Contemplation

I think that what I love most in taking any class regarding teaching is the chance to gain new ideas for my classroom. Sometimes those ideas come from other teachers sharing what they do in class, sometimes it is from the curriculum being taught, and occasionally I gain ideas on how the curriculum is being taught. This week, I gained ideas from all three and have had a difficult time deciding what to “blog” about.

            I went back through my notes and still could not make up my mind on what to write about, and then I read that the blog was to be written about what has engaged me and why did it engage me, and I realized that the thing that has engaged me the most this week was not what was being taught, but how our curriculum was being taught. Every day in class this past week we would spend quiet time with our thoughts, write about our thoughts, and then discuss that with our classmates; along with being presented with the curriculum.

  I had several of my students tell me this past year that they love that we have discussions about the subject, instead of just reading the book and answering questions.  Because of their feedback, I have started doing more discussions. (Although I will admit sometimes I was worried that they were just hoping to avoid doing work.) Being back in class as a student really helps me see this from their point of view. Hearing other people’s points of view and ideas truly helps to deepen ones understanding. I did hear a bit of a critique this last year when I started having more discussions (and less worksheets) from another teacher who was concerned on how I could give a grade for discussions. I am still working that out, but am gaining ideas on that as well.

            The work that we are doing in class before we start our discussion is a new concept for me and I have truly given quite a bit of thought into how I can utilize it in my classroom. I realize that sitting quietly and contemplating has been area of contention for some, but I think it is an interesting idea. Often times in class, some students do not even have time to truly think about a question or idea before a classmate has their hand in the air impatiently waiting to answer the question.  What an impact it could make to give all students time to think, and time to question their own thoughts, before trying to answer a question or have a discussion. In my opinion, it would deepen their understanding, and help them to form bigger concepts about a topic. Not to mention give students who need a little more processing time a chance to respond.

            . While studying Socrates last year, the students were struggling with what being a philosopher meant. So, I gave the students an assignment to write down what they thought was the meaning of life. Although their answers were very good and we had a great discussion about it, I found myself this week thinking how much better that would have been if I had them contemplate on it first for ten minutes before writing.  Plus, they would have had a much better understanding of what philosophy is!

            I was surprised that for myself, sometimes I struggled with too many thoughts flying by and couldn’t always latch on. But, once we stared writing, the thoughts seemed to flow and solidify. I realized this week that the act of writing really helped to make sense of my thoughts. I would definitely want to include the reflective writing along with the contemplation because of that. I am beginning to agree with St. Augustine’s quote, “There is a lot I didn’t know that I learned by writing.”  I am hoping that some of my students will find this to be true too!

Kathy McGrath