I do not think dispositions are things that can necessarily be taught. They are things that occur within individuals at different times and ways. Dispositions can be affected by individuals, but it's not going to be taught through memorization. Then again, by forcing students to memorize will contribute to their disposition because they will have some sort of response to this procedure. Every child will be different, but they will all reflect different dispositions based on the given situation.
The reason we have so many people majoring in different areas are because of their individual uniqueness. I think that dispositions are reflective of this uniqueness found in each individual. Although we as teachers can try to follow the correct dispositions of teachers, until it is a true disposition and not just a suggestion of a disposition, we will not have what it takes. By this I mean that in our college classes, if our teachers inform us on the most effective teaching practices, but we don't whole-heartedly believe it, we will be doing ourselves and our students no favor.
On the other hand, I think that sometimes, if you want to believe something bad enough, it can be incorporated into who you are as a person. But this calls for a strong desire to occur and if you don't have the right disposition to have that desire to change, it's not going to happen. For instance, I know that I'll have trouble with my confidence in the classroom, but I know that I need to be confident with myself if I am to be the best teacher I can be. Therefore, with time and energy invested in becoming confident, I can change my disposition through what I learned. I do not think that everyone who learns that it's important to be confident can adapt that disposition. As I said before, you need the desire to change in order to do so. Unless something drastic happens to you as a person that reorganizes your whole dispositional demeanor.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Resilience
How do we prevent teachers from quitting their profession three years down the road. I think the answer to this lies in experience. An individual can want to be a teacher very strongly, but until they actually experience it, they will never know if it is right for them or not. I think teachers are a key component to helping students on whether or not they should become teachers or not. Often times, but not always, other teachers can recognize good teachers from potentially harmful ones and I believe that it's education professors' responsibilities to let students know if education isn't the major for them. If the student doesn't take it seriously, they may end up as one of those teachers who quits three years down the road.
I think the most important way to prevent teachers who become ex-teachers from occurring is to provide as much experience as possible. Students need to know what it feels like to be in charge of a group of kids. They need to know what it feels like to be the only one responsible for what those students will learn that year. Although this seems like it can only be accomplished through teaching, there are other ways of gaining experience. For example, getting involved in community outreach groups that deal with kids. Any exposure to being a leader of a group of kids can have a huge affect on if you are to be a teacher or not. If a future teacher avoids these situations which give them experience, they will never know if teaching is right for them or not.
As future teachers, it's our duty to see if this is the major we really want to be involved in. If we don't take the initiative to gain experience, we'll never know until it's too late. So my advice would be to get involved with the school systems around you. Volunteer to help out at schools, tutor, find any chance you can get to deal with the kids that you intend to have a job working with. Unless students are pushed to explore these experiences, teachers will continue to go into their profession and quit. I think colleges can affect this as well. By requiring more classroom experience of students, the students will be forced to find out if that's what they really want to do or not. I think Ed. 185/115 is a great example of this. But this cannot be the only experience we settle for. We must look further and deeper.
I think the most important way to prevent teachers who become ex-teachers from occurring is to provide as much experience as possible. Students need to know what it feels like to be in charge of a group of kids. They need to know what it feels like to be the only one responsible for what those students will learn that year. Although this seems like it can only be accomplished through teaching, there are other ways of gaining experience. For example, getting involved in community outreach groups that deal with kids. Any exposure to being a leader of a group of kids can have a huge affect on if you are to be a teacher or not. If a future teacher avoids these situations which give them experience, they will never know if teaching is right for them or not.
As future teachers, it's our duty to see if this is the major we really want to be involved in. If we don't take the initiative to gain experience, we'll never know until it's too late. So my advice would be to get involved with the school systems around you. Volunteer to help out at schools, tutor, find any chance you can get to deal with the kids that you intend to have a job working with. Unless students are pushed to explore these experiences, teachers will continue to go into their profession and quit. I think colleges can affect this as well. By requiring more classroom experience of students, the students will be forced to find out if that's what they really want to do or not. I think Ed. 185/115 is a great example of this. But this cannot be the only experience we settle for. We must look further and deeper.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Humility
I think humility is one of the most important qualities a teacher must possess. When teachers can admit they're wrong, they have become a better teacher in doing so. If you can tell students they are wrong when they are wrong, they need to be able to tell you when you're wrong too. In order to develop a respecting and meaningful relationship with your students, you need to recognize when you've messed up. If you don't, your students will become frustrated with you and may not respect you as much.
