Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Language and Literacy Studies
Individuals looking to study language and literacy often wonder what kind of specific course studies are necessary and which careers they may pursue upon graduation. As with any broad degree, language and literacy can incorporate a number of different fields and may be applied in a wide range of settings and industries. The following questions represent frequent queries relating to this field of study.
Q. What are common career considerations for language and literacy graduates?
A. While education is a widespread choice for many language and literacy graduates, other individuals look to research, consulting, and even employment in the medical or healthcare industry to utilize such a degree.
Q. What kind of professional experience should I look for as a language and literacy program student?
A. Most often, students work with schools, publishers, or public policy organizations. Your specific area of interest should dictate where you seek out such opportunities, and you may find that you prefer one type over another, which will clarify your career path.
Q. What are some examples of courses I may take if I enroll in a language and literacy program?
A. Courses can involve a range of subjects, including the study of minority learners and bilingual instruction techniques, the aspects of working with dyslexic and impaired children, and the impact of language on individual lives.
About the Author:
Terrie Spieker holds over seven years of experience as an educator with the Littleton Public Schools. She also studied language and literacy at the University of Colorado Denver, earning a Master’s degree in 2010. In her free time, she enjoys camping, scrapbooking, and reading.
Denver’s Rich History Exhibits Resolve, Creativity of Settlers
By: Terrie Spieker
As a longtime resident of the Denver area as well as a career teacher with a lifelong interest in history, I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit this area. Part of Denver’s charm lies in the city’s rough-and-tumble roots, which involved gold prospecting and those who came to make their fortunes catering to these people.
For many years, the area now known as Denver held a minor role as an unsettled region in the Territory of Kansas. In 1858, however, two prospectors named Sam Bates and Green Russell discovered gold at Little Dry Creek. Although the amount of gold they found was not large, it captured the imagination of adventurers and fortune-seekers who rushed to the Rocky Mountain region in search of riches. By the next year, this episode of Denver history—today called the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush—reached its zenith, with ultimately more than 100,000 people traveling to the area in hopes of striking it rich. Moreover, a number of people came to open supply stores, groceries, hotels and boarding houses, saloons, and even brothels. This merchant and service class hoped that any wealth struck by the prospectors, as well as any money spent on living expenses and recreation, would trickle down to them.
Named for the former Territorial Governor of Kansas James Denver, the city provided a central and convenient location for mining supplies and boarding for miners. During the early days of the settlement, Denver grew slowly because so little gold was found in the region. When miners discovered rich deposits in the mountains near Denver, however, the population boomed. In 1861, settlers finally won their lengthy bid to have Colorado named a territory in its own right. This move enabled them to more effectively govern at the local level. United States President James Buchanan signed into law an Act of Congress which created the Territory of Colorado, the first step in the region’s quest to gain statehood. One of the first actions by the Colorado General Assembly entailed the incorporation of the City of Denver, along with neighboring Highland and Auraria, as Denver. The city also became the territorial capital for Colorado.
During the 1880s, Denver once again experienced a boom. This time, silver served as the triggering mechanism for the expansion. The economic explosion launched some Denver citizens to prominence, including James Brown, husband of the famed “Unsinkable” Molly Brown. This financial surge, however, lasted for only 10 years. Fortunately, by the time a financial panic hit the United States in 1893, Denver proved capable of weathering the collapse in the price of silver because other industries, such as ranching, railroads, farming, food processing, and trade, had become integral to the regional economy.
Nonetheless, while legitimate growth included the creation of schools and many families moving to the area, Denver still maintained a robust underworld, finding corrupt neighborhood bosses working hand-in-hand with police and city officials. In addition to taverns and saloons, opulent brothels and meager prostitution rooms flourished. The gambling enterprise also targeted miners and other fortune-seekers.
Today, Denver stands as one of the nation’s leading cities. Its history and beautiful location captures the attention of the world, as does its recognition for excellence in such areas as green living, education, and juvenile court systems. I highly recommend that anyone interested in seeing a world-class city combining cosmopolitan living with its original pioneer flavor visit the City of Denver.
An Interview with Terrie Spieker
While she formerly worked as a Sales Representative for Qwest Communications in Denver for 14 years, Terrie Spieker most recently served the community of Littleton as a Teacher for the public school district. Some of Terrie Spieker’s notable skills include planning, preparing, assessing, motivating, and monitoring students’ progress throughout the academic year. After joining the school system in 2001, Terrie Spieker attended workshops on computers and technology, stress management and assertiveness, motivating unmotivated students, and substitute teaching. I enjoyed the chance to talk to Terrie Spieker about her professional and personal involvements earlier this week.
