We are excited to feature this #GetLitatRio page. Look for periodic updates with news and special features of our literature and creative writing classes. Don’t miss your chance to get involved in the community and the programs we are offering.
Meet Alonso Garcia, one of Rio Hondo’s talented English Instructors.
What methods do you use in the classroom to increase student interaction? One thing that I have realized throughout my years of teaching is that students don’t like to sit back and listen to a lecture. They get bored and lose interest quickly. In my class, everyone contributes to the lecture of the day. I provide the topic of the day and as a class we provide the material that will make the topic relevant and important. Of course, if the class is lagging behind or can’t quite understand the concept, I step in and steer them in the right direction. I am as much their student as they are mine. We learn from each other.
What do you think makes your class unique or different? I use the genre of horror to teach critical thinking. In my English 101 class, we study the paranormal and how such concepts correlate with the idea of memory. In my English 201, I use zombies to discuss issues of mass consumerism. We study horror films and how they are used to critique events and issues that have occurred in our country, such as the Vietnam War and the Kent State Shootings. These are topics not widely addressed; the horror films offer a door for students to walk through.
What is one thing that makes your job the ideal job for you? The simple fact that I can incorporate horror into my lectures as a tool to teach is one thing that makes me excited to get up and go to work in the morning. I am lucky that I am able to incorporate my love of horror in my lectures to teach concepts relevant to composition and critical thinking. The best part is that students understand this method of learning, and they walk away wanting more.
Celebrating Rio Hondo Writers
Enjoy a work from one of Rio Hondo’s own student writers. Corbin Boone wrote this for a creative writing class here at Rio. The cover art was created by Alondra Dimas, a student in GDSN 165: Branding & Identity Design. Are you involved in the Creative Writing Club? CREATIVE WRITING CLUB MEETS THURSDAYS FROM 1-2 IN LR106. Don’t wait. Get involved! Click here to enjoy Corbin’s story: Little-By-Little
Why Take English and Literature Classes?
Don’t just hear it from professors. Enjoy an interview from Rio Hondo alumni, Marvin Contreras, and how taking English classes here at Rio impacted his life.
Why did you decide to major in English? I majored in English because all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was old enough to read was write. Exposing myself to the variety of texts written from all around the world to analyze and dissect not only made me a better writer and reader, but better equipped me to think critically about the world.
How did Rio Hondo prepare you? Rio Hondo Community College and its organization of passionate, thoughtful, and engaging instructors created an atmosphere in which I could flourish among other students who were just as passionate about language and human expression as I was.
What advice do you have for current students considering taking English and Literature classes here at Rio? For me, literature is a pursuit of different perspectives, different cultures, different ways of being and thinking. My advice is to be open to all of it. What you find is a transformation about how you empathize and think about the universe, the world, and each other.
