Week 3 ~ Reflecting on Reflection to Ashley

From "we are educators first, realists second, and dreamers third" to the end of your post I noted that we highlighted the exact same passages this week. Reading through I kept saying, me too, me too. That initial passage made me consider the way I would rate myself.  I think I'm a dreamer first, an educator second, and a realist last. I read these chapters while soaking in a bubble bath, and actually pondered how this difference in perception of self-shaped my teaching and my life. I thought about it until the water turned cold and the realist in me had to crank on the hot water again.

You are definitely NOT the only teacher who gets bogged down by the staff lounge or in my case, the hallway conversations. The one benefit of six back-to-back classes a day and no passing time is the fact that I’m rarely privy to these discussions. (When you don’t even have time to run to the bathroom, you gotta look hard for the positives!) The elementary art teachers in my district meet four - five times throughout the school year for PLC. At first I was really excited for a chance to collaborate, but they’re mostly bitch and moan sessions addressing "this is the way we do things at our school.". Reading through this book made me wonder if I could interest any of them in a book study on this book. 

Reflection

With every meaningful unit we teach we are essentially asking our students to demonstrate how they perceive themselves, but what if we did it in an overt and profound way? How could that look? Sometimes people tell me that I’m really pushing elementary kids to visualize abstract concepts. I wonder if they’d see beyond the literal and, more importantly, would it really matter? Dreamer first, educator second, realist last…sometimes that realist last part trips me up, but yup, that’s me.

The other elementary art teachers are really a great group of people, I like them a lot. Despite our many differences, the common thread of what we do ties us together. We’re all crunched for time, have to deal with the same issues as far as grading, and lunch duties. We’re frustrated that we don’t have time for our own art-making. Our fine art’s coordinator facilitates the PLC meetings, but how can I reframe the undercurrent of bitching and moaning so that these meetings can be more than a waste of time? I think it’s a case of not seeing the forest for the trees. Any suggestions my fine classmates?

 PS. YOU are my real collaborative group!