Q. First, I want to thank you for joining me today. Can you tell me a little bit about your teaching philosophy?
A. Of course, I am happy to be here. I find it supremely important to maintain clear expectations of all my students, because if they understand exactly what the teacher wants, they are better equipped to perform and complete a task. I believe that an educator who can effectively manage his or her classroom will be able to teach those students with the most efficient methodology.
Q. I understand that, as a teacher, you were very committed to the overall education of your students. What is another important factor about being an educator?
A. One of the most important aspects of being an educator is acting as a positive role model for students. Teachers can accomplish this task by enforcing their rules in a firm but understanding manner, providing motivation and encouragement at all times, and maintaining their roles as the leaders of the classroom. An instructor who is patient, persistent, understanding, and motivating will most likely see students succeed.
Q. Outside of your career, what do you enjoy as hobbies and interests?
A. I am involved with the community, and I enjoy delivering food to local homeless shelters in Colorado. I also volunteer at the Samaritan House and tutor underserved children in the area. As for my personal hobbies, I like to travel, read, bike, camp, hike, and snow ski.
Multiple Intelligences – A Brief Overview, by Terrie Spieker (1/2)
During the eight years I spent as a teacher with Colorado’s Littleton Public Schools, I strove to establish an inspirational, direct, and most importantly, a direct teaching style that provided all of my students with an education of the highest caliber. In my mind, creating an engaging and supportive learning environment stands apart as one of the most important components of a teacher’s role in the classroom. First and foremost, an educator must understand that every student processes information differently, some children displaying a strong grasp of material more quickly than others.
In many cases, a student who displays a poor attitude or a notable lack of interest in source material requires additional attention, but not because he or she lacks the capacity to keep pace with the rest of the class. Rather than categorizing a struggling student as a “problem learner,” teachers should make a concerted effort to ascertain the underlying causes that inhibit certain young learners from keeping pace with their peers. All too often, the answer to this educational conundrum stems from what many refer to as “multiple intelligences,” a concept pioneered in the early 1980s by Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University.
Positing that the conventional definition of intelligence gleaned from structured standardized tests limits both students and teachers, Dr. Gardner proposed an innovative theory that took eight differentiated intelligences into consideration, rather than focusing on the commonly accepted and simplistic notion that higher Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.) scores serve as the primary indicator of future academic success.
Multiple Intelligences – A Brief Overview, by Terrie Spieker (2/2)
Dr. Howard Gardner defines the eight different forms of intelligence as follows:
1. Linguistic intelligence: Linguistically gifted children process written information quickly and easily, absorbing and employing knowledge through reading and writing.
2. Logical-Mathematical intelligence: Mathematically inclined students prove highly adept regarding logical, quantitative reasoning. Straightforward calculation comes naturally to these children, as does more abstract, calculation-related thought.
3. Spatial intelligence: Also referred to as “picture smarts,” spatial intelligence allows a learner to grasp both simple and complex ideas via a predominantly visual platform.
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence: Students who prefer to absorb information in an active and physical manner are often grouped together under this category.
5. Musical intelligence: Although some educators trained in traditional teaching methods choose to overlook “music smarts” as a relevant form of intellectual competence, cases in which a child proves primarily musically intelligence are fairly common.
6. Interpersonal intelligence: This I.Q. subset applies to markedly social, outgoing children who learn best by interacting with their peers and teachers.
7. Intrapersonal intelligence: Also known as “self smart,” intrapersonal learners often seem shy and reserved, perhaps even uneager to engage with the rest of the class. These students tend to fair best when allowed to pursue assignments on their own.
8. Naturalist intelligence: Innately naturalistic intelligent boys and girls maintain a firm grasp of their foundational relationship with their surroundings. These children are notably adaptive and resourceful both inside and outside of the classroom.
Taking Dr. Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory into account, the lesson plans a teacher implements must address each student’s inherent intellectual abilities, placing marked consideration on a child’s level of social and emotional maturity as well. About the author: A dedicated educator with extensive hands-on instructional experience, Terrie Spieker most recently served as a teacher with Colorado’s Littleton Public Schools for more than eight years, applying her skills in district classrooms from February 2001 to May 2008. Holding a B.A. in Behavioral Science from the Metropolitan State College of Denver, Terrie Spieker left her post at Littleton Public Schools to further expand her professional knowledge, enrolling at the University of Colorado-Denver’s Education and Human Development program in 2008 to pursue a M.A. in Language and Literacy.
