"Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the question now." -Rainer Maria Rilke
One of my mentors in the Benedum Program shared this quote with us tonight. It really made me question that despite all the stress that I was going through trying to finish papers, action research, and situations at school, what is it that I want to take with me at the end of the semester as it is drawing near. To answer some of these questions that I still have with me up to this point, I decide to sit and reflect on what I now believe at this point in the Benedum Program and my early teaching experience.
When I accept a teaching position, this is what I want to remember about cultural context?
When I am lucky enough to find a teaching position, I want to remember that the cultural context can influence an amazing amount of how students learn and what they learn. Depending on the composition of the classroom, teachers need to find various access points and connections that students may have in their preexisting schema and knowledge. For example, Dr. Hayes mentioned to us that it would seem silly to have students in Florida discuss what they wear in the snowy winters and how they would describe snow if many students may have never seen it. Likewise, asking students in West Virginia to describe living in a desert may be out of their realm because it's something they have never experienced before. I also know that depending on the cultural context of a school that every one is different, and although you may have "tools" in your "tool belt" to work from, that doesn't mean one "tool" or strategy will work with every group of students. As a teacher, I must take into consideration the ethnic, socioeconomic status, and other factors when deciding how to approach teaching and learning that best fits the needs of my students.
My observations are beneficial and dangerous in what ways?
My observations have been beneficial in so many ways. They have helped me explore what my students are saying to me, to one another, and how they are interacting in their environment. However, I must realize that there are always more than one way to interrupt and understand a situation. What I think may be occurring could be completely false because I'm only seeing one facet of information. Observations do provide some very valuable insight to student learning and understanding, but it must be use alongside other types of data to see a clearer picture.
How will you find a critical friend?
I believe that I have made some valuable critical friends within the Benedum Program that I can communicate even after graduation because of technological advances and ability to share videos, pictures, and discussions. I also would like to seek out someone, possibly a mentor, that could evolve into a critical friend. I want someone who will challenge my observations and beliefs and give me an alternative way of looking at things. I enjoy and want to encourage my colleagues to see other possible views and pieces as I engage in inquiry in the future.
Beliefs I want to continue and explore further.
One belief I want to continue and explore further is the idea that all students can learn. I have seen this within my classroom and students continue to surprise me by demonstrating their knowledge. I often question the way that we traditionally "do" schools because it can stifle students' creativity and ability to demonstrate what they know because it's not shown in the way that we traditionally value, such as a paper test or a writing assignment. I do think that there is a time and place for writing, standardized testing, etc, but I question whether it should be the dominate way that we have teachers assess student learning. I also want to continue and explore the idea that students should be responsible for their own learning. I know this can be done a number of ways, but I would like to research how students have taken ownership of their learning and how that influenced student learning and even classroom management techniques.
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