Seventh Week of Class - 02/21/2012

Curriculum.  There's another one of those words that sound so easy to define, yet so complicated once you delve into the details.  I believe that by all means, a school's curriculum must be geared to meet state and standards.  But, I think it is equally important for teachers to be given leeway in how they manipulate the curriculum to reflect their own personality and meet the needs of their particular students.  

What works for a teacher in a class one year may be a total flop when used with a class the next year.  Each class is made up of individuals and they vary from year to year.  The sign of an effective teacher, in my opinion, is one that can take the required curriculum and be flexible enough to think on his/her feet to be able to adjust on a moments notice to meet the needs of the class at that particular time on that particular day.  What works one day may not work the next.  As long as the state standards are being met, a teacher should have the ability to be creative on how he or she gets there.

Most teachers cannot pull off scripted lesson plans without sounding fake.  Even very young students can sense when an adult is not being genuine.  When a teacher isn't genuine, the students lose interest very quickly.  Once you have lost the students' interest, classroom management becomes a problem.  When classroom management  becomes a problem, it makes for a miserable day for both the students and the teacher.  It becomes a downward spiral from there.  I can see were more "guided" lessons plans might be beneficial to a new teacher.  But hopefully with a little bit of experience under her belt, the new teacher will gain the confidence to assess what is working for her students and what is not, and learn to adjust as needed.

There are so many different ways to approach content.  As long as the students are learning, a teacher should be encouraged to be creative in teaching methods.  Creative teaching makes for happy students and happy teachers.

Sixth Week of Class 02/14/12

Apparently I was having phlog/computer issues last week, because I just realized that my post for last week is not showing.  I will repost it and hopefully it will work this time.  :0(

Now for this week.  Biases - What a word.  It evokes a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I have spent a lot time thinking about this assignment.  I was one that would vehemently say that because I work hard at welcoming diversity I have risen above having biases.  Well, we all know that is simply not true.  No matter how much we educate ourselves, biases exist.  Some are below the surface and some are rather overt and color the way we see things in our world.  The important thing, in my opinion, is to know one's self and be aware of those bias.  Have the courage to admit them and confront the feelings.  Evaluate the feelings.  Figure out where the biases come from and how they were developed and engrained.  It is only then that one can move past them.

After much soul searching, one of my biases comes to the forefront of my mind, though I'm embarrassed to admit it and blog about it for the world to read.  I'll start by giving you a little bit of background.  One particular job I had was conducting background investigations
for government security clearances for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  Working with the native american population became a source of extreme frustration for me.  Daily, I was faced with people that were resentful of questions I was required to ask of them in order for me to conduct the background investigation.  One, I found that many native americans oppose government interference  by way of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  And two, perhaps even more importantly, they resented the fact that I am not native american and was prying into their lives.  This made my job extremely difficult.

Additionally, I am by nature, very punctual.  I live by the clock and my schedules.  Time and time again, I found that the native population that I was working with generally did not live by the same schedule that I did.  I would set my appointments and found that people were often extremely late or extremely early.  I felt they were showing a complete disregard for the importance of my time.  One of my native american co-workers referred to it as "Navajo Time" and told me I should learn to live with it.  She explained to me that to many, especially the older population, clocks mean nothing.  The sun rises and the sun sets and time is measured as such.

Another source of frustration was the fact that the people I was interviewing would not look at me when I was talking to them or they were talking to me.  In my mind, it was a sign that they were being dishonest or evasive.  I then learned that generally speaking, it is the native american culture to look downwards when speaking as a sign of respect.

I learned about how little I knew about the native american culture as a result of my work.  Much of my frustrations were born out of my naïvety.  But even after I gained insight into some of the issues, it still remained a source of frustration for me because the culture was so extremely different from my own.

I have come to believe that education is the foundation to understanding differences.  But even with education, the differences still exist.  I believe it is unreasonable to think of our country as a "melting pot."  We cannot expect our differences to melt together to create one combination.  Those differences will always exist.  Rather we should view our country more as a "tossed salad."  All of the different ingredients each have their own flavor but come together in a way that can enhance one another.

I believe it is impossible to wipe out biases.  Biases are a part of human nature.  The key is to know yourself well enough to know what your biases are, educate yourself about your biases, and learn to have a respect for cultures other than your own.  No culture is better or worse than another, they are simply different.

