I have no idea what I think about education anymore. Working at a nontraditional school has definitely helped define my philosophy of teaching. I have learned the importance of getting to know each student thoroughly and letting them know a bit about you as well. I love the opportunity they have to become invested in education by being allowed to learn through their interest. I have seen that perhaps forcing kids to memorize, cram, and forget random facts without truly learning is not the best way to better our nation. I believe that learning cannot necessarily just be quantified in a percentage or letter grade, but that it is useful to have more meaningful assessments for students (like oral defenses of their work).
However, our school isn’t doing so hot at the moment and thus it has also made me doubt the things I thought I thought. Maybe there is a reason to having students practice test taking skills. Maybe, while they won’t always remember everything, they will at least have the confidence that they learned it at some point. Maybe it is easier for students to focus when they get to travel to different classrooms throughout the day and experience different teachers and styles instead of getting annoyed by the same voice all day long. And math… oohhhh math… students definitely need more than just random math lessons to learn the skills they need to master the basics.
I also have no idea what I think about classroom management. I have been faced with the most difficult students I will hopefully ever have to encounter; students who are completely disengaged with school and don’t even begin to know how to define respect. Students who I want to reward but who don’t exactly deserve it. I have terrible management in my classroom, yet I’ve tried so many different approaches. Is it better for that one student who is unaffected by discipline to be kicked out of school yet again, or is it better to love on them and try to see from their perspective, no matter how distorted it may be?
So not only am I confused about my classroom, but I’m confused about my life. What do I want to do next year? Do I stick with Big Picture and wait to see it through? Do I try teaching mathematics in a traditional setting? Do I work in some other capacity with Teach for America? Do I take a break from education and try something new? Youth ministry? Photography? Web design?
I was sitting in church this morning contemplating my worries and anxieties about my classroom and my futur
e. Fall seems to be a contemplative season. But it’s amazing how God will continue to tug at my heart to just trust in Him. It’s ok if I feel confused, for He is not. Reid, our pastor, fittingly ended the sermon with this verse from Philippians 4:
“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I have learned the secret of living in every situation… for I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
How much does this entire blog post reveal my own discontent with where God has me in life? While Paul is talking more so about being able to live with riches or poverty and finding and rejoicing in the blessings that God gives and takes away, I was still very convicted. I am so discontent. I need to find my contentment in Him and let these wordly anxieties go.
However, our school isn’t doing so hot at the moment and thus it has also made me doubt the things I thought I thought. Maybe there is a reason to having students practice test taking skills. Maybe, while they won’t always remember everything, they will at least have the confidence that they learned it at some point. Maybe it is easier for students to focus when they get to travel to different classrooms throughout the day and experience different teachers and styles instead of getting annoyed by the same voice all day long. And math… oohhhh math… students definitely need more than just random math lessons to learn the skills they need to master the basics.
I also have no idea what I think about classroom management. I have been faced with the most difficult students I will hopefully ever have to encounter; students who are completely disengaged with school and don’t even begin to know how to define respect. Students who I want to reward but who don’t exactly deserve it. I have terrible management in my classroom, yet I’ve tried so many different approaches. Is it better for that one student who is unaffected by discipline to be kicked out of school yet again, or is it better to love on them and try to see from their perspective, no matter how distorted it may be?
So not only am I confused about my classroom, but I’m confused about my life. What do I want to do next year? Do I stick with Big Picture and wait to see it through? Do I try teaching mathematics in a traditional setting? Do I work in some other capacity with Teach for America? Do I take a break from education and try something new? Youth ministry? Photography? Web design?
I was sitting in church this morning contemplating my worries and anxieties about my classroom and my futur
e. Fall seems to be a contemplative season. But it’s amazing how God will continue to tug at my heart to just trust in Him. It’s ok if I feel confused, for He is not. Reid, our pastor, fittingly ended the sermon with this verse from Philippians 4:“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I have learned the secret of living in every situation… for I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
How much does this entire blog post reveal my own discontent with where God has me in life? While Paul is talking more so about being able to live with riches or poverty and finding and rejoicing in the blessings that God gives and takes away, I was still very convicted. I am so discontent. I need to find my contentment in Him and let these wordly anxieties go.
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