Recalibration.

-

I don't know where to start with this blog entry. Let's just say a lot has happened since my last entry, and of course, that always chucks me right into reflection mode. So, here are some thoughts I've had about teaching...

  • Why is it that caring more about students has caused me more stress, instead of less, with my peers?
  • If many of the teachers who inspired us WERE NOT JERKS, why do we insist on that attitude with our own students? 
    • Why IS the default to be unkind to students and to share "war stories"? Do they make us feel superior? Is this the only way teachers can bond?

Belonging.

I shared with some ungrading folks my recent thoughts, and I received lots of support as well as a link to this video which recaps a book on belonging.
  • If I don't feel like I belong on my campus, and I am a white middle-aged lady with progressive stances, it shouldn't surprise me - or others - that some students don't feel like they belong either.
  • Does higher ed, in general, need workshops on belonging? Because when it comes to my particular campus, if we all felt valued by others and that we belonged and that what we did mattered... I wonder how the vibes would change? 
    • Did we lose each other when covid hit and we shifted into questioning how teaching could be "done" and done well? 
    • Is that where I've observed a before and after with our campus? Maybe. Did we have silos before? Sure, but I think when certain programs easily went online/remote and others had to scramble with their labs, they easily felt left behind. They possibly didn't feel like they belonged. They started to give other departments and programs more of a side-eye than they would've in the past.

Gratitude.

I would like to end with this: That each time I've felt the stress in me increase or my anxiety take over, students are there to calm me. My interactions with them, beyond the classroom or in the classroom, are always wonderful. They keep me grounded.


“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” --- G.K. Chesterton
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” — Sir Ken Robinson


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Ungrading Nuggets.

-
Ungrading Nugget #1.  #Ungrading, for me, is a theory. The practice looks very different for each teacher, whether they are teaching k-12 or at a university. {The practice is a privilege for some, as I acknowledge that as a full-timer, I'm allotted more freedom than a part-time teacher.} The practice looks very different depending on discipline, too. So, two English teachers at the same community college might be using the ungrading theory, but their ways of "assessment" vary from: their use or non-use of reflections and what those look like (questions asked) and when they are assigned (beginning, middle, end or something in between) their use or non-use of grading conferences and what those look like (the prep for students) and when they are conducted (midterm, both midterm and at the end, or just the end) their use or non-use of self-assessments and what those look like (declaration quizzes* in the LMS or rubrics or reflections attached to projects) and when they are as
Read more

Intentionally Equitable Hospitality - IEH

-
Image
I signed up for a three-part webinar series, pre-Spring semester, on the topic of Intentionally Equitable Hospitality .* Here are my random thoughts and connections, via a list that some might understand and some might not. Power in the Room: Such a variety I've witnessed... Campus meetings Book clubs and Sorority groups I've been a part of Conferences, virtual and in-person The classroom Courses I've taken = Creative Commons Certification for Educators Who has designed these spaces? Who do they serve? Who benefits? Thinking on the idea of generous authority* "Facilitator is equalizing, protecting, and hoping to connect to their guests." Have I ever experienced this? Yes. With the ungrading community online, the OER community, my book club, the CC course, and hopefully in my own classroom at times... What can the inequitable spaces I've been in learn from the equitable ones? Soft starts. How is everyone? What is the pulse of the room? "Authority figure&qu
Read more

Major Update!

-
Hey y'all... So, since my last post, I have published a second and third book! Yep! And the fourth one should be rocking and rolling this week... all available on Amazon: Book 1: Nontraditional textbook =    The Anti-Textbook .  Book 2: My very first writings - fiction =    Feed the Bunnies & Eat the Pickles / The Purple Wall's Seven .  Book 3: Nonfiction, about breast reduction surgery =    The Big-Boobed Bridesmaid .   ( Coming Soon ) Book 4: Year in the Life of a Teacher =    Teaching: With a Side of Chicken Wings and a Shot of Vodka .
Read more