Fourth Week of Class - 01/31/12

Wow!  The fourth week of class already!  Where does the time go?!  My prediction for the Super Bowl?  Well, here it goes - 10 point spread, New England 34-24…What else could I possibly say - with my ties to Boston and all…   ;0)

What is my purpose in being a teacher?  Well…it's complicated.  I was a probation/parole officer for several years and saw people at their worst, day in and day out.  My heart would often break, not for my clients, but for their children.  In terms of my clients, if I had a dime for every time I thought, "if only someone would have intervened for them as children, maybe they wouldn't be sitting in front of me today," I would be rich.  As a result, I made it a priority to get to know my clients' children.  I went out of my way to show interest in them.  I chatted with them about school work, play, and life in general.  I was always amazed at how showing them that I was interested in what they had to say made their eyes light up.  At some point I came to the conclusion that I could make more of a difference working with kids than I could working with adults.  Hence, my major career change.

I was fortunate enough to have a couple of very talented teachers while I was a child.  One in particular was my 11th grade English teacher, Dr. Fred Hayes.  Though he probably never knew it, he single handedly taught me how to write.  He had a way of teaching that enabled his students to learn without even knowing they were learning.  He made writing fun.  I always felt he was actually interested in what I wrote by the comments he made on my papers.  Dr. Hayes created a learning environment that was safe and free from ridicule and made everyone feel like what they had to say was important.  He taught us to go out on a limb and write from the heart.  He told us that the form and format would come later.  That year in 11th grade was a turning point for me.  He told us repeatedly, "Learn to write well, and the sky will be your limit."  I took it to heart.  To large extend, I am who I am today thanks to him.  I don't think I would have been college material had it not been for Dr. Hayes.

Dr. Hayes is my role model.  I want to light a fire in my students and help them develop a love for learning.  I want to challenge them to think "outside the box," see things from new a perspective, develop self-confidence, become critical thinkers, challenge the status quo, tap into their creativity and have the courage to reach beyond their comfort zones.  This makes a connection to the larger society because, in my opinion, well rounded, well grounded people make important, positive contributions to our community in whatever capacity they find themselves in, whether it be as a nuclear scientist or as a janitor and everything in between.

I know this sounds kind of corny and that I see the world through "rose colored glasses."  But I know its possible, because that is what Dr. Hayes did for me.  Dr. Hayes passed away in 2008.  I am profoundly sad that I never took the time to tell him how he impacted my life.  He was truly one of a kind.  I will honor his memory by striving everyday to pattern my approach to teaching after his.

Third Week of Class - 01/24/12

This week, I found myself spending hours reading various blogs on education and teaching.  It was fascinating to me.  I had no idea that there was so many out there.  One can literally find a discussion on virtually any topic imaginable.  One blog that I was especially taken by was thejosevilson.com.  What an interesting man!  He is an middle school math teacher in an urban school (Washington Heights, New York City) and just became a first time father.  He is very well spoken and articulate.  His posts are fascinating!  What I admire most is although I have no doubt he is extremely good at what he does, he continually reflects upon his actions as a teacher and constantly looks for new and improved ways of teaching.  This was evident in his post titled On Getting Better At Your Craft.  I believe all teachers, no matter how many years of experience, can continually improve and should always look for new ways to become a more effective teacher.  How can anyone truly be an expert in teaching when teaching is a field that experiences so many changes on a daily basis.  The art of self-examination is critical to master if one wants to be an effective teacher, in my opinion.  One of the things I love most about substitute teaching is all of the many teachers I have the pleasure of being exposed to.  I love seeing how each teacher sets up his/her classroom.  The different approaches to lesson plans and lesson presentation extremely interesting as well.  Even the way teachers approach class rules and discipline are vastly different from one teacher to the next.  I have learned something from each and every classroom I have been in.  I have a whole notebook full of ideas that will be at my disposal when I am lucky enough to have my own class.  I believe if one is not careful, teaching can be very isolating.  A teacher is basically on her own several  hours a day with the students.  It is extremely important for teachers to make the effort to connect with on another for collaboration and continually look for avenues of professional development.  There is no such thing as having too many tools in ones arsenal to pick and choose from on a daily basis as needed.  I vow to myself to examine my performance each day as a teacher and ask myself, "What went well?", "What didn't go so well?", and "What could I have done better?"

