Learning Environments

Ayers makes some interesting points when he says that teachers provide the "environment for learning and the invitation to learn" but it is the student's "choice, their action, and their courage that resulted in the thing learned." This idea is intriguing to me. This idea also supports my notion which Ayers later talks about, that learning is not passive with the teacher the one giving knowledge out like gifts at Christmas to their students. This is going to make teaching harder but in my mind more rewarding. The students learn things that are meaningful to them and not what a test designates that they need to know and how they are suppose to learn it. This idea of students learning and the teacher as a guide gives me hope that by teaching this way a student will still get the cognitive skills they need to be successful on the tests designed by some one that doesn't know them or what they are interested in learning. The biggest challenge I will have as a teacher it seems, is not necessarily teaching my students but showing other what they have learned without using a standardized test. Furthermore using a different form of assessment and helping others to see that it is just as valid if not more so than standardized tests will be the second part of the challenge in assessment.

 

When Ayers talks about the action he takes to challenge his students to pursue their work, interests and knowledge it reminded me of many of the readings I have already read about engaging students. And that the best way to engage students is to work in an area of interest to them. By doing this the students have more of an investment than if I as the teacher just stood before them and drilled facts and examples and then assigned a project to them.

 

All of these thoughts seem to be centered on the environment of the classroom. I found it interesting and inspiring yet challenging in how Ayers structures his classroom. It is different from any classroom I have ever been in except for maybe when I was in preschool. Ayers later states that the environment is like the students in that it changes throughout the year like a living thing. I couldn't agree more. In an article titled Development during Adolescence; the Impact of Stage-Environment Fit on Young Adolescents ' Experiences in School and in Families, at the end of the article the authors, state that the most difficult problem that families and schools are confronted with is providing an environment that changes in the right way and at the right pace. This article is mainly focusing on adolescence but after reading Ayers ideas on learning environment it seems that this is a challenge and true for all ages.

 

Moreover the environment must be a caring one. This idea that Ayers talks of is not the only one. In an article titled Building a Sense of Community in Middle Level Schools, the authors list many aspect of a middle school needed to create a caring culture and environment for the students. Many of which Ayers talks about wanting in his classroom; advisor-advisee programs so students feel part of a small group, educators and students work collaboratively to discuss problems and concerns, experiences for learners to explore own interests which also allow educators and students to learn from one another, interdisciplinary teams and teaming to encourage small groups of teachers and students to work together toward agreed-upon and common goals. All of these aspects Ayers also touches on and talks about. Furthermore Vivian Paley in her book You Can't Say You Can't Play, demonstrates many if not all of these aspects in the activities with her students as well.

 

These are only a few sources out of many readings from this quarter that support an active, engaging classroom and school environment for students to flourish in. Many more sources were read and discussed. Why are some schools still structured so "drill and test" and "I am the teacher with the knowledge you are the student here for that knowledge"? Bill Ferriter seems to be feeling some of this frustration in his blog. Ferriter points out that in teaching some aspects may not change in his time as a teacher but to give up is worse than not trying. There must be something though that can be done if so many people in education feel the same way about not only learning and teaching environments, but also the profession of teaching. Ferriter talks about teacher leaders and how many teachers are still trying to get support for school reform let alone lead in school reform. I am not saying that all teachers do not take action but maybe that is the point though. Teachers need to stand up and be leaders in school reform instead of passive observers. Maybe I'll start a new kind of teaching organization. Hmmm…

 

 

Knowing My Students

               There are many barriers to developing a home and school partnership for each student. From a middle level perspective this in itself is hard to do as every teacher has as many as 180 students a day. In my opinion the prevalent barrier to building this kind of relationship for the student is something called cultural repertoire. An example of this was given by my middle level learner’s professor of a student explaining to the class that in Taiwan they believe that there is a fish under the Earth and whenever this fish moves it causes an earthquake. The foremost problem with this in my mind is that some educators may see this as something negative when in my opinion it can be used to enrich the curriculum being discussed and add another perspective to the curriculum that students may not have seen otherwise.

