Nakkula Chapters 2 & 3

I found this reading to be so far, the most dense.  There were many times that I had to go back into the text and re-read because I was simply getting lost, confused, or the words being used were not in my vocabulary.  It felt silly having to look up various words in the text because I could not gain meaning from context clues.  I now have an understanding of how my students must feel when they are reading something and all these strange words keep appearing.  With that being said, I did get a lot out of it whether it was me agreeing or questioning Nakkula and myself.

I found the Antwon/ Julian story very interesting because it seemed so real to me.  As I read I could see the story being played out in my mind.  I cringed when they boys got caught and really hoped that neither would suffer severe consequences.  It is strange because I know that they did something wrong, but I was still concerned for them.  I feel Mitch handled Julian very well and the consequences of his actions brought him to a meaningful place, not harsh punishment.  It made me think about how I handle discipline and if my actions will bring a student to a place where they can reflect on their actions and determine what they would do if they were asked to participate in something like this again. 

The Identity section was the one that I had to re-read quite a few times.  I think for both the context and some of the vocabulary being used.  Once I got past this, I tried to look for myself in the descriptions.  I determined that I may have been more than one at some point in my life.  There were times that I went along with what was the norm in my family and social groups while there were other times that I felt a need to make my own decisions about what I liked or wanted to do.  There were times growing up when I didn't have a clue as to what I liked or wanted.  It could be for many people that we go through these different identity paths depending on the outside influences that are happening in our lives.  It became obvious to me that I believe outside influences can positively and negatively affect an adolescent.  This puts a very large responsibility on the teacher, but I didn't see this large responsibility being put on the parents in the reading. 

Chapter three had some interesting points but also some things that are not new.  Youngsters take risks and some are good and others are bad and I believe all teachers know this.  What was new for me was how as an educator I can also take risks in hopes that my students will model this kind of behavior too.  Taking risks is not an easy task.  You put yourself out there in a very vulnerable state where it could go one of two ways.  It made me think about how I can take risks as an educator and if I have truly been doing this in the past without even realizing it.  I would like to be more spontaneous in the classroom in order to make it interesting and exciting for my students.  It would be done in a way to show them that you can be spontaneous but not put yourself in a harmful situation.  Perhaps some of this will rub off on my students. 

Campoy Chapter 1

I enjoyed reading Campoy because there were many times that I could relate to the article.  For example, it was written that " Teachers make dozens of daily classroom decisions.  How does a teacher learn to make these decisions? What can a teacher do to ensure that he or she is making decisions that will benefit students".  I feel as if I am constantly asking myself, is this the right choice? Should I teach it this way? Well I know certain students will benefit one way, others another way, so how can I make this lesson beneficial and well-rounded for all students? I find myself asking more questions lately than I have answers, but I feel confident that the answers will be found eventually. 

The section on case studies was also beneficial because although I have been teaching for a few years now, I do not have a lot of experience with formal case studies and I know it is a requirement of this class and a practice that could be implemented in the future to help my students.  It made the whole idea of case studies more approachable.  I need to look at case studies as a way to help my students and not some hard assignment.  There will be a positive end to the case study if I can use them to better teach my learners. 

A Couple Thoughts on Kolb Learning Style Inventory

The first thing that I thought about just happened to be the first section in the booklet.  I suppose the environment, actions to learning, and whether or not I was independent or in a group would all be factors to what kind of learning took place.  I have always learned better in small groups.  There is something about interacting with people that helps me.  This was reflected in my results that I obtained from my individual learning style inventory.  I placed in the concrete experience above and beyond all others.  After reading the criteria for this category, I agreed with my results.  I often learn by experiencing something.  I do not remember a time in my history of learning when this was not true.  I like to listen to what others say and pick up on what they may feel and relate it to myself.  I have always found a great deal of self awareness from this practice.  I was a bit confused that I scored second highest with abstract conceptualization but there is no cookie cutter approach to this.  I could have abstract ways of thinking as well as the concrete ways of thinking.  I often learn from experience and then act afterwards on what I have realized about myself.  I am certainly a logical thinker and like to plan.  It was a cool experience to be able to do this because for the last 12 years of my life I have been so focused on becoming a good teacher without allowing myself to sit down and consider what kind of learner I am.  If I am to be "a student of my own students", then it is vital I know what kind of learner I am myself. 

Second Half of Ayers

 

 

 

The above picture summarizes for me a few of the different stereotypes out there about teachers.  I believe what Ayers is trying to say is to be yourself above anything in the classroom and build an environment with the students, not just for the students, where learning can happen in a meaningful way.  I feel as if I am starting to form a definition of what learning is and I know first and foremost that there cannot be an us and them in my idea of learning.  There is the whole "we are in this together" mentality for me but I have never put that into words until now.  I was nervous the first day of class because I knew the task of finding a definition for my own idea of learning would not be an easy one.  There is definitely more of a confidence now with the help of this book to put thoughts and ideas into concrete written words.  While I do not agree with everything Ayers says and he certainly isn't saying anything new, it has helped me along the way with putting my own beliefs in a place where I can work with them.  I would like to read other books by Ayers in the coming months .

