When I first opened up this book I thought the it would be a pretty easy read. I even brought it to the beach with me! After a few pages I realized how wrong I was. Ayers jam packs this book with his thoughts on teaching, creating a classroom community and most importantly how students learn. I am sure that this will be a book that I read many times and refer to during my teaching career. There is a potential discussion topic on almost any page in the first four chapters. I agree with Ayers on almost all of his ideas, but for this blog I will focus on some of the concepts that apply to my new job this year.
"What hopes do the kids bring?What is the language of their dreams?What experiences have they had and where do they want to go? What interests or concerns them? How have they been hurt and what are they frightened of? What larger universe awaits them?" p.25
I have been teaching for many years and I do wonder about the lives of all my students. However, this quote from Ayers really resonated with me. In my classroom I have children from Syria, who have been in the midst of a terrible war. I have children from Guatemala and El Salvador who are here to escape from the tremendous violence that is occurring in their countries. I have children who come from Liberia, Haiti, Dominican Republic, China, Philippines, Belarus and Mexico. These children come from such diverse backgrounds and each of them has their own story to tell. The difference is many of them speak little or no English. The challenge for me is to get to know them and find out their stories. To find out what their dreams are.My ELL teacher and I have already found out quite a bit of information by playing games with them and through some of their drawings but we have a long way to go. I even like the picture that goes along with this quote. Ayers jumping off a cliff. I feel the same way this year. I am taking the leap and I will be learning right along with my students.
"Teaching is an interactive practice that begins and ends with seeing the student. It is ongoing and never completely finished." p.13
It is seems like such an impossible task to get to now all of out students. It is easy to know the students who are good communicators and like to participate in class. Even the kids that act up in class receive out attention. But why are they acting up? Do we know the reasons why some our students' behave the way they do? It is our responsibility to find the answers. Then there is the student who tries so very hard to be invisible. I think that they are the hardest students of all. It is so easy to overlook them. I vow each year to to better getting to know these students but I fall short.
"Focusing on what I can't do diminishes hope and limits possibilities.It pays no attention to what I can do." p.20
I think that this is essential. There were times this summer I felt very overwhelmed when I was preparing for my new students. We have very limited material and resources, we don't teach in the best conditions. but it really shouldn't matter. If I concentrate on the negative I will miss the possibilities of what my students are capable of. Most of my student are coming to school with many strikes already against them. I agree with Patrick Finn that it is important that my students receive the same education and the same messages that students who come from more privileged and educated backgrounds are receiving.
"I want to build spaces where each person is visible to me and to everyone else - And most importantly, to themselves. Students should sense their own unique power and potential. In this classroom, each is known and understood, recognized and valued." p. 44
Before I read this book, I was playing with the idea of changing my room around. I can't change it that much because it is a science lab and the lab benches can not be moved. I also have tables instead of desks so that students can work with a partner. Ayers created a community area and I really liked this idea. I was able to create a community area this year. It is a place where the ELL teacher and myself can sit with the kids. I don't think that it is as intimidating for our student when we are sitting down with them. I am sure that this area is going to get a great deal of use. It has only been a few weeks in to the school year but we have learned a great deal about our students when we are sitting in the community area. Last semester, part of my research in Dr. Johnson's class incorporated creating a classroom community. Our goal was to get our students to feel secure and valued by one another. For the most part I thing that we had a great deal of success. I wish to continue and build on what I have already started.
"Teaching at it's best is not a matter of technique - It's primarily an act of love. p.11
I think that this quote is my favorite one of all. I think that Ayers is speaking first about the love of teaching. It is not good enough to just have good technique, you have to love to teach as well. If we want students to be excited about learning, then we have to be excited about teaching. Teachers also have to love to learn new things. We can only hope to instill the love of learning by becoming the examples for our students to follow. Finally I do believe that it is vital for teachers to love children. Students know if you care. I tell my students all the time how lucky I fell to come to school every day and teach them. They will give you more if they know that you are there for them. A few years ago one of my students told me that a substitute teacher that he had for math class that day was mean to him. I said to him, "I say those things to you all the time!" He said to me "yea but you love me." By the ideas that Ayers communicates through out these first four chapters. I think that this was the message that he is promoting.
Mary, I also love the page where Ayers is portrayed as walking blindly off the cliff. I would really love to know more about my students too, to know more about their home lives and hopes and dreams. I always feel like I am just scraping the surface. I am making this a goal for myself this year too, I started out with some getting to know you material, one piece of that being the 4-square activity (how my classmates see me, teachers see me, family sees me, and how I see myself) I created for Dr. Johnson's class. It's SO interesting doing that activity at the beginning of the year. I'm also trying hard to ignore some of the transition meeting material that was provided to us by the 6th grade team. Each year they sit down with the seventh grade teachers to discuss particular students and their strengths, weaknesses, and behaviors. Although I think this can be a good thing (in some ways), it really sets up some preconceived notions for the beginning of the year. It sounds like you took a lot of awesome suggestions from the text, I love that you set up the community area in your classroom! Here's too a hopeful and optimistic school year with loads of possibility!
ReplyDeleteMary, I LOVE the community area that you set up in your classroom. I know for me, last year every Monday we would have a check in time and bring our chairs away from the desks and form a circle, or even sometimes we would just sit on the floor, and its in that time that I learned the most about my students, and in that time that I think a lot of our community was formed. It all goes back to reaching them to teach them. I think this is especially true for the students that you are working with this year. You have to be able to reach them as kids before they will hear anything that you have to say about science. They have to feel safe with you and with each other, and then they will begin to take some risks...even if its just answering one question during class. As challenging as it is for you to take on a new role this year, I am so excited to get to watch and hear about the things that you are trying and experiences that you are having.
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