week 2 monday 01/27/14

We have a staff of 25 to 30 teachers. We all gathered for our weekly meeting, and our Literacy Coach was not happy with us. She reads lesson plans from every teacher and confers with our principal about them. She talked to us about the importance of detailed, thoughtful lesson plans. She said the majority of lesson plans she receives are careless and clearly completed the night before. Her words: "These lesson plans are not for me; They are for your kids. The more prepared you are for the following two weeks, the more your students will learn and achieve. I don't care if you're a veteran teacher saying, ‘Oh I've done this before.' No you haven't. Not with these kids. You need to write lesson plans for the kids who are in front of you." She then recognized the 5 teachers who she and the principal believed had "excellent" lesson plans. I was one of the people she called on. I was proud, but my very first thought, seriously, was, “It's because of what I was expected to do in 420/421." She told the entire staff they should look at my lesson plans if they wanted some "inspiration." Later that day I saw a fellow teacher reading something on my hallway wall. I walked out. He was reading my lesson plan that was posted on the wall. He said he just wanted some ideas. I gave him a copy :) Anyway, I know lesson planning can sometimes feel burdensome, but when you focus on each student, the details should feel natural. Joe Cella, 11, CPS

The Old English taecan, means... to provide signs or outward expressions of something one knows. Teaching means leading others to know what they did not know before, e.g., algebra. It means leading others to know how to do things they could not do before, e.g., how to play a sport. It means leading others to take on attitudes or orientations they did not embody before, e.g., to enjoy reading rather than just knowing how to read. And it means leading others to believe things they did not believe before, e.g., that they can master certain skills and techniques and that doing so is worthwhile. Teaching comprises all these activities, and more. (Hansen, The Call to Teach, p. 1)

themes

culture from cultura (latin): tilling, agriculture, farming –cultura from colere: to till, tend, take care of think of your cultures as places (fields) where you have been tended and taken care of

culture (particularly your own) everyone is immersed in many cultures— everyone lives a cultural life culture: shared sense that a group has of how things are supposed to be –shared beliefs, values, expectations implicit, invisible—hard to see in ourselves enacted in daily interactions wide within-group variation first step to understanding other cultures is to understand your own

seeing—yourself and others perspective taking –root meaning of perspective: to see through (the eyes of others) –learning to see the world the way others do one can learn to understand what one does not value or believe

respect –root meaning of respect: to look again (and again and again) –learning to look carefully and listen carefully to others (again and again)

fitness moral –courage to do the right thing –moving beyond one’s comfort zone intellectual -teaching well requires strong values, well developed attitudes, much knowledge, and many skills -physical –working with kids physically demanding get in shape

wednesday 01/29/13

My first year is going very well. I love my school and have a great team of colleagues. Of course, the kids are wonderful. I have a diverse group in terms of background, culture, and ability (2 classes, each, some special ed, some not). The responsibilities feel overwhelming at times, and being surrounded by many masterful teachers sometimes makes me feel like I am treading water, just trying to keep up and provide the best possible opportunities I can for my students. “Baby steps” has been my mantra all year. There is a fine line between pushing myself to learn and grow as much as I can and realizing that I can't do it all in one year. I have a whole career ahead of me, during which I will continue to learn and improve. I already have so many ideas for things I will do differently next year. But all in all, I look forward to going to work each day and am thankful to be working where I am. I really do love it. How is the new cohort this year? Erin (11)

themes cont.

learning begins with local knowledge—with what one already knows begins and extends by connecting begins in the innate human desire to make sense of the world is inherently social is active requires hard work and practice can be frustrating, mysterious and wondrous

development a "dynamic process full of upheavals, sudden changes, and reversals" (Kozulin, 1986, p. 266, describing Vygotsky’s view). a process of growing into culture in a specific time and place –development culturally, historically, biologically, and situationally shaped

the role of error, mistakes, and failure in learning and development we learn by making mistakes, by failing, by being wrong trick 1 is to learn to value error etc. trick 2 is to make new mistakes instead of repeating old ones

attending to what you can control your mind your learning how you see the world how you relate to others and letting go of what you cannot control much of daily life

clear, concise, strong, thoughtful expression clear writing makes for clear thinking teaching anchored in the explicit details of planning –attending to the little things –doing the last 5%

history of ECE a stream with many currents. –at times some currents are stronger and closer to the surface than others. –some currents become weak and seem to disappear, only to reappear later. –often different currents join to form a seemingly new one. –but the currents of today can be traced to the currents of yesterday. you are entering a stream that has been flowing for centuries