My boyfriend is constantly making me humble myself. Sometimes I try to act like I know more than him, but then he catches me on something and proves me wrong. It's really hard to give in and say he's right because sometimes I feel like my ego is threatened. However, I actually feel better when i do admit I'm wrong. Everyone is wrong sometimes, and we can't learn unless we admit we are wrong sometimes. If we go along believing that the sky is red and refuse to let anyone tell us otherwise, we are hindering our own learning development. We need to never be afraid to question ourselves and never be afraid to acknowledge what other people say about us.
Teachers need to find the balance. We can't be right all of the time. Usually, if we're wrong sometimes, it humanizes us to our students and helps them relate to us. Instead of being the teacher who knows everything, we're a person who knows a lot about life, but not everything. Yet, if we don't know anything and are constantly being humiliated, that's not good. Teachers need to be credible because we're teaching information that needs to take students throughout their educational careers. Also, if we once in a while admit to our faults, students will be more likely to believe and understand us because if we're right all of the time and refuse to be wrong if we are, students will not know when we are telling the truth and when we are not. When we admit our faults, students will know that when we know something, we know it, and when we don't, we admit to it. Students will follow a teacher like this much better than one who is always right or always wrong.
My boyfriend is constantly making me humble myself. Sometimes I try to act like I know more than him, but then he catches me on something and proves me wrong. It's really hard to give in and say he's right because sometimes I feel like my ego is threatened. However, I actually feel better when i do admit I'm wrong. Everyone is wrong sometimes, and we can't learn unless we admit we are wrong sometimes. If we go along believing that the sky is red and refuse to let anyone tell us otherwise, we are hindering our own learning development. We need to never be afraid to question ourselves and never be afraid to acknowledge what other people say about us.
Teachers need to find the balance. We can't be right all of the time. Usually, if we're wrong sometimes, it humanizes us to our students and helps them relate to us. Instead of being the teacher who knows everything, we're a person who knows a lot about life, but not everything. Yet, if we don't know anything and are constantly being humiliated, that's not good. Teachers need to be credible because we're teaching information that needs to take students throughout their educational careers. Also, if we once in a while admit to our faults, students will be more likely to believe and understand us because if we're right all of the time and refuse to be wrong if we are, students will not know when we are telling the truth and when we are not. When we admit our faults, students will know that when we know something, we know it, and when we don't, we admit to it. Students will follow a teacher like this much better than one who is always right or always wrong.
Collaborativeness
Collaboration is an important part of being a teacher. If teachers don't collaborate with one another, their teaching will never change and their students will never benefit. If we never change our teaching, we won't grow as teachers and we won't be teaching to our fullest potential. Collaboration allows us to grow because when we converse with other teachers, we become open to many different ways of teaching. We can incorporate some ideas and we can dismiss others and hopefully, in the process, our teaching will grow into a strong act.
Collaboration is different from group work and cooperative learning because in both of these situations, the work is inflicted upon a group of people. it's not voluntary. Group work can be a negative experience because in a group, people may choose not to do the work, thus leaving it up to one or two people in the group to carry all of them. Group work is when you have something to accomplish and have to consistently converse to reach that goal. This is different from collaboration because although collaboration does contribute to the development of teachers, it is not a goal-oriented act. Collaboration happens on its own most of the time, and it consists of one or more individuals conversing over one or many subjects. Collaboration is when a group of individuals plays ping pong with ideas until they find one worthy of implementing into a real situation. Group work is not so much.
Cooperative learning and collaboration can be easily confused as well. Cooperative learning refers to multiple individuals working together to learn something in or more areas. Again, this is different from collaboration in that collaboration is not meant to learn something new, but inevitably, learning is the result. Also, in cooperative learning, there are answers for things. Collaborating has no answers. All that happens in collaboration is the bouncing of ideas off of one another and then testing those ideas to see if they work. There is no perfect solution to teaching, which is why collaboration is so important. Although we may not get to that point of being a "perfect" teacher, collaboration will get us closer to accomplishing that.
Collaboration is different from group work and cooperative learning because in both of these situations, the work is inflicted upon a group of people. it's not voluntary. Group work can be a negative experience because in a group, people may choose not to do the work, thus leaving it up to one or two people in the group to carry all of them. Group work is when you have something to accomplish and have to consistently converse to reach that goal. This is different from collaboration because although collaboration does contribute to the development of teachers, it is not a goal-oriented act. Collaboration happens on its own most of the time, and it consists of one or more individuals conversing over one or many subjects. Collaboration is when a group of individuals plays ping pong with ideas until they find one worthy of implementing into a real situation. Group work is not so much.
