I invite you to reflect on what you read in the Akin article, "Out of Despair: Reconceptualizing Teaching Through Narrative Practice."
1. Akin shares how writing has become part of her practice, and that "Through writing narratives I place myself in a position where I can learn from my work, I participate in the definition of my own practice, and finally I assume responsibility for who I am as a teacher" (p. 68).
What do you think it means to define your own practice as a teacher, particularly in light of the rest of this article? What are ways that you, even as a student teacher, are already assuming responsibility for your teaching identity?
2. Akin also writes about how upsetting it was to find that the "grand narrative" of teaching is false, and she offers an honest counter-narrative to what it means to feel like she's failing, even as she is giving everything she has.
As you teach and run into what feel like failures, what can you take from Akin that will sustain you?
3. If there is something else from this piece that resonates you, go ahead and write about that. Just follow the guideline of being honest.
Defining our practice as a teacher is similar to how narratives are constructed, “context, interactions…, dilemmas, reflection, sharing, and the articulation of new understanding. (p.64). Teachers do this all the time, and we see it more right now as we transition from student teacher to teacher. As for the actual ‘definition’, I’m sure I’ll find that in time. But, to ‘define our practice’ is basically this, and through this defining, we see where we are as teachers, how we can improve, and become better people as well.
ReplyDeleteAs a student teacher, I am already trying to establish a teaching identity. Luckily for us, we are helping to build the classroom community with our students right at the beginning of the year. I have learned when I need to be stern, when I can joke with the students a little, and already I am beginning to see what students need the extra push. I am trying to create the identity that I am a teacher who the students can trust, but also one that is able to put her foot down when needing to.
Context: What am I teaching
Interactions: With students mostly, faculty, and other teachers
Dilemmas: distractions, fire drills, students who do not do work…
Reflection: how the lesson went, what I can improve on, what went well…
Sharing: share experiences with other teachers so they can learn as well, listen to those who share theirs as well
Articulation of new understanding: Acknowledge what I have learned.
Should I run into what feels like a failure, I will keep this quote in mind: “Contest, resist, and revise” (p68). Challenge myself, resist doubting myself, and revise what needs to be changed. I have already seen how different all my classes are and no two are alike. Some classes I can tell are going to be much further ahead than the others and some will move at a slower pace. What is important is not “did they get through the lesson” but rather “what are they taking away from the lesson? Are they being challenged?”
Hi Danielle,
DeleteI was so happy to see that you hope and plan to resist doubting yourself when you hit roadblocks in your teaching practice. This challenge is so rewarding, and I am very grateful you reminded me to do this. If I can resist doing this, I resist negativity. I am striving to reach higher heights when I send myself this message.
Danielle, I like that you articulate how part of your identity comes with developing the community with the cooperating teacher.
DeleteWhat else might there to be reflect upon or other dilemmas? I know you're concerned with the dailiness of the job, but what are some big picture issues to have in mind as you think about writing the Contextual Factors piece?
One of the ideas behind this selection was “the power of Narrative” when it comes to reflection and beyond. Narrative, in this article, took the place of reflection-based and analytical writing, by allowing one to reflect and analyze stories of one’s own teaching. When I began reading, something about the pervasiveness of narrative writing sounded familiar to me. Looking back through some old documents, I came across my reaction for the 2014 RIWP Conference, and sound what I was looking for. This speech talked about how narrative is in everything we do, because everything, from a lab report to an analysis, has a beginning, a middle, and an end. As humans, we live in narrative, so why shouldn’t we write that way.
ReplyDeleteThis article went in a different direction, using the writing of narrative reflections as a way to reclaim some power over your psyche back from self-consciousness and fear. As I was reading it, I kept thinking back to the conference. So, if we live narratives, and process things in narrative form, then why shouldn’t we reflect in narrative form? Instead of focusing on the malleable and ephemeral thing that is memory and mental review, we should place things on paper, and write through our worries. It just might help us come to the root of what we need to get to.
As I move forward in student teaching, Akin’s writing gave me a wonderful take-away in the idea that even as you feel you are failing abysmally, there is something good coming out of it, even if that good is that you leave the experience knowing that you do not want to do something again. In my observations in my placement, I was talking with another teacher (a science teacher, to be specific), and we were discussing one of the core themes of her classroom – “Productive Failure.” Like the famous Edison quote “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” To try, and fail, only allows you to try again with one big difference – you know there is something you should not do. Eventually, you will do the right thing, simply through process of elimination. I realize this is a simplification, but that’s the concept that we discussed, and that we then talked about as a concept that transcended science and English. This “common quality,” whether called “revision,” or “upgrading,” “or “going back to the drawing board,” is based on the idea that when we reflect to solve a “problem,” we can take our previous work that fell below expectations, and rework it so that it exceeds its old limitations.
