Since I was a young girl, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.
At the time, my idea of teaching involved putting students in rows and
forcing them to work. As the oldest child, this appealed to me, and I often had
my younger siblings pretend to be my students. I would give them papers and
pencils and make them write. This profession continued to appeal as I grew
older, for different reasons of course. I had such wonderful teachers,
especially in high school. My teachers made me feel important, and capable, and
I wanted to pass on this feeling to students of my own.
With the idea of teaching in my future, I attended RIC and
majoring in education. I graduated from RIC in 2015, and I have returned to RIC
this year to complete my Masters Degree in the ASTL program. My goal in this
program is to improve my practice and grow as an educator, and this course has
given me plenty of think about. In August, I will be a 25 year old teacher,
about to experience my fourth year as an educator. I have been teaching English
at Saint Raphael Academy for the past three years. I’ve had wonderful students
and colleagues, and I’ve learned so much about teaching, but I’ve always felt
that I could be doing more to help my students. This course has helped me get
there.
Thinking back to my journey and how I got this far, during my
senior year of high school, I made the decision to major in education. When
sharing my decision with others, I received negative pushback, even from
teachers at my school. I remember one teacher, who I admired, telling me to
“stay away” from the profession. I was told that there were no jobs or money in
teaching. Just like Moana, I felt discouraged and heartbroken. I felt so
discouraged at one point, that I changed my major during my freshman year to
nursing just because I was convinced to do so by others. After signing up for
science courses, a trip to the campus bookstore revealed that I was going to be
responsible for dissecting a fetal pig. I was horrified at the idea of having
to look at the inside of a creature. I can’t even watch horror movies, never
mind cut open an animal. I immediately switched back to education, and never
considered changing majors again.
I realize now that I was quick to internalize the opinions of
others around me because I did not spend time discovering my “why.” As Sinek
teaches us, the golden circle starts with “why.” I knew I wanted to be a
teacher, I liked the idea of it, and I had great teachers, but what did I
really believe about education and student learning? After taking this course,
there are many “whys” that are going to lead my practice. In a technological
world, it is easy to fall into the trap of putting the tool before the
rational. This is something I will avoid going forward.
Prensky would consider both
myself and my students digital natives. When I think back to my own upbringing,
I do consider myself a digital native. I rarely used computers during my
elementary schooling, and I didn’t get my first smart phone until college. I do
remember using PowerPoint in Word seldom when my class took a trip to the
computer lab once a month in elementary school. As I got older, most classrooms
had a couple of computers in the back of the room. The world of teaching with
technology today is much different. Students are starting to use technology in
their education as early as Pre-K. As teachers, I believe we need to embrace this
reality, but we need to remember our why behind the technology that we use.
Additionally, I held that assumption that many students were technologically
literate, since they are always plugged in, but Boyd reminds us that students
are rarely taught how to grapple with the information they consume on the web.
As teachers, we need to spend the time teaching reliable sources, fake news,
algorithms, credibility, etc.
Reflecting on my teaching today, I realize that I have not spent
enough time helping students become critical analyzers of media. When my school
switched to computers, I jumped aboard and abandoned the physical textbooks and
some of my former teaching methods. I am a techno-traditionalist, I often used
Microsoft OneNote to upload assignments online. I also take notes on Google
Docs. I realize now I was letting the tool drive my decisions, instead of
reflecting on my beliefs about student learning. Again, it all comes back to
the why. Going into my fourth year as an educator, I will continue my journey
starting the school year in August as an English teacher at Highlander Charter
High School. I recently learned that part of my job description includes
becoming an advisor in a daily 9th grade advisory.
For my project, I decided to create an
advisory curriculum that would align with my core beliefs about student
learning. As Wesch would agree, I believe in creating a space that allows
students to feel empowered and actively engaged in their own learning. This
safe- space includes collaboration, support, and companionship within the
classroom. Although I did include technology within the curriculum, this time
around, I saw this as the how and the what to reach my why. As Turkle would
argue, face to face conversations are being lost due to technology, but
conversations matter. I wanted to include a curriculum that could balance
technology and interpersonal skills.
I decided to embed many features
offered by Google into my curriculum, including Google Docs, Forms, Classroom,
and Blogger. Similarly to what we did in this class, my advisory will co-author
a blog so that students will have the power to create their own threads and
read each other’s work. Students will have the power to collaborate and support
one other, with this student- centered approach. My goal within this advisory is
to have all members work together towards supporting each other social,
emotional, and academic growth. This will be a safe place for members to support
each other, work towards their goals, and to “let go” off any stressors that
are negatively impacting their lives. As Wesch reminds us, collaboration is
vital and students need to see the significance within their own education.
Therefore, this curriculum is student-centered. Students will use Google Docs
and Blogger to suggest topics of interest, and offer links to videos to watch
weekly, including Ted Talks.
I’ve come to realize that I believe
that educators need to help students develop empathy and understanding for
others. This close collaboration amongst peers and community building, will
help develop this empathy. I believe that SCWAAMPing with my students and
having these face-to-face conversations will help them become aware of the
injustices and privileges that exist. Helping students identify dominant
ideologies will in turn help students reevaluate their own beliefs, and develop
empathy for others.
This critical lens will also being
applied to the media. Boyd and Christenson would agree that teachers need to be
the ones to help develop students’ critical consciousness to develop media
literacy skills. Part of the curriculum will include evaluating sources that
are not credible and therefore cannot be trusted.
Overall, Google and the internet will
serve as the what, but I will continue to develop this curriculum throughout
the year by focusing on the why. We cannot underestimate the ability of our
youth, and we as educators we need to give students voice and choice within the
classroom. Communication, collaboration, support, community, and a
student-centered approach will help increase student engagement, and create an
atmosphere conducive to learning. As an advisor, I want to serve as a positive
role model and mentor for my students, not just an information distributor.
To conclude, it is important to
remember to operate from your beliefs. Go against the grain, and swim against
the current if that means making a positive change. Sometimes being different
than the majority is the only way to make gains. So take the road less traveled
and watch how you will incite change.