Cooperative learning and collaboration can be easily confused as well. Cooperative learning refers to multiple individuals working together to learn something in or more areas. Again, this is different from collaboration in that collaboration is not meant to learn something new, but inevitably, learning is the result. Also, in cooperative learning, there are answers for things. Collaborating has no answers. All that happens in collaboration is the bouncing of ideas off of one another and then testing those ideas to see if they work. There is no perfect solution to teaching, which is why collaboration is so important. Although we may not get to that point of being a "perfect" teacher, collaboration will get us closer to accomplishing that.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Efficacy
In order to become a highly effective teacher, one must be self-aware, confident, persistent, have a good work ethic, and believe in one's ability. This are important because if we aren't self-aware, then we won't be able to judge ourselves and change the way we teach for the better. It's not a huge deal if we are perfect teachers right off the bat, but that never happens, so we need to be ready to reflect on ourselves and change the way we do things so that we can better accommodate our students. If we fail to be confident in ourselves, that also poses problems as a teacher. If we aren't confident, then kids are going to walk all over us. It's like when you are in a group of friends and you only say things that you know they are going to like. Although this may work for a while, you'll never be the best friend you can be, just as you can never be the best teacher you can be unless you are confident being who you are in every situation.
If we are persistent as teachers, this means we never give up. This is an important quality because if we don't try to help students out, students will never change while they are in your classrooms. To be good teachers, we need to let kids know that we won't give up on them. If they know this, then they will be better students because they feel a connection and a reason to be there. Not only persistence, but work ethic is key. As future teachers, we are role models for children, and we need to show how hard work pays off. If we are a good example of this, students will catch on and hopefully work hard themselves in more areas than your own.
If we don't believe in ourselves, how are we supposed to expect our students to believe in themselves. If we think we're a lousy teacher, then we'll be a lousy teacher, just like students who believe they are worthless, become worthless. Belief is at the center of learning, living, and caring. if we don't believe, we fail. Everything starts small, just as small as a belief, but it is capable of tremendously big things.
I think a lot of these attributes will be attained through experience. I think knowing about them is the first step to implementing them into you as a person, but in order to actually establish these values into ourselves, we must try. By forcing ourselves to believe in ourselves, we will eventually believe in ourselves, even if we don't at first. We must work hard to have a good work ethic and we must always, always, always be open minded. Without noting our own struggles and short comings, we will never be as affective as the one who does take note of these. As future teachers, we must always be aware of ourselves in our journey to becoming a teacher. For without it, our journey will come up short.
If we are persistent as teachers, this means we never give up. This is an important quality because if we don't try to help students out, students will never change while they are in your classrooms. To be good teachers, we need to let kids know that we won't give up on them. If they know this, then they will be better students because they feel a connection and a reason to be there. Not only persistence, but work ethic is key. As future teachers, we are role models for children, and we need to show how hard work pays off. If we are a good example of this, students will catch on and hopefully work hard themselves in more areas than your own.
If we don't believe in ourselves, how are we supposed to expect our students to believe in themselves. If we think we're a lousy teacher, then we'll be a lousy teacher, just like students who believe they are worthless, become worthless. Belief is at the center of learning, living, and caring. if we don't believe, we fail. Everything starts small, just as small as a belief, but it is capable of tremendously big things.
I think a lot of these attributes will be attained through experience. I think knowing about them is the first step to implementing them into you as a person, but in order to actually establish these values into ourselves, we must try. By forcing ourselves to believe in ourselves, we will eventually believe in ourselves, even if we don't at first. We must work hard to have a good work ethic and we must always, always, always be open minded. Without noting our own struggles and short comings, we will never be as affective as the one who does take note of these. As future teachers, we must always be aware of ourselves in our journey to becoming a teacher. For without it, our journey will come up short.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Creativity
Creativity. Where would we be without it? It's through creativity and individual originality that virtually everything in human existence has occurred. The you tube video was an amazing speech and it really was interesting to hear what he had to say about education and creativity. Perhaps the most interesting part of the whole speech to me was when he talked about Jillian who most likely had adhd and instead of being put on medication, was told to go to a dance school, where she flourished. I found this extremely interesting because I've never really agreed with medicating those with so-called "disabilities", but our society is so structured into classrooms where children are told to sit still all day and regurgitate information that the idea of sending a child to a dance studio in place of school is out of the question. However, each and every one of us is unique, so why wouldn't we want to do our best to cater to each and every one of our talents/abilities?
