This article alleviates one of my fears, being alone. I fear that once I become a teacher at a school, the teachers will ostracize me for no other reason than being new. I see it happen in the school that I am observing and it's not a pretty sight. They just ignore that she's there. When I see the "Lonely Teacher," I spark up some conversation and realize that her class seems to be the most enjoyable out of all of the teachers. She has many fun, new activities that the students participate in and enjoy. The other teachers could learn more from her, but instead they decide to shun her only based on the fact she is a new teacher that just started this year.
I have always feared being the "Lonely Teacher." I love discovering new things and then sharing it to anyone I can get to sit in a chair for a while. I can't imagine having no one there to express my thoughts to. Now there is no need to keep people captive in their seats; the World Wide Web does it for me. It's a new way of communicating ideas, working on projects, and building new relationships. I find it liberating that I can find interesting new ideas at a touch of a mouse rather than rummaging my local library for lost books.
In the article, "Education: Connecting the Lonely Profession," it shows an alternative to being alone, blogging. Connecting through the blogosphere allows not only teachers to communicate their ideas, but also the students. I was impressed by the project the students did in the article. I always wanted to do a similar project where an international classroom can connect with us, but I never knew through what medium I could do it in. Now I know and in the future I can try it. This article has inspired me to read more blogs. If this type of invaluable information is out there, then I will find it. I don't want to become the "Lonely Teacher."
I fear being a lonely teacher at times too. I am also a curious person and love to explore new things and I hope that can keep me going in the classroom. I think it will if we use all these helpful and innovative 21st century tools. I think it is great that you want to engage students in a project that connects with an international classroom. What kind of project would you use in particular? Since my subject area is Chemistry, I hope I can also use this type of international classroom with my students. I really hope I don't become like teachers who "teach to the test" and forget about how to make my subject more relevant to the others in the world.
ReplyDeleteHi Grace! Sorry for the late response. There are many things we can do. The first thing we must do is get rid of the old notions of teaching to the test. Yes, the test is important, but there are ways around that. I believe for English it is a bit simpler, because our field deals with the freedom of expression (even though many teachers forget about this). For an International Project, English can play on the differences of culture. For instance, if we are reading a book that takes place in a different country with different beliefs, we can see if the book is true to the culture. Students here will contact the students in the other country and expand their boundaries. They will get to know each other and learn about different perspectives from a first hand account. No textbook can give them the same experience. We can then create a project that compares and contrasts the country's beliefs. Later the students will present their project to the class and support what they have found. That is only one way. I'm sure there are multiple ways, but this is one way I would do it.
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't worry about being left out Maribel. Who knows why they don't talk to her, maybe she never made the approach to talk to the other teachers? When you start teaching, you should say hi and start up conversations with other teachers. So you have nothing to worry about.
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