by Lorena German

Before, I was a passionate person teaching in a classroom. After four summers of Andover Bread Loaf, Bread Loaf School of English, and BLTN, I am now a passionate and strategic writer/educator, who teaches and impacts the lives of young people. The courses and my experience with BLTN have changed me in both a personal and a professional way. The courses have made their way into my classroom through particular assignments or in the philosophy that built a unit. For example, Dixie Goswami’s Interpretive Communities class inspired me to use digital tools in my classroom in student presentations and class management. Dr. Kirkland’s Hip Hop course motivated me to open the door to all types of assessment formats. I encouraged students to find creative ways to express their understanding and analysis of content. Rae Paris’s Fiction Writing course prompted me to implement a peer-based editing and writing process in my classroom. The process is a collaborative one that often comes back full circle to the strategies I’ve learned in Dixie’s class. I continue to bring elements of the other courses into my classroom.