Interesting scenario from Tatum on pg. 25 (middle of the 2nd paragraph) about one of his own experiences:
". . .my teacher asked me why I changed my hair. Somehow, I knew this teacher believed I was misguided in my decision. I said nothing. She told me that she expected a response later, after I read a book that she promised to bring me the next day (and subsequently brought)."
I see that this teacher is doing many things right that we should examine more closely. What things do you see that she is doing right?
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I love, love , love this section from the book. I think its because its obvious the teacher is aware of him and what he going through and because she is not afraid to challenge him. I have a poster in my room that says Don't Waste your Life, I also have the lyrics from a Swtichfoot song that asks "This is your life are you who you want to be?" and lastly we talk about the quote by Dolly Parton that says "Find out who you are and do it on purpose." This teacher was challenging him to discover who he was for real and not just because everyone else is doing it. I think that is so powerful. Plus, she not only said, but then backed it up with a book he could appreciate. So cool!
ReplyDeleteI guess I should have edited a bit before posting, I got excited- sorry... :)
ReplyDeleteI think she also didn't press him for an answer when she asked him the question. She gave him time to think and analyze why he changed his hair. Isn't there a saying somewhere that says "We are the ones who know ourselves best"? This might just be the point where he starts analyzing why he does other things and be a turning point. As for the teacher following though - I experienced something this week that was kind of a wake up call. I had agreed to help an African-American girl I am trying to mentor sew her invention convention project. To make a long story short, I agreed to go by her house to reassure her mother and the mother's boyfriend that I had asked her to come after school. Well, I forgot. The next day she said to me "Why didn't you come by my house yesterday? My mother tried to put on her make-up before you came." Oh, my! I felt like I had really let her down with my failure to follow through. So, so important and I think connects to the comment on personal investment in students. They hear everything we say - more stress to be careful what we say.
ReplyDeleteI think the teacher did something very right, she stimulated his mind in interest, intelligence, and self-reflection. She did not criticize him, she only used the event for a indirect teachable moment that would lead to self introspection to have a life-changing effect. Bravo to the teacher and those of us who realize we are not just teaching contextual instruction...
ReplyDeleteLet the record show this reading is fuel a fire already burning within and I am not sure what place it is taking me. I believe in application and I am wandering how active SC is with some of the things I'm reading....
Oh and ppowell, I learned that with my children at home and school, even more so what we do is paramount. I try to always leave my sayings to an OPTION so I don't get caught.... Does it always work... we'll talk or as the kids say REAL TALK...:-)
First of all, she connected with Alfred on a personal level, so that he knew she saw him as an individual and not just another student sitting in a desk. She also chose just the right book for him. It is important to be knowledgeable about literature so that you can put the right book in a student's hands at just the right time. If you can get a student to see himself in a mirror when he reads a piece of literature, if he can connect that to his own life situations, then you've made a powerful personal connection, too.
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