Article Review
After reading the excerpt from Leo Buscaglia's book Living, Loving, Learning please reflect on your thoughts and feelings. (This article has been emailed to you)
The following questions were created to be thought provoking: (you do not have to answer them all but they may aid you in your responses/reflections)
1) What were some of the AHA's (ideas that stood out to you) that you encountered?
2) How can you utilize this information in your classroom to improve student learning?
3) Do you feel/think that this excerpt from the 1970's is still true today? Where have we improved in education since this article was written? Where have we slipped?
4) What do agree with? What points do you question?
5) Please comment on one other course members comments
**Click on comments to read and leave your personal ideas**
6 comments:
1. I agree students should be encouraged to be themselves. I am lucky to work in a large urban high school where students are relatively free to act and dress as individuals. In extracurricular activities and outside of class, students can pursue their interests. However, I also see students who want to go to college and are required to take classes and struggle with topics which may not be relevant to their future. I'm do not believe it is bad to expose people to subjects they are not strong in. If people don't try, they'll never learn what their strengths and weaknesses are. I am also aware of certain colleagues who require students to parrot their own ideas back to them. Students who don't, don't get good grades. It seems to me that high school-as it is set up in this country-is irrelevant to many students.
2. I utilize the ideas from this article in certain kinds of activities in the Foreign Language classroom. For example, when we read literary texts and discuss symbolism, I encourage students to say what they think the author is saying, not necessarily what our text says. When we do an art unit on Paul Klee, we talk a lot about symbolism and the meanings of various works of art. Students are free to share what the art means to them as part of discussion. As part of the unit I also have students draw art in the expressionist style about a day in the life of a student and describe the meaning of their art to the class. Students love sharing their perspectives on school with each other.
3. I think the ideas of conformity presented in the article are still true today. I think it is part of human nature to reject things that are not usual or expected. One must be strong and confident to accept things that are different from the norm. All I have to do is look at my children to see the pull of conformity. When my son was two years old he told me he didn't like pink because it was a girl color. I certainly never told him that. My daughter doesn't play with dolls,but she asks for them as gifts because she thinks girls play with them and she wants to be girl-like.
One of the points that stood out for me that I really agree with is that most students are fearful of being creative. Even at the third grade level kids are already concerned about doing things "right". I can't count the number of times each day I hear the phrase "Is this good?" or "Is this okay?". These students are already becoming trained to parrot the teacher. I try hard to get the students to think outside the box, but even at eight years old they are nervous to do so.
One subject area that I encourage creativity is math. I like to allow students time to explore and find answers out for themselves. It is fun, especially in math, to hear the variety of ways that the students come upon the same answer. I try to get students to be creative by focusing more on their processes rather than just the answers. I've found this helpful in making them more creative and less inhibited.
I agree with ifg's point about exposing students to lots of subject areas. I don't think it is bad or wrong for high school students to have certain requirements. Students may actually find that they're really interested in something that they never knew much about before. It's even better for the students if they have teachers that allow them to expore and be creative.
I feel Buscaglia's article covered two topics. First, teaching style when he discussed the "do it my way" teacher. I know we can all name at least one teacher we had like that. But also there is the other extreme. I got my El. Ed. degree in the mid 1970's. As I think back, Leo's article fit nicely into the philosophy I remember many of my instructors actually having. It was the "free to be you and me" era- open classrooms, much exploration on your own, many "right" answers... I headed off to teach with all these ideals tucked under my arm. But guess what I found out. This philosophy assumes that all children are alike- all creative and self driven. For some in my class, this way of teaching was fabulous. For others they struggled. I began to think, was phonics and learning math facts really so bad? Maybe in some cases it was okay to say, "here's how you do it" and yes even "we are all going to try this activity now". My 21 year old daughter is a college Art Ed. major. Her instructors call the 60's and 70's art teachers "flower teachers"- totally the opposite of "copy my lollipop tree". More like "here's paper and paint... create, if you WANT". Neither teaching/learning style is appropriate for all children. A student's individually must be considered in many areas including how they learn. (That's just one reason being a teacher can be so challenging!) So that's what I ended up doing. I individualized my curriculum and style to fit each student's needs. Luckily I tended to have small class sizes and a principal who trusted me. As a substitute teacher now it is obviously harder to do much more than follow the teacher's instructions. (But I must say, it's been very interesting to see the different classroom atmospheres.)
