Chapter_1

=//To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher//=

Chapter 1: Beginning: The Challenge of Teaching

In this chapter, Ayers discusses his myths of teaching. Which myth(s) resonated with you the most? Did you agree or disagree?


 * Maybe it's my continued focus on the management of a building BEFORE the leadership of a building, but I would say that Myth 1 resonated with me the most. I won't say I agree or disagree, but Ayers' points to classroom management as basically a "non-factor" in becoming a good teacher. I look at the functioning of a classroom like I look at the functioning of a school - can you have an effective environment for learning without strong classroom/building management? Maybe it's not THE most essential first step toward becoming a good teacher, but I can't say as I ever witnessed a great teacher who couldn't control a classroom. (Dr G)**


 * Probably because I am a young teacher and can still vividly remember my student teaching experience the myth that resonates with me the most is myth number 2 "Teachers learn to teach in colleges of education." I totally disagree with this myth and side with Ayers. I learned little inside the classrooms with my peers and also during my semester of student teaching when compared to my first semester as a licensed teacher.** **What is interesting about this is that even my professors admitted to this myth and the teacher I shadowed said the same thing. They all knew teachers (including myself) learn more through their own experiences.They also admit they were no different. "I look back and laugh about my first couple of years" said one of my professors. The point he was making is that we can only get better by doing, but also by reflecting. He believed that it was his job to teach us how to reflect and be proactive when different experiences happened in our own classrooms. In reality, I do believe what new teachers have is __maybe__ more current research, strategies, and interventions than some veteran teachers. However, not until experiencing a very passionate upset parent, dealing with a real boss, and more importantly discovering how to teach their incredibly diverse classroom is a teacher able to reflect and learn how to be a better educator. Finally, one of the best things about teaching is that learning to be better never stops. In fact once you leave those colleges of education the real learning begins. - (Josh Saba)**

//I agree with with both Josh S. and Joe B.// //about Myth #2. I thought I was prepared for the teaching world until I went out for my first substitute teaching experience. I can still remember walking into the classroom and thinking to myself, "Now what am I supposed to do?"- especially when the lesson plans that were left for me were so vague.// //I got a lot of experience throughout my years of substitute teaching, but I still felt lost when I received my first teaching position.// //I spent my first year questioning myself, observing my colleagues, and asking a lot of questions. I was and still am open to constructive criticism which allows me to be constantly learning// //and bettering myself.- (Katie Fahey)//

I agree with you Josh, I can’t say I felt prepared to teach as the University was preparing me for a field that was anticipated, not actually practiced. We can discuss this another time. I am also in agreement with Ayers debunk of myth 10: A good teacher knows what’s going on in the classroom. Disclaimer: if you are a parent of one of Mr. Bormann’s students, do not read the confessional that follows. Does a teacher always know what is going on in their classroom? I don’t. However, I do my best to pretend to. I have had days that I am so engrossed in assisting a student in a project that I have had students slip-out of the room for minutes at a time. I normally catch them, but due to distractions such as ear protection, 20-30 students simultaneously working on projects, and having 2 laboratories, a classroom, and a computer lab, not to mention 4 storage areas and a paint room all divided by walls and doors makes it difficult to keep a constant eye on all that are involved. Shame on me, -Joe Bormann

Dr. Gilson- You may not say whether you agree or disagree with myth 1, but I will. I completely disagree with Ayers on this one. For me, good classroom management is essential. More than any other Myth 7: Good teachers treat all students alike, resonated with me. This is something that I struggle with on a daily basis. I want to be consistent and fair, but for me that doesn't always mean treating students alike. What is right for one often times isn't right for the others. For example, we have a check mark policy for all fifth grade classes. Basically, if you misbehave you get a check mark in the discipline log and then there are certain consequences for each mark. The other two fifth grade teachers say that after four marks students are supposed to get detention. I HATE this policy and am currently refusing to follow it. Instead, I told parents at the beginning of the year that detention was at my discrection. For me it isn't necessarily about the mark, but more about the reason for the mark. For example, I have a student who doesn't get his agenda signed like he is supposed to. I know he doesn't get it signed because he lives in a single parent home and mom works nights and is asleep when he leaves for school in the morning. The whole point of getting the agenda signed is so parents can check that all homework is complete. The student is responsible and gets his work done so if he occasionally doesn't get the agenda signed I am not going to give him detention. What would that prove? If it were up to me, I wouldn't have general consequences but instead the punishment would fit the crime. I want to be clear that I don't play favorites, it just that students are different and in my mind shouldn't always be treated alike. (Erin Burmeister)

