The combination of the weekly readings and Ted Talk videos leave me encouraged and incredibly challenged. I tend to be a connector, a connector of ideas and experiences. Most areas of my life flow into others, and this post will be no different. As I reflected on these readings I couldn't help but acknowledge my personal experience and experience as a student. I also couldn't help but be a little more heart felt and dare I say sappy, but if I really have students at the forefront, is it sappy or simply choosing to believe better for education.
Almost every other word she said I wanted to write down, I didn't expect to hear half the things she said, but at the same time, none of it surprised me. Because I've heard it too. I've been the student, even in college that feels like my ideas or concerns don't matter and that there is no way my voice will ever be heard. Part way this same Ted Talk, by Kate Simonds, something clicked, my role is changing. Now I will sit in the seat or stand in front of a class, a position that holds a whole lot of weight. I will be that teacher that can decide to make a student or a group of students feel like they are untrustworthy or belittled or I can choose to ask, listen and let students prove they are creative, adequate, empathetic and that they matter. Many mentors throughout high school and even now have told me not to let anyone look down on me because I am young but set an example for them. I listened to it and believed it- and I still do, because I will be younger than majority of the teachers I will work with in the future, but now I have to read that differently and not look down on students because they are young. This is why effective questions, lesson plans and unit plans and reading page after page of theory matter- because my (future) students matter.
I know as teachers we will be judged more strictly, look at the media and ask any parent. But that is okay, because when I sign a contract to say "yes I will teach these students" because I passed certification exams and completed 4 years of college I hold a lot of responsibility. Angela Maiers did Ted Talk presentation on the topic "You Matter" near the end she talked about asking for students genius- and she shared this quote: "I get to be that kind of teacher, I get to help people matter everyday." I get to. (On the days I don't believe I am qualified, prepared or confident, I get to.
5 Choices I Get to make on a Daily Basis in the classroom:
1. I get to... create curiosity by asking questions, challenging students to find answers and solve problems.
2. I get to...create positive solutions, not simply give answers.
3. I get to... create links from content area to content area with the questions I ask.
4. I get to...create a classroom culture where students feel comfortable to answer the questions I ask, and wonder and ask questions they have.
5. I get to...show students they and their answers, questions, ideas, curiosity and actions matter.
Even on the days I am not so sure I am cut out for it, I get to teach high school agricultural education.
References:
Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence. (2015). Using Effective Questions. Retrieved from http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/engaging-students/using-effective-questions.html
Dyer, J.E. (n.d.) Effective Questioning Techniques. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC08400.pdf
National FFA LifeKnowledge. (n.d.) Coaching Session Quick Reference Guide. Retrieved from
https://www.ffa.org/myresourcedocuments/coachingguide/Basics_of_Coaching/coaching_Guide/Lesson02/pdf/Individual-Coaching-Session-Quick-Reference-Guide.pdf
Maiers, Angela. (2011) You Matter. Des Moines: Tedx.
Simonds, Kate. (2015) I'm 17. Boise: Tedx.
Von Jan, Katherine. (2011). Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20% Time at School. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-von-jan/unstructured-classroom_b_1024404.html
Tae. (2012). Tweak Your Teach. Retrieved from: https://tweakyourslides.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/tweak-your-teach-dr-taes-building-a-new-culture-of-teaching-and-learning/
I appreciate your list of "I get to's". We can't take for granted how amazing it is to have this impact on students lives!
ReplyDeleteI like the "I get to" way of thinking. To be honest I feel like every week in 412 I just pile more on top of my already full plate. I believe we are being trained for the most important job out there. I want more than ever before to be the best I can be. I feel like I need to be mastering the lessons we are learning but just as soon as they are in front of us they are gone. I have never felt so unprepared. We are choosing to take on the most important job of educating youth, how could you possibly be ready for that. I guess you can't. Maybe that's why there is professional development for teachers and in-service days. I am starting to feel that maybe what I really need to be a good teacher is the attitude "I get to". As long as I remind myself every minute of every day that I am blessed with the desire to teach than the rest will follow with time. I just worry about my students who only get me the first year. God rest their little souls.
ReplyDeleteThey way that we perceive ourselves has a big impact on our self-efficacy and how we perceive ourselves has a lot to do with how we are treated by others. If we treat students like they are a bunch of entitled slackers or trouble makers, then there is a greater chance that they will actually become those things.
ReplyDeleteThe question I have is to give students the freedom over what they want to learn and how to learn it and still meet the required standards. I guess you could say, ok what do you want to learn in this area, but that isn't true autonomy.
It is so hard because I agree that the standards are important, but they dictate so much of what and how we teach that it doesnt seem compatible with the notion of empowering students
whoa...did I miss this week? Everyone is writing about questions, what about the problem solving approach?
ReplyDeleteGood problem solving needs effective questions too! Thoughts on the blog?
DeleteHa...I just checked the Weekly Investments...no wonder the blogs are all about questions :)
ReplyDeleteKayla your blog really gets the point across! We must learn from our students just like they learn from us.
ReplyDelete