Thursday, November 01, 2007

Plateau
The last 9 weeks have been a whirlwind of highs and lows, of triumphs and defeats in the classroom. The first half of the quarter everything is new and the learning curve is quite steep.

But then it plateaus... its flat up here.....

Progression is slow......

Some days become grinding......

Cynicism towards students seeps in.....

The waves of self-doubt crash in.....

I believe these are the times that separate good teachers from great teachers. The good teachers get in a routine with no room for innovation and creativity. They stay on the plateau. The great teachers take more risks, allow themselves to become even more vulnerable in front of the class and push through the monotony of the plateau. Its a challenge I am coming to believe every new teacher goes through.

Oftentimes it is easy to blame students on the plateau, to point the finger.
Right?

"Commit yourself to a new approach to being together; when you hear difficult things, mysterious things, or perhaps ideas that seem to fly in the face of your usual way of looking at things, let your first response be that of wonder rather than harsh judgment or criticism:
"I wonder what brought her/him to this place"
"I wonder what my reaction teachers me?"
"I wonder what he/she's feeling right now?"
Switch from saying to asking, from advocating for your opinion, to inquiry about the
other's . . . move from knowing to wondering. Thus we are open to learning from one another."

--Parker J. Palmer

peace,
andy Christo


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