Article Review
After reading the excerpt from Leo Buscaglia's book Living, Loving, Learning please reflect on your thoughts and feelings. (This article has been emailed to you)
The following questions were created to be thought provoking:
( you do not have to answer them all but they may aid you in your responses/reflections)
1) What were some of the AHA's (ideas that stood out to you) that you encountered?
2) How can you utilize this information in your classroom?
3) Do you feel/think that this excerpt from the 1970's is still true today?
4) Please comment on one other course members comments
**Click on comments to read and leave your personal ideas**
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8 comments:
You mean a rabbit can be taught to fly? Interesting article. I remember as a stucent myself having the same kind of experience as the one in the article about drawing the tree! I often wondered why we all had to be doing the same thing all the time. The commment about the writers needing to pass trigonometry to get into a university seems so silly, but I know things like that really happen. I know a girl who really wanted to be a nurse. She was so wonderful with people, and just wanted to be someone who could help. She never was able to get her nursing degree because she couldn't pass the courses she needed to have. She failed before she even got a chance to get into the actual nursing course! I like the idea of letting children know they don't have to be satified becoming like everyone else! It's important for children to understand their uniqueness has a special place in the world.
The information in this article is timeless. Even though the book it was taken from was written in the 1970s the idea is still an important one. As far as using the ideas from this article in my classroom I feel it's a great reminder for me so I don't become like the art teacher expecting everyone to be the same or do things just like me! I need to remember to let my students become individuals!
I got quite a chuckle...so many think that their curriculum is "THE CURRICULUM". Sounds like an early release staff meeting at my school district. My aha's were how much we should try to relate to a special educational M-team meeting where we need to meet the needs of the individial student rather than completing an assingment deadline.
I felt that I was utilizing this information in my own way when I grade papers in my 6-8 language arts curriculum that leads itself to be more subjecticve to the reader. I tend to look at the author and their ability and go from there before I finalize a grade. Not all students are created equal!
I do find that this aritcle is relevant yet today, however, I also feel it is important to teach students to jump through hoops. Both are needed for survival. The objective is to teach students to be able to distinguish when it is important to apply which one.
This article really hit home with my own professional development. I just finished the National Board Certification process and so much of it was deciphering what they wanted to see in the analyzing of my own teaching. It really was a "jumping through the hoops" process. I do feel it was a worthwhile endeavor; however, I don't feel that the certification really identifies great teachers - just those that are able to identify and analyze their own teaching strategies according to the process.
There have been students that don't fit the norm in every class that I have taught. This article is a good reminder of taking the time to realize every student's strengths and weaknesses and using this information in the differentiation of lessons.
I think this article is still true today. We know the effective teaching strategies to use with students to celebrate and utilize their abilities, but because of NCLB laws, standardized tests, curriculum and standard guidelines we often get so focused on the bottom line - and forget that the standards and standardized tests are not given to standard kids. It is our job to educate students at their level with their talents.
I completely agree with you, Mary. It is important to teach students how to jump through the hoops - that is just part of life that all people in all careers have to face. It is equally important to teach students to be able to distinguish when it is important to apply which one.
I think this is a great article, and one that should probably be passed out to all teachers every once in a while. I believe that many educators forget that uniqueness is a great thing for students and that it is part of our job to help the students find and develop their own uniqueness. Speaking as a math teacher, I know it is very difficult for students to find their own uniqueness in math. Many students either love or hate math, and if they hate it they automatically shut down. It takes me quit a bit of time just to get the students to TRY, even if they get it wrong...let alone have them find their own uniqueness. However, I do think most students get to find some of their uniqueness in math by the end of 8th grade. If I get to witness them discovering it, it brings me great joy.
I also agree with the fact that students need to jump trough hoops, but I think I view it more as a broad knowledge of things. You want kids to take certain classes so they can experience things for themselves and see if they like it, hate it, are good at it, etc. This idea is what made me become a math teacher...I hated math until I have in high school and one day it just all clicked for me. When I tell kids that they just laugh because I don't think they believe me. But I wouldn't be who I am today if I wasn't forced to continue on in mathematics and take more classes. I think it is extremely important for kids to experience all kinds of things, and school is a great place for that to happen.
This article brings back some memories for me. I was in college when this was written, and remember being in a "creative class" as a starter for teaching. We were to go outside and draw a green leaf and describe "what it felt like to be that leaf". I couldn't do it! Too many years of "doing it the right (the teacher's) way" and staying in the lines. I gave up teaching at that time as I felt if I couldn't do even that, then I shouldn't be teaching someone's child. I went into the health care field instead. After 16 years and 2 kids, I found I could be creative and help children be their own people and returned to education and a 2nd degree.
