Lately, I keep thinking about many of the theories and ideas discussed over the last two years in the program. As I begin to see their application in the classroom and the paradoxes that accompany them, I question whether or not I know how to wade through these issues with a purpose.
I just finished watching a BBC Production of The Diary of Anne Frank. As I sat there watching the mini-series trying to decide what part would be helpful to show the students, I found myself thinking about the stories that need to be told. For instances, Anne Frank was a young girl of 15 years who experienced numerous tragedies in her short life. Yet, as she wrote "Despite all things, I still believe there is good in the world" and shortly after was taken to a concentration camp, Anne knew that beauty and goodness still existed and would return again to her home of Amsterdam. But how many others stories out there still need to be told. What determines which stories are more important than others? And here is where I begin to question our honoring the little stories alongside the big stories.
Having several perpetual hand-raisers in my classes, constant storytellers among them, I catch myself wondering if these little stories are just too little to have significance. Is this slightly dishonorable to my students when I do value their stories, but also find their stories not important to be shared during class time? Building a space for these seems, at times, too distracting from the lesson's point. Palmer expresses this same issue in his writing of classroom paradoxes, but I haven't been able to pinpoint how I fit into this as their instructor. Does this then mean we don't provide a classroom centered enough on the student? Struggling at times to find the balance between students' stories and the natural flow of the classroom, it seems necessary to outline what I feel resembles too small a story. For instances, a student wanting to share their weekend with the entire class during the day's lesson seems rather insignificant to the Big story being told. How do we wade through these stories to produce the complete story with all the big and little stories involved with it?
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Safely In and Safely Out
My students just finished up reading The Diary of Anne Frank (stage adaption) and we are getting ready to read our novels for the Holocaust unit we are studying. It has been so much fun with the students reading, using their acting chops to provide voices, inflection and emotion to the words of Anne Frank. However, I have began to wonder how to develop lessons that will provide a safe in and a safe out for my students.
The Holocaust is a difficult topic to teach because my students are further removed from it then previous generations. Even I am closer to its horrific events and I am barely a decade older than my students. Being such a horrible time in the world's history, I constantly question what can and can't be shown/told to my students. They are in 8th grade and have the capability of seeing and understanding the Holocaust, but at the same time their abstract thought process is still developing and concretely they see the wrong and the necessity of respecting humankind, yet the difficult material can create a difficult atmosphere and I struggle with how I can provide the appropriate material and still make them feel okay when we leave the classroom for the day.
My students are very inquisitive about the Holocaust and want to know as much as they can. But I hesitate in giving them all the information because I do feel protective of them. I don't want my students to necessarily take the weight of the world on their shoulders, but I do want them to realize they do have a role in it. The biggest thing they can do is stand up for each other when adversity is being acted out on each other. Yet, how do I do this without truly representing the Holocaust and its horrors in detail, but still provide a safety net for my students?
The Holocaust is a difficult topic to teach because my students are further removed from it then previous generations. Even I am closer to its horrific events and I am barely a decade older than my students. Being such a horrible time in the world's history, I constantly question what can and can't be shown/told to my students. They are in 8th grade and have the capability of seeing and understanding the Holocaust, but at the same time their abstract thought process is still developing and concretely they see the wrong and the necessity of respecting humankind, yet the difficult material can create a difficult atmosphere and I struggle with how I can provide the appropriate material and still make them feel okay when we leave the classroom for the day.
My students are very inquisitive about the Holocaust and want to know as much as they can. But I hesitate in giving them all the information because I do feel protective of them. I don't want my students to necessarily take the weight of the world on their shoulders, but I do want them to realize they do have a role in it. The biggest thing they can do is stand up for each other when adversity is being acted out on each other. Yet, how do I do this without truly representing the Holocaust and its horrors in detail, but still provide a safety net for my students?
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
How do we determine passion?
Today I had the opportunity to observe another teacher on my 8th grade team. It was a great experience because I was able to see how my students interacted with others outside my classes, but also to see how other teachers approach their curriculum materials and objectives. As I sat there watching this teacher do their thing, I began to think about how passion is portrayed differently. I know that my passion for English is shown through my desire to always learn, to continue to hone my craft, and to show my students the wonder English can have, even if they don't like to read or write. But does passion need to be shown in the same way in order to be recognized?
