Waking up to the Literacies and Diversities of New Mexico

In the process of obtaining my degree in the Dual License Program at the University of New Mexico, I have been asked numerous times to reflect on past educational experiences so I may then relate those experiences to my teaching style in the classroom. Reflecting on these positive and negative experiences, I was able to focus on which experiences I can replicate or revise to provide the most meaningful experiences for my students. Having chosen English language arts as my concentration field for teaching, I have focused primarily on how I can use my former experiences in past English classes to create positive educational experiences for my students. This process included reflecting on books that mattered to me, books I saw myself in, and then creating similar literacy experiences for my future students and how I can turn those experiences into a culturally relevant teaching pedagogy.