Reflecting on Reflections Week 9

Beth,

Your historical social restrictions comments made me laugh. I clearly recall the list of restrictions that my advanced methods teacher gave us right before student teaching, 100 million years ago. He stood before the class and delivered this sage advice:     

      Join a church immediately.           

      Never step foot into an establishment that sells liquor, be seen purchasing alcohol, or with a drink in your hand.           

      Never, ever, should an unmarried female, allow the vehicle belonging to a male, remain parked at your home for any extended amount of time, and most especially overnight!

Fast-forward to the future, and it seems that many of these restrictions are still in place, though perhaps not as overtly as before. I don’t worry that I jeopardize my job, but I still cringe whenever I run into parents, students, or school board members at Wal-Mart, and I have a cart full of booze!  I wonder how my own perceptions perpetuate social restrictions. 
Reflection

The more I read of this book, the greater my interest in social conditioning, perceptions, and social structure overall. Sometimes I become so overwhelmed by the day-to-day demands on my life / time that I forget to step back and take a look at the big picture. 

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Ginia,

Let me begin by saying that middle school students frighten me! Consequently, I have great admiration for those of you who are brave enough to jump in there and wrangle those little souls amidst their transition from child to young adult! I always enjoy hearing the stories that come from another teacher’s classroom. It really lets you step into that persons shoes, just for a moment. Who knows the profound effect your truth speaking to the child (and her parents) may have on her life in the long run.

 The past few days I’ve had several students profess that they are bad at art, bad at drawing or whatever skill or technique they are working on. I’ve been questioning why they feel that way and assure them that I too struggle with the same skills and techniques. Thanks to you and Beth, I think I’ll work on my self-talk skills!

Reflection

This week more and more of my students have complained that they aren't good at whatever they are working on. I found myself wondering if it was due to the fact that I have been away from the classroom for awhile attending both the state and national conferences. Some students have had subs for as many as four class periods in a row. One of my sweetest little girls told me that the sub kept telling her that she "Wasn't doing the assignment the right way!" and made her begin over and over again. (Grrrr!!! Kinda makes you just want to show movies when you have to be gone!) Then, I also realized that state-wide testing is rapidly approaching and students are taking the practice test and doing other test taking prep in the classroom. I think this generates a lot of anxiety for kids. I want the skills learned in my class to be like a suit of armor, or a layer of Scotchgard...insulation from the negativity!