Have you done much
thinking about how and whether the professional responsibilities of educators
go beyond the classroom and school? React to some of the ideas in the Teacher
Voice Project paper (Stringer and Vileisis) and what it suggests for your life as a teacher.
Rachel Bennett:
ReplyDeleteI have not done much thinking about the professional responsibilities of educators outside of school, but this article definitely allowed me to expand my knowledge on the subject. I began to think about the experiences I had with my teachers outside of school. For example, my kindergarten teacher and my mom were best friends when I was growing up. My teacher was always very professional and I never saw her act differently than she did when we were in school. As I grew older however, our relationship changed. Her daughter was my best friend, so we were constantly over at each other’s houses. It was really great to see my teacher acting like a normal person. When I think about the responsibilities of a teacher, I believe they should be active in their communities outside of school. It is important for teachers to know what is going on in the lives of their students, and it is also very important for students to see their teachers actively and positively involved in bettering their community.
In the Stringer and Vileisis paper, a study done in the USA surveyed participants about what the primary responsibility of a school is. There were four choices: “transform society,” “develop individual interest,” “maintain order and stability,” and “improve society.” Less than one percent of people believed that transforming society is a primary responsibility of schools. I believe it is so important for teachers to mold their students into creative and responsible citizens for the betterment of society. Another one of the least important responsibilities listed in the survey was creative expression. I believe this means, as a teacher, I am responsible for encouraging my students to creatively express themselves in a welcoming environment. Teachers have the responsibility of giving their students freedom to express themselves and freedom to be creative in a healthy way. My life as a teacher will consist of encouraging my students to become productive and creative people.
Before starting the graduate portion of my teacher preparation at VCU, I had not thought about the idea of teacher professionalism beyond the classroom. However, I have done my own research of student professionalism beyond the classroom. My reflective essay is based off of experiences and observations around the idea of student leadership and service (Hankley, Hise, & Lopez, 2012).
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Stringer and Vileisis mention the idea of asking the “how”, but we often forget about the “why”. As an active citizen and professional in any field, I see our ability to engage in meaningful action, research, and even reflection as a continuum. Our experiences move us along the continuum. The ideal professional, asks the questions what, why, and how or what can I do. It is the idea that you need to know why something is happening and why change needs to happen before you can take meaningful action.
Without this imperative question, we are not engaging all of the stakeholders involved. This relates to the Stringer and Vileisis and the idea of teacher voice. If we are not asking why, then we lose the teachers who are out there every day working and serving our students. I am not sure if teachers are discouraged to voice their opinions, but if they don’t know why there is disconnect they might not know what to voice or to advocate for. So, as a professional and teacher you must understand why our education system exists before you can take the “what” and act on it.
I do agree that there should be more empirical research on how teachers view the purpose of school and education. I also think, that it should include current teachers and teacher preparation students. As Stringer and Vileisis stated, your views on education change as you have more classroom experience. In order to see how teacher professionals move forward on the continuum, we need to somehow quantify their experiences and views.
Hankley, H., Hise, S., & Lopez, Y. (2012). Live, learn, serve: life lessons through service. The undergraduate journal of service learning & community-based research. Retrieved from http://www.bk.psu.edu/Documents/Academics/hankley.pdf
Erin Luhmann-
ReplyDeleteSince early on in our VCU education courses we have not only been told, but warned that choosing the profession of teaching goes far beyond just an educator. Roles such as a mother, psychologist, friend and brain stimulator as the article suggested are just a few examples of the various roles teachers actually play besides an educator. Being a teacher can easily resemble a role of a mother in numerous ways. We have take care of all twenty-something students as if they were our own. We must act as a protector for all of our students and make sure that we are providing them with a safe and comfortable environment they can learn and grow in. Not only are we protecting our students we are also taking care of them when they are upset, comforting them and making them feel better just as a mother would. In my opinion, the role of a mother is one of the most important additional roles a teacher plays in a classroom.
A teacher as a psychologist is another important role that can take form in many different ways as well. Finding out about problems at home and determining ways to properly deal with them to help the student is a role that all teachers will face at some point in their career. A teacher as a psychologist is a role that is one that needs to always be dealt with in a professional manner to assist the student in the most helpful way. If a student comes to a teacher sharing information that is personal and serious, a teacher must decide exactly how to act upon such information and how to help the student in any way without making any matters worse.
Becoming a friend is a role that can easily take place as a teacher but after a professional role has been established. I recall many of my professors in the past making a point to explain as teachers we must be taken seriously has the students’ teachers before a friend role can take place. I think this is important for us as future teachers to keep in mind because we all want to be our students’ friend but we need to establish a professional role as a serious figure so they respect us as well.
