I really enjoyed reading the first chapter in both books. I found myself reflecting back on my own personal experiences as a student in elementary school as well as my professional experience working in a school. Specifically about what teachers i could identify as posessing that passionate nature. My favorite line in the Passionate Teacher was on (pg 23) "Passionate teachers convey their passion to novice learners-their students- by acting as partners in learning rather than experts in the field" I have found in my past two years as an assistant teacher that students tend to be more comfortable and less intimidated if the teacher participates in the process of learning and investigating and as a result feels more comfortable in taking risks and asking questions. I see myself as someone who is more open to questioning and participating when i sense that a teacher doesn't feel like he or she is a know-it-all in the subject and never makes mistakes. That leads me to another statement on (pg 27) "Passionate teachers are always taking risks, and they make at least as many mistakes as anybody else (probably more than most). I think that part of what makes teachers passionate about what they do is knowing that there is always more to learn and finding ways to convey vital information poses a fun challenge.
What i really enjoyed about the first chapter in Seeing the Whole through Social Studies was how we were given an example of how a few teachers provided a working example of how vital social studies is and the sucessful ways they were able to encorporate it into many crosscurricular activites. Utilizing the idea of taping numerous multiple intelligences to address different learning styles (pg 20-23) i thought to be very thought provoking because creating units of study can be a daunting task, however, thinking about multiple intelligences, i felt, was a great way to help teachers brainstorm unique activites to make learning more fun and yet accessible to diverse learners. Since language arts is an essential conponent in elementary school the ways in which the authors provided ways to coneect the two (pg 31-34) was very informative. I think that overall this chapter demonstrated that social studies can be integrated with all subject units and not take away vaulable time for subjects like math and reading that are so important.
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4 comments:
I think it is very true that teachers make a lot of mistakes. I think making mistakes means that you are truly thinking on your feet and processing what you students are saying. You are not just working off a prescribed lesson plan.
Cara,
Your work as an assistant teacher provides you with a great opportunity to watch a teacher at work, especially when they feel as though you blend in with the class. You get to see what methods are working well, as well as the ones that are not at all successful. It's the next best thing to being a fly on the wall of the classroom.
Thinking back to our past experiences as a student gives us insight to our own learning style. We can take those strengths and put them to work in our own classrooms, but we can also work from those areas that we found difficult as a student. My husband hated math throughout his own schooling, but he is one of the most incredible math teachers I know. Most likely because he understands those students who are having difficulties with math and he can teach them in ways that someone who is well skilled in math, can't.
Thanks for all that you bring to our class. We are a powerful group of committed women.
Cara,
I agree with your point about teachers bringing themselves to the level of the students, and learning along with them. I like that you put yourself in the shoes of the students. It made me think about how the students must feel when being taught by a "know-it-all" or by a passionate teacher. I'm sure it makes a difference.
I agree, before I entered the field I thought all teachers had everything figured out, but now with some teaching experience, I def. see that the best teachers are the ones that are willing to make mistakes, to take risks and grow and change with their students.
I'm so glad that you brought this point from Fried out so that we could think about it.
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