Author: Faith Skiles

I Learned a lot…And That is Telling

I learned a lot from the readings and talks for this week’s class.

And I think that fact is a sad and telling on my part.

I grew up in the Deep South, in the 60s. I lived in Alabama when George Wallace governed the state. Race played an important role in my upbringing. I knew words like the “white schools/churches/neighborhoods” and the “black schools/churches/neighborhoods,” “the black help” etc. (The movie The Help reminded me very much of the life I had in the Deep South growing up.) I knew the country club was where everyone went…because there were no African Americans. I heard classmates engage in very disturbing talk about African Americans – talk that we did not have in our home. There was no overt racism in our home. During this time, my father even stood up to the board of his church and announced African Americans would be welcome. None came, but the “higher-ups” did come and back up my father.

Overt racism, maybe not, but as I grew older, I would catch myself thinking in certain ways, just like Shankar Vedantim brought to our attention, almost hidden in my brain somewhere. I decided to address these problems and resolved that the best thing to do was to not see race at all, to see everyone the same, to fight back against my “hidden brain’s wiring,” so to speak. The readings for this week challenged that naïve assumption.

Interesting enough, the thing that really caught my attention was during the Heinemann podcast when one of the speakers talked about not ever hearing shampoo or haircare commercials that addressed her specific hair. The underlying culture that perpetuates racism is pervasive and insidious. It helps create and perpetuate stereotypes that create stereotype threats for our students, as Claude Steele talks about. (I actually watched a youtube video of Dr. Steele talking about his work instead of the readings. The youtube video is here: Claude Steele on youtube.)His research shows these threats impede student performance, but also that these threats can be addressed, at least to some degree.

Which comes back to: What do I do with all this? After reading the readings, I honestly feel ill prepared to address inclusivity issues in my classroom, which is a feeling I don’t especially like. I like, and can incorporate, and have incorporated, role-play into my class, especially on gender issues. And I noticed that this was one of the things Professor Labuski does. I can do this in terms of racism through world history as well, but it just seems like I should do more…. For example, Dr. Steele’s work shows that the way I frame assignments can be important for student success – this is a tremendous responsibility.

I guess, in the end, I feel a bit frustrated and challenged in ways that are good… so maybe that is a starting point.

 

 

 

I am me and I can be no one else.

I am me and I can be no one else.

I think I’ve known that from very early on in my teaching career. I’m not good at being something I’m not…at being something someone else is. My longest and most respected friend is also a teacher. I respect her teaching style very much, but it is not mine. I can only be me. And while I believe that the use of technology is very important, should be used, learned, etc., I think the teacher is still the most important educator in the room.

What I know about me:

I have a booming voice and I use it.

Students don’t have a hard time hearing me. I walk around the classroom. I gesture. I get excited sometimes. I also give students time to reflect and all is quiet…until I talk again. It is very similar to my “mom” voice.

https://me.me/i/my-mom-voice-was-so-loud-even-the-neighbors-washed-2528441

I like concepts over details.

The devil is in the details and I like to stay away from the devil. Concepts in history or any subject, even math, are more interesting to me than details.

I like to teach skills and not dates.

Change over time is important in history and dates are important – but only when put in context and show the change over time. And while my students may or may not remember the dates of the Old Kingdom of Egypt (probably not) I do believe they will remember skills I teach them such as citing, writing in active voice, analyzing historical images and primary source material, learning to think critically and to write coherently.

I am organized but can change the plan if need be.

I believe planning for a class is very, very, very important; however, changing things to accommodate learning or the needs of students must be a tool I have in my “toolbox”, so to speak. Flexibility is important to me. Students learn in very different ways. I learn best in very traditional ways, but many people do not. My husband is convinced that the only way to teach is using the Socratic method. (Yes, of course I have wanted to sock him on numerous occasions.) I must be flexible to change plans on the fly or change an overall plan if need be to help learning.

I take teaching very seriously.

