I define a content expert as an individual that has sufficient knowledge in all content material relevant for a course as well as the ability to find additional information when needed.  Part of being a good teacher requires a person to recognize that he or she will not know the answer to every question.  However, a content expert either possesses the answer or the ability to readily find the answer.  My liberal arts education at the College has provided me with a wide base of knowledge in English through courses covering subjects like Latin American Literature, Linguistics, Old English Literature, Shakespeare, Creative Writing, and Poetry.  I have exhibited my content mastery both as a student and as a student teacher.

In addition, I have been publicly recognized as a content expert based upon my performance on the Praxis II 0041: English Language and Literature test.  I was awarded the ETS Recognition of Excellence for earning a score of 198 out of a possible 200.  I furthermore earned a score of 583 on the newly developed VCLA test and the combination of these scores, my program GPA, and hours of teaching and observation resulted in my nomination as a Pre-Meritorious New Teacher Candidate.

 During my American Renaissance course we read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.  I had previously read the book as a young child and I was reluctant to read such a long piece of literature again with all of my other commitments.  However, I reread the text and recognized that my training in theory allowed me to appreciate new elements of the story.  Rather than comprehending the plot and basic themes, I focused on feministic readings and cultural readings of the text.  This reading of the text prompted me to create the following thesis for a final paper: "Specifically in Little Women, Alcott reconciles domesticity and feminism by establishing the family structure and gradually expanding the female sphere.  Little Women becomes a piece of feminist literature, suggesting the changing of traditional roles but working within the existing system and emphasizing education."  This paper incorporates my study of theoretical interpretation as well as an in depth cultural and feministic study with my study of the text. (This artifact also fulfills NCTE standards 1.3, 3.5.1-4, and 3.6.1)

In addition, I have been trained to create and evaluate creative writing.  During my advanced creative writing poetry course, we were required to respond each week to a prompt or idea through poetry.  For example, one week we studied poems written as mythical allusions like Ted Hughes' "Minotaur".  For the following week, we were instructed to create our own poem that acted as a mythical allusion.  The previous week I had lost a personal friend in a car crash so I used my emotions and clinical training to produce Labyrinth of Light, an allusive poem discussing the death of my friend through the fall of Icarus. (This artifact also fulfills NCTE standards 2.5 and 3.1.3)

Using my training in creative writing, I implemented such activities in my American Studies course.  Many of my students feel as though they have been stifled by their parents, teachers, peers, and society in general.  Therefore, I tried to give them a voice through poetry.  As we began to enter a unit that covered Confessional and Beat Poetry, I asked the students to write a poem in which they addressed a time when they felt persecuted or treated unfairly.  I compiled an anonymous anthology of the poetry that was distributed to the students.  Then, as we read poems by Lowell and Bishop, we also read poems created by peers and utilized both sets of poetry to appreciate literary devices and issues of theme, tone, and mood. (This artifact also fulfills NCTE standards 1.1-4, 2.1-2, 2.5-6, 3.1.2-3, and 3.3.2-3)

Lastly, I have received a thorough education in the nature of linguistics and the evolution of language.  I employ this knowledge of language and grammar on a daily basis in my classroom formally and informally.  We begin every class period with a grammar exercise; however, we also are constantly using our training to understand new words based on context clues, root words, and suffix/prefix recognition. (This artifact also fulfills NCTE standards 3.1.3-7)