You have probably seen and heard many protests from your professors and teaching colleagues regarding the "top-down" approach when it comes to different political entities instituting curricular or pedagogical mandates. These mandates are seen as de-professionalizing and not trusting teachers to do the work we are trained to do.
Historically, and in other countries, teachers have been respected as public intellectuals. Now that you have been in the schools for a couple of months, and teaching for multiple weeks, where is that you get your intellectual stimulation? Is it from the content you are teaching (as it takes more work to be a teacher than a student)? The different pedagogies you might be trying? Conversations with colleagues and/or with students? Learning about the cultures of your students which may be alien to you? Cultivating relationships with kids? Some or all of the above?
How have you grown intellectually since you started student teaching?
I do not think that practicum quite prepared us for what student teaching, teaching in general, would feel like. You learn way more than just your content area, since you had plenty of time to prepare for that if you ask me. What has been foreign to me for a while was the day-to-day experience. You build relationships and learn with your students. You learn that there are so many twists and turns throughout teaching that seem almost non-existent when we were visiting schools for a few hours. Those first few weeks are mentally exhausting and draining at first since many of us were not used to this.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think I learned most was how to work with my students and create those relationships with them. I was always afraid of being that teacher who the students did not want to pay attention to or found what she had to say irrelevant to their learning. And, to be honest, I may still find those kids, but it is not the norm. And, in addition, I learn equally as much from them as they do from me. I learn about where they live, the town, they help me keep up with pop culture, and they are honest about how I am doing as their teacher, and it’s kind of nice.
I am also reading some books WITH my students that I was not exposed to in the past. While my classes taught me about my content area and how to study it, there is never enough time to read EVERY single book I’ll be teaching. So, I suppose I take back my earlier statement somewhat by saying, yes I know my content area but no I do not know every book and where those lessons will take me.
I have time to make and create new lessons, lessons I will hold onto for years at a time and strengthen. BUT, I am learning that keeping up-to date on what is happening in classrooms outside my own, listening to the students, and learning about a couple new books will keep me intellectually stimulated and will assist in making me a better teacher.
I completely agree with your "reading with them" point! Out of everything I've taught so far, I was only familiar with one book, but even while rereading that book, the students bring up different points than we think of ourselves, so it's almost like reading it for the first time!
DeleteI'm finding that I really should catch up on the (now middle-grades) books they're interested in on their own. They find something they like and they are hungry for suggestions on where to go from there, and I find I need to read the books they enjoy WITH them so I can stay one step ahead.
Danielle, it sounds like for you, the intellectual and emotional aspects of teaching go together. I am glad you are open to what your students are teaching you.
DeleteAs I was reading the list of possible sources of intellectual stimulation, I found myself agreeing with each of them in increasing order. Of course, I am learning about the content as I am teaching it. Interestingly, I’m learning even more in the middle school placement than I was in the high school – myths and diagraming sentences is all but a foreign language to me! I’m also learning about the way students learn through the different pedagogies I try (high schoolers love to talk to each other, middle schoolers love to talk to anyone who will listen).
ReplyDeleteMore than these, though, I am learning from the people I interact with on a daily basis. From my high school placement, I have learned that it’s okay to have high expectations of 17 year olds and that they’ve got a lot of personal experience and knowledge that they, in certain situations, can share. From my middle school placement, I have learned that it’s also okay to have high expectations of 12 year olds (and what “high expectations” can mean in a middle school) and that, like the high schoolers, they have experience and knowledge that they can share. I’ve learned that there are a lot of overlaps between middle and high school that I hadn’t anticipated.
I’m becoming better at cultivating relationships with the students. I think this is in part because A. I had experience with it in the high school, and B. middle schoolers are less wary of new people than high schoolers. In the few short weeks I’ve been at Nathan Bishop, I’ve gone from no eye contact from one student to nearly-whispered, but full-sentence responses. I know a fair amount about these students both from other faculty and from what they’ve been willing to share, and I’ve learned from Theresa how to use that effectively and meaningfully in the classroom. I really look forward to chatting with the students every day, both while engaging in academic discussion and, when the opportunity arises, finding out a little bit about them.