Teaching is a priority. The students or their parents (or the government, scholarship etc.) paid a lot of money to be sitting in the seat in my classroom. It is my duty, my responsibility to do the absolute best job I can in teaching them. Period.

I feel at ease in a classroom.

 I just am. I couldn’t bring myself to be nervous the first time I taught in a college classroom, although I probably could use a little nervous energy.

http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2016/august/keep-calm-and-teach-on-8-3/

I am easy going and approachable, but set boundaries.

Thirty year olds I taught in middle and high school still call me “Ms. Skiles” and my college students call me Ms. Skiles as well, not Faith. My communications with them are on a very professional nature. Students though feel free to ask me the stupidest questions. It is amazing what connections you can make for students that they just “missed” somewhere along the line. In tutoring calculus, I find most students don’t have trouble with calculus, they just “missed” something in algebra, which you must know to do calculus. The only way to fill in these missing pieces is to be open to “stupid” questions and not to minimize their lack of knowledge. I answer emails from students that ask seemingly simple questions often with the phrase, “Good question” or “Thank you for the question.” This is my philosophy and it doesn’t have to be yours.

I like students to explore on their own.

I am happy when they tell me about something I don’t know. I am not an expert on world history from the beginning of time until 1500. (Is anyone?) I love it when students share what they know and I want them to explore the things that interest them.

I only react in strong ways when students disrespect each other.

Don’t do it. Just, don’t do it

And last but not least, although I’ve taught for going on 15 years, I am always willing to try new things.

My daughter teaches as well and we often talk about new ways to do things. She works in the communications department and her insights have greatly changed the way in which I approach power points, time in class and feedback.

These are things I know about myself as a teacher. But interestingly, these are also the ways I am as a person. My “authentic” voice as a teacher is the same as my “authentic” voice as a person. I am me and cannot be anyone else. I may be a favorite teacher for one student and not for another… or maybe for no one and that is fine.

I guess that I most closely identify with the reading by Sarah Deel when she comes to the realization of teaching as herself. I really don’t think I could have taught for as long as I have as “someone else.” I do think the outline by Professor Fowler, however, is a very good look into how you, as your authentic self, become a teacher. I also believe that despite a post that may seem status-quo, I am a Yearner. I taught my children to read because I didn’t trust School to do it. I also tried to incorporate learning beyond a classroom for my children, whether it was technology or milking goats.  And as I said earlier, I believe that technology is important and we need to move ahead in incorporating it in our classrooms, technology however, can’t replace the teacher who answers the seemingly stupid question.

Everyone is different. No two teachers are exactly same. Anyone embarking on the journey of finding an authentic voice as a teacher will, in my opinion, find it in who they are as people. And Students will benefit from the myriad of personalities, skills, voices that we all bring to the classroom.

The World is flat. I know it is.

The world is flat. I know it is.

https://giphy.com/gifs/trolli-tila-tequila-flat-earth-bob-rapper-qGS2Wbjr0SJWg?utm_source=media-link&utm_medium=landing&utm_campaign=Media%20Links&utm_term=https://giphy.com/gifs/trolli-tila-tequila-flat-earth-bob-rapper-qGS2Wbjr0SJWg/download

But what if it isn’t….nah….I know it is……it must be, everyone says it is, so it must be.

But, what if it isn’t? What if….

Tests are necessary. I know they are.

But what if they aren’t…nah….I know they are….they must be, everyone says they are, so they must be.

But, what if they aren’t. What if….

Imagining an educational world without written tests or formal written assessments is hard to do. It seems like written tests have always been around. It seems they are an intrinsic, organic part of classroom instruction. It is hard to imagine education without them. Years, ago, however, it was hard to imagine a world that was not flat. But someone did.

Intriguing to me in this week’s readings are the connections between imagination, learning, types of assessments and student/teacher communication.