To me not so surprisingly, in this article it explained that actual teachers and professional educator chose roles such as brain stimulators and challengers were voted less than a mother and friend figure. I think that this was a great explanation of what the whole article was getting at, there are so many other important roles that teachers play in a classroom rather than just an educator. As future teachers we must be able to play all roles extending beyond a student’s teacher. We must be able to successfully teach while also being able to take care of our students and comfort them like a mother figure would. A teacher should be someone who can be trusted to play whatever role is needed from a student. In my opinion, a teacher would not be successful one is all they could do was properly teach a subject and nothing further.
Lindsay Meredith
ReplyDeleteUntil this article I had not really considered what the teachers' points-of-view were on education. I know that probably sounds ridiculous to everyone here but I am training to be a school counselor, and at this point in my education I am really focused on being a counselor.
This article really helped me reflect and focus on the needs of an essential part of the school, the teachers! With the article I realized that a lot of the topics that teachers' want to foster and promote in their students are topics that I, as the counselor, can educate the students on during classroom guidance lessons, group lessons, and even individual counseling. Topics like creating respectful students, improving society, and fostering students' ability to listen and communicate better are all within my wheelhouse as a future counselor. These are all about creating better citizens, which is a popular topic in school counseling.
Through this article I see just how important the school counselors and teachers really are to each other. Within the school we may get frustrated with each other and not always have the same surface priorities, but at the root of it we all want the same thing. We just want better kids growing up and entering our society as good, effective people. If we work together we can achieve that outcome.
Erika Morck
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest, I was not sure what this article was going to be about. Personally, I believe that one’s opinion of the purpose of education can vary across cultures. I was pleasantly surprised that this article did acknowledge multicultural perspectives of education.
It is no secret that teachers (and school counselors) wear many different hats at once. I think that the skill in education comes from having an understanding of how to balance and prioritize your many responsibilities. For example, the three aims that were concluded in the Tatto (1998) study might be prioritized differently in educational settings across different cultures.
Something I did notice was that most of the aims or purposes mentioned in this article fall under one umbrella - to meet the needs of the student. Whether it be the needs that society has identified (ie. being employable) or the basic needs of the student (ie. nurture and care). The trick, however, is that all students have different needs and require different means of having those needs met.
In the reading and in some of the posts that I’ve read on the blog, I’ve noticed a lot of overlap in what educators see as a purpose of education and in what I see as the role of the school counselor. As the student to teacher ratios and the student to counselor ratios continue to rise it is important for educators and counselors to work together on a united front to achieve the overall goal of meeting the needs of the students. For example, some teachers felt that they needed to play the role of ‘therapist’ for their students. That could be a very unrealistic expectation of a teacher for many reasons, but a school counselor could definitely act as an additional support in that situation to ease the stress and demand on that teacher.
Also, it is National School Counseling Week! Whoop whoop!
Erin Casey
ReplyDeleteBefore I entered the teaching profession, I had rather grandiose views of what I would accomplish as a teacher. My ambitions included teaching the content to my students, as well as helping them to develop their own personal identity. I wanted to instill such values as respect, responsibility, cooperation, perseverance, and hard work. I hoped to help my students become better students, and better people in general, through my own modeling of these principles and by seizing every opportunity that presented a life lesson. Although these are goals I would like to still include in my practice, I have accepted the fact that it is nearly impossible to accomplish them along with the strict curriculum and hurried pacing enforced on teachers. Moreover, I believe society sets such high expectations for what roles and duties teachers should perform, especially considering the current state of education in the United States. I think we could fulfill some, if not all of those expectations, if there were changes made to the education system and policies in effect today. Ultimately, I do envision teachers as more than transmitters of knowledge. I believe they should teach the content, help students become lifelong learners, support the values that will help them throughout their schooling and beyond, and serve in the role as nurturer. I think teachers would be able to perform these duties, given reform to the current education system.
Charissa Friske
ReplyDeleteWhile being in the VCU education program, we have talked many times in multiple classes about the many roles of teachers and how it not only pertains to the classroom, but also outside of the classroom. In the article, many teachers that filled out the questionnaire said that in their opinion some of the roles of a teacher include acting as a mother/father figure, a psychologist, a brain simulator, and also a friend. I think that all of these are great points. I think that teachers almost always play that mother/father role in their student’s lives. As a teacher, it’s not only your job to educate but also to provide a safe and comfortable environment for the students to build a community for them to learn with each other and grow in their learning. Teachers also have to work with their students on any issues they may be having at school or at home. They have to find a way to help their students deal with their problems in a way that makes them comfortable to talk to them and them feeling like they have a shoulder to cry on whenever they need one, which I think also plays into that mother/father role.
