RES 5530: Race, Class, and Gender in Literacy Research (Spring 2009)

I need to schedule some time to read Mike Rose's book. I think it would be an inspiring read, much like Reading Lives. He was able to capture in some of the quotes Hicks uses, the essence of teaching. "Teaching I was coming to understand, was a kind of romance. You didn't just work with words or a chronicle of dates or facts about the suspension of protein in mild. You wooed kids with these things, invited a relationship of sorts, the terms of connection beign the narrative, the historical event, the balance of casein and water. Maybe nothing was "intrinsically interesting." Knowledge gained its meaning, at least initially, through a touch on the shoulder, through a conversation of the kind Jack MacFarland and Frank Carothers and the others used to have with their students. My first enthusiasm about writing came because I wanted a teacher to like me."
Teaching is an art. It is tapestry being woven together every day. Some threads, or ideas remain as a dominant color all through the pattern of the tapestry. Some threads may exist only in small areas, making their impression as a piece to the whole masterpiece. Each day we are contributing to this tapestry. A piece of our personal history may run all through the tapestry as we weave it into every class we teach. Other threads may be particular stories that influence the atmosphere of the classroom for a school year, that weave their way in to a permanent place in our memories, changing who we are forever. Every child represents a thread, for the beauty of the tapestry is weaving together each one of our students' stories with our own on our education exploration. We weave their stories with the math, the language arts, the reading, the social studies, and the science we teach. If our weaving comes across a knot or an unraveling thread, we just trim it and pick up the loose end and tie it onto another piece of thread. The mending is barely noticeable! At the end of each year, we glance at our tapestry to check its progress, it is interesting to see the unique patterns and colors that are beginning to reveal themselves. It won't be until retirement or beyond that we can truly view our tapestry and appreciate all the work that went into this masterpiece.
This is the image I thought of as I read this chapter. Rose touches on this, we are creating environments that are magnetic, where love is in the air. We are laying the groundwork for a lifelong love affair for learning. It is not simply a list of terms or equations, it is an interest in the child's interests and then connecting it with the curriculum. I love love. And I love to go to school each day in an attempt to create a classroom where a love for learning will flow from a child that first knows that are unconditionally loved and valued by their teacher. When a child believes that, you have caught their attention. You have caught their attention because you have first paid attention to their heart. There will be days, as in any romance where mood swings may temporarily derail some progress, but communication and a great big hug can usually shift the atmosphere back. I've read the blogs and comments this semester and we all are desiring and attempting to build this environment. We want to woo children, to enthrall them with the beauty of education, not because of any other reason than simply we care about them. Spring has sprung and love is in the air.....