September 14, 2021

Entrance Slip for Class 2 (9/16)

    The ideas presented in this article are relevant and applicable even though it was written in a different time and place. The article urges teachers to be reflective as opposed to unreflective. This means we must be open-minded, responsible, and whole hearted: open-minded enough to hear all sides and viewpoints, responsible enough to consider the impact of our actions on students, and wholehearted enough to take ownership of what we are doing. The authors urge us to question our existing beliefs, similar to what is described in “Teacher as Stranger” by Maxine Greene. This particular idea rings true to me. Even as a student I always hated to hear that we were doing something “because that’s the way it has always been done”. It has always been my opinion that the answer should be that we are doing something in a way “because it's the best way we know how to do it”. In order to find the best way we must constantly reassess and revisit, we must experiment and try new things. These ideas and concepts will be invaluable to teacher inquiries. We must be able to look at ourselves as a stranger, to analyze our methods without our biases. We must be able to put ourselves into the shoes of our students and understand their perspectives. As teachers we need to be constantly critical of ourselves and each other as well as the education system as a whole if we are to continue improving. Nothing must be taken for granted.