ELA in the classroom: Then and Now

I have always been an avid reader. I was one of those kids who could read, write and spell, albeit at a basic level, before they entered Kindergarten. My Kindergarten and Grade One teachers were outstanding and helped to foster a lifelong passion for reading. In these classes I remember creating vivid illustrations and spellbinding stories. I was engaged and enjoyed what I was learning. This was the best of my English Language Arts (ELA) experience.

The subject started to go downhill for me in Grade Two. Whether this was a product of a new school, or the curriculum for that age at the time, my love of the subject quickly turned to dislike. ELA became about filling in blanks, memorization, and reading and interpretation of basic stories in a ‘Language Arts’ text book. There were better moments mixed in, but my overall impression of the subject was that it wasn’t very fun. I was bored, and rarely challenged, and didn’t really see the point in what I was being asked to do. I continued to read my way through the library and love reading, writing and researching, but in ELA lessons I completed what was required because I had to, not because I enjoyed it.

Looking back on the experience as an adult, I find it sad that the early spark that I had for ELA was stifled. My impression of the subject at the time was based on a very narrow range of activities and the dreaded Language Arts textbook. ELA was present in all my subject areas, but as a child, I only saw the repetitive activities, spelling tests, and memorization that bored me. I didn’t like it and I didn’t enjoy it.  At the same time that I was hating ELA, I was loving Science and Math because my teachers made it fun.

As a future Elementary School teacher I want to make ELA fun for my students and help foster a lifelong love for literacy. I want to keep them engaged and enjoying ELA the same way that I was in my early elementary school years. Literacy, in all its forms, is essential in today’s society. Today’s ELA curriculum has evolved from the text book that I dreaded. I envision ELA in the classroom today to be intertwined with other subjects. I can see imagery, words and colours around the room to inspire students’ creativity at all grade levels in any elementary school classroom. Critical literacy skills are a key area of development, especially at the Grade 4 and 5 levels. Without the development of these skills, students are ill-equipped to navigate the increasingly complex world that we live in. As students get older, it sometimes becomes harder to keep subjects like ELA fun as there is an increased focus on grammar, spelling and length of composition. While continuing to develop technical skills, I feel that it is important to allow students to explore and experiment with language and develop a sense of their likes and dislikes. Choice is important, and I can see a wealth of reading material for students to choose from, rather than the few books that were offered when I was that age.

I recognize the huge responsibility I have to my future students to give them the skills they need to succeed in the world. ELA forms the foundations of learning and communication, and I look forward to learning how to teach these fundamental skills.