Classroom Visit Observation by Dr. Beate Gilliar
Friday, March 30, 2012, 10-10:50 AM, Administration Building, Room 209 afforded me another class, another adventure, another journey in learning. I thank Dr. Stacy Erickson for inviting me to her World Literature, ENG 238 course that I thoroughly enjoyed this morning.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist served as the basis of class discussion and other activities that engaged the participants in critical thinking and deep reading exercises. The text allows for a rich array of grasping the difficulties associated with questions surrounding national identification, acculturation, assimilation, adjustment, and all of the respective opposites within the contexts and aftermath of 9/11. How does one fit into mainstream USA while negotiating one’s national, academic and private identity amidst conjectures and impositions that result from the partial imperial collapse signified by the September 11 events? Nothing remains the same, as confirmed even by the then fourth-graders whose in-class writing reflections this morning attested to the power of memory.
The main text’s claim to unsettle the readers was met as students raised valuable insights and good questions. Some shared that this was their favorite text so far since it allows for them to connect most closely. The 23 participants continued the group discussions that preceded the class; the students composed individual character and site/setting profiles bearing in mind how 9/11 shaped and deeply changed beliefs and convictions previously held. I was impressed by the students’ participation, by their close readings and their readiness to reference text passages, as well as draw out inter-textual connections: they cross-referenced previously studied texts which made the portrayal of their findings even more meaningful. Student research reports and the close readings (students also appreciated the quick turnaround of their writing submissions) demonstrated the thorough and focused work expected (and delivered) by the class members. I was also impressed by the close attention paid to Sam, the research ‘reporter’ that morning who related in a news-format the cultural impact of the Ground Zero event on that tragic September day in New York.
One student in particular, a deep reader with apparently solid background in history/or psychoanalytic reading, posed some fine insights that allowed for further in-class discussion. One of the two international students was linked Changez’s 9/11 experience in Manila to her very own when watching the collapse on TV. in Thailand.
Throughout the class, Dr. Erickson served, again, beautifully in her diverse roles as a commendable educator: she guided class discussion and reviewed material as she proceeded to continue with the text; she probed questions further to weave the partial student answers into a wider understanding of the text; and, foremost, she validated each individual’s contribution, even if the answer might have been a bit superficial, or else, reaching. As is markedly characteristic of Dr. Erickson’s fine teaching, students demonstrated learning by commenting clearly and specifically to key text passages, as well as by debating the negotiating role of the complex narrator whose listener is not only the American but all readers of Hamid’s second novel.
I very much enjoyed another enlightening lesson in teaching by Professor Erickson whose gift and dedication to her pedagogical mission is contagious. One is never too young to learn from Dr. Erickson which proved very true as it allowed me to learn alongside Manchester College’s youngest (five-month and so cute) part-time female student that morning. The young lady (extra bonus for me as she seemed comfortable to listen from a lap point of view) proved her thorough fascination with The Reluctant Fundamentalist by chewing on/devouring essential letters on page 72. Her mum (guarding her child from the seat next to ours), a math major who holds two jobs while being a full-time student (with a babysitter on break right now) served as a good reminder of additional duties many of our students bring to our classes.
Stacy, I may add that experiencing the students respond to the book so favorably inspired me even more to teach this book later on this term as part of my ENG 364 Critical and Expository Writing curriculum. I am also convinced now to include the book in my syllabi for World Literature in the fall.
I want to thank you for another lesson in enjoying how literatures of the world enforce all of our lives right here on the second floor of the Administration Building.
Sincerely,
Beate
Friday, March 30, 2012, 10-10:50 AM, Administration Building, Room 209 afforded me another class, another adventure, another journey in learning. I thank Dr. Stacy Erickson for inviting me to her World Literature, ENG 238 course that I thoroughly enjoyed this morning.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist served as the basis of class discussion and other activities that engaged the participants in critical thinking and deep reading exercises. The text allows for a rich array of grasping the difficulties associated with questions surrounding national identification, acculturation, assimilation, adjustment, and all of the respective opposites within the contexts and aftermath of 9/11. How does one fit into mainstream USA while negotiating one’s national, academic and private identity amidst conjectures and impositions that result from the partial imperial collapse signified by the September 11 events? Nothing remains the same, as confirmed even by the then fourth-graders whose in-class writing reflections this morning attested to the power of memory.
The main text’s claim to unsettle the readers was met as students raised valuable insights and good questions. Some shared that this was their favorite text so far since it allows for them to connect most closely. The 23 participants continued the group discussions that preceded the class; the students composed individual character and site/setting profiles bearing in mind how 9/11 shaped and deeply changed beliefs and convictions previously held. I was impressed by the students’ participation, by their close readings and their readiness to reference text passages, as well as draw out inter-textual connections: they cross-referenced previously studied texts which made the portrayal of their findings even more meaningful. Student research reports and the close readings (students also appreciated the quick turnaround of their writing submissions) demonstrated the thorough and focused work expected (and delivered) by the class members. I was also impressed by the close attention paid to Sam, the research ‘reporter’ that morning who related in a news-format the cultural impact of the Ground Zero event on that tragic September day in New York.
One student in particular, a deep reader with apparently solid background in history/or psychoanalytic reading, posed some fine insights that allowed for further in-class discussion. One of the two international students was linked Changez’s 9/11 experience in Manila to her very own when watching the collapse on TV. in Thailand.
Throughout the class, Dr. Erickson served, again, beautifully in her diverse roles as a commendable educator: she guided class discussion and reviewed material as she proceeded to continue with the text; she probed questions further to weave the partial student answers into a wider understanding of the text; and, foremost, she validated each individual’s contribution, even if the answer might have been a bit superficial, or else, reaching. As is markedly characteristic of Dr. Erickson’s fine teaching, students demonstrated learning by commenting clearly and specifically to key text passages, as well as by debating the negotiating role of the complex narrator whose listener is not only the American but all readers of Hamid’s second novel.
I very much enjoyed another enlightening lesson in teaching by Professor Erickson whose gift and dedication to her pedagogical mission is contagious. One is never too young to learn from Dr. Erickson which proved very true as it allowed me to learn alongside Manchester College’s youngest (five-month and so cute) part-time female student that morning. The young lady (extra bonus for me as she seemed comfortable to listen from a lap point of view) proved her thorough fascination with The Reluctant Fundamentalist by chewing on/devouring essential letters on page 72. Her mum (guarding her child from the seat next to ours), a math major who holds two jobs while being a full-time student (with a babysitter on break right now) served as a good reminder of additional duties many of our students bring to our classes.
Stacy, I may add that experiencing the students respond to the book so favorably inspired me even more to teach this book later on this term as part of my ENG 364 Critical and Expository Writing curriculum. I am also convinced now to include the book in my syllabi for World Literature in the fall.
I want to thank you for another lesson in enjoying how literatures of the world enforce all of our lives right here on the second floor of the Administration Building.
Sincerely,
Beate