What I learned in Children's Lit

This class has been an absolute pleasure to take. I feel like the quarter has flown by so quickly, and I'm enjoying the work and my classmates so much that I'm a little sad it's over. My expectations for this class have certainly been blown away. I have thoroughly enjoyed directing my own learning and being allowed to explore what interests or confuses or delights me.

          One of the most surprising things I learned this quarter is about writing. It can be applied to any kind of writing, I suppose, but in this context was more about essay writing. To write a strong, effective essay, sometimes the best way to approach a topic is to write about what you don't know, rather than what you do. This seemed counterintuitive to me at first, how can you write 1500 words (or what have you) on a topic you don't know? But that's the point- in writing about it, you learn it, really learn it. An essay in which you've already mapped out your feelings and understood your conclusions before you ever wrote it is not going to be as powerful or effective, and you certainly won't learn much from it. That's not to say that being able to effectively summarize or argue a point isn't valuable, because it is. That also isn't to say that you should start every assignment blind and babble on for four pages (although I've done that). It's more about having a purpose, a question that guides your thinking. So maybe you'll end up in a different place than you expected, that has certainly happened to me (particularly in Think Piece 3). But that's a valuable point of view to have, you've now learned something about yourself you didn't know. At the Children's Literature Conference, Katherine Applegate said, “Start by asking yourself, 'What if?' and go from there.” I like that because that's something I can do. Everyone has questions, so everyone has the capacity to write coherently and learn the answer to those questions through thoughtful discourse and study.

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          The second thing I learned isn't quite so specific. This class has been different from any other that I've taken in my college career because it was designed for me. But not only was it designed for me, as a hopeful writer and soon-to-be first time parent, it was designed for my classmate Christina, nursing student and parent of four. It was also designed for Sam, teenager who loves books and maybe wants to teach. It was designed for Megan, who is getting her degree in psychology to become a mental health counselor. Each of us were able to use this class to strengthen whatever skills we wanted to hone. We were able to think about what mattered to us, rather than what mattered to the instructor.

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          I loved that I was able to explore creative writing by mimicking Katherine Applegate and shamelessly stealing one of her characters for my second Think Piece. It was such an engaging assignment, and I had so much fun with it. I know that I will never forget that book, nor the way she wrote it, even if it sits on my shelf collecting dust for the next thirty years. I have taken classes where the topic could have been made interesting, but the formulaic responses expected by the instructor took all of the fun and individuality away. The way of thinking encouraged in this class is something I won't forget. In fact, if I ever become a teacher (which I've considered), I will certainly try to bring this to my classroom. I plan to look for opportunities to use this type of thinking and study in other classes, to make it personal, since I think it is so valuable.

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          One of my favorite parts of this class was actually meeting some of the authors that we read. What a treat! Again and again I was surprised by how human they really are. That seems silly, but I just loved talking with them and not being so intimidated that I wasn't able to ask questions. I was so happy to have that opportunity, especially with Teri Hall, because I learned so much from her discussion with us. It was refreshing to hear her take on bravery, standing up for what you believe in, and her writing process.

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          I plan to continue my scholarship started in this class. My explorations report on new media is certainly a relevant and interesting topic to keep thinking about, and the authors we've read this quarter have written other books I'd like to read. In addition, as a soon-to-be first time parent, I will of course be introducing my child to children's literature and hopefully encouraging him or her to love books as much as I do.