I have been so eager to start this book, along with many others that have come my way this summer. My personal books of fun have been squeezed in with these professional ones, so I can tackle many at once, pieces at a time. I keep telling myself that this method will allow me to process the content more. Actually, it's how I can "lesson plan" it across the last couple of weeks of my summer and actually find time to get it all read.
So, I tackled the first chapter called A Teaching Mindset. Colleen returns to the idea that she is a pessimist. I am starting to wonder if I should change my ways and be real with myself. But, I have pretty much been an optimist, but sometimes dabbling in the idea that I shouldn't always get my hopes up for perfection or things going well. These days, there's always something to catch me off-guard. That has and will always continue to be the same for my classroom. Nothing should surprise me. We are both scientist and artists alikee , she says. I think most teachers would feel that they are scientists more, rather than artists, because they think that their style or artistry is stifled with programs and methods that don't allow them to put their own creative spin or personality in their lessons. But, she says we are both. We can't just keep doing the same thing, year after year, because year after year, our students' needs are different. We would hope that we wouldn't be labeled as "that teacher" who never changes in all the years. Not a good reputation to have.
With that said, she goes to that cliche of working smarter, not harder. "Salvage the things that we can reuse as often as possible...taking stock of things we used years before and have not looked at in a long time to see if there is some nugget, some little gem, that we could recycle and refashion into something useful again." It reminds me of some little girl featured on a Disney Channel commercial short for upcycling clothes.
One great illustration for what we seem to do in the classroom is when she describes the Buddhist monks and how they create something called the Sand Mandala. They work together to prepare and plan the design and then create it with colored grains of sand, in such deliberate and delicate designs. They take several days to finish, and then they do, it is swept away with a broom, gathered and dropped into a body of water as a blessing. Wow. Talk about teaching the writer and not the writing!! The actual work and process is where the true learning comes from. The journey, not the destination. How many times have I heard that in my life? The sand mandala is to remind us that the things we make as humans are not permanent. The same idea holds true for teaching. We know that the lessons, mentors, books, and all of the other tools we use are not meant to last forever. Things change, ideas change, new books are written, and so on. It reminds me that with whatever I am using at the time, whatever text or calendar has been placed in my hands, is all about what I choose to do with it and learn from it. It will not last forever, but knowing that I am becoming better when I take what I learn from those times, units, years, and add it to the next thing I will use, making my repertoire even better is what matters the most.
Another illustration she describes is with the story of Milo of Croton, an ancient Greek athlete. He apparently could carry a full-grown bull on his shoulders. That's like in my world, just going out and running a marathon on any given day. That's not how it worked with Milo. At first, he carried around a small newborn calf. He fed it and cared for it. It grew and grew, but Milo grew and grew stronger with it. Finally, the calf grew into a full-grown bull, but Milo was used to carrying that weight. As the calf grew, so did Milo. By then, he could pick up anything he wanted. He had that strength to tackle anything. The same is true in our class. We can't just pick up a bull or go run a marathon. We have to take it from the smallest mileage and get stronger and gain more endurance as we build those miles up. We take the small problems and tackle those first. Go into it with "eyes wide open...expecting there to be problems." Our problem-solving muscles will develop as we go.
Working smarter, not harder seems like it's just a piece of cake. But what does that really mean? It's like telling a student to "show, not tell". What does that mean??? She tells us to take small pauses before you act. Let your students help you do some of the work. Use your colleagues for collaboration and support. "Can I call a friend for advice? Can I ask for a volunteer to share the load? Can I teach the students how to handle this? How might technology help?"
She concludes be telling us that we can't fix every problem. Most seasoned teachers know this. The weight is too much to try and carry. Decide what battles you want to fight and leave the rest for another day or year. But, you can respond.
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