Teachers are also “brain simulators” because children go to school to learn academics and to learn about good citizenship. It also talks about being the student’s friend. I agree with this but in many of the classes I have taken at VCU have talked about how important it is to show the students that you are their friend but they need to remember that you are the teacher and they should respect you and your rules. We always talk about how important our roles, as teachers are so important for student’s needs because they need that extra support, especially if they are not getting it at home. In this article, many teachers stated that an important role was to be a role model, which I think is the most important role. Students spend a lot of time with their teachers and a lot of them look up to their teachers. Many people think that that is the only role teachers have but it is so much more than that. I really liked this article because it actually gave opinions of the teachers and I think many of the opinions were dead on. I think that it gives people a good insight on the many roles that teachers do have not only in the classroom, but outside of it as well. Teachers have a huge impact on children’s lives and it’s because of the many roles that they play.
Sarah Lisk
ReplyDeleteTo me, it’s never been a secret that a teacher’s job does not end in the classroom, but instead reaches out into their students’ homes and stays with them throughout the school year and beyond. Whether this sentiment is a product of professionalism or a sense of nurturing young ones becomes a whole different perspective. I felt like I identified with the roles held by many of the student teachers polled in the South African study that Stringer and Vileisis reference: the need to fill multiple roles, to be a facilitator of learning, to be a role model, and to be nurturing. Reflecting on the assertion posed at the end of Stringer and Vileisis’ review, suggesting that studies move away from investigating those other than teaching professionals themselves, I’m left wondering if my thoughts and opinions regarding professional responsibilities remains naïve.
I’m intrigued by the fact that there is such scarcity of research pertaining to the question of “why” in terms of education through a teacher’s eyes. We’ve read about the merits of offering education, as seen through the eyes of men like Jefferson and Mann, but have those same merits been upheld by teaching professionals in the same regard for all of these years? It seems to me that the opinions of responsibilities held of a teacher from their personal perspective, no matter the time, place or situation, will always differ from the opinions held by those in an overseeing, governing power. This makes it all that more important for researchers to examine why education is still an important framework to incorporate into our society.
Circling back to consider what Stringer and Vileisis’ position means to our future career path as teachers, I think it emphasizes a reflective practice of teaching. Though a publication may not incorporate it in their next statistic, it’s important as a teacher to answer the question yourself – why do we educate? Being mindful of this question and your respective answer each and every day with your students, I believe, also explains why professional responsibilities extend outside of the classroom walls; we don’t educate students, we educate people. I think the extent to which we reach outside the classroom can vary per teacher, per students; but in general terms, in order to ensure success with a supportive environment, a teacher’s role is not limited to a school’s walls.
Lindsy Wyatt
ReplyDeleteOver the last few years, I have come to realize just how important the role of a teacher outside the classroom is just as important as the role inside of the classroom. The job of a teacher does not stop when the last school bell rings. A teacher is always thinking about his or her students and what can be done to make improvements. I absolutely believe that teachers do more than just educate. They take on so many different roles and I believe that is just the nature of the profession. Obviously there are certain lines that shouldn't be crossed and lots of boundaries that teachers have to be careful not to cross, but ultimately many different responsibilities are taken on. I believe it is important for us as future educators to know why we personally want to educate. It is important to realize that the lives of students are in our hands for the majority of the day. We cannot be strictly there just to educate. Ultimately, we take on the role of a teacher, parent, caregiver, etc. I believe teachers need to be presented with more opportunities to be reflective. They should be able to voice their opinions and share their ideas on their position as an educator and what it personally means to them.
Alexandra Hall:
ReplyDeleteI have always been aware of the professional obligations held amongst teachers outside of the classroom. It is our responsibility to be aware of and interact in the community in which we teach and our students live. In order to properly advocate for our students, we must get to know and be aware of what is influencing them and their families. There are many roles that teachers take on without the realization of the impact that they have. I am aware that I do not take into consideration some of the roles in which I will take on as a future teacher, but I know that I am capable of being a stable figure in the students lives inside and outside of the classroom.
I have always felt that becoming a teacher was inevitably being a role model to students in which I should model how to be a good productive citizen in society.
I found it interesting that in the initial study done in South Africa, only 38% of future teachers saw being a role model as their job in the classroom. As time passed and the students' completed a year of graduate school, they were questioned on their beliefs from the prior year. An astounding 76% stated that they now believed that being a role model for students was the most popular role. While we are required to fill multiple roles, I feel like it is my job to be a stable and reliable figure in my students' lives.
As a counselor in training, we in our program heavily discuss the professional responsibilities that go along with advocating for our profession and for our students. Whether that issue be advocating for a student outside of the classroom or even at a higher, political level, we are aware that supporting and going above and beyond for our students and for those in our school is an important facet of this career.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it was interesting to read about the lack of emphasis we seem place on teachers’ points of view regarding the aims of education. Shouldn’t society be the least bit concerned about the views of our educators – those who are tasked with teaching our youth? I agree that this topic is one that has not been researched as much as it should be.
