Did I mention how much I love check lists? Check out the EDpuzzle that I created for my ELD class!
This is why I like checklists...you find things that you may have forgotten to do!
Rather than meditating on all of the ways that I cannot defeat the giants, I need to begin strategizing how to use the talents that I have that can defeat the giants. I cannot get my advantages and disadvantages confused with each other.
In thinking about my future position as a teacher, I know that no matter what it is, it is going to be a "giant." Maybe it is going to be a giant because it is new and unfamiliar. I often think about what a disadvantage it is that I do not have 10 years of teaching experience behind me to make the "giant" seem a little bit smaller. However, like Malcolm Gladwell says, "we have, I think, a very rigid and limited definition of what an advantage is. We think of things as helpful that actually aren't and think of other things as unhelpful that in reality leave us stronger and wiser" (19). Perhaps, my seemingly disadvantage of being new to the teaching profession is actually an advantage. Likewise, perhaps the advantage of having 10-20 years of experience is actually a disadvantage. I think it would be unfair to have such a limited definition of what advantages and disadvantages look like until you see the two in action. The perspective that this book advocates for is exactly what teachers need in order to overcome the various giants that we will be faced with in our professional careers. We need to face them with creativity, resolve, humility, confidence, and passion. These are the attributes of self that will allow us to claim victory over our giants. We need to figure out what our "slinger" is so that we can overcome our "Goliaths." In almost every mission statement that I have read for High Schools, there is always something that revolves around preparing students for life after high school. With that, it is important for schools to not only determine which curriculums are going to accomplish that task, but how they are going additionally teach things such as: generosity, politeness, integrity, effort, courage, resilience, gratitude, faith, and kindness.
In filming a teacher with a set of disengaged students, observers began to study as to why the students were disconnected from the content. What they gathered from their observations was that "there is no value in what she is doing" (106). Gladwell brings up a convicting statement in reflecting upon that case study. It gives me, as an educator, an opportunity to examine my own teaching? Is there value in it? In order to truly prepare my students for life after High School, I do not have a choice but to bring value in to my teaching. Only then will students be ready to succeed in their career or college choices in order to actively participate in a global society. By making my lessons value, I am making their learning value and hopefully that translates into a valuable lifestyle for each of my students. In saying all of this, I have to daily ask myself, how am I going to implement valuable lessons? We learn so many strategies on how to make lessons accessible to increase student understanding, but how do I move into that beyond point in my lessons where students are consistently connecting their learning to their personal life or to the outside world, conceptualizing the content. In fostering and cultivating the umbrella of critical thinking, there are a variety of skills that benefit as well. Critical thinking gives students an opportunity to develop skilled reading, writing, listening, and speaking, skilled problem-solving, skilled relationship building, skilled questioning, and skilled emotional literacy. These are all things that will truly prepare students to be self-sustained in the competitive world post-High School. These are the things that count. These are the things that make teaching valuable. In continuing on in Malcolm Gladwell's book David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, he asserts that we often get confused between advantages and disadvantages. He illustrates this idea by acknowledging a difficult educational situation at Shepaug Valley Middle School regarding ever decreasing class sizes. Gladwell remarks that we tend to have this perception that smaller class sizes translates into greater student understanding, content engagement, and overall academic success. However, he offers up data that contradicts this preconceived notion. The research actually proves that the difference in academic performance between students in a larger class sized environment and students in a smaller class sized environment is not all that different. He uses this example to prove his idea that advantages are not always what we think they are. He even goes on to say that a smaller classroom size may actually be detrimental to learning. Although I may disagree with certain pieces of his example, I do agree with the idea that he was trying to communicate through this example. There are certain things that we deem as an advantage, that may not actually be an advantage. Whether it is rooted in pattern, or tradition, or habit, we tend to have certain perspectives about things that will and will not work. In turn, this gives teachers an inability to try new things because they have a certain idea about the strategies and supports they have used for years will work in the classroom. For me, I connect this to how teachers may view integrating technology into the classroom. Many teachers look at hard copy texts and see that there are so many advantages for students to have the book in front of them rather than on a computer screen. With book in hand, they can turn the pages and put sticky notes in them and more effectively annotate the text. To them, this is an advantage. Perhaps this is a limiting view of what an advantage is. I think that we should not fear e-books or online pdf texts because we only see the disadvantages. This part of the book has inspired me to look at different perspectives that I have as to what constitutes as an advantage and a disadvantage. Gladwell encourages his readers to think outside the box and begin to search for new meaning and understanding of "advantages." David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits and the Art of Battling Giants
