Why do we want to be teachers?

We’re sitting and debating our roles as teachers. To what extent are we responsible for teaching students to read? Why must I include Science in my English class, English in my Math class, or Science in my History class? The real question we should be asking is, why are we teaching?

How can we isolate content from skills? Aren’t we life-long learners? Don’t we want to turn our students into life-long learners? Facts by themselves will not convert our students into devoted disciples of knowledge.
To raise an over played example, if we give a child a fish, she’ll eat for a day. If we teach her how to fish, she’ll eat for a life-time.

We can relate this to teaching in a multitude of ways, and I invite you to create your own parallels. In History, for example, if I merely give students primary documents without explaining how I found the articles, they will have limited access to history. If we teach our students how to search for sources and effectively use resources, they will develop the skills to conduct research on their own. Teaching how to learn instead of what to learn will provide greater service to students.

Afterall, will any of us have the time to take our students fishing every day??

I'm a Nerd... and Proud of it

As we begin to finally apply our theories and abstract discussions on effective teaching and cognitive processes to tangible activities, I feel growing enthusiasm for teaching. I can barely contain my burgeoning excitement at the thought of jumping into a classroom and trying out my first attempts at crafting lesson plans. Like a colorful 25 piece Disney puzzle, I feel like the pieces from summer term are finally starting to fit neatly and easily together.

I realize, however, that when I actually attempt to carry out a lesson, I will need to improvise and tweak it to accommodate my students. Perhaps some elements of my lessons will not work. Perhaps I won’t have the time or the resources. Perhaps unknown factors will interrupt my wonderful lesson plans. The more I contemplate the realities of implementing lessons, I envision each piece of my Disney puzzle splintering into 40 more pieces, creating a 1,000 piece puzzle. While this new puzzle is considerably more difficult to solve, it is not impossible. I only need to dedicate more time and thought to successfully solve the puzzle. With so many more pieces, I may find collaborating with others will assist the construction of the puzzle. My colleagues may offer insights by looking at a particular piece differently than I had, just as my peers can provide constructive input to my lessons.

Outside perspectives can always help, but as we discussed in class we must take on the responsibility of sorting through all the valuable suggestions and determining what will be the most valuable for our own classrooms.

Art Fair Maze

Racing out of the house, my sweater’s sleeves haphazardly flapping out of my bookbag, the screen door slams as my feet hit the pavement running. My heart’s pumping, my mind’s racing and all I can hear is my watch ticking. I have a mile to go and class starts in ten minutes. I emerge from the trees expecting to land on the familiar sidewalk by the Union, but instead I come to a halt. Like a disoriented ant that has emerged from an anthill covered by a picnic blanket, I did not recognize my surroundings. An odd conglomerate of pedestrians flooded the sidewalks and streets. Couples wandering around carrying lawn ornaments, paintings, metal giraffes and other odd objects I’m not sure how to define, flooded my eyes. I spun quickly around, absorbing the scene. White tents obstructed my vision in every direction. The familiar horizon of hodgepodge architecture, classical to modern and all under constant construction, was gone. I could not even hear construction trucks. I could not see fences. I was no longer sure I was on Michigan’s campus.

Calming my rapidly racing heart, I realized I only had to modify my point of view and be satisfied with seeing only the very tops of buildings to direct my path towards class. I eased into the art fair traffic, catching glimpses of sparkling jewelry, colorful fabrics and artistic creations. I continued along to class, pondering the implications of being disturbed by a sudden change in my environment.

So many of our students will be experiencing changes that leave them disoriented and unsure of themselves and their surroundings. As teachers we should work to build support networks for transfer and new students to help familiarize them with their new environments. Changes can be exciting and positive, as long as there is a friendly and knowledgeable guide for the journey.

The Journey Begins

As I embark on my path towards becoming an effective teacher, I must traverse relatively unchartered territory- technology. For example, my preferred gaming system is original Nintendo with Mario Brothers. Although I have a healthy relationship with my PC, the thought of interacting with a Mac generates butterflies of anticipation in my stomach.

I am, however, excited at the prospect of developing proficiency in technology, or should I say, expanding my realm of literacies to include computers and the internet world. Given the rapid growth of technology and its increasing accessibility to youth I value the importance of embracing and learning skills that will assist my ability to relate to students. I fervently hope I will incorporate technology tools into my classroom and lessons. Access to certain software programs and the internet database will broaden the resources available to students.

As a social studies teacher, I would like to engage students in the active process of working with maps and making connections between locations, cultures and events. I've included the link for a website which appears particularly helpful. In the United States map there's a list of numerous blogs focusing on various topics surrounding the US.
International Map Website