Introduction

Boil yourself down to three paragraphs or less please…

Making a personal introduction is always an interesting challenge. I’m not entirely sure I like compiling the essence of me into a few neat and tidy paragraphs. I suppose, being in the humanities, I recognize that nothing and no one really fits neatly into a box, and we're all just a bunch of walking contradictions. However, knowing something about one another is better than nothing at all, and so we continue to take a stab at it each semester.

My name is Alissa Groll, and I am a student at Utah State for the second time around. I graduated years ago with my bachelors in English, and became a mother of four. With my youngest just starting 1st grade, I decided it was time to come back and start working on my bachelors in secondary ed. I am majoring in English teaching, with minors in History and Political Science.

Of course, my first great love is for my spouse and children. I couldn't ask for a more loving and supportive husband, Matt, who is getting the kids off to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can attend class. I have three girls 11, 9, and 6, and one boy who is 10 years old. They are all growing too fast and are so unique in their talents and personalities. They make me smile, laugh, cry, and tear my hair out alternatively. You can't sum up parenthood any better than Dickens: it is the best of times, it is the worst of times. All in all, probably the reason I love them all so much. :)

I think two phrases sum me up pretty well: "Variety is the spice of life" and our Groll family motto to "work hard, play hard." I have lots of different interests. I love anything associated with the outdoors or traveling. Whether it's hiking, biking, rafting, climbing, mountaineering, or camping- count me in! My husband and I have climbed 29 of the 50 state high points, the Grand Teton, and to the top of the Alps (the highest peak in Europe). Of course, I'm into fitness so I can enjoy all of these activities. I currently teach group fitness classes for Gold's gym, and have been involved in personal and group training, management, and ownership in the fitness industry over the past twelve years. I'm kind of domestic- being Mom is my number one job, I like to cook, craft, and scrapbook- but I'm equally comfortable running a chop saw or laying tile. My husband and I built our home North Logan and a family cabin in Lava Hot Springs. I love to read, and don't mind the quiet of my own company. I'm definitely not a socialite, but I am actively involved in my church, community, and political party.

I have always been drawn toward teaching positions. Whether training employees at JBs or Macey's where I worked during college, working as a preschool and substitute teacher, as a group fitness instructor, or even as a mom, I have found that I enjoy teaching others. I think I have a natural patience with others and am able to explain things in an understandable fashion. Most importantly, though, I simply love to see a student pick up something I have taught and run with it. When a student starts doing the learning independently, expanding on the base provided, and we begin to learn together, that is truly wonderful.

To me, teaching English represents an opportunity to give every student a voice and the tools to use it. We live in the information age where students don't necessarily need to memorize terminology and facts, but they do need to know what to do with them. I think that teaching in English (History and Political Science too, for that matter)should revolve around helping students learn how to analyze and evaluate the information they find. They need to know how to make connections, synthesize information, apply it to themselves and their life experiences. They need to be able to inform and clarify their own opinions and know how to articulate their viewpoints in meaningful ways.

I agree with the broad definition of literacy that we put together in class. In my field, literacy means not just being able to read and write, but to be able to interpret, critique, question, and evaluate texts. These texts could be fine works of literature, but would also include a variety of texts- newspapers, brochures, art, pamphlets, poems, songs, essays, lectures, historical documents, journals, diagrams, maps, digital media, etc. To be literate in English students should also then be able to produce their own wide variety of texts, learning how to make each type of text effective.