1-Excelling, have strategies in place to maintain this level
2-Good, developing strategies.
3-Fair, about half the time.
4-Need support.
1. Passion for Teaching:
My passion for teaching came from the way I raised my
children. If I loved something, I
wanted to share it with them. That has moved to sharing with my students. I
love to see them take something small and run with it to a whole new thing. I
think observing my students develop into artists is an amazing process to see.
(1)
2. Love of Kids:
I think you have to love what you are doing. If you don’t love teaching art, students
will see this. Then, regardless of
what you say or do in the classroom, it won’t have any impact in your student’s
artwork. Managing a group of
students without love for what you are doing, will come through in more ways
than one. (1)
3. Love of their subject:
As I said in #2, you have to love what you are doing or it
will come through to the students. Its something that in side of you that they
can see and it becomes contages to them. (1)
4. Understanding the role of a school in a child’s life:
Oh my, the outside world is a big obstacle to each student
that goes through the door. From them not sleeping well the night before, to the
sports game the previous night. Each student goes to class with multiple things
going on in their lives, but we as teachers have to take them out of that
mindset for the time they are with us. (3)
5. A willingness to change:
Change is just part of each of our lives, it happens day to
day with our students and ourselves. We have to vary each lesson plan to the
changing world around us. If we remain stagnant, then our students also become
stagnant in their work. Fresh and new idea helps us see things in a new light
and help us understand different things. (2)
6. A work ethic that doesn’t quit:
I also believe that without balance, we cannot give all of
our efforts to our students. Work ethic does not mean cramming everything into
one lesson, but giving it time to breathe and formulate into new ideas.
7. A willingness to reflect:
Reflection is a form of self-criticism and helps a person in
the self-evaluation process to analyze themselves and their artwork. We must
also be willing to step back from life and reevaluate whatever we see. We have
to constantly question ourselves as to what, why, who, and to what end. Without revaluating things, we will not
change. (4)
8. Organization:
Without organization my life would suck. I live everyday inside
of my calendar making lists and planning sheets. Without this structure I would
not have time to create artwork. When you have your day planned out and ready
to go, it helps make teaching much easier. (2)
9. Understanding that being a “great teacher” is a constant
struggle to always improve yourself and your methods of teaching.
Being a “Great Teaching” is something that I’m personally
working on. I see at the end of the day so many things that I could have done
better after the fact. This is one of the areas that I am always working on.
(4)
10. Enough ego to survive the hard days:
I think you have to be able to go through struggles in order
to really appreciate that inner peace at the end. They do come together and we
will always have to see the light after the storms are gone. We have to realize that we are all
human. Struggles in life will
never go away and we have to accept that we will not always be King/Queen of
the hill. Once you accept that,
sometimes the struggles are easier to understand and deal with. (3)
11. Enough humility to remember it’s not about you:
It has never been about me, from the day I was blessed with
the love for a family. I think it’s easier for women to understand that. We need to remember though, that
we are not the center of the universe.
We can share the joy and love within our souls to those around us. (2)
12. A willingness to work collaboratively:
I feel that school is their community away from home. It’s a
place they can go to and grow as
individuals. That we, as teachers, need to give students enough of a safety net
that allows for errors in a safe environment. (2)
Hi Shirley!!!
ReplyDeleteI can hear your voice (literally) in my head as I read your words. Complete with smiles, sighs and humble ponderings.
I want to specifically address your responses to #7 & # 9. These are the two that you rated yourself at a 4. I want to encourage you to consider that in the act of asking yourself questions, you ARE reflecting. However, it is important to approach this questioning through the lens of kindness and curiosity. The same way we ask our students to consider their own work. As teachers... we are sometimes saddled with the idea that we are supposed to know it all (or most of it)... this is something we may have inherited along the way, maybe we felt our own teachers were the experts.
When we reframe the role of “teacher” as a life long learner, a different kind of dialogue develops, both internally, and externally with our students. Our ability to reflect on our actions shifts because the way we encounter ourselves within the act of teaching becomes something bigger than what we know. It becomes a collaborative act of discovery. For me, reflection is about curiosity. There is less emphasis put on “can I do better” (after all, what does that mean?) and more put on the understanding of what is motivating actions in the first place. Why did I make that choice? How do I discover the needs of my students? How are my own bias's potentially interfering with the real needs of my students? How do I know this?
You are on your way Shirley. You've already grown so much since Fall semester. Sink into the process and let yourself enjoy the challenges and the discoveries.