This semester, I'm taking a class in creative drama. Over a month ago, my TA asked all of us what our preferred subject would be, knowing that we'd be in an elementary school classroom. I immediately thought social studies because I feel pretty confident in being able to use themes from history and bring them to dramatic life. I was taken aback when my TA said the teacher she'd like to place me with would have me teaching 4th grade science. Not exactly what I wanted to do. I almost said no, but after a few hours decided to give it a chance. It was the best decision I could have made. I've realized in trying to bring science to life that if I can teach science through drama, I can teach anything. Below is one of my first attempts. It's a lesson on recycling. Still a work in progress, but isn't everything?
Monday, March 29, 2010
"Beginning" the journey
So I wouldn't really call this the beginning of my journey, but I guess you have to start somewhere. Steven Dietz once wrote that "...the beginning can never really be found.... In the end, it all comes down to this." Irina may have been referring to the earth, but my "this" is the opportunity to bring education to life. We can teach, and we can lecture, and we can instruct, and we can feel really good about our ability to relay information. On the other hand, as Tevya may argue, we can give the gift of learning for yourself, not by yourself.
I do not claim to be an expert. Unless of course it's part of the drama we're creating. Then I'll claim to be an expert on everything from global warming to politics, from medicine to parenting, and I'll make you an expert too. Instead, I think of myself as a specialist in continuing to learn and helping others to do the same.
No lesson is a finished product. It's a continual evolution. Students change. Resources change. Attitudes change. Requirements from school districts change. We change. And sometimes even our spell-check chagnes. :)
I hope that this can be a place where current and future teachers can find what they need to continue pressing forward. Lesson plans I've tried, lesson plans I want to try, the triumphs and failures that are all part of the journey...and to celebrate them all.
I do not claim to be an expert. Unless of course it's part of the drama we're creating. Then I'll claim to be an expert on everything from global warming to politics, from medicine to parenting, and I'll make you an expert too. Instead, I think of myself as a specialist in continuing to learn and helping others to do the same.
No lesson is a finished product. It's a continual evolution. Students change. Resources change. Attitudes change. Requirements from school districts change. We change. And sometimes even our spell-check chagnes. :)
I hope that this can be a place where current and future teachers can find what they need to continue pressing forward. Lesson plans I've tried, lesson plans I want to try, the triumphs and failures that are all part of the journey...and to celebrate them all.
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