From a somewhat outside perspective, I feel that teachers play an integral role in the lives of students. It is clear that teachers’ responsibilities do not end when the bell rings; teachers are constantly offering outside of class support for students, whether that support pertains to academic work or to other issues such as social or personal matters. As mentioned in this article, teachers believe they play roles such as a role model, disciplinarian, “challenger,” and “knowledge transmitter,” just to name a few. It seems that even though little research has been done, teachers tend to believe that they play multiple roles within their career. This research also shows that ideas tend to differ among teachers, so it seems important to note that what role one teacher finds imperative, another teacher may not consider essential. I think these differing opinions reflect the different teaching styles that are adapted by diverse educators; for instance, a teacher who places value on playing a “mother/father” role may place a different emphasis on going beyond the classroom and school than an educator who does not fit this role.
As stated by Tatto in this article, the purposes of education may shape teachers’ beliefs about what is appropriate in teaching and teachers’ conceptions about their professional role, so it is essential to attempt to understand what teachers believe regarding aims of education to better understand the role they play in and out of the classroom.
Leily Geng
ReplyDeleteBefore the last semester of undergrad, I really hadn’t thought about the responsibilities of a teacher beyond the school and classroom. My focus before that was on learning about how to do everything within the classroom. Even in Teacher Prep (the last semester of undergrad), I only thought of it a little bit when a teacher briefly mentioned it. In grad school however, I thought a lot about the role of the teacher outside the realm of school. In my Home-School Collaboration class, we talked not only about how to communicate with parents but also topics like coming up with workshops to inform parents about things like health and fitness or nutrition. I really began to think about what the teacher can do for the community beyond educating their children.
One thing I found fascinating was the Hattingh and de Kock (2008) study that Stringer and Vileisis cited. In that study, student teachers were asked to think about the various roles that teachers have. It was interesting to see the change in the thinking of the student teachers from the initial interview and the later interview. Education has changed with the rise of technology and the ability for students to obtain information with just a couple of clicks. It’s interesting that teachers feel that they are no longer the main content knowledge provider but instead are role models and an “edutainer”.
I think life as a teacher will not be what I initially thought it would be when I first entered this program. I was basing my opinion on what life as a teacher would be like on my experiences in elementary school and what I saw from my desk at Table 4. But education and the students today are much different from even when I was growing up, which was just a little over a decade ago. Different students and a different way of educating students results in different teachers. My life as a teacher will be very different from what I imagined it would be.
I actually have thought about the responsibilities of teachers beyond the classroom and school. My mom used to be a teacher and even now still works closely with students. I used to hear people ask teacher why they wanted to be a teacher. I often times heard “because I just love kids.” There is a major difference, and if you are not prepared for all that comes with the kids, that love will quickly be thrown out of the door. I always had an idea that the roles of teachers went beyond the classroom because I saw my very own teachers do it. Teachers learned the “funds of knowledge about every child in their class. Learning the funds of knowledge helps the teacher better understand and help the student succeed. I have had teachers stop by the house during a death of a family member, include me in their Morning Prayer lists, come to birthday dinners. I have also had a teacher to bring me home from school. These are just a few examples of how teachers roles goes beyond obligation.
ReplyDeleteThis article speaks from the teachers’ perspective and you will find that to be very rare in many articles. Most of them are being reported from the researcher’s point of view. Teachers are nurtures just as mom and dad. They spend about 35 hours a week with the student. That is a long time when you think about, so it would only be right to develop a special connection with those students.
Amy:
ReplyDeleteOf course, if anyone should be the one to talk about and have a voice in the discussion about purposes of education, it should be those in the trenches, the teachers themselves, those with the experiences actually teaching, those who most directly see the effects that education can have on young people. So the fact that the teachers are precisely the people whose voices are not being heard in the discussion of educational purposes, just reinforces to me the clear disconnect that we see in our country between schools and teachers and what they see as the needs and areas of reform, and the educational policy makers that end up being the ones making the decisions about educational reform and policies.
I found it very interesting, yet not surprising the results that were found from the study done of student teachers in South Africa. I think in our inner cities and amongst low income populations, if we did a study amongst our teachers, we might find a similar result. Though we may not struggle with the devastating effects of AIDS in our country like many in Africa do, I think we would have a similar number of teachers talk about their role as a care giver (mother/ father) to make up for the lack of caregivers in homes (although in our case most of the time we are lacking more in father figures than mothers). I think studies like this can be become an avenue to talk about the real important issues like AIDS (where this is relevant), poverty, lack of a solid support structure in student’s homes, race, class, socioeconomic status, wealth and the ongoing list of social issues that plague our nation’s public education system. And I think as educators, one of our professional responsibilities is to help facilitate these discussions; yes absolutely our responsibilities go beyond the classroom and school. During the discussion following Dr. Marilyn Cochran-Smith’s lecture last week, several people talked about the need to invite actual teachers from urban schools and neighborhoods into our conversations, and the need to actually partner with these professionals if we are going to make any headway in addressing the social inequalities in our urban schools. This research revealing teacher’s views of the goals of education I think goes hand in hand with these conversations about social inequalities affecting our schools. What was also mentioned in the lecture, was the fact that the research in and of itself cannot produce change, but it can spark conversations, which can then bring about actual change. I think it is all a part of the broader professional responsibilities of educators beyond the classroom.
