It is interesting that people spend an hour or more watching a movie but seem to have a hard time doing the same thing in a class. I guess my thoughts would be that I can’t really compete with movies – their high budget lighting, stunts, plots, aesthetics. I’m also not sure I want to be a performer so students will listen to me. Perhaps some teachers are good performers but they probably don’t see themselves as performers. They probably are passionate and knowledgeable about what they teach and it shows in their presentation.
Author: Faith Skiles
Comment on classroom tech and its discontents. (why am i always thinking about this?) by Faith Skiles
I always enjoy reading your posts,( and your other work!) on the digital world. Your insights are eye-opening for me. I do believe that use of electronics is an addictive behavior. It is for me. My world would change drastically if it all stopped tomorrow. I think this is where so many students are as well. Not only that, I believe some students have trouble writing, I mean writing with pen and paper. I wrote my name down for something and a young person could not read my name because they could not read cursive. Writing in print takes so much longer. I believe some students are not equipped to write notes with pen and paper. My strategy so far has been to give students the research – pen and paper notes works better for you and then let them decide. The spatial organization of the room I have now makes it hard for students to “shop” without me seeing them, so this has helped – along with a break in the middle of class to check devices, to give into their addiction. I’m not at all sure this is the best method and posts like yours challenge me to think about it.
Comment on The What and the How of Critical Pedagogy by Faith Skiles
I believe cooperative learning, collaboration in essence, is important to critical pedagogy, as you say. I say this because feedback from my students on their cooperative group work exercises centers around the understanding, and different points of view, that they learn from their fellow classmates – ideas and slants on the material they did not think about on their own. Opening students to different ideas in a safe, low-stakes environment is a way to help facilitate the critical learning process.
Comment on Won’t We Need to be Able of Critical Thinking Ourselves? by Faith Skiles
Helping students to learn to think critically is a process – one that some students catch on to quickly and others do not. Adding in a disability sometimes can add steps to the process and a great deal of patience and work can be involved. I once taught algebra to a blind student. The process was long, different and required great patience, but on the flip-side, when the student showed progress, solving equations on her own, we both experienced a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
Comment on Negotiating Limits & Uncertainty Within & Beyond the Classroom by Faith Skiles
Rob, you are an inspiration! I love how you “do” interdiscplinarity – you really DO it and I’m inspired. I often run away from difficult conversations of any kind and probably don’t encourage them as much as I should in the classroom. Again, thank you for inspiring me and reminding me that different perspectives don’t always lead to awkward, untenable, difficult situations.
Comment on The Nervous Instructor by Faith Skiles
Thank you so much for the post and your willingness to be open about your fears. I think it is difficult. I think also, that there is at least a two-fold answer. I have “monitored” discussions over racial issues. These discussions mostly deal with racism in the ancient world, and therefore are “monitor-able” and we can discuss issues. However, as a middle-school and high-school student, I encountered blatant racism from students and parents. I never let it slide. I did not tolerate it in the classroom and would address it directly with students. As for parents…..the worst I every got was a very angry man who just refused to talk to me anymore. As Emma stated, it’s a tough issue, but if we don’t address it, we tacitly condon it. One professor I talked to lately had a situation of racism occur in his class. He took the lead in the discussion, bringing the student around to the ways in which their argument was a racist one. The student did leave the classroom, however, the professor followed up with an email stating that he was not attacking her, but hoping to show the ways in which racism flourishes in America. The student was back in class for the next session.
Comment on This is earth and I’m not alien by Faith Skiles
Thank you for your thoughtful post. Also thank you for sharing the NYT articles. I also have to agree with Jyotsana’s analysis about the wording “non-resident alien”. I am very glad that Virginia Tech has been a welcoming community for you, but I would also like to see us as a country move away from language of “alien” and the intendant categorization the word denotes in todays political environment. Thank you for bringing it to our attention and know, that I for one, don’t approve of such words or classifications.
Comment on This is earth and I’m not alien by Faith Skiles
Thank you for your thoughtful post. Also thank you for sharing the NYT articles. I also have to agree with Jyotsana’s analysis about the wording “non-resident alien”. I am very glad that Virginia Tech has been a welcoming community for you, but I would also like to see us as a country move away from language of “alien” and the intendant categorization the word denotes in todays political environment. Thank you for bringing it to our attention and know, that I for one, don’t approve of such words or classifications.
Comment on Doing Justice to Our Profession by Faith Skiles
We’ve talked about this already, but my guess is there were multiple reasons for “silence” including discomfort talking in a larger group to a lack of experience on the part of the students in engaging concepts such as justice. I remember last year, or the year before, trying to lead a discussion on Korean colonization. I was so vested, had given out primary source evidence that they read in groups and I was ready for a great conversation…only it didn’t happen. So back to the drawing board on that one…
Comment on Being the professional mean guy? by Faith Skiles
Ditto on being the “professional mean guy who won’t fire you!” They need you in their lives, whether or not they think they do.
