RE_5539

Quote:

There are times in life when the question of knowing if one can think differently than one thinks, and perceive differently than one sees, is absolutely necessary if one is to go on looking and reflecting at all.
Michel Foucault

Let me start off by giving my explanation of what this quote means to me. I think that when you work is a field such as education or any field that is in a constant state of change with new research appearing everyday, you must always be open to that change and never get so comfortable and set it your ways that you aren’t open to the new ideas around you. If I can not accept and adjust to the new technology of this world or the new reading research that is always just around the corner then I might as well just stop trying at all. In a field such as education you must always have an open mind. You must always be ready for someone else’s view point on a subject and be able to either accept it or be able to explain to them why you don’t accept it. For example, I currently co-teach with a teacher who is extremely set in her ways and doesn’t want to hear any of my philosophies or ideas about how to run the classroom. I am just a mere nuisance she has to put up with for a certain period of the day. I shouldn’t be in her classroom because I am not certified to teach the subject she is teaching even though I do have a teaching license in special education. I am there for one reason only and that is to give the test to the students in a separate room when they need it. She has never asked herself that question stated above. She can not think differently and she is not open to anything new or out of her comfortable norm. I, on the other hand, think I have a lot to offer in the classroom. Or at least I would like to think that. And I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that I allow change in my philosophies. I am constantly checking to make sure that my information is the most up to date and I do not just throw an idea out the window because it isn’t kosher with how I currently believe and teach.

I believe that we live in a world where you must always be looking for the best way to do something. We live in a world where you can buy a computer one day and it is outdated in a week. If we, as teachers, can not keep up with the change, then we are doomed to fail. It is absolutely necessary to assess your own philosophies as often as possible because new information is constantly being found and implemented. If we as teachers, who teach the future leaders of this world, can not keep up with this change, then those whom we teach can and will suffer. I refuse to let that happen to my students. I will continue to read professionally as often as I can in order to make sure I do not let me students down. Mine and their futures depend on it. I have enjoyed this class because it has made me look at how I interact with my students. And I have decided to change things that I do in order to accommodate things that I have learned. One for instance is getting to know more about the lives of my students outside of school. I hope that I will never end up so set in my ways that I forget to think and see things differently every once in a while.

~Kristen Billings