Amy continued:
ReplyDeleteSo after that slight tangent, I’ll get back to the article. Another thing I found interesting was how in the study of the teachers in Atlanta Georgia, “career, vocational and life preparation” as an educational goal was ranked quite low in comparison to some of the other goals like “interpersonal and understanding and human relations”, “basic skills instruction” and “critical and independent thinking.” And yet career and vocational preparation was one of the important focal points in US educational reform in order to make the US more competitive internationally. It’s the goal of social efficiency, but not spurred on by the teachers and their views on the goals of education, but by education reform writers, and policy makers, most of whom probably have never taught a day in their lives. Again we see this gap between the ideas that policy makers have about education and the realities that teachers are experiencing. Perhaps more research on teacher’s views of the purposes of education will help to bridge the gap.
And finally, I like the article’s inclusion of Biesta’s caution at the end of the article to policy makers: that they must make sure not to focus on “valuing what is measured, rather than engage(ing) in the measurement of what we value.” I think this is a really important point, one that schools grapple with every day, or at least should be grappling with if they are not already. I think it is behind the argument against the way we currently assess our students. Our educational system has become so focused on what is easily measurable, looking at our student’s grades and their SOL results, instead of looking for ways we can measure our student’s progress that reflect what they are really learning, and emphasize what will be truly valuable and useful for them to know for life beyond SOL’s and standardized multiple-choice tests.
Ian Wheeler
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think I do more thinking about my professional responsibilities outside of the traditional academic experience and environment than I should. Returning to Labaree, who has become an important and recurring theme of this class, I have always viewed education from the democratic equality perspective wherein schools should prepare students to be proper citizens of their communities and in order to this, I will need to talk to my students about more than the traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic. Before I decided that I wanted to be a teacher, I had majored in social work for undergrad and I am literally always thinking about how my lessons can help my students become not only good citizens but happy people as well. However, in doing so I am cognizant of the notion posed in the article by Grant and Murray, 1999, who mention finding a balance between providing expertise (what I define as traditional academic teaching) and nurturance (what I define as helping students work on themselves and their selfhood). I think that as a future elementary school teacher, I am given a unique opportunity to work with students all day and if I take advantage of that time properly, who is to say that I can’t find that balance? You know what? I take it back. Finding a balance is a highly idealistic goal when one thinks about the onslaught of standardized testing and academic restrictions. However, when thinking about the initial question about professional responsibilities going beyond the classroom and school, perhaps my responsibilities also lie in proving that finding this balance is also important.
Madison here,
ReplyDeleteTowards the beginning of the article, it is mentioned that in regards to the purpose of schooling and education, the perspectives of teachers are rarely in focus. I have certainly found this to be true as I look back. In many of the articles read in my education studies here at VCU, I have found little information coming from teachers still in the classroom. Most of the readings we are given are scholarly articles coming from a research analyst or psychologist or a political body. This I find very interesting because I think this in some ways is why the world of education and education policy can be so back and forth or off the mark. (Or look really good on paper, but fall short in an actual classroom.) Maybe with more teacher opinions and ideas, and localized research and evaluation, the purpose of education and its policy would become even clearer and supported by more. More teacher voice=more relevant and practical policy making
So are our teacher responsibilities as educators limited to the classroom? I would say no way, unless we are content to merely fall in line with policies or changes we don’t always feel best support our students, communities, or teaching philosophies. The article mentions the popular feeling amongst student teachers as a role model for their students. I am not surprised by this feeling that educators are much more than a transporter and delivery system of knowledge. I think the role of an educator, in order to be a true and impactful role model for students, is to be an advocate for them, their learning, and their learning community as a whole. Outside of school an educator should be well respected, familiar, and an activist for ideas he or she feels strongly about. For this reason, I would find it so powerful to see more literature written by practicing teachers. I would find it more moving to read more articles referencing teachers and active members of their community. I give a lot of thought to the impact a teacher can make within and outside the walls of a classroom and am very excited to be pursuing a career where one adult can be an advocate and role model for a room of young students.
Honestly, I do my fair share of worrying about my professional responsibilities outside of school – and I know for a fact that most teachers do. I consider the way I dress and portray myself over social media, and I try to consider my character and analyze my morals just as often. I know that as a future teacher, and functioning human being, that I need to be consider how my existence and responsibilities affect others around me.
