Pedagogy of the Oppressed Response

This section from the book was very intriguing for me because I believe that this situation of the "banking" method of education is a huge problem. I know for me as a student, this idea of the teacher being the wealth of knowledge that transmits information for me to memorize is the reason I did not enjoy my K-12 education as much as I could have. Majoring in social studies, I know that this "banking" method is used widely by history teachers who simply spit out facts for students to memorize and regurgitate on a quiz or test (only to have the facts dumped from memory immediately after the test because they are no longer needed). A fear of mine is that I'll fall into this mode of teaching in my history or English classes. One quote that stuck out to me in the chapter was "Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other". I believe I will keep this quote in mind and possibly even have it displayed in my classroom as a reminder that my students are not merely "receptacles" in which I pour information into, but rather are intelligent beings who are capable of making new discoveries in their fields. By moving towards "problem posing" education in my teaching, I can humble myself by learning new things from students who research and answer the questions they have about the subject. I think that by using this model instead, students will feel more empowered because they are the ones who are bringing value to the classroom and are not there to simply be receptacles for my vomit of knowledge.

Assessing and Evaluating Student Learning

I found this reading to be very useful in thinking about how I am going to assess students in my future classroom. I have experienced classes in the past in which some teachers focused on the "knowing that" portion of literature (225). The reading describes the "knowing that" as knowing "names of certain characters or authors, settings for texts, or definitions for certain concepts" (225). While I enjoyed these sorts of classes because memorizing such things was easier for me, I did not do as much critical thinking about the texts. Also, because I knew there was a certain correct answer for a question, I would write what I believed the teacher wanted to see rather than what I actually thought about the text. With my numerous experiences with "correct answer" tests, I found the alternatives to be intriguing and potentially useful for my teaching practice. I like the idea of the Journal/Blog entry because I think this is one way to get students writing, whether or not it is necessarily academic. Being able to express their feelings and struggles of life in a safe, private manner (they have the option of whether or not I read it) I believe will help students with identifying their emotions and by doing so, be able to relate to characters in the literature we are reading. Another idea I like is that of "teaching peers to give feedback". While at times this may be more stressful for students because they do not want their peers to judge them, I believe that with guidance from me, this is an opportunity for students to build upon their cooperative skills that they can use later on in life. While it may not be the most fun thing for students to give feedback on each others work, working together and reviewing someones work is a common practice in most work situations. One thing that I noticed with all of the different ideas of assessment was including criterion for how you are going to assess the students. I find this especially important because I remember the frustration of having a teacher grade me on something that I was unaware of or unprepared for. My goal is for all of my assessments to be fair and valid.

Team Teaching Response

Whenever I have heard the term "team teaching" or "co-teaching", I have always thought of what I have seen in my past experiences. These past experiences were primarily that of a student teacher working alongside of a head teacher; this was named "One Teach, One Support" in the text. The candidate teacher or student teacher would walk around and offer help to students and every once in a while they would teach a lesson. While we as students would accept help from the student or teacher candidate, we always looked upon the main teacher with more respect. After reading the two readings, I now know of the several options available to teachers wanting to team teach and how to properly incorporate team teaching that bests suits the class. One approach that I found interesting was that of "Station Teaching". I think this would be a neat way of teaching a subject that has many components. I envisioned this taking the form of teachers in several different classrooms teaching about one subject and every 15-20 minutes, the students would rotate classrooms to learn about a different aspect of that subject. However, with any team teaching model, there are potential obstacles that teachers should be aware of. One obstacle that seemed to show up several times is that co-teaching requires lots of pre-planning and communication. If two teachers are expecting to be teaching together, they must know where the lesson is going to go and who is responsible for what portions of the lesson. However, what I do find valuable about team teaching is that when there are conflicting views between teachers, it can become an opportunity for the teachers to respectfully debate the topic with the students observing. This shows the students that it is okay to have differing opinions from other people and how to properly discuss the issue through debate. I am not sure whether or not I will use team teaching in my practice. While it has its clear advantages, I think the difficulty would be finding a teacher who is willing to put forth more effort and time into planning lessons together. I also think it is pretty dependent upon whether or not the school can afford to have 2 paid teachers for one classroom. If I do use this model, I believe it will be more realistic to do it once a month.

Common Core State Standards Response

I found this article to be engaging and insightful as I have not really looked at the good and bad sides of Common Core State Standards. Whether or not a teacher likes Common Core or not, the reality is that as teachers we will have to adhere to these standards in our teaching. If we have to deal with it, why not try and make the best of the situation? That is why I enjoyed the statement from the text that teachers can "view the adoption of Common Core State Standards as an opportunity to generate an innovative, engaging curriculum that will enhance instruction in our discipline, raise intellectual aspirations for all students, and, to the extent possible, improve the public's regard for schools". I found that as a student, I did not like to work on projects or write about subjects that I was not interested in; there was no motivation for me to write. For this reason, I enjoyed the section about "Literary Practices Approach" which "builds on the knowledge and experiences of your students, draws on the worlds they live in, and connects those worlds to texts, language practices, and critical issues". This shows me that as a teacher, I should make my students feel like important members of the classroom and that their insight is important for the development of everyone's knowledge. This also may mean that I might have to do some research or survey students at the beginning of the year to find out what their interests are, and then be flexible in changing my teaching to best accommodate my students. Even if I am not really interested in the material that the students are interested in, I must keep in mind that "if your students perceive you as knowledgeable and excited about learning, then they may be more likely to be excited". After reading the downsides of standardization, I know to avoid such hazards as "fragmented curricula", "teaching to the test", and "failure to acknowledge cultural diversity". In summation, if there was one thing i could take away from this text it would be that I must be aware of the differences and interests of students and to be mindful of those differences in planning my curriculum, all while adhering to the standards set before me by Common Core.

Response to "Discussion in a Democratic Society"

As a future teacher of English and/or Social Studies, discussions are an essential component of these subjects. As a student I never fully appreciated the value of discussions because I thought of it as a period of time in which people voiced their opinions while I sat silently listening to everyone. I was never one to voice my own opinion or join in on the discussion. I know now that discussions are a great way to test your beliefs and to hear others' beliefs and to grow as a person. If a person does not agree with a statement, they can express why they do not agree and offer another view on the situation. I know that discussions are vital but I have always feared conducting one because I imagine it ending in students brawling and fighting with one another. After reading this chapter, I see the ways in which I can successfully incorporate meaningful discussions into my class. The part I found most helpful was that of the section labeled "Practicing the Dispositions of Democratic Discussion" (8). I will plan towards the beginning of a year or term to go over the aspects of "hospitality, participation, mindfulness, humility, mutuality, deliberation, appreciation, hope, and autonomy" in order to allow the students to see the importance of them (8). I also think it is important to emphasize humility not only for the students to practice but for me as a teacher as well. Being able to show that the discussion is also a learning experience for me and being able to admit that I do not know everything may put them at ease and feel more comfortable in sharing. One thing I will also emphasize in my classroom discussions is that my class is a safe environment in which students can share their values and opinions openly without fear of open discrimination.