I was reading the comments to David Kirp's NY TIMES OpEd piece, "How To
Help Students Graduate." Boy, were they interesting. So many were in attack
mode, especially some of the professors. Yeah, students can be erratic,
impulsive, insecure, shy, hateful, egoistical, fearful, depressed, possessive,
demanding, uninterested, bored, distracted, disinterested, haughty, immature,
naive, Sure, they can be crammers, memorizers, procrastinators, grade-getters,
corner cutters, maybe even cheaters. They can feel threatened, controlled,
dominated, misunderstood. Truly, they make demands; they constantly desire to
be noticed, valued, welcomed, wanted, connected, cared about, appreciated,
heard, understood, seen. And, yes, many prefer to crack a keg rather than a
book.
Gosh, they're so imperfect. What do you expect of them? Perfection?
You won't find it. After all, they're highly fallibly human And, if you think
otherwise, you're heading for a lot of frustration, resignation, and anger.
So many of us have convinced ourselves that we are such
divorced-from-them-super-humans that we are divorced from reality and we don't
get it. Do we really believe we're above all that? Do we really accept that
we also are highly fallible humans? What do you think is the meaning of
excuses, rationales, explanations I've heard and read such as "oh, it won't
work" or "what will they think" or "they don't care" or "I'm not good at" or
"I'm not comfortable with that" or "oh, I could never do that" or "It's too
hard" or "But, I don't have tenure" or "I don't have to change?"
If we don't go into the classroom with an unconditional consciously
positive mind, a hopeful spirit, and caring heart--welcoming and embracing
whomever is in there with us--what are we doing? Where does the strength,
dedication, perseverance, empathy, sympathy, and courageous action needed to
bring to life that faith, belief, and hope come from?
We moan, groan, and blame that students are unprepared, that so many
don't belong, that so many are among the ranks of the "letting anybody in." Do
you think a lot of us truly belong in the classroom? Don't you think academic
institutions are not letting anybody into the classroom to teach? Do you think
that most of us are really prepared to teach? Want to blame wanting k-12 for
student ills, blame, too, wanting graduate programs for a lack of training and
preparation for classroom teaching.
If we're not skeptical about ourselves, as we are of them, if we're
haughty and perhaps arrogant about ourselves, we're no match for the complex
reality of the classroom. And, that human fallibility and complexity, on both
sides of the podium, is the only game in town.
Make it a good day
-Louis-
Louis Schmier
http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
203 E. Brookwood Pl http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta, Ga 31602
(C) 229-630-0821 /\ /\ /\ /\
/\
/^\\/ \/ \ /\/\__
/ \ / \
/ \/ \_ \/ / \/
/\/ / \ /\ \
//\/\/ /\ \__/__/_/\_\/
\_/__\ \
/\"If you want to climb
mountains,\ /\
_ / \ don't practice on mole
hills" - / \_
---
You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected].
To unsubscribe click here:
http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=32583
or send a blank email to
leave-32583-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
