Response #2 Chapters 1-4

1a. On page 10 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson states that“teachers who are willing to establish ties with students discover new depths of truth each day...” What does this mean to you?

To me this statement means that when a student is comfortable in a classroom then they will be more likely to take a risk and when they take risks that is when the real learning comes into play. Another point that I think this statement is trying to get across is that teachers need to be confident and comfortable in their classroom as well. When the teacher is stressed the students can feel the tension in the room.

1c. On page 12 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson says, “… the most effective teaching does not seek transmission of knowledge isolated from human need, but rather attempts to help young learners discover the power of knowledge to reveal, amplify, and develop the best that is in them.” What does this mean to you?

To me this statement means that students aren’t going to learn anything by just having them open their minds and place the knowledge in. The students have to be the ones that are figuring, exploring and explaining why and what things are, this would be the optimal educational experience. The students have to find a connection to the information in some way or another because they won’t learn or remember it otherwise.

2b. Consider the things Mrs. Sylvia Allan, principal of Vineyard Elementary School, said to us in Friday’s class, where do you find her, as a teacher, having addressed her students’ needs for affirmation, contribution, power, and challenge as they are defined and discussed on pages 17-19?

I think that she has done a wonderful job in teaching each of her students that they can be actively engaged in their own lives. They don’t have to run to someone every time there is a problem, they should stop and work through it themselves. She teaches students that working hard to becoming someone whose voice is heard is important. As I observed Sylvia Allan and as the book stated about challenge, a classroom is full challenges. Each student, of any classroom, is unique to themselves. I feel that Sylvia has found a balance between addressing individual needs and allowing students the opportunity to find their own needs and correct those things that they can.

2c. On page 22, Tomlinson says, “Teaching asks us to do the impossible. It asks us to establish ties with each child – not to establish ties with all the children as though they were one student. They are not.” How does this resonate with you? Explain.

I agree with this statement. If I would have been asked this question before my education, which I have obtained from the elementary education program, I probably would have said that you could teach the classroom as a whole. Now I understand and am able to see that each student is individual in needs, interests and abilities. Differentiation within the classroom is so important to the students. Allowing each individual student to learn to their optimal level is necessary to the BEST educational experience.

3a. On page 26 Tomlinson discusses a response from Principal Deborah Meier where Meier says that her school staff are remarkable “because they live what they believe.” What do you think this has to do with teaching? With YOU as a teacher?

To me teaching means that you are more experienced in a topic than someone else and you want them to be experienced in the topic as well. When you teach them you are providing them with the opportunity to learn that particular material. In turn, if you understand and ‘live what you believe,’ than teaching is going to come more naturally to you. I think the students, their parents, other staff members and the principle are all counting upon the teachers to have a passion for teaching. Passion only comes from loving what you are doing by consistently ‘living what you teach.’

3b. Comment on Tomlinson’s use of the word “enlivening” on page 30.
I have been taught that as a teacher, “ you should teach as you would want to be taught.” I never knew that there was a word associated with that but now I know it’s the word “enlivening.” I think that it’s interesting to think about this topic and how you would structure your educational experience for yourself, while you were going through the early years of education. As I look back I think that if I were to have had a teacher teach me the way that she would have wanted to be taught, or as Carol Tomlinson states ‘opportunity’, I assume that I would be more excited about learning than I already am. I’m not saying that I’m not excited to learn, but there is something magical about the teacher having passion about a topic and being able to pass it on to her students.

Discuss in one short paragraph one strategy or classroom routine that appeals to you from chapter 4.

One class routine that stuck out to me is “Teach for Smooth Transitions.” While I was in the past field experience I was with a teacher who had this down pat! The students always knew where they were supposed to be, what they should be doing, and how they should act. At the end of each school day the students would do their jobs from their assigned chart. The students were the ones who picked their jobs so they were excited to complete their tasks. Every day the students checked and cleaned out their desks and other parts of the classroom. It allowed the students to take responsibility as well as keep the classroom clean and organized. That is only one of the transitions that I would use. I think it’s important for the students to have smooth transitions so that their attention stays focused on what it’s supposed to.