My belief on authenticity limits is that they aren't really different levels. Either you authentically enjoy teacher or you don't. And even more refined-either you enjoy the subject you teach, or you don't. Therefore, being authentic as an educator is just a manner of whether of not you are in the right field of work. I interviewed my elementary music ed teacher last semester and I learned a lot. But, the most powerful thing I took away from that interview was one mere statement that she made, she said, "You should only teach if you can't see yourself doing anything else with your life." Now that is why I believe it is black and white if teachers are authentic in their roles as the educator.
I also believe that their is a facade that teachers must put on, almost like acting, with their students. However, just because a teacher is covering up that they are having a rough day does not mean that they are not being authentic. I believe that as the leader of a classroom it is your job to let the education come first, no matter how you are feeling. Also, if you are showing your students that you aren't in control of yourself or your feelings, then they can not trust you to teach then to the best of your ability.
Students can tell if a teach is not authentic merely by how invested the teacher is in the curriculum of subject in general. Students are smart, they can tell when you are not interested or engaged in the material.
If a teacher is seen as inauthentic with their students, the students will be unmotivated. The students will act this way this way because the teacher is the main motivation for interest in the subject and if the teacher is not motivated, that tells the students that it isn't interesting enough to invest their time or thought into. Also, if a teacher is unmotivated, they may turn a child away from a subject that they are very talented in or that could be a potential career path. That is too strong a consequence for any teacher to be responsible for doing.
In conclusion, I believe that the best teachers are those who want to do solely that-to influence children in a positive way. In my opinion, that is where a teachers authenticity comes from. If you are only doing education because you can't do something else...don't. It is not fair to your students because you are not being authentic to yourself or them.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Compassion
When I was a senior, in high school, I had one of the greatest teachers for AP English II. You know why he was so great? Because he understood the pressures of being a senior and how you have so many things to do and sometimes you homework comes second to things such as college applications, audition, interviews, etc. He also understood the need for students to have time for themselves after many 18-20 hour days because of school involvement and activities. He was respectful and compassionate to his students and in return, his students not only respected him but actually tried harder because we wanted to please him.
One such example of his compassion took place during my last semester of senior year. We had just read Hamlet (or were supposed to have finished it) and we had ten pages of reader's notes due in a few days. However, due to college prep and a play that I was in, I had not had time to finish the reading let alone be able to do the reader's notes. So, not hoping for a good response, I approached him two days before the notes were due and explained my situation. I was pleasantly surprised and taken back by his response. He thanked me for being honest with him and gave me an extra 5 days to finish the reader's notes. He said that he understood how stressful a busy schedule can be and that he was glad I was proactive enough to talk to him ahead of time. He wished me luck with my activities and college stuff and that extra week got me an A on my reader's notes. His compassion not only relieved my stress and allowed me to succeed, but it also encouraged me to try even harder in his class because I respected him as my educator that much more.
One such example of his compassion took place during my last semester of senior year. We had just read Hamlet (or were supposed to have finished it) and we had ten pages of reader's notes due in a few days. However, due to college prep and a play that I was in, I had not had time to finish the reading let alone be able to do the reader's notes. So, not hoping for a good response, I approached him two days before the notes were due and explained my situation. I was pleasantly surprised and taken back by his response. He thanked me for being honest with him and gave me an extra 5 days to finish the reader's notes. He said that he understood how stressful a busy schedule can be and that he was glad I was proactive enough to talk to him ahead of time. He wished me luck with my activities and college stuff and that extra week got me an A on my reader's notes. His compassion not only relieved my stress and allowed me to succeed, but it also encouraged me to try even harder in his class because I respected him as my educator that much more.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
R-E-S-P-E-C-T (find out what it means to me)
One time, my senior year in high school, we were voting for a speaker for the graduation choir concert. Every year a senior was selected to speak to represent the choir and the graduating students of the choir. Needless to say it was a big honor to be selected and in the past the selection process had been an had extensive rounds of student voting to narrow the candidates down to one-the selected speaker.