 

                The idea that some beliefs should not be considered or discussed in the classroom is opposing to my view that the classroom should be an environment in which all beliefs and ideas can be discussed with respect and critical analysis with purposeful research. This problem with curriculum being opposing or non-supportive of other beliefs is not the only thing that can hinder the development of a home and school partnership. Some parents feel they are not competent to work or volunteer in the classrooms or schools of their children. At times literacy and language can also be a barrier if the parents do not speak the same language as the teacher and administration and/or cannot read. Other issues arise as well when parents go through divorce or back to work this sometimes at the middle level takes away support in the students’ education from a home perspective. Also in middle school parents my feel overwhelmed as instead of just one teacher to talk to and stay informed about their child’s progress in school at the middle level there can now be as many as six or seven teachers that parents need to communicate with to stay informed.

 

                An example of when some of these events or circumstances in the students’ life is not understood by the teacher or communicated by the parent or caregiver is written about in a case study titled Patrice. Patrice is about a student named Patrice who at the beginning of the school year was very interested and engaged without behavior problems at school. But later on in the year Patrice became disengaged, disrespectful and had multiple behavioral issues and problems arise. The teachers in this case study did two things severely wrong. First they were only reactive in dealing with Patrice’s actions and not proactive; talking to her to really ask what has changed or what is bothering her to create such a drastic change in behavior, communicating with parents better about concerns, with a possible home visit. Secondly the teachers and administration took Patrice’s actions to personally and ended up in this power struggle with the student.

 

                Patrice is an example of how as a teacher and administrator it is important to know our students and where they are coming from. In Vivian Paley’s book, You Can’t Say You Can’t Play a little boy named Raymond is seen as a trouble maker and a mean boy by the other students at first because he steals and is disrespectful to other students. What the other characters in the book come to realize is that Raymond is actually on a journey to find his father, and living without his mother because she is sick. Raymond is homeless. More importantly the whole book highlights the idea that a kind deed towards someone who is “mean” or having a hard time in life socially, emotionally, and developmentally can help that person change their behavior and perspective. In other words kindness creates more kindness. In Patrice if the teachers and administrators had been more informed by talking to her parents more constructively they may have realized that Patrice does not have a father and has a mother who works nights and may not be home when Patrice comes home from school possibly leaving Patrice to take care of her younger sister on her own.

 

                In the end to create a partnership and strong relationship with home and school as teachers and administrators, we must get to know our students; culturally and developmentally.  In doing so we will better understand cultural repertoire and how to integrate them into our curriculum as well as helping our students to become lifelong learners and the healthiest, most productive and engaging way possible. Finding out where students come from and what they can bring to the classroom could make teaching and the curriculum more powerful. 

Our Curriculum

Ayers talks about questions he asks of himself, in chapter 5 titled "Liberating the Curriculum" in his book To Teach, to help him develop curriculum. I like this idea immensely; asking myself questions weekly or even daily to make sure the curriculum I have for my students is reaching the goals I have for them. With the ultimate goal of becoming lifelong learners with an active role in the community, I have come up with the following questions to ask myself when I am planning curriculum for my students.

Are my expectations and the students' expectations high? Studies have shown that if teachers have high expectations for their students the students in turn progress more than if teachers did not have high expectations. I want to take this a step further and have my students hold themselves accountable with high expectations. This does not mean not making mistakes but when a mistake is made to understand that it is part of learning and use that mistake to better ourselves and our learning.

Are multiple different learning styles being utilized? I want to have hands on materials used for discovery, as well as movement, group work and independent reflection so to help all different learning styles benefit from the curriculum. Group work is especially important as to supporting a community and many students will need to be able to work with a wide variety of individuals in the work place later on in life.

Is the work productive? Is the work my students are doing engaging but also getting us to our goals? I remember on many occasions when in middle school or high school the teacher would give us "busy work", work to fill the time and keep on busy on the topic that was being discussed. But this work was not engaging or of much interest to me. And even more importantly I am not sure how much it really helped me learn or think critically. I want the curriculum I have to engage my student s but still help them reach their goals in learning.