 

 Chapter 5 was meaningful for me because I always felt like curriculum was one of those words in teaching that is thrown around all the time but never fully explained.  If Ayers was sitting in front of me I would tip my imaginary hat to him for including a portion on this.  Ayers, for the first time in my professional experience has written a definition of curriculum that I can understand.  It is not all the chapters to be covered in text books, teacher supplementary material from publishers, and it isn't  all the stuff I bought at teacher stores that I thought was brilliant at the time.  The word curriculum use to in general annoy me, but now it has meaning.  Curriculum must provide something to each student, and the environment where it is implemented must be a place where the teacher provides experiences to each student where the students can take their own meaning from it.  I think that is where the learning is going to start. 

 

The section of standardized testing was very interesting to me.  I believe Ayers was trying to show commonalities between the tests students take and the ones that teachers must take and pass before receiving teacher certification.  I do believe that teachers must have certain content knowledge before they are able to teach.  I don't necessarily think he was arguing with that.  I think what was really bothersome to Ayers was the way certain things were being asked and phrased throughout the exam.  Somebody that has never been on a porch would have a difficult time choosing that as an answer when they do not know what a porch is.  These tests should be written in a way where people from all walks of life can read them, understand them, and be able to respond to them.  I realize this is a difficult task but also one that could be done.  I do not believe being able to indicate what phrase is grammatically correct should be used as insight as to who will be a good teacher or not.  That is a huge disservice to potential teachers and the students that would benefit from wonderful teachers. 

 

Ayers writes, "The intellectual challenge of teaching involves becoming a student of your students, unlocking the wisdom in the room, and joining together on a journey of discovery and surprise.  The ethical demand is to see each student as a 3-dimensional creature, much like yourself, and an unshakable faith in the irreducible and incalculable value of every human being". 

I read this quote and I knew that Ayers was talking to me and every other educator out there.  There is wisdom already within everyone, a great teacher will bring it out of his/her students.  I want to be this great teacher and I think that I have been a good teacher but I know now for a fact that I can be a better one.  I keep seeing the word together throughout this text and it is standing out to me, there is meaning in this word that I will investigate throughout this semester.  I know this word "together" is going to take me somewhere for my philosophy of learning.  I am now welcoming this new perspective instead of fighting against it.  It feels pretty good. 

 

 

 





 

First Half of Ayers

First, I have to say that I am really enjoying this book so far.  It makes us, as teachers, real people with passions, flaws, and a very distinct mission in life that is quite different from other professions.  Ayers does a magnificent job getting his points across with his direct dialogue and while basic, still meaningful and purposeful illustrations.  It was easy to read the first half of this book in one sitting, which is very unusual for me.  Most educational books in all honesty are quite dull to me.  This book was one that should be required of all undergraduate students that are teacher candidates.  Ayers provides stories of instances in the classroom that can really happen.  Although our experiences and day to day instances in the classroom are different, he has somehow provided stories that we can relate to as teachers. 

The first part of the book that really stuck out to me was the myths about teaching.  Ayers writes that teachers only know one story of what is going on in the classroom.  I realized this to be true
during my five years in the classroom teaching middle school.  It taught me not to assume anything.  I learned that a kid may not be focused in class because he/she is worried about a family, social, or other woe that can occur in an adolescent's life.  It really made me want to know my kids and their stories so that I could understand them better as students.  Teachers worry about things outside of the classroom on a day to day basis so it is only human nature that students will have worries as well. 
Students worries, while perhaps different, are still very real and can affect their performance in the classroom.  The other myth that I connected with was the idea that teachers always know the material.  I remember my first year of teaching math.  My kids would constantly ask questions that I didn't know the answer to.  At the time, I felt very insecure and perhaps even a little inadequate as a teacher.  I calmed down the following year and cut myself some slack.  I realized that I wasn't suppose to know all the answers and had no issue replying to my students with, "you  know I am not really sure the answer to that, but I will do my best to find the answer for you".  We as teachers are not expected to know everything and must continue on with our quest of life-long learning to truly understand what our students experience everyday. 

I loved the section about the educational "experts" that offer assistance and support in the classroom.  We did a lot of reading in SED 551 on these people and it was entertaining to see them in a different way.  Most of the readings we did on them was serious and very cut and dry.  Ayers made it funny and realistic.  It magnified how while they mean well, still may not understand what happens in a classroom.  There were so many labels being thrown around instead of just seeing a kid for what he was, an individual.  The teacher looked like the expert on kids not the so-called experts. 

I very much look forward to finishing this book and discussing it in class.  I am curious to know what parts others may have identified with.