Second Week of Class - 01/17/12

One of the readings we were assigned this week really stuck out in my mind.  GRADING…Is it beneficial?  What purpose does it serve?  Is there another way to assess someone's mastery of a subject?  I found the article titled Grading:  The Issue Is Not How But Why, by Alfie Kohn extremely interesting.  Kohn suggests that assigning grades is detrimental to the learning process.  He further proposes that students benefit more from teachers providing comments/feedback about their work and assigning letter grades should be avoided.  In essence, the student becomes focused on the grade and that pressure overs-shadows the learning process. 

I must say that the more I read about the subject and reflect upon my own experiences in school, the more I tend to agree.  I have always been a good student.  I was a straight "A" student in high school.  With a little extra effort, I was able to graduate from high school in three years and entered college at the tender age of 17.  I made it through high school pretty effortlessly, but looking back, my complete focus was on grades.  I became a great test taker.  I could memorize for tests, but often would forget the content afterwards.  A perfect example is in math.  I was in all honors math classes throughout high school.  Again, I was a great test taker, but did I really have a handle on the concepts?  Not so much...  I took college algebra three times in college.  To say I struggled is an understatement.  Through many tears and countless hours with tutors,  I finally passed the class with a "C."  I was devastated.  I had never made a "C" in my life.  My whole life, I have lived and died by my grades.


Then, last semester I took Introduction to Teaching at CNM.  It was the first time I had been back in a classroom in almost 20 years.  I was terrified.  We spoke about the subject of grades at length.  It was the first time I had ever been exposed to other views regarding the purpose of grades and exploring the possibility that there might be alternatives.  The class was fascinating to me.  Each class period, we had to turn in a "reflection."  When I got the first one back, I was thrilled to read the comments that the instructor wrote in regards to my thoughts.  I found myself looking forward to class and the discussions that took place.  I couldn't wait to get my reflections back because the instructor always provided comments that would prod me to explore more of my thoughts and begin to form and articulate my own personal philosophy regarding education and learning.  It wasn't until about half way through the semester that I realized the instructor never indicated a grade on any papers - only comments.  It was an incredibly liberating moment for me to realize that I was so enthralled in the subject that the grade didn't even matter to me.  It was just about the desire to acquire more knowledge and consider more concepts and perspectives than I ever even knew existed.  This particular instructor engaged us in dialog and discussions in which there were no wrong answers.  As long as we demonstrated that we were thinking and participating, we were learning without even realizing it.  It was the absolute best class I have EVER taken.  When the pressure of earning a grade was taken away, I was able to relax and concentrate on learning.  The end result was a insatiable desire to learn even more.


In regards to the questions provided in class, one that popped out at me was, "What, if any, are the differences between education and schooling?"  I believe that schooling is a part or perhaps a component of education.  But, in my mind, education is kind of all encompassing.  It occurs from the moment we are born until we die.  Education is the act of acquiring knowledge.  It comes from everywhere and everyone we encounter.  It is informal and comes from merely interacting with our environment.  Schooling on the other hand, to me, is the formal aspect of education.  It occurs in a specific setting.  Schooling involves objectives concerning specific subject content.


Along the same lines, the fundamental purposing in teaching is to share knowledge.  Teaching can be formal as in the setting of a classroom.  It can also be informal such as when a mother demonstrates approval to a child with her facial expression or body language.

The fundamental purpose in learning or the quest for knowledge is to enable a person to reach his or her potential.  In reaching one's potential, the person becomes an important contributor in our community/society.


In ancient Greece, Socrates argued that education was about drawing out what was already within the student. "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think."


I will close for now - its 2:45 am.  Sorry for my jumbled rambling - I do my homework after my kids are tucked safely into bed - following soccer/softball practice, dinner, homework, and baths...

First Week of Class - 01/10/12

I can't  believe the semester is starting already!  The first week of class has gone by in a blur.  At least I can say I absolutely love my classes.

The first night in EDUC 2250, we broke into groups and tried to define EDUCATION.  What struck me was how difficult it was to come up with a single definition that truly encompassed its meaning.  My group came up with:  The transmission of knowledge from one to another. I think it is a nice basic definition.  But, after hearing other group's descriptions, it was clear that there is so much more to it.  Some defined it as schooling or the act of teaching.  Some defined education as content based.  Others said it was an accumulative process.  Some spoke of education being valued based or spiritual and emotional attainment.  I walked away from the discussion with a feeling that education could be defined as a compilation of all of the above.  The definition is kind of elusive and dynamic in nature.  It's difficult to pin down one definition.  I have no doubt we will spend the whole semester defining the word and our definition and understanding of the word will change as we go.  I'm looking forward to the challenge!