ReplyDeleteWhile looking back on the Stringer and Vilesis piece, I ended up considering and reflecting on the questions from the Grant and Murray (1999) study: What balance do I strike between expertise and nurturance? What is my responsibility for shaping the ethos of the school? Am I primarily a transmitter or transformer of my society’s values? – in reaction to these questions, I realized that these are questions that all teachers should actively consider. How does what we do and what we are doing affect our school environment, and how does THAT affect our students? Teaching and being a teacher requires answering a lot of questions of “why,” according to the Teacher Voice Project piece, in regard to the students in the classroom AND their own philosophy on teaching.
The bottom line that I got out of this piece was: If I cannot find a balance between my own beliefs and my actions as a teacher/professional, how do I expect to lead and serve as a role model for my students? It is important to me (now) to find peace and health within myself to help others, so I anticipate to do the same for my students in the future.
Julianna Lopez
ReplyDeleteThe best teachers I had during my primary and secondary education were the ones I could come to outside of class time. Teachers that had an “open door policy” or made their email addresses accessible were often the instructors of the classes that I would feel most secure in. I felt safe and happy to learn. To me, safety in this context means being able to speak my mind during class discussion and not being afraid of answering questions, even if I’m wrong. I want to be a secondary English teacher, and to me that is a crucial security students must have in an English classroom where they will constantly be reading and sharing ideas. I want to be a role model for my students, and I want to provide them with a learning environment that they feel comfortable to be in.
As many have already suggested, the VCU education program has stressed the multiple roles of teachers. In my very first education course here my professor tried to dismiss the idea that teaching was an “easy” job and went on to describe how demanding it actually could be, and every professor since has mirrored that sentiment in one way or another. In many of my classroom discussions, ideas from the article were also talked about, like the idea of teachers being nurturers or like mothers. I think it’s a fine line that we have to dance on between nurturing a student and babying them, but I definitely feel that in some ways teachers and counselors do take on the role of being a second mother to their students. If you spend that much time with the students, it is only natural that you get to know them and form a stable and healthy relationship.
I really liked the idea of more research on the purpose of education, especially from the perspective of teachers. I think that we have forgotten a very important voice in the conversation. If we don’t focus on the people who are currently working in the education system, we will never be able to change it or move forward.
David Reams
ReplyDeleteI have always felt that my responsibilities as a teacher will go beyond the classroom and school in the sense that my goals are to teach my students about much more than just the basic material that is covered on the SOLs. Frankly, it is a lot harder to teach students anything if one does not first set up a classroom based on trust and constantly promote and embody the values of mutual respect and responsibility. As an elementary school teacher, I believe it will be my job to teach not only academic skills, but also the life and creative skills necessary to help young people become better problem solvers. In fact, my ambitions as a teacher are less about turning children into better students than they are about building them into better, more well-rounded human beings. But fear not, principals and administrators who will hopefully one day want to hire me, because I believe that when I teach children how to think critically for themselves and hold them to consistently high standards, all the curriculum knowledge that they need to acquire will come by them naturally… Or maybe I'm just kidding myself. But I feel that if I don’t get into teaching with a certain amount of hope and optimism, I'm pretty much doomed to fail before I even begin.
The article suggests that teachers are not all on the same page when it comes to the purposes of schooling, but there are a number of themes that seem to come up regularly through the various studies mentioned. Acquiring academic skills, naturally, is brought up, but not as frequently or forcefully as one might think. Many teachers, as well as soon-to-be teachers like me, appear to hold in high esteem the goals of imparting values such as respect and responsibility, teaching effective communication and critical thinking skills, and helping students discover their potential, explore what makes them unique and interesting as individuals, and eventually find their places in society and the world at large. As a teacher, I believe that my job is bigger than, and in truth more important than, relaying the information necessary for students to pass standardized tests. I want to also build confidence and self-esteem in young people by showing appreciation for and encouraging the things that make each student special. I like to think that doing so will help instill in children an intrinsic motivation to acquire knowledge and give them the tools they will need to successfully move through their academic careers and beyond.
My life as a teacher will no doubt be hectic at times, and much of my time outside the classroom will be dedicated to thinking about and preparing for the time I spend in it. That being said, I am constantly seeking to strike balance in my life, and I think it is doing a disservice to my students if I don't also take time for myself and my interests outside of teaching. I think children would notice that, and it's hard to preach to them the importance of reaching their full potential if they know I am not also consistently working to do the same for myself. Like Jefferson, I want to be a lifetime learner, and I want the same for the children who will come to me each year. And there's more out there to learn about than just new ideas and techniques for teaching. Whatever "teacher time" I do spend outside of the classroom, though, whether by working with/tutoring students, communicating with parents and/or administrators, or setting up lesson plans and researching/dreaming up new activities for future classroom time, my hope is to always strive to help my students become better people morally, emotionally, and, yes, academically.
