I recently read The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer. In the twentieth anniversary copy, Palmer challenges teachers to be open, reflective and communicative with other teachers. “The resources we need in order to grow as teachers are abundant within the community of colleagues. How can we emerge from our privatization and create a continuing conversation about pedagogy that will allow us to tap that abundance? Good talk about good teaching is what we need to- enhance both our professional practice and the selfhood from which it comes” (2017 p. 149).
Self-reflection is the beginning step to open helpful conversations with other teachers. As I self-reflect, the questions I need to discuss come to the forefront. Teaching is a craft and being a master takes years and years of revisiting material and lessons that have failed my students. Failing at a presentation can become a teachable moment when I am honest with students about my reflections. Perhaps I asked too much before the students were ready? Perhaps I did not ask enough? Hearing what students have to say about their experience a lesson not only is respectful of the learning process but also of the students. Making the adaption to working in an elementary school when most of my career has been at the middle school and high school level has been wrought with self-reflection. What can I change in a lesson that will allow the joy of learning to shine? This experience is both humbling and strengthening. There are many times that I am asking too much. Being able to admit this has from my observations created a learning atmosphere of trust between self and students.
Seifert and Sutton remind us that teaching is work “Keep in mind,
though, that a major part of the effort needed for action research involves the same sort of work—observing, recording information, reflecting—that is needed for any teaching that is done well” (372). Self-reflection and open honest conversations with the intention of understanding the subtle, complicated nuances of learning and the uniqueness of humans we work with (students and the adults) are the true steps necessary to mastery...these steps never stop.
After self-reflection (that I recommend daily), I find mentors in books. Reading has buoyed the creative spirit within as I work in a huge ‘system’ that is overwrought with the need to test and measure. The human spirit is alive in students and I see evidence in many children that their ability to be innovative is squashed in the day to day schooling routine. When I feel particularly deflated, reading books such as Parker Palmer’s feeds my soul. The spiritual dimension of learning (the mystery) is often overlooked in our professional development. It is not the lesson itself but how the material is impacting the inner being of the child. I want my students to know that I care passionately about what we are exploring. And, openness to respect where students are at the moment of teaching is the underlying framework. Palmer challenges teachers to self reflect “How does the quality of my selfhood form-or deform-the way I relate to my students, my subject, my colleagues, my world? (2017 p.4)”.
I fail weekly but am successful enough times to keep going.
Resources
Palmer, Parker. (2017) The Courage to Teach Twentieth Anniversary Edition. San Francisco,
California: Wiley.
Seifert, K. and Rosemary Sutton. (2009) Educational Psychology Second Edition. Zurich,
Switzerland: The Global Text Project.
