Graduate Scholarly Writing with Professor Marion Terry Ph.D. functioned as quite a wake-up call in addition to an introduction to graduate studies for me. I’ve since learned that Professor Terry is quite renowned around Brandon University for her attention to APA-related detail and general grammar expertise. At the time however, I was not aware that such a level of APA- and general-grammar expertise existed as that which is possessed by Professor Terry! My first degree was completed mainly in MLA and Chicago citation styles, and during my Bachelor of Education Degree, minimal citation was needed; consequently, APA formatting was new to me at the beginning of Graduate Scholarly Writing. Needless to say that by the end of the course, graduate-level writing and the specifics of APA were no longer new to me.
In addition to general APA and grammar knowledge, Graduate Scholarly Writing allowed me to explore the literature surrounding the theme of whether a severe lack of male elementary teachers had an adverse effect on students. Professor Terry encouraged me to refine my writing on the topic to a level that would allow it to be published in the BU Journal of Graduate Studies in Education. With her help and many hours spent refining and editing, I was proud to see my name in Volume 3, Edition 2 of the publication. Writing and refining my thoughts on this level forced me to master new levels of writing and research discipline.
The article itself represents a wide-ranging look at the controversial topic of whether we should be actively pursuing more males to fill the ranks of primary-age educators in much the same way we have done with female teachers in high school math and science courses. I was surprised to find so much academic research already done in the area, and was even more surprised to read this research interpreted in strongly opposing ways. By reading articles that were in direct opposition to the stance I feel is correct I was forced to refine my argument and support my premises with not only anecdotal evidence from my classroom, but hard data from a variety of sources as well. During my time in the Master’s Program I have become more convinced than ever that in rural areas of Manitoba especially, it is more imperative than ever that our young male students see themselves represented in the classroom and in public education at a young age. The literacy rates and general engagement level amongst males in my schools reminds me why this is such a prominent issue on a daily basis.