As a first grade teacher, I find that children are still in awe of so many things, and work hard to continue to develope that and their uniqueness as much as possible. We do encourage them to be creative, but at times do find myself having to encourage them to "add detail" and think outside the box as far as describing things with pictures and not worrying about what is right or wrong. How quickly they have learned that!
As I job share, I teach Math, and tell the kids that my job is to teach them strategies, they use the one that works best for them. There is no right or wrong way. It gives them a way to be creative and find their own answers.
I also agree that kids do need to learn to jump through the hoops to some extent, as that is the way the world is being run these days, especially as far as getting into college. Unfortunately, they do need to know how to take tests well, and to write well, to get a chance to go beyond high school. There are a few that do quite well without a college education, but they tend to be people who are outstanding in some way or another, or have "connections", ie John Kennedy that was mentioned in the article.
Buscaglia's article is timeless, and as appropriate now as when he wrote it.
After reading this article I recall taking an English class in college where it was important to think and interpret the way the professor thought and interpreted. Your grade was based on his thinking and hot yours. It took a while to figure out what he wanted when writing assignments were given. Eventually you did not write your thoughts, you wrote want he wanted to read.
Many times at faculty meetings I have had a prinicipal who preached that we should not always be giving the same assignments to all students; we should be individualizing our programs. We should be meeting the needs of all our students. I think in many cases, this goes in one ear and out the other because I have been in many classes where everyone is expected to do the work in the same way. When I am in the regular classroom and assignments are given I sometimes quietly wonder why it is necessary to give both the practiuce and reteach pages to the entire class. Do all students have to do both? Not everyone modifies to meet student needs.
As a special needs teacher, I am always having to individualized my program when creating IEP's and my yearly curriculum. I know my students will struggle in school because of their disability but providing them with the skills to succeed in life whether it's going on to some form of postsecondary education or immediately into the workforce is so important.
I really enjoyed this article and it is still relevant today. As an at-risk teacher most of my students do not fit the norm in the traditional classroom. Most are rabbits refusing to fly. They are not like all the other obedient students and most have gotten a one-way ticket out of many classrooms.
A variety of teaching strategies and assessments and a large dose of flexibilty has given my students an opportunity to succeed when all many have ever known is failure. Although we cover all the same state standards in our courses, but in a different way, many of my colleagues fail to understand or value our teaching. They only understand students who "draw their tree".
My students are unique and each brings something of value to the classroom. I am anxious to share this article with my colleagues.
I read this article about a week ago and it made me think so many things that I just had to leave it alone for a while. There are so many ways to look at it. One thing it reminded me of was how so many kids think that if they don't go to college than that's the end and they will just have a lame job. Not every child should be pushed into that track, and our schools do not do a good job of showing kids the alternatives. My husband knew in highschool that he wanted to go into the trades and went he went to his counselor for help they couldn't help him out. He was frustrated and he went to figure it out on his own. Today he is very successful, but I know he did not feel that way about himself in school. I also think there is a lot of pressure on kids to be amazing. Lots of kids think that they have to get a's or b's, be a superstar in a sport, do extracurriculars, etc. That stuff is great, but I think that kids that are doing fine and are involved a little in school feel like they are already loosing the race, when really they will be ok. Things seem really black and white right now and no one cheers on the average joe. What's wrong with that? We seem to applaud the superstars, bitch about the bad kids and then forget the rest. The end of the article that talked about kids being afraid to express themselves, and parroting success really got to me. It's so true, but I had never really thought about that before. It made me think of my college classes, and in many of them regurgitating all of the information was what got you ahead. But when it came to education classes, things were so different. They constantly called on you to search your ownself, re-evaluate, think outside of the box, etc. They taught you in the ways they hoped you would eventually teach your students. In those classes your own instincts and ideas mattered and parroting didn't. It was such a great new way to see the world and those classes were freeing, however somewhat scary because there were no "right" answers. I wanted to bounce off of Nicole's comment that this is an article teachers need to re-read everyonce in a while. Articles and quotes like this make you think and are able to bring you back to what you are all about and what you really intend to do as an educator. They are important because we all lose focus once in a while and we get caught up in all of the other b.s. and business of the job. It's good to take time to reflect and remember what it's all about. Day to day it's little picture and we can't forget the big picture. Lastly, congrats to Ann for getting her national board certification. Wow!
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