Let's talk about Palmer

Let's talk about Palmer. Palmer's book, The Courage to Teach, was another book that we've read this semester that I really identify with. The blue in me loves Palmer's attention to the importance of emotions and the overall well being of a teacher. I've got to admit that I also love how straightforward Palmer is. I don't have to do mental gymnastics to try to figure out what Palmer is trying to teach me. Instead, I can focus on the simple pearls of wisdom that he shares.

One of these pearls that Palmer offers is the idea of connectedness as one of the qualities that is important for teachers to have. He writes, "[teachers] are able to weave a complex web of connectedness among themselves, their subjects, and their students so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves" (Palmer, 1998, pg. 11). I really identify with this quote because this is my goal for my students as well. The hashtag I've chosen to focus on for my blog posts, #expandingnewhorizons, is all about students learning how to think more deeply about the world around them and their place in it. To me, a vital part of this process is helping students to see the connections between what they're learning in class, experiences they've had in their personal lives, and larger social events/issues.  Hopefully, if I've done my job well over the course of the semester, this will enable students to make those connections for themselves.

I actually think that my class's discussion of rhetoric earlier this month is a good example of how they're learning to do this. We talked about rhetoric and what it was, and then we spent the majority of one class period looking up examples that the students provided of different rhetorical artifacts and then analyzing them together as a class. My students selected a variety of texts, most of which I had never seen before, from a TV segment about cat-callers to a commercial about school shootings. As we talked together about what message each artifact was conveying and how it was being conveyed, I could see them understanding how rhetoric applied to these larger-world examples. Additionally, the fact that my students were selecting the artifacts themselves allowed for the connection to their personal lives.

I feel the need to add a disclaimer saying that not all of my classes go so well. But this class was able to make connections between rhetoric, their personal experiences, and larger social issues. For me, my goal is to try to frame my other classes in such a way that my students can have similar experiences with other topics. In my opinion, Palmer is spot on. As my students learn to make connections for themselves, they are able to think in deeper ways about subjects that they may have taken for granted up to this point. And once they've learned that skill, they will be prepared to expand their horizons on their own after they've finished their formal education.

Re-remembering: A reflection on the last 7 days and a lifetime of school

I come from a family of educators. My parents are both teachers, my dad was a coach, and both my aunts have had jobs ranging from kindergarten teacher to a college professor and principal. Growing up in such an education-oriented environment I never imagined being a teacher myself; which make my experiences this semester even harder to imagine!

The road to the end of this semester has had its fair share of bumps and dead ends, but as it comes to a close I am more surprised by students and proud of their work each class period. A successful run with rhetorical media analyses in class, finding out my donations team regularly meets at the bowling alley to hang out and finish their assignment, and seeing my 2020 students make 3 friends out of random strangers when I only required them to meet 1 - these are just a few highlights, and they're only from last week! As I grow prouder of my students and their accomplishments, I can't help but think how much I have grown throughout the semester as well. 

Palmer's book, "The Courage to Teach" has been one of my favorite readings for this course, because it allowed me to thoughtfully approach a mindset I've held about teaching for years, and everyday as I went into the classroom. Palmer argues that by questioning one's identities as both a teacher and a student, teachers are not only able to better understand how to interact with and provide learning opportunities for their own students, but they understand how their true selves can be incorporated into their teaching styles in effective and meaningful ways. Palmer encourages teachers to embrace the paradoxes found within the classroom, in this case providing students with the best learning opportunities and teaching as one's true self. More often than not it seems that I place limits on my role based on the different spectrums of these paradoxes. Am I giving each student a personalized education in which they achieve the learning objectives, even if this means incorporating multiple different types of activities in a given 50 minute class period? Am I communicating enough about myself honestly in order to build relationships with students that create a trusting environment? Am I being the student I want in my own classrooms in my graduate classes? And am I also making time for myself, my family and my friends out of my school life? 

While not the answer to solve all questions, it seems that Palmer's approach of "re-remembering" one's true identity offers a valuable opportunity for us to not only consider who we want to be in the classroom, but who we want to be as people and how we can express both. Palmer states that “Re-membering” requires teachers to “[put themselves] back together, recovering identity and integrity, reclaiming the wholeness of [their] lives” (p. 21). Not only should we seek to accomplish the learning objectives necessary for students to find success in our courses (our job kinda depends on it), but we should put value in our own expressions of identity, and ultimately seek to just be whole people - teacher, student, friend and everything in between. 

As I sit watching my mom prepare for her own class tomorrow - coloring turkeys for thanksgiving, what a gig! - I have a clearer picture of the "heart work" that goes into teaching. While I still don't place my identity solely within the teaching profession, I find it necessary to approach how I think and communicate this role with a new sense of excitement and remembrance of what brought me to be a TA in the first place. Considering all the teachers I've had who encouraged me, taught me important lessons and made a lasting impact, and how I engaged in the classroom as a student are necessary memories to help me understand one of my current identities as a teacher. I think if I can re-remember all that, and continue to position my thoughts, communication and feelings about my role more enthusiastically, I might just start to look like the teacher my students want and need.

#thanksforcomingtomyTEDtalk