Amanda Original
Post:
MAC Week Three: The Way Things Are, and don't forget Rule
No. 6!
As I read the next four chapters in The Art of Possibility
this week, I couldn't help but reflect upon the discussion board topic that we
were also give for this week. I'm pretty sure Dr. Joe knew what he was
doing this week. Our discussion this week had to do with the barriers to
integrating technology in the classroom. We were supposed to discuss,
from our experience, what it is that keeps teachers from embracing new
technology. Our answers varied from time commitment to fear of failure, lack
of PD to lack of support from Admin. Since most of us are classroom teachers,
we hit probably the top ten roadblocks, easily. But after the reading
this week, my eyes are open to some new possibilities!
In the chapter, The Way Things Are, the authors discuss our
tendency to see the negative in a bad situation, instead of seeing it for what
it really is...just another situation. They also discuss the tendency to
express problems as a downward spiral, I hear this all the time in the
Teacher's Lounge!! The same teachers who balk at integrating new
technology are typically the same people who express their frustration with
"these" students, who are always the worst students ever, and Oh!
Just wait! The class coming up is the worst EVER!! It's so frustrating, and disheartening,
if you buy into all that talk. Why would anyone ever want to dedicate
their lives to teaching? It's much more encouraging to think of these kids as
being different from previous generations, not better or worse, and to think of
ways to reach them that weren't available in previous generations.
Where are you speaking from:
And finally, lest we all forget, remember Rule No. 6!!
{Not to give it away if you haven't read the book, but Rule
No. 6 simply states: Don't take yourself so goddamn seriously!}
{PS: There are NO other rules!}
My comments:
In my college days I remember how we use to talk among the
inspiring new faces of education...you know the rookies, about the
conversations that would take place in the teacher lunch room and how we
couldn't believe that it truly was happening everyday and at every school.
The problem is that all of us will one-day fall into that unfortunate
conversation. But I’m glad that there
are educators like you and many others in this program who want to make a
change in the way we think about our students.
I’m often hesitant about asking the lower grade teachers what they think
the class coming up is going to be like next year.
I agree with your statement that Admin often fails to help
the educator. They give us the tools,
but I feel that we lack the hands on training.
I don’t know about you, but handing out packets with information, even
with pictures does not help us at all.
My teachers need to see it and practice it over and over again.
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