Personal information

Hello! My name is Josephine Schuman, but I like to be called Josie. I use she/her/hers pronouns. I am from Bedford, Ohio, which is only about 30 minutes from JCU by car. I am currently a junior majoring in AYA Education and English with a Spanish minor. I have a younger sister Emily, who is my best friend and who I miss very much. I am a die-hard Cleveland Indians fan and cannot wait for Opening Day (#rolltribe)! I love coconut cream pie and sushi, not together of course.

I am one of those “study abroad kids,” and I spent last spring in Tarragona, Spain. I was the only JCU student to go there, which I was terrified about. However, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. I was forced to leap out of my comfort zone, and I met amazing people and discovered beautiful places. My favorite place I visited was Venice, Italy. Who doesn’t love eating gelato at every corner?

I am involved in a few different organizations here on campus. I am the Op/Ed Editor of the Carroll News. So, after classes on Tuesdays, you can find me spending the whole day (and night) in the newsroom putting the next issue together. Make sure to grab a copy at the various news stands around campus! I am also a member of the Sweet Carrollines a capella group, which is one of my favorite things to do at John Carroll. Singing, although not one of my strengths, is one of my passions, and I love pursuing it alongside my friends.

I also have an internship at the Ignatian Solidarity Network (ISN), which is a nonprofit organization that connects Jesuit schools and parishes from all over the nation to advocate for different social justice issues. I work within the communications department, which involves a lot of social media work in addition to writing and editing reflections and articles.

Learning Style and more:
In order for me to take creative and intellectual risks, the most important aspect of the classroom is a sense of mutual respect between the students and between the professor and the students. Between the students, this respect may look like civility during class discussions and attentively listening while another student is speaking. Between the student and the professor, this respect may look like constructive criticism and openness to questions. Clear expectations for assignments would also allow for creative and intellectual risks. When students have a firm understanding of the basic requirements of an assignment, they can expand upon this foundation and make the assignment their own.

What have you been reading?

I am extremely interested in how to empower African American students in an ELA classroom through integrating social justice pedagogy in the classroom, and I plan on doing research on this topic during this semester. In Dr. Schauer’s methods class last semester (ED 350), we read Gloria Ladson-Billings Dreamkeepers. This book was extremely impactful for me because GLB explains how educators can effectively teach and inspire Black students. In addition, in Dr. Reynolds’ Literacy Across the Curriculum (ED 255), we discussed “woke” pedagogy, as illustrated in Monique Cherry-McDaniel’s “#WOKE: Employing Black Textualities to Create Critically Conscious Classrooms.” Woke pedagogy involves encouraging students to develop a critical consciousness, and I believe I have a unique opportunity to do this as an English teacher.

About Dr. Shutkin

How do you feel about phones in the classroom?

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?