 |
| Photo from Microsoft Clip Art |
This week’s reading talked about leading from any chair. I really enjoyed this chapter because I think that as a teacher it is important to understand where a student is coming from also. It is vital that we get their feedback so that we can ensure that we are teaching and they are learning to their full potential. At the end of every quarter I give surveys about the class and I ask them anonymously to give as much specific feedback as possible. This takes some level of maturity because at the high school level I get things like: we want naptime, we should have no homework, school should be optional and what about smoke breaks? Once I get past that crap, I really get to hear what they like to see in the classroom, what helps them and what I can improve for their behalf.
Last year at the end of the year instead of reviewing all of the semester myself, the students each had to pick a chapter to teach. I got to sit back and as a “student” visualize what works in the classroom, what doesn’t keep my attention, and what new things to try. It was an awesome experience and every single group admitted that teaching was harder than they thought it would be. Some students were mad that they had to keep quieting down everyone; that was the funniest part of the experience.
The calculating self is my worst enemy. I definitely need to lighten up and I love the rule number 6. I think that it is very easy to be your own worst critic. I know that one of my biggest faults is being a perfectionist. I think that nothing humbles a person like being a teacher. I learn new things from my students all of the time and they call me out daily. It is the best remedy for the disease. I love the story about June. As a Christian it makes me think about what my mom used to tell me about praying. Don’t pray to change that man, pray that our heart would change towards that man. We can’t change everything and everyone else around us, but we can change how we react, deal, and live with things around us.
I really like the author’s point of view about dealing with the here and now. I think that it is really important to acknowledge what is happening before you can deal with it. I think of my students that whine and complain about every little thing and then are incapable of completing anything. We are not promised tomorrow, so we need to live in the present and deal with it realistically. This includes bad things and mistakes. These shape us as much as anything else and we must accept them in order to learn from them.
I LOVE the two steps to giving way to passion. I think of two things when I think of living with passion. The first way is living for God. This is something that you have to let take hold of you and you have to be willing to be shaped into whatever He would use you for. The other thing I think about is singing. When I step on stage, the lights hit me, and the rhythm guitar starts, I have to give myself completely to the music and get out of my head. Some of my best performances were when I was signing with all of my heart, not all of the notes were perfect, but the passion came through in the music. It moved people. This is how we should live our lives with everything that we do. This is the reason that my husband opened his own store, passion. This is the reason that I teach, passion. Without passion in our lives and work it would be easy to get bogged down and get complacent.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your analogy about giving into passion while singing. I do that too (not on stage though). I can also see that teaching has to be a passion as well. I mostly took away the part about passion and living in the now. I wish I could jump right into my dreams and let passion lead. I’m too scared I guess. It’s the financial stability of having a 40 hour job that keeps me in my office.
The idea about having students review the lessons is great. I’m sure it was very humbling. That was a very tricky way to get feedback. Congrats on being able to step away and let that happen.
I have been seeing a trend of how to think of things/people that I don’t necessarily like a different way. It is full of peaceful serenity. I wish I could share this book with everyone.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteReading your comments about how you get lost in the moment on stage was very relatable, not because I sing but I understand that mental space. As a designer I lose myself on a regular basis in my work. I think that mental space has different names depending on the activity like "being in the zone" or "runner's high" but the concept is the same, that moment where nothing else matters except the thing your doing simply for the satisfaction of doing it.
Have you ever encountered someone who seems to have no passion? I wonder sometimes when people who say they have no passion in life truly have no passion or just can't see it..
Jess,
ReplyDeleteI am with Hutch in saying that I can relate to getting lost in music even though I am not a musician. As he mentions, getting lost in whatever you are passionate about is an amazing experience. How many times have I lost track of time while photographing or sitting in a coffee shop with a friend catching up? Loosing ourselves in the moment is an incredible experience and something I strive for in all my creative endeavors. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
Hutch's comment about seeing someone without passion is an intriguing thought. Sitting here now, I can't think of anyone that is passionless. I know people that don't embrace it or feel guilty about it or even try and avoid it altogether, but I don't think I know anyone that doesn't have passions. Although, as he pointed out, it might be visible to us, just not them.
Great post Jess,
ReplyDeleteI think the things that you are doing with your class captures what the author is talking about. Having students do the teaching, and your ideas on self reflection definitely are what we need to be doing to make our teaching/learning environments come alive for our students. I probably would have enjoyed high school, well the going to class part, if I had a teacher like you. Great Job!
I have the same struggle every day with high schoolers, Jessica… It takes you a huge amount of energy just by dealing with all the whining before you get to start the class and be able to help the students with some knowledge for their future.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that we have to examine ourselves first before you try to change someone else. We can point to others if we haven’t seen our own mistakes. As educators we need that have that humility to accept criticism on our work, whether from ourselves of your supervisor.
There is nothing worse for me than the “class observation day.” I get so nervous because I will be having someone in my class that will give me feedback on my teaching skills and sometimes we don’t want to hear them. In the other hand, I know that that feedback will help me to become a better professional and teacher. I will be able to reach out my students better fulfilling their needs. It is said the two pair of eyes is better that one. So keep up with the good work and you will see that when we are focused to improve ourselves for others, the reward will be greater than we have ever imagine.
Great review/summary of the parts of this week's reading that meant the most to you.
ReplyDelete