Olivia Horne
ReplyDeleteBefore beginning my teacher preparation, I had a very narrow idea of what it meant to be a teacher. My ideas circled around the fact that I would be delivering important content knowledge to my students and would be in charge of caring for them for the hours school was in session. These notions now seem naïve and uninformed because quickly after committing to the education program at VCU I learned that becoming a teacher means taking on responsibilities that go far beyond the simple transference of knowledge to ones students. By choosing teaching as a profession we’re taking on the responsibility of becoming not only a provider of content knowledge but also that of psychologists, mentors, caregivers, researchers, advocates, communications liaison, and much more. The various responsibilities expected of a teacher are vast and is often only really understood by those who are in the profession themselves. These numerous responsibilities can be overwhelming when considered out of context, but I believe that when thinking of them as a teacher, you see these responsibilities as just part of your day-to-day routine. In other words, it becomes natural for a teacher to fulfill all of these roles throughout the day simply because it’s what must be done to ensure a successful learning experience for all students.
Sadly, I was not too surprised to read that a teacher’s perspective is often missing from the massive amounts of research regarding the purposes of schooling. I think the majority of society views the role of a teacher as one who simply carries out what is dictated to them from higher up in the education system even though teachers probably have more hands on experience. I think that a teacher’s perspective on the why’s of education could be incredibly enlightening and should become an area of significant more focus if the betterment of the education system is what we’re after. For me as a future teacher this means that I will have to become an active voice in the education community, something I think all teachers should try and do. The more teachers are willing to speak up and present what they are seeing within today’s classrooms, the more likely people will begin to listen. This also will require me to become much more reflective in my teaching as well. With more reflective teachers who are willing to speak about their experiences within the classroom I think we would see a shift in the research available to include the valuable perspectives of educators.
Elise Matsuura
ReplyDeleteI had not thought much about the professional responsibilities of being an educator beyond the classroom and school before I entered the graduate program at VCU. I always believed that teachers had to be a role model in the classroom for their students, but did not think about the aspects outside of school. In the Teacher Voice Project paper (Stringer and Vileisis), the authors mention how little research has been done in the United States regarding teachers’ aims for education. In the Hoffman and Hudson survey (1991) performed in Atlanta, Georgia, many of the teachers placed a heavy emphasis on the purpose of education to be “basic skills instruction”, “physical and mental well-being”, “interpersonal understanding”, and “self actualization”. One of the least important aspects was “creativity and aesthetic expression. Teachers also indicated that future goals included “basic skills instruction”, “critical and independent thinking”, “interpersonal understandings and human relations”, and “self-realization”.
I found this study to be very important in regards to my role as an educator of the future. While I do believe that my students need basic skills instruction, I also believe that my students need to gain interpersonal understanding and human relations. In our world today, so many children are reliant on technology and have much lower social skills than past generations. They sit behind TV and computer screens all day long and have very little interaction with others. I feel very strongly that, if my classroom places a strong emphasis on social skills such as communication, teamwork, and respect, our schools will no longer be a place of basic instruction, but a transformative institution where children learn the skills needed to be successful in life. If our students learn how to respect and communicate with others effectively, I know that our society will shift and start viewing education as a public good. Once our society emphasizes the importance of education for the “whole child”, we can begin to institute effective changes in our curriculum on a national level.
I also strongly believe that American children have a very unique experience due to the blending of so many different cultures. I believe that creativity and aesthetics should also be emphasized in our curriculum. Americans are the most creative thinkers on a global level. We have accomplished so much since the (fairly) recent birth of our country. If teachers are to shy away from creativity and aesthetics, we will no longer harbor the great thinkers, inventors, and entrepreneurs that our country has produced in the past. I do believe, however, that we cannot focus on creativity until our society changes who and what we view as success. This all starts from the classroom and the work that teachers do to change the aims and values of education.
You always hear “a teacher wears many hats”. It’s arguably what makes the teaching profession so hard. Like a lot of my classmates have said, I too never truly considered all of the responsibilities of a teacher until I was deep in to the program. Our university’s focus is on urban education and places us in Title 1 schools, so I think that we may have developed different values than other education programs (it would be interesting to find out), and I know that my experiences have shaped my beliefs about teacher’s responsibilities. Many of the students I have encountered in my practicum placements are barely having their basic needs met (poverty, violence and food insecurity), so these children require more from their teachers than just to become “college ready”. The point I’m trying to make is that I think the professional responsibilities will vary depending on each class and each student. Some classes/students will need more emotional support and guidance than others will, depending on their current home life. The same goes for educational support; each student and class will be different. I think that’s why there was no definite consensus as to what a teacher’s role is in the studies provided.
ReplyDeleteHowever, no matter where you are, the teacher’s responsibilities undeniably extend outside of the classroom, whether it’s the actual physical work or the emotional weight you take home. I think you said on the first day of class that you would like your children’s teachers to love/care for them like they were their own. And I agree, that past the pedagogy, being a good teacher involves investing time into your students and that requires a lot of outside work.
