Just finished the three-day fall planning intensive and I'm so wishing it had been the bulk of my EIGHT WEEKS of training I did in June-July. Aside from the phenomenal passion, wit and humor the planning workshop leader exemplified, the content was SO practical, and so NOT disjointed theory with a dangerous proclivity for ringing hollow that I WANT MORE. The bottom line is that on the day students arrive I better be ready to p-e-r-f-o-r-m from the top of the day to the very end, and that's what I need to know how to do. Period.
One of the many take-aways of the last three days was that there are many, many ways to engage students in the active use of their knowledge, which in turn can/should feed a larger goal of preparing students to succeed in college (as opposed to simply applying or starting).
In another stellar moment, we discussed how each of us comes to our students with assumptions and presumptions that we must reflect on daily as a means to hold ourselves accountable. We broached questions like: Am I enabling escapist behavior if I allow this student to disrupt class every time I assign work that 'is too hard'? What is 'too hard' and why? If I don't have an experience that mirrors that of the stereotypical troubled inner-city family, am I arrogant in my belief that I can help? Is it more caring to insist that students find ways to work around/over/through tough life circumstances OR cut them slack? Just how much can I do in a year to transform hormonal middle schoolers into equipped and engaged sophomores (who have somewhat managed to check their hormones)?
Will there REALLY be a day when I wake up and feel I just can't do it anymore? What if I don't find teachers who DON'T spend every break complaining about the kids, the kids, the kids (and whom I've been duly warned to stay away from)? How will I get wind back in my sails? Blood re-circulating? Mind working?
I'll stop there, but the list is by no means done. More to come...
One of the many take-aways of the last three days was that there are many, many ways to engage students in the active use of their knowledge, which in turn can/should feed a larger goal of preparing students to succeed in college (as opposed to simply applying or starting).
In another stellar moment, we discussed how each of us comes to our students with assumptions and presumptions that we must reflect on daily as a means to hold ourselves accountable. We broached questions like: Am I enabling escapist behavior if I allow this student to disrupt class every time I assign work that 'is too hard'? What is 'too hard' and why? If I don't have an experience that mirrors that of the stereotypical troubled inner-city family, am I arrogant in my belief that I can help? Is it more caring to insist that students find ways to work around/over/through tough life circumstances OR cut them slack? Just how much can I do in a year to transform hormonal middle schoolers into equipped and engaged sophomores (who have somewhat managed to check their hormones)?
Will there REALLY be a day when I wake up and feel I just can't do it anymore? What if I don't find teachers who DON'T spend every break complaining about the kids, the kids, the kids (and whom I've been duly warned to stay away from)? How will I get wind back in my sails? Blood re-circulating? Mind working?
I'll stop there, but the list is by no means done. More to come...
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