Journal Sharing
"A student who is made aware of their self-talk and how it impacts their learning will have been given a powerful lifelong learning tool."
--Super Teaching Page 83
Please share one of your Personal Super Teaching Journal entries with us and how this insight has shaped or challenged your thinking as an educator
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7 comments:
AN IMPORTANT POINT THAT STOOD OUT IN CHAPTER 1 IS THAT WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE JOYS OF TEACHING ANYMORE,BUT WE TALK ABOUT DROPOUTS,LOW TEST SCORES,DRINKING,SCHOOL SECURITY,AIDS, AND TEEN PREGNANCY. THESE ARE IMPORTANT AREAS BUT WE ALSO HAVE MANY MORE GOOD STUDENTS WHO ARE DOING GREAT BUT GET NO CREDIT.
Thursday, July 24 –
A few nights ago, my husband and I took our son to a get-together at which the children were all much older than he is. Being almost three years old, however, seems to be a time of audacity and chutzpah – at least for Sebastian! He put on his red Superman cape and ran into the yard to play with three boys between eleven and thirteen years old. Luckily, the boys were very kind and, although they did not stop their game of football, they did let him pretend to “catch” them after the play was dead or gently tossed him the ball when they could.
My oldest and dearest friend was at the party. Living in Philadelphia, she doesn’t get to see Sebastian much. She watched him interact with the boys and the two girls (ages six and nine). Then, she turned to me and said, “He doesn’t even realize how old he is!” What she meant was that he doesn’t realize how old he isn’t! He felt perfectly at home playing in the yard and demanding the attention of the big kids. He had a blast and kept going until it was time for everyone to leave.
Watching him reminded me that many children start out as he is right now, believing that they are part of it all - running and chasing and laughing with the rest of the kids despite the age differences. But, then, many start to learn to compare themselves and judge themselves by standards that may or may not be accurate. By the time they finish elementary school, some kids have lost the audacity of life. By the time they get to middle school and high school, the joy of just being a part of it all is rarely felt.
Sebastian couldn’t physically compete with the big kids but that didn’t stop him from having the time of his life! How sad that, in some school situations, students won’t take the chances Sebastian did just to have a great time. They are afraid to put on that Superman cape and run and laugh and tackle a fifth grader. They are afraid of not getting that right answer when that answer may not be all there is! I would love to be the kind of teacher who gives my students back some of the audacity of a three year old!
I just got done teaching two weeks of Biking the Bay, a class where I don't even consider it "work" because I enjoy it so much, and encountered a student who tended to lag behind. When this happened, the rest of us waited and cheered the student on. When I asked him to finish the sentence "When I find myself behind the group I...." he answered without a pause "I think to myself, 'You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.'" I was so proud of him and pointed out to the group the power of positive thinking, much like the Little Engine that Could:) I teach in guidance the power of positive thinking and I WILL NOT ALLOW and always point out what I call "STINKIN' THINKIN'" I tell the kids it will drag you down, so picture a big ole STOP sign. It takes work for some and I think we are ALL guilty of it to some extent.
In reading information for another class by Michael Gurian I am learning how boys learn much differently than girls. The whole brain system is different; I never realized all of the differences in structure and functioning. As we all know, boys are typically more kinesthetic and need movement, but I learned they have about half the verbal centers girls have, so they don’t rely on words as much. They typically don’t produce as many words or think in words, but rely more on heavily on special-mechanical information. Demonstrations, props, pictures and fewer words add deeper meaning for boys, so I want to be sure to offer plenty of visuals when explaining new concepts to my EC students in the future.
Reading the chapter about the diversity in learners we face gave me reason for reflection. The diverse nature of student that walks through my door each day has always been something that I've been well aware of, but some of the trends we have seen the last couple of years may change the way I approach my job each day. We have always had a good number of high achieving students and also always had a fair number of lower achieving students. Both of these groups need special attention, but the bulk of our student body in the past has, however, always been in the middle (the average student). This middle group, seems to be shrinking. Some of my classes can almost be divided in two groups 1) “the haves” and 2) “the have nots”.
The number of students who lack basic skills and self motivation is certainly growing. It is hard to pin point a single reason for this change, but one trend we are seeing is a growing number of students transferring in from large urban districts such as MPS. We have also seen our free and reduced lunch population grow substantially the past few years. Although some of my favorite students in previous years have come from the above two groups, often times we see low income and transfer students struggle. Interestingly, as the demands of reaching a more diverse group of student rises, the support structure has diminished. We have taken huge hits in guidance, class size, gifted and talented programming, technology support, etc. in the past few years. These changes confirm for me, that the “business as usual” approach is not going to cut it in the future.
Having a great vacation in Puerto Rico to watch my son play baseball a few weeks ago was just fantastic. Watching him succeed in something he loves to do, observing others watching and commenting on him, listening to the coaches talk so positive about him, and seeing how proud he was of himself made me overwhelmed with joy. It’s amazing how seeing your kids be successful make you so elated. As a teacher I also enjoy watching my students succeed. They work so hard at something, and I see how proud they are of themselves. I then let them know how well they did and they feel even better about themselves. Positive reinforcement sure is something.
I am taking a class this week. Much of the day was discussing the difficulties facing children – the different crises students encounter. Frequently the discussion would end up feeling like we were complaining about all the problems in schools. Those discussions got me thinking of this class. We spent so much time and energy in the class focused on the “problem.” We didn’t focus on what works, what is going well, or how we can make things better. It was frustrating.
One highlight was our discussion and packet of information about cooperative learning. It is always great to be shown (or to revisit) teaching practices that work well. We reviewed and practiced the different roles that each learner can take on in a cooperative group. We also reviewed the teacher roles. One thing that I frequently forget about is teaching the students how to act in cooperative groups. I forget that even though the students are in 8th grade, then need to be reminded of how to work in groups effectively.
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