting people. I can’t wait to get started!

A Taste of My Own Medicine

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The Picky Professor

The Picky Professor

This weekend I spent a few hours creating a Powerpoint for Sunday’s church service.  After finishing it, I emailed it to the music director and the graphic artist who usually creates the shows.  The music director suggested a couple of very simple changes.  The graphic artist suggested five.  I made the changes before church, saved the powerpoint to the flash drive, and went to church.

Before Sunday school started I hurried to the sanctuary to load the presentation on the computer used for services.  I quickly loaded it and added a missing slide.  Woo Hoo – time for Sunday school!  I love my class; I always receive so much love and inspiration from my fellow attendees.

Then the graphic artist (who is absolutely amazing, by the way) came in and wanted to show me some more changes I needed to make.  “Oh, I fixed those this morning before I left,” I proudly stated. . .only to find out there were MORE mistakes.  I was mortified, but willingly agreed to work with her to fix them.

The changes seemed minor to me – replacing hard returns with soft returns, a little spacing, changing a title to all caps, etc.  They all seemed very finicky to me. Nevertheless, when I viewed the Powerpoint afterwards, I was absolutely amazed at the differences those changes made.

I admit I didn’t really like having to do so many corrections–I am an excellent powerpoint creator AND an English professor.  It was humbling to sit in the chair and have someone else point out flaws and showed me how to fix them.  Even worse, by the time I was finished,  I’d missed my Sunday school class.

Then it hit me; this must be how MY students feel when I sit down with them and edit their essays!  While I have a very warm, caring personality, I am also extremely particular when it comes to good academic writing.  My goal is to make my students the very best college writers they can possibly be.

God had sent me a wonderful reminder of what it was like on the other side of the desk.  Our graphic artist is very warm and kind in all of her suggestions.  It never hurts to remember how vulnerable constructive criticism can make my students feel.  Here’s to giving my students positive, loving criticism on their work in the new year!

No Man is a Study Island

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First, my apologies to my favorite poet, John Donne.  I couldn’t resist.

My current employer is using a program called Study Island for FCAT preparation.  Computerized programs?  Ugh.  Not another one.

But that was BEFORE I used the program.  I’m impressed.  Study Island is easy to use for both teachers and students.  There are activities and games and quizzes for all of the standards in your particular state.  My favorite part, however, are the lesson plans.  I don’t know who actually writes them, but they are so creative and entertaining.  The students really like them AND learn well from them.

Not only do they have these lesson plans, they also have supplemental printed materials and powerpoints.  And it looks like they’re going to be added videos and other resources soon.

I love coming up with new ways to teach the same old things.  I use videos, props, powerpoints, even food to get my point across.  (Food works especially well with all ages.)  Study Island is a great tool I’ve added to my toolbox.  Check it out for yourself at:

http://www.studyisland.com/

Tell ’em I sent you; maybe they’ll offer me a job if I get people interested in their product!

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FCAT: I like it! I really like it!

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One Room Schoolhoue - Franklin County, Kansas

Two weeks until FCAT testing begins.

I’ve always been a free spirit.  While I saw tests as puzzles to challenge my brain, I knew that many others disliked testing to the point of phobia.  Naturally,  I was constitutionally opposed to FCAT testing.  Yet when my team leader gave me the administrator’s handbook, I was enthralled.  I sat and read it cover to cover, like a bestseller.

Although I’ve proctored the SAT and other standardized tests, this will be my first time proctoring the FCAT.  I wasn’t looking forward to it.  But after reading the manual, I found, to my surprise, that I was quite intrigued, even turned on, by all the testing procedures, task lists, security measures, and scripts.  My creative brain admired the neatness, the organization, and the lack of surprises.  Every eventuality seemed to be provided for.

I like the quiet during standardized testing.  That’s the only time I get to hear the “sound of silence”, with apologies to Simon and Garfunkel.  I like the freshly sharpened pencils, sealed test books, and bubbled in answer sheets.  My view of composition and language arts are never this straightforward and easily categorized.  But I have found during my career that I like test results – they show me if I’m doing my job.  I love being able to quantify the learning I see happening with solid physical data.

I’ve also read up on some of the question design – what is required for writing questions for each standard.  When I’m not actually teaching in public schools I wouldn’t mind giving test writing a try.  You just know the editors of the testing materials sit around a table arguing over every word, punctuation mark, font, etc.  I like the detail that goes into creating standardized test materials.

Of course, I won’t be able to read a single word of the FCAT tests.  Teachers aren’t allowed to do so.  But I’ll definitely enjoy the reports for the county schools when they are released.  For an English major with major math anxiety, I can really get into those statistics.

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Introduction

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Louise C. Leonard, The Redheaded Professor

Welcome to my blog.  I’m Louise C. Leonard, aka the Redheaded Professor.  I’ll be writing about teaching English Composition, Developmental Reading, Basic English and Literature at the college level.

I love using instructional technology in my classroom.  I’m also constantly looking for new pedagogies to best meet the need of my students.  Best of all, however, I love being a part of my students’ journeys.  It’s an honor and a privilege to be a part of that.

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