Chapters 3 & 4

“… I must not only learn about you, I must learn from you.”

When I read these words, my mind jumped to my past field experiences. When I was in front of the class for a lesson, it seemed liked I was more worried about the lesson going smoothly and what the children’s responses were to my questions in hopes that it would be right so I wouldn’t have to deal with how to handle a wrong idea or answer. As I reflect on that and when I think of learning from the students, three ideas pop into my mind. First, its hard in field because the class and classroom are not your own however it is still possible, but as teachers we need to feel safe and comfortable too. Those worries are affective issues that are trumping are ability to teach and learn. If we are comfortable with our class and are truly mindful of that moment then and there we can be more effective. The second idea goes with the first in that, if we are comfortable and we don’t let the those worries in the way, we can listen better which will allow us to truly try to understand what they are saying and we can learn (assess) what the student is thinking. My final thought is that as teacher we are advised to give students wait-time after making a statement or asking a question. As teachers we need to give ourselves wait-time, a moment to think about how to respond back, whether we agree with the child’s response, how to extend the discussion, or how to go about an incorrect idea. Developing this habit may be most effective when it comes to behavior issues. These ideas, I believe are direct application to reality, that will help with promoting dignity in the class.

“The persistent teacher will find another way.”

There are three things I think of when I read this. First, everything a teacher plans should be planned with the idea in the front of her mind that it might have change and it might not work and that is okay. That right there is probably the hardest thing for teachers to realize because of the amount of time we put toward our ideas and planning. This includes procedures. Second, as teachers, when a procedure doesn’t work out or an activity didn’t go as plan, ask the students their opinion, only sometimes but not all the time. Communicating this and having the students help find another way of doing something that needs to be changed is probably a good way to help build the ownership in community. The third idea is this, when something doesn’t work out or needs to be change or a new need comes around, it is a wonderful time for those teachers that are creative because it becomes a blank canvas or a problem with many possibilities to resolve it.

“Different is not a synonym for deficient.”

These words speak truth. I feel that there is a stigmatism among society that there is something wrong with a person if we say they are different or they have to do something different then most other people. I’d like to figure a way to explain this concept to young children so that as we build a classroom community, a value we seek is the understanding that what we do does not have to be the same.