Identity and Risk Taking

During my undergrad classes I remember learning about theorists Erikson, Piaget, Freud, etc.  I didn't really care about it too much then because, quite frankly, I was still an adolescent concerned mostly about what party I wanted to attend the next weekend.  I was a risk taker, probably more of one than I like to admit.  I was the "problem" child that caused lots of gray hairs for my parents.  I don't think I ever really did anything too horrible, just didn't fit the mold they wanted for me.  And, I hated school.  When I was in my teacher certification classes, much later in life, I was raising three kids, one very much in adolescence and two just out of it.  Man, those were trying years.  I appreciated learning again about all the adolescent stuff at that time because in some ways it gave me hope that I didn't really suck as a parent (ha!) and that our kids were actually normal-ish (double ha!).  All three kids came to Joe and I through our divorces so that added some interesting color to the adolescent drama as well.

Well, many more years later, it looks as though Joe and I successfully did it, we successfully raised these kids.  But I can't help but think it was dumb-ass luck.  Especially after reading Nakkula.  I think if I had read Lighfoot's research on the "culture of adolescent risk taking" it probably would have made me very nervous.  She doesn't argue that kids have to take risks to be healthy nor that kids have to challenge authority, what she argues is that high risk behavior is "common and deeply meaningful."  Yikes, glad I didn't read too much about this when I was parenting during this stage.

Parenting aside, I am finding Nakkula very interesting.  He and Toshalis pose some very interesting insights into the thoughts and actions of teens.  I like how they throw in the theorists but then add some resent research that in some ways contradicts the theorists and in other ways, enhances the research they did many years ago.  The most fascinating thing I read was on page 55.  Nakkula tells us that challenging our students more in school can actually reduce dangerous high risk behavior.  Really?  I'm hoping we have a chance to chat about this some more in class

Relationship Building and the Reflective Teacher

After reading Duckworth, Campoy, and Nakkula I found myself thinking back to when I first started teaching which is only eight years ago.  These readings reminded me of the many students I have connected with along the way, many of which still send me emails and come into school to let me know how their lives are going.  Those moments are the ones I cherish because most of the students were difficult to reach.  The students that come to high school feeling discouraged, apathetic, and on the "low level track" usually are the students that have behavior issues and overall like to drive the teachers crazy.  When I first started teaching, they drove me crazy!  But through lots of reading and taking classes, I realized that the problem I was experiencing was mostly mine, not the student's.  I was not connecting with them and eager to learn about their lives.  I needed reminders as to why I went into teaching in the first place.  Somewhere along the line, we lost these kids.  Somewhere they were "told" they were not bright, they could not write, or do math or do science.  They were just pains in the asses.  And every teacher they came in contact with confirmed this self-loathing.  One year I decided to spend the first two weeks of school doing community building and I really tried to break through the barrier of "us" vs "them".  And it worked.  I couldn't believe it, but it worked.

I very much look forward to reading Nakkula from cover to cover.  On page 6, Nakkula writes that "no one is a solo author.  All life stories are multiauthored.  The adolescents with whom we work as educators are cowriting our narratives just as we are cowriting theirs."  What a powerful statement!  This is definitely true for me.  I feel as though I have learned as much from my students as they have learned from me.  Through teaching I have become much less judgmental and much more patient over the years.  I'm actually more judgmental and less patient with the adults!! Ha!!

Nakkula goes on to say that if teachers are not careful, because of the lack of extrinsic reward, they could find themselves burned out as they loose sight of their students as individual people.  It can't all be about the standards, curriculum, etc.  We really need to remember why we went into teaching to begin with.  Connecting with a tough kid and seeing that student light up when I tell him he is a good writer (after being told over and over both verbally and through bad grades that he sucks), one can not put a monetary value on that.  It truly touches the soul and helps me to get up and go to work the next day.  I'm not saying I give kids grades they don't deserve, but I think the community building also builds trust not just with peers but with me as well, which in turn motivates them to succeed.  Many of these kids have been taught not to trust.  Not to trust their parent, teacher, relatives, etc.  They have been let down so many times.

Although I have heard about and read about the zone of proximal development, I am not very good at judging where that is for some of my students.  Also, how do I make sure my students are getting pushed just slightly beyond their limits when my classes have such varied levels?  My sophomore college prep/advanced freshman classes keep me up at night as I try to make sure I am challenging and pushing the freshmen without losing the sophomores.  There are more sophomores than freshmen in each class but that really doesn't matter.  I hope Nakkula talks about that some more within the text.

The Journey to Teach, Part 2

I agree with Ayers’ statements at the end of the book regarding the challenges teachers face.  I wish my teacher training focused on the challenges and what to do personally and professionally when the challenges become overwhelming.  I know what to do now, but this book would have been helpful to me many years ago. 

Pages 96 through 99 offer interesting techniques and methods to help teachers with the challenges.  For instance, the “finding allies” technique talks about the importance of finding like-minded people.  I immediately thought of five or six teachers that have the same or similar philosophy on teaching as I do.  We tend to make sure that the teaching we do in our classrooms is research based, we attend similar English related professional development, and we are constantly helping each other with lessons, projects, assessments, etc.  These colleagues are a positive force in my work life.  In addition to finding allies, Ayers talks about finding the right "balance and clarity".  I tend to overly research things to the point where I get myself overwhelmed.  Finding the right balance is really tough for me.  I don’t feel as though I am a very creative person, as my LSI confirmed, so I find myself thinking everyone else’s idea is better.  But, when I just trust myself, it typically works out just as well and I save a ton of time.  These few pages offer interesting insight into the trials and tribulations in the teaching profession.  Teaching is a huge challenge, one many people outside the profession just do not get.  I also love how the book ends with graduation.  What a great way to end a book called the journey to teach.  I think all of us have the same goal, to watch our students cross the stage.  It is my favorite night of the year.

To Teach: The Journey in Comics, Part I

When Dr. Horwitz came to our class in the spring and mentioned we would be reading a graphic novel I was really psyched.  I have a colleague at work that uses graphic novels in his classroom  and the two of us instantly started talking about this book and how much he liked the book.  So, instead of buying the book I borrowed it from him.  However, after reading the first few pages I went to Amazon and bought my own.  This is a book I want I my shelf that I can refer to from time to time.  Just a nice gentle reminder that all teachers question their practice as well as question the folks making decisions about our profession that have never entered a classroom.  Let me clarify, folks that have never entered a public school classroom.

I found it interesting how on page XIV Ayers called comics a medium and not a genre.  As an English teacher who loves graphic novels and have read many, I never really thought of it as a medium.  But when I look back on the many that I have read, such as Fun Home, they were non fiction stories in graphic novel form.

On page 20 and 21 Ayers points out that we must focus on what students CAN do and not what they CAN'T do which I found quite ironic.  Just yesterday a senior student showed me work I corrected four years ago that I had butchered.  There must of been 15 or more corrections just on the first page!  I was embarassed when I saw this because since I had her I realized that writing all over students' papers does not make them better writers.  I asked my student how she felt when she received this paper back and she said defeated and stupid.  If I had focused on what she did well, and gave her a goal or two for the next paper she probably would have become a good writer.

I loved how at the end of the section we were required to read, Ayers wrote about the importance of creating a community in the classroom.  Last year I got so caught up in Common Core State Standards and Teacher Evaluation that I did not take the time to create a classroom community.  I did a few things to get to know the students but not like I had done in the past.  I have to say, it was a difficult year, in part, because I did not establish a community of listeners and participators.

I look forward to the second half of the book ...