It seems to me that encouraging the imagination of students comes hand in hand with encouraging the imaginations of administrators, education experts and teachers. A short investigation of the development of written assessments on the internet is enlightening. (see: https://www.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1992/9236/923606.PDF and https://daily.jstor.org/short-history-standardized-tests/)

According to these articles, formal, written test assessments in America are a relatively new mid-1800s phenomenon begun by administrators in efforts to deal with assessing and placing rising numbers of students. They seemed to have replaced more subjective oral assessments done between students and instructors. These oral assessments, in essence, perhaps, became a conversation. Students would have the flexibility to explain their reasoning, to explain their connections – not just return to the teacher the reasoning of the teacher – if the teacher can look or be open to reasoning other than their own.

Being open to different ways of doing things, to have an imagination that allows for “what ifs…” is an important characteristic for teachers. I spent many years teaching math and also experienced my children learning math from others. Students actually “do” math in different ways. There often is more than one way to solve equations or to solve a math problem. Some teachers, however, don’t allow for this. I experienced this frustration first hand as my children would solve things in different ways, but the math teacher could not imagine, and did not consider correct, anyway of solving the problem beyond the way they did it – even though my children had the correct answer. As a fellow math teacher, I immediately thought the teacher had no imagination, even ability to see another way of doing something. This was frustrating for me and extremely frustrating to my children. Having an imagination to look beyond just the ways we see the world would be a first step in opening the world of imagination for our students.

For me, right now, it would be difficult to imagine an educational system that did not have formal grades and written assessments. I believe I could only “imagine” it one step at a time. So I think for me, opening my imagination as a teacher to other ways of doing things, of different connections made by students, for what ifs…, for assessments that allow for these things could be a start. And once you have a start, imagining a world of education in which imagination, making connections, allowing for what ifs… might not be too far away.

Change Over Time or Timeless?

Change over time or timeless?

As I read, and watched, our readings/videos this week, I was struck by two seemingly dichotomous observations. First that pedagogy changes, and should change, over time (great observation for a historian, right? ? ) and, perhaps in opposition, that some pedagogical practices seemingly don’t change. There is almost a timelessness to them. Let me explain.

I will start with ideas that seem to me to be ageless. As I read and listened to ideas about learning through playing games and tinkering, I really couldn’t help but think that this sort of pedagogy sounded familiar. Exploring, trying something, failing, trying again, becoming frustrated, overcoming frustration and in the process, learning, seemed to me to actually be a very old form of pedagogical practice. In essence, a practice in which a teacher/game designer asks more questions than gives answers and creates the space for self-directed discovery for overcoming problems and initiating critical thinking seems a lot like the socratic method. This method is not unlike Harry Potter as he learned to use his wand.

https://media.giphy.com/media/mz1kJeDVueKC4/giphy.gif

But to say that pedagogical practices are just a different iterations of something familiar sells short and minimizes the need for educators to adapt to changes over time. I recently asked my sixteen year old granddaughter who is staying with me right now (she attends an online high school which gives her much freedom of movement and a chemistry experiment proceeds on the table in front of me as I write this), “Who taught you about networking with friends through the internet? How did you learn about social media?” Her answer was that she doesn’t remember being “taught” to use the internet for networking. To her, she just always “knew” how to do it (self-directed exploration probably). This is a very different attitude than I have about using the internet – especially for networking. It seems foreign to me, scary and non-understandable, but to her it’s like breathing – easy and second nature.

She is like many of the students that show up in my classroom……..

Times have changed since I first began teaching and I must change along with them. It is scary. It is hard for me to understand. However, I desire to capture the imagination of the digital student (the Reacting to the Past games seem especially intriguing.) Any change, however, will take a step on my part – a willingness to look at my teaching philosophy and be open to change. And while intimidating, I believe change can also   be adventurous and rewarding.

(Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/melissawaldronlamotte/category/etl411/ in a post entitled  “The Integration of Technology in the 21st Century Classroom: Teachers Attitudes and Pedagogical Beliefs Toward Emerging Technologies by Chien Yu.)