Traditional and Progressive Perspective
I see a lot of traditional and progressive perspectives in my practicum school. I think this can potentially cause a lot of tension between teachers in the school which is not an ideal situation. Is there a way to overcome this between teachers without giving up on what you believe is the right way to teach?
She realized, as a result of this discussion, that others' discomfort with the book represented their rejection of people who had backgrounds that dif- fered from their own
I think this is important especially in Elementary school when students are being introduced to cultures that are different from their own. We discussed this in diversity last semester. I plan to include books in my classroom library that represent students from all different backgrounds. In addition, it is not just important that the books show and discuss students from different backgrounds, but that they are written and illustrated by adults that they can relate to.
The stances of these readers on what they would or would not include in their future curricula were closely tied to how they defined the role of an English teacher and their imagined roles as teachers
I think this statement is very interesting. This is on a personal level, and I think that some type of program should be implemented in order to have a less broad description of an English teacher. I think this is doing a disservice to students if they only are taught based on what their teacher believes is the role of an English teacher.
While I, as a teacher educator, saw the theories, practices, and texts that we were reading about as sites for critical debate, some found them uncomfort- abl
I am nervous for this aspect of teaching. I want to talk about sensitive topics in the classroom because, it is important that students are aware. However, I am nervous that there was also be a negative reaction and I am not sure how to balance that.
For all three of these teachers, autobiographical memories of experi- ences with literature informed their ideas about their imagined roles and methods of teaching. L
After reading this, I have reflected on my own experiences with literature. Thinking of certain books reminds me of happy memories and feel very nostalgic. I have always pictured them in my future classroom because of what I associate with them. However, I will be carefully and more closely look at whether or not they belong in my classroom.
In contrast, Mary loved poetry and was convinced that students could enjoy it, too.
We cannot assume that our students will like what we like or dislike what we dislike!
Memory theory is also a good explanatory tool for understanding how beginning teachers look not only to prior experiences but also to their plans for future actio
I find this theory to be very interesting. When in class, I always refer to my previous experiences and recall activities that I enjoyed. However, I need to remember that what I enjoy, may not be what my students enjoy. I also use my past experiences to understand what not to do and use that as reference when I am implementing my future plans.
lives. Heath had to uncover their imag- ined lives as well to understand their perspectives on life, literacy, and edu- catio
I think this sentence brings up a lot of important information. First, that as teachers, we will have students from all different backgrounds and we will need to understand their perspectives. In addition, we need to build relationships with the students to truly understand what is going on and if there is something else that is acting as a variable in how they perform.
hy are students expected to simply 'learn' or 'know' science and math, yet they're expected to 'love' and 'expe- rience' literature?"
This is a very good point. Literature is involved in every school subject and each subject should be experienced. However, I do think that a lot of students think that reading is a chore and literature needs an extra emphasis for students to want to learn about it. However, this shouldn't take away from the other classes.