I know why my blog stats are not numbers with lots of zeros after them; after several years I gained a daily double digit audience. I know that most people don’t have the time and mental energy to read a broad range of literature. They are working and dealing with life, family, maybe trying to figure out some of the immense problems facing the world. Mainstream literature is accessible and useful to many people and therefore has as much value as anything else. If I wanted to I could write more mainstream material and so sell more or get more notice. I write what I like to write, and actually I would love for other people to be interested in my work, but I won’t change what I write to suit others so I don’t expect others to change their reading habits to suit my taste.
There is a reason why Ron Paul or Ralph Nader or any other fringe politician will not be president, because they refuse to compromise their values for votes. Borack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton and anyone else who became president moved toward a middle position at least a little, or pretended to do so. They compromised in order for the moderate middle to accept them. It’s not that their values are necessarily better than more middle of the road people, but there are ideas included that are often challenging and need a bit more time to digest. The same goes for literature. If you want to gain an audience, you have to write for that audience. Maybe like Obama, you can be intelligent about it and shift things gradually in ways that reflect your values, but you can’t expect people to jump off a cliff for you, especially when they have to work hard to understand your message. Sometimes I don’t even know what I am trying to say, and I am sure that all that fuzzy, gray area drives some people away. But, I write what comes when it comes. Inspiration is my muse, not popularity. And, so I am resigned to toil in obscurity for myself and that handful of people who, if they don’t always get my message, are patient enough to stick around until I say something worthwhile for them. To those patient readers I wish to say I will be here plugging away trying to make sense of things from my own small point of view. I hope that you are out there looking for the things that inspire you. Maybe I will read about it or see it or hear it as I wander around off the beaten track. I hope so.
Archive for the ‘philosophy’ Category
Seeking Obsurity: Wandering in the Wilderness of Self-Indulgence
December 13, 2009Beautiful Weeds/ finding the cracks in the curriculum.
May 2, 2009I think so much of working with children is about the teacher finding something that she has a passion for, something that she has fun with and finding a way to use this passion to energize the children. That means you have to look at yourself and what is exciting and interesting for you and see how that might help you with the children.
I have also found that I usually have a few natural teachers among my students. I will watch them and see what is inspiring them and then use that to drive us in a certain direction.
I work in a program that is so not Reggio inspired(child centered approach that sees children as capable drivers of their own learning) and I have no colleagues or supervisors who support my work the way I want to do it. I often have to work around the canned curriculum and data collection to infuse a little bit of inspiration into my work. And, sometimes I get some negative feedback and heavy handed interference from my supervisors. But, the way I look at it, either I can find another job or keep working to enlighten the people I work with. I do not see this approach as an all or nothing idea. Any amount of authentic inspiration the teacher can bring to a classroom makes it better. And, to me, there is no alternative to listening deeply to and having dialogue with my students. Now the documentation may not get done in the way I would like, and the classroom I share with a teacher and a supervisor that just don’t get it may not always look like a place where children are truly creating the environment. But, Reggio approach has to do with me and what makes me want to be in that classroom. It is an approach, not a stencil, a philosophy not a concrete model. If you have studied the approach and used it and made it a part of your make up as a teacher, then either you will get to a point where you can’t work in a situation, or your approach will grow through the cracks like beautiful weeds to inspire you and hopefully others.
Beginning the Journey Again
April 12, 2009I wrote a comment on a list to a student who was wondering if the Reggio Emilia child centered approach to preschool was they way to go for a teacher just starting out. After I wrote I realized it really was a pep talk for myself.
I love teaching 3 to 5 year olds, but I am often left frustrated and de-inspired by the program I work for and my supervisor, who has a philosophy that you must keep children in line and under control. And then there is the never ending paperwork that has nothing to do with teaching or learning. I am nearing the end of another year in this program and I realize that I have been guilty of giving up the soul of my teaching out of laziness and frustration instead of putting into practice my philosophy where I can squeeze it in. It is so easy to fall into the I can get through this attitude when faced with the ever present status quo thinking, but the bottom line is I have not done enough to create the learning community I want my classroom to be. If I am not committed to the ideas that inspire me then how can I convince others to step onto the path. If I start now I will be ready for tomorrow and that will launch me into the next day. Little steps, carefully taken on the path to my goal of a classroom of engaged learning, I can do this if I seize my opportunities and inspire others. If start with a little dreaming today, I can go into tomorrows planning session with some fire to light the first steps to finish off the year with some enthusiasm.
Here is my pep talk:
1. If you are working in large program or with a team, what are the approaches they use now and can the Reggio approach be used within the existing structure? How much do your team members know about this approach and are you ready to inspire change? It is challenging to be the only teacher in a program using this model.
2. Have you done the work of exploring your ideas about children and how they learn? On what inspires you and how you form relationships with children, parents and other teachers? If you are ready and committed to the philosophy then even if you stumble around a little, you will know that it is all part of the process of becoming an authentic teacher, but you have to know how you fit into the process first.
You have to know that whatever you do will look different than anything else if you are doing it right. This approach is about building a community of learners: Teachers, students, parents, siblings other members of the enveloping community. Your learning community will be a collaboration of all its members and so unique. If you are ready for being open to whatever happens and to building relationships based on respect and creativity then you are ready to start. The main thing is to reflect on the journey as you take the steps and not be too impatient. Have big ideas as you take the little steps along the way.