5/8/08 - Classroom set-ups
Too often, I feel that I walk into a classroom and see the individual desks in rows facing the board where the teacher teaches. While I don't think it's a terrible set-up, I'm just not a huge fan of it. I would say that the majority of the classes that I have been in have used this traditional set-up; however, there have been a few that create Us or circles with the desks. I am much more interested in these set-ups, specifically the circle as it is easier to have discussions in the classroom. In high school, I enjoyed my classes when we had large group discussions with the whole class. Sometimes in our classes, even if our classroom usually had rows of desks, we would move the room around so that we would form a circle to have our discussions. It just worked so much better.
At the middle school, Pierre Moran, where I'm having my field experience, most of the classes I've seen, including my class, the room is set-up with the desks in rows. Because it's a science classroom, the students aren't always at their desks because they may have labs to complete. However, it seems that the students are at their desks for a good amount of time.
Now, I understand that when the teacher is teaching in front of the class or up at the board, it is easier to have all of the students face forward, which leads to the rows of desks. However, in our Inclusive Schooling class, the tables that we sit at are in a U-shape so that we are facing the board, but are able to have discussions. I think that this works well like the circles.
I suppose that my suggestion for this issue or topic would be to simply change the set-up of the classroom. On the other hand, changing the set-up of the classroom from the traditional rows to circles/Us may cause difficulty in teaching from the front of the room. Well, maybe this method needs to change, or at least decrease in the amount of use. I personally like to have group discussions with the whole class, and feel that they greatly help in understanding the given material. Perhaps teachers should begin to incorporate this way of teaching into their classes, no matter the subject. I think it's okay to teach from the front of the classroom, as long as it doesn't occur during the whole class time. I think that having discussions the second half about the topics of the day would benefit the students and allow them to interact more with the issues.
Overall, I believe that if we want to improve the learning of our students, we have to step back and make sure that "we" are teaching in a way that is productive. This includes our techniques, material we are using, as well as the room set-up. First, we need to evaluate the learning environment, and then we need to figure out if there's anything we can do that will help the students and ourselves. I think a quick fix can be simply changing the direction of the desks so that the students can look into their peers' eyes and talk.
5/10/08 - "Dead Poets Society"
Tonight I watched the movie called "Dead Poets Society" and it was amazing. It was such a great movie! Basically, it's about these high school-aged boys who have a new teacher one year. The teacher brings in new techniques in order to help them understand the world around them, and experience it in a new way.
Robin Williams plays the new teacher Mr. Keating who wants to impress upon these boys the importance of taking control of your life - or as he quotes, "carpe diem". I loved his character because he never backed down. Even though the headmaster of the school didn't appreciate Mr. Keating's techniques, Mr. Keating continued to teach his students the way he felt was most successful. Whether he took them outside to the courtyard, kept them in the classroom, or had them look into the eyes of men from the past, Mr. Keating was always pushing them to be their best. Most of the boys were inspired by his words and passion, and tried to take control of their lives to live the way they wanted to.
Robin Williams's character was the kind of teacher that I would like to be - someone who isn't afraid to teach what he believes is true and real. He felt so strongly about living life to the fullest that he would continue to push even when others were pushing against him. I thought this characteristic was one of the things that made Mr. Keating so interesting - he knew what he felt and he went with it.
Also as Robin Williams's character did, I want to inspire my future students to find something that they are passionate about so that they can do what they want with their lives. I want my future students to love the lives they are living and to see the good in the world. Robin Williams's character had such a passion for teaching, and he wants his students to figure out what they are passionate about, and then to never let go of it.
Overall, I thought that this movie, "Dead Poets Society," gave a wonderful representation of a teacher who really teaches. He moves his students to be the best that they can, and to want the best out of life. He teaches his students to be passionate about something, and to stand up for what they believe in. Mr. Keating is the kind of person I love to learn from, and he's the kind of person that I want to be.
5/15/08 - Vocational Stories
About 20 minutes ago, I sat down to read the vocational stories written by several Goshen College professors, and I was quite impressed with what I read. While each story was different in a variety of ways, there were several themes that were present throughout my reading. These themes were strong characteristics that I feel help to create good teachers. These characteristics include strong backgrounds, interest in learning, enjoying teaching students, and their strong value of faith.
All of the professors discussed their backgrounds in education and various experiences, including international experience. It was good to hear that most professors didn't end up doing what they thought they would. It was also interesting to hear their different reasons for going into their study of choice or how they ended up where they did. I appreciated hearing the various "best advice" they had been given, as well as the advice they were giving to any students starting out on their own journeys. I also enjoyed hearing the different international experiences that helped them develop into the educators they are now.
Another similarity was the interest in learning as well as teaching. They illustrated the interest in continuing their education as far as they could in order to teach effectively. It was this continual interest in learning that seems to make good teachers. Learning is a two way "conversation" -students learn from the teachers, but teachers also need to learn from the students. These professors all seem interested in learning from the college students that are in their classrooms.
The professors all also wrote about their passion for teaching. They wrote about the complex interactions that they enjoy having with their students, and this kind of thing always makes me happy to hear. They seem to thoroughly enjoy talking with others to try and understand the meaning of our existence. It's this investigation that I also enjoyed reading about.
The majority of professors discussed their faith as well, and how important it is in their lives. They talked about how they believed they would end up where they were meant to be, and they felt supported by their beliefs. I was impressed by their deep connection to their beliefs and how they were so thankful that they have this in their lives.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading the different professors' vocational stories as they gave me a different view of the professors here on campus. I was able to read about some of their struggles and victories, and how they came to be where they are now. Even though I've not met most of these professors, I have the understanding from their stories that they are strong teachers who bring all of their knowledge and learning about the world and apply it to their everyday lives in teaching. I think this is evidence of a powerful and effective teacher.
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