Lauren Macdonald
Shane Perry
ReplyDeleteIt is clear to me that the role of the teacher is multifaceted, depends greatly on the individual teacher, and is constantly shifting with changes in the culture and sociopolitical landscapes. I agree with the authors' lauding of the collage as a way of allowing teachers to represent the purposes of teaching; it is a good way of allowing teachers to brainstorm their real ideas, beliefs, and values, as opposed to echoing the rhetoric of teacher preparation programs or politicians (which is something I fear the Teacher Voice Project might evoke). I think a collage also echos the multifaceted, idiosyncratic nature of the role of teacher; it is not simply the deliverer of information, authoritarian, "motherly figure," role model, transformer of worldviews, wisdom-passer, agent of social change, etc., but is more of a mixture of all of these and more; it also depends on who the teacher is (the first-year South African teachers held a rather jaded view of teaching, when compared to the pleasant-sounding teacher-preparation views of teaching) and what the political ideologies of the person are (the suburban Atlanta [a conservative area] teacher study showed less emphasis on social transformation than on social order). But the role is always changing, with new policies and social changes; as of now, one of the main roles for a teacher might be, “the guy who gets little Timmy to pass the end-of-year exam.”
I also think that we should be clear to ask for the aims/purposes of education, and not the aims of teaching; the former will be more likely to evoke the abstract thinking about the systemic and macroscopic effects of what teachers do, students' and teachers' places in the world, and the effects of the system in which they work; whereas thoughts about teaching will be more likely to be “teacher beliefs” about pedagogy and teacher-student interaction. For the aims of philosophical progression that Stringer and Vileisis desire, I think asking about the aims of education will be more beneficial.
Catherine Condrey
ReplyDeleteAs many of my classmates have stated, teachers jobs are definitely multi-faceted. After beginning my undergraduate program at VCU, I began to notice that the responsibilities of a teacher could extend beyond the classroom and the school environment- or they could not. I think it depends on the type of teacher (and person) you aim to be, as I have encountered teachers who strictly worked the hours laid out in their contract, and nothing more. However, I have also met teachers who routinely attend school board meetings and their students' functions outside of school (ballet recitals, soccer or football games, etc.) The article elaborated on some of the different roles that teachers could play, such as a parent or caregiver. I think that teachers do take on a caregiver type role for their students, especially in the elementary grades.
Kasey McDonald:
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought about how my responsibilities as a future teacher could go beyond the classroom or school. I've thought about how the things I teach my future students, or the types of at home assignments/projects I give them could affect what goes on in their lives outside of school, but never really the responsibilities I would personally/professionally attend to outside of the school. Based on the article, there are a lot of different ideas about the goals of teaching, such as instructing students on how to think critically, or teaching them about cultural values, or passing on content knowledge, or being a mother/father figure, and/or being a role model.
But maybe teachers should be taking their responsibilities outside of the school, because what happens in the communities from which the students are coming from, can directly affect the kind of learning that goes on in the school or the behaviors that arise during a typical school day. Becoming involved with community efforts (such as creating a program where all families have access to fresh fruits and vegetables) or advocating for teachers who feel unprepared for certain situations (such as how to connect with students who come from a different cultural background than you) can directly benefit what happens in a teachers' classroom. Getting involved outside of the school can have a great positive impact on what happens inside the school.
LeeAnna Fisher:
ReplyDeleteI have thought about our responsibilities outside of school. Although most of our influence is directly transmitted in the school setting, I think that it impacts student lives outside of school as well. I think it's our responsibility to set students up for success in any form that lasts longer than the time they are in your class or school altogether. Despite the overarching themes portrayed by Labaree and the purposes of education presented in this article, every teacher has an idea of what their purpose in the classroom is. We use this to drive our lessons and help to gain motivation to persevere. We all innately feel that we are serving a higher purpose that transmitting math facts or vocabulary words. Considering how many functions we teach such as subject matter acquisition, study skills, social skills, discipline, etc., there is no way someone could say we serve one purpose. I feel like the Stringer article was really vague and kind of piggybacked off of the Labaree article. I totally agree that there is a need for teacher perspectives to determine where our educational goals overall are headed, but I feel that it was a weak case for supporting any specific purposes. I do, however, like the ideas of teachers and how they see theirselves (i.e. role model, disciplinarian, content provider, etc.). I don't necessarily understand the need to decide on a specific purpose of education. It is multi-faceted and we should find a way to blend purposes.
Worod Hamill
ReplyDeleteI have not done much thinking about the professional responsibilities of teachers outside of school until I began teacher preparation. I always thought that the teacher goes to work, teaches students and then goes home after dismissal. I then realized that a teacher is more than just a teacher. He/she is also a role model, a parent figure, a caretaker, and much more. I realized that a teacher's job does not begin when students enter the classroom at 8 and leave at 3. I realized a teacher has more than a job of just being a teacher.