Thank you Erin. And I would hope that most teachers do just as you stated; but unfortunately, the inconsistency is a huge administrative challenge. (Dr G)

Erin, I completely agree with you when you said the punishment must fit the crime. Just yesterday, I had an issue with a girl being disrespectful to an adult, what would normally be a punishable offense, however, she finally told us her father had gone to jail over the weekend. Instead of giving her a detention or sending her to the office, I let her come into my room and vent; that was all she needed. Following our conversation, she apologized and I let her go on with her day. This situation reminded me of the importance of getting to know your students, because we don’t know what their home life is like and what they deal with outside of school. (Whitney)

All interesting comments: Dr. G - management has got to be there, but it may need to take on a new look in 21st Century classrooms. Josh - it was the experience gained in other settings that prepared me for the classroom. Joe - I'm sure I can't relate to the challenges of an Industrial Tech room. Erin - sounds like your 5th grader should be running detention, not receiving them. For the sake of variety, I'll pick Myth #3: Good teachers are always fun. I could point out several teachers in my building that strive to make their classes fun. I would also encourage you to stick around for awhile, because all too soon that teacher will need to explode in an effort to reign in students who push the fun well beyond the boundaries. While it is not my intent NOT to be fun, students can be surprised by the 'fun' that comes with challenging their own limits. Encouraging students to accomplish more, think more deeply, write more effectvely, speak more articulately than he/ she previously imagined is more fun than any game. "Authentic engagement," Ayers calls it, is the most meaningful activity in the teaching profession. This engagement still fuels my passion and separates good days from great days after 17 years in the classroom. (Rick)

I feel that I am in the same situation that J**osh** is by being fairly new to the profession I remember a lot of the classes that I took as an undergraduate. While they offered some very valid learning opportunities, I feel that the most valuable and benefical learning experiences were when I was in the classroom both for my level I, Level II, LevelII, student teaching, and finally own classroom setting. This is where I can apply the concepts learned in a practical manner and evaluate for myself which is effective and which is not. **Joe B.,** I agree with you totally. There are days where I do not know everything that is being asked of me. While I am in a position to tell the students an answer that may be inaccruate, I feel that more credibility is given if I tell them "I do not know, but I will find out for you." My students know that I will find the answer to their question, if possible, and get back to them. Finally, I will add myth #7 as one that I am passionate about. I remember in my interview at Roosevelt in CR that I responded to one of the questions saying that "I walk into a classroom and see 29 individual students." No two students are the same and therefore should not be treated that way. What is good for student A is not always good for student B. **Like Erin,** I find myself bending the rules for certain students because of extraordinary situations. I remember a students at my previous school who would occassionally not complete and assignment or project. These were very good students and upon talking with them I found out that they had to care for their younger siblings as their parents worked 2nd/3rd shifts at the local packing plant or they had to work from 4-close because thier family depended upon their income. Seeing the students as individuals allows me to make the necessary accomodations who require them, whether dictated by IEPs/504s or not. (Joe D.)

I want to address myth #1. Good classroom management is an essential first step toward becoming a good teacher. I used to think this was true and was terrified my first years of teaching hoping that I was going to be able to control my class. However, the past few years have changed my mind a little bit. I believe that if you are a good teacher that engages students with meaningful lessons, the students will WANT to participate, therefore, alleviating the problem of classroom discipline. No student would want to get into trouble because they did not want to miss the engaging lesson. Now I still had a discipline plan that our 5th grade team had in place, but I hardly used it. As far as the other aspects of classroom management, I still had my classroom very organized and we had our set schedule that we followed every day. So I guess I agree with Ayers on this myth. (Jeni Roadcap)

