After reading chapter 5 of reflective teaching and reading
about their takes on teaching traditions and reflecting on what kind of teacher
I am, I have not nailed it down. I, like Zeichner and Liston, believe that many
teachers, including myself, dip their toes into all of the different teaching
styles probably daily. Mainly in my classes I stress the importance of problem
solving. I make a point to tell them that there are many ways to do a given
project and that I invite innovation. I purposefully create lessons that are
not step by step, mostly because I hated those when I was in school. I want
them to learn to function without direct instruction. Now, I don’t just throw
them supplies and say go, I do give them introductory instruction and do
demonstrations, but many of my projects a interpretive. They are always made so
that the students can make it their own and we don’t just have 25 of the same
project hanging in the hall. We have so many students from all walks of life
and I can see the difference in them. Many of my students have a severe lacking
in self- motivation. They feel so entitled to everything and they don’t respect
much in the school as a whole, to the point that when I ask them to pick a
piece of trash up off the floor, they ask if they will get bonus points for it.
Most of these students that I have described are ones that were born here,
white, Hispanic, black, any color that is how many of them act. The students
that are self-motivated or have motivation outside of the school are my
students that were not born in he United States. They have discipline and
respect. I have been trying to figure this out and I have talked about this
many times on my blog, but it just baffles me. I ask my students, not to talk
openly about spirituality to the point that they are talking about their
beliefs on Sundays, but we talk about spirituality in the sense that we look
inside ourselves and figure out what we believe as a person and translate that
into art pieces. Sometimes it is about religion, but many times it is about
society, self-image, and things like that. I really do think that I go through
every tradition on a daily basis.
As far as chapter 6 goes I again don’t think a teacher can simply
fall into one category; job, profession, or vocation. I see it as all three.
Teaching is my job, I get paid to teach, I have rules and regulations to follow
and make sure my students follow, that is my job. It is my profession, I teach
so that my students think, really think about what they are doing. I take it
from just doing a job to taking everything that I have learned about content
and pass it to my students. It is my vocation because I daily try to inspire my
students to do their best. I try to tell my intro art students that all they
have to do is truly put forth their best effort, I encourage my advanced
students to create pieces that are meaningful and pieces that will prepare them
for their futures in art. So, I feel
like a broken record when I say that a teacher cannot just fall into one
category and reach every student.
Erika,
ReplyDeleteAt this point in your career, three quarters of the way through your first year, I think it's completely natural and entirely okay to struggle with nailing down which teaching tradition you most closely identify with. Life experiences, personality, and environment probably contribute to some people having a more natural bent toward one tradition or the other, however, for others of us; it’s more of a career-long process. As the years go by you’ll be forearmed with the ability to reflect on yourself, students, and context and as a result, you’ll be a better teacher for it.
Your description of not having 25 pieces of student work that look the same made me smile and warmed my heart. Not having much experience with high school kids, I don’t feel qualified to give you any advice as far as respect and motivation. I think your heart and head are in the right place though and something tells me that you’ll figure it out.
HI Erika!
ReplyDeleteYour thoughtful pondering of all this is nicely explored within your reflections about your classroom and students. You do not sound like a record player at all and on one level, I agree with you that we are all, all of these things from one degree to another. However, if you were to look at this through the lens of an artist exploring a composition (which is composed of tints and shades say) as the observation deepened, the observer would notice while the work has all the tints and shade to make the whole, there are also many nuances. One composition may lean more towards high contrast while another may be focusing on intricate transitions from black to white and so on. It is these nuances and tendencies which tell us deeper things about the composition than first meets the eye. So, while in teaching we may all fit into all categories, its is likely there are areas which are more emphasized and valued than others. So while you're right, teaching is a "job" for all of us, for many of us it goes way beyond it and we are simply blessed to be paid to participate in something we are passionate about. Make sense? I am pretty sure you fall into the passion category. :)
I agree with Amy that when it comes to the teaching traditions, it's not about either/or, but rather a matter of nuance. And as with most things in life, a well rounded approach is probably not a bad thing at all! I wonder, though, have you considered your underlying motivations for teaching? What made you want to do this with your life in the first place? Perhaps that would reveal a little more to you about which traditions have a stronger impact on you.
ReplyDeleteErika, as I read through your post, I kept thinking about how many of the same feelings I am having this year. That after seven years of teaching, I'm still not quite sure how to describe my teaching self. That I go back and forth between traditions on any given day. And unfortunately, that even with my much younger students, I'm seeing some entitlement and apathy that is frustrating to overcome. But it's those students that have the drive and unending, pure joy from creating that help keep us motivated to find ways to crack the tough shell of the former category.
ReplyDelete