Is the work engaging and of interest to the students? I keep thinking engaging, engaging, engaging, but what does this mean? I do not want my students to sit passively through their education. To have the opposite occur I need to be on topics that are of interest to them, to create an environment of engagement and not one of idle learning. I want my students to be able to pick topics of learning and discussion and not as Ayers says, "take-this-pill-because-I-know-its good-for-you," type of learning.

Are students aware of problems within the school, classroom, and community? To be an active member in a community I would want my students to be aware of issues and problems that arise in communities. To start this kind of class discussion I need to create a welcoming, respectful and diverse environment. Does my curriculum reflect this diversity? Will all students feel welcomed in my classroom? Moreover because of this I need to know my students and develop a relationship not just with the group as a whole but each individual. I am also not suggesting that we solve all the world's problems overnight but have a "revolving door" on discussion. Also the issues discussed may range from war and the moral ethical ramifications to what it means to be a friend.

Realistically these questions are challenging and may not always be answered in a positive way every day. But by having these questions I hope to not only challenge my students but myself as a teacher daily to do the best teaching and provide the best learning I can to my students. I would also want my students to be aware of what I am trying to do for them with the curriculum. Communicating to them my goals may help them reach their own as well. Overall I want my students to be able to take an active role in their education and learning. I want to be the facilitator but not always the leader. This kind of a classroom would be very energetic, messy, challenging, and engaging from the students having an active role in their education. I like to think that the students and I are a team trying to ask more questions and learn more together.

Interdisciplinary Learning

                Why is there not more interdisciplinary learning and lessons in schools? Why if as educators we worry that one subject will be taught more than the other or not taught at all, but we do not try to teach two subjects or multiply subjects together? Maybe because as teachers we tend to isolate ourselves and then when we ourselves do not have the knowledge we are afraid to ask for help from a fellow teacher that does. Or is it that we lack the skills or support to even structure our classroom and learning in this way due to standardize testing requirements and measures? From my readings and thinking, interdisciplinary teaching and learning helps not only students become more engaged in the classroom to real life scenarios but teachers as well as students are more creative in their thinking while learning about their own strengths and weaknesses.

               

                I am taking a class called Middle Level Learners, in which my group and I just finished a lesson plan to present to the class next week involving art and writing. Many of us had to go out of our comfort zones to complete this project and depend on each other. The learning that I experienced from a teaching perspective was great. My group was comprised of two experienced teachers and two less experienced teachers. Because of this mixture the experience teachers brought a lot of knowledge and structure to the lesson while the less experienced teachers brought new ideas and perhaps a more creative way of thinking. In doing this lesson together the students are not the only ones to benefit but the teachers as well. We were able to be critical of each other but in a helpful non-intrusive way to improve our teaching skills as a whole.

               

                As a teacher I want my students to be able to think creatively and solve problems as most of the time in life problem solving is not black and white with one straight answer but sticky, and foggy with lots of gray areas.  As a teacher one of my goals is to help prepare students for decision making in their future through critical thinking. If I as a teacher do not provide them with opportunities that involve questions with more than one plausible answer how well am I really preparing them for the future; not very well.

               

                Greene says in her article Imagination, Community, and the School, “As teachers, we cannot predict the common world that may be in the making; nor can we finally justify one kind of community more than another. We can bring warmth into places where young person come together, however; we can bring in dialogues and laughter that threaten monologues and rigidity.”  For me Greene is telling me that as a teacher I need to help students think creatively and in doing so it will create a sense of community more so than with structure and rigidness.  I see from her article that in education as a society we drill students about facts and answers to questions without possibly preparing them for the times when the answers are not factual or when there isn’t even a right or wrong answer to a problem.