Monday, February 7, 2011
Co-Teaching and Relationships
This week I will be co-teaching with my C.T. We are beginning our Holocaust Literature unit with our 8th graders, who are excited and very inquisitive about WWII and the Holocaust. As my C.T. and I prepare the lessons, it seamlessly falls into place. We easily plan, bouncing ideas off of each other, to form the lesson. However, maneuvering together and co-teaching the lesson hasn't quite congealed in the same manner. Comparing my student teaching to my practicum experience, co-teaching seems much more difficult and I believe it's because I don't have the same relationship built with my C.T. as I had with Heather. So I am wondering how much of a relationship do you need to have with the other instructor in order for the instruction to seamlessly flow together? Is a relationship even a necessity?
Several texts we have read throughout the past few years has emphasized the creation of relationships (or connections) with students. For a teacher to be effective, there must be an established connection with the students. Now I know this doesn't necessarily mean a teacher will be liked by his/her students, but I do feel that with many of my students, I don't feel I am being an effective instructor when there isn't some sort of connection with my student. So does this same idea apply itself with co-teaching? To be an effective partner in co-teaching, do you need an established connection with the other instructor(s)? This question just continues to circle around in my head.
Several texts we have read throughout the past few years has emphasized the creation of relationships (or connections) with students. For a teacher to be effective, there must be an established connection with the students. Now I know this doesn't necessarily mean a teacher will be liked by his/her students, but I do feel that with many of my students, I don't feel I am being an effective instructor when there isn't some sort of connection with my student. So does this same idea apply itself with co-teaching? To be an effective partner in co-teaching, do you need an established connection with the other instructor(s)? This question just continues to circle around in my head.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Behaviors and Hard Work
As I sit here, I find myself thinking about the classroom management and student behaviors. Currently, two students at my school are actively looking to get themselves suspended. They are best friends and they like to feed off each other, even though they are purposely not placed in the same classes together. These two boys are charmers and I have found myself wondering how easily teachers can get "blinded" by students, especially those who constantly misbehave. Several teachers at Scott have told me that these two students have gotten away with misbehaving because of their charm, which the teachers realize isn't beneficial to anyone.
This week we had our B.I.S.T. evaluation during team meeting. As we discussed the successes and areas of improvement for Scott, we began to discuss how behavior and academic work are separate from each other. Honestly, this is a difficult concept for me to accept. In my opinion, behavior and academic work have always seemed to be contingent with each other. Students who misbehave don't want to do the work, which is why they misbehave because it seems more worthwhile then the alternative. Yet, as I sat and listened to our district B.I.S.T. coordinator, I began to wonder if the misbehaving is more a call for help from the students, particularly the two I have who are actively seeking suspension at the moment.
Students are perpetually misbehaving are placed on protective plans with the B.I.S.T. program. Most students on protective plans have daily check sheets with designated goals focused on improving their behavior by making them accountable for it. However, it seems teachers seem to be putting more work into solving the students' behavioral issues. So what is the breaking point for teachers when they know they are work harder then the students? (Either behavioral or curriculum based) Granted teachers need to work hard to provide a learning environment for students, but when does this become too much work? When do teachers need to insist students work hard, or even harder, than their teacher?
This week we had our B.I.S.T. evaluation during team meeting. As we discussed the successes and areas of improvement for Scott, we began to discuss how behavior and academic work are separate from each other. Honestly, this is a difficult concept for me to accept. In my opinion, behavior and academic work have always seemed to be contingent with each other. Students who misbehave don't want to do the work, which is why they misbehave because it seems more worthwhile then the alternative. Yet, as I sat and listened to our district B.I.S.T. coordinator, I began to wonder if the misbehaving is more a call for help from the students, particularly the two I have who are actively seeking suspension at the moment.
Students are perpetually misbehaving are placed on protective plans with the B.I.S.T. program. Most students on protective plans have daily check sheets with designated goals focused on improving their behavior by making them accountable for it. However, it seems teachers seem to be putting more work into solving the students' behavioral issues. So what is the breaking point for teachers when they know they are work harder then the students? (Either behavioral or curriculum based) Granted teachers need to work hard to provide a learning environment for students, but when does this become too much work? When do teachers need to insist students work hard, or even harder, than their teacher?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)