Some Optimism for Once

Internet,

Its that time, finally! This will be my final course related post, much to the disappointment of my numerous, avid readers. Throughout this blog, I have often brought up rhetorical questions directed at (and occasionally criticizing) the methods in which teacher education has been taught. I thought I would take this final opportunity to end this on a more positive note!

While a good chunk of what I've learned through this curriculum course will not be emulated in my own practice, I have acquired some useful skills as well. The concept of backwards design is one that I will appropriate into my own repertoire, albeit an edited version of what I learned in class. Instructional formulation through backwards design was not something I had considered prior to this course. High school classrooms usually shows signs of scaffolding, meaning that each new piece of information builds on top of a previous knowledge base. I figured this linear process would translate well when forming lessons plans as well.

It would appear that I was wrong. I can admit it, don't worry, my pride won't suffer too much.

By tackling large concepts and assignments first, I was astounded to find how clear class planning became. By knowing the end result, it became much, much easier to fill in the gaps on the road to completion.

I won't be adopting this practice wholeheartedly though, as I mentioned above. While the overall concept definitely appeals to me, some of the middle steps will definitely need some work-shopping. I found the meticulous scanning and clustering (scanning and clustering, scanning and clustering, vertically and horizontally) to be extremely tedious, It made me lose focus on the larger unit I was developing. I would love to offer an alternative; some way I've found to make this simpler, but I can't. The development of my teaching style is an ongoing process and will constantly evolve as I do. However, the first step to finding a solution is, oftentimes, to first identify the problem.

While I have been critical these past few posts, I don't want any of you dear readers to get the wrong idea. I do enjoy the education system and teaching is definitely a passion of mine. I'm currently at an odd stage though; living in both worlds, as a teacher and simultaneously, as a student. To compound this, the education system (as I have mentioned before) is in a transitory state. There is a shift taking place from traditional methods to modern ones, which is quite reflective of my own experiences. At one point, our previous instructional strategies were the way to do things, there was no alternative. By being critical, I only hope to avoid glorifying these new methods as the only method. Education is constantly changing, so we shouldn't put all our chips behind one style. There you have it folks, I'm not actually cynical, I'm helping by being critical!

As always, here's some art.  Today, the work reflects my mindset, considering all my (numerous) deadlines approaching. This performance piece by Olivier de Sagazan haunts my nightmares, and now I will force it on you too.

And now you're scarred for life. 

Musings on Curriculum

Hello again Internet,

Its blogging time. Today is going to be slightly different than my usual post, dear readers. Previously, I've used my course readings to inspire my biweekly rants, but this week, I have no readings. Instead, I'd like to share some of my disconnected musings regarding curriculum planning and implementation.

The entire course this blog was created for is focused primarily on the formation of lesson plans from curriculum documents. A lengthy process has been outlined for us, consisting of informational scans in multiple directions, clustering and bundling knowledge, and identifying the knowledge, actions, and mind-frame each student should possess by the course's completion. I have ranted on multiple occasions now about the shortcomings of this process (primarily the fact that it is an organic, changing process, that is taught in a strictly linear format), but a new concept that irks me has surfaced.

Recently I completed an observational placement in a high school for a different course of mine. I watched teaching style, lesson plans, and marking schemes very closely. Following this experience, one question has plagued me ever since.

Does anyone actually USE this lengthy process to form their lessons? Sure as hell doesn't look like it. That isn't even my major issue though. I have no problem learning a framework for lesson creation that I may never use again. I do, however, have a problem when that framework is presented as fact.

From what I saw in this placement specifically, teachers know what they are going to teach (for the most part), and they try to get that knowledge to the students as easily as possible. That's all it boils down to. One teacher I worked with told me (and his entire class) that this was the first time he had ever taught this class, so he had no idea how it was going to work out. Does that sound like the words of someone who isolated and has strategically placed the Know, Do, and Be of the course throughout the entire semester? Definitely not. I did, however, find the class extremely receptive to his honesty, which in turn translated to attentiveness to his lesson.

I really don't have a conclusion to this idea, but my questions were to prominent just to ignore. Is it the mark of an effective teacher to distill manageable skills from curriculum documents, or do we instead look to the teacher who is personable, knowledgeable, and provides and interesting lesson?

This is not to say these two are mutually exclusive by any means. I simply believe that teacher education should not possess the rigidity I have experienced. Anyone who has ever been in school can attest to the fact that each teacher is different from the next. I believe teacher education should not only recognize this, but nurture these differences.

The work I've chosen for this week reflects the reproducibility that our current teacher education system would seem to seek. I will leave you with more question; do we really want a fleet of teachers who glean information the same, who deconstruct curriculum the same?




Therry Guetta AKA Mister Brainwash

Trained by street artists, including Banksy and Sheppard Fairey, Guetta "appropriated" (stole) works from many unknown artists. He produces hundreds of copies of the same work in his art factory. He continually pumps out "art" he has never actually touched. His workers churn our more and more "Mister Brainwash" originals, devaluing art to a mere consumable.