During her time with Colorado’s Littleton Public Schools, Terrie Spieker designed and implemented highly creative and engaging lesson plans, finding a point of confluence with her individualized teaching approach and core curriculum requirements. Employing innovative techniques to bolster her students’ achievement capabilities, Terrie Spieker oversaw a number of workshop initiatives, facilitating results-oriented dialogues in areas such as computer technology, stress management, assertiveness, motivating unengaged students, and substitute teaching.
Danielle Steel’s Appeal to Women Readers
Danielle Steel is a ubiquitous figure in the popular literary scene credited with writing over 50 published novels and other non-fiction and children’s books. Several of her novels have been on The New York Times Best Seller List for over 390 consecutive weeks. Dealing with family, children, and usually complex and interesting female protagonists in an array of historical eras and locales, her books are extremely appealing to many women. Her novels have touched on the stresses and life situations that often affect women, including suicide, divorce, illness, war, marriage, birth, and death. Ms. Steel’s personal experience with pain and loss is reflected in her sensitive depiction of these issues. Danielle Steel has managed to combine a career as an author of a truly prodigious body of work with the demands of raising many children, all the while maintaining a guarded private life. An elegant, stylish woman with a fascinating personal history that includes several marriages and a famously devoted mother, Danielle Steel has homes in both Paris and San Francisco.
Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Dan Millman has authored 14 books, including one of my favorite books, Way of the Peaceful Warrior. A semi-autobiographical novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior is the first in a series of Peaceful Warrior books and was adapted to film in 2006. Millman’s books are sold around the country and have been translated into 29 different languages. Also a champion athlete, Millman became the first World’s Men’s Trampoline Champion during a championship series held in London in 1964, during which time he was studying as a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley. Millman had already won the United States Gymnastics Federation Trampoline Championship while still in high school. Throughout his life, Millman has studied dance, gymnastics, yoga, and a variety of martial arts. While traveling around the world to research these disciplines, he developed his philosophy on living, which he spells out in Way of the Peaceful Warrior. Subtitled A Book that Changes Lives, Way of the Peaceful Warrior is rumored to be originally inspired by a mentor whom Millman met as a junior in college and whom he refers to as “Socrates.” The book challenges the Western notions of power and success, placing emphasis on spirituality and self-consciousness. According to the Socrates of the novel, it is more important to be aware of yourself and your place in the world than to be what Westerners call “smart.” Likewise, a strong spirit is more important than a strong body. Way of the Peaceful Warrior places emphasis on the embrace of emotion rather than tension. Millman pulls his reader into the story with an engaging narrative and slowly unravels his philosophy using humorous and interesting anecdotes. His story teaches us how to achieve a happy and uncomplicated life through radically different means than have come to be accepted by modern Western society.
Terrie Spieker – Favorite Leisure Activities
Most of Terrie Spieker’s time is devoted to pursuing her Master’s degree in Language and Literacy, but she still finds time to cultivate a broad range of hobbies and talents. When she is not working or studying, Denver-resident Terrie Spieker takes advantage of Colorado’s myriad outdoor activities. Specifically, Terrie Spieker enjoys camping, hiking, snow skiing, and biking. Colorado’s diverse terrain ensures that the outdoors can be enjoyed at any time of the year. In addition to her favorite outdoor activities, Terrie Spieker remains active by participating in sports such as golf, volleyball, and softball. When she cannot be active, Terrie Spieker is an avid reader. Preferring literature with a spiritual theme, Terrie Spieker particularly enjoys books such as Love, Eat, Pray; Way of the Peaceful Warrior; and Battlefield of the Mind. Terrie Spieker also takes pleasure in the works of Joel Osteen and Danielle Steel. Another of Terrie Spieker’s favorite activities is scrapbooking. The hobby has gained popularity in recent years and is a favorite way to organize some of life’s most memorable events.
Terrie Spieker’s Teaching Philosophy
1. Classroom management and organization is the basis for a productive learning environment. 2. Inspire students through consistent motivation, superior classroom management skills, and a comprehensive curriculum. 3. Steer students toward reaching their full academic potential through personalized instruction and accommodation of diverse learning styles. 4. Foster an active learning environment, which will encourage students to utilize a broad range of problem-solving skills. 5. Encourage students to take responsibility for their education and future and take pride in their work. 6. Utilize both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators in the curriculum. 7. Include parents in classroom activities. 8. Create authentic and fun lesson plans. 9. Utilize a broad range of assessment techniques, including in-depth discussion, quizzes, one-on-one oral exams, and individual projects. 10. Nurture a supportive learning environment, ensuring that the student knows about and has access to numerous ways of getting help.
About Terrie Spieker!
For seven years, Terrie Spieker was a Teacher in the Littleton Public Schools system.
