Counter-Narratives

I have to start by saying that I really enjoyed this article. In all of my classes there is this overwhelming negativity at times in which everyone (including textbooks and articles) points out how difficult it is to teach and how awful the kids are and all the problems we will face as educators. This article was different because it had a hopeful tone and pointed out some of the positive aspects of teaching while offering insight as to how to teach well.

The three interviewees seemed to to have two themes in common that made their career successful: 1) they were positive and did not place blame on any extrinsic factors related to student success and 2) they came to know their students very well both in and out of the classroom and expected a lot from them academically and community-wise.

I believe that these two themes are crucial no matter where, who and what you teach. It seems that many teachers have a defeatist attitude and show up to work everyday looking at the clock wondering when they can go home. (I say this from the experience of working with teachers and listening to their conversations in the staff room.) Instead of giving up when times get hard, it is critical that we teachers find the positive in our positions and not falter in our consistent expectations of the students. Yes, every now and then there might be that student or parent who gives us a hard time, but we need to remain positive and examine what we can do to improve the situation. Its about time to stop the blame-game and just get it done.

It might not be easy though...

Listening

I found the article "On Listening to What Children Say" to be interesting. The author's main point is obviously that we need to talk with our students and pay attention to their behavior in order to have a better understanding of their personalities and background. I agree with the author that we as teachers tend to be so curriculum driven that we don't think we have any time to just listen to the students. In my current position at an elementary school I see this everyday. The teachers may take a moment to ask students about their weekend or something similar but after a short answer the conversation is over and it's off to work. In my previous school the teachers never actively listened to kids at recess and for the most part felt that when a student wanted to talk to them it was a burden.

I was particularly interested in the author's examples of preschoolers' interactions. I worked in a preschool setting for a year and they truly are very imaginative children at the age of 3-4. I found it odd when she questions how children perceive teachers' "literal" thinking. I have always been told that children are very literal up until they are in about 5th grade. Someone told me that teachers shouldn't use sarcasm or catch-phrases.

This article is useful for our science discussions because the author is suggesting that teachers need to learn what children know and how they understand concepts. If we are to strive for conceptual change in our science lessons, we must first listen to the students and figure out what misconceptions they have.

From experience, when I started teaching I noticed that the new teachers, regardless of all the training about listening to children and integrating classrooms, etc. always seem to teach like the older teacher on their grade team. This seems to promote a cycle of "old" teaching methods. I would like to see a school that is all newer teachers (within the first 5 years of teaching). It would be nice to feel a freedom to teach these newer (although in most cases it seems common sense) teaching practices. Then again, by the time we are the old teachers, everything we were taught will be obsolete!

Teaching ELL Students

While reading "The Campfire Effect" and chapter one of "Making Science Accessible to English Learners" I had many thoughts about what sound teaching is all about. The article made me realize that the first step to teaching ELL students, and in fact ALL students, is to reflect on one's preconceived notions about those students and their cultural backgrounds as well as our preconceived notions about their ability to succeed. As the "Campfire Effect" suggests there is a need for quality pre-service teacher programs that address the needs of ELL students. One issue I had with the article was the lack of follow up of those students who participated in the study as pre-service teachers. The study found that teachers' perceptions were changed and the students felt more comfortable about teaching EL students. I am very interested to see some data about student performance in those teachers' classes their first year teaching as well as five and ten years down the line. A pre-service teacher, as well as any teacher taking new classes, can respond that they feel more comfortable with a topic after having just taken a course, but can they apply it effectively in a classroom? Did the test scores of those students' students out perform others who have not had the training?

I enjoyed reading chapter one in the textbook. I kept thinking to myself that many, if not all, of the strategies mentioned to enhance ELL science learning could be helpful to all students. Grouping students according to a variety of criteria, modeling the project and expected interactions, and speaking slowly seem like strategies that would be helpful to everyone. I was particularly interested in the concept of speaking slowly in class. I think that many teachers including myself don't realize that we might be speaking too fast for some students to comprehend instructions and lectures. I also reflected on my attempts at understanding Spanish. I can understand conversations if the speaker speaks slowly and deliberately; however, when they start speaking fast I have NO IDEA what is being said. Language seems to be something that we take for granted in many instances. When I am in that classroom again, I will try to be more cognisant of my speaking speed.

Overall I found both reading to be informative and useful for future teaching.