Independant of Time and Space

Upon a review of my previous blogs, I realize how much I seem to be questioning my decision to do this whole teaching thing. The good news is that I seem to come to terms with my decision by the end of each blog…the bad news is that it keeps coming up. So for this week I will try and simply write about what I am learning. Although I find it ironic that the first quarter of classes is heavy reading comprehension...which is by FAR my weakest strength. I notice I am going back after classes to reread the assignments after we discussed their meanings and main ideas. Kind of like reading a book AFTER you see the movie. It is so much easier for me to read when I already know what I am supposed to learn.

The reading this week that caught my attention was about the occupation of a teacher is a “role”. I am reminded of the term role model, which for me was popularized about 15 years ago when sports stars were getting attention for NOT wanting to be role models, but were looked at as such by their many young fans. As a teacher, it would be great if your students wanted to model their daily lives after mine, but that would be very unique for their own adventure through life. The “roles” talked about in the article go much deeper. It discusses the role teachers play in educating students. You are expected to teach a subject democratically while keeping personal opinions out of the lesson. The article even discussed workplace isolation as a teacher comes to grips with the morality of their education curriculum. I have read through this one twice and still don’t have a grasp on what I’m supposed to take from it, more than the generic “it takes time”.

In fact, I think that is the rest of what I will write about this week. I seem to be having trouble digesting all this information about democratic education, lesson planning, middle school learning, the history of education, the money, the administrations, and of course the reality of what is out there. But why? The simple answer is because I have envisioned myself in the classroom for well over 10 years now and none of these topics were ones I would say I put too much time into thinking about. This is normal in a way, as when people think about something enjoyable to them, they usually think about the pleasurable action vs. all the work that goes into it. For example, when I go water skiing, I think of traversing the wake and waving to all my admirers watching from the shore. Then when I get ready to actually go, I notice that I have to hitch up the boat, fill up with gas, wait in line to launch the boat, pay for launching the boat, walking the one mile back from where I parked the trailer, getting the motor started, untangling the skiing line, finding life jackets and that little orange flag, and finally jumping in the cold water and waiting for the driver to get the boat ready…all for about 30 seconds of traversing the wake before my back is too tired to continue.

HAHA, I just read my own example and realize how true it is. I, hopefully like most people in this cohort, have yet to take a really deep look (and appreciation) into the teaching profession. I have always valued what teachers do, but seeing the portfolio of things good teachers deal with and the depth to which they take them I know that it is going to be much harder than I imagined it being. The good news to that is that it will only motivate me more to read these articles a 3rd or 4th time so I can at the very least explain to my own family what I am learning (or maybe my teachers as well).

Ayers discussed building bridges connecting you with your students. Showing them that they “can learn everything from anything” and that I in return will learn a lot about myself each year as I progress into being the best teacher this state has ever seen.

Maybe this week I can get a grip on all this information floating around. Getting organized is priority #1 as I have started to quote articles in class that relate to another class. I want to use the word fun or exciting during one of my blogs. Being ahead of the game will help me move towards that goal. Yes, that sounds FUN and EXCITING.