August 25, 2009

The 6 Language Arts

In all honesty, I had no idea that there were multiple language arts; I always assumed language arts merely consisted of reading and writing. I was surprised to learn that viewing and visually representation were part of the six language arts. I never considered what I see and what other people see a part of communicating; I always look at advertisements and billboards along the highway, but I have never stopped to consider that these businesses and other marketing agents were using these huge signs as a form of communicating to the public.
I'm glad that viewing and visually representing are a part of the six language arts; as I explained in the previous paragraph, things we view are a part of our communication. Not only do we need to be able to use our "viewing" skills to interpret the things we see, but we also need to be able to communicate to others by how we visually represent certain things, especially those who plan on going into advertising.
Of the six language arts, I have to say that writing is my favorite, and I owe my passion for writing to two certain teachers. My fourth grade teacher, Ms. Moore, and my seventh grade teacher, Mr. Elmore, particularly stand out when I think about language arts. As opposed to other teachers, they always encouraged every student to write. Not only did they encourage every student to write, but they pushed everyone to help him/her achieve his/her greatest potential. I remember how friends in other classes would complain about their annoying assignments they had to do in class in order to prepare for the writing tests; I lucked out being placed in Ms. Moore's and Mr. Elmore's classrooms because I was never bored. They made writing fun, and I only wish that I can help my students enjoy writing as much as they did!
The one language art that used to be a big issue is listening; I used to have trouble with listening to someone read to me because I never could stay focused on the material they were trying to read. This problem has lessened for me over the years, particularly because I force myself to listen in class because I want to be a successful teacher.
My language arts learning preferences tend to change depending on what subject it's pertaining to. For example, if I were to be in a biology class, I would rather use my viewing skills and look at pictures to understand the different biology concepts. In a math class, I would use my visually representing skills to work out problems. Also, in college, the talking and listening language arts play a major role in my educational experience because classes often rely on discussions in order for the students to learn.

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad that this topic allowed you to remember two of your influential teachers. Be sure you contact them if possible, to let them know the impact they have had on you as a future educator. I also like your final paragraph on changing preferences for language arts. I think all to often we feel that ONLY ONE can be used when in reality, we need the flexibility to change out what works best for us given the subject matter.

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