Jess, how funny we were just talking about different your experiences have been, and you are now pointing out the similarities! A Venn Diagram might be a fun experiment :)
DeleteIn a lot of ways I’ve started to equate teaching a book to writing an essay or making an argument. Currently I’m teaching Lord of the Flies, but I’ve decided I’m not actually teaching Lord of the Flies, but teaching through Lord of the Flies. What I mean by that is I can’t really expect my students to remember every moment of Lord of the Flies, I can’t even expect them to remember every important moment either. They simply won’t. Hell I won’t either! I’ve currently read the first half of that book four times (FOUR TIMES), once by myself, and once with each of my classes, and I don’t even remember everything that happens. So rather than expect myself to teach Lord of the Flies I’d rather go in with the idea that I’m teaching power dynamics, critical lenses, and close reading skills through Lord of the Flies.
ReplyDeleteThat’s where the essay writing comparison comes in. It’s almost like writing a close reading of Lord of the Flies, but collaboratively with 85 other people, all of which have completely different readings than me. It’s so interesting to see where other people go and to be able to push them to read dig further with their readings. As a reader it’s also a great motivator for me to read further into something myself if I’m going to be reading it with 85 other people. It’s definitely improved my ability to read both quickly, and deeply, because now I feel like I need to understand the material so that I can help my students understand it. Also it gives me more practice using literary theory. If I’m going to expect my students to use them then I have to know how to use them too. I’ll be honest I didn’t really care about a lot of lit theory in school, but now that I’m applying it, and using it with students it is a lot more interesting to me.
I agree Joey, about the expectations! Students will call me out if I have double standards, and I'm trying to build a teaching practice where I'm positively transparent to all those around me.
DeleteI love your phrasing -- teaching THROUGH a text! That's exactly what it's all about, isn't it? We choose texts not only for the entertainment factor, but because of all the other academic and social lessons students (and teachers) can learn from them.
DeleteI'm 100% stealing that phrasing, by the way.
Joey, I love this blog! You're right--it's not the text itself, but what it offers (although purists would have us burn in hell for that statement). You see yourself as collaborating with 85 other people and valuing their readings as much as your own, which is very cool.
DeleteI still consider myself a full time student even though I'm in a teacher role every day (it is student teaching). I feel like I have learned much more in the last few months than I ever have. I am learning so much on a daily basis about the art of teaching and being a “caretaker of the human soul” (J.Cook-ism).
ReplyDeleteI have a pretty open line of communication with my students, meaning they feel comfortable with telling me if something I am teaching doesn’t make sense or they feel I’m being lame and could jazz something up a bit. My students are very honest with me about lessons and learning, and I am with them as well. I do ask questions and sometimes I have gotten less than stellar answers, but I use those to improve for the next class or better yet for another period. I have also gotten many applauds and much laughter around lessons. My students are awesome and I am constantly learning from them.
As far as my CT, I am learning tons from her. I use her brain all the time for a sounding board, for advice, for ideas, and I’m going to miss that after December 12th!! I have observed 11 English teachers out of 18. Sometimes I wish I could just stay on and make my way through every teacher in the building. I learn a lot from sitting back and watching. I have gotten some great lessons and ideas from these various teachers. I have also realized some things I NEVER want to do in a classroom. I feel much more comfortable in my teaching skin and my style.
My biggest take away from student teaching thus far has been to never ever forget what it’s like to be an angst ridden teenager on a mission to prove to peers you are something you don’t even want to be. Being a teenager is a confusing time where you so desperately want to be an adult and you think you know everything, but for whatever reason you know deep down you know nothing and still you fight that you do. I feel that many teachers lose sight of that. Sometimes teachers lose sight of the fact that it is not personal. Sometimes there really are bigger things at hand than submitting a paper on time or doing well on a test. Sometimes you need to bend and flex with your students, and sometimes you need to be a stone wall even if it’s not fun.