The second aspect of the article basically discussed if students should be "made" to learn things they are not interested in learning. I would have to agree with ifg and staci. I don't think it is a bad thing to be encouraged (or made) to try new things that are out of your comfort zone. In fact life might be rather boring if we all stayed only within that zone. I don't feel that this discourages one from being him or herself but rather encourages us to expand ourselves. We may not like it but how do we know if we never try?
(To ifg: I remember when one of my daughters was small and was at the mall toy store and was announcing to everyone who would listen which were "boy toys" and which were "girl toys"! You are so right about the pull of confomity.)
1. Different experiences in school do provide students with a direction in what they like and don't like and may provide help in their decision making when it comes to a first career. Do they discover a musical talent, or is their strength in math or science? And while I believe that students will have multiple careers, those careers may still be in the same discipline. So, being expert in one thing may not be so bad. However, my son is a good example of mixing quite divergent talents. He is a civil engineer but got A's in high school and college English classes (not a usual strength among engineers) and loves to make pottery. Both sides of his brain seem to be working. I do think that there is a time when one has to specialize, but only when there is some sense that it is what one wants to do.
2. My AHA moment in reading this article came in the second part. I work in an elementary school and in most cases teachers worry more about teaching content and want the right answer. Elementary school is different than Middle School or High School in that there is a certain reality to teaching those things that students should know to create a base on which other learning will take place. However, I think that there are chances for being creative in the classroom even when the correct answer is needed. Staci has a good example of that with her math lessons. I have worked with first graders on a research project on bears that helps them compare and contrast four different bears. It is fun for the students and for us teachers. More of this kind of learning even in elementary school is needed.
(I agree somewhat with ifg about conformity and having to be strong and confident if you don't conform to societal norms. It's odd though how kids who are different can start trends that others pick up on and soon everyone is conforming to the 'new' standard among their peer group and then those that don't are the ones who are different.)
As I read the article by Leo Buscaglia I immediately thought of the great composers Beethoven and Mozart. As a learner and music teacher I am fascinated to learn and teach about these unique and incredible composers! What if they were satisfied with being like everybody else!
I teach music in an elementary school and each day I see 9 or 10 classes of students in grades K-5. As I read this article I thought of the many students who choose to “share” their talents with their peers during music class.
A “share” could be a piano lesson song, singing, violin lesson song, a dance or performing their own compositions! Since I only see students twice a week for 30 minutes, time is very valuable! This “share” time is worth every minute of time! I never say NO. While I am listening I just figure out to cover my lesson a little quicker!
The most important element that I can provide for each student is a safe environment to share their talents. Their relationship and trust of me and their classmates allows for success and sometimes not as much success as the performer wanted. Students are encouraged to bring their music or try their “share” again next time! Parents love that their child is both encouraged and able to have this opportunity and students also request that their classmates perform a favorite song again!
I agree with Staci that elementary school students already can be fearful of being creative or letting their creativity show. As educators we need to compliment students on their uniqueness. One of my favorite students in third grade started wearing broaches (her term) and last summer when I was antique shopping I bought a broach to wear when she came to music. Now we wear and compare pins and jewelry on her music days. She is unique and I think that this make our bond stronger.
The statement “You must think for yourself” is powerful and should be hanging in school halls and classrooms. I am so fortunate to be a teacher and have the opportunity to provide and expose students to as much music as possible so they are able to think and make choices that interest them.
When I read the article I immediately thought of the "Everyday Math Program". This program expects students to use multiple ways to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. I have talked to many parents who have said that they can no longer help there child because of the new algorithms taught. Remember, this is an elementary school math program. They often ask what happened to the way we were taught.
As a 9th grade algebra teacher, I see students which are harmed by being forced to "fly" when they should be a "digger". We are seeing students at the Junior High level that do not know there basic facts because they were allowed to explore and were allowed to use a calculator. Don't get me wrong, I think students should be able to explore. But what happened to learning the basics, the logic, then applying the logic learned to various problems. Would you throw a child in the middle of the lake and say explore various ways to learn how to swim?
I guess I don't conform to that method of thinking. I often tell my students to think of the tools (logic) they have learned through the years to complete problems. There are times when I expect things done a certain way. Other times I expect them to explore problems by using their existing tools in there tool box. So I would have to agree with Nancy, students need to be taught certain curricula, and allowed to explore others.
I am lucky, like ifg, that I work in a district that offers numerous extracurriculars at the Junior Highs and High School. Students are allowed to try various topics to see what interests them and to find what they are exceptional at.
Finally, one of my main pushes is for students to be an individual. I try to model this as much as I can.
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