Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Journal 2/25

pamela gassman's picture

It really hit me this week that I am learning to be literate in french. I see techniques that we talk about in learning english used in my french class. Sometimes I have the desire to tell my teacher a tip or to try something, which may be more effective in our learning. I don't because I do not want to delegitimize her work and authority. The concept of authority brings me to a movie we watched in french this week called Les Choristes. It is a fantastic movie. It involves a school for troubled boys and a new prefect, who changes the student's lives with music. This movie brings up many similar concepts to those we have talked about in class, for example, how do we motivate kids to want to be literate? Additionally, one of the most important concepts I saw mirrored in our discussion and in the movie was the need to respect the student, and attempt to learn about the student. 

Comments

lesaluna12's picture

Its up to you

I understand that you don't want to delegitimize your Professor's work and authority however if you believe that there is something she could do that can help you and your peers improve your learning then you should find a way to let her know. If it makes you feel uncomfortable confronting her about it then there are other ways you can go about it. For instance, you mentioned watching Les Choristes and I don't know if you already have but if you were assigned to write a commentary or something about it then you could mention what you learned from the film; " the need to respect the student, and attempt to learn about the student" in your writing and somehow transition into the tips you were thinking of earlier that you wanted to tell her. If this doesn't work then there is always the mid-semester and/or end of the semester evaluation forms you can use to express your ideas on how she could improve her teaching methods. These are just suggestions, whatever you decide to do in the end is up to you but in the future I think it would be great if you let your voice be heard, after all the way education is taught is constantly changing and its always different and in my opinion an educator should understand that and be open to alternative ways of teaching.

alesnick's picture

What are some of the ways you

What are some of the ways you recognize your growing French literacy?  And how does it shed light on your mother tongue literacy?