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Post by Sarah on May 1, 2016 16:43:51 GMT
Watch the RSA Animate at www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U and share your thoughts on our discussion. I suppose I thought to start with this piece for several reasons. I think of it and return to it often. But primarily my motivation to discuss it with all of you: it makes me uncomfortable. This piece makes me uncomfortable because I agree with nearly all of it. It describes a system that needs restructuring. While I think there are ways to push for a restructuring of education, I also know that for the most part my job is to operate and educate within a system that I believe is in many ways broken. So then, what is my role? What is my responsibility? How do we best work within the system? Where do we find opportunities to push the system to change? I was talking to a fellow teacher a few days ago about the push for pre-k and kinder kids to be reading. I currently teach kindergarten and the majority of my day is spent on literacy activities designed to help them read independently (on level). Yet I also admire the school systems like those in Finland where they have happy "non-literate" first graders. I find that dilemma and this video linked for me. How do we operate in a system that has these prescribed expectations and also work to support the paradigm shift called for in this presentation? How do you find the balance? How do you determine what is valuable? How do you determine what steps to take in your own journey with education? |
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Post by mnazzarini on May 2, 2016 5:45:54 GMT
This is a great way to start! Love this video. I ordered my copy of Choice Words and I get in two days... Praise the Amazon Prime gods! Can't wait to get started.  Thank you for putting this together. |
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Post by mnazzarini on May 5, 2016 23:38:08 GMT
This is a great video and a great educator (love Ken Robinson) to kick things off with...
I find I struggle with this dilemma on a daily basis. Working in a school district that places so much emphasis on standards, data, tests, and pacing guides makes it difficult for me to feel like I am instilling a love of learning in my classroom. I have yet to find a balance allowing me to feel both successful in my role as "employee"--abiding by rules and policies--and my role as "facilitator-of-learning-discovery-exploration-and-all-things-awesome".
When thinking about the question you posed, "How do we operate in a system that has these prescribed expectations and also work to support the paradigm shift called for in this presentation?" I hate to admit that I try to not think about this as much as is possible. I would guess this is why it makes you feel "uncomfortable". I think this question can never truly be answered because of the differing philosophies regarding purpose of education. Is our purpose to bust out batches of think-tanks that can regurgitate and recall information? I would say absolutely not... I doubt anyone would but, this is the reality we live in and what the system is supporting. What about loving learning, arts, and having respect for all ideas and cultures? What about collaboration and participation in a group that you first respect, then trust, and hopefully love eventually? The only way I know how to include these ideals in my classroom is typically by throwing out the rule book and doing what I feel is best for my students based on conversations with educators I trust and researched best practices. Pacing guide, no thanks! Structured, rigid literacy curriculum, see ya! Hello formative assessments, knowledge of my students, and a flexible curriculum map that includes materials from a wide variety of sources. However, I am also a young adult, early in her career with no partner, children, or "real grown-up" responsibilities. I have always said that if I'm fired for what I do... I'd be happy to leave. So, my current stance? Forget the rules and viva la revolucion! The paradigm shift will only happen when teachers start to stand up for what they believe works in their rooms. The hard part is keeping organized enough to always have data and research to support your claims and decisions AND being able to admit when your ideas turn out for the worse. Overall, my responsibility is to show my students that anything is possible because, time and time again, life shows me that opportunities are limitless and this world is meant to be loved, respected, and explored with eyes open wide.
(Please pardon my cheesy optimism. I just couldn’t help myself)
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Post by Sarah on May 10, 2016 21:58:52 GMT
I love your optimism!
I agree with you in respect to the notion that I feel sometimes we do have to "throw out the rule book". I do the same in my own career and classroom. I do sometimes feel like there is a ceiling on what we can really achieve in regard to a paradigm shift when we are each working toward that goal in isolation though. I guess that is part of the reason I hope to use this forum as a way for us to connect and hopefully make some connections that will help us push ourselves and our students to a new level.
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Post by cathy on May 12, 2016 1:23:06 GMT
You two are so smart and reflective. I love this video for the what it reveals. I've been fortunate enough in my career to rarely have been told how I have to teach. Often what, but rarely how. I have worked for two very progressive principals and I guess it reinforces the whole point---- they both ended up getting fired by the organizations that were supposed to be protecting them. But before they were fired, they worked hard to break the old mold. I think so much of the problem is the lack of imagination. Even when a "new" or "more progressive" idea comes along, it is often the case that it is tried to fit into the existing structure, much like a round peg in a square hole. New ideas need new structures. I love the part in the video where he talks about the stimulating world our kids are living in. We have computers in schools, but we use them as glorified worksheets or typewriters. Kids have cell phones and we tell them to turn them off and put them away. I once read about a school that invited all kinds of technology into the classroom and encouraged/required the kids to use it - all day! That scares me because of my lack of technology knowledge, but it excites me because of the depth of possibilities. That would be a step in the direction of true reform - taking a new idea and making a shift in the structure to accommodate it!
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Thank you for putting this together.