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath, he discusses our misconception of what a “giant” is. Often, we tend to describe giants as things that are stronger, bigger, and more powerful than we are. We pale in comparison. However, Gladwell asserts that this is simply the wrong perspective. He alludes to one of the most famous stories in the Bible, the conflict between David in Goliath. Put into a seemingly hopeless situation, the physically weak shepherd boy, David is given the daunting task of representing his people in a battle against Goliath, a giant artillery soldier. In the eyes of everyone watching that day, David did not have a chance at victory. However, David was able to see something that the rest of his audience did not have the vision for. It was his faith in the strength of his God and the hope that he had in His victory that guided him to volunteer for battle. Gladwell points out that David refused to fight in the way that Saul desired him to. In this case, it was not possible to beat Goliath at his own game. David was simply not built that way, his physical stature was ill-equipped for face to face combat. However, he was skilled as a “slinger,” being able to use his aim in order to sling rocks to target Goliath's weak spots. David was able to change his perspective about the giant that he was facing. He was able to see Goliath, not as an impenetrable enemy, but as one one with weaknesses and downfalls like everyone else. With that, David strategically decided to highlight those weaknesses as he capitalized on his personal strengths. This, in turn, ended with Goliath’s ultimate defeat. The author of this text, compares this story to how we perceive our own giants. We just have the wrong perspective of them. So often, we see a giant and we try to outplay and outlast it. However, we need to use our own talents, skills, and critical thinking to find a loophole. This is a story that I can connect to my own teaching. I am responsible for teaching a seemingly impossible class. I have 48 English Language Learners from 10 different countries. They are levels 1 - 3 meaning there are reading levels ranging from about Kindergarten to just below High School. Many of them have language processing disorders, making the task of learning English nearly impossible. Furthermore, many of them have little to no educational background, making my classroom their first true, educational experience. And to add insult to serious injury, there are only 11 girls, the rest are boys. Phew. It truly is exhausting if I think about it for too long. In looking at this class on paper I would think to myself, “how in the world am I going to be able to effectively teach this class?” I kept thinking about all of the ways I was ill-equipped for the position. I had never taught an English Language Learner before, let alone 48 of them. I was familiar with different strategies, but had never truly implemented them before. To top it off, the amount of languages that I know other than English is at 0, so communicating with the students was going to be nearly impossible. However, instead of looking at this metaphorical giant of a class that was in front of me, I started to look at my own strengths. I did not have the professional background to teach this class, but what I was really good at was building relationships. Establishing connections with students, no matter what the background, has been something that I always excelled in. Therefore, I used that to my advantage in getting students to trust me and respect me as their teacher. They needed to know that I was for them, that I was there to support them in whatever they needed to do to accomplish the task of learning English. I started by being intentional about making five personal connections a day with the students. Whether that manifested itself through compliments or asking about their weekends or talking endlessly about soccer, I was purposeful about making connections. Slowly but surely, the class began to look less and less “giant-like.” It became more manageable and accessible to me as a teacher. In turn, the class and content became more accessible for the students. Eventually, I was able to develop those skills of teaching to EL students and the more seat time I was provided, the more comfortable I felt in my professional abilities to teach that class. However, it was the building of relationships that truly became the catalyst to this victory. I truly loved Gladwells comparison to this story, and I look forward to see where he continues to take this book. It appears that, in teaching, there is always going to be some sort of metaphorical giant. It is important for me to know how to effectively equip myself in order to tackle those giants in a way that promotes both personal and professional growth. |
AuthorMiss Craig Archives
May 2016
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