This is the “gem” I got from Akin. My teaching is like a paper I’ve written for the class of life. I have time to revise it to make it better, provided I’m open to criticism, and willing to reflect and self-analyze. If I need to write out my every move and action throughout the day so I can revise my skills through the medium of writing, so be it. So long as I’m revising, I’m confident all will be well.
Matt, really skillful interaction with this piece. If we embrace failure instead of being afraid of it or running from it, perhaps we won't be in denial and come up with excuses about why things don't work. Knowing that we can always revise (and most lessons you will teach again some day, so there's always that opportunity) takes away from the sting of failure, even though failure does have consequences.
DeleteI think that you need to define your own practice as a teacher so that you are able to set goals and expectations for yourself. I think by defining your practice you are able to mold and shape your teacher self to where you see it aligning. I know that I may hold myself to much higher standards than my future teaching peers and administration. I think that everyone brings their own identity into their teaching which then makes their practice as a teacher different from a peer’s definition or practice of a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important to recognize your failures so that you are able to hold yourself to higher standards. When something doesn’t work out the way I had envisioned it in my head or when I, for whatever reason, completely miss the obvious I take the failure in stride. I think it is an important part of being a teacher -and a caretaker—we should feel like failures here and there. No one is perfect and successful all the time, but it is those moments of feeling like a failure that push you forward and keep you working hard. The thing I take away from Akin is the feeling that I am not alone. Other teachers feel the same way. It is normal to be confused, overwhelmed, mess up, and not hate your job.
Wise last sentence, Amanda! I note a couple of curious things in your piece. You revert to second person in certain places. Why do you think that might be? And what do "high standards" mean to you, I wonder? Why are you so sure your standards might be higher than those with whom you work in the future?
DeleteI appreciate that Akin has self perspective. I understand the difficulty she writes about in distinguishing between real life and teaching. While I am teaching, I believe I am being authentically Cindy. Yet teaching is partly performance and I like the idea that I am pitching an idea versus pitching myself. They don't have to like me.
ReplyDeleteI am defining my practice every day, whether I am in front of the class speaking or not. I meet and talk to students all over the place. I'm working to establish my relationships with my students, keeping in mind that trust and respect in equal parts will be a recipe for success. I hope I am not afraid to show them that I think they should be setting goals for themselves and reaching outside their comfort zone to attain them. I plan to tell them regularly that I am doing that myself. I will look for appropriate stories to share with them from my life so they hear some specifics.
Akin is helpful to me in regard to thinking about getting perspective on my failures, as they arise. What I heard her say was that the profession doesn't necessarily encourage reflection on a large scale, so I need to carve this into my life/schedule because it it helps me to feel that I am human, and therefore flawed.
Cindy, I love that you are focusing on self awareness here,and how, as authentic as you plan on being, it's still a performance (some identity researchers say we are always performing!). Are there other ways/other ways of being than setting goals? I always find that some things I work toward don't really work as "goals."
DeleteNarrative is at the core of who we are. That was the message, albeit loosely transcribed, from a RIWP conference I attended earlier this year. It is also the message of Rebecca Akin’s “Out of Despair”.
ReplyDeleteNarrative is the back bone of how we learn. From the early days of man when we told stories around the camp fire, to now when the glow of the fire is often replaced by a computer screen. It makes sense. Our human brains are linearly written, we see everything in a straight, story based, line. Our whole lives are narratives. We are born, we live, we die. Every day is a narrative too, the sun rises, the sun sets, and in between the day happens.
Understanding that makes understanding that we learn best through reflecting on our experiences, and writing through them, easy. We tend to experience life as a constant, only realizing how much we’ve changed once we’ve stopped to look back. Narrative reflection is that way that we can look back, like hitting replay footage you’ve just recorded.
I think what I took away from Akin’s is that the narrative doesn’t have to be so cleanly edited and pretty. It’s okay to fail because the story isn’t over. One thing as a student teacher that helps me get through the fear of failing is that I still have tomorrow, if I mess up today, if I teach to fast, or run out of time, or anything else than I still have tomorrow. The story isn’t over just because the bell rings.
Joey, like Matt, you went back to the RIWP conference, which is very cool and a text-to-text connection! Love it!
DeleteBut I do want to question the total allegiance to narrative. Aren't some narratives dangerous? Aren't some untrue? Don't we tell ourselves stories that may or may not be harmful so we assuage our egos?