"Whether a class is large or small, I try to talk with all students individually or in small groups so that I have a sense of their needs. How can we transform consciousness if we do not have some sense of where the students are intellectually, psychically?"
This quote on only the second page of the article "Speaking Up" and "Speaking Out" really spoke to me. It reminded me of the idea of a good teacher and a great teacher. A good teacher cares about all of her students and talks to them as a class to get to know them. A great teacher talks to every child one on one as much as possible until she knows every home situation, struggle, and strength of all her students.
This has been a struggle for me so far in my teaching career. I have attempted to get to know all of my students; however, it seems that sometimes there are situations that I am left unaware of either because the student was shy or did not share his life or the constraint of time in a day. Although I have the intention to speak to every child each day, sometimes in the hustle of life and school, time ellapses, and they are on the bus for home.
In the article, a great amount of emphasis is placed on the idea of voice and speaking. I agree that society often teaches people, especially females, to be reserved rather than always speak. However, I think that a key way to encourage females to use their voices is to show them that you care about what they have to say. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and the quote regarding relationships with students. I think building positive relationships with students can make any teacher more successful. Students who feel like you care are more likely to try, speak, and behave in the classroom setting.
On the next page, the author further explained voice as "a strong sense of identity within an individual." Throughout my own life, I have found that the more I "found" myself and my own identity, the more I had to share with others. I think this is true of all human beings including our own young students. As you encourage them in their intelligence and show them that you truly care about them, they will have a drive and desire to continue to figure out who exactly they are and what they would like to do with life. Almost every day, I look a student and think of the opportunities they will have in life and the potential they have to succeed. Although we see this potential, they may not and may have no one else who encourages them at all. This is why our relationships with them are so very important.
Finally, I also encourage my students to find their voice through writing. As mentioned in the section Literacy, Race, and Gender, students can speak volumes about themselves through journaling. For this reason, I begin every single day with a journal entry. Students are able to express their own ideas about themselves and their desires in life through prompted and unprompted entries. There are some students that have told me more in their journals than they have in person. Anyone who has not used journaling with students, I would definitely encourage it as a way to improve writing skills and to build relationships with students.
Brittany Guy
Comments (5)
Brittany-
I think we are likeminded! I agree about listening and speaking with each child. I feel your pain when in the public school. I have loved the private school environment because of smaller class size. This allows for relationship building to thrive. I have been impacted by journal writing. I use it often as a response to what we read or talk about. I would love some ideas on more daily incorporation. I have bought the Writer's Notebook book by Aimee Buckner to read. But I haven't had a chance yet. Your efforts to know your students is wonderful. I am sure they cannot wait to get to school because of the personal attention. KEEP IT UP! What you pour into them now can make a difference for the rest of their lives. I still remember the care of my first grade teacher, Mrs. Heill. She made me feel valued. She would save extra "dittoes" for me every Friday for me to play school with. She knew my interests. Thirty years later, she is still on my mind. Thirty years from now I have no doubt, you will still be etched on some of your students' minds.
Posted by Stefoni Shaw | February 22, 2009 6:07 PM
Posted on February 22, 2009 18:07
I completely understand where you are coming from. I too try to get to know each of my students individually and I try to keep up with them after they leave me. Even now when I go back to a school where I taught three years ago I have students who get excited to see me. It makes me think and hope that they felt how much I cared about them. However, I have also often realized at the end of the day that I didn't get to talk with certain students, outside of academics, or at the end of the year wondered why I wasn't able to connect with certain child.
As for the journal writing, I love it! Kids need the opportunity to just write, prompted and unprompted. You are giving your kids an opportunity to be heard even when you may not have the time every day to listen. They at least know that they can write to you. Keep up the great work!
Amy Spade
Posted by Amy Spade | February 22, 2009 8:15 PM
Posted on February 22, 2009 20:15
Brittany, I think that it is so great that you are opening up to your children as a chance to get them to open up to you. I remember this year, one of the first plan, prompt, write topics we did focused on a time when you had a problem with a friend. I modeled this with an example from my past about a time when my brother had painted my face with glitter nail polish! The children, besides thinking it was hilarious, were amazed to see a teacher writing with them and sharing a life experience. The work I got from them was so much richer and actually astounded me. So, maybe if there is really soemthing you want to know, model and example from your own life. It's great that you are thinking about how to reach everyone, even if the day doesn't seem long enough!
Posted by Whitney Gilbert | February 23, 2009 8:58 PM
Posted on February 23, 2009 20:58
Brittany,
There are so many days when I look at the clock and it says school has just began, then I look up again and the clock says the day is done. As a third grade teacher in a low-performing school I am pratically forced to spend all of my time talking academics with my students. About once a week I long for the close relationships that I was able to develop with my students when I taught 1st and 2nd grade. It seems that there was more time to make connections with one another. Now I am being pressured to make all talk test related. We were told in a meeting that even at recess if a student comes to talk to you we should ask them a problem-solving question before we engage in a conversation. How horrible is that?
Posted by Cherrita Hayden-McMillan | February 23, 2009 9:51 PM
Posted on February 23, 2009 21:51
Brittany,
I went to a workshop a few years ago about educating girls. The presenter spoke about how important it is to be careful about how teachers talk to girls so that they are not silenced (because they are at risk to be so) and so that they don't have a one-dimensional view of themselves. This presenter said that she never compliments her girl students on their looks; e.g., she compliments them on their smartness and times when they "speak out" rather than how pretty they look or helpful they are. I found this completely fascinating and always wondered if it helped girls to have more of a voice in the classroom....
Posted by Alecia Jackson | February 26, 2009 8:08 PM
Posted on February 26, 2009 20:08