I also thought i was really interesting that he said our schools don't work the body, they work the mind, and mostly one side of the mind. I've been thinking about this for a while because I think that nutrition and exercise are essential parts of every person and that if we don't take care of ourselves physically, we will be worse off mentally. This can be contributed to the idea Ted explains as education taking away creativity. His first statements about how mistakes are viewed as bad things in school take away creativity in children. I think this is absolutely true. Individuals are scared to fail and miss a spelling word. Schools try to make every individual the same because they expect all children to learn information at the same time, perform at the same level, and show the same amount of discipline. It's quite ridiculous if you ask me.
I found that in my elementary school, some individuals were told that they were really creative. Creativity and Imagination is only encouraged in schools when children show talent in it. For instance, in art and music, if you can't draw a good picture or perform good music, teachers don't think you're creative. I have found that the individuals that are not as affected by the classroom are then ones that are most creative. By this I mean that if a student doesn't perform extremely well in the classroom and doesn't take it to heart isn't afraid to try new things because they are already know they're not the top of their class so what do they have to lose? It's a personality trait. Those who have a nag for creativity will be creative, while those who aren't talented will become classroom junkies.
I think that creativity and imagination above all else should be encouraged in the classrooms for the 21st century. Our world is changing and revolutionizing and in order to come up with new ways of doing things and help our world out for the better, we need creative individuals. If our world gets stuck in science and math, what good are those professions without imagination. We need to be creative and if schools are discouraging this, our world could be affected as a whole. Our school systems need to be restructured.
I also thought i was really interesting that he said our schools don't work the body, they work the mind, and mostly one side of the mind. I've been thinking about this for a while because I think that nutrition and exercise are essential parts of every person and that if we don't take care of ourselves physically, we will be worse off mentally. This can be contributed to the idea Ted explains as education taking away creativity. His first statements about how mistakes are viewed as bad things in school take away creativity in children. I think this is absolutely true. Individuals are scared to fail and miss a spelling word. Schools try to make every individual the same because they expect all children to learn information at the same time, perform at the same level, and show the same amount of discipline. It's quite ridiculous if you ask me.
I found that in my elementary school, some individuals were told that they were really creative. Creativity and Imagination is only encouraged in schools when children show talent in it. For instance, in art and music, if you can't draw a good picture or perform good music, teachers don't think you're creative. I have found that the individuals that are not as affected by the classroom are then ones that are most creative. By this I mean that if a student doesn't perform extremely well in the classroom and doesn't take it to heart isn't afraid to try new things because they are already know they're not the top of their class so what do they have to lose? It's a personality trait. Those who have a nag for creativity will be creative, while those who aren't talented will become classroom junkies.
I think that creativity and imagination above all else should be encouraged in the classrooms for the 21st century. Our world is changing and revolutionizing and in order to come up with new ways of doing things and help our world out for the better, we need creative individuals. If our world gets stuck in science and math, what good are those professions without imagination. We need to be creative and if schools are discouraging this, our world could be affected as a whole. Our school systems need to be restructured.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Reflection
I did not like Monday's class at all. It was totally frustrating and infuriating. I was a part of one of the groups that did not support the No Child Left Behind Plan. It was frustrating because everyone in the other groups actually acted like more assessment was the way to go. I don' t think I could have done that good of a job of role playing if I had been in their shoes. It was also irritating because if something like what we modeled were to actually happen in real life and succeed, I think that would be the only thing that would make me stop being a teacher. If I had to teach kids only for assessment, that would ruin the whole teaching experience for me.
I also felt like I had some really valid points, but I can never get a word in edgewise with anyone in our class. As for the professors, it was frustrating because it was hard at first to take them seriously, but they did such a good job of role modeling that it just really started to piss me off.
I think role modeling is effective if you want kids to get passionate about something. My face felt red hot as I walked out of that class Monday night because I felt helpless and angry. It's an awful feeling and I hope I never have to feel it in that type of a situation again. As in, I hope when I become a teacher, there is never a meeting that is striving for the outcome this role modeling activity was striving for.
I also felt like I had some really valid points, but I can never get a word in edgewise with anyone in our class. As for the professors, it was frustrating because it was hard at first to take them seriously, but they did such a good job of role modeling that it just really started to piss me off.
I think role modeling is effective if you want kids to get passionate about something. My face felt red hot as I walked out of that class Monday night because I felt helpless and angry. It's an awful feeling and I hope I never have to feel it in that type of a situation again. As in, I hope when I become a teacher, there is never a meeting that is striving for the outcome this role modeling activity was striving for.
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