               

                Can I create this kind of a community in my classroom while still keeping on track with standardize testing measures? I feel that I would be waging a war for my students day after day. The saying, “all’s fair in love and war” comes immediately to mind. Is this what teaching will be like; having to balance what I want to teach and what the students are interested in to be engaged, with what is expected I teach and they learn? An article titled Integrating Technology, Art, and Writing: Creating Comic Books as an Interdisciplinary learning Experience written from a study on a student summer program, by Edwin S. Vega and Heidi L. Schnackenberg from Plattsburgh State University, makes some important points about engaging students in their learning. First they notice from a survey on how students felt about the summer program that when students design or create things that are meaningful to them some of the “most powerful learning” occurs and say later on that the students were having so much fun that they do not notice all these new skills they are learning to complete their projects. Also from the students survey, when asked if “the course information will help me in the coming year”, the students who were older and closer to applying or going to college gave a lower rating. The authors thought this interesting in perhaps that the students see college as an institution in which creative and unique interests cannot be explored. Where in education did we imply this to those students that later on in life creativity and unique interests are unimportant? In the conclusion of this article/study the authors say that perhaps it is from the growing initiatives such as No Child Let Behind, which impacts a more strict curricula which then indirectly or directly has teachers impressing upon students to “stick to the program” to be successful in school. This idea then may carry on into college as well.

               

                This to me is very depressing; that a student’s perspective, from how we as teachers are teaching and the standards and expectations we set, is that creativity and the unique interests they have are unimportant. As educators this subject just exemplifies why it is important to let the public know what we as educators and students are doing in the classroom; to let the community see that by doing these interdisciplinary lessons and projects with students they are growing more and expanding their critical thinking and problem solving skills more then by worksheets, quizzes, and exams as a way of assessment. 

Teaching the whole student moral objective?

Sue Simpson states in the chapter 6 titled “Interdisciplinary and Interthematic Curriculum Designs” states that “If teaching is a dynamic and moral profession, we must strive to change in response to the evolving nature of our students and the demands of our society.” (p.90)

 Do we as teachers have a moral agenda, an obligation to uphold the morals and ethics of our society when teaching our students?

 Yes and the moral that sticks out to me the most and must be supported in school is freedom of speech. As a teacher though we can help make sure that speech is informed to the best of the students’ ability without being preached to. Also as a teacher we can help our students gain perspective and insights of those perspectives with respect.  

 If a student says during a unit on the holocaust from European history that the holocaust didn’t happen how should I respond? If a student says anyone who has an abortion is committing a sin how do I respond?

 If this is the student’s belief than fine; we as people are entitled to our own beliefs and vocalizing them.  I may say something like “you make an interesting statement that some disagree with and might even find offensive.  What research do you have for or even against your statement?”  The point we as teachers must make is that though we each have different beliefs and values as this is the enrichment of culture, we as a society still must be respectful of others. When our beliefs endanger or hurt others then something must be done to convey our beliefs differently or possibly open up our own perspective. This endangerment and harm is morally wrong as well and as teacher we are responsible for helping and informing our students to know the difference.  I am unsure and nervous about how to open up a child’s perspective as a teacher in a positive healthy way. This development is the tricky part in my mind, especially if I as the teacher do not agree with their views. I still need to model respect and an openness of ideas so that the student may grow in their critical thinking and decision making.

 The statement made at the end of the chapter by Simpson sums up part of what it means to be a moral teacher in my mind. As I need to support an openness as well as informative environment for ideas my responsibility as the teacher is to make sure that my teaching and the content makes sense with what is currently thought and discussed in society. For example it may not be relevant to have my students know when each president was president instead due to technology it may be more effective for students to have an idea of how the role of president has changed over time so they too can get an idea for what kind of president they want.

