We have a heavy burden as educators, and one that sits precariously on our shoulders. In addition to the content of our subject (those pesky standards we hate but depend on), we are charged with molding competent, disciplined, respectable citizens of society. However, as champions of diversity, critical pedagogy, and global mindedness we also want our students to be open minded, ask questions, influence their own path. We must reject the "easy" and even "efficient" path of programming our students and find less damaging ways of maintaining an environment conducive to learning. In the topics below, you will notice that this is a balance I am struggling to define for myself, but I hope my description of the struggle will help you appreciate the title of today's blog, borrowed from Coldplay's ' "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall." To provoke further thought on this matter, take a look at two opposing articles from a previous class that have consistently influenced my decisions as an educator so far:
A Subtractive Education by Herb Childress
Charting a New Course for Schools by Marc Tucker
Maybe I'm in the black?
With my seventh graders, I have been successful in incorporating more Spanish into the daily activities. on Friday, we began our new unit over the family, and I was able to teach almost the entire lesson in Spanish by presenting a family tree in Spanish. The lesson was based on the TPRS method (with the exception of some note-taking and more vocabulary than is traditional for the method.) It was stressful for the students, and they left feeling very confused. However, most of the class was able to answer questions about the family presented. In other words, they had acquired more vocabulary than they thought they were able to use, so it was a great success. Tomorrow I will pass out a traditional vocabulary sheet, and allow the students to complete it based on the notes they took on Friday. Hopefully it will help them organize their knowledge.
A Subtractive Education by Herb Childress
Charting a New Course for Schools by Marc Tucker
Maybe I'm in the black?
With my seventh graders, I have been successful in incorporating more Spanish into the daily activities. on Friday, we began our new unit over the family, and I was able to teach almost the entire lesson in Spanish by presenting a family tree in Spanish. The lesson was based on the TPRS method (with the exception of some note-taking and more vocabulary than is traditional for the method.) It was stressful for the students, and they left feeling very confused. However, most of the class was able to answer questions about the family presented. In other words, they had acquired more vocabulary than they thought they were able to use, so it was a great success. Tomorrow I will pass out a traditional vocabulary sheet, and allow the students to complete it based on the notes they took on Friday. Hopefully it will help them organize their knowledge.