home

Join the collaboration blog I created. You should have an email from me with this invitation. Accept it, then you will be ready to upload your video as soon as you complete it! 

Pittman children... They are much nicer to look at than I am. :)

My name is Linda Pittman. I have three grown children (see picture above). I am a graduate student working on a teaching certificate. I have found the teaching profession to be remarkably different than that of the business world. Should that be the case? Shouldn't students strive for excellence in school much like they would when they have a family and career depending on them? What has caused the prevalent apathy towards learning in our young people? That is a question I have a burning desire to answer. Hopefully, with my education at Marshall, I can get one step closer to the answer. If you care to reply or comment, feel free! I can use all the insight I can get!

A distinct memory that I have of learning vocabulary and sentence structure comes from my 11th grade english teacher. I don't remember her name but her image is ingrained upon my memory for a lifetime. This particular teacher stressed the importance of vocabulary and therefore had her students learn 20 words a week. Not only did we have to be able to spell these words correctly, but we had to know the antonyms and be able to use it correctly in a sentence. I will never forget the red marks that appeared on my paper that said, "Gross error, -2 points". To this day I still remember many of those words. How? By using them. And that, I believe, is the key. If we can get our students to learn by using and applying, then we have succeeded.

After clinical today, the notion of learning has been driven home again. So many outside influences affect how students receive information today. My goal will be to find out how to make learning important to them in their everyday life. I was also priviledged to be able to read some of the WAC assignments. This made me painfully aware that I must always be open to the trials and tribulations of my students. (I do not need to know what they are going through, just need to be mindful that they have difficulties too.) No matter what the situation in my own life, each of my student's are experiencing their own trauma. Keeping this in mind will enable me to relate to the personalities and demeanors I encounter each day.