So important to remember the humanity within our students. I'm finding that same challenge, even more so with younger students. I find myself asking, why can't you just be quiet when you're supposed to??? Then remembering: oh yeah, they're 12, that's why. So valuable to keep that in the forefront of our minds!
DeleteYou are definitely still a student, and there's no shame in knowing that you are learning as much, if not more, than you are teaching. What gets you excited about the learning you are doing?
DeleteI believe I get intellectual stimulation from all of the sources mentioned, plus maybe a few more! The connections with students probably come first. I'm enjoying building these relationships and my desire to reach all students has pushed me to listen better as we read the texts; all of which I've never read before. Because we have done memoirs, we haven't touched any of the canonical texts from my high school days, and for that I am truly grateful. I know the day will come when I will be present for a reading of Lord of the Flies and I believe when it does I'll rise to the occasion, simply because if they see me challenging myself they will too. In the meantime, studying narratives has invigorated me by reminding me to tell my own stories and pay attention as I listen to others tell their stories.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the many cultures and diversities represented at North Providence High School, and I cannot learn enough about them, and what makes them tick. For example, my ESL student, who has been in the U.S. for two short years. She is the child of an English-speaking step-mother and a father who is never comfortable speaking English. Not only does she do the assigned work and show up to class regularly, but she volunteers to write on the board! I want to understand where this reservoir of courage comes from, so I can't stop studying people!
Colleagues and my connections with them is contributing to my intellectual stimulation. The staff I have observed and spoken with are practicing such a variety of pedagogical styles and I'm learning from all of them; even a Math teacher!
I get charged watching my students gain deeper understanding through studying literature and writing their stories, and I believe I must go through the same process simultaneously in order to become a teacher they might learn from and, perhaps, remember after they go out in the world.
I like that you mention learning from non-English teachers. I've yet to observe anyone outside of my content, but I plan to soon. Seeing our schools as compartmentalized as we sometimes pretend they are sometimes makes us think that there is little to learn from a lesson in algebra, but as you mentioned, all pedagogies are valuable to observe!
DeleteLearning from your students is so important, Cindy. I like that you recognize the courage of your ESL student and that you are open to exploring different pedagogies as well.
DeleteStudent teaching is quite the experience. Working through my classes, I sometimes feel like I am getting too much intellectual stimulation. Going into this process, I had previous experience with the major texts that I would be teaching, but what I did not realize ahead of time was that those major texts were few and far between, and I would spend many nights reading what I would be teaching in the next couple of days. The result was me reading more “required reading” than I expected, especially when the list I received was mostly made up of old, familiar texts.
ReplyDeleteI am also trying out new strategies often, trying to find what works well for each distinct class. It is apparent that certain strategies work better with some classes than others, and this creates a never-ending quest to find the best possible way to deliver information, and facilitate learning.
I am also at a school that has just this fall put a handful of new policies into play, which swings back and forth between being a source of confusion, a cause of frustration, and something that is intending to make the education process as all-encompassing as possible. However, this means that I am learning strategies and policies from people who are still learning it themselves. That being said, I get to see what it is like to revamp school and curricular policies first hand, imperfections and all. It has been interesting, and made me appreciate the bureaucratic problems faced by educators all the more.
Also, it is very hard, but very rewarding, work to connect with students. They can tell if you are being fake, or if you really do not care about them and their interests. But once you convince them that you really are interested, then the maintenance is pretty easy. The secret: Just treat them as you would anyone else you know well. Ask them how they are doing, how things went. If they ask you about a movie or a game, respond honestly. They seemed to enjoy hearing about me, and that two-way street is one of the greatest gifts student teaching has given me. So, hard to set up, but amazing to have.