This is one of the hardest "reflections" I have had to do in the Ed School so far - because I put so much pressure on myself to come up with some great image- and to prove to myself all of its aspects as the semester goes on. I debated some of the ideas that were provided as examples (lifeguard, gardener, etc), and realized that it is really hard for me to pick just one, and also that when it comes to teaching - my ambition often leads me to bite off more than I can chew. I want the perfect place for my kids, and am often overwhelmed with all of the ideas, people, objects, and methods that come into play in any educational setting - especially elementary school.
I have decided that my teaching metaphor is a juggler. I plan to have multiple things going on in classroom, and to find the perfect balance. I wish to keep all of the things that are important up in the air, surrounding my students and filling my curriculum with the values and priorities that I keep in "my act." In this Classroom Circus – there is an audience (students), the main act (teacher), the three rings (elements of the classroom – management, assessment, and content) and the beanbags (parents, administrators, SOL’s, and my educational values like curiosity, exploration, creativity and individuality). Every part makes up the environment I create and perform in "under my big tent" - or classroom. Most importantly - with skill and coordination (whether that comes in the form of preparation, lesson plans, or knowledge of my content) I will hand pick some of the "bean bags" I toss and catch, and will never drop or look past things that are important.
In other ways - I plan to entertain, to wow, and to inspire my students with this "act" and can hopefully teach them to juggle too. I hope their intellectual curiosity is peaked when I am "on stage." My students will learn in different ways - sometimes sit back and relax (watching and taking me in) and other times, they will sit up straight and be prepared for me to toss a bean bag in their direction - one they will have to catch, and throw back at me.
When you look up juggling it is explained as "all forms of artful or skillful object manipulation" - and while I never hope to manipulate anyone in my room, I hope to teach in an artful and skillful manner, and to manipulate my approaches to be tailored for my "audience" and their prior knowledge. In this way, I will KNOW MY STUDENTS, and will use ideas like "backward design" and "assessment" to "switch up my act" and refresh my juggling.
Currently, as a pre-service teacher, I myself am learning to juggle – with all of these different courses as part of my curriculum, and often times I get a chance to visit a “circus” and enter the "big tent" in my placement. Sometimes I can juggle for a while without mistakes, and sometimes I drop a beanbag, and have to pick it up and keep going. Sometimes the audience is great, other times they are not as amused as I hope. My coordination has good days and bad, and the bean bags can often change. But, regardless of the outcome, every time I am done with my act, I have a few tips and pointers to improve for next time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Ana, I love your metaphor because it is so appropriate to who you are--you are always doing something--and because it is true, teaching can really be a juggling act, and I am reminded of that all the time as we talk about teaching or are in the classroom ourselves and have to keep in mind so many different things at once. I particularly notice when I forget something and things don't work how I want them to, which also follows through--if you drop a ball, the performance falls apart. I like your conclusion though it makes me feel better. :)
Ana--
I enjoyed your acknowledgment that, as teachers, we often bite off more than we can chew. There's so much we want to do, so many great ideas we want to implement, and then so little time available to us. The idea of a teacher as juggler is certainly appropriate and interesting--as teachers, we do often feel like we're putting on a "show" of sorts. Also, just like juggling seems easy when it's done well, so does teaching seem relatively effortless when it's done well.
I like your use of our class vocabulary throughout the analogy. :-)
Post a Comment