This is a diverse family (I'm the red-head!)

Diversity or simply egocentrism re-packaged.

I've been sitting in a class this week. I've learned a lot, but not what I expected. Why is it that to teach teachers to teach more actively, we sit them in rows and talk to them? In this case, to teach us about diversity the prof is showing us data and giving a myopic interpretation of the data. He did not survey the class to see what course work or information we already had. Thus, people with Master's Degrees in psychology, sociology, education, etc. have sat through a review of basic principles of sociology, anthropology, communication theory, and educational practices. Sigh! And this is the precise thing he's instructing us about with our kids: don't teach down to them. Sigh again!



His egocentrism has no bounds. "It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." -Epictetus. So he has spend all week in one-way communication with us telling us to teach using two-way communication. He's telling us to be sensitive of student needs while he has omitted breaks (Yikes! I needed that P-mate and a bottle to store the stuff in!!) and kept us waiting over an hour with our lunch sitting ready on the side table while he prattled on about something.


So...my insight. Are we all that egocentric?? Yeah. We probably are. My world and my point of view is most important to me.


What have I learned? If I want to be effective with my students, don't do what this dude just did!!! Good lesson, I guess. I must remember that God looks at my egocentrism and sees that if I get my view off myself, I'd do better at changing my world. Yeah. Good lesson.

More Valentine's Day thoughts

Northern Illinois University is located just 45 minutes from us. Yesterday's tragedy struck very close to home. Getting ready for work this morning, I made a decision. Monday, I'm taking a baseball bat to work. It's the only weapon I can think of that might work. The way my room is arranged, there's a very limited access and a spot I could wait unseen should there be an intruder. My room is on the third floor, and right by the door is a closet in which to store/hid the bat. I think I'll have some warning. I hope so. It's all I could think of.

And I have to be more careful. No more going to school with a phone nearly out of charge. I have to keep my cell phone in my pocket. Not in my desk. Not back in the office. Not in my purse. In my pocket. Close at hand. Fully charged. Ready to call 911.

That's the tragedy. A school teacher with thirty 13-year olds in her charge has to think of what to do in the event that an armed intruder makes it to the third floor. What is this country coming to???

Just me and my Louisville Slugger. Never dreamed it could come to this.

Real World Hazards of Teaching

I always thought it could never be me, never be my school, never be my district. This one has hit way too close to home. The high school that our middle school feeds into.

She is not someone I know, although I might recognize her if I were to see her. Chances are we have been at the same meeting at some point in time. She's not someone I've taught with, although she very well could have been. Moves between middle school and high school are done regularly, especially in the arts areas. She's a colleague, somebody's friend, somebody's co-worker. Soon I'll discover that I know someone who does know her. A friend of a friend. It's happened here.

The perpetrator (according to those who know, because no one is telling the name of a juvenile) is not from our school, but he went to middle school somewhere. He's not someone I know or have known, but I may have a dozen more almost like him.

Last week I ran into a former student working at a local crafts store. He recognized me and inquired about other teachers and the school. He's out of prison now having served his time for accessory to murder. He was a passenger in a car from which a drive-by was committed. And there are others that we know about. Crimes committed after leaving our hallowed halls. The rapist who ran to Mexico. The murderer who served time in a mental hospital. Not to mention the armed robber of convenience stores and gas stations. Those are the ones we hear about, recognize the names in the paper.

Then there are the National Merit Scholars. The graduates from college who choose teaching as a profession. Other graduates who contribute to society in various ways. These students too pass through our hallowed halls on their way to other things, getting on with life.

Dear God, help us as public school teachers to nurture the good in students, to teach character and ethics along with reading, writing and mathematics. Help us to care enough to attempt to alleviate the pain that some experience, to recognize the call for help before it is too late. And God, give us hope. We need an extra measure of Faith, Hope and Charity. By Your Grace!!

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/750245,elgin012008.article

What do Teachers Make?

As a public school teacher, this resonates with me. If you can't hear his message past the strong language, (and one gesture) my apologies. (Will this balance the more theological nature of the last entry????) I do feel passionate about teaching. Which is what makes me so angry about the current state of schools. Children so need to learn to the ethics of working hard, respecting self and others and getting along and having fun. That can happen while they are readin', writin', and 'rithmeticin'. But most of all, if I haven't taught them to think, I haven't taught a thing. And it is all totally unrelated to the salary scale of teachers versus lawyers or other professions.