Starting the Reflective Process

    This morning, I found myself returning to the 8 Essential Questions book. While the semester is not over yet, my inclination to start self-reflecting has begun, which in my mind, means the teaching semester is coming to a close. During this time, it's really easy to get caught up in assignments, grading, and the hustle and bustle of the upcoming holidays. There's so much going on in everyone's lives both in and outside the classroom. There's been energy on campus the last few days that lead me to believe people are feeling some sort of strange relief right now - or perhaps I've mistaken energy for generalized anxiety. Either way, the weather is cooling off, the sweaters are coming out, and the time we get to spend with our families is approaching. So how do we go about properly reflecting?

    Let's think about the past works we've read (many of which Dannels mentions in Chapter 9). We've covered the big names in educational philosophy - Palmer, hooks, Friere, Dannels, and Dewey. We've also publications from pedagogy scholars like Akyol & Garrison, Anderson-Lain, Kahl, and Gorham. Using these works, hopefully, we've all discovered a little bit about who we are as a teacher, and where we want to go. After reading and discussing so many of these, I've discovered my affinity toward relational teaching and bringing my heart into the classroom (something admittedly I never thought I'd align with). I've learned that teaching really can make a difference, but #HeartworkisHardwork and I have to choose to make that happen. And I've also learned that making sure my students feel comfortable in the classroom is one of the most critical elements to fostering the type of pedagogy I believe in. All these elements inform my personal pedagogical style. 

    So what am I going to do with all of this? Well. First of all, I'm going to write my final paper (duh). Second of all, I'm going to remember all this when I inevitably return to a place in which I find teaching very difficult. And third, I'm going to keep all of this in mind when I write a book on teaching someday. I'm thinking my book will look something like a cross between The Four Agreements and The Courage to Teach. 

Within this post, I'm at least starting the self-reflective process. Dannels prefaces Chapter 9, the last chapter of 8 Essential Questions Teachers Ask, with a [non] road map to creating an educational philosophy of your own upon self-reflection: inspiring oneself with others' philosophy, synthesizing formerly read works, and surrendering yourself to the reflective process. Although she says this chapter doesn't teach you how to develop your educational philosophy, it certainly sounds like it, so I'm going to start here.