I really like Greene’s quote about what teachers can and should provide in their learning environment.
We can bring warmth into places where young person come together, however; we can bring in the dialogues and laughter than threaten monologues and rigidity. And surely we can affirm an reaffirm the principles that center around belief in justice and freedom and respect for human rights, since without these, we cannot even call for the decency of welcoming and inclusion for everyone, no matter how at risk. Only if more and more person in their coming together learn to incarnate such principles and choose to live and speak in accord with them, are we likely to bring a community into being. All we can do is to speak with others as passionately and eloquently as we can; all we can do is to look into each other’s eyes and urge each other on to new beginnings. Our classrooms ought to be nurturing and thoughtful and just all at once…
This is a very positive and motivating suggestion for teachers. Not just teachers, but for individual and life in general. And she discusses “releasing the imagination” I am forced to reflect and predict how I can encourage and bring her suggestions to a classroom. I am sure there are times when it’s hard to constantly be implementing those qualities but it seems like should be a lifelong goal for all teachers.
We have talked a lot in class about finding ways to make every student feel unique and appreciated, and Mara Sapon-Shevin seems to find very motivational ways to apply these ideas. Her example of the teachers from Australia was also very interesting. After every shared their items she asked around the group not what that person shared but what everyone learned about that person based on what they shared. It gives a deeper meaning and appreciation for the dialogue that takes place in that conversation. When I was volunteering in fall, every Friday was sharing. Each student was allowed to share an item and then after they shared they were allowed to answer one question from their classmates. It was hard because everyone wanted to ask a question but certain people were continuously called on.
Once they were called on, they didn’t really even have a question. They were often caught off guard and made up a question quickly that was already answered during the presentation. I didn’t understand why the teacher did it this way. People would lose interest so quickly and by the end of the sharing time, half of the class was playing with the toys or items that had already been shared.
The treasure hunt and class yellow pages seem to be very effective and creative ways to engage the class is community building. When I wrote in my autobiographical paper, what I enjoyed more about my elementary school was the strong push for developing a community.
I am not sure what needed to be done to make this process more enjoyable and effective. Maybe it really was and I am just not realizing the importance of this type of set up. I think instead of asking questions, stating a comment like “what did you learn about Lenore from her sharing her favorite teddy bear” or something more involved and reflective instead of, “what is your teddy bear’s middle name?” and the answer being, “I already told you. He doesn’t have a middle name.” Even by having the children sit in a circle and find another way to engage them, instead of having them all sit on the ground facing the front where the teacher and sharer were sitting. It was a very long and sometimes tedious sharing time.
After reading Trish’s comment, I can’t believe what a sticky situation this is. Even after reading your comment about the teachers who just resign and are not publicly let go. That kind of information is really depressing. We have been at war with Iraq since 2003 and have spent almost 900 billion dollars on the war with an estimate to reach between 3 and 5 trillion dollars. THAT IS CRAZY! How can we do this and then not be able to afford these three teachers at Trish’s school? I knew we spent a lot of money on the war but I wasn’t sure exactly how much. After searching the web, reputable new organizations and Wikipedia, the numbers all said it is expected to get up to at least 3 trillion. How ridiculous! Where other countries federally pay for education and educational opportunities, our country is too busy and preoccupied to focus on issues in our own country.
Last week I heard Shakira on the radio trying to pass a bill for the US raise our total financial contribution to the Education For All Act from 465 million to 3 billion by 2012. I don’t want to give the impression that I do not support universal education, but we as a nation should spend more time educating our own people and implement better educational standards in our own country. We are exploiting workers in other countries to work in our factories, yet now we also want to spend 3 billion educating those same people? All that is going to happen is tax payers dollars will be going towards this act, towards the war, and less funding for our own schools and our own teachers. Coming from a more comfortable and exposed upbringing (in regards to educational opportunities and activities) I would says yes, let’s give as much as we can for equal educational opportunities to the 72 million children who cannot afford education. That is disgusting. But, after hearing about, reading, and researching many inner cities schools, it is now becoming clear to me how our own educational system has the potential to be screwed up.
1 comment:
The amazing thing about Greene is that she lives what she writes -- she is 90 now, but still is so revered as someone who can simultaneously deeply inspire people while putting up with very little nonsense...
It's good to be watching teachers to wonder why they're doing what they're doing and how you might do things differently, and to weigh what you're reading with what you've seen -- that's exactly what we hope that you're doing this quarter. It can be great, also, to ask teachers "why"... and you'll have lots more chance to do that when you're in your placement.
But you give a good example here so something that perhaps as routine, something that could be enlivened by asking over and over "what are the kids learning from this?"
It's relatively common for some newer teachers to be laid off this time of year, and the way that we fund schools, we sometimes "have to" do that even though we're fairly sure that we'll be able to hire them back in the fall.
But districts around here are seeing drops in enrollment, and funding is all based on enrollment, so yes, as long as we prioritize many other things, we're going to continue to fund education at precarious levels.
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