Sfumato - November

I know I am early on this post, but I just read the chapter so I want to post while some things are fresh in my head! I enjoyed this chapter much more than the past chapter and felt like it was much more applicable to me. I enjoyed trying to describe ambiguity and anxiety in different ways. I felt like they were both very similar in my descriptions and both brought about similar feelings. As I read on I reflected on how to balance these two things in life. I feel like I have a fair amount of self-inflicted anxiety related to work and projects that I manage to take on. I wondered if this is a bad thing? I think I deal with this anxiety well, but sometimes it leads to premature decisions that I sometimes regret or that end up being more work for me in the long run. Although I consider this one of my weaknesses I also liked the comment on pg 89 - "Creative people have a bias towards action and are more likely to ask for forgiveness than permission.....creative people make more mistakes but they learn the most from them..." I hope this is true for me =)

Everyone have a great Thanksgiving - I hope you have a wonderful holiday and I look forward to seeing everyone in December!

Kayla

Dimostrazione

I found chapter two (Dimostrazione) to be very interesting. Thinking about what I believe and stating why I have those beliefs was challenging. I took a break from reading & answering questions, while I went about doing other tasks I was thinking about how difficult it really is to think about your own thinking (meta cognition). As educators we are constantly expecting our students to reflect upon their own decisions and share why they think or feel a certain way. I started questioning myself, thinking from a different point of view as Leonardo did, and wondering what it would feel like to do this as a young child. Am I asking to much of my students to explain their thinking when they are only eight & nine years old, if I struggle doing it myself?

Speaking of Old Habits

Hello Outsiders

Since I'm the last to post here this may be a bit of a reply to everyone. Like the rest of you I appreciated the chance to talk and have you ask me the "tough questions" that made me think about the struggle between work and home possibly a little differently. If I bring my wife this weekend, can you tell her the same things you said to me? ;) I feel she easily forgets that when I am away from home a lot, that I'm doing it gain time and stability for family in the future. As far as old habits go...nothing like waiting to the last minute to get things done.

See you tomorrow!!

Breaking Old Habits

Hello Everyone! Time has been flying by, it doesn't feel like I have had much time to reflect upon our last class and we will be meeting again soon. I really appreciated the questioning and comments you gave me about my own question "How can I separate work and home". I really have been thinking about what Jon asked, "Do teacher's need to be organized to be good teachers?" I think that I have come to the conclusion that the ability to organize is not something that all teachers have; however, I feel less stressed in the moment of teaching if I take the extra time to get prepared prior to teaching. Sometimes it may take up more time than I would like it but it seems to make my life go easier in the long run. I have been trying to leave earlier and do less at home. It is a goal I am trying to set. Ironically it is now quarter after ten and I am still up grading math tests and doing my own homework. It is hard to break old habits! :-)

Curiosita

I also enjoyed our discussion of our questions. After having the discussion and looking back at my top 5 questions I saw a general theme about myself and my teaching. My questions all theme around being a "better person" and getting students to become "better people." I am excited about this goal of mine because I believe it is truly why we teach. In the high school I find that it is easy to get wrapped up in teaching the content and many of us forget what the ultimate goal of teaching is - to improve the lives of other and better prepare them for what is ahead. After we discussed my question though I found myself a little disheartened. Many of the "who" and "when" questions I could easily answer "everywhere" and "all the time." I feel like my question "how can I make students more open-minded and less judgemental" is a daunting task. I only get 18 weeks at 90 minutes a day to try help them see this "fault" and then help them to repair it. Hmmm.....

Thanks for listening to me muddle through this =)

Hi...Barney is on!!!

Curiosita' Discussion

Hello friends...
I really enjoyed our discussion of our questions. I think the format we used forced us think about our questions like we hadn't before. I've been thinking about our discussion of my question "Is it more important to improve the quality of my life or to improve the quality of others' lives?" Like I said this question was born out of my uncertainty about the idea of constantly "needing to improve". This idea seems to be prevalent in the media and the professional world. One point brought up was that maybe improving ourselves will help improve others. I thought a lot about this and agree that this could be possible. I also thought that maybe the opposite is true, that improving the quality of others lives may improve your own. In either case, I think it all comes down to one's intention. I remember Brad acrimoniously saying "Always room for improvement". The strengths finder activities makes me wonder if we can be "the total package", or even if we should bother. I believe we should celebrate our strengths and use those gifts, with the finest intentions, to the best of our abilities. Sorry for being a kook...