Idea for a Creative Writing Assignment

Have students listen to Brad Paisley's "Letter to Me."
The assignment is to write a letter to yourself:

• Give yourself advice
• Prove that it's you
• Address a crisis you're going through while reading the letter

This can be a letter from your present self to your past self or a letter from your future self to your present self. Be creative (of course!)

Communication 100: Unit 13 Assignment

As a future teacher, I found that Unit 13 had a lot to say about how I should communicate with my students, my fellow faculty members, and those higher up in the chain of command. From this chapter, I can take away three principles: as someone in a leadership position, be fair; as a member of the organization, I should do my best to not spread sensitive information; and to be aware of the way I present myself in relationships with those around me.

I should always be friendly and fair to my students without choosing obvious favorites because it could create tension in my classroom. I remember in high school, some teachers would call on some students more or would allow those students to hang out in their classroom during lunch while excluding other students. This made some of my classmates feel left out. Teachers should be kind to everyone because they set an example for their students of how adults behave.

I shouldn’t gossip about students or other faculty members with anyone because it could create a lot of problems for everyone involved. Paying attention to the grapevine may be important, but I will refuse to listen to or spread information that may hurt someone. I’ve heard that some teachers sit in the teacher’s lounge and complain about certain students. This poisons other teachers who haven’t had that student yet against that student and creates a hostile environment for them. School should be a welcoming place for students.

I should do my best to choose my workplace relationships wisely. When I went to high school, my friends and I were always trying to figure out who were friends with who among the teachers and which of our teachers was dating the other. It’s fine for teachers to be friends with each other, and even date each other. However, there are some teachers who cross lines and become more than a teacher to some students. Being a mentor to a student is fine, but some teachers actually date their students. This is never appropriate. Students are young and easily swayed. Taking advantage of the student-teacher relationship is wrong.

Unit 13 really just pulls everything already discussed in the book all together. It shows how each piece of what we have learned to far fits in with all the other pieces and how to apply this knowledge in the workplace. I will keep all that I have learned in mind in order to be a better teacher and a better employee.