How do we ensure that “Disciplines do not lose their integrity” and that “each discipline’s unique contribution to problem solving is demonstrated”? (Wiles & Bondi, The New American Middle School Education Preadolescents in an Era of Change, Chapter 3. p. 64)

Wiles and Bondi make an interesting statement in that each discipline has useful tools in problem solving. Sir Robinson at a conference in Monterey California in 2005 stated that creativity is not taught in education any longer. It seems that instead “we get educated out of creativity.” Sir Robinson also makes a statement that without creativity being a process of having original ideas that have value we will not grow. He specifically says that when we teach our students to be unprepared to make mistakes or be wrong we are possibly taking away the creativity in the classroom. I think Wiles and Bondi are saying the same thing in a different way. There are many different perspectives to take when solving problems. What matters in my mind is that we give are student an array of perspectives and not limit them to just one such as math or art, but science and music as well. We must not only educate from the waist to the head then to specific side of the brain of the student but the whole body; kinesthetically, visually, abstractly, sound, critically… 

How does this idea of teaching the whole student then influence the moral and ethical aspects in teaching? Is it morally right that we teach the whole child literally? Is it morally wrong not to? I don’t know the answer… yet!

How do we care?

“Teachers who care were described as demonstrating democratic interaction styles, developing expectations for student behavior in light of individual differences, modeling a ‘caring’ attitude toward their own work, and providing constructive feedback.” (Wentzel, 1997, pg 411)

 

Democratic interaction styles; this to me means children want to make their own choices especially at the middle school level. To care I also need to have expectations for each student as individuals not just as a whole. This to me means as a teacher to show that I care I need to have lesson plans that let students make choices and experiment with different ideas with support.

 

“Although it has been show that community climate and support alone are insufficient to promote achievement gains in middle grades, a balance between perceived support and academic demands seems to promote achievement and social-emotional well being…” (Juvonen et al., 2004, p. 50)

 

Caring is good, letting students make choices is good and be part of a community is good but if I do not have high expectations academically as a teacher for my students that caring and support in my mind is wasted. I can pat my students on the head all day long and say good job but without challenge in my mind the student would grow bored and other problems could arise.

 

“…education must focus on teaching all people how to live in an inclusive community where each person is treated with respect and dignity and enlisted to participate fully in the life of the community.” (Beck & Malley, 1998, p. 137)

 

In my mind this excerpt is telling me that each child needs to feel as they belong and have a role in the community that is the classroom. In doing this as a teacher I would then hope that they could learn to treat each person with respect and later on do the same thing in a larger community for example the community they live or the place they work.

 

“…there is much more to interpersonal caring than teachers merely exhibiting feelings of kindness, gentleness, and benevolence toward students, or expressing some generalized sense of concern. In fact, these attitudes without concomitant competence producing actions constitute a form of academic neglect.” (Gay, 2000, p. 48)

 

Telling a student that it is ok if they don’t get it that they can just do their best to me is not enough. I was not always of this mind set as growing up I was told just do you best. There were times when my best wasn’t good enough. What if though as a teacher I said, “I know this is hard, but you can do this and I am here to help you learn this.” I never once in all my years as a student heard that from my teachers; from my father yes and my mother but never my teachers. In an AP civics class in high school which challenged me greatly but at the end of the semester I felt like a failure. Looking back I realize I still learned a great deal but never improved in the class. How I as a teacher show my students that I care matters in my mind a great deal.

 

At the middle school level I would have 50 minutes with possibly 180 students. All of the above mentioned ideas on caring are important to me but with so many students and so little time will each student know I care? Bill Ayers talks about not only realizing a student’s weaknesses but also utilizing their strengths and letting students show them and utilize them with their peers. If I as a teacher can figure a way for every student in my classroom to utilize their strengths as well as know and improve their weaknesses in my mind I’ve accomplish the first goal in my mind to teaching; growth.

 

Challenging lesson plans in my mind is not enough. I need to let each student know that I am there when the challenging lesson plan is too much. In my last class it was brought up that just remembering to care and have time for self reflection as a teacher helps. The issue of teachers saying they do not have enough time was brought up and I immediately grew angry. Yes, I realize to balance lesson plans, district expectations, social issues (bullying, fights, absences) and still get to know your students is not easy. Just thinking about it I myself get overwhelmed; at the end of the day though it is about the students and nothing else. I am hoping that if I couple challenging lesson plans with a supportive foundation of yes you can and I am here to help you with little things like greeting students at the door each class, having not just name cards but on the cards they can ask questions make comments privately just between me and them, that each student will feel that I care not only about them as a student but as a person.

