Attachments: To Those Who Can - Softcover

Henderson, John R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1450237606 ISBN 13: 9781450237604

Verlag: iUniverse, 2010

Inhaltsangabe

The year is 1956. As the tires on the family's ancient GMC pickup bang out a rhythm on the dirt road to his northeast Missouri farm, fifteen-year-old John Henderson surprises his father by telling him he wants to be a teacher-a decision that eventually leads him from a small farming community in Missouri to Arizona, where he begins his life's calling. Through an engaging format of attachments and emails, Henderson traces the evolution of his thirty-eight-year teaching career from its beginnings at Arizona State University as a graduate teaching assistant. Henderson chronicles his journey from an elite private boarding school in Scottsdale, Arizona, to a small religious-based college-and concludes with his thirty-four year stint with the Maricopa Community College District in Phoenix. By observing the joys, turmoil, agonies, and even the mundane day-to-day moments of a teacher, Henderson offers a personal yet practical sociological exploration of classroom culture that provides both contemporary students and novice educators with a real-life glimpse into the challenging and rewarding world of classroom teaching. "... Essential reading for prospective teachers." -Eugene Munger, author of Momma, Don't Ya Want Me to Learn Nothin'?

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ATTACHMENTS

To Those Who CanBy John R. Henderson

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 John R. Henderson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-3760-4

Contents

Acknowledgments.............................................................viiiPreface.....................................................................xAttachments.................................................................11. Thinking about the Legacy of a Life in the Classroom.....................12. Remembering the Beginnings...............................................63. Transitions: The High School Years.......................................164. The College Years and a Career Decision..................................275. Learning the Ropes in a Time of Change...................................466. Rediscovering the Importance of Social Roles.............................617. Students and the Reasons for Schooling...................................788. Defining Educational Success.............................................959. Doing the Job............................................................11010. Evaluating Teacher Merit................................................12711. Retirement and Reflections on the Odyssey...............................141Epilogue....................................................................156References..................................................................159

Chapter One

Attachment #1

Thinking about the Legacy of a Life in the Classroom

"The difference between a beginning teacher and an experienced one is that the beginning teacher asks, 'How am I doing?' and the experienced teacher asks, 'How are the children doing?' Everything they become, I also become. And everything about me, they helped to create."

Esm Raji Codell, Educating Esm (1999)

Several years ago, at the beginning of a long-forgotten semester, I wrote an introductory statement to my Survey of Education students:

I suspect we are at a crossroads. You are students, apparently thinking about the possibility of someday shifting roles and becoming professional teachers. I am a teacher, nearing retirement and just now beginning to fully appreciate the value of the learning experience. In both instances, we may at times forget that we are both teachers and learners throughout our lives, no matter what our chosen profession might be. At the same time, choosing teaching as a career is quite another matter, a choice that requires a bit of idealism at the outset and a lot of craziness to remain committed throughout one's occupational life. Currently, I have two primary concerns about professional teaching and teachers in the American school system. One involves the motivations and competency levels of people who select teaching as a career. I have a nagging fear that many of the finest students in America do not see teaching as a highly significant and desirable line of work. Second, I am concerned about how teachers perceive their role within the entire education system, symbolized by the oft-heard comment, "I am just a teacher." Another example of this perception is the way-too-common view that a more worthy life goal is to move "up" the education success ladder from the position of teacher to that of school administrator. Of course, I recognize that salary structures help perpetuate this image of promotion and downgrade the status of the teacher in America. Of one thing I am certain: schools, teachers, and the public perception of the teaching role constantly require scrutiny and intentional change. In particular, teachers and the general public must look upon teaching with the pride and, indeed, the reverence that the profession deserves if we ever hope to advance the literacy of our population significantly. More of our finest students must select teaching as a career if the standards of educating and learning are to improve. How can such changes occur? This course is dedicated to the exploration of the possibilities, probabilities, and the "how" of educational reform as it directly affects students in the classroom. My two-fold goal for all of you, whether or not you ultimately select teaching as a career, is: First, to leave this course as educational leaders. Second, to recognize that teachers no longer can be effective participants in a system that simply repeats itself year after year, generation after generation, without significant self-evaluation. What is needed are people who are prepared and willing to go into schools, not just to teach but to enhance the art of teaching, reform the schools, and thereby vitalize the process of learning. To do so we must all become, and continue to be, students of the teaching and learning experience. Most important, I believe that to enjoy teaching and become an effective teacher, one must enjoy learning. Liking children (students) may be necessary, but it is not a sufficient reason to go into teaching as a career. Loving the content one teaches is equally valuable.

* * *

From: ProfJH@College.net

To: Thosewhocan@College.com

Subject: Attachment #1

Now that you've read this first attachment, which sentences stood out? Which ones do you remember? Did you highlight or underline any phrases? Were there any statements or ideas suggested that made you wince? What meaning did you attach to each phrase? In general, what did you learn from what you just read?

While you are pondering these questions, I will summarize my thoughts about what I hope you learned.

1. Some of the sharpest young people in this country, perhaps people like you, are not seriously considering teaching as a career; our future as a society will depend on our ability to change that attitude.

2. It is important to ignore others (even your parents!) who suggest that you should only consider other kinds of careers in the business world and ignore the possibility of spending your life in a classroom, teaching people just like you.

3. Learning throughout your life is the most important activity in which you can ever engage yourself, regardless of your career orientation.

To help you understand how and why I became a teacher, and why I want you to keep the teaching option open, I am going to send you some more attachments and e-mails.

But first, one more question: when you were a kid, did you ever catch a fish?

A simple question, and right now many of you probably are saying to yourselves: "Stupid question. Sure, I caught fish, and it was great fun, watching the bobber dip below the water's surface, feeling the tug on the line, the wiggling and squirming around at the end of the hook, and then the joy when I reeled it in-the pride when I examined my catch."

If that's your answer, I must correct you (an occupational hazard in the world of teaching). No one ever truly "catches" a fish unless he hooks it by accident. All a person can do is throw out the lure and try to entice the fish to hook itself. The fish is always involved in getting itself caught, whether it wants to or not.

As William Ayers noted in his book To Teach (1993), when kids learned to walk, to talk, to swim, to ride bicycles, all parents did was to provide the environment (the opportunity) for them to learn...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: iUniverse
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2010
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1450237606
• ISBN 13: 9781450237604
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 180
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: KreGa Onlinehandel GmbH; 4950000000000; info@krega-onlinehandel.de; ; Birkenweg 31; Brakel; 33034; Deutschland