After reading about authenticity and openness between Palmer and hooks primarily, I began to wonder if authenticity was all they cracked it up to be. Don't get me wrong, I think that both these writers are onto something, and that a teacher needs to be themselves to a certain degree. But I'm not sure that being completely open with your students is really the right answer, even within content-appropriate situations. I think it is possible to be authentic while still taking on the role of a teacher. I was certainly not completely "myself" on my first day of classes. I was partly myself, and partly what I felt that an ideal teacher should be.
...Okay, not completely ideal, but as close as I could get.
However, I think that there is a balance that needs to be struck between being one's authentic self and keeping a little bit of distance between self and students. This begs the question, how close is too close? How much do your students really need to know about you? Palmer and hooks are two of the writers whose pedagogy I identify with most closely, but because of that I have also scrutinized them more closely, and I think they may have gone a bit too far with the concept of teacher openness.
In fairness to these great thinkers and their ideas, though, I have not really tried being wholly open with my students. And to be honest, I think it's because I'm a bit scared. Giving a cursory introduction of myself and my interests is one thing, but it's a scary thought being entirely myself around these students. Perhaps after the end of this semester, once I have more clearly rounded out my pedagogy, I will take the plunge in front of another class. But for now, I think I will content myself with being authentically a teacher, if not wholly, authentically my weird, crazy self.
Keep it #highclass 🎩
I believe authenticity has an important role in how the students view the teacher and a teacher's credibility. There are some instructors who choose to self-disclose very little in comparison to others who have no problem telling students about personal experience. Every teacher should not go beyond what makes them uncomfortable in teaching students, therefore students may view the teacher as less credible or the classroom environment as a whole could suffer. I like the discussion of how you tell students your interests within the subject of communication studies because doing so helps students understand why you are a credible source. In the Dannels' reading, discussing experience with the course and content can establish credibility with students and increase student commitment to learning. My style of pedagogy focuses on less distance between students, I like to know students' names, provide personal stories and listen to students' stories that pertain to course content and assists in explaining the material. Providing personal narratives to help explain course content allows me to become more authentic when teaching students. I believe each teacher has their own definition of authenticity, the most important factor is determining what style of pedagogy you are comfortable with using in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteGarrett, I've struggled with being authentic in my classroom and that is not to say that I'm not "myself" but there has been several occasions where I question myself and how I am being portrayed. In my opinion, authenticity is something that exudes from your aura. I don't think it has a ton to do with self-disclosure. I don't disclose much to my students, they know very surface level information about me but what I try to do to be seen as authentic is to exude this vibe if that makes any sense. Even if someone is not sharing all the details to their life you can still feel if they are being authentic in your conversation. That is the authenticity I strive for in my pedagogy. My students may not know all my personal business but they can see my realness.
ReplyDeleteGarrett, I've had the same thoughts when I was a TA at Texas State. I remember coming into class on the first day, with my "teacher" persona on. And I remember that my students saw RIGHT through it. Throughout that year, I realized that some disclosure is good, but too much is bad. There is a very thin line between 'just right' and 'too much'. My very first class, I learned that being too open and disclosing too much created a friendship type relationship between my students and I, and that led to them not taking my class as seriously as they should have. Which ultimately led to poor grades, and upset students. So I learned a lesson there, very quickly. I can't wait to get to experiment with my new level of openness after developing my own pedagogy.
ReplyDeleteSo excited!