“Leading
from any chair”
My
classroom does not have a teacher’s desk. I move around the room as I give
lessons. A Montessori classroom teacher is called a “guide.” Hopefully, we
guide the students or direct them. Zander’s book has so many aspects that
really resonate with me.
My students eating lunch.
_____________________________________________________________
“Rule
number 6”
After
reading this chapter I feel my challenge is to lighten up. I do agree that
being able to lighten up enables one to be in a positive energy place. Whatever
my energy is I can see how much it impacts my students. Every morning as I
arrive at school I take a moment to leave behind my personal world and ready my
body and spirit for my students.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?ex=2&qu=nature%20beauty#ai:MP900438627|mt:2|
____________________________________________________________
“The
way things are”
The
strongest point that resonated with me was
being with the way things are by clearing judgments. I can be judgmental,
and this is a negative trait that I continually work towards changing.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=judgement&ctt=1#ai:MP900431333|mt:2|
_____________________________________________________________
“Giving
way to passion”
Dare to let go. This is great advice
that everyone should follow. If we let go we can experience new ideas. Those
ideas can take us many places. So date to
let go.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?ex=2&qu=passion#ai:MP900407290|mt:0|
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MY COMMENTS ON REBECCA'S WEEK 3 READING POST
URL:
URL:
http://engageandmotivate.blogspot.com/
Wk 3 - Reading Entry
Leading from any Chair, Rule #6, the Way Things Are, and Giving Way to
Passion all present information that is true and helpful, but in no way
unique or new to me.
I
challenge my students every year to fully participate in class. I
encourage them to question not just the scientific content, but the text
itself and also my discussion and presentation. I want them to be
empowered to fully participate in their learning and transition from
elementary/middle school learning of reading, memorizing, and then
repeating what they learned on a test. I hope to help them find ways to
inquire, wonder, and explore their world and not just rely on another
source to impart knowledge to them.
In order for me to truly welcome the questioning I encourage, I always need to remember not to take myself too seriously. I have become comfortable telling the students when I don't know the answer to a question. I give them ideas for resources for them to research the answer and ask them to share what they learn with the class. I do not find this a failure of teaching, rather I would have enjoyed having more teachers in my academic experience who could have admitted that they didn't know instead of dismissing my questions. I feel this demonstrates to my students that we are all still learning and working together to discover new information.
This give and take in my class keeps me interested and excited to teach the same subject year after year. The experience in my class is never the same and there are new scientific discoveries all the time. It is easy to be passionate about what I do. I love working with teenagers who are really craving to be engaged.
We start off as "one buttock" students...remember being that 5 year old
who can barely keep their seat as your hand pumps in the air with an
"oh, oh, oh" because you had the answer or a burning question? Over the
years, we are taught to sit in our seat, raise our hand appropriately,
and be quiet so you will be called upon. On the contrary, I want my
students compelled to answer or ask questions. I love seeing their
interest in a subject ignited so that they sit up straight and their
hand shoots in the air...in many cases my students will blurt out
answers or respond to each other directly. For many this may seem like
chaos in a classroom, but in not taking myself too seriously, I know how
controlled chaos can create a dynamic learning environment.
I
challenge my students every year to fully participate in class. I
encourage them to question not just the scientific content, but the text
itself and also my discussion and presentation. I want them to be
empowered to fully participate in their learning and transition from
elementary/middle school learning of reading, memorizing, and then
repeating what they learned on a test. I hope to help them find ways to
inquire, wonder, and explore their world and not just rely on another
source to impart knowledge to them. In order for me to truly welcome the questioning I encourage, I always need to remember not to take myself too seriously. I have become comfortable telling the students when I don't know the answer to a question. I give them ideas for resources for them to research the answer and ask them to share what they learn with the class. I do not find this a failure of teaching, rather I would have enjoyed having more teachers in my academic experience who could have admitted that they didn't know instead of dismissing my questions. I feel this demonstrates to my students that we are all still learning and working together to discover new information.
This give and take in my class keeps me interested and excited to teach the same subject year after year. The experience in my class is never the same and there are new scientific discoveries all the time. It is easy to be passionate about what I do. I love working with teenagers who are really craving to be engaged.
- Rebecca I love your point of not taking yourself too seriously.I have been in my classroom and realized that I need to take a breath and let go of whatever it maybe. Challenging,supporting and building self-esteem in all students are my goals. At times that means I need to not take myself too seriously.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
MY COMMENTS ON PETE'S WEEK 3 READING POST
URL:
http://petemonth11.blogspot.com/
Monday, June 11, 2012
Week 3 Blog Post on The Art of Possibility (5-8)
The Toscanini reference in chapter 5 reminded me of a few leaders I have known and actally made me laugh out loud. That said, the idea in this chapter, that a leader is transparent enough to be honest to those he or she leads is important. While I believe the aged proverb that “only the fool vents all that is in his heart,” there is a place for being transparent about our mistakes. This week’s readings also gave me images of Zander’s style as seen in portions of the TED video; especially in the way he quietly relates to his audience.As not taking yourself too seriously is always great advice, I appreciated the idea that the context of this admonition is also important. I also related to the image of the child who “needs the care of competent people to make it through.” In teaching, this is absolutely true. The more competent the educator, the more thoughtful they are in dealing with the demands and “entitlements” of students. Our audiences come with baggage from various journeys, don’t they?As chapter 7 focused on the way things are and our next step, I jotted down the idea that “Mistakes are like ice. If we resist, then we may keep slipping into a posture of defeat.” The other option of including mistakes in our definition of performance I heartily agree with. I think technology courses must include the option of trying and failing as a part of the process. There is a time and place for assessment as last week’s posts indicated. I liked the image of “gliding” when we don’t resist and include failing as a part of the process.Finally, the image of the “one buttock” technique came back to me from the TED video. When applied to leading and instructing, this tends to pull the audience into what we are passionate about. The different ways of interpreting a musical line at different ages of life was also a great picture of how we mature into this way of “performing.”
Great comment about mistakes and ice..just can't really resist making mistakes or walking on ice. The image of gliding is awesome.
Melinda -
ReplyDeleteI found your lack of "teacher desk" to be an interesting concept. In prior years, I didn't spend much time at my desk because I was constantly moving amongst my students and leading group discussions, etc. This year, my desk became my sanctuary. When I became overwhelmed, I hid. I'm not proud of that. Where do you go in your room when you need to escape for a few minutes? :)
I also appreciated what you said about leaving your personal world behind when you walk in the door. I do wonder how much my students picked up while I was going through my health issues and my frustration with teaching to the FCAT (and maybe even FSU stress!). I will make a conscious effort to "ready my mind" for my students. I love that.
We can sure learn a lot from the Montessori method of teaching. I'm so glad we had the opportunity this year to get to know each other and learn from each other. Onward!