Weeek 9 Reflection

1. Consider the word “teacher.” We, as does the public, have many ideas surrounding this title. Imagine dropping the title “teacher”.... What lies beyond the title? 

My associations with the word teacher in part are tied to historical social restrictions placed on teaching females - can't wear red lipstick, be seen alone in the company of an adult male, etc. I am sensitive to the social restrictions still placed on teachers, like we still have to appear as as anesthetize versions of human beings even in our out of school lives, catering to the more conservative (religious) elements of the school system. Teachers are in part keepers of the culture, but it seems to be the keeping of the dominant culture in many cases.

Tied to that is the issue of restriction is the sense control teachers are supposed to have. Over themselves, the students, and the curriculum.

I also think of the deference to teachers of the holders of some unarguable absolute Platonic standards. That grading objectives are objective and point to some absolute truth in the realm of knowledge. That knowledge and learning can be defined in finite terms. 

Beyond the title of teacher, you have people who have a variety of

• organizational strategies
• levels of knowledge
• introverted vs. extroverted personalities
• cultural exposure
• levels of "people smarts"
• ages
• religious beliefs
• political leanings
• family structures
• cultural histories
• socioeconomic backgrounds
• educational training
• levels of fitness and health concerns
• motivations for being in the classroom
• motivations for lifetime learning
• traumas
• successes
• world views

The list is not exhaustive, but with all the differences in individuals who pursue teaching, there is a consensus to work within an educational system, and to work for the betterment of others. There is an acceptance of some givens, and to operate within those givens unless change can be brought about.

2. Contemplate deeply the idea of truth speaking. Reflect on your classrooms and your relationships with your students... How and where is truth speaking present? 

• When a class is getting too rowdy, and I stop and quietly watch the class. I tell the class the behaviors I am observing. I tell them my first impulse is to yell at them, but I have decided not to, because I do not want to give into negative energy and go home in a bad mood. I ask them how they are going to fix their behavior.
• When students are having trouble with scissors, with drawing, or using paint. I share with them my struggles with scissors, not being to draw what I saw in  my head, and not being to use paint without being messy when I was younger. I explain to them the developmental reasons certain things are hard for them. I assure them it will get better as they develop.
•  When a student asks "What is the point of this assignment?"
• When I said to a fourth grade class, "I didn't bring my A game last week. Let me reintroduce this lesson in a better way."
• When I say to my students, " I want to give you a warning, I have a serious case of the Mondays," and it is a Wednesday.
• When a student says they need help, instead of just goofing off.
• By acknowledging my mistakes in the moment and sharing how they make me feel.
• When students ask to do a certain project or technique that interests them.

3. Thinking back through all the reading and reflecting to date, write a personal classroom mission statement. Something you could put up in your room. After you come up with this statement, share it on your blog and talk (truth speak) a little bit about how you arrived at this statement.

Mission Statement: Question, Wonder, Listen, Make

Question: I want the students to think more analytically and to challenge what they are being taught. One of the most important questions , for me personally, is "Am I answering the right question?" Just because somebody in a position of authority poses a question or gives a task doesn't make it worthwhile. 

I also want students to be able to question themselves before they question me. To internally moderate their progress before going to an external judge.

Wonder: Once the students have a grasp on a material, technique, or concept, I want them to play with it and see how they can run with what they have been taught. I want them to bring up a variety of perspectives that I or the other students haven't vocalized. I also want them to get lost on working with a concept or in a conversation. I want them to ask 'Why?' so they have a better understanding about how things work. I want them to play with a fanciful idea they may know isn't reality, like arguing that mermaids exist.  

Listen: I want the students to know that listening is a two way street between teachers and students. They need to listen to me, and I want to listen to them. They also have to get quiet and listen to themselves. Sometimes problems are easier to solve if we pause and listen to our thoughts. They could also "solve" visual works of art on their own if they listen to their internal dialogue about what they look at. I also want them to listen to each other. A lot of interpersonal conflicts could be mediated by the students themselves if they could learn to calm themselves and look through another person's eyes.

Make: Sometimes it is the process, sometimes the product, and often together, when you make something you can see what you are capable of.  Making isn't passive. Making requires visualization and thinking. Good making is engaging.  Making something you are proud of is validating.

4. Reflect on some ways your consciousness about teaching has expanded since the start of this course and how does this relate to your goals? Do your goals need tweaking at this point? Restate them here (as they were or as they now are).

 Previously stated, my goals were:

1. Organization and Structure in the Classroom

• identify my currents patterns of organization and structure
• evaluate the reasons for these patterns and structure
• distinguish positive effects of my current system  from negative ones 
• evaluate the effects of my organization on the students, my classroom, and my efficacy
• create modifications to the organization and structure of my classroom
• evaluate the modifications to the organization and structure.

2. Fostering the habit of reflective thinking in students in grades 3-5 by addressing my weaknesses self-identified in the Maranzo Teacher's Scale

• Routinely providing students with rubrics
• Having students track their own progress
• Letting my classroom rules and procedures go lax mid-year
• Student review of new information in small groups
• Students verbally summarizing new learning
• Reviewing content consistently
• Explicitly using groups to support learning
• Asking students to verbalize their insight into how they revise knowledge
• Have the same expectations for low students as I do for the high ones

Revised Goals:

1. Organization and Structure in the Classroom

• identify student needs and teacher needs, physical and social
• identify my patterns of organization and structure
• evaluate the effects of organization and structure in meeting student and teacher needs
• create modifications to meet student and teacher needs.

 2. Fostering the habit of reflective thinking about creative processes in grades 3-5

• incorporate artist/bibliography studies about artists  - to study their creative processes and/or their thinking about their creative processes
• have students journal about their thought processes and decision making
• have students develop their own mission statements for learning in art class
• group students by similar mission statements 
• Have students verbalize their insights within the support of student groups. 
• Have students model positive self-talk