Lorax, I like the idea of a reading group. As long as there is more than four interested readers. I found Meier last fall. I have "In schools We trust" beside my bed. I would love to have a Meier, etc., group. Let's investigate.
On Dorn, during our Friday seminar, our round table consisted of four older educators who had seen it all. They seemed to think, "Yeah, well we'll see what will really go away. Most likely not the WASL." So, does this mean politics and change are two words that have a hard time mixing? We'll have to wait and see, won't we.
Facing the Wind
As I sat with my master teacher, he asked me straight up if I really wanted to leave my sixth grade dyad and come back to the crazed world of third/fourth. I said, No, I don't want to leave. But, I want to learn. I know it is going to be much harder in my main placement. There's no doubt of that.
I think as I get deeper into this, there is a step in the road where I have discovered something. Where I am and what I do affect the people around me, the children, the parents, and the school. I could be selfish and want one placement over another because it is a great fit, for me. Or maybe it is a fear of learning (I'll locate the Mandela speech and post it for those who haven't seen it.) and succeeding that ultimately keeps me in the 'easy' place. A part of me want the easy road yet I know that it has always been the difficult situations in life that give me the most. What do others think about this?
It seems that when I am working hard, struggling and studying or learning new things, making mistakes and finding myself apologizing to my mentors, etc., this is like practicing for life. Through the struggle of practicing, we eventually learn so much that the act of doing well becomes easier. If everything is easy and a breeze, then when the crap hits us-we freeze.
So, my thoughts at this moment is I appreciate myself more when I do what's asked of me, when I can get myself out of the way. I feel good when I do well with the tons of reading and homework and when I actually learn something. Otherwise, why I am in school? I cheat no one but myself. In our placements, we are accountable to the children. It's not just us, but next year...who knows? In a convoluted way, I'm trying to say-do it all now. Then, next year, while we really have to be accountable, we will be.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
It does seem like the words politics and change are incredibly difficult to mesh. Politicians love to talk about change, but rarely accomplish change on a scale that is acceptible and desired by society. As a society we are often looking for systemic change, whether it is in the field of education or with issues such as global poverty, healthcare, the economy, or the environment. Systemic change in all of these realms is connected to education. How we educate our youth, in a democratice society, directly affects these broad issues. If we want to save this planet, we need to teach students to be environmentally friendly. If we want to change our system of healthcare, we need to educate our students how the healthcare system works as well as other possibilities.
I always thought that I would want to be a 3rd-5th grade teacher.. the more that I am around them, the more vitality I feel around the 1st-3rd kiddos. The level of gravity that comes with schooling hasn't quite set in. I am not sure that we have a comfort zone yet, no matter how much experience you have with kids. We're in the middle of becoming gatekeepers...
Post a Comment