"Did I Miss Anything?"
"Did I Miss Everything?"
Last Thoughts
Tovani uses this final chapter to say that she has bad days as a teacher and that a lot happens in the classroom to distract the students and the teacher from actually getting down to learning. She faces a lot of pressure to get kids up to speed reading-wise before state tests happen, and she knows in her heart that a lot of what she does may not affect those test scores. But she believes in what she does and she does think it makes a difference overall in the education of her students, even if the state test doesn't.
She includes stanza from a poem by Tom Wayman called "Did I Miss Anything?":
Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human existence
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered
but it was one place
I like this stanza. A lot. I like that she included it. And what she had to say about it:
"Our classrooms aren't the only place where kids might learn to 'query and examine and ponder.' But they are one place, and it matters that we see how important it is to offer students the opportunity again and again to take us up on the chance to think hard about the world around them." (p. 120)
Isn't that what all of us hope to do?
I liked this book because while it offered some tips and tools to help kids maneuver through reading and get something out of it, it didn't profess to have all the answers or a script to follow or some proscribed set of objectives to fulfill. Tovani says she does not presume to know best how to run another teacher's classroom, but she does believe that good teachers are always looking for better ways to teach. I agree with her.
My mom taught school for 10 years (kindergarten) and then worked as her elementary school's counselor (read: damage control/diagnostician/surrogate parent/scapegoat) for fifteen more. She said that she wished that there was some sort of mandatory retirement plan for teachers that no longer made any effort to update lesson plans or bring something new to the classroom. She said when a teacher no longer cares if they are really reaching all the kids, then it's time to go. She's right. Why just sit there occupying the classroom if your heart isn't in it anymore?
When the microcosm you're in is no longer fascinating, it's time to move to a different one.
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| Basswood (stem) 4x objective (isn't it pretty?) |
One of the things I have learned, if a student is bored in class, sleep, does not want to learn, does not hand in assignments .... it is not necessarily because the student does not want to learn, or wants to be difficult, there is some problem. And as teachers, we are supposed to find out. That is easier said than done.
ReplyDeleteWith your example of a teacher not caring any more, and your rush to say, that she should just leave, strikes me as wrong. Clearly something has happened within the school system that made that teacher's life difficult. I would say something with the educational system is wrong, not the teacher.
I was referring to teachers that no longer try to update their lesson plans or make things interesting every year for themselves or their students. Teachers like that are burned out. I didn't say that the teacher didn't care anymore because the student was not engaged. In fact, I didn't say anything at all about a student sleeping or bored or not wanting to learn.
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ReplyDeleteTwo statements I really, really like in your blog; one by Tovani and one by you.
ReplyDelete"But she believes in what she does and she does think it makes a difference overall in the education of her students. . ." We gotta believe on some level we do teach/coach/help/learn for something that includes and is also beyond our own satisfaction. When some us do for others, in turn the satisfaction can be shared for us and them.
"When the microcosm you're in is no longer fascinating, it's time to move to a different one." Some of us would define this as living, leaving the comfort zone to explore the unknown microcosm, see if it has green grass too.
I LOVE this, "Contained in this classroom
ReplyDeleteis a microcosm of human existence
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered
but it was one place." It is such a great way to look at learning. I has such a positive message and makes education seem so important (which it is). I saved this poem on my computer because it is so inspirational.
I LOVE this, "Contained in this classroom
ReplyDeleteis a microcosm of human existence
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered
but it was one place." It is such a great way to look at learning. I has such a positive message and makes education seem so important (which it is). I saved this poem on my computer because it is so inspirational.
I like when authors give their views and accept that they don't have all the answers. I think it is important for teachers to always look for new ways to help students. It is true what works for one teacher not necessarily works for another.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Gordon on " if a student is bored in class, sleep, does not want to learn, does not hand in assignments .... it is not necessarily because the student does not want to learn, or wants to be difficult, there is some problem." like many other people students might be in a time period that have difficulties in their family or in their life in general. Therefore we need be able to help them and figure what their problems are.
ReplyDelete