During my senior year, it came time to vote for the speaker and all the seniors were very excited for the opportunity to speak and vote. However, instead of the usually extensive voting and narrowing process, my director merely took all the nominees and did one vote, the winner only winning by a vote or two against about 15 other nominees. I was not selected, but that was not the issue. The issue was the lack of care and time the director took in making this decision. After classes that day I, politely asked my director if I could speak to him. He offered me some time. I explained that i was not challenging the decision but rather challenging the process by which the speaker was chosen this year, that it had not been addressed with as much care as it had been in the past. I said I didn't expect anything to change for that year but that in the years to come he should consider how he goes about the voting, since it is a big deal to the seniors of the choir. After I explained my feelings he was very polite and thanked me for my maturity and thoughtfulness about how I approached the situation. I thanked him for his time and left.
However, the next day in choir he opens up the floor for nominees again. Confused, everyone asked why (since the decision had already been made). He then proceeds to say, in a very snarky way, that, "Someone came and complained about the way we voted, so i guess we have to do it again to be fair." Directly following this statement be proceeds to stare straight at me (in front of the entire ensemble) and shoot me an annoyed look. I know that people saw him look at me because several people turned around and gave me puzzled looks.
In the end, the voting turned out the same. But since I never asked him to re-do the vote I do not feel that it was my decision to waste time, ultimately it was his decision. It was also his decision to lie to me in his office and thank me for being strong enough to approach him and then to turn around and publicly say the opposite. Needless to say, i did not feel respected by my educator in that moment.
However, this same teacher did show me respect in many moments. My senior year, I took an independent study with this director and I was very stressed one day about how my peers were negatively speaking about my achievements and how I only got the successes because I was a "favorite." This particularly bothered me because I have a philosophy that you only get what you work for, and I know I had worked hard to build all those achievements. One day during my independent study I was merely venting to my teacher about my frustrations with some of the comments my classmates had been making and I had not expected him to respond as we were working on a project. However, I was truly amazed when he stopped and told me that all the leadership positions, roles, and awards he has seen me receive were truly based on my willingness and desire to work and succeed. He said that I had earned all those achievements.
I felt such respect in that moment because this was the teacher with expectations of perfection and the idea that nothing can ever be good enough. It must have been true for him to go out of his way to say something as encouraging and respectful as that, for he is a man of very few calming words.
During my senior year, it came time to vote for the speaker and all the seniors were very excited for the opportunity to speak and vote. However, instead of the usually extensive voting and narrowing process, my director merely took all the nominees and did one vote, the winner only winning by a vote or two against about 15 other nominees. I was not selected, but that was not the issue. The issue was the lack of care and time the director took in making this decision. After classes that day I, politely asked my director if I could speak to him. He offered me some time. I explained that i was not challenging the decision but rather challenging the process by which the speaker was chosen this year, that it had not been addressed with as much care as it had been in the past. I said I didn't expect anything to change for that year but that in the years to come he should consider how he goes about the voting, since it is a big deal to the seniors of the choir. After I explained my feelings he was very polite and thanked me for my maturity and thoughtfulness about how I approached the situation. I thanked him for his time and left.
However, the next day in choir he opens up the floor for nominees again. Confused, everyone asked why (since the decision had already been made). He then proceeds to say, in a very snarky way, that, "Someone came and complained about the way we voted, so i guess we have to do it again to be fair." Directly following this statement be proceeds to stare straight at me (in front of the entire ensemble) and shoot me an annoyed look. I know that people saw him look at me because several people turned around and gave me puzzled looks.
In the end, the voting turned out the same. But since I never asked him to re-do the vote I do not feel that it was my decision to waste time, ultimately it was his decision. It was also his decision to lie to me in his office and thank me for being strong enough to approach him and then to turn around and publicly say the opposite. Needless to say, i did not feel respected by my educator in that moment.
However, this same teacher did show me respect in many moments. My senior year, I took an independent study with this director and I was very stressed one day about how my peers were negatively speaking about my achievements and how I only got the successes because I was a "favorite." This particularly bothered me because I have a philosophy that you only get what you work for, and I know I had worked hard to build all those achievements. One day during my independent study I was merely venting to my teacher about my frustrations with some of the comments my classmates had been making and I had not expected him to respond as we were working on a project. However, I was truly amazed when he stopped and told me that all the leadership positions, roles, and awards he has seen me receive were truly based on my willingness and desire to work and succeed. He said that I had earned all those achievements.
I felt such respect in that moment because this was the teacher with expectations of perfection and the idea that nothing can ever be good enough. It must have been true for him to go out of his way to say something as encouraging and respectful as that, for he is a man of very few calming words.
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