“Why don’t teachers just say no to what isn’t good for kids?” When a student teacher asked me this a couple years ago, I wondered how much patience he would have for listening to the many answers I would need to offer. I didn’t think he had enough patience.
Asking that question revealed to me that he didn’t grasp the situation for teachers in schools–particularly the threat around test scores. I saw that for him, preparing to be a teacher would need to include further understanding of the complexities of our current culture and climate, political agendas, economic contexts and how he would deal with it….he needed more than my perspectives. I turned it back to him again and again through the semester looking for his understanding to grow: What do you see as possible reasons?
The questions I hear from student teachers are often the same questions we keep asking ourselves forever. The question is new for them, yet it is usually something to which I have long established answers. I am always tempted and sometimes indulge a little in offering my Wisdom and Opinions–how fun to have a captive audience willing to hear What I Know and My Stories of How I Came to Know.
I want them to develop a habit of great teachers–a habit of holding questions unanswered while continually seeking and recognizing parts of the answer from multiple sources.
This group has inspired me already in our second week. I want to see what will happen if we let their questions lead our learning.
We will keep the questions posted, refer to them in our discussions and observations, bring in teachers and students to give their responses, discuss texts and add questions as we go.
I will be watching to see if we are missing anything–well of course, we will be. We have never covered everything you need to know to be a teacher in one semester. But asking questions is a good foundation.
- Why does it seem that Principals are not on teachers’ sides?
- What do you think of using candy as a reward with students?
- What do I do when I’m a new teacher and my plans aren’t perfect when I get to class?
- How do we judge if its okay to use edgy material like Keith Richards’ memoir?
- Why are these kids so well behaved here?