Wow. If someone handed me a teaching contract this afternoon after having read Chapter 4, I would probably sit down, rock back and forth and cry. I have always appreciated Christenbury's honesty and practicality, but this chapter was an invitation to reconsider everything I ever thought about teaching. I guess the hopeless romantic in me always thinks of the troubled class/student with the "Freedom Writers" mentality. Sure, they will be bad and mean, but if I just make them write in a journal, they will be forever changed and we'll all hold hands and sing Kumbaya at the end of the school year. I guess deep down I know that's not the reality, but its certainly more comfortable than this chapter was.
The part I appreciated the most was early on (probably before the panic set in) when she comments on the desperate need of young people to have authentic, real and effective relationships with adults - that at the heart of every classroom is an interaction with students and the challenge to motivate them to learn, to be better and to make something of themselves.
I want to be the kind of teacher that is able to reach all of my students. I want to make an impact on the alienated student. I want to know the right things to say, the right "assignments" to give, the right ways to really connect to them. But the honest truth is that I have no earthly idea how to do it. I wasn't an alienated student. I have a hard time identifying with the mentality of an alienated student and I don't know how to meet them where they are. And on top of it all, I don't know how to do that AND interact with all of my other students.
I liked Christenbury's ideas such as Big Bucks and some of the others on how to reach difficult students. Like Stan, I don't want to make excuses for lazy students or pamper them into doing what I want them to do, but somehow we have to find ways to motivate them. I guess its hard to know what I would do in these situations until I'm actually there, crying tears of frustration b/c I can't get someone to even stay awake for 5 minutes.
Btw, I hated the baseball analogy.
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6 comments:
I try to avoid the movies like "Frredum Writters" (misspelling intentional) because they give teachers a false sense of hope. Wouldn't it be great! Ah...
Just likes schemes like "Big Bucks" give students a false sense of the real world. I know I'm being synical, but eventually I will have to do the dog-and-pony show or NCLB will leave NTLB (No Teachers Left Behind). I just hope I can do it by making the material fun to learn and applicable to the real world. Shouldn't that be enough?
~Stan
It SHOULD be enough, Stan. Then again, shouldn't parents care more? Shouldn't teachers get paid more? Shouldn't I be allowed to date 2 girls at once? Nevermind, that would be too much to handle, but my point is still valid. Hopefully your teaching WILL be enough, but in some worst case scenario classes, hopefully we will be able to reach outside the box and try something a little iffy...and maybe it will work.
Oh yeah, and my original intent on commenting here: What was wrong with the baseball analogy? I rather enjoyed it, and it helped me understand her point.
I don't know....it just seemed a bit cheezy and overdone to me. I'm not discrediting the idea or even the book, but it wasn't a good "anticipatory set" for me.
Fair enough. I know sports analogies can sometimes leave groups of people out, or perhaps this one just didn't seem accurate. I was just curious, thanks.
I'm w/ you t&a. Lets not baby people. It does give them a sense of hope though when you care about them.
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