 

One thing I noticed about the quotes above is that it only mentions caring as a teacher student relationship. What about teachers caring about other teachers? If we model caring towards each other with things just as simple as how is your day going, do you need help with anything, how did that last lesson go, I think our students would see this and learn from it. On multiple occasions when I have gone to classrooms to observe teachers they have said things like oh I wish I could go see her classroom, I’ve heard she does great things. Or comments of I’ve never seen him teach but hear he knows his stuff. Just because we are teachers does not mean we cannot still learn and learn from each other. I don’t remember who said this to me but I was told that lesson plans can always be improved. How can we as teachers expect great things from our students if we ourselves do not have those expectations for ourselves?

 

As I think and reflect on what it means to be a caring teacher I become very overwhelmed and emotional. What if I’m not good enough? I’ve already had the dreams where I start my class but no one is there, or even worse they are all present but I can’t get their attention. AH! Will I care enough about my students to help them learn and grow not just as a student but as a person? 

Why do we learn?

Why do we have education? How should we educate our children? It seems that over the years though all intentions have been good ones we still do not know the answer to the later question and at times it seems the reason for education does not reflect how we educate our children. It also seems that sometimes testing and assessment are more important or at the very least hinder learning.

There is a pendulum that swings back and forth when it comes to societies reasoning to education. At different times it meant job training, Americanization, assimilation, family/household skills which are gender specific, a focus on the three R’s (reading arithmetic, and writing), focus on math and science or a focus on the development of the child. It seemed that during each time some children might have fallen through the cracks. So how do we as a society teach to all? It seems though that when we educate one way does not work with all students. I always thought through the adults around me that education was to get us ready to be adults. Later on I realized that education is more than that. Education is and should be to better ourselves as individuals and the community we live in.

With this idea of education I would think than that education would continue throughout our lives. But when our government tried to educate a mass amount it ended up educating different groups in different ways. How now do I as a teacher move back to the idea that everyone can and should learn as a way to better themselves and the community we live in? How should I teach in the classroom to start supporting this idea of education? Especially when there are some things in place that I will have to do to keep my job that may not support this ideology. If children are the future of our society and we as a society do not support each and every one of them in their education and bettering themselves is that a moral issue or something else?

Tracking seemed to have started way back in the 1920s when it was for career tracking. Students were given an IQ test which would then help administrators and teachers know what classes they should take and what to teach them. But the test was in English possibly given to students who barely understood the questions. And the questions were at times very culturally bias as well as being just darn ridiculous. Today is tracking any better? By labeling our students correctly or incorrectly, does it help in their education or not? To put students with other students at the same developmental level does that hinder their growth or expand it? I am not sure. I can see where if you have a group of very advanced students they could do more than another class at a lower level, and stay challenged. But I also know from coaching that if I put a new player with a veteran player both will improve greatly but in different ways. The new player will gain confidence and better their skills to play the sport quicker than if they were to stay only with another new player. And the veteran player not only has to learn to communicate better with a team mate but builds self-confidence in that they have to share and partly teach what they know to the new player. Does the amount of growth, the level of thinking increase or decrease in either scenario or are they the same in a classroom of students with the same level of cognitive thinking to that of a classroom with different levels?

Do we educate to be greater, to get to the next benchmark or beat the other country in math scores? Or do we educate to personally grow and better ourselves? I finished reading a book last week that made me grow a great deal in terms of how I thought of policy making in government to reflect my own moral values but others haven’t necessarily read it or thought of this same thing. Are they less developed cognitively than I? Did I really learn something or do I need to pass a test on the book first?

I thought I had a good idea of why we educate ourselves and I thought that how we educate reflected that. Now I am not too sure. If I want my students to develop emotionally, physically and mentally when I am teaching is the education system in place the best that it can be to do that? I don’t think so. How then can I help to change the educational system that we now have to benefit our children more? I have an idea of how I want to teach but will the educational system in place help me do that? What will I have to be able to give up so to speak and still be able to teach? Is why we educate a moral issue or something else? So many questions and so few answers; must keep learning.