I also have to choose myth #1 as the one that resonated with me the most. I completely disagree with Ayers on this one. To me classroom management is so much more than yelling at a student when they step out of line. I feel that in order to be able to teach your students anything you have to have boundaries established and expectations in place. To me planning engaging lessons (as Jeni mentions above) is a part of management. My job as a teacher is to plan the most engaging lesson possible with minimum time lost on transitions. I feel being proactive about classroom set up and routines are a vital part of managing my classroom. I find it is teachers who lack organization and routines that really struggle with the discipline in their classrooms. Those are the teachers often perceived as "fun" but (just as Rick states) end up blowing up at their class because they don't have those boundaries in place. I spend less time redirecting student behavior each year I teach because I get better at planning more engaging activities. (Kerri Mennenga)

I am going to address Myth #12: Kids today are worse than ever before. I am in full agreement with Ayers that despite what many adults think, this is not the case. Obviously, it is a different world now than when most of us went to school. As educators, we have much more competition for kids attention and focus than our predecessors did. While this makes our jobs more challenging (and ulitmately more rewarding), it doesn't imply that the reason for this is because the kids are "bad". They are growing up in a different world. We often discuss in my sophomore U.S. History class how teenagers of the Jazz Age were seen as rebellious and immoral. When those teens grew up and had their own kids, they cringed at the "sexuality" and rebellious nature of rock and roll (Elvis, Beatles, Stones, etc.) that was ruining their kids lives. The kids of the '60s that grew up on rock and roll were appalled at the immorality and violence of the rap music that their kids listened to. You see where I am going with this. Ayers probably said it best by saying, "Kids today are kids nonetheless, and they need caring and connected adults to engage and encourage them-even if we have conveniently forgotten our own youthfulness" (p. 29). (Travis Druvenga)

Amen Travis! Here's the bigger issue though - how do we instill the belief that you stated (and I agree with 100%), in the teachers that see the opposite? As Whitaker (2003) stated, "we can change behaviors, but we can't change beliefs". Kind of a rhetorical question because I don't really think there's an answer. It's a tough one because we've all seen it before in our schools, and the principal is often left to support the staff member when maybe (just maybe) a different reaction could have prevented administrator intervention?! (Dr G)

In addition to commenting on the myths, I found an insight from the Introduction to be noteworthy, "A major conflict is always between reality and possibility. ....The trick is to live with one foot in the world as it is while the other foot strides toward a world that could be but is not yet" (p. 10). Okay, now on to the myths. I found myself asking questions about myth #1. Classroom management may not be the "first step," but I believe it is a necessary step to becoming a good teacher. I don't mean to imply that classroom management means students sitting quietly in rows, but instead an agreed upon level of respect between teacher and students. Feel free to nail me on this sweeping generalization, but my perception is that teacher ed. programs spend a lot of time on the 'science' of teaching (lesson plans, activity types, etc.) and not much time on the 'art' of classroom management - the tricks of the trade relating to students. This administrator prep program seems to (so far) emphasize the management side of things ("if you can't manage your school first, you won't have a job" rhetoric) over instructional leadership. Perhaps this is the way it should be - just an observation that came to mind while reading this myth. I agreed with myth #7. //[|Fair isn't Always Equal]// by Rick Wormeli is a book that really helped me address this idea within the context of classroom assessment. Ayers said, "Good teachers spend time and energy where they must and expect that positive results will spread laterally among the group" (p. 27). -Matt T.

Matt: I can't argue with you regarding your take on pre-service teacher preparation. I know that UNI is guilty of lacking in classroom management preparation - very much so! I do hope that by the end of this program, you find a nice balance of management and instructional leadership. I'll be the first to state that management is priority #1 for survival, respect, and tenure. But effective managers ONLY, can no longer lead our schools. There will be plenty of educators that are ok with that leadership simply because no one is pushing them to be better - but everyone needs to be pushed (gently)!! (Dr G)

Teachers learn to teach in colleges of education. I would agree that different universities have better qualities than others.

There is no way that a university can prepare a future educator to have the same experiences as a full time teacher. Unless you want to have a 4 yr student teaching experience at 8 different schools.

So many factors go into teaching. The different students and their backgrounds, best teaching practices for specific content areas, differentiation for students, and the list goes on and on....I know teachers that have been teaching for 15 yrs and they still don't have a great grasp on all of the different factors. Not because they are bad teachers, because so many factors go into meaningful education.

Lastly, If you are straight A student, that doesn't mean that you have the social skills to create relationships with the students and staff. Creating relationships with the students is the most important part of teaching. I believe you have to know what your students like and integrate that in with the content you are trying to teach. Josh J.

Can't agree more with your last statement Josh. It is always a difficult assignment when you are a principal and you are reviewing application materials of teacher applicants. How much credibility do you put into the applicant's transcript? I always struggled with that because of exactly what you said. Now, if someone has C's and D's in their core content area, I was always a bit hesitant. But the key, and likely the only thing you can really go on, is the student teaching evaluation. Good points Josh (Dr G)

For me it’s myth 9: Good teaching can be measured by how well students do on tests. I totally agree that with is a myth. I personally had many good teachers as I was growing up, but did not always do well on tests. I am a person who deals with major test anxiety. I do not perform well on most tests, it’s not that I don’t know the material it’s just when it comes time to take the test I freeze up and then do not show what I know on the test which has nothing to do with the teachers and how they taught me. Also, some students don’t even prepare for tests therefore they do not do well on them, which is not a reflection on the teacher either. (Amy)

I am not going to lie, after teaching for nine years I remember many of my classes within the history department but have very little memory of what I did in my ed classes (Myth 2). I recently went through a box that had some of my college material and books and I had great reflection of what happened in the classes that used those materials in regard to my history classes but I found very few books or materials from my ed classes so I doubt I had any chance of become a good teacher based on Myth 2. Myth 8 also struck me as I thought about the students that I have. We have all had challenging students and we know some of their backgrounds. Throughout history there have always been troubled students or students who come from poor circumstances. We all just keep plugging along and manage, as teachers sometimes we are at our best when we have to step up and meet those challenges. (Aaron B.)

I must say Myth 7, “Good teachers treat all students alike,” resonated most with me. This could be because of my special education background, as we are always making accommodations and modifications for our students on an individual basis. I think we would all agree that no two students are alike, so why should we treat them as such? I know we want to be fair and we should be, to a certain degree, but I don’t think this is always in our students’ best interest. All of our students come from different walks of life, the same as us, so we can’t expect them to learn, react, and respond the same. The best thing we can do for our students is get to know them, their interests and hobbies, learning styles, pet peeves, etc. Although we can’t provide a completely customized education for all students, we do need to get away from the one-size-fits-all attitude and I think we are, slowly. As educators, we need to do our very best to personalize our students’ educational experience. (Whitney Bowen)

Whitney: This is a perfect example of tailoring our reaction to what children need; based on their situation. If only all teachers would see it that way when you are the principal responsible for upholding school rules consistently!! Some would only see this response as allowing the child to "get off the hook"! But kudos to you. (Dr G)

Chp. 1 (Katie Owens) While reading chapter 1, a question stood out to me, “Why teach, when you could do something more profitable?”(p. 18). It made my think of why I wanted to be a teacher. When I first decided at college that I wanted to be a teacher was because I wanted to work with kids and the great schedule. After college and I realized it was so much more than that. I want to teach because you get to help mold little minds into the people that they want to become. You get to go on this amazing journey with them throughout the year. The whole process is astonishing and I am so grateful that I am apart of it. I think that these reasons out way all the other jobs for me. No matter how much money you get paid, if you are not happy doing it, then why do it.

Katie: Your focus on Ayers' quote from page 18 is a good one to reflect upon; and one that any of us that have been around very long have probably heard and possibly responded to in one way or another. But I'm wondering if you're trying to avoid choosing a Myth? ha (Dr G)

A lot of these myths really resonated with me, but myths 2 and 7 were the strongest. This is only my third full year of teaching, so I can still remember my “younger” college days. I received my undergrad from the best college ever (obviously UNI) and felt super prepared for teaching. Little did I know, that college classes do not teach you how to teach. I had a lot of resources and ideas from my education classes, but there is nothing that can compare you to teach except teaching. I learned more about teaching in my 16 weeks of student teaching than I did in all four years of my undergrad. Teaching is one of those professions that you just have to do it to learn. That is why your student teaching is extremely valuable. Myth 7 is also something I feel strongly about. I tell my kids right from the beginning that I will not treat everyone the same. Not all kids are the same, so why treat them that way? I feel I treat them fairly, but every child is different and has different needs. It reminds me of expectations. I tell my students that I expect the best from each individual student. Some students’ best are going to be different. (Derek Philips)

Derek: I really liked your final sentence here. It definitely helps clarify that "fair isn't always equal"! (Dr G)

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