9/23 Entrance Slip

 The article by Sharon Kallis rang true for me. I often like to think about where the things we have came from. To go to the grocery store and find a piece of produce and imagine the journey that it has been through to arrive at a super market is an amazing and terrifying thought experiment. The society we have constructed allows us to enjoy many blessings we would otherwise not have access to, but you have to wonder at what cost? I have often encouraged my parents to cultivate a garden on our property but there simply isn't enough room. I had never even considered that we could create more complex things for ourselves. Even having done things such as pottery, knitting, woodworking etc. I still never would even consider doing one of those things over the convenience of simply paying for it. Kallis encourages us to think of what we would be gaining from backsourcing over what we would be losing. This change of perspective is essential for understanding the value of what she is trying to encourage. 

As for the videos, I enjoyed viewing the different techniques and look forward to trying them in class tomorrow. I have seen the process of yarn making before. And the "simple" Turkish lace seems like a similar technique to knitting. The last video, the multi strand braid is new to me. I have seen braiding done before but not that specific braid (7 strand double braid). 

9/16 Exit Slip

 I thoroughly enjoyed our outdoor experience in class yesterday. I liked both the drawing and physical activities with the sun. I think the outdoor class setting possesses unique attributes that can’t be found in any indoor classrooms. The outdoor classroom facilitated conversation between people. In a classroom you are usually stuck next to a few people who you can interact with, whereas outdoors we were able to walk around and interact with different groups while being able to speak and listen at a reasonable volume. In high school, going outside in physics usually meant a fun demo, which I will definitely repeat with my students. Additionally, after yesterday’s drawing experience I am beginning to think about more activities (other than demos) that can be conducted outside that involve physics content. 

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.

First Class Exit Slip: Frank McCourt

 The video and subsequent group discussion about Frank McCourt were very inspiring to an aspiring teacher. The thing that struck me most is Frank's ability to connect with his students on a personal level. In the video Frank describes how he got students to talk about subjects they didn't like by encouraging them to list the reasons why they hated them. Rather then encouraging them to like the book they were reading or describing the good parts of the books to try and convince them otherwise, he engages them by supporting the feelings that they have. Through this method he was actually able to discuss a subject (that they had no interest in discussing) and probably forced them to think deeply about the material, even if that thinking was thinking of reasons they dislike it. Another instance of this method is Susan's anecdote about the late slips and obituaries. Again, Frank changes his curriculum to suit his students' desires and was able to teach the things he wants to teach (likely spelling, grammar, etc.) but in a way that was more accessible to the students. Frank is only able to make these connections with his students by being open and honest with them. This connection is likely a hard one to make, but achieving a deeper relationship will almost always improve the quality of the education provided. He describes how his accent often provoked conversation about his past which he would happily share with his students. By sharing about his past he further nurtures the relationship that he is building. He mentions that being a teacher can sometimes feel similar to being an actor, that you enter a room and play a role, an authoritative commanding figure. He says that this style is not sustainable. You cannot maintain a role or an act for 30 years. In order to connect with students in a deeper way you have to be yourself and share some part of yourself with the students. The final thing that I wanted to mention was the scale of the impact that Frank had. In the video he mentions that he taught 11,000 students over the course of his career. While we often reiterate that teaching is an important profession because we are in charge of educating the future generations, hearing that number really puts that into perspective. Thinking about how much of an impact my best teachers had on me, it is clear to me that Frank McCourt, and other great teachers, can undoubtedly change the future.

Hello World

 This is my new blog!

Here is a picture of a tiger.