Anne was struggling with posting on the blog and posted the following as a comment on a previous post... so I've posted it here (hope you don't mind Anne!) as I think it's interesting :-)
Here I am, sadly in Hallward library, trying to respond to some of the posts. For some inexplicable reason, when I click on new post it won't allow me to type in the box. So, I'm adding my comment here. I've just commented on Claire's comment and was about to respond to Sarah's. Like Sarah, this is something that I need to get over.I do think teachers can be the worst students. My take on this is that they spend all day in their role as helpers, facilitators, instructors, guides, imparters of wisdom - whatever label you wish - and as such have a certain amount of 'control' over what is happening in their classroom; they may also be constantly evaluating their students on many different levels. When they become the students they may feel vulnerable to their teacher's evaluation of what they do or say and insecure in their perceived loss of 'control'. This vulnerability could manifest itself in many different ways, from anger and hostility to silence, or lack of cooperation or willingness to 'play the game'. I'm not saying this is definitely the case, or that it's the case for everyone, but I think it's an interesting possiblity to consider.
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2 comments:
Thanks Alex. That's fine.
Hi Anne,
I suppose this is pure speculation but I tend to think you might be right, at least for some. As a (part-time) teacher trainer I have come across all sorts of teachers (as I'm sure you all have too) who manifest all sorts of behaviours in the classroom (as teachers and students). One of things I struggle with is the pressure to 'be practical'. Often teachers claim to want to learn things that can be appplied directly in the classroom. I can understand that frustration yet at the same time I feel this a very narrow and modest idea of what a teacher is and can do. So much of what teach in the classroom is a result of a great deal of activity, thought, collaboration, politics, theory, economics (to name but a few)that informs who we teach, how we teach (the constraints), and why we teach. My view is that if we don't understand these factors which inform (or possibly determine) our teaching then we won't, as teachers, be able to understand what we're doing and why, nor we will be in a good position to influence decision-making. This means that teacher education involves taking a step back from the practical, the everyday and the routine to start the process (or continue the process) of trying to make (better) sense of what we do.
Of course, this is no excuse for providing teacher training that doesn't have a consequence in the classroom. But I feel that sometimes teachers want quick fixes, techniques, solutions without questioning too much. And, i think too, that perhaps teacher trainers may forget the concrete, real world of teachers - perhaps forgetting just how messy life is as a teacher.
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