Opps, sorry guys, I accidentally posted to my other blog.
It was interesting to hear each of the responses for their greatest achievements in life. No one answered that it was how great they did on their SAT’s or Praxis, but I did receive the answer graduating from college. This was interesting to me because college deals so heavily on academic achievements. However, the most common answer for what kind of achievements do you admire in persons you respect had little to do with examinations. They said they admired people they trusted, and people who had leadership skills. People who had love of their family’s.
My cousin was able to find a couple of things that were both affirmed and contradicted by outside influences. In her science class she was learning evolution, but at her home, her Christian family was struggling to find meaning within this context. In school she was also learning about the health effects of marijuana, but on the news, down in California, she was watching the debate over legalization of the drug.
One of the things that I shared with my cousin was our interests in after school activities. She played softball and volleyball and watched a lot of football (mainly due to my uncle). I shared a passion for coaching softball and enjoy playing beach volleyball. We also shared the same reaction to our sense of belonging. We both felt secure while with close family and friends but left out in the open amongst people we were unfamiliar with we both became introverted.
One of the most important things that came up while doing this last reflection was how a teacher influences their environment. Environment is so important to learning. Without a safe secure place a student will not be able to focus properly on learning material. As a teacher it is going to be important for me to understand this and begin by presenting a classroom environment where a student does not feel foolish for asking a question. I can remember times while I was in high school that I was curious about something but did not feel secure enough to raise my hand and question it. We have to help our students become secure in our classroom.
Isn't it interesting how home, school and other influences mesh and conflict! I think kids are usually pretty good at sorting out the messages they receive from different directions, although I'm sure it helps a lot if they have strong support at home. And I don't think we can place too much importance on how much kids need to belong! Adults too!
ReplyDeleteThat's where a teacher comes in, obviously. As you mentioned, a warm, accepting teacher makes all the difference in how students feel in a classroom. I think unconditional acceptance and excitement for the subject are the two most important things we can bring to the classroom.
Dev, I think you really hit a key point with the safe environment philosophy. I remember that I never asked a question from kindergarten through 5th grade, because I was afraid I would "look stupid" or that others would tease me for not understanding. This is an essential aspect for a classroom. Now that we agree on that - how does it look to you? What steps will you take to create this sort of classroom? How can you share this compassion and understanding of a safe environment with your students?
ReplyDeleteWe talked about cognitive dissonance today in class. It seems like your cousin is experiencing that with the messages she receives from her home life and from school. What will you do as a teachers with situations like this? Will you try incorporate both worlds? help the students bridge the gaps between these worlds?
So, given they admire those characteristics of leadership, trust, and caring, is that the responsibility of schools or should that simply be in the family's hands? What role might you have as a teacher in helping your students develop those characteristics? Some interesting awareness of your student regarding the news and connections in school. Is it desirable for teachers to help introverts become more extroverted in school?
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