Filling in the Emptiness

Reflection No. 2

Last Thursday, I was very unfortunate not to be able to attend the class, and I knew I missed a lot from our lessons. However, one of my classmates shared to me that the class discussed the story of The Giving Tree, which is a very memorable story for me.

I remember that last semester when I took EDR 210, I had my first encounter with the book The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Being a high school teacher, I was not very much exposed to children’s books, though I’m pretty sure that The Giving Tree is not only for children. It was a simple, yet, very meaningful and touching story about a tree that was ready to sacrifice itself for the boy, even though the boy did not reciprocate all its good acts.

First, I find this activity engaging and enjoyable because of the use of different graphic organizers and worksheets that allow me to reflect on the different concepts embedded in the story, such as love, sacrifice, and self-reflection.

Second, through this activity, I learned that reading and literacy do not only promote cognitive development; they also target one’s affective domain. Learning is often conceived as in relation to cognition and knowledge, skills development, and the like. Little did we know that learning fills in an empty space in us — the affection, emotion, and every faculty that covers socio-emotional aspect of a learner. Learning, therefore, is not merely an experience to improve one’s intelligence… it is also a way to satisfy an individual’s thirst for appropriate emotions. Learning and literacy are both personal endeavors.

Third, I discovered the importance of literature in bridging the gap between cognitive and affective domains. Literature is not only there for efferent reasons, but it may also be a way to satisfy the aesthetic stance of a reader, which is to appreciate and reflect works of art (Rosenblatt, 1938). Literature is a vehicle to understand the other half of our lives, the significant human experiences…the slices of life. It is important to utilize materials that will allow an individual to connect his/her prior knowledge and experiences, as well as feelings and dispositions, to learning. The more personal learning is, the better the retainment and realization are.

I also realized that learning and literacy are not complete without aiming for the affective domain of a learner. When someone makes learning personal, he/she becomes ONE STEP AHEAD IN LITERACY. Literacy is not just about knowing ideas and practicing skills with competence, but it is also about utilizing literature and other essential texts to express and resolve conflicts, to establish interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships, and to think about thinking with meaning (metacognition).

Therefore, I believe that the objectives of the lesson have been achieved. It does not only introduce a variety of techniques to use literature in reading and literacy instruction, but it also opens the door for more meaningful learning… to help us connect with our pupils/students… to make learning holistic for every learner. The Giving Tree is just one of the thousands of stories that can make learning experience worthwhile. We just need to open our minds for the possibility of utilizing literature to connect intimately with learning.

Khris Marie B. San Diego

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