Alima's post:
Chapter 1. It’s All Invented: How can we think outside the box we live in? What assumptions are we making that we’re not aware that we are making? What might we invent that would give us other choices?
These questions scare me! I am not an outside the box thinker and am intimidated by the idea. Now, within the box, I do push the limits- or at least quite a few professors have thought so!* In other words, if given directions to do something with the added understanding on my part to be creative, then what I produce is within the limits and therefore not outside the box. That being said, my work is often thought of as being extreme or completely off target. However, if the directions were to think outside the box, I get stymied and can go no further than the exact limits set by directions. I think it has to do with how I was educated and my personality: I sat in classes where conformity was expected and I was an obedient child. Ironically, as a teacher, in order to give a student a 4 when grading them, they have to go above and beyond what was asked of them and I always wondered about the children that were like me and always did exactly as they were told. Again though it goes back to adding the bit about getting creative and that is how I have tried to lead those children that are like me into getting more into the assignment.
*For an anthropology assignment, we were to pretend as if we found a time-capsule containing an episode of Let's Make a Deal and critique it. What were the costumes all about, etc. I took it a step further an pretended I was an alien who discovered the time capsule (with my own language and all) and critiqued it- therefore making the culture from which it came totally foreign. I got a D because apparently I didn't understand and was sent to the writing center where I was told it was fine. I revised it, taking out the alien parts and got a B.
Chapter 2. Stepping into a Universe of Possibility: We live in a world of measurements. The Zanders recommend that when we look at how different things appear we can see them as possibilities. How are your thoughts and actions a reflection of the measurement world?
In education right now, its all about the measurement world: here's the goal, reach it or else! The "or else" has become losing your job! And so most of the time teachers-even really great ones- are forced to think bottom-lines. One reason I think I was made a prep teacher was because I had a hard time thinking that way. I always felt like: once that door closes this is my classroom! I remade forms to work for me and figured ways not to do things their way. I asked to go back to grade teaching and was told I was good at what I do now (tech teacher), but part of me wonders if its becuase of how I was. The funny thing is, I try to think in the measurement world now so that I can go back- I make myself think about how I could jump through their hoops.
Chapter 3. Giving an A: Giving Yourself an A.
I wonder how that would work from reading levels? Let's say students are told they will decide their last semester reading level but only if they write a letter stating how they achieved that level. Would it work? Would kids basically plan their school year in terms of reading and come out on the level they said they would? There's an AR project to think about!
Chapter 4. Being a Contribution: Over the years, I’ve observed how people handle various situations in their lives. People who succeed do not have fewer problems than people who fail. It is how they perceive issues and how they react to situations that makes a difference. The purpose of this chapter was to help us look at how we can contribute in order to make a difference in the lives of others even if it’s only one person. How will I be a contribution today?
I noticed that my husband and I attack the issue of success differently: if you tell me I can't do something, I prove you wrong; if he is told the same, he shuts down. I couldn't figure it out. I knew it was a real significant difference because I saw the same thing in some of my students. Someone recently said to me, without me bringing it up, that it was a cultural difference. The person said that "her people" are not motivated by the possibility of failure and that all that does is keeping them from trying. In my mind, that meant I had a lot of egos to stroke. But after reading, I think the point is that, especially as an educator, I need to find what motivate and use it. I never told my students they couldn't and it held them back. I tried to dispel the ideas they already had about themselves, which was hard. Many kids have said they are stupid or bad. The point here is that we all have something to contribute and my contribution has to be helping others find their way to add to the universe of possibilities!
My comment:
Alima - with many of your comments I was able to sympathize or understand. An assignment that is open-ended in possibilities has always intimidated me at first. I'll have great ideas but lack either the knowledge to succeed or the confidence. It is really great that you are continually seeking ways to motivate your students to go beyond themselves. That is what it's all about as a parent and a teacher. To find ways to help them learn to work around their internal inhibitions and go beyond what they believe they are capable of.
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