Summary and Closing Thoughts

Well, I think the one thing that I took from this class is that critical literacy is everywhere, and to the creative teacher, anything can be critical literacy.  As long as we are challenging our students, no matter what kind of literacy we use, then it is appropriate.  I've never been to strict on "defined literacy", using poems, pictures, funny youtube clips, raps songs etc. in my lessons, but I also learned that pulling literacy from other classrooms to expand on my examples would be a viable and easy option.  Using the history of the number zero to illustrate a point about origin stories in a classroom, or a model of waterspouts to show something like mob mentality in a play.  Almost everything from my text-set is straight from my bookshelf in my room.  I literally just looked at it and wrote down what I thought would be good to use.  And that's the same bookshelf I plan on having in my classroom, though hopefully with a few additions.  I can't wait to use Shakespeare to help teach my ELL students about the structures and fallacies of the English language.  I can't wait to show culturally diverse learners works like Persepolis or the works of Walter Dean Meyers.  I can't wait to here the first oral presentation given in my class on whether or not Tupac's rhyme and verse are comparable to that of Walt Whitman, or if Scout Finch follows the hero's journey.  There isn't much else to say except for, I honestly can't wait to get out there and start learnin' some youngins'.