Friday, April 17, 2009

Somethings do change

What happens in high school happen all the time. I noticed when a student is really good at a subject or sport they get razzed. It doesn't change when you get older, adults get that too when they work. It is usually in good fun. But when you are young it stems from the others not know how you think.

The big question on the minds of the people who poke fun is simple. Why don't I get it yet?

I read an interview with Howard Gardner ( Multiple Intelligence). And his explanation makes all the responses of that have a tone of "why don't I get it" simple. We are all different. There isn't one IQ test that shows we are smart people. There are multiple ways to be intelligent. Everyone has their own level of intelligence. There are 8 and I recommend we understand that we can be great at one and need work in another. But we all, not just teachers, need to distinguish different intellectual strengths and styles on the fly.

Good news is you should be able to learn multiple ways. Both from a human and digitally( media)

www.edutopia.org/howard-gardner-video

Sunday, April 12, 2009

How to be Good precisely

I am constantly searching for how to be a good teacher. My talent was low at the start and after the first two years I knew I had to leave the profession. I left math and went out into the country. I took the warning of my father who said, you need to come back you won't find a job anywhere but Florida.
Although I never thought of being successful, I was average at Marketing and teaching, I had to begin on my own. I had to travel on my own. No friends was a way of being on your own. I only knew how to watch TV, play video games, and sit on the stoop when it got to late. That is where I found my niche. I found teaching English , history and science were hard but I didn't know so I tried to do it anyways. I was terrible at teaching math but I was great at one thing, taking the best from all teachers. I think there will be a time when we, teachers, can all find time and teach a subject outside of our discipline. Plan and link the unlink able. I realized I am not fearless but if I wasn't I was gong to be memorable. Soon I started to take what works from the other teachers. I believed no matter if it was science teachers or history teachers it was key to have more than just the opening act material. Be the headliner. We can learn and be taught.

How to be consistently good ?

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Waiting and Seeing what comes from the future

History has been changing a lot lately. The world seems to not be able to handle a financial crisis one second, followed by a feeling that hope can be restored the next. Schools should teach more than just one history month at a time. Every disaster seems like the most trying time in history. I read that this recent recession was called the worst since the Great Depression. It is my experience that we overexaggerate. Lets teach how Americans get to live their dreams by looking at a big picture. We have troubles and we fix them over time. Positives from the last four months. We are all able to be the president and change the world. The more the line between what we can and can't achieve are blurred the more we can see time and understanding can heal any crisis.

I see a world where the history classes are relevant. I think of the ways we disagree and how it needs to grow. I watch conservative talk shows I see they are all short sighted. There is a chance we are going to come out of this. There is a chance this will all happen again in 10 years. But we will bounce back.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

My Goals as a teacher

1) Have each person I teach have an Ah-ha moment. If you haven't seen that look on someones face, it looks as if that person can fly. Great for life confidence.

2) I want to help people even those I can't see or meet I think I do that each time I help a student. Under my instruction a kid uncovers math but more importantly how they learn. Now when they become the adult, or the teacher, they will be able to teach with patience, passion, and job joy.

3) Have integrity. Do the right thing when no one knows and no one will ever find out.

These may seem like sappy goals, but I am not going to leave ( that was another tree reference) without stating my goals in life. These are the goals that ground me. Having a job makes me happy. My brother, cousin, and cousin's husband have all lost their jobs in the past monthes. I know now what I have been missing while I watch their journeys unveil themselves. The joy I felt when I was lucky enough to received a job from Norton.