Chapter 7 – Classroom Management

On page 267 in this chapter, there is a section about Mauro Bautista and his approach to classroom management.  When he is dealing with classroom management he asks himself the question, “How would I want an adult at a school setting to treat my own son in this situation?”  I think that this is a very simple and accurate way to view our own classroom management.  Although I don’t have children of my own, what I am taking away from this is, how would I want to be treated in a similar situation?  No, I’m not an elementary student, but I am a person and my students are people too.  Teresa, Jacqueline, and Katy talked a lot about respect on Thursday night and it made me think of my students and our classroom.  Our first rule in our class is “Be respectful.”  (And yes, I let the students come up with our rules at the beginning of the year.)  Teachers talk a lot about the students not being respectful to adults and peers, but are the students themselves being respected?  In many cases, I’m not sure that they are.  I want to model for my students what it means to be respectful of others.  It can be difficult sometimes, but that’s okay.  We can show the students that it can require a conscious effort to be respectful of others.  Our students need to be shown that they are important enough to receive respect from others.  I truly believe that this will help them to be more respectful themselves. 

Pedagogy of the Absurd

If a child is repeatedly told that he or she is a failure, eventually that child will give up.  It is my belief that this is what is happening in our schools today.  Public education is being discredited left and right by everyone.  No one seems to trust public schools anymore.  The debate known as the “reading wars” that is mentioned in “Pedagogy of the Absurd” is just a glimpse into the controversial issues of public education.

 In my somewhat limited experience in the field of teaching (7 years), I have met some of the most amazing teachers.  These teachers have made a commitment to being life-long learners and they have shown me what it truly means to be  educated.  They are dedicated not only to their students and their schools, but to the field of education itself.  However, if you’re on the outside of the education bubble looking in, that’s not the image that you are most likely to see.  Teachers are too oftentimes depicted as complacent and not very well-educated.  I feel as though we as teachers are fighting this constant battle against the public.  When is everyone going to wake up and realize that this battle will do little more than negatively impact our students.  These are people’s lives and futures we’re talking about here.  These are the future members of our society.  It is time for teachers to be looked to as professionals that are knowledgeable.  We all want what’s best for children regardless of our standpoints are research and theory.  The lines of communication have to open up.  It’s time for all of us to work together. 

Teaching to Change the World – chapter 4

“Our profession as seen from inside teachers’ lounges and in the conversations of professionals and in the presentations and workshops at conferences . . . is not a bloody battleground of competing ideas, but it has been made to appear so by a press hungry for dramatic stories and by impatient policy makers and a frustrated public looking for the same kind of simple answers that popular opinion often demands–answers that offer scapegoats and saviors. . . ” (Oakes & Lipton, 158).

How long does it take for the drama of the outside world to seep into our schools and affect our attitudes towards one another?  My guess, not long.  In fact, we’ve had rumors going around my school this week that made me think our administrators are too worried about what others say and how others view us.  Their actions seem to be paving the way for the ”bloody battleground” that Sheridan Blau claims we don’t have within schools.  This worry seems to be causing them to point fingers and place blame, rather than support and offer encouragement.  (Isn’t support and encouragement part of the job description of an administrator????)  It seems as though my fellow teachers and I are becoming scapegoats.  I hope that I don’t seem like I’m whining.  I’m all for raising the bar and having high expectations for teachers, but if we don’t start supporting eachother within our schools we really are going to give the media something to talk about and it’s not going to be pretty. 

Silencing Teachers in an Era of Scripted Reading & Freire’s 2nd letter

As I sit here on a Saturday night trying to write a research critique for Diane’s class on Tuesday, I am overcome by my own fear.  Where does this fear come from and why am I letting it get the best of me?  As it has happened more than once in the past few months, I am turning to the words of Paulo Freire in order to make sense of something that frustrates me to no end.  Right now, I am FRUSTRATED by my own fear.

Although simplistic, Freire gives his readers a prescription for their fear:  “When faced with fear of any kind, one must first objectively ascertain whether there are real reasons for that fear.  Second, if those reasons do exist, one must match them against the available possibilities for overcoming them successfully.  Third, if an obstacle cannot be overcome right away, one must determine what steps to take toward becoming better capable of overcoming it tomorrow” (Freire, 2005, 50).  Seems simple enough, right?  So then why is it easier for some to conquer their fears than others?

When I read about the trials and tribulations of Elizabeth Jaeger I tried to put myself in her shoes.  And I have to be honest, I can’t say that I would have had the confidence in myself personally to do what she did.  This is not to say that I wouldn’t have shared some of her same views.  The instructional practices that she challenged were certainly inappropriate, and they needed to be challenged.   And although I’m sure she experienced some level of fear, she was able to bring herself to stand up for what she believed in, regardless of the price it cost her.  She did have support from some of her peers, which I’m sure made it easier to overcome her fear.  Making her voice heard was worth it to Jaeger to put her fear aside.  It is a shame to me that there are any teachers out there that are afraid to advocate for their students and for what they know correlates with best practices in teaching and stand up for what they believe in.  But I know that we’re everywhere.   

The logical next step for me seems to make sure that I surround myself with the right people so that I will be more confident in overcoming my fears and standing up for what I believe in.  (Thank goodness for all you fellow EdSers!)  While although I am inspired by Jaeger’s story and the stories of many others, I don’t feel confident in conquering my fear of inadequacy in writing this critique tonight.  Maybe I’ll be capable of conquering it tomorrow.  Thanks Freire!