ELLEN
BERG
Diary #19
We Improve Our Practice
By Becoming Aware
Have you ever learned a new word, perhaps "prevaricate" or "jurisprudence," maybe even "remonstrate," only to hear or see the word what seems to be 100 times in the weeks after?
We marvel at the coincidence and think, "Here is this new word I just learned, and everyone is suddenly using it!" when what really occurred is a retuning of our personal antennae. Before learning the word, we were not conscious of its use, focusing on the gist of the conversation rather than a single word.
Since I discovered the importance and benefits of looking at and working with students as individuals rather than as one part of a group it seems that is all I can see or think of. Opportunities to work individually with students, to make recommendations and suggest strategies for single students at the moment they need it, and to see beyond a student's behavior or work habits to the whole child are popping into my view daily. The individual now seems to have a permanent place on my radar screen. I thought when I began this entry it would be yet another about the importance of seeing and working with single students. While there are volumes to be said about that concept, it suddenly occurs to me there is a much more important lesson here that answers the question, "How do teachers effectively integrate new strategies into their everyday practice?"Staying focused
My brother has always been an incredibly organized and goal-oriented person. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science a few years ago and is currently a college professor. His success and drive baffled me while we were growing up; after all, this was the kid who at one time ate Noxema. While I was struggling in college, he shared one simple strategy with me: every semester he taped three goals he had into every notebook and folder he used for school. I thought it sounded a little simplistic, but I felt I had nothing to lose. So I carefully taped my three goals into all of my notebooks. Each time I opened one of those notebooks, my goals were right there, demanding my attention. At the end of the semester I was shocked to see I had accomplished all three.
I have a friend and colleague who is going through a bit of a rough patch right now. She is dealing with the most difficult group of students of her career, both behaviorally and academically, while also trying to navigate the early months of pregnancy. It is an extraordinary challenge. She has been discouraged and has even tuned out completely. Her focus switched to getting through the year and looking forward to the arrival of her child. As the behaviors grew more challenging, she withdrew further. She was in a holding pattern. Last Friday she tried some strategies I had suggested long before and was amazed at the results. The day progressed, and every time she tried the strategies, they worked. At one point she realized she had slipped back into the old behavior, and she immediately switched back to the new strategies. Friday was a success for her. She emailed me Friday afternoon and said she needed some sort of a discussion group to stay focused. While I am eager to do so, without self-awareness a discussion group would do no good. The real key to improving our teaching practice is becoming aware. Aware of what? Aware of our goals, our beliefs, our strengths, our weaknesses, and our prejudices. While workshops or discussion groups might be the catalyst that awakens us or the tool that informs us, without self-awareness we change very little. Think of the implications on professional development. How many workshops have we been sent to by our principals and other administrators to be "fixed"? If we do not think we are broken, then we are only biding our time until we can close the classroom door on Monday. As my colleague told me, she had to see the problem for herself. She rebelled because she did not want anyone to be, "the boss of me." If that is so, it seems we must learn to question ourselves, our colleagues, our employees, and